Jesse Osborne

Osbourne was tried as an adult, and on November 13, 2019, he was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the murder of Jacob Hall and 30 years for the attempted murder charges. his lawyer said he will try to appeal his sentence.

On September 7, 2018, Osborne pled not guilty on all counts before a South Carolina Supreme Court Judge. His attorney, however, publicly hinted at the possibility of a plea deal. Several witnesses were called forward over the following two months, including an investigator who testified that Osborne had been influenced by an online chat-group of people “obsessed” with mass shootings, some of whom encouraged Osborne to commit one. Prior testimony from the investigator revealed that Osborne had been planning an attack for months through his internet searches, constituting premeditation. But on December 12 of that year, Osborne did plead guilty to the five counts of murder and attempted murder, waiving his right to a jury trial. His attorney stated that it was in his client’s best interest that he plead guilty rather than go through a trial. Sentencing was postponed to a later date to allow Judge R. Lawton McIntosh to appropriately decide Osborne’s fate, given that he was set to serve a minimum of thirty years and a maximum of life without parole. Jacob Hall’s father was in the court gallery during Osborne’s guilty plea, as was Osborne's aunt. Jacob's mother did not attend the hearing, as she was incarcerated following her drug arrest less than a month before the plea.

The Townville Elementary School shooting occurred on September 28, 2016, in Townville, South Carolina, located 40 miles (64 km) southwest of Greenville. Fourteen-year-old Jesse Osborne shot three students and a teacher, critically wounding six-year-old student Jacob Hall, who died from his injuries three days later. Osborne, who also shot and killed his father before the shooting, was arrested as the sole suspect and charged with murder and attempted murder.

Jesse Osborne, (born September 1, 2002) — fourteen years old at the time of the shooting — was identified as the suspected gunman. He had attended Townville Elementary School through fifth grade and was known to be sociable and someone who did well in classes. At the time of the shooting, he was being homeschooled after being expelled from middle school for bringing in a hatchet and a machete earlier in the year of the shooting. On February 16, 2018, Judge Edgar H Long made the decision to waive Osborne, 15 years old at the time, out of Family Court and up to General Sessions Court where he will be tried as an adult. Osborne was charged with two counts of murder, three counts of attempted murder and five counts of possessing a weapon. By U.S. federal statues, Osborne faced up to life in prison without parole.