Midlands man sentenced to 57 years for 2023 murder of vulnerable adult

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - A Midlands man has been sentenced to 57 years in prison for the 2023 murder of a vulnerable adult whose remains were found across Richland County.

Eric Greene was convicted Thursday in the killing of 27-year-old Morgan Duncan, who was reported missing in November 2023.

Morgan Duncan had schizophrenia and was classified as a vulnerable adult at the time of his disappearance.

He remained missing for months until deputies with the Richland County Sheriff’s Department discovered some of his remains in a wooded area in Dentsville. More remains of Morgan Duncan were discovered last December.

His mother, LaTanza Duncan, delivered emotional testimony inside the courtroom on Wednesday.

“May God have mercy on you as you pay for what you did, but you don’t get the right to be among us anymore,” she said.

LaTanza Duncan thanked everyone for helping her family get some type of resolution.

But, she said, this day is nothing to celebrate.

The trial began on Monday. A Richland County jury took only a few hours to reach a guilty verdict.

“We ask for the max sentencing for Mr. Greene, who has been guilty of killing our son,” Rodney Duncan, Morgan Duncan’s father, said while holding back tears.

Morgan Duncan’s sister also addressed the court, honoring her brother’s life and sharing how she wants him to be remembered for having a big heart.

According to prosecutors with the Fifth Circuit Solicitor’s Office, Morgan Duncan was last seen at the Springtree Apartments. Two witnesses who lived there told investigators they saw Greene strangle Duncan inside an apartment.

“You preyed on him like he was a piece of meat and he was nothing to you,” LaTanza Duncan said during her impact statement. “When you strangled the life out of him, you strangled it out of yourself too.”

Greene did not testify in his own defense, but addressed the court prior to his sentencing, adamant that he did not kill Morgan Duncan.

“I told my lawyers, I’m like, ‘I want to testify,’” he said. “They told me it wouldn’t be a good idea. But now I’m glad that I get to at least speak my peace because I did not do nothing wrong.”

Circuit Judge Jocelyn Newman sentenced Greene to 57 years, referencing a line her father, retired Judge Clifton Newman, told Alex Murdaugh after he was convicted in the murders of his wife and son.

“While you insist it was not you, I know there’s a very wise, learned judge who once said, ‘Maybe it wasn’t you, it’s the monster that you became,’” she said. “I don’t know if you were high or angry. As animated as you were here today, I can only imagine how angry and animated you would be when you feel that you’ve been wronged by someone and you’re arguing with someone.”

Following the sentencing, LaTanza Duncan added that more must be done to protect vulnerable people from predators.

Two others were charged with accessory after the fact in Morgan Duncan’s case.

Judge Jocelyn Newman directed a not guilty verdict for Julivia Waller, according to her defense attorneys.

The case against Jerome Harper is still pending, prosecutors said.

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