Summer camp was supposed to be part of the weeks ahead for 7-year-old Angelica Livingston.
Known to family and classmates by her middle name, Cassandra, she had just finished second grade and was excited about summer vacation. Instead, she and her grandmother, Portia Washington, disappeared from their West Columbia, South Carolina, home on June 10, 2006.
The South Carolina Court of Appeals later upheld the murder convictions of Portia’s live-in boyfriend, Kenneth Andrew Lynch, who was sentenced to two life terms without parole. Prosecutors built the case against him without recovering either body.
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Angelica Spent Her Last Known Day Near Home
The final confirmed sightings of Angelica and her grandmother came during what initially appeared to be an ordinary Saturday. Their hairstylist testified that she saw them during an appointment on June 10. Portia appeared nervous and seemed eager to leave.
Later that afternoon, a neighbor said they saw Portia unloading laundry from her car while Lynch stood nearby. Angelica stopped by the neighbor’s apartment wearing a wet bathing suit after apparently swimming in the apartment complex pool.
By that evening, something had changed.
A friend testified that Portia called around 6 p.m. and said she was going grocery shopping for the Sunday lunch they planned to share the next day. At approximately 9:26 p.m., the last known call made from Portia’s cellphone was in West Columbia.
Around 10:30 p.m., the neighbor noticed Portia’s car was gone. She also saw that Portia had left her plants outside, which struck her as unusual because she routinely brought them inside on Saturday nights.
Portia never arrived for Sunday lunch, and no one saw her or Angelica again. Family members reported them missing after they couldn't reach them. Angelica’s other grandmother, Sandra Livingston, later criticized the pace of the early investigation, telling WIS that she believed authorities had taken too long to respond.
Lynch Was Found Across the Country With Portia’s Car
Portia’s tan 2005 Ford Focus disappeared with them. Four days after Angelica and Portia were last seen, a Texas Highway Patrol officer stopped Lynch for speeding near Fort Hancock, Texas. He was alone in Portia’s car. A child’s car seat remained in the back.
According to the appellate court record, Lynch told the officer he was traveling to Arizona to pick up his wife, although he was not married. Motel records later placed him in Mississippi and Arizona as he traveled west.
By June 17, Lynch had reached the U.S.-Canada border in Washington state, where Canadian authorities refused him entry. Authorities arrested him the following morning on a grand larceny warrant related to Portia’s car.
Investigators later found the Ford Focus near a Greyhound station in Seattle. Its license plates had been removed, and an officer described the vehicle as unusually clean.
When investigators questioned Lynch, his account changed. He initially denied driving Portia’s car outside South Carolina before admitting he had taken it. He also denied knowing where Angelica and Portia were. Meanwhile, back in West Columbia, investigators found evidence inside the apartment that would later become central to the murder case.
DNA testing identified blood consistent with Angelica on carpeting, a sheet, a bedroom sink, a container, and a green chair. A bloodstain expert testified that patterns beneath the chair were consistent with an act of violence involving blunt force.
No school anywhere in the country requested Angelica’s records after her disappearance. Portia never collected her final paycheck, and her financial activity stopped.
Loved Ones Had Been Worried About Portia Before the Disappearance
Testimony during Lynch’s trial also showed that people close to Portia had become concerned about her relationship with him before she and Angelica vanished.
Friends described Portia as happy and closely connected to her family before the relationship. Her hairstylist said she became anxious after dating Lynch and encouraged her to leave him. A manager at the Ford dealership where Portia worked gave her $650 to help her find another apartment.
Portia’s mother, Sallie Jones, testified that the two spoke every day and that her daughter rarely traveled outside South Carolina. She also said Portia loved her new car and had given her the spare keys because she did not want Lynch driving it.
At the time of the disappearance, Portia was Angelica’s caretaker.
A Murder Conviction Without Their Bodies
Lynch was charged with both murders in 2008. He waived his right to a jury trial, leaving a judge to decide the case.
In May 2012, he was found guilty of murdering Angelica and Portia and of stealing Portia’s vehicle. Prosecutors sought the death penalty, but the judge instead sentenced him to two life terms without the possibility of parole, along with 10 years for grand larceny.
The South Carolina Court of Appeals affirmed the convictions in 2015.
The ruling resolved who the court found responsible for killing Angelica and her grandmother. It did not reveal where they were taken.
Angelica Livingston: What To Know
At the time of her disappearance, Angelica was 4 feet 3 inches tall and weighed about 50 pounds. She had brown eyes and black hair, which she normally wore in braids. Her birthday was July 2, 1998, meaning she would have turned 8 less than a month after she vanished.
Anyone with information that could help locate Angelica Livingston or Portia Washington can contact the West Columbia Police Department at 803-794-0721. Information about Angelica may also be provided to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST.
Please share Angelica “Cassandra” Livingston’s story as the search for her and her grandmother continues. They are our sisters, and their lives matter.
Case Number: 0612335
Agency: West Columbia Police Department
Phone: (803) 794-0721
Email:
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