Truck computer offers clues to motive in South Carolina murder, prosecutors say

Authorities in Greenwood, South Carolina, discovered a grim scene at a deserted intersection after 1 a.m. on May 7, 2023. Davis McClendon, 46, lay fatally injured near his mangled BMW sedan, about 50 feet away. His shirt and shoe were found on the pavement, and no other vehicle showed relevant damage, raising immediate questions.

Meredith Haynie, McClendon's girlfriend and Ackerman's soon-to-be-ex-wife, arrived at the scene but stated she did not witness the collision. Prosecutors would later build a murder case against Bud Ackerman, Haynie's estranged husband, who claimed the incident was accidental. However, the prosecution argued that the touchscreen computer in Ackerman's Ford F-250 pickup truck provided crucial evidence of his intent to target McClendon that night, asserting he killed him with "malice aforethought."

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It showed the pattern of what she was explaining to the on-scene investigators, Like him calling multiple times, him texting multiple times, things of that nature.

Haynie told "48 Hours" correspondent Anne Marie Green that she and McClendon had been on a date that evening. McClendon left a local club shortly before 1 a.m., and Haynie suspected he was going to meet Ackerman. Ackerman had been critical of their relationship before his divorce from Haynie was finalized and had been compulsively calling her that night. Haynie provided investigators with access to her phone, which contained text messages supporting her account of Ackerman's persistent contact.

Lead detective Lt. Matthew Womack of the Greenwood County Sheriff's Office confirmed that the text messages showed "the pattern of what she was explaining to the on-scene investigators," including multiple calls and texts from Ackerman. Within minutes of arriving at the crash site, authorities suspected Ackerman, as an oil trail led directly from the scene to his residence. Evidence also suggested Ackerman's pickup sideswiped the sedan, striking McClendon near the driver's door.

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targeting McClendon that night, and killed him with "malice aforethought."