HORRY COUNTY, SC (WMBF) - A long-awaited murder trial in Horry County begins Monday.

After several delays, Meagan Jackson will stand trial for the death of Gregory Rice, the father of Jackson’s children.

Jackson is accused of kidnapping and shooting Rice five times in October 2020. Authorities found Rice’s body along the Little Pee Dee River near Pitts Landing off Highway 378 at the Horry/Marion County line about a month later.

In a shocking development in the case, former Horry County Deputy Coroner Chris Dontell admitted to helping cover up Rice’s murder.

Dontell entered a guilty plea in December of last year to counts of criminal conspiracy to commit murder and accessory after the fact. Dontell was set to stand trial for murder, but the state agreed to no longer prosecute him on tha

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