Investigator in retired Rock Hill cop’s death questioned about taking handcuffs
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Lead investigator testified he failed to document handcuffs taken from scene.
- Coroner testified multiple strikes caused facial injuries.
- Defense questioned evidence handling and claimed bias against the defendant.
The deputy who led the investigation into retired Rock Hill police Lieutenant Larry Vaughan’s murder four years ago was questioned in court Friday about handcuffs he took from Vaughan’s apartment.
He didn’t document taking them out of Vaughan’s bedroom, but said he should have when questioned at Moss Justice Center in York County, where Evan Hawthorne, 31, is on trial. Hawthorne, who has pleaded not guilty, is accused of murdering Vaughan.
Lead investigator Joey Wallace, the state’s final witness Friday, was asked by prosecutors and defense attorneys about the handcuffs that have Vaughan’s initials on them, his friendship with Vaughan and his interview with Hawthorne. The state rested its case after Wallace testified.
When court reconvenes on Sept. 2, jurors will hear closing arguments before going into deliberation to consider a verdict. The handcuffs are one piece of evidence the defense says shows law enforcement was biased against Hawthorne.
Jack Swerling, one of the attorneys representing Hawthorne, who’s accused of killing Vaughan on July 23, 2021, did not introduce any witnesses Friday.
Hawthorne, a former Chester County deputy, declined to testify.
Wallace testified that he retrieved the handcuffs from a nightstand in Vaughan’s bedroom. The two were friends, he said. And the reason Wallace used them, he said, was to honor Vaughan and his family by arresting the person who murdered Vaughan with them, echoing what another deputy sheriff said during testimony Wednesday.
Wallace said the reason he didn’t list them as being removed from the apartment was because they were not evidence, used in the murder or listed on the search warrants. But Wallace agreed with Swerling during questioning that he should have submitted documentation about them being removed.
Asked about Vaughan’s knife
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Wallace was also asked about a knife that wasn’t submitted as evidence. Wallace said he was on the phone when York County Coroner Sabrina Gast asked someone at the scene about collecting it and didn’t hear the conversation until reviewing body camera footage later.
Gast, who testified Thursday, said she left the knife for Vaughan’s family, but she agreed she should have documented the knife as evidence.
The defense pointed out that the knife could be seen clipped in Vaughan’s pocket in crime scene photos and video footage of him entering his apartment building the night he died. Wallace agreed it should have been collected and documented as evidence.
The knife was left in Vaughan’s apartment, where his daughter said she retrieved it after investigators finished processing the scene.
Assistant Solicitor Spenser Smith asked Wallace about law enforcement canvassing the apartment building Vaughan lived in after he died as part of the investigation. Wallace said investigators did not get any 911 calls or leads from the canvas.
Wallace was also asked to explain the layout of Vaughan’s bathroom, where the defense says Hawthorne defended himself from Vaughan the night they met.
During opening arguments Tuesday, Swerling said Vaughan and Hawthorne, after getting into an argument about PTSD from their experiences in law enforcement, made up and became friends. The pair then made their way back to Vaughan’s apartment because, Swerling said, Vaughan invited Hawthorne to stay the night instead of driving home after drinking. Hawthorne went into the bathroom. It was there, defense attorney Swerling said, that Vaughan forced his way in, yelling and screaming at Hawthorne with a raised fist.
Hawthorne, scared for his safety, was forced to defend himself from Vaughan, Swerling said. During his law enforcement interview, Hawthorne said the pair rolled around on the ground before he managed to pin Vaughan down on his back with one hand. Hawthorne punched Vaughan in the face with his right hand. Photographs from the investigation show Hawthorne’s swollen hands, scratches on his neck and gashes on his knees and elbows.
Swerling challenged lead investigator Wallace on his questioning of Hawthorne after his arrest. Swerling asked if Hawthorne was cooperative and answered all of the investigators’ questions. Wallace said “yes,” but that Hawthorne couldn’t remember the “hard things.” Wallace said he didn’t think Hawthorne was being truthful.
But, Swerling said, Wallace did not give Hawthorne any “allowance” during the interview, considering he was drunk 19 hours before the interview and told investigators the night was a “blur.”
“You came to a lot of conclusions in this case,” Swerling said.
“That’s part of being an investigator,” Wallace said.
Pathologist testimony
Jurors viewed photos from Vaughan’s autopsy on Thursday. A close up of his face showed bruising and swelling around the eye and his eyebrow. Not shown in the photos, Coroner Angelina Phillips said, was that one of Vaughan’s eyeballs ruptured and collapsed.
Prosecutors asked her if she thought the injuries could have been sustained from one blunt force injury. She said “no” because of the spacing and orientation of injuries. She said it would have taken a minimum of three blows for the injuries. Vaughan also had bruising and a cut inside of his mouth, which Phillips said was from his lips making contact with his teeth.
During his interview with law enforcement, Hawthorne guessed he punched Vaughan five or six times. Phillips said the blunt force trauma and strangulation could have each independently killed Vaughan.
The photos showed the injuries to his face as well as the tip of Vaughan’s thumb, which was missing. During the trial, jurors viewed a photo of a small piece of flesh in Vaughan’s kitchen. That piece of flesh was from Vaughan’s thumb, a coroner said. But a DNA analyst said Hawthorne and Vaughan could not be eliminated as potential DNA matches.
The defense asked if it was possible that the thumb might have been cut from a door slamming on it, but Phillips, the pathologist, said it was unlikely. She said it was also unlikely to have been cut off with a knife because the amputation wasn’t clean. Prosecutors asked if she thought it could have been bitten off. She said that was probable.
Lead investigator Wallace and Vaughan’s daughter explained the layout of Vaughan’s bathroom during their testimony. Vaughan’s bathroom, they said, has two ways to enter: the entrance where Vaughan was found and another door inside the bathroom that leads to a hallway.
Wallace said no blood or substances were found in the bathroom or doorway.
Mixing alcohol and Zoloft
Defense attorney Swerling asked Phillips about Vaughan’s Zoloft prescription and drinking alcohol. Vaughan’s blood-alcohol content was .275, the pathologist confirmed. The legal limit in South Carolina is .08.
Swerling wanted her to confirm that mixing alcohol and antidepressants is not advised, especially since it could cause something called serotonin syndrome. Phillips agreed that was accurate and confirmed that some symptoms could include aggression, confusion and hallucinations.
But, Phillips said, she doesn’t know how much alcohol played a role in Vaughan’s death.
She was asked to look at photos of Vaughan’s hands again. Prosecutors pointed to small red spots. She said they appeared to be dried blood and a small circular scrape on the top of one of his hands. The only other injury to Vaughan’s hands, she said, was the missing tip of his thumb.
Swerling asked if she thought there was redness and swelling on one of Vaughan’s hands. She said she could not be certain from the photos. And she did not document it as red or swollen in the report, she said. Swerling said he could see redness and swelling.
State prosecutors and the defense rested Friday morning. The defense didn’t introduce any witnesses. The judge then dismissed the jury for the weekend and put the trial on recess.
This story was originally published August 30, 2025 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Investigator in retired Rock Hill cop’s death questioned about taking handcuffs."
