Some passing clouds. Low 67F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph..
Some passing clouds. Low 67F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.
Jennifer Sahr addresses the court at a Sept. 15 hearing in Conway. Richard Caines/Staff
Chief Deputy Solicitor Scott Hixson holds up a photograph of Baby Boy Horry at a Sept. 15 hearing. Richard Caines/Staff
Circuit Court Judge Paul Burch requests a pre-sentence investigation at a Sept. 15 hearing. Richard Caines/Staff
Jennifer Sahr, the mother of Baby Boy Horry, leaves court on Sept. 15. Richard Caines/Staff
Attorney Morgan Martin highlights Jennifer Sahr's life in a PowerPoint presentation on Sept. 15. Richard Caines/Staff
Jennifer Sahr addresses the court at a Sept. 15 hearing in Conway. Richard Caines/Staff
CONWAY — A former Coastal Carolina University student who gave birth to a baby boy and hid his body in woods outside of Conway more than a decade ago pleaded guilty to a lesser charge just weeks before her murder trial was set to begin.
Jennifer Sahr, now 34 years old and living in Florida with a husband and two children, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in an Alford plea agreement at a Sept. 15 hearing after reaching an agreement with state prosecutors and her defense team.
In an Alford plea, defendants maintains their innocence but admit that the prosecution's evidence would likely result in a guilty verdict if brought to trial.
Sahr was originally charged with one count of homicide by child abuse and could have faced life in prison if convicted in the scheduled October trial featuring a former cold case where authorities at the onset could not determine the parents of the newborn who was found off S.C. Highway 544 in 2008 and later named “Baby Boy Horry.”
Local authorities investigated the cold case for over a decade before announcing that scientific evidence provided them with a new lead in the case, resulting in the March 2020 arrest of Sahr by federal marshals in the North Myrtle Beach area.
The State Law Enforcement Division confirmed at the time that Sahr was the boy's biological mother from a supplied DNA sample, according to Horry County authorities.
With the Sept. 15 guilty plea of voluntary manslaughter in a Horry County courtroom, Sahr now faces anywhere from two to 30 years behind bars after waiving her constitutional right to a jury trial and agreeing to be sentenced by Circuit Court Judge Paul Burch, who will decide her fate at a later date.
Circuit Court Judge Paul Burch requests a pre-sentence investigation at a Sept. 15 hearing. Richard Caines/Staff
More details about the case were disclosed during the nearly two-hour hearing by 15th Judicial Circuit Chief Deputy Solicitor Scott Hixson and Sahr’s attorney Morgan Martin, however both the state and the defense disagreed on whether the infant was alive after birth.
“I’m going to take us back in time around December 4 of 2008,” Hixson said in the hearing.
Chief Deputy Solicitor Scott Hixson holds up a photograph of Baby Boy Horry at a Sept. 15 hearing. Richard Caines/Staff
Hixson said around five electric line workers who were clearing rights of way off of tree-lined Meadowbrook Road near CCU on a 28-degree day in December found a cardboard box containing a Bath and Body Works tote bag.
“Inside of that bag was a full-term, dark-hair male,” Hixson said, while adding that the unlined two-lane road is about 2½ miles from CCU’s campus.
The state argued the infant was alive when he was born while Sahr’s defense said there is no clear evidence to make such a confirmation.
Martin said that his client did not realize that she was pregnant before giving birth to the baby around Dec. 4, 2008. Sahr originally went to the CCU campus medical clinic because she wasn’t feeling well while feeling numbness in her hands and feet.
While giving birth at her residence in “excruciating” pain and after losing an “extreme” amount of blood, Sahr reportedly passed out for an undetermined amount of time, according to Martin.
“When she did get some wits about her, she saw no signs of life with the child,” Martin said. “No sound, no movement, no crying, no nothing.
“She should have called somebody. She was wrong in what she did. She did take the child and leave it where it was found.”
Martin played a Power Point presentation showing aspects of Sahr’s life growing up in Vermont as well as her academic achievements at CCU. Additionally, pictures of Sahr with her husband and two children were displayed on the TV screen for the court.
Attorney Morgan Martin highlights Jennifer Sahr's life in a PowerPoint presentation on Sept. 15. Richard Caines/Staff
“It’s a story, I think, that’s worth telling,” said Martin in the courtroom where Sahr’s mother, father and husband were present.
Hixson responded by flashing enlarged photographs of “Baby Boy Horry” for only the judge to see.
“My responsibility is to represent the citizens of Horry County, whether 80 years old or eight hours old,” Hixson said. “And I did not have a chance to talk to that child. It’s an absolute tragedy across the board.”
Others who addressed the court during the hearing included Baby Boy Horry’s father, Ronald Woodham III, Sahr’s father and Horry County Coroner Robert Edge.
“When informed,” Woodham III said. “My world stopped spinning.”
The judge requested a pre-sentence investigation that will take 45-60 days to complete before he levies a sentence, because he said this is a “unique” case while thinking about Sahr’s two children and the effect of any punishment on their lives.
“Yes, there’s got to be some punishment,” Burch said. “There’s got to be a dose of mercy. But these two children are the most important people on the face of the earth.”
Earlier in the hearing, Hixson reflected on "Baby Boy Horry" and how the county rose up over the years to memorialize the infant. Baby Boy Horry is buried at Hillcrest Cemetery near Coastal Carolina University where a memorial headstone was erected in his honor.
“This young man would have been 13 years old by now,” Hixson said. “And every year, Robert Edge had a memorial service for this person. It’s a birthday and a memorial at the same time.
“And every year for 13 years, Ms. Sahr had an opportunity to come forward and say I want to make this right.”
Sahr, who remains on bond and on house arrest in Florida, was also given an opportunity at the end to address the court.
“I will live with it for the rest of my life,” she said.
Jennifer Sahr, the mother of Baby Boy Horry, leaves court on Sept. 15. Richard Caines/Staff
Follow Richard Caines on Twitter at @rickcaines
Richard Caines covers business and courts in Horry and Georgetown County for The Post and Courier. He graduated from the Cronkite School at Arizona State University and is a huge Philadelphia sports fan.
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