Tragedy in Johnsonville: Family Points Finger at Teen ‘Queen Bee’ in Murder of 16-Year-Old

JOHNSONVILLE, S.C. – August 26, 2025 – A small South Carolina community is reeling after the June 24 murder of 16-year-old Trey Wright, a tragedy that has led to the arrest of nine teenagers and sparked accusations against a 17-year-old cheerleader, Gianna Kistenmacher, whom the victim’s family calls a “queen bee” orchestrating a deadly chain of events.

According to authorities, Wright was gunned down in Johnsonville, a remote outpost in South Carolina, in a shooting that has left the tight-knit community searching for answers. Nine teens from the Myrtle Beach area, including Kistenmacher, have been charged with murder under South Carolina’s “the hand of one is the hand of all” law, which holds all participants in a criminal plan accountable for resulting crimes. No pleas have been entered, and two of the accused, Kistenmacher and 17-year-old Corinne Belviso, are under house arrest, while others, including 19-year-old Devan Raper and 18-year-old Hunter Kendall, remain in custody without bond at the Florence County Detention Center.

Trey’s mother, Ashley Lindsey, told the Daily Mail that Kistenmacher, reportedly the daughter of a Horry County police officer, was the catalyst for the violence. “How do you go from s**t talking to killing somebody?” Lindsey said, reflecting on a time when disputes were settled with fists, not firearms. “None of this makes sense.” Lindsey and Wright’s best friend, 18-year-old Ethan Kirby, allege that Kistenmacher, who had been dating Wright for a few weeks after meeting him through Raper during spring break, instigated a confrontation that spiraled out of control. Kirby suggested Kistenmacher wanted the boys to fight, not for the encounter to end in murder, calling it a “childish act that turned real.”

Details of the events leading to Wright’s death remain murky, with Lindsey and Kirby offering slightly differing accounts. However, both point to Kistenmacher’s influence, describing her as a charismatic figure who wielded significant social sway. Raper, identified as the alleged triggerman, has a prior arrest for driving another individual to a shooting incident, raising questions about his role in the group’s dynamics.

Corinne Belviso, also under house arrest, told the Daily Mail, “Trey was my friend,” but declined to elaborate further. The arrests have sent shockwaves through Myrtle Beach, where the case has exposed tensions among local youth and raised concerns about escalating teen violence.

As the community awaits further legal proceedings, the tragedy has left Wright’s family grappling with grief and frustration. “When I was growing up, kids fought and went home,” Lindsey said. “You didn’t pick up a gun.” The case continues to unfold, with the nine teens facing serious charges and a town left to mourn a young life cut short.

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