The wooded area he was in, just off of Mount Pleasant Road - also known as S.C. 34 - is about four miles northeast of Newberry and thirty-five miles east of Greenwood, where Kia Logan had disappeared from. She said that she didn't actually see him, but his bedcovers were pulled up so she assumed that he was asleep. It had grown to a total of $20,328.68. Cold Cases | Charleston, SC - Official Website However, because of its size, they were able to determine that the victim had been thirteen years of age or younger. How can we send such a message? [6] In the past 21 years the departments digital records system goes back, there were 55 murders reported to the police. She never came home with her sister. On May 15th, 1988, all seemed to be well in the world. Results: Unresolved. Greenwood is the type of town you imagine when you think of rural America: a downtown comprised of brick buildings, a railroad track that separates the storefronts from the industrial area, and a large suburban population. The murder is being investigated by the Columbia Police Department. I am not criticizing the authorities, who are working hard to solve the case. 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. I'm going down today and make my donation and I challenge you, be you a parent, citizen or business, if you're really concerned about what happens to the children of the Greenwood Community, go down to any office of the County Bank and make your donation. Witnesses said they heard the shooting and one gave a description of a suspect but left before officers could question them further. 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. While police began a search of his home and his vehicle, he openly admitted to several things. Sending it off for testing, they had to hope that they could uncover any evidence that could help lead them to the culprit. He openly confessed to committing several of the child abductions, providing explicit details of the subsequent sexual assaults. Police were able to link Hampton to a farm owned in northern Georgia, which was owned by a friend of his. Needless to say, Charles Hampton was now on their radar. Officers did find an air pistol at a nearby street corner, along with a car with a shot-out window. Sometime in the middle of the night, a man stole her from the bedroom without waking her. 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. This means that, between the time of his plea and now, Charles Wade Hampton has likely served his time and since been released. He had a pockmarked face with pointed features, and his hair is believed to have been brownish with sun streaks. Call CrimeStoppers 843-554-1111. 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. All these cases are active. Freeman was shot at about 10 p.m. July 15, 2018 at a Sumter Street residence. "The 10 Best New Mystery and Thriller Books of December are Giving Us Literal Chills"E! You can not have good without a bad. In each crime, the suspect was described as a middle-aged white man, with some kind of gray stubble on his face and a pockmarked complexion, as well as a unique tattoo on a bicep - which some of the young victims called a "dragon," and others a "snake.". 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. They also tried to see if her disappearance was tied to other missing persons cases from surrounding states. Stephen Smith Case Reopened By Same Agency Investigating Murdaugh Murders Scary. When it was finally time for Hampton to be released, he was immediately re-arrested for a warrant investigators had planned. He also had a blotchy, pockmarked face, made worse from poison ivy exposure the year prior. While they were not considered suspects, investigators did want to question them. The City-Data.com crime index weighs serious crimes and violent crimes more heavily. It was not long until 52-year-old Charles Wade Hampton, a maintenance worker at the Hard Labor Creek State Park rest stop in Georgia and a former employee of the Department of Transportation, came onto police radar. Low 44F. Her father was the mayor of Saluda, a small town in South Carolina, and her mother was a teacher at a local middle school. That's really bad for the family. 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. DNA testing didn't match him in one of the Georgia cases. The authorities are opening a new investigation into an unsolved 2015 death as a result of information gleaned after two . He included details, some of which convinced police that he had involvement, but others they viewed skeptically. Police found him sitting on steps beside the sidewalk, bleeding from his head; an officer couldnt find his pulse. The Murdaugh Murders, Money & Mystery | Unsolved South Carolina on Chaudoin said he plans to start a monthly cold case briefing within the next few months, to share information with the public about these cases in the hopes of inspiring tipsters. Kia was a third grade student at Merrywood Elementary School. Dennis Beauford, the deputy who had responded to the incident and originally stayed the night, continued to feel a personal connection to the story. Share your news tips and story ideas with us. In the weeks since Kia had gone missing, Bernetta struggled to leave the phone for any prolonged period of time. Welldo you really need that much sleep? 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. There was no identification on them, but it was surmised they were traveling or 'backpacking'. Richard Martin Age. Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in. 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. They learned about how he constantly changed his hair color, and had driven a number of cars over the last few years: some of which included a 1977 maroon Dodge Aspen, a 1965 Chevy Bel Air, and a bronze-colored Chrysler. Alex Murdaugh Charged With Fraud After Asking Former Client to Kill Him. 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. There were 14 shell casings of different makes and calibers in the area. On October 1, 1990, Malakia's remains were found in a wooded area on U.S. Forest Service property in Newberry County. Newberry County Sheriff Lee Foster told the media: "It was obvious that it was the skull of a child. Police were later able to link him to a farm, which was owned by a friend. He said its unlikely that no one saw the shooter, but rather that witnesses dont feel comfortable sharing what they saw. Upon receiving Bernettas call, a bulletin was released, featuring the young girls description, which informed the countys officers that she was an African American female who stood at 42; weighed 60 to 70 pounds; and was wearing yellow shorts, a yellow-and-white polka dot shirt, and slip-on shoes. He was more than willing to continue talking, even answering questions about his prior sexual assault conviction from 1981. In 1993, the skull was sent to the National Museum of Natural History at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC for DNA testing, but the results were inconclusive. Upon the 1996 arrest of Charles Hampton, the string of child abductions plaguing the area of Georgia and South Carolina seemed to come to an end. The case surrounding Kias disappearance was initially investigated as a simple missing persons report. Throughout the 30+ year investigation, various leads and suspects would come and go. GREENWOOD, SC (WSPA) A rally in front of the Greenwood Courthouse brought families of nearly a half dozen murder victims together Tuesday afternoon. When officers arrived, they found two men with gunshot wounds. An initial search of the area around the apartment complex by investigators led to the discovery of Kias bicycle, which was located in the parking lot, just outside of the apartment office. Category:South Carolina | Unsolved Mysteries Wiki | Fandom At the time of his arrest, he was forty-four years old, and was driving a white 1986 Dodge 600. Charles Hampton agreed to give up blood and hair samples to investigators. Choose wisely! 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. In an idling SUV, Sherwin Gittens was found dead by police. In 1996, the testing of mitochondrial DNA was performed at a genetics lab in North Carolina. Calling them cold cases implies they're no longer active, but Chaudoin. 6 Infamous Bone Chilling Unsolved Mysteries In South Carolina The physical search didn't produce any leads or clues. The witnesses had described his hair as having a light glow to it, but they couldn't definitively see it. Rewards are being offered. They were just a few hundred or so yards from their apartment, where the sisters lived with their mother, a middle school teacher. Choose wisely! They did, however, share a similar suspect description of a middle-aged white man with grey stubble, a pockmarked complexion and a tattoo of either a dragon or a snake on one of his biceps. The first man was described as being white, older in age and with greying hair, and was seen driving a medium blue utility-type van with dark tinted windows. 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. There was a fight among a group of teenagers and several shots were fired. It's a town of roughly 20,000 people - a population level that hasn't really changed in over thirty years. About two weeks earlier, Cody Hawkins was shot in an apparent drive-by shooting May 19 on Pearl Street, close to Osborne Avenue. Greenwood, SC Area Cold Cases | SpotCrime "Cold cases" isn't the term Greenwood Police Chief T.J. Chaudoin likes to use for his department's unsolved homicides. Set in the middle of Greenwood itself, the reward fund started with a $2000 donation in her name. He recognized one of the men but wasnt able to give police a description before EMS staff arrived to treat him. Three days following Hawkins slaying, police found about 40 shell casings in the area around 526 Sumter St. Alex Murdaugh Surrenders After Trying to Fake His Own Killing: Latest Contact staff writer Damian Dominguez at 864-634-7548 or follow on Twitter @IJDDOMINGUEZ. They had reason to believe that Hampton had been responsible for some truly terrible crimes, but they had no prove any of them. This would prove to be one of the only clues found during the course of the investigation. He did not live here. Create a password that only you will remember. Police have deduced that she was killed Greenwood County and her body dumped in Newberry County. The days in which the victims were abducted varied, with three of the crimes happening on a Saturday, a Friday, and a Monday. He was described as white, between the ages of 35 and 40, 58 to 59 tall and 250 pounds. We began checking missing children cases and conducted three weeks of intensive searches for additional remains, but we didn't find anything.". What happened to little Jeremy? Hampton had been sitting in a Georgia prison at the time, and if South Carolina prosecutors tried the case at that time, they would be forced to bring Hampton to trial within 180 days. But Mr. Murdaugh, part of a prominent family of South Carolina lawyers, has denied any involvement in the unsolved killings . That's all we've got. They combed around the Georgetown Apartments for most of the night, until the lack of light eventually led to them turning it around. At the scene, people were scrambling into cars and driving off, including someone driving Hawkins to the hospital for treatment. However, three - which took place in the middle of this crime spree - took place on a Thursday. A witness spotted two men running from the area after the shooting, and they got into a small silver four-door vehicle parked at a nearby gas station. Advertisement Investigators with the Greenwood Police. The ratio of all residents to sex offenders in Greenwood is 1,836 to 1. You have permission to edit this article. Investigators in Union County asking for help in 9 unsolved murder cases Earlier that morning, his mother had checked on him before leaving for work. 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. 24 Cause of Death. According to investigators, theyd had a case against him since 2000 and hed, in fact, been a suspect since 1996. A Mother and Son Are Found Murdered, Deepening a Mystery in South Carolina. The Unraveling of the Murdaugh Dynasty: Unsolved Murders - WSJ It took over a decade, but Kia's parents were finally given answers as to what had happened ot their daughter. Does it not bother you, as it does me, that our community, with a few exceptions, seems to be showing little aggressive concern over the mysterious disappearance of one of our children, Kia Logan? These two men were not immediately believed to be suspects, but were wanted for questioning. From video footage they have been able to piece together that the car was a red Oldsmobile Alero made between 1999 and 2003. Even though you cant say I understand what youre going through, because I have not lost a child, you have to just be with them, answer the questions they have and be available to them when they need to talk and reach out to you.. Her father, Richard Logan, was the mayor of a small South Carolina town named Saluda. "It's definitely changed the lifestyle here. Sam Riley, who had been a Major in the Greenwood County Sheriff's Office, had recently been elected Sheriff. You have permission to edit this article. When they continued their rounds of questioning, Hampton was eager to talk. You see, despite being let go, he was arrested in 1996 after drilling some holes in the wall of the women's bathroom. The second man proved to be of greater interest to investigators. The family, to their credit, was steadfast in their conviction, wanting to to see Hampton in a court to face the charges levied against him. I criticize us for not raising such an uproar it would be heard across this nation .. Cold Case Files | Greenville, SC - Official Website 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. Change). Parker told police he heard a knock at the front door and opened it, then was shot by one of the two men there. There is nothing left to tell about this case unfortunately. Bernetta, the girls' mother, began looking around the apartment complex for eight-year old Kia. In all of the sexual assaults, the victim profile remained largely the same. Dennis Beauford, the deputy who had originally responded, was a Sergeant at this point in time for the Greenwood County Sheriff's Office. The investigation to find her had still gone nowhere truly productive, with police beginning to expand their search out of the area according to some in the police department, even out of the state. The sun was beginning to set, and this eight-year old climbed onto her bike to head back home. In November 2002, Hampton was transferred to a jail in Greenwood County and charged with murder, abduction and intent to commit criminal sexual misconduct on a minor, all in relation to Kias disappearance and murder. I had dreams that maybe she's been in California or somewhere all this time.". They had been playing basketball together when Malakia decided to go home. We must not forget the ones that have left us mysteriously. Then, when her family and former-sheriff Sam Riley got involved, they realized that the initial reward fund - which had been established for information - had remained untouched for around two decades. He had green eyes, with brown hair, a brown mustache, and a few days' worth of graying stubble at the time of his arrest in 1996. I am criticizing the rest of us who thrive in our community yet appear apathetic. Unsolved Murdaugh Murders Expose Years of South Carolina Mysteries Alex Murdaugh, the powerful lawyer who asked a handyman to kill him, had a spectacular fall from grace. Love South Carolina? Local businesses continued by making donations to the fund. However, police and investigators have yet to find any more of Kia Logan's remains, and remain hopeful that those will turn up some day, allowing them to fully pursue a suspect or person-of-interest in the crimes. The DNA testing from the six sexual assaults linked them together, indicating that a single suspect was behind each of the crimes - however, none of those samples matched up with Hampton himself. Her granddaughter, Ashley, had been friends with both Kia and Renee Logan, and had actually been playing with the two on the basketball court shortly before Kia disappeared. 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. Police did not share the part of town in which the shooting happened. SLED - South Carolina Law Enforcement Division Edward Lee Elmore was a black man in the town of Greenwood, South Carolina in 1982 when he was arrested for the murder of 75-year-old Dorothy Edwards, a popular fun-loving woman who was well-known in the community. Officers spoke to a witness who said they were near Hawkins when he was shot. Invalid password or account does not exist. Login; . Through interviews, police learned two or three men had come over to the house prior to the shooting. Create a password that only you will remember. He was sentenced to eight years in prison, with credit for time served and good behaviour. Name. The man was covered in blood, and Perez made the shape of a gun with his hand to show police that he and the other man had been shot. "He'll get credit for time served and good behavior. We're scraping the bottom right now.". An unsolved murder. In particular, they went after him for comments he had made between his 2000 release from prison and his 2002 re-arrest, in which he had confessed to the 1995 abduction of a five-year old girl from Richland County and the subsequent sexual assault. In the afternoons you see small children running and playing, riding skateboards, that kind of thing. Online"10 Books to Cozy Up With This December"PopSugar A popular sorority girl. Childrens underwear was also found and sent away for forensic testing. 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. After this discovery, interrogators circled back around to Hampton. Police checked for fingerprints and gunshot residue, along with pulling Parkers phone records to identify who he had spoken with. In 1990, sadly, her remains were found by a deer hunter. No one knows what really happened in that short span of time. 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. He immediately provided voluntary consent for police to search his vehicle by signing a Waiver of Constitutional Rights to a Search Warrant - a provision he also signed for a search of his home. The Disappearance of Nguyet Thu Wiki Phung, Case Update: Brittanee Drexels Remains Discovered After 13 Years, SuspectCharged, The Disappearances of Tina & BethanySinclair. At least nine unsolved murder cases in Union County have investigators asking the public . When the skull was discovered in 1990, it proved a lone clue in a vast sea of nothingness. They haven't made any positive identification yet. He admitted to committing three child abductions in northern Georgia and confessed to having killed a child at an out-of-state farm. Officers spoke with several witnesses who described the vehicle the shooters were in, but have been unable to identify any suspects. A lot of times what you hear law enforcement say is we dont want to give a lot of details out because the case is still pending, he said. On the northern outskirts of the town is the small country airport, which consists of a single elongated runway. Malakia Logan | Unsolved Mysteries Wiki | Fandom ", Newberry County Sheriff Lee Foster also shared his thoughts, referring to the active state of the investigation or rather, the lack of one: "I can't think of anything worse than losing a child to an act of violence, then on top of that losing a child which you really don't know what happened.". If you know any information about this crime, you can contact the Greenwood County Sheriff's Department at (864) 942-8600. No one was hurt when multiple shots were fired early Saturday in the area of Piedmont Avenue and Edgefield Street. There are just no leads or evidence to go on even though the police push every avenue they come across. However, one of the most interesting notes of this sketch came from a description, which noted that the suspect had a pockmarked face. Anyone with information on any of Greenwood's homicides is asked to call law enforcement at 911, or police detectives at 864-942-8407. They were able to release a composite of him, which aired on the evening news, along with a description of his vehicle, which was believed to be a mid-1970s dark blue or black Chevrolet Monte Carlo. And, if his father was a physician in Canada, wouldn't he have been looking for them? We won't share it with anyone else. In-between the apartment's basketball court and her front door, this little girl had disappeared. It hasn't been updated with any of his current information. 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. While he had previously confessed to the crime, he recanted, resulting in the rape charge being dropped due to a lack of evidence. This is the name that will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more. Police took Hampton out of jail, and drove him to many of the landmarks and locations from the child abductions. While investigators were still interviewing witnesses and scouring evidence, like video from nearby security cameras along Pearl Street, for any leads, they had to begin working on the next shooting. However, by the time the skull was forensically proven as belonging to Kia Logan, they had come across a suspect they believed was not only responsible for Kia's death, but an assortment of various sexual assaults and crimes against children. This search continued until it was too dark, but resumed the next day. Part of me is missing and I need to find it.". 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. Hampton plead not guilty almost instantly. 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. The families and friends of those slain deserve answers, and Chaudoin said he asks investigators to revisit these open cases every now and then. The crime spree began in July 1995 and carried on until August of 1996. Unfortunately, none came, and the next day, they had to begin investigating Kia's disappearance in earnest. Get Alerts Map; Browse By State; Submit a Crime Tip Square with arrow pointing upper right. Dispatchers told police several men were seen running behind a residence on Sumter street and dropping guns off. A follow-up news article stated how employees of the local K-Mart, so moved by Wiggins' battle cry, raised $650 within an hour. 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. They tried to use the dental records and skull reconstruction techniques available to them, in an effort to determine if the skull was Kia's, but nothing was positively confirmed. But, let a Carolina or a Clemson sports event take the forefront and emotions bubble over throughout the community. A forensic anthropologist with the University of South Carolina examined the skull and found it belonged to an African American child between the ages of 6 and 8.
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