Amy Jo Lambert

Amy Jo Lambert was a 30-year-old White woman known for a loving spirit and a sense of humor that made everyone around her smile. Those who knew her felt she could have been a comedian. She was a daughter and a sister, remembered as a beautiful soul who is deeply missed by her family and friends. Her life was tragically cut short in the late summer of 2020, leaving behind unanswered questions and a community in mourning.

On the afternoon of August 22, 2020, firefighters were dispatched to a camper fire on Cedar Grove Road in Townville, a small community in Anderson County, South Carolina. The scene that awaited them was far more horrific than a simple blaze. Inside the charred remains of the camper, authorities discovered the bodies of Amy and her 57-year-old boyfriend, Billy Ray Johnson. The Anderson County Coroner’s Office later confirmed that both had been shot multiple times before the fire was intentionally set. Firefighters were able to pull Amy’s body from the burning structure, while Johnson was found deceased inside. The brutal nature of their deaths immediately launched a double homicide investigation.

The Anderson County Sheriff’s Office began the inquiry, noting that a van belonging to one of the victims was missing from the property. The day after the killings, investigators publicly identified a person of interest they wished to speak with: McKenzie Maxine Carey. She was located and interviewed by deputies that same evening. The missing van was also recovered. As the investigation progressed, a potential conflict of interest emerged when it was determined that a person possibly connected to the case had a family member working for the sheriff's office. To ensure impartiality, the investigation was transferred to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED).

A significant break in the case came from across the state line in Hart County, Georgia. The day after the murders, two individuals, 26-year-old Leonard Piercefield and 20-year-old Payton Call, were arrested during a traffic stop. They were in a stolen vehicle and in possession of drugs and a stolen handgun. When Georgia authorities ran the serial number of the firearm, it was linked to the Townville double homicide. SLED investigators later confirmed through forensic testing that the gun was, in fact, the weapon used to kill both Amy and Billy Ray Johnson.

Following this discovery, both Leonard Piercefield and Payton Call were charged with being an accessory after the fact to a felony. Arrest warrants stated that they had assisted a felon, knowing they had committed murder, with the intent of helping that person avoid consequences. During a bond hearing in September 2020, it was revealed that Call and Piercefield had attempted to flee to Georgia after the shootings. A judge denied them bond, citing them as a flight risk.

While the murder weapon was recovered and two individuals were charged with assisting the perpetrator, the central questions of who pulled the trigger and why remained. In October 2021, more than a year after the deaths, the Anderson County Sheriff's Office issued warrants charging McKenzie Maxine Carey with two counts of murder in the deaths of Amy Lambert and Billy Ray Johnson. However, public court records and subsequent news reports have not detailed the final outcome of these charges or the legal proceedings against her.

The case remains a painful memory for the families left behind. Billy Ray Johnson’s sister described him as a fun-loving handyman who had no enemies, making the violent nature of his death incomprehensible to them. They pleaded for closure and for the full truth to come to light. As of the latest available information, the full resolution of the charges in the murders of Amy Jo Lambert and Billy Ray Johnson has not been publicly documented, leaving their loved ones still waiting for complete justice.