A Richland County trial is bringing national attention to the Midlands.

Three years after Mark Richardson is arrested he faces a judge and jury for a murder dating back seven years. The case is interesting because investigators have never recovered a body, but prosecutors feel they have enough other evidence to put Richardson away.               

Solicitor Barney Giese gave opening arguments in the case. “Shelton Sanders is dead,” Giese said to the jury. “The murderer disposed of his body somewhere out in this world.”

25-year-old Shelton Sanders went missing on June 19, 2001, and was never found. Despite not recovering a body, prosecutors insist they have enough evidence to convict.

The state's case is relying on testimony to prove Sanders was murdered on June 19 by Richardson with a handgun. Friends that Sanders and Richardson shared are testifying on the prosecution side, along with a couple that heard gunshots late the night of June 19.

Defense attorney I.S. Leevy Johnson says the State has not made its case and then reminds jurors about reasonable doubt. “Something just ain't right, there's something rotten in the cotton, now that's what reasonable doubt is." Johnson says this is not a murder case, “We contend this is a missing person’s case.”

Prosecutors will continue to argue their case on Wednesday morning.