State v. Harry Chris Battle | Galvin Law Group

What happened

On October 30, 2008, Brian Lanese and his brother-in-law, Jeffrey Wooten, were beaten in the Windy Lake subdivision of Bluffton. Harry Christopher Battle and Theophilius D. Hamilton were later charged. The firm represented Battle.

The indictment rested on testimony from Kuwan Fields, who was himself accused in the attack. Bluffton Today later reported that DNA from the scene could be traced only to Fields, and that Fields’s account was inconsistent. In August 2010 a Beaufort County jury found Battle and Hamilton not guilty.

The Island Packet covered the case from arrest through verdict. Those contemporaneous headlines are listed below. Several original Packet URLs have been moved or paywalled; the facts below are taken from stories that still resolve and from the firm’s own news page.

The record, in order

October 30, 2008 — The attack

Lanese and Wooten were beaten at a home in Windy Lake, Bluffton. Local papers reported three arrests in the weeks that followed.

2008–2010 — Charges and bond

Battle was charged in connection with the beating, including attempted-murder exposure. Coverage included bond and the path to trial.

August 2010 — Not guilty

A jury acquitted Battle and Hamilton. Bluffton Today’s year-in-review later summarized the verdict: lack of sufficient evidence and inconsistent testimony.

Later civil cases

The Post and Courier reported that Henry Chris Battle Jr. later sued Beaufort County and settled for $30,000.

Call if the State has the wrong person.

Wrong-person cases are tried on the details: who was there, what the witness actually saw, and what the physical evidence does not show.

Talk to counsel

News stories

These are the stories the firm collected when the case was live, plus later reports that still have working links. Headlines without a live URL are the titles the old news page listed.

Stories that still resolve

Rewind: Year in review — “Lanese defendants found not guilty” Bluffton Today · December 30, 2010. Reports the August 2010 acquittal of Theophilius D. Hamilton and Harry Christopher Battle; DNA traced only to Kuwan Fields; inconsistent witness testimony.
Same year-in-review (EU / Gannett mirror) Bluffton Today mirror of the December 30, 2010 recap.
Jury finds for Beaufort County in prosecution suit The Post and Courier (Island Packet report). Notes the August 2010 acquittal of Hamilton and co-defendant Henry Chris Battle Jr., and Battle’s later $30,000 settlement with the county.

Island Packet headlines from the case (as listed on the firm’s news page)

The Island Packet covered the beating from arrest through verdict. The original article URLs have been moved or locked. These are the contemporaneous headlines the firm published:

Three arrested for Bluffton attack Island Packet / local press · arrest coverage after the October 2008 beating.
Teens charged in Brian Lanese’s beating head to Court Island Packet · charging and court appearance.
Suspect in Bluffton beating out of jail on bond Island Packet · bond report.
Bluffton beating case witness stops cooperating with police Island Packet · witness-cooperation report (Kuwan Fields was the State’s principal witness).
Lanese verdict expected Tuesday Island Packet · trial-week coverage.
Bluffton teens found not guilty in beating case Island Packet · verdict. Consistent with Bluffton Today’s later year-in-review.

If you have a working Packet URL for any of these headlines, send it and it will be linked. The firm does not invent article addresses.