Family and friends of Trey Wright, the 16-year-old South Carolina teen shot dead in June, say his “queen bee” girlfriend helped set the tragic chain of events in motion, even if she didn’t pull the trigger.
Ashley Lindsey, Wright’s mother, and his best friend, Ethan Kirby, spoke with The Daily Mail, describing the teenage drama that ended with Wright bleeding to death on a rural Johnsonville road on June 24, 2025.
Both pointed to 17-year-old Gianna Kistenmacher, Wright’s girlfriend of just a few weeks, as the instigator.“I believe she just wanted them to fight, not for it to end this way,” Kirby told the outlet.“It was all a childish act that turned real.”
Authorities have charged Kistenmacher, the daughter of a Horry County police officer, with murder under South Carolina’s “hand of one is hand of all” law, which holds all participants in a joint crime equally responsible.
Kistenmacher was the “queen bee,” Kirby and Lindsey said
Kistenmacher, whom Kirby and Lindsey described as a “queen bee,” is among nine Myrtle Beach–area teens arrested so far. According to Lindsey, the tragedy stemmed from a tangle of egos, not a love triangle. “My son wasn’t about dumb stuff like that,” she added.
Two days before his death, Wright had called dating Gianna “a dream come true.” But on the night of the killing, she allegedly accused him of cheating while he was with relatives.
Devan Scott Raper, 19, who investigators believe pulled the trigger, joined the argument over a video call and allegedly pointed a gun at the screen. Kirby said Wright expected a fistfight, not gunfire, when the Myrtle Beach teens drove more than an hour inland.
Police allege Raper rode in one of two carloads of teens who traveled to Johnsonville to confront Wright. During the late-night encounter, he allegedly opened fire. Lindsey says her son never stood a chance. “How do you go from s—t talking to killing somebody?” she asked. “When I was growing up, kids fought with their hands. You didn’t pick up a gun.”
10 teens have been implicated in the crime
Raper remains jailed without bond at Florence County Detention Center. Another suspect, 18-year-old Hunter Kendall, is also being held. Kistenmacher and most of the other co-defendants have been released on bond or house arrest. Among those charged are Corinne Belviso, 17, and Sydney Kearns, 17. All face murder counts; no pleas have been entered as of late August. Reports say a 10th teen has been implicated and is expected to surrender to South Carolina authorities soon.
Attorney Francis Humphries, who represents Kistenmacher, disputes claims she drove the car carrying the shooter, saying she wasn’t even in that vehicle. He declined further comment.
The case has rocked Johnsonville, a small community about 45 minutes inland from Myrtle Beach. Wright’s friends remember him as a hardworking teen who loved fishing and customizing “squatted” pickup trucks.
He met several of the Myrtle Beach kids at truck shows earlier this year. Lindsey’s family has endured unimaginable loss; her brother was murdered in 2022. Now her younger son struggles with his sibling’s death. “We’re trying to hold on to each other,” she said.
Investigators continue to unravel what led nine teens to allegedly plan a confrontation that turned deadly. Kirby believes peer pressure played a role. “It had to be premeditated,” another friend told Daily Mail, noting the hour-long drive. “It’s not like [Devan] got mad in the moment.”
For now, Wright’s family wants him remembered for his humor and big heart, not the chaos that ended his life. “He loved hard,” Lindsey said. “He loved making people laugh. That’s who my baby was.”
Published: Aug 28, 2025 04:37 am