Accused child killer arrested in North Augusta kidnapping

NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - Already accused of killing a 3-year-old girl, a man held a woman captive for hours in a North Augusta apartment and kept her from speaking with authorities out of fear he’d be sent back to jail, according to police.

North Augusta Department of Public Safety officers arrested Daquelvin Brighthop, 27, and booked him into Aiken County jail on charges of kidnapping and second-degree assault and battery, according to jail records.

He’s the same man accused in December 2020 of murdering a 3-year-old girl by punching her in the chest and abdomen with such force and so many times that her liver was lacerated before she died.

According to court records, Brighthop appeared at a hearing but had not gone to trial yet. He was apparently still out on bond when the North Augusta incident happened three weeks ago.

In the North Augusta incident in the 100 block of Chalet North Court, a woman told police that Brighthop had threatened to kill her on Oct. 4 – and not for the first time. She said she had been upstairs when Brighthop came and punched her in the face and hit her several times, breaking her hand as she tried to defend herself, according to authorities.

Officers said the victim then told them Brighthop dragged her into the hallway, where she was able to crawl away and beat on the walls, screaming for help.

After making it downstairs, the victim heard sirens and a knock on the front door from law enforcement. She told deputies she tried to let them in when Brighthop pulled a weapon and told her not to answer, because he didn’t intend to go back to jail, according to an incident report from officers.

The victim told deputies they both sat there until units left the scene. She said he tried to clean her up, apologized and then went upstairs to lie down. The victim stated he called for her to come upstairs, and she followed.

The victim stated when she woke up in the night she tried to look for her keys, but couldn’t find them and believed Brighthop had taken them, according to deputies.

The next morning, Brighthop told the victim he was going to pick up his car. The victim reported that’s when she was able to find her keys and go to the hospital, deputies say.

In the Richmond County case, an arrest warrant alleged Brighthop “did maliciously cause a child under the age of 18, namely: she being 3 years old, cruel physical pain.” The affidavit says Brighthop punched the victim “multiple times” in her chest and abdomen, causing a lacerated liver, head trauma and bruising to her chest.

The offense occurred at 2220 Albemarle Drive, according to authorities.

Brighthop’s relationship to the girl, Candace Burke, was unclear.

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