FLORENCE MAN SENTENCED TO 440 YEARS FOR INSURANCE FRAUD
RELATED TO MURDER OF SISTER-IN-LAW

COLUMBIA, South Carolina -- United States Attorney Reginald I. Lloyd announced today that Darry Wayne Hanna, 26, of Johnsonville, South Carolina, was sentenced to 440 years imprisonment for fraud stemming from the 2003 murder of his sister-in-law. A federal jury convicted Hanna on 22 counts of conspiracy, mail fraud and wire fraud after a two-week trial last February.

Darry Hanna and his brother Davy were indicted last August by a federal grand jury, alleging the brothers conspired to obtain insurance proceeds by killing Davy's wife, Teresa Hanna, the acting City Administrator of Johnsonville. Davy Hanna committed suicide days after the indictment was issued.

In August of 2005, state prosecutors tried the brothers on murder charges. However, after a two-week jury trial, the state judge directed a verdict for the defense.

The federal prosecution was based upon the fraudulent mailings and telephone calls made in an attempt to defraud the insurance companies. Under the law, known as the Slayer's Rule, someone cannot intentionally kill another person and attempt to benefit from insurance policies on the victim's life. Evidence presented at trial established that the brothers planned the murder so they could to split more than $270,000 of life insurance benefits.

At trial, federal prosecutors presented evidence that Darry Hanna executed his sister-in-law with a .22 caliber rifle as she walked to her car to drive to work. Evidence included Hanna's admissions placing himself at the murder scene; his attempts to rinse gunshot residue off of his hands by placing them in a cooler of water after being twice instructed not to do so by the police; the presence of gunshot residue found on the back of his hand; a dog tracking team picking up a scent from the victim's body to a shed at which Hanna admitted being present, and shell casings near the victim's body that matched other shell casings found behind the same shed. The Government presented 58 witnesses and over 200 exhibits during the trial.

United States District Judge Terry L. Wooten presided over the case. The case was investigated by the Florence County Sheriff's Office, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the 12th Circuit Solicitor's Office. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jonathan S. Gasser and Rose Mary Parham.