Overview

• Donnie Ray Birchfield Jr., 35, was arrested Aug. 1 and faces 16 counts including false imprisonment, exploitation and abuse of vulnerable adults, domestic violence and financial crimes, and he is held on a $150,000 bond.
• Police opened the case July 25 during an unattended-death call at his Lancaster home, where a woman was found dead with signs of physical abuse and lack of medical care.
• Warrants describe the deceased woman and her husband as vulnerable adults in his care and say two other women in relationships with him were also confined, with one at the home since 2015 and another since September 2024.
• Charging documents allege he controlled when victims could eat and use the bathroom, restricted their phone access and movements, and assaulted one woman with repeated strangulation and threats to kill her.
• Authorities say he used victims’ money for personal expenses, including taking more than $11,800 from the couple’s account this year and making at least $2,000 in Walmart purchases since 2021.