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Where is Christopher Dontell Now & What Did He Do? 2025 Update & Background

by · October 16, 2025

Christopher Allen Dontell once held a position of trust as a deputy coroner in Horry County, South Carolina. Respected in his professional community and known as a family man with a wife and two children, his reputation collapsed after his involvement in the murder of Gregory Rice came to light. What followed was a steep fall from grace—a public official entangled in an affair that spiraled into conspiracy, cover-up, and a prison sentence.

His story, now the subject of national coverage and true crime specials, serves as a grim reminder that power and proximity to death do not make someone immune to crossing legal and moral boundaries. From his role in transporting human remains to secretly disposing of a murder victim, Dontell’s transformation from public servant to convicted felon shocked his colleagues and devastated his family.

Background: A Man with a Respected Role and a Hidden Life

Before his arrest, Christopher Dontell worked as a deputy coroner in Horry County, handling death scenes and coordinating with funeral homes. He had no known criminal history and was considered reliable and composed under pressure. His professional responsibilities included overseeing the transport and care of deceased individuals—a role requiring discretion, empathy, and integrity.

Privately, however, Dontell’s life became complicated in 2019 when he began an affair with Meagan Jackson, a woman subcontracted to transport bodies for the coroner’s office. Jackson, who had recently ended a 16-year relationship with Gregory Rice, was also a mother of four. Their affair was hidden from their families for months and escalated into a relationship that would ultimately play a central role in Rice’s murder.

Dontell and Jackson grew close while working together in the death care industry. Court records later revealed that they continued the affair even as the investigation into Rice’s disappearance unfolded. At the time of the murder, Jackson was pregnant with Dontell’s child, and their personal and professional lives were dangerously entwined.

Involvement in the Murder and Shocking Testimony

According to his own testimony, Dontell was present when Meagan Jackson shot and killed Gregory Rice on October 2, 2020. He claimed that Jackson lured Rice to a roadside location and opened fire from the passenger seat of her van. In the aftermath, she demanded his help in disposing of the body, leveraging threats to keep him silent.

Dontell admitted to helping move Rice’s body into a cooler at a Myrtle Beach funeral home where Jackson had access through her work. He later purchased zip ties, a tarp, and cinder blocks from a Lowe’s store—items used to conceal and weigh down the body. On October 4, he dumped Rice’s remains into the Little Pee Dee River.

The evidence against him was overwhelming. Surveillance footage, cell phone records, and physical items found with Rice’s body directly linked Dontell to the crime. In December 2024, one day before his murder trial was set to begin, Dontell accepted a plea deal. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder and accessory after the fact in exchange for testifying against Jackson. The murder charge was dropped as part of the deal.

Sentencing and Current Status

In July 2025, after his cooperation with prosecutors and testimony against Meagan Jackson, Dontell was sentenced to 20 years in prison—15 years for accessory after the fact and 5 years for conspiracy, to be served consecutively. During sentencing, he addressed the court with a tearful apology, directing his words to Gregory Rice’s daughter, Savannah. He expressed deep regret, stating that his involvement was born from “deception and selfishness.”

Judge Benjamin “Alex” Hyman handed down the maximum sentence, citing the severity of Dontell’s actions and the betrayal of public trust. The court did not accept his defense team’s request for leniency, despite his cooperation. His role in the disposal of the body, the planning of the cover-up, and his ongoing affair with Jackson after the murder played significant roles in the judge’s decision.

As of October 2025, Christopher Dontell is incarcerated in a South Carolina state correctional facility. He is not eligible for parole until serving a substantial portion of his sentence. His cooperation with prosecutors spared him a potential life sentence, but the fallout from his actions continues to affect his family and the victims left behind.

The Fallout: Personal and Public Consequences

The consequences of Dontell’s actions have extended beyond the courtroom. His wife, Erica Dontell, learned about the affair through anonymous messages and later testified about the emotional toll it took on her and their children. She remains married to him but has been outspoken in blaming Meagan Jackson for destroying their family. During sentencing, she called Jackson “the Antichrist for our family.”

Dontell’s career in public service is over, and his community reputation irreparably damaged. Once viewed as a trusted figure handling the most sensitive aspects of death care, he is now remembered as the man who betrayed that trust in the most intimate and horrific way.

While he expressed remorse, the lasting legacy of his involvement in Gregory Rice’s murder remains one of complicity, cowardice, and failure to uphold the law he once served under. For the Rice family, and especially the children left behind, Dontell’s role in the cover-up of their father’s murder marks a betrayal that no sentence can fully repair.

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Ryan Gill

Ryan is a passionate follower of true crime television programs, reporting on and providing in-depth investigations on mysteries in the criminal world.

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