South Carolina Public Radio · SC Public Radio Staff · September 7, 2026
The South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC) says an autopsy will be performed on 66-year-old Louis Michael Winkler Jr. The S.C. Death Row inmate died shortly before 9 a.m. Monday at Kirkland Correctional Institution after an extended illness.
Winkler was convicted of murder, first-degree burglary and assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature following the 2006 shooting death of his estranged wife, Rebecca Grainger Winkler of Loris.
Winkler was out on bond for kidnapping, rape and assault charges involving his estranged wife when he kicked in her door and shot her in the face at close range in front of her teenage son. He then hid in the woods for two weeks before being arrested.