She never came home with her sister. It seems that there may be been two suspects who were trying to rob the bank. Tipsters can also reach out on Facebook, or submit a tip anonymously online at bit.ly/3zN6rM2. Learn how your comment data is processed. Murdaugh undergoes cross-examination in his own murder trial. According to our research of South Carolina and other state lists, there were 13 registered sex offenders living in Greenwood, South Carolina as of March 04, 2023. They were still investigating new avenues, but none of them led anywhere. It's a reminder of unfinished business.". Despite this overwhelming sadness experienced by Bernetta and her family at this moment in time, the article had a profound effect on the community. 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. One of the most intriguing and promising leads in this investigation came on that Wednesday night, May 18th, when a composite sketch of a potential suspect was aired on the evening news. When asked about the rash of sexual assaults against children, he suspiciously stated that the person responsible "would know how not to get caught," at least this time. If they wanted to try him for any of those crimes, they needed a more definitive smoking gun. Nor am I criticizing those who have helped so far or those concerned citizens who have contributed to the present approximately $3000 reward. In-between the apartment's basketball court and her front door, this little girl had disappeared. "The 10 Best New Mystery and Thriller Books of December are Giving Us Literal Chills"E! After this discovery, interrogators circled back around to Hampton. One person said they saw a man running from the area between two of the apartment complexs buildings. Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in. The families and friends of those slain deserve answers, and Chaudoin said he asks investigators to revisit these open cases every now and then. 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. They had been shot. The County Bank is accepting and receipting donations. After a few days, the Director of Greenwoods Emergency Preparedness said the group would be suspending their involvement in the search and would wait for law enforcement to request further assistance before getting involved again. Charles Wade Hampton were eventually charged with Malakia's murder, but the mystery remains unsolved. 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. South Carolina Crime Stoppers View Source Square with arrow pointing upper right. CID Email Anonymous Tip Submission Crime Stoppers. The Murdaugh Murders, Money & Mystery offers an in-depth look at the unfolding criminal saga centered around disgraced former South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh. And of course, we have our legendary tale of the "swamp man.". Renee arrived home approximately 15 to 20 minutes later and it was discovered that Kia had not returned. They're going to search for other skeletal remains in identification.". "He'll get credit for time served and good behavior. But, let a Carolina or a Clemson sports event take the forefront and emotions bubble over throughout the community. She was a small girl, who had been wearing yellow shorts, a yellow-and-white polka-dot shirt, and slip-on shoes on the evening she disappeared. Tipsters can also reach out on Facebook, or submit a tip anonymously online at bit.ly/3zN6rM2. 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. We dont close out these cases because theyre so important.. We won't share it with anyone else. In 2009, the Malakia Logan Memorial Scholarship was established at Lander University, in her hometown of Greenwood, South Carolina. A follow-up news article stated how employees of the local K-Mart, so moved by Wiggins' battle cry, raised $650 within an hour. Police took Hampton out of jail, and drove him to many of the landmarks and locations from the child abductions. This was when he was transferred to a jail in Greenwood county - the same county where Kia Logan had disappeared from in 1988. Change). Investigators with the S.C. Highway Patrol ( SCHP . 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. Soon, the one-year anniversary of Kia's disappearance had come-and-gone. It is known that her friends lost track of her in the crowd so they assumed that she had a ride home and left. Zykevious Ramsey, 22, was shot early Tuesday morning on the steps of his apartment and later died while at the hospital. The composite, for all of its intrigue, led to no real suspects in the surrounding area. After 11'000 days, 30 years and 29 of those years on death row, Edward Lee Elmore was freed in 2012. Greenwood's Emergency Preparedness Director Herbert Vaughn spoke to the local press, and talked about the searches his department had helped conduct in the area on Monday and Tuesday. 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. The location of the skull was four miles east of the city of Newberry and 35 miles east of Greenwood. Dennis Beauford, one of the first deputies to arrive at the scene, stated: "It was a pretty Sunday afternoon. It was this apartment complex where, on a Sunday evening in the middle of May, everything seemed right with the world. GREENWOOD, S.C. Cody Hawkins, 24, was shot and killed May 19 about 2:50 a.m. They searched pretty exhaustively for around three weeks, unable to locate any more remains other than the skull. As former Sheriff Riley and current Sheriff Tony Davis stated: "members of the community supported the Logan family when in need, and now those funds will support those in need with educational opportunities.". In 1993, the skull was sent off to the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC for DNA testing. Unfortunately, none came, and the next day, they had to begin investigating Kia's disappearance in earnest. She, also, went missing while riding her bike very close to her home, in a public setting. Name: Date: Victims: Location : A: Sylvester Lewis ADAMS October 17, 1979: 1: South Carolina, USA: Quincy Javon ALLEN July-August 2002: 4: South Carolina, USA : John . As Hampton prepared for his five-year sentence, he was facing investigations and charges from four separate states. "As a result of interviews we are now looking for two men and two vehicles. Detectives will re-interview witnesses and relatives of victims to try and find any new leads. She didn't want to miss any potential calls from Kia. You never know if that tiny piece of information could flesh out the full puzzle. You see, in 1981, he had been arrested and convicted for the rape of a sixteen-year old, telling interrogators that his seminal fluid had been used to convict him. According to investigators, theyd managed to uncover strong evidence linking Hampton to Kias murder, including a version of events that included details only someone involved would know, which was enough for a Greenwood County grand jury to indict him on the charges. He said its unlikely that no one saw the shooter, but rather that witnesses dont feel comfortable sharing what they saw. 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. 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. Eventually, DNA testing would show that, while the same suspect was involved in all six abductions, Hampton was not the one who committed them. It had grown to a total of $20,328.68. They wanted to keep their options option, should more evidence be found against him, so they didn't want him to go free and then lose any chance at a prosecutor under double jeopardy laws. The sketch came from the witness sightings of the second person-of-interest, who had been driving the dark mid-70's model Monte Carlo. 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. If you know any information about this crime, you can contact the Greenwood County Sheriff's Department at (864) 942-8600. South Carolina is loaded with history and ghostly tales of suspense. Police were later able to link him to a farm, which was owned by a friend. Sadly, if we forget then so do others and no one should be forgotten. But that optimisim would be short-lived, as weeks began to bleed into months. It took police a while to line up the suspect description because the vehicles in-question varied based on each witness: two described the vehicle they had been abducted in as a champagne-gold Mazda, while others pointed out either a white Toyota Corolla or a white Chevy Celebrity. Greenwood city's six unsolved homicides stay a police priority, By DAMIAN DOMINGUEZ Peace stated that Hampton had falsely confessed to "one, maybe two murders in Georgia and one in Columbia. Research revealed that Lori had married Nathaniel Richardson in February of 1994 and that is where the trail grows cold. His ex-wife and girlfriend agreed on that - they often helped him dye it, during time periods that turned out to correlate with the 1995 and 1996 sexual assaults. The mid 1980's was the last contact Lori had with her family. With these two most recent homicides, the number of unsolved slayings in recent years for Greenwood County climbs to four. If you forget it, you'll be able to recover it using your email address. He also soon recanted all of his prior confessions, meaning that police had to start back from square one. Like I said, these crimes varied by location, with some taking place in Georgia and others in South Carolina. He admitted to committing three child abductions in northern Georgia and confessed to having killed a child at an out-of-state farm. Anyone with information on any of Greenwood's homicides is asked to call law enforcement at 911, or police detectives at 864-942-8407. During the investigation, police drove him around to many of the abduction sites, and while he was able to share some information, he didnt know any of the minute details the actual perpetrator would, leading them to believe he was making up his confessions. When it was finally time for Hampton to be released, he was immediately re-arrested for a warrant investigators had planned. However, they did say they would pursue new charges, should new evidence surface. 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. 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. Friends were celebrating the warm weather by swimming in the apartment pools, kids were playing outside among others their age, and families were barbecuing and picnicking in the community areas. On September 23, 1992, Dail Dinwiddie vanished into the night as she was walking along Harden Street in Columbia, SC. 5C Albert Adams, known as "New York" in the Greenline community, was shot and killed on the front porch of his apartment. I think it's important to note this, not because I definitively believe him to be the person responsible for Kia Logan's abduction or murder. When they searched his home, they found several photographs of children in underwear, as well as various photos of nude adults - including pictures of Hampton himself. 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 . 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. They all decided to put the money to good use, allowing education or nursing majors to receive the scholarship in times of hardship. In 1996, the testing of mitochondrial DNA was performed at a genetics lab in North Carolina. They had no evidence that he had actually committed the crime, but they had his confession on-record, and at the very least, he had lied to investigators and caused them to waste valuable time by pursuing him as the suspect. They had suspended the searches on Tuesday afternoon, after finding nothing in the two days out there. I am criticizing the rest of us who thrive in our community yet appear apathetic. Families were barbecuing, having picnics, and hanging out in the pool, while children were playing all around the complex. Jessica, a pretty little girl with brown hair and sparkling brown eyes went to bed on June 5, 1986, along with her two sisters. Part of me is missing and I need to find it.". Create a password that only you will remember. Witnesses said they hadnt seen Kia near the men or getting into either of their vehicles. Through interviews, police learned two or three men had come over to the house prior to the shooting. The second man proved to be of greater interest to investigators. He also had a blotchy, pockmarked face, made worse from poison ivy exposure the year prior. They had been playing basketball together when Malakia decided to go home. Every state has its unsolved mysteries and South Carolina, unfortunately, is not without its own. They were just a few hundred or so yards from their apartment, where the sisters lived with their mother, a middle school teacher. To this day, the case remains open and unsolved. Local businesses continued by making donations to the fund. His stepfather was watching him in her absence. 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. 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. I am not criticizing the authorities, who are working hard to solve the case. When the police finally arrived they found all three of the victims in a utility room in the back of the bank. He had been handcuffed, bound with duct tape, and shot in the head. At the time of her disappearance, Reinaldo Javier "Ray" Rivera, now a convicted serial killer, was attending the University of South Carolina. This would come up later in the story, so please keep that in-mind. Just like the details he provided: he knew some information about these locales, but not all of the minute details. 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. Low 44F. Earlier that night, she and a few of her friends had attended a U2 concert and afterwards went to a nightclub, then known as Jungle Jim's. At least four of the six could easily be solved if someone would step up and give us better info because they know.. A clear sky. Newberry County Sheriff Lee Foster told the media: "It was obvious that it was the skull of a child. Examining the world of solved and unsolved cases. Officers spoke with several witnesses who described the vehicle the shooters were in, but have been unable to identify any suspects. There were 14 shell casings of different makes and calibers in the area. Greenwood's law enforcement now working 4 unsolved homicides, By DAMIAN DOMINGUEZ According to investigators, theyd had a case against him since 2000 and hed, in fact, been a suspect since 1996. The murder is being investigated by the Columbia Police Department. 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 .