GREENWOOD, SC (WSPA) A rally in front of the Greenwood Courthouse brought families of nearly a half dozen murder victims together Tuesday afternoon. Carolyn Kelley, the apartment/property manager that lived in the apartments with her daughter and granddaughter, had noticed a complete overhaul of the environment. Perez took police to another man lying on a concrete pad behind an apartment. Those with information regarding the case can contact the Greenwood County Sheriffs Office at 864-942-8600 or the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division at 803-737-9000. But, let a Carolina or a Clemson sports event take the forefront and emotions bubble over throughout the community. There were approximately 17,721 homicides in South Carolina between 1980 and 2019, according to the Project: Cold Case website for unsolved homicide statistics. Not only were Georgia and South Carolina preparing cases against him, but North Carolina and Florida were investigating him for similar child abductions and sexual assaults in their states. Please log in using one of these methods to post your comment: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. If you know any information about this crime, you can contact the Greenwood County Sheriff's Department at (864) 942-8600. It is the yin and yang; balance in all things. Alex Murdaugh took the witness stand on Feb. 23, Day 23 of his trial for the murders of his wife Maggie and son Paul.When Murdaugh . Cold cases and unsolved crimes in Greenwood, SC. When it was finally time for Hampton to be released, he was immediately re-arrested for a warrant investigators had planned. Both of these generated more leads of possible sightings of Kia Logan and suspects bearing a resemblance of the composite of a man wanted for questioning. In-between the apartment's basketball court and her front door, this little girl had disappeared. At around the time these sexual assaults came to an end, in the summer of 1996, police began to eye a specific sexual deviant as a potential suspect. You will receive your first email soon. An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the e-mail address listed on your account. This was in 1996, where he plead guilty to having drilled a hole into a womens restroom at a Georgia rest stop and was sentenced to five years. One man who had met the couple stated that the man, Jacques, had told him that his father was a physician in Canada. James Paul Freund (September 16, 1946 - August 9, 1976) and Pamela Mae Buckley (December 16, 1951 - August 9, 1976), commonly known as the Sumter County Does, Jock Doe and Jane Doe respectively, [5] were two previously unidentified American murder victims found in Sumter County, South Carolina on August 9, 1976. A missing persons report was filed with the county, where Kia is listed as being 4'2" tall, and weighing about 60 to 70 pounds. She hopped on her bike and began riding back to her mother's apartment - a distance no greater than three-hundred yards. Your e-mail address will be used to confirm your account. I'm not the first to ask that question and so many more than me want to know the answer. Police found him sitting on steps beside the sidewalk, bleeding from his head; an officer couldnt find his pulse. cityofgreenwoodsc.com/departments/police/submit-an-anonymous-tip. "Maybe he did it, maybe he didn't. As police tried to pinpoint the motive for Hampton's confessions, the forensic analysis they were hoping to rely on brought back an intriguing proposition. It all pointed to a very confusing puzzle, which police didn't know how to make sense of. I feel confident such an impressive reward, with the proper publicity, will help the authorities solve this mystery AND our community may well have made the solution possible. I am criticizing the rest of us who thrive in our community yet appear apathetic. Most concerning, though, were torn out magazine images of children - a discovery that made investigators think that there might be more to this deviant than meets the eye. It's a reminder of unfinished business.". On the northern outskirts of the town is the small country airport, which consists of a single elongated runway. Anyone with information on any of Greenwoods homicides is asked to call law enforcement at 911, or police detectives at 864-942-8407. Sylvia Holtzclaw was running the bank alone on Friday, May 16, 2003, in Greer, SC. Immediately, investigators became convinced that the skull could have belonged to the missing Kia Logan, who had been missing from a town roughly half-an-hour away for two-and-a-half years now. His hair was dark blonde, which could vary anywhere between blonde and dark brown. While they were not considered suspects, investigators did want to question them. They had held out hope that someone had abducted her for ransom, or perhaps - just perhaps - she actually had run away. City-data.com does not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of any information on this site. However, no evidence has been found to link him to Dail's case and interviews with him have been sadly uninformative. He was described as white, between the ages of 35 and 40, 58 to 59 tall and 250 pounds. This was a random act, which seems to be his technique.". On October 1st, 1990 - a Monday - a hunter was in an area just outside of Newberry, South Carolina. The sunny atmosphere from just a few days prior had evaporated. Invalid password or account does not exist. It was August 9, 1976, on a deserted road in Sumter County, SC, when a trucker happened upon the scene of the murders. All of their friends in the apartment complex had since gone home, so Renee knew that Kia wasn't still out there. They searched pretty exhaustively for around three weeks, unable to locate any more remains other than the skull. Police had continued to interview people within the apartment complex, hoping to learn more about these two mysterious men and any ties they had to the tenants. Upon his arrest, he proved very cooperative with law enforcement. However, the criminal trial would never come to be. There was a fight among a group of teenagers and several shots were fired. This meant that investigators now had half-a-decade to try and work out a case against him. DNA testing didn't match him in one of the Georgia cases. It began to seem to police like he was making things up as he went along, but they were constantly reminded by the facts that something was amiss. Police have deduced that she was killed Greenwood County and her body dumped in Newberry County. The Murdaugh Murders, Money & Mystery offers an in-depth look at the unfolding criminal saga centered around disgraced former South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh. With the searches beginning to run dry, a reward fund for information was established by Tuck Wooten, the head of the A.M. Tuck Inc. concrete company. Investigators with the S.C. Highway Patrol ( SCHP . This is the name that will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more. Between the 2002 indictment and this, he had accrued nearly five years of time served. Over the next week, the letter written by Dr. Wiggins inspired many to pledge support to the Malakia Z. Logan Reward Fund. Coroner IDs man killed in Greenwood shooting, Greenwood police identify suspect in Taggart Avenue slaying, Father of firsts: Man's life is a walk through Black history in Greenwood, Greenwood man gets 23-year sentence in death of 18-month-old, Calhoun Falls man faces federal drug count, PTC Foundation lacing up sneakers for Spring Forward 5K, Pi Day Lecture at the Arts Center of Greenwood, EAA and AMA sponsors Build and Fly project. With these two most recent homicides, the number of unsolved slayings in recent years for Greenwood County climbs to four. It was this apartment complex where, on a Sunday evening in the middle of May, everything seemed right with the world. They had been shot. Low 44F. While in a Georgia prison, investigators in North Carolina and Florida were looking at Hamptons potential involvement in similar abductions and assaults in their states, as the abductions stopped as soon as he was locked up. The City-Data.com crime index weighs serious crimes and violent crimes more heavily. Between July 1995 and August 1996, authorities in Georgia and South Carolina were investigating a string of abductions and sexual assaults of young Black children along a specific state highway. At the time of his arrest, he was forty-four years old, and was driving a white 1986 Dodge 600. Police have deduced that she was killed Greenwood County and her body dumped in Newberry County. Prosecutors there had been building a case against Hampton since the summer of 2000, but chose not to bring it forward because of an interstate agreement between Georgia and South Carolina. Kia was dead. South Carolina's unsolved mysteries Greenville, SC 29601 62 Light Rain 90% MORE No Alerts & Closings in Your Area Sign Up to Get Future Alerts 1 / 2 Advertisement TOP PICKS South. Her father was the mayor of Saluda, a small town in South Carolina, and her mother was a teacher at a local middle school. Login; . They had been playing basketball together when Malakia decided to go home. Newspaper reports indicate that she was born with two holes in her heart, but she would turn out to be stronger than she knew. And, if his father was a physician in Canada, wouldn't he have been looking for them? Unfortunately, this didn't seem remiss and then in 2007, her mother passed away and that is where the story begins. The witness saw three young men in the car, and when officers checked near the church they found a pair of shoes that matched a sole imprint at the scene. It has been over a decade since there was any news or developments in the investigation, with it seeming to entering the pantheon of cold cases which will likely never be truly solved. He stated about the confirmation of the skull belonging to Kia: "I felt for a long time that the skull was hers, but I hoped it wasn't. It wasn't until the third or fourth crime that police began to link the crimes together, when the suspect descriptions began to slowly align with one another. Police were later able to link him to a farm, which was owned by a friend. "The 10 Best New Mystery and Thriller Books of December are Giving Us Literal Chills"E! By Thursday, May 19th, the mood in the Georgetown apartment complex had changed dramatically. A clear sky. But, rather, because he has said some very damning things about himself and committed some criminal acts, none of which would paint him as a flattering neighbor. On Sunday, July 17, 1966, a brutal triple murder took three lives in Henderson County, N.C. To this day, after-effects from the grisly slayings of Vernon Shipman, Charles Glass and Louise Davis. It was a crime where no sexual assault had taken place, but centered around the abduction of a seven-year old victim in 1995. ddominguez@indexjournal.com. Greenwood Police Chief T.J. Chaudoin said he keeps a file in his office of the departments unsolved homicide cases, to keep them fresh in his mind and revisit them when he can. Somewhere out there is someone who knows something about each one of these mysteries and it is up to us to not let them grow cold. The documentation for this case included a lead sheet filed in April 2020, where an officer detailed dozens of interviews done in this case, along with tips detectives have followed up on. He had been handcuffed, bound with duct tape, and shot in the head. On May 15th, 1988, all seemed to be well in the world. He has a folder in his office with the reports on each of these cases, and he said hes read some of them upwards of 15 times. In 1996, the testing of mitochondrial DNA was performed at a genetics lab in North Carolina. Within the year, the Malakia Z. Logan Reward Fund had topped $20,000, for any information that would lead to answers for the missing eight-year old. Unidentified Remains The SLED Forensic Art Unit assists local law enforcement agencies in Unidentified Remains cases. Despite the charges being dropped in relation to Kias murder, Hampton was convicted on obstruction of justice in relation to the Richland County case and his alleged false confessions. He spoke about the skull as well, stating about his communication with the Newberry County Sheriff's Office: "We were in contact with them yesterday and we will be in contact with them again today. That's all we've got. Officers spoke with several witnesses who described the vehicle the shooters were in, but have been unable to identify any suspects. On June 22, 2007, the prosecutor announced that the charges against Hampton would be dropped, citing a lack of evidence to corroborate his prior confession. Another witness suggested it could have been a drive-by shooting. Despite this overwhelming sadness experienced by Bernetta and her family at this moment in time, the article had a profound effect on the community. However, they were not positively identified until 1998, ten years after she vanished. "Cold cases" isn't the term Greenwood Police Chief T.J. Chaudoin likes to use for his department's unsolved homicides. Let's send the message forth: "Greenwood County folks get right upset when one of their children is criminally abused. Choose wisely! At this point, police were convinced it belonged to Kia, but were unable to positively conclude this, despite using dental records and the skull reconstruction techniques made available to them. Three other people were shot that day and taken to the hospital by others, but many in the crowd said they saw nothing and police couldnt confirm the nature of the shooting. The searches and canvass of the apartment complex continued on into Tuesday, but police wouldn't release another public statement until May 18th - Wednesday. Investigators had been pursuing clues as far away as California, and trying to tie Kia's disappearance to other stories of missing children in the surrounding states. He said its unlikely that no one saw the shooter, but rather that witnesses dont feel comfortable sharing what they saw. What happened to little Jeremy? Part of me is missing and I need to find it.". Five people in his. Police have shared that Kias abduction was a crime of opportunity, and that Hampton did not know the young girl. However, one of the most interesting notes of this sketch came from a description, which noted that the suspect had a pockmarked face. Homicides dont get closed. "The case is 19 years old; the family has been living with it for 19 years. And of course, we have our legendary tale of the "swamp man.". But Mr. Murdaugh, part of a prominent family of South Carolina lawyers, has denied any involvement in the unsolved killings . Witnesses said they hadnt seen Kia near the men or getting into either of their vehicles. In the afternoons you see small children running and playing, riding skateboards, that kind of thing. Every state has its unsolved mysteries and South Carolina, unfortunately, is not without its own. Here, the skull would be confirmed as belonging to Kia Logan, with the FBI forensic investigators theorizing that Kia had originaly been killed in Greenwood County and then later dumped in Newberry County. "We're also looking for a faded dark blue or black Monte Carlo, a mid-70's model. Police have long theorized that the abduction - and later murder - of Kia Logan was a crime of opportunity. That was when police announced that they were looking for two men, who had been seen in the vicinity of the Georgetown apartment complex late Sunday afternoon. In 2009, the Malakia Logan Memorial Scholarship was established at Lander University, in her hometown of Greenwood, South Carolina. Most South Carolinians Have Never Heard Of This Fascinating Auto Museum, People Are Going Crazy Over The Handmade Monster Biscuit At This Tiny South Carolina Restaurant, Explore An Island From 700 Feet Above On This Helicopter Ride In South Carolina, Paddling Through The Hidden Wadboo Creek Is A Magical South Carolina Adventure That Will Light Up Your Soul, Donald Pee Wee Gaskins, One Of Americas First Serial Killers, Got His Start In South Carolina, The Dark History Behind This Tiny Town In South Carolina Will Never Be Forgotten, Dukes Mayonnaise Was Invented At This Old, Charming Two-Story Ruin In South Carolina From The Early 1900s, The Terrifying South Carolina Lowcountry Road Trip Is Haunting Good Fun. They were both prepared to pursue the death penalty in the upcoming criminal trial, which they were allowed to for any kidnapping or sexual assault charges when the victim was eleven years old or younger. This would prove to be one of the only clues found during the course of the investigation. However, three - which took place in the middle of this crime spree - took place on a Thursday. 24 Cause of Death. Just like the day of the week, the timing changed, as well: some victims were abducted as early as 12:45 in the afternoon, while others were abducted as the sun began to set: seven or eight o'clock at night. The shooting on Sumter Street happened at 8:45 p.m. May 22, and while a car and two apartments were damaged, no one was injured. By September 15th, Kia had been missing for four months. 8th Circuit Solicitor Jerry Peace, who had replaced William Townes Jones in the preceding half-decade, had plenty to say about this decision. Get Alerts Map; Browse By State; Submit a Crime Tip Square with arrow pointing upper right. It is what life is made of. Sometime in the middle of the night, a man stole her from the bedroom without waking her. Little else could be determined of the victim or how they had died, as the skull showed no signs of obvious trauma or any bullet holes. Police would find out what happened to this little girl over the years, but it would take time, advancements in DNA technology, and the persistence of dedicated investigators. It happened around 9:15 p.m. at a home. When you get a case like, for example, in 2006 if we havent developed any suspects then I think we need to release a little more information and try to bring a little more to the board and see if we get some more probability of striking someones memory.. Set in the middle of Greenwood itself, the reward fund started with a $2000 donation in her name. She said that she didn't actually see him, but his bedcovers were pulled up so she assumed that he was asleep. I have to ask that if you or someone you know knows anything about any one of these cases, please contact your local police department as soon as possible. When does she have the time, you ask? The killings also led the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division to open a new inquiry into the unsolved death of Stephen Smith, a 19-year-old whose body was found on a rural road in the area in . Bernetta, the girls' mother, began looking around the apartment complex for eight-year old Kia. His height was listed in the range of 5'8" or 5'9", and he was of slight build, in the weight range of 150 pounds. One of those cases was Stephen Smith a 19-year-old man from Hampton, S.C. who was found dead in the middle of Sandy Run Road on July 8, 2015. One way is to make the amount of the reward really impressive and/or tempting. When human remains are found and the identity of the deceased person is unknown, this unit provides artistic renderings of what the victim/person may have looked like in life. In-between her 1988 disappearance and the 1998 confirmation that the skull belonged to her, they had prepared for the worst but anticipated Kia returning home. Remember, this is before the trial of OJ Simpson, so DNA testing was very much in its infancy. I had dreams that maybe she's been in California or somewhere all this time.". 1-888-CRIME SC (1-888-274-6372) Police did not share the part of town in which the shooting happened. On October 1, 1990, a deer hunter was walking along a pasture in a wooded area on US Forest Service Property in Newberry County, South Carolina. Another description was vague, calling it simply an older model white compact or subcompact with blue interior. Childrens underwear was also found and sent away for forensic testing. The best hidden gems and little known destinations - straight to your inbox. Some parts 2023 Advameg, Inc. Crime rate in Greenwood, South Carolina (SC): murders, rapes, robberies, assaults, burglaries, thefts, auto thefts, arson, law enforcement employees, police officers, crime map, Crime rate in Greenwood, South Carolina (SC). Can't we show at least as much concern for the fate of a child? Anyone with information on those cases is urged to call law enforcement. Unsolved Mysteries Wiki 1,914 pages Explore Netflix series Episodes Case-Files Contributing in: United States South Carolina Category page Edit This Category is reserved for Unsolved Mysteries cases that occurred on South Carolina. Get more stories delivered right to your email. Despite that, police wouldn't have any real leads to follow up on until October of the next year, 1990. During these searches, they uncovered many out-of-place items, as well as images of nude women and adults, a pornographic magazine, torn-out magazine images of children and several photographs of children in their underwear. Sending it off for testing, they had to hope that they could uncover any evidence that could help lead them to the culprit. Six have gone unsolved. Low 44F. Use at your own risk. In his vehicle, police found many out-of-place items: things such as clothing, toilet paper, the marriage certificate of him and his ex-wife, etc. South Carolina is loaded with history and ghostly tales of suspense. Share your news tips and story ideas with us. The ratio of registered sex offenders to all residents in this city is lower than the state average. Many of these details matched up with what police had heard from the victims themselves - but others did not. It just stops as if she evaporated into the hot southern air of South Carolina. We won't share it with anyone else. Other paranormal phenomena are also regularly reported here. The days in which the victims were abducted varied, with three of the crimes happening on a Saturday, a Friday, and a Monday. In fact, police noted that he might have been a little TOO eager at times. Pity us if we don't! Bernetta spent a few minutes searching the area around the apartment complex, but when she couldnt find her daughter, she called the Greenwood County Sheriffs Office to report her as missing. They were still investigating new avenues, but none of them led anywhere. "Reading his statement, you'd think that only the person who did that would know those details. Sadly, South Carolina and other states in the United States have hundreds, if not thousands, of unsolved cases. Complete the Cold Case Tip Form (PDF). What he had told them was intriguing at face-value, but there was nothing incriminating: it was as-if he was saying enough to keep police on-the-hook, but not enough to actually be charged with any crimes. Speaking about the indictment, longtime Greenwood County Sheriff Sam Riley stated: "There was no relationship between him and Kia. Trending pages Kari Lynn Nixon Dana Satterfield Superbike Motorsports Murders Jessica Gutierrez Michele Whitaker I'm thinking in terms of fifty or a hundred thousand dollars for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible a reward made up of contributions from those who really care, in amounts affordable to them parents, concerned citizens and businesses. These tips carried the investigation outside the Greenwood area, with investigators pursuing leads to as far away at California. Three days following Hawkins slaying, police found about 40 shell casings in the area around 526 Sumter St. Peace stated that Hampton had falsely confessed to "one, maybe two murders in Georgia and one in Columbia. "Every time I open up the evidence room door, I see the bike and it's haunted me. More than 20 shell casings of three different calibers were found in the road, along with a .45-caliber handgun in a mulch pile near where Hawkins was shot. Police and prosecutors seemed certain at the time of this indictment - November 6th, 2002 - that Charles Hampton was responsible for the abduction and murder of Malakia Zali Logan. They wanted to take their time, and waited until his holding period for the 1995 warrant was nearing its end to finally strike. However, because of its size, they were able to determine that the victim had been thirteen years of age or younger. Police were beginning to become certain that Hampton had simply been lying to them in order to obtain special privileges: such as trips outside of jail, meals, coffee, and cigarettes. Scary. Invalid password or account does not exist. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. It is believed that the subjects were attempting to rob his neighbor's apartment. Detectives will re-interview witnesses and relatives of victims to try and find any new leads. Through the rest of the year, police would remain relatively silent as to where their investigation stood. Your e-mail address will be used to confirm your account. Unfortunately, the searches came up with no sign of Kia, or any clue as to what had happened to her. There was no identification on them, but it was surmised they were traveling or 'backpacking'. There were witnesses that say they saw a white male whose face was pockmarked driving an older model, dark, Monte Carlo, but none of them ever saw Malakia with him or any other suspicious activity. BATESBURG-LEESVILLE, S.C. (WIS) - Two men died in a shooting Friday night in Batesburg-Leesville, police confirmed. Nor am I criticizing those who have helped so far or those concerned citizens who have contributed to the present approximately $3000 reward.