BEAUFORT, S.C. (Dec. 13, 2024) – A local man who used a machete to kill a visiting Georgia man in 2020 will spend the rest of his life in prison, following a three-day jury trial at the Beaufort County Courthouse.
Michael Eugene Goode was found guilty Thursday of the July 2020 murder of 66-year-old Rodney Watson of St. Marys, Ga., which took place outside a mobile home on Horton Road in Burton. Goode also was found guilty of possession of a deadly weapon during the commission of a violent crime.
Goode received life in prison for the murder and five years for the weapon charge. The charges are to be served concurrently. Goode will not be eligible for parole.
“The victim in this case was simply trying to help someone who looked to be in distress, but instead was met with senseless brutality,” said Jared Shedd of the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office, who prosecuted the case. “This defendant behaved unconscionably, and both the verdict and sentence are just.”
While driving to the store, Watson saw a man in the roadway and stopped his vehicle. Watson’s niece and front-seat passenger recognized the man as Goode, also known as Slick. They picked him out of the roadway and gave him a ride.
But when they arrived at the destination on Horton Road, Goode began attacking the woman in the front seat. Watson attempted to intervene but was viciously attacked by Goode with a machete. Watson sustained at least six stab wounds mostly to the back.
The fatal blow occurred when an artery on Watson’s left arm was severed, a forensic pathologist testified. The pathologist was one of 15 witnesses called by Shedd.
Goode originally claimed he was elsewhere during the deadly assault, but DNA evidence linked the clothes he was seen wearing to Watson and the 10-inch machete. On the witness stand, Goode changed his story, claiming he was afraid but ultimately did remember his actions.
Goode’s prior criminal record includes convictions for possession with intent to distribute crack (1994); three counts of assault and battery (1996); two charges of criminal domestic violence (2005, 2012); two charges of assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature (2006 and 2010); resisting arrest (2007); and one charge of giving false information (2019).
Circuit Court Judge Marvin H. Dukes III handed down Thursday’s sentence. The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office assisted with this investigation.
Shedd is a member of the Solicitor’s Office Career Criminal Unit, which prosecutes the circuit’s most violent and habitual offenders. Since its inception in late 2009, the unit has secured convictions against 504 defendants of the 554 defendants it has prosecuted. The team also has earned 65 life sentences. Shedd has been with the prosecutor’s office since 2019.
