John Hubbard was a 33-year-old Black / African American man from Orangeburg, South Carolina, known to friends and family as "J.R." or "Big Hub." A father of eight, he was remembered as a sweet, talented, and laid-back person. Described as a "Jack of all trades," he was known for being smart, funny, and able to fix anything, including taking a car completely apart and putting it back together.
On the night of Wednesday, May 20, 2020, a domestic dispute between Hubbard and his girlfriend, Shantell Yvette Corley, turned fatal outside a Presidential Drive apartment. Witnesses told investigators the argument began after Corley’s vehicle was towed and then returned. The couple argued in public before going into an apartment and coming back outside. Witnesses then saw Corley, armed with a handgun, shoot Hubbard.
A neighbor, Yolanda Hall, heard the gunshots. She said Corley then knocked on her door, claimed she had been shot, and ran into Hall’s apartment with a gun.
Hall went outside to find Hubbard on the ground. She and her daughter tried to save his life by applying pressure to his gunshot wound, but he died at the scene. When deputies from the Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office arrived, they found Hall still trying to help Hubbard. As they assisted, Corley ran out of the nearby apartment, allegedly shouting, “I shot him!”
Shantell Yvette Corley was taken into custody moments after the shooting. Authorities noted that the sheriff's office had received multiple previous calls regarding domestic disturbances at that apartment. Corley was initially charged with murder, first-degree burglary, and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. The burglary charge was related to her entering her neighbor’s apartment and allegedly threatening the occupants.
In April 2022, Corley, then 35, pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter. As part of the plea agreement, the charges of first-degree burglary and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime were dismissed by prosecutors. Circuit Judge Ed Dickson sentenced Shantell Corley to 18 years in prison. The case is closed as of her sentencing in April 2022.
