Partially buried body was found in Midlands, now man’s killer is convicted, cops say

Nearly two years after the body of a Midlands man who had been fatally shot was found partially buried behind a vacant mobile home, his killer has been convicted on a murder charge and other crimes, the Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office said Monday.

On Sept. 29, Osman Shareef Shabazz Jr., 24, was convicted of murder, possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime, and grand larceny, Sheriff Will Montgomery said in a news release.

Shabazz was sentenced to life in prison for killing Gabriel Deshawn Brisbon, the sheriff’s office said. He was given five-year prison sentences for the two other convictions, while additional charges from the arrest for ill treatment of animals and malicious injury were not prosecuted, Fairfield County court records show.

“This conviction represents justice for the (Brisbon) family and friends but it still does not bring Gabe back,” Montgomery said in the release. “I know that they still miss him and are still hurting.”

On January 31, 2021, Brisbon was last seen by his family and was subsequently reported missing to the sheriff’s office on Feb. 2, according to the release. On Feb. 5, Brisbon’s body was found in an abandoned mobile home lot near the intersection of Peach Road and U.S. 321 in Winnsboro, the sheriff’s office said.

Brisbon had been shot multiple times and his body had been partially buried, according to the release.

After he was last seen Jan. 31 at the Winnfield West Apartments in Winnsboro, Brisbon’s car was found days later abandoned in Columbia, according to the sheriff’s office.

Information on how the car ended up in Richland County was not made available.

Shabazz was quickly developed as a suspect, the sheriff’s office said. There was no word how the sheriff’s office connected Shabazz to Brisbon’s death, or a motive for the shooting.

On Feb. 5, a search began for Shabazz, the sheriff’s office said. He and two other people charged in Brisbon’s death were arrested on Feb. 11, according to the sheriff’s office.

One of Shabazz’s co-defendants, Sylvia Bacon Scott, is still facing pending charges for murder, grand larceny, malicious injury, and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime, court records show.

The Richland County Sheriff’s Department and South Carolina Law Enforcement Division assisted in the investigation, and Shabazz was prosecuted by the 6th Circuit Solicitor’s Office. William Frick was listed as Shabazz’s attorney, according to court records.