South Carolina men accused of murdering two women buried in the courtyard

Jonathan Galligan, 39, on the right, and Christian Hurlburt, 41, on the left, have been charged with the murder of two women in South Carolina. (Photo: Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office)

Two men from South Carolina were charged with the murder of two women last week after their bodies were found buried behind a house in Spartanburg County.

Members of the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office found the first man, Christian Hurlburt, 41, Wednesday night, after reacting to "armed turmoil" at a local towing company. Hurlburt refused to respond to "verbal orders to show his hands" and was shot in the head in front of deputies, according to Lt. Kevin Bobo, information officer at the County Sheriff's Office. Spartanburg.

Hurlburt was rushed to the hospital where, on Thursday afternoon, he asked to speak to the investigators. From his hospital bed, he told the authorities that he was present when 39-year-old Jonathan Galligan had killed 27-year-old Christin Brunner in the towing company in December 2018, and had helped bury him behind his neighbor's home.

The authorities interviewed Galligan on Friday morning, but they were not able to charge or hold him with the evidence they had at the time. When the authorities again questioned Hurlburt on Friday, he confessed to murdering another woman in January 2019 in a towing company and said that Galligan had helped him bury his body close to Brunner's.

He did not know his name at the time, but after discovering his body near Brunner, she was identified with the help of fingerprints like Melissa Rhymer, 40 years old. According to the authorities, the two women were buried.

Brunner was reportedly missing in December 2018 when his family reportedly told authorities that Galligan was Brunner's boyfriend at the time. Rhymer has never been reported as a missing person.

Galligan was arrested on Saturday. He is charged with murder for Brunner's death and "accomplice after the fact" in Rhymer's death. After leaving the hospital, Hurlbert was charged with murder for Rhymer's death and "after-the-fact accomplice" for Brunner. Hurlbert was also charged with unlawful possession of a pistol by a convicted criminal.

"This man took my daughter," said Renee Bunner, Bunner's mother, at the bail hearing of both men on Saturday, the Associated Press reported. "She has been missing since December 16. Not only did he murder her, but he also tried to bury her."

The two men were jailed without bail after an audience on Saturday.