A twisted South Carolina family has officially pleaded guilty in the heartless, cold-blooded murder of 29-year-old Chadbourn, North Carolina native Corey Adam Soles, whose battered body was found near Green Sea Road after he went missing in early January 2023.
The Guilty Pleas
On July 10, 2025, just before jury selection was set to begin, Samantha Watts, 40, and her son Payton Watts, now 18 but 16 at the time of the crime, pleaded guilty to murder. Prosecutors say the duo orchestrated the savage killing of Soles, who was wheelchair-bound from a prior attack allegedly committed by Payton.
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Samantha Watts was sentenced to to 45 years in prison. Her son Payton was sentenced to 35 years — to be served day-for-day without parole. Jonathan Watts, 21 pleaded guilty to 1st-degree assault and battery, got 908 days credit and was sentenced to time served under the Youthful Offender Act.
Amber Watts, 23 pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact, received 6 years suspended, with 5 years probation.
Grisly Details of Corey Soles’ Death
Soles disappeared on January 10, 2023, and was found six days later near Galivants Ferry. His body was wrapped in tarps, weighted down with cement blocks, and left to rot.
According to prosecutors, the motive stemmed from a violent drug ring run by Samantha, who reportedly used her teenage son Payton as an enforcer. The attack on Soles was relentless — beaten with an iron pole while stuck in a wheelchair, left defenseless, and discarded like trash.
Two additional suspects—Ryan Porter, charged with second-degree assault and battery by mob, and Josh Brown, charged as an accessory—still have pending cases, according to wmbfnews.
