Beaufort Co. man denied bond after ‘incredibly violent’ shooting of longtime girlfriend

Following fear-laden pleas from the courtroom gallery to keep the murder suspect in jail, a Beaufort County judge denied bond for a Shell Point man accused of shooting his longtime girlfriend to death in a grisly altercation in their bedroom last month.

Brenden Elsila, 37, will remain behind bars following his arrest for the alleged killing Aug. 1, Circuit Court Judge Carmen Mullen ruled Wednesday morning. The man and his lawyer are claiming self-defense in the death of 46-year-old Stephanie Fries , a co-owner of The Carolina Tavern restaurant in Port Royal whom he had dated for a decade.

Assistant Solicitor Hunter Swanson described the early-morning incident as an "incredibly violent shooting at very close range." Fries was reportedly found in the couple's bedroom with at least five gunshot wounds, all to her face and head.

Elsila did not immediately call 911, Swanson said; instead, he went to his parents' house down the street and told his father he killed Fries in self-defense. Ashley Cornwell, the man's public defender, said Elsila shot the woman after she brandished a knife at him during an argument. The attorney claimed Fries' body was found with a knife in her hand, an assertion that was contested by the prosecutor and the judge alike.

"This wasn't self-defense; it was an execution," said Fries' brother Raymond Lewis, adding that the suspect could not hold a job and "contributed absolutely nothing to society."

Lewis was one of many relatives who asked the judge to deny Elsila bond. Many cited his alleged history of domestic violence against the woman and their family's fear of the man. Fries' college-age daughter said the suspect had "physically assaulted" her and her 16-year-old brother multiple times and brandished a gun in the family's presence, "creating an atmosphere of fear and intimidation."

"My reason for not wanting him to get bond — my grandchildren are afraid of him," said Fries' father Raymond Lewis Sr., a retired physician. "They have had enough trauma."

Cornwell argued Elsila should be released, possibly under the condition of GPS monitoring or house arrest, because he did not try to flee after the killing and had no history of prior arrests. She acknowledged that the couple had a "volatile relationship" but said Elsila's account of their history was "much different" than what prosecutors alleged.