'I Just Did It To Scare Him': Wife Tracked Husband on Google Before Fatally Shooting Woman in His Car

Michelle Gladys Bingley, 43, was sentenced to 35 years in prison in South Carolina on Thursday, 29 October 2026, for murdering Tineseing Lachell Johns.

Prosecutors said Bingley used her estranged husband's Google account to locate him before finding him inside Johns' car in Walterboro.

Johns was fatally shot on 28 April 2025, outside the home of Bingley's mother-in-law. According to the 14th Circuit Solicitor's Office, Bingley suspected her husband had been unfaithful and confronted him after discovering his whereabouts.

A jury convicted Bingley following a three-day trial at the Colleton County Courthouse.

Prosecutors said she told investigators that she fired into the vehicle to frighten her husband, not to harm anyone.

Wife Used Husband's Google Account Before Shooting

Bingley used her estranged husband's Google account to locate him at his mother's home, according to prosecutors. When she arrived, she found him sitting with Johns inside the woman's vehicle.

Bingley told investigators she ordered her husband to leave the car. When he refused, she said she 'lost her mind' and fired into the occupied vehicle before fleeing the scene.

Her suspicion that her husband had been unfaithful formed part of her explanation to police. However, prosecutors did not establish whether he was having an affair or clarify the precise nature of his relationship with Johns.

Walterboro police responded to Grace Street at approximately 11.30pm on 28 April 2025 following a report of an unresponsive woman.

Officers discovered Johns lying on the ground outside her vehicle with a gunshot wound beneath her arm. She was subsequently pronounced dead.

An autopsy performed at the Medical University of South Carolina determined that Johns died from a gunshot wound. Her death was officially classified as a homicide.

'I Just Did It to Scare Him,' Bingley Told Investigators

Bingley surrendered to authorities several days after the shooting and provided investigators with an account of the confrontation.

'I didn't mean to do anything,' she told investigators, according to prosecutors. 'I just did it to scare him.'

However, Bingley subsequently acknowledged the fatal consequences of her actions during the same interview, saying, 'I killed somebody.'

She also told investigators that she had discarded a pink revolver along her route before abandoning her vehicle. Authorities never recovered the firearm.

Despite the missing weapon, investigators collected ballistic evidence from Johns' vehicle and her body.

Walterboro Police Sgt Whitlee Fisk testified that a .38-calibre bullet was recovered from the vehicle. Another bullet, removed during the autopsy, was consistent with a revolver, according to the solicitor's office.

The findings provided investigators with evidence about the type of firearm involved. However, the missing revolver could not be directly compared with the recovered bullets.

Fisk was among 12 witnesses called by prosecutors during the three-day trial. The jury subsequently returned guilty verdicts on all four charges against Bingley.

Wife Receives 35-Year Prison Sentence for Murder

Jurors convicted Bingley of murder and domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature. She was also found guilty of possessing a weapon during a violent crime and discharging a firearm into an occupied vehicle.

Circuit Court Judge Donald B. Hocker imposed the 35-year prison sentence on Thursday, 29 October 2026.

Assistant Solicitor Tameaka A. Legette, who prosecuted the case, said the killing highlighted the wider consequences of domestic violence.

'Domestic violence has devastating and far-reaching consequences for families and communities,' Legette said in a statement released by the solicitor's office.

Speaking during October's Domestic Violence Awareness Month, she also emphasised the importance of intervention and accountability.

'As we recognize October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month, this case underscores the importance of early intervention and accountability,' Legette said.

She added that her office remained committed to seeking justice for victims and ensuring violent offences were prosecuted.

The 14th Circuit Solicitor's Office encourages people experiencing domestic abuse to contact the US National Domestic Violence Hotline on 1-800-799-7233. Those seeking assistance can also text 'START' to 88788.