The death penalty trial of Jerry Buck Inman was suspended after three days of testimony in last September after a witness for the defense refused to testify.
Sociologist Dr. Marti Loring refused to take the stand during the sentencing trial, citing concerns that 13th Circuit Solicitor Bob Ariail was threatening her.
Ariail asked Loring, who holds a license to practice in her home state of Georgia, if she knew it was a crime to practice social work in SC without a state license.
Loring declined to participate in the trial further, even after Circuit Judge Ned Miller promised her immunity from prosecution.
The trial had been set to resume in January, but unexpected back surgery for Inman’s attorney Jim Bannister caused the trial to be pushed back further.
Inman admitted to raping and strangling 20-year-old Tiffany Marie Souers after breaking into her Central apartment, and entered a guilty plea last August.
Security cameras showed Inman attempting to use his victim’s ATM card after killing Souers.
Police captured Inman in Tennessee several days after the murder, after a national DNA database linked him to the crime.
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