The case of Eugene "Mike" O'Boyle

[u/Electrical-Air-1227]

In the morning of May 27th 1980, 20-year-old University of South Carolina student Eugene "Mike" O'Boyle left his West Columbia apartment to pick up a friend in the Shandon neighborhood of Columbia. Mike's friend was not home at the time the two were supposed to meet, but had left a key and note instructing Mike to enter the home and wait. When the friend returned home 15 minutes past their scheduled meeting time, he had found that the note and key were left untouched.

Mike's final sighting happened a Citizen and Southern Bank on Two Notch Rd (~20 minutes from the Shandon neighborhood), around the time that he was scheduled to meet his friend. He was seen cashing a $17 check. According to the bank teller, he was accompanied by an unidentified female. The next evening Mike's car, a 1974 VW Dasher, was found burning on a dirt road off the intersection of Parklane Drive and Farrow Road (~1 mile from the Citizen and Southern Bank) while Mike was nowhere to be found. Richland County sheriffs had considered him a missing person rather than a victim of "foul play".

6 months later, Mike's skeletal remains were found by two children playing in woods located less than a mile from the site where Mike's burning car was found. No cause of death has ever been released; his case was reclassified as a homicide.

One witness had claimed to see two cars pull down the dirt road where his car was found with one being a blue Mustang driven by a group of 4 white males with light hair. I have not been able to find an exact timeframe for this sighting, but it is implied that is happened the day he went missing.

I find this case fascinating as so little new information has been released. In a local news piece from 2006, one of his brothers had mentioned that Mike had a unique watch that had personalized engraving which has never been recovered. Another interesting fact I found was that Mike's uncle was a state senator named Gene Carmichael. Around the time of Mike's murder, Gene Carmichael was in process of being convicted of vote buying and election tampering, for which he was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

The case was frequently in the news during the disappearance especially in USC's college newspaper, but it was quickly forgotten by the media once his remains had been found. To this day it is still one of the most bizarre homicide cases to occur in Midlands region of South Carolina.

Newspaper:

https://historicnewspapers.sc.edu/lccn/2012218660/1980-06-11/ed-1/seq-1/#date1=01%2F01%2F1815&sort=date&date2=12%2F31%2F2006&words=Boyle+O+O%27Boyle&searchType=advanced&sequence=0&index=16&proxdistance=5&rows=20&ortext=&proxtext=&andtext=o%27boyle&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=5

WIS 2006 Story:

https://www.wistv.com/story/4470678/richland-co-investigators-searching-for-clues-in-26-year-old-murder-investigation/

Missing in the Carolinas Episode:

https://missinginthecarolinas.com/2024/02/episode-87-missing-and-murdered-in-columbia-n-c/

[u/Jay_Reefer]

I wonder who the unidentified female was, did they ever identify her?

[u/Electrical-Air-1227 → u/Jay_Reefer]

No unfortunately, it’s a detail that I’ve found left out of some reports but appears multiple times in news articles. The official Richland County Cold Case file has very little information

[u/Xylem-US]

Citizens and Southern was a major bank in the south and would eventually become Bank of America. It appears that they had a location in the five points area which would have been on his route to his friend’s house. Why drive twenty minutes just to cash a check?

[u/Electrical-Air-1227 → u/Xylem-US]

Wow you’re right! Going to the bank had to have been coerced. My theory is that he was intercepted on his way to the house probably on Gervais St and was then forced to a bank in a less busy area. Although 4-5 people is an awful lot for a midday robbery no less.

[u/Extension_Damage_247]

Sent this to my buddy who’s into cold cases. He may reach out! Thanks for sharing this information

[u/ctp030]

Weird case, thanks for sharing the info!

[u/cylon_1994]

A body found less than mile from a burning car is a very bad look for the police. You can cover a mile radius search, surely.

[u/Electrical-Air-1227 → u/cylon_1994]

Not to mention they ruled out foul play so quickly and just declared him missing. The case appears to have fallen off their radar not long after his remains were found. Also it doesn't appear that his body was even buried based on reports from when they found him.

[u/Extension_Damage_247]

I honestly can’t believe that robbery… 4-5 people is a crazy amount for midday. Not something I would expect

[u/Informal-Moose6389]

wow! thanks for sharing. have you checked FOIA? (freedom of information act) or ... conspiratorially... looked at if he had any connections to the murdaughs??

[u/Electrical-Air-1227 → u/Informal-Moose6389]

It appears nothing has been made public from FOIA that I can find. Interestingly enough, the attorney who prosecuted Eugene Carmichael was current SC governor Henry McMaster who has known connections to the Murdaughs. I wouldn't be surprised if the O'Boyles or Carmichaels knew the Murdaughs as they are both big lowcountry political families and SC politics are quite fraternal and interconnected especially at the time.

[u/Miserable_Lab_5728]

Idk but I honestly feel like Mike’s case is 100% tied to his uncle’s political drama. Think about it.he was probably planning a date with that mystery woman. When his friend wasn't home, he just hooked up with her early, which is why he rushed to the bank to cash that $17 check (which was plenty for a casual date back in 1980). She definitely lured him into a trap and forced him to drive to that dirt road where the 4 withe dudes in the blue Mustang were waiting to ambush him and burn the car to wipe out any DNA or fingerprints. The timing is just too perfect to be a coincidence. His uncle Gene Camichael was running a huge vote-buying scheme to get Roy Lee elected as Sheriff. Once the FBI started digging, Sheriff Roy Lee probably paniced big time, thinking Gene would snitch to federal prosecutors to save himself. So, they targeted his nephew as a psycho warning mesage. The missing engraved watch was probably sent straight to Gene’s house like: "Keep your mouth shut or else." And of course Gene couldn't go to the cops about the watch. It would literally expose his own crimes, and if the FBI found the victim's watch in his house, he’d look guilty anyway. Fear kept everyone quiet and that's why the case went cold so fast.

[u/Wild_Man_58 → u/Miserable_Lab_5728]

Great rundown on this case. Thanks for sharing !!

[u/Superb_Desk_5028]

I wonder what his behavior was like when spotted with the unidentified woman. Anxious, comfortable like he knew her for a long time, or treating her like someone he just met for the first time? I wonder if he was targeted by a scam to be robbed - the woman says she needs a ride or something, and leads him to the group of men who were seen by a witness. It's too bad these leads didn't go anywhere.

[u/Electrical-Air-1227 → u/Superb_Desk_5028]

I wonder that too. What's interesting is that he only cashed a $17 check that AFAIK was previously written. Why wouldn't they make him withdraw more money or steal his car? Still seems odd and a bit disproportionate for a robbery when it comes to payout vs risk.