WALTERBORO, SC (Sept. 25, 2025) – A Walterboro man accused of beating a 4-year-old boy to death with an electrical cord will spend the rest of his life in prison following a three-day jury trial at the Colleton County Courthouse.
Kasiem Rashawn Stephens, 32, of was found guilty of homicide by child abuse and unlawful conduct toward a child in the Aug. 17, 2017, death of 4-year-old Ki’Zadyn Shuler and for injuring the boy’s older sister.
“A little boy’s life was cut short at the hands of someone who was supposed to take care of him,” said Tameaka A. Legette of the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office, who prosecuted the case. “Instead, this child was met with a type of violence that none of us should ever have to experience.”
During the investigation into Ki’Zadyn’s death, officers with the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office and the S.C. State Law Enforcement Division discovered that Stephens was responsible for caring for the little boy and his older sister the day the boy arrived at the hospital unresponsive.
A forensic pathologist from the Medical University of South Carolina, one of 20 witnesses called by the state, testified Ki’Zadyn was beaten to death. She further testified that the boy died of blunt head and neck trauma from a beating, with acute injuries covering the boy’s body.
A burnt electrical cord, a charred children’s mattress and a leather belt were among items found in a large burn pile at the house where Stephens was living with Francesca Michelle Shuler, who was his girlfriend and the children’s mother.
The boy’s older sister – then age 6 – also sustained injuries the day of her brother’s death, including abrasions and bruising. Shuler, 34, also was charged in connection with the girl’s injuries.
Shuler previously pleaded guilty to two counts of unlawful neglect of a child and awaits sentencing. She testified against the defendant.
Stephens’ criminal history includes convictions for endangering emergency personnel (2015); driving under suspension (2016); reckless driving and failure to stop for blue light (2017).
Circuit Court Judge Carmen T. Mullen handed down Thursday’s sentence.
Legette is a member of the Solicitor’s Office Career Criminal Unit, which prosecutes the circuit’s most violent and habitual offenders. That team has consistently maintained a more than 90 percent conviction rate since its inception in late 2009. Legette is responsible for securing 18 of the 63 life sentences the team has earned over the years.
