Sheriff: Man Fatally Shoots Girlfriend in Head

Deputies arrested a 22-year-old man Sunday after they say he allegedly shot his girlfriend in the back of the head while they were driving to a relative's house to pick up their 13-month-old son. 

Genesis Matthew Pearson of 1838 Eloise Lane in Baltimore, Md., was charged with murder and possession a weapon during the commission of a violent crime, according to the Lexington County Sheriff's Department.

Alishia Monique Dorsey, 21, also of Maryland, died Sunday minutes after suffering a gunshot wound to the head, Lexington County Coroner Harry Harman said.

Deputies said Pearson allegedly shot Dorsey early Sunday morning while they were driving in the 2400 block of Leaphart Road near West Columbia. 

The couple was driving from their home in Maryland to the house of Pearson's aunt and uncle on Dubbs Avenue in West Columbia to pick up their son, according to the sheriff's department. The child had been staying with his relatives for about two weeks.

Officers responded to the fatal shooting call around 1:49 a.m., according to the sheriff's department. They found Dorsey lying on her back in the road in front of the home of Pearson’s aunt and uncle at 101 Dubbs Ave., Lot 45.

Pearson was standing outside the home, with blood on his shorts and shoes, according to the sheriff's department. He was not wearing a shirt.

Detectives later recovered a 9-mm handgun and one bloody shirt in a grassy area off Leaphart Road, according to the sheriff's department. The sheriff's department will conduct ballistics tests and forensics tests to determine if the handgun and bloody shirt are connected to the fatal shooting of Dorsey.

Pearson is being held at the Lexington County Detention Center while awaiting a bond hearing, according to the sheriff's department. 

Under South Carolina law, a circuit judge would have to conduct a bond hearing for Pearson in general sessions court because murder carries a punishment of life in prison. The 11th Judicial Circuit Solicitor’s Office has not yet scheduled a bond hearing for Pearson.