Conway man sentenced to 80 years in prison for assaults and kidnapping woman, solicitor’s office says
CONWAY, S.C. (WBTW) – A Conway man has been sentenced to 80 years in prison Friday for kidnapping, sexually assaulting, and severely beating a woman whom he had a romantic relationship with, according to the Fifteenth Circuit Solicitor’s Office.
29-year-old Rico Antonio Funderburk of Conway was sentenced to serve 30 years for kidnapping; 30 years for first-degree criminal sexual conduct; and 20 years for assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, which are the maximum sentences allowed for each offense, the solicitor’s office said.
Funderburk will not be eligible for parole and is required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life, according to the solicitor’s office.
A Horry County jury deliberated for about an hour before they convicted Funderburk and the Honorable Circuit Court Judge Benjamin H. Culbertson presided over the trial which began Monday, according to the solicitor’s office.
The victim told police she and Funderburk began a romantic relationship in July 2021 that quickly became violent. The victim eventually escaped from Funderburk on August 28, 2021, when she ran barefoot and bleeding into Walmart near Tanger Outlets in Horry County, the solicitor’s office said.
The victim was held against her will, sexually assaulted, and subjected to severe beatings that caused multiple traumatic injuries. The victim was beaten with various items such as a tire iron, a socket wrench, a baseball bat, and suffered multiple third-degree burns to her body, the solicitor’s office said.
Leigh Waller, a senior assistant solicitor who prosecuted the case said convictions like these are especially meaningful.
“They give justice to an innocent victim and protect others from violent offenders,” Waller said. “We are grateful to the Horry County Police Department, and in particular Sergeant Christian Fletcher, for their assistance in the prosecution of this case. Without their diligent efforts we would have been unable to protect the community and bring this defendant to justice.”
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Taylor Ford is a digital journalist for News13. She joined the News13 team in January 2023. Taylor is a Florence native and covers the Pee Dee out of News13’s Florence Bureau. Read more of Taylor’s work here.
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