Mother Outraged Over Reduced Murder Charge In Son Death

The mother of a man who was killed in May said that she was outraged to learn Tuesday that the man accused in his death is no longer charged with murder.

Sean Kennedy's mother, Elke Kennedy, said the was notified by the investigator in the case that that the suspect in her son's death, Stephen Andrew Moller, 18, of Taylors, now faces a charge of involuntary manslaughter rather than murder.

She said that this is another example of why South Carolina needs hate crime legislation.

Deputies said that Kennedy, 20, was walking to his car from Brew's Bar in May when Moller got out of another car and approached Kennedy. Investigators said that Moller made a comment about Kennedy's sexual orientation, and then struck him in the face. Kenendy died after being hit.

Investigators said that witnesses identified Moller as Kennedy's attacker.

Elke Kennedy said that South Carolina is one of only four states without a law recognizing hate crimes.

"This news from the county of Greenville is devastating," she said. "I feel like my son has been murdered again. There's not justice for Sean, and this position makes it very clear that we need hate crime laws in South Carolina and in this nation. We need to make sure that nothing like this will ever happen to any one of our children or citizens."

Without the hate crime, there is no legal precedent for a stiffer charge.(keep reading)