July 2, 2025 • 30 mins
Summary
In this episode, Joel Davis explores the life and crimes of Pee Wee Gaskins, a notorious serial killer known as 'The Meanest Man in America.' The conversation delves into Gaskins' early life, his manipulative nature, and the chilling details of his murders, including the infamous case of Rudolph Tyner, whom he murdered using a bomb while in prison. The episode concludes with Gaskins' execution and reflections on his legacy of fear and manipulation.
Takeaways
Joel Davis expresses gratitude for listener engagement and feedback.
The podcast aims to provide detailed accounts of true crime stories.
Pee Wee Gaskins was known for his manipulative and violent behavior.
Gaskins' life in prison was marked by his influence among inmates.
He orchestrated a murder from inside prison using a bomb.
The case of Rudolph Tyner highlights Gaskins' cunning nature.
Gaskins showed no remorse for his actions, even at the end of his life.
His autobiography became a controversial bestseller after his execution.
The prison system reevaluated its protocols following Gaskins' actions.
Gaskins' legacy is one of fear and calculated evil.
Sound Bites
"I got a new name for you guys."
"He agreed, but there was a price now."
"He had pulled off the unthinkable."
Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Community Engagement
01:33 Housekeeping and Listener Feedback
05:08 The Case of Pee Wee Gaskins
06:00 Trials and Convictions
10:25 Life in Prison and Influence
12:46 The Plot to Kill Rudolph Tyner
17:02 The Execution of Pee Wee Gaskins
20:25 Reflections on Evil and Legacy
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
What is going on? You can't make this BS up
family. That's right.
I got a new I'm going to go I'm coming up with a new name for
you guys. I'm going to put it in the poll.
I don't know if y'all want to call yourself the 9 BS crew or
no BS crew. We're going to figure it out,
(00:22):
but I want to tell everybody, thank you so much for the
interaction that I've been having on the podcast on these
episodes lately. I want to say thank you so much.
I got some comments from YouTuberecently, and I'm definitely
(00:44):
going to read that to you guys. And I also got some compliments
on the podcast side of Spotify finally, which is cool.
So hopefully we can keep continuing to get the
participation up. I also got some merch that I'm
(01:06):
going to be working on soon. As soon as I design it, I'm
going to buy me a shirt and I'm going to wear it to promote it.
So hopefully we can get enough merch that people can be on
board. We also going to be, I'm trying
to see if I want to do like a merch box where you guys can get
(01:28):
it in a bundle where you get, you know, like, you know, a
Tumblr, a shirt or maybe some socks, something like that.
I don't know yet. I'm going to have to like
literally figure this out. Me and my wife are probably
going to do this together. Whatever.
So this podcast is being recorded actually on a Tuesday
night. I'm going to try to hook you
(01:48):
guys up with all of everything that's supposed to be coming
forth, especially another Black Friday Prime as well.
And also I am going to put another episode on my paid
subscription. Also start checking out my sub
stack. On my sub stack I will be doing
(02:09):
personal articles about recent cases and news events that's
caught that's talking about truecrime or even scams.
So y'all guys can check that out.
Follow your boy show support. I have not done a paid
subscription on that platform yet.
We want to see how the followersgo to get enough followers will
(02:30):
start offering the paid subscription on that.
I'm trying to make this into a business, OK, A business to
where you guys can actually enjoy the fact that we really
are trying to horn our crap overhere.
So without further ado, we are going to do some housekeeping.
(02:52):
Like always. We're going to talk about the
new latest comments. You know, we do that first of
what people have stated about the episodes and then after that
we will jump back into finishingup the 5th and final installment
of Peewee Gas, The Meanest Man Alive.
(03:13):
So let's jump into the latest comment.
This comment here is brought to you by out of the tragic case of
Brianna Williams. That was an episode that we did
man. What episode was that?
(03:34):
Because that was like great. That was a crazy episode by the
way. Anyway, give me one second that
was I'll start putting these episodes at the end, the numbers
on the ends now so y'all can kind of get an idea where we at
because we're at episode 31. So we are getting there.
I want to say that had to be like episode 20.
Something about what happened with the Brianna Williams case.
(04:00):
I know it was very sad because everybody was blown away that
this lady had lied to the policeabout what happened to her
daughter. My I, I was fascinated from this
case from the beginning because I am a probably a military guy.
So let me go and show you tell you what the comments is so I
(04:21):
don't get sidetracked. Sorry about it.
I'm probably get sidetracked. It says this is from Brad Bradt.
He did this about a day ago. He said I've heard this case
before, but this is the best I've heard it so much more
detail to the store. And my reply to Bradt was thank
you so much. I also gave him A to tell him to
(04:45):
please also rate and follow the podcast.
And so Bra Brett, I really appreciate that because what we
do over here, we try to take ourtime and give you the facts
because there is so much that I feel like detail that needs to
be addressed when you doing these true prime stories.
(05:09):
People want all the facts. They want the dates, they want
everything that you could possibly give them So they could
be like, I, I can relate to this, you know what I'm saying?
So that's why we do it. And we want to say thank you so
much for taking the time out to put that there on the next
comment that's coming up. And this is from one of my from
(05:36):
the Pee Wee Gaskins episode. The last one we did, which was I
was a shock. Did I even got someone that was
so into this episode that and this is from a young 1.
I did not even know this young and y'all listen, I won't let
(05:58):
parents know. I do promote that that you know
that so my material is not PG13.There's a little rated R.
So if your kid is on my podcast listening to this, I ain't
encouraging it. This is what his remarks was.
(06:18):
His remarks was I live in the town.
He committed and this is from Cypress system by the way, and
Cypress system. He said I live in the town and
he committed all his atrocities in my grandfather, played pool
with him at a place called the White Horse and saw the inside
of Gaskins hearse and his personal graveyard was behind my
(06:40):
cousin's grandma's childhood home.
My response was old who? I'm glad you shared that with
me. Did you ever interact with him?
And he said he died before I wasborn.
I'm 16, but my grandfather told me a lot about him when I
(07:04):
started asking questions. My grandfather is still alive so
I definitely so I'm going to asksome more.
OK dude, that's cool man and thank you for your support
Cypress system. I hope that you like the last
installment that we coming with tonight.
All right y'all, enough of all the housekeeping rules.
(07:24):
Remember, like I said before, drop comments.
It helps the algorithm of this broadcast.
So please rate the show. It only take but a few minutes
to rate the show. OK, all right.
If you don't feel like it's a five star, just leave me a
comment instead. But if you do like this show,
(07:46):
please give it 5 the most stars,5 stars.
We need it. All right y'all.
So where we left off is Pee Wee Gaskins has left a trail of
nothing but Cornish in his weight.
He don't kill 6 people on the last episode already.
(08:08):
I mean he is knocking them off like they are bowling ball pins
and he is one of the top bowlersin the league.
And now we're going to go to themeat potatoes of how he
transferred from getting life inprison to being on death row
(08:28):
with this final murder and othermurders that he will confess to
and show the dead bodies of. So let's get back to Pee Wee
Gaskins, the 5th and final chapter of the Meanest Man in
America. So before Donald Henry, Pee Wee
(08:49):
Gask did his last murder in a maximum security prison, he was
already serving multiple life sentence.
And these weren't based on speculation of fear.
They were built on hard evidence.
So there was multiple bodies, trails of witnesses, testimonies
that even Gaskins wasn't even prepared for or could get rid
(09:13):
of. But we are going to talk about
the trials first before we talk about the murder that happened
at the prison. So in 1975, following the murder
of Silas Yates, investigators begin to connect Gaskins to a
series of disappearances in South Carolina local.
The key break came when a witness who helped bury one of
(09:36):
the victims, fearing he would benext, went to the police.
That took investigators to Gaskins properties in Prospect,
South Carolina. There, they unearthed A shallow
break, 1 by 1. The remains of Diane Neely,
Avery Howard, Dennis Bellamy andJohn Henry Knight will recover.
(10:02):
The evidence was overwhelming. Bullets matched Gaskins
firearms, and the forensic results confirm the victim's
identity. Gaston was arrested in 1976, and
he was charged with multiple counts of murder.
Now, let me let you know. In South Carolina, they're not
(10:23):
called prosecutors. They call solicitors, so I'm
going to say solicitors. All right, so the solicitors had
more than just bumps. They had eyewitnesses, ballistic
evidence and more damning Gaskins own loose lips.
Cause see, he bragged in jail. That's right.
(10:44):
O Phoebe was like in jail. Like you know, they got me for
all those murders. Well, I did it.
Oh yeah, I did the murder. They deserved it.
That's all it is. I don't even know why they're
even acting like this is such a big deal.
You know, it's either kill or bekilled as I was, as I was doing
(11:07):
it out here, man. Man just did not kill.
So during the trial, when the court heard about Gaskins
methods, the manipulation, the premeditation, the cover ups,
the jury sat through the graphicforensic evidence, testimonies
from family members of the victims in chilling details
(11:28):
about how the bodies were buriedand why.
The solicitor portrayed Gaskins not as a serial killer, but a
predator who killed to protect himself, a man who murdered out
of calculation and compulsion. And the jury had agreed.
(11:49):
So in 1976 Gaston was sentenced to life in prison for the
murders of Dionne Neely, Diane Neely, I mean Avery Howard,
Dennis Bellamy and John Henry Knight charges for the Kim
Gilkin which I was the 13 year old girl that we talked about
(12:11):
and others were pending on clothes in the plea deals.
South Carolina didn't yet have the death penalty reinstated or
gases may have been executed then and there, but it still he
was shipped off to Central Correctional Institution as a
life and he sure was not remorseful and he was still
(12:35):
there and once again he was going to have the opportunity to
kill someone behind the prison wall.
So let me go up here. Pull that one up.
All right. So as Pee Wee Gaskin started
serving his time, he was not just another inmate, OK, serving
(12:55):
a life Senate. He was a man with a reputation
among the inmates. They looked at him as a legend,
a killer who cried, stretched across counties, decades and
even inside the just the justicesystem itself.
And so him being sentenced to life in prison was just to Pee
(13:16):
Wee were like another day in thepark.
Now behind the wall, Pee Wee gasses cultivated influence.
He ran errands for the guards right?
He acted as a jailhouse informant.
He was a go in between for the inmates in the outside world.
He was a hustler. He was always figuring out a way
(13:40):
to his self busy. OK, but there's one more thing
that he, we Gaskins, was always watchful for and ready to do.
An opportunity to kill. So it's in 1982, right?
Gaskins has been in prison now for roughly about 8 years.
(14:05):
No, not 8 years. I would say six years, roughly
about six years. So he came in contact with a
young death row inmate named Rudolph Time.
Now Tyner was only 23 years old and he was convicted of
murdering an elderly white couple, Bill and murder Moon
(14:28):
doing a robbery at the country store in Myrtle Beach.
Shout out to Myrtle Beach. This before Myrtle Beach was
like this extra extra popping tourist spot.
They had country stores all along the way, especially when
you going towards Ori camp. Now they son Tony Simo.
He wanted revenge, he wanted real revenge.
(14:52):
He felt like that just as an oldboy being sentenced to to death
wasn't the mood. So Tony contact someone who he
knew could get things done behind bars and through his
associates they told the man talk to Pee Wee.
Pee Wee gasps. The message was clear, China
(15:14):
needed to die and Gaskins he agreed.
But there was a price now and hewas ready to make it happen from
inside death row. Y'all hold on, my dog's barking
now. How do you murder someone while
you supposed to be under 24 hoursurveillance in one of the most
(15:37):
secure prisons in the country? Well, let me rewind that now.
You all remember this is before they had all this video cameras
and all that stuff we talked about back in the early 80s.
So basically you, you had to rely on the sight of the guards.
But then again, even with that, y'all also know in any prison
(16:00):
back then that was what you calla lot, lot of blind spots and
protocols wasn't as sharp as it was back then.
But we'll we'll talk about that another time.
So let's jump into what they did.
So P we had to be creative. So the first thing P we tried
(16:22):
was the poison time because, youknow, you got to get close to
Tyner and be good buddy buddy with him and he tried to put
cyanide into his food, but that that plane didn't work out.
Tyner either didn't digest enough or was immune to its
taste. So that's when you know, gaskins
(16:45):
like, you know what? We we want to do something else.
We want to go we want to go a little bit more violence.
We're going to have to rely on explosive.
Yeah, I just that's what I just said.
You got they going to rely on explosive And I'm feeling on
bring up Rudolph Tyner's picturebecause I want to make sure that
(17:08):
y'all are knowing who this who this guy is and I'm going to try
to see if I can find a good picture.
Oh, I don't think there's reallya big a good picture of Rudolph
Tyner. So I'm going to have to go with
what the one they said in the book, how he looked.
(17:29):
So I do know that Rudolph Tyner when I was also doing my
research that this guy also had mental disability.
I do, I do know that I do know that a lot of people in his
immediate family service said hewas not that smart at all.
(17:54):
So so I'm going to show you all this is this is Rudolf Tyner.
This is how he looks. This is the target for for
Peewee. So he managed to smuggle of all
materials into the prison. Now, some people say he got a,
(18:14):
some say he got it from through a network of corrupt guards,
outside contacts, and some said even woodshop.
A legend. OK, he assembled A cruel but
deadly device inside an intercomspeaker, something Tyner would
never suspect. And then he revert.
(18:35):
He revert. He rehearsed the con over a
prison line. Gasket convinced Tyner that he
was going to communicate via intercom as part of some secret
smuggling operation, and China took the bait.
Because y'all remember, criminals are intrigued if
there's a way that they can smuggle, smuggle some things
(18:57):
without, no, you know, without getting caught.
And it was just he took it. So on the night of September
12th, 1982, Gaskets passed the wire intercom speaker to China
through a small opening between the adjoining cells.
He told China to plug it in. He said they would need to test
(19:24):
the line. Time to hesitate.
Yo man, people, you think this shit say man, you know, I mean,
this is like not a normal intercom line.
What if something could go wrong, Pee Wee?
And you know how Pee Wee said his voice?
Come on, Rudolph, I'm your buddy.
(19:47):
We got to get this thing done, right, Right.
You need that contraband in yourself, right?
Take my advice, my friend. This is something that's going
to benefit both of us down the line, man.
So time to finally push the pluginto the wall socket.
And in an instant, they heard a.That's right, it was.
(20:15):
Actually aloud and it ripped through the cell, killing Tyner
instantly. It was one of the first recorded
use of a remotely detonated mom inside AUS prison and Gaskins.
He sat back in his cell and smiled.
(20:37):
He had put off the unthinkable. A death row hitman job executed
with chilling precision. Man, authorities were pissed and
stunned. Investigators quickly uncovered
the truth and the plan unveiled unraveled fast.
(20:57):
And they flipped 1 of Gaskins prison associates who gave them
everything, who was singing likea Canary.
He was like, yo-yo, yo-yo, this,this, this.
I tell you, I'd always do it, man.
OK, Tony. Tony.
The, the, the, the parents, the son of the parents that Rudolph
(21:17):
Tonic killed, man, they, they, they called for Pee Wee bro.
They, they was like, yo, Pee wee, we need you.
I need you to do this man. And, and he gave him a certain
amount of money. You know, that's how things
went, bro. Like, I didn't know people were
going to do this. I thought it was a con with
another con, not a actual death sentence.
(21:41):
And then they got Gaskins conviction as well.
You know Gaskins. Yeah, I did it.
He had to go. I mean, I was getting paid for a
job. And, you know, he killed that
boy's mother and father, even though he killed way worse.
But I digress. So with this going on, the FBI
(22:04):
had wired the prison line in advance.
They captured people describing the bomb in his own voice.
Yeah, it was crazy. So in 1983, Gaskins stood trial
once again, this time for the murder of Rudolf Tyner.
The evidence was overwhelming. The jury didn't need long.
They found him guilty, first degree murder and sentenced his
(22:26):
ass to death. It was the second time Gaskins
had killed while in prison. For the first time, the state
was finally ready to make him pay with his life.
That's right. Because remember we talked about
last time he killed someone in prison?
It was when he was younger. He killed the guy, but it was
(22:50):
really he got away with it because it looked it like
self-defense. Well, now it wasn't that it
wasn't going down this way. So as of his second conviction,
Gaskins was moved to death row. And this time it was for real.
No more games, no more hustle. So it is final years, you know,
(23:11):
gas just found a way to stay busy.
He worked with author Wilson Earl to write his autobiography
titled The Final Truth. Now, if you read this or this
book, I've read some of it, it is very graphic.
A lot of people said that Pee Wee Gaskins did a lot of
(23:33):
exaggerating on crimes that to this day they can't prove that
he actually did do. But he swear out that in the
book that he had did over 100 murders.
(23:54):
Now they can only prove he's done 13 to 50.
But then there's some people that really believe that he, we
was killing that many people. But then some people said he
only did it to enjoy the spotlight 'cause he gave
interviews, he posed for photos and seemed almost proud of his
(24:14):
reputation as the meanest man inAmerica.
But you know, he knew he didn't have no in this earth cause the
clock was ticking. So on the days leading up to the
execution, right, Gasket showed no remorse.
He didn't beg for Clemenson. He didn't cry.
He said he was ready to go. He was like, I'm ready to go and
(24:38):
I did what I had to do. I didn't prove everything.
I'm one of the meanest man in America.
It's just it's time for me to goto the next to the next part of
my of my journey, whatever the hell that's about.
Oh, well, we know what that's about.
He refused a special last meal. He wanted to eat a regular
prison dinner. He spent the evening writing
(25:01):
letters and praying or so he claimed.
A people say they didn't see Peewee Gaskins down on his knees
and say not one prayer or wrote one letter.
So I quite sure that Peewee was probably just chilling just like
Oh well I'm ready to get down this bitch.
(25:21):
So at one O 5:00 AM on Septemberthe 6th, 1991, I know Henry
Gaskins was led to the executionchamber at the Central
Correctional Institution. He said nothing.
He made no final statement. 5 minutes later after 2 jokes from
(25:41):
the electric ship with pee wee Gasket being so small, he was
pronounced dead. So South Carolina most notorious
killer has went to the afterlife.
News of Gasket death spread quick.
Lot of people were happy as hey,others still wanted answers
(26:02):
about missing people, unsolved murders, and whether he even
told the truth. Now his autobiography Final
Truth became a controversial best step.
He had it released right after his death.
He had told the author, listen, soon as I die, get that shit
published. Make that shit available in
(26:24):
store. Some people call it American
Horror Story, others call it evidence of a justice system
that waited too long to stop a killer and gave him free range.
The prison system, embarrassed by Gaston's ability to kill from
death row, started to look at all their protocols in the state
of South Carolina and other states too.
(26:47):
But the families of his victims?It wasn't even my procedure
policy at this point. It was about peace.
And on the day for some of them,they finally got it.
So here's my thoughts about Peewee gas.
When I think about Peewee Gaskins, I really don't see just
a killer. I see a man that was a master
(27:09):
manipulator, A man who understand how to exploit every
system he touched, from the courts to the streets to the
prison wall. And I also looked at him as an
opportunist. He, we guessed, has never turned
down an opportunity to show everyone that he was pure evil.
(27:30):
I mean, why would he? I mean, this was his opportunity
to always promote fear around anyone that he came in contact
with and to be calculated at that.
And not to mention his evil was not like a cartoon.
Ensure what Hollywood would sellto you.
This this was a controlled evil.You know what I'm saying?
(27:53):
This is like that type of evil that's calculate.
It's calm, but it's dark. And that would really just
disturbs me the most about this case.
I mean, we talking about this man could take a smile when he
talk about violating. He could laugh when he described
(28:13):
how he took somebody out. I mean, like, he ain't had no
soul. He didn't want to.
He had no remorse talking about these things.
And he was like another day at the park.
And he really wasn't scared thatpeople would hear what he had to
say. You know, a lot of people say,
well, man, I would have done this.
I would have done that to him onthis.
I would have shot him dead on the spot.
Well, how can you say that you'll be able to do that with
(28:37):
the shock factor of someone being able to tell you that in a
comfortable manner. That's the shock factor.
That what makes you not able to respond.
Like you think you're going to respond because someone is
literally telling you that they commit a horrific crime in
detail and cool about it and is walking among the free.
And that's, to me, the legacy that he left behind.
(29:01):
And we'll probably never know how many people he fully have
killed out here in Florence County and other surrounding
areas while he was operating. And one thing we do know though
is that Donald Henry Gaskins used fear to rule silent and
(29:22):
high his victim and now the sound is finally belongs to his
victim again. Thank y'all for listening to the
5th installment of Pee Wee Gaskins The Meanest Man in
America Part 5. I really enjoyed doing this
series and the reason why I enjoyed doing this series for
(29:42):
you guys. It made me learn a lot about Pee
Wee Gaskins that I did not know about.
It also showed me that people can operate with no soul at any
given moment. And last but not least, it be
your family that will kill your ass talking about how he got rid
(30:04):
of his niece and her friend. So thank y'all so much for
supporting me. Thank y'all for continuing to
reach out and inspire me again. This will be released right
after in the next 30 minutes on this beautiful Wednesday
(30:25):
morning. I hope you all enjoy the final
installment and boy, I tell you,I'll make sure the next trailer
of of goodies that's coming up. You're definitely going to
enjoy. Thank you all once again I am
out.
What is going on? You can't make this BS up
family. That's right.
I got a new I'm going to go I'm coming up with a new name for
you guys. I'm going to put it in the poll.
I don't know if y'all want to call yourself the 9 BS crew or
no BS crew. We're going to figure it out,
(00:22):
but I want to tell everybody, thank you so much for the
interaction that I've been having on the podcast on these
episodes lately. I want to say thank you so much.
I got some comments from YouTuberecently, and I'm definitely
(00:44):
going to read that to you guys. And I also got some compliments
on the podcast side of Spotify finally, which is cool.
So hopefully we can keep continuing to get the
participation up. I also got some merch that I'm
(01:06):
going to be working on soon. As soon as I design it, I'm
going to buy me a shirt and I'm going to wear it to promote it.
So hopefully we can get enough merch that people can be on
board. We also going to be, I'm trying
to see if I want to do like a merch box where you guys can get
(01:28):
it in a bundle where you get, you know, like, you know, a
Tumblr, a shirt or maybe some socks, something like that.
I don't know yet. I'm going to have to like
literally figure this out. Me and my wife are probably
going to do this together. Whatever.
So this podcast is being recorded actually on a Tuesday
night. I'm going to try to hook you
(01:48):
guys up with all of everything that's supposed to be coming
forth, especially another Black Friday Prime as well.
And also I am going to put another episode on my paid
subscription. Also start checking out my sub
stack. On my sub stack I will be doing
(02:09):
personal articles about recent cases and news events that's
caught that's talking about truecrime or even scams.
So y'all guys can check that out.
Follow your boy show support. I have not done a paid
subscription on that platform yet.
We want to see how the followersgo to get enough followers will
(02:30):
start offering the paid subscription on that.
I'm trying to make this into a business, OK, A business to
where you guys can actually enjoy the fact that we really
are trying to horn our crap overhere.
So without further ado, we are going to do some housekeeping.
(02:52):
Like always. We're going to talk about the
new latest comments. You know, we do that first of
what people have stated about the episodes and then after that
we will jump back into finishingup the 5th and final installment
of Peewee Gas, The Meanest Man Alive.
(03:13):
So let's jump into the latest comment.
This comment here is brought to you by out of the tragic case of
Brianna Williams. That was an episode that we did
man. What episode was that?
(03:34):
Because that was like great. That was a crazy episode by the
way. Anyway, give me one second that
was I'll start putting these episodes at the end, the numbers
on the ends now so y'all can kind of get an idea where we at
because we're at episode 31. So we are getting there.
I want to say that had to be like episode 20.
Something about what happened with the Brianna Williams case.
(04:00):
I know it was very sad because everybody was blown away that
this lady had lied to the policeabout what happened to her
daughter. My I, I was fascinated from this
case from the beginning because I am a probably a military guy.
So let me go and show you tell you what the comments is so I
(04:21):
don't get sidetracked. Sorry about it.
I'm probably get sidetracked. It says this is from Brad Bradt.
He did this about a day ago. He said I've heard this case
before, but this is the best I've heard it so much more
detail to the store. And my reply to Bradt was thank
you so much. I also gave him A to tell him to
(04:45):
please also rate and follow the podcast.
And so Bra Brett, I really appreciate that because what we
do over here, we try to take ourtime and give you the facts
because there is so much that I feel like detail that needs to
be addressed when you doing these true prime stories.
(05:09):
People want all the facts. They want the dates, they want
everything that you could possibly give them So they could
be like, I, I can relate to this, you know what I'm saying?
So that's why we do it. And we want to say thank you so
much for taking the time out to put that there on the next
comment that's coming up. And this is from one of my from
(05:36):
the Pee Wee Gaskins episode. The last one we did, which was I
was a shock. Did I even got someone that was
so into this episode that and this is from a young 1.
I did not even know this young and y'all listen, I won't let
(05:58):
parents know. I do promote that that you know
that so my material is not PG13.There's a little rated R.
So if your kid is on my podcast listening to this, I ain't
encouraging it. This is what his remarks was.
(06:18):
His remarks was I live in the town.
He committed and this is from Cypress system by the way, and
Cypress system. He said I live in the town and
he committed all his atrocities in my grandfather, played pool
with him at a place called the White Horse and saw the inside
of Gaskins hearse and his personal graveyard was behind my
(06:40):
cousin's grandma's childhood home.
My response was old who? I'm glad you shared that with
me. Did you ever interact with him?
And he said he died before I wasborn.
I'm 16, but my grandfather told me a lot about him when I
(07:04):
started asking questions. My grandfather is still alive so
I definitely so I'm going to asksome more.
OK dude, that's cool man and thank you for your support
Cypress system. I hope that you like the last
installment that we coming with tonight.
All right y'all, enough of all the housekeeping rules.
(07:24):
Remember, like I said before, drop comments.
It helps the algorithm of this broadcast.
So please rate the show. It only take but a few minutes
to rate the show. OK, all right.
If you don't feel like it's a five star, just leave me a
comment instead. But if you do like this show,
(07:46):
please give it 5 the most stars,5 stars.
We need it. All right y'all.
So where we left off is Pee Wee Gaskins has left a trail of
nothing but Cornish in his weight.
He don't kill 6 people on the last episode already.
(08:08):
I mean he is knocking them off like they are bowling ball pins
and he is one of the top bowlersin the league.
And now we're going to go to themeat potatoes of how he
transferred from getting life inprison to being on death row
(08:28):
with this final murder and othermurders that he will confess to
and show the dead bodies of. So let's get back to Pee Wee
Gaskins, the 5th and final chapter of the Meanest Man in
America. So before Donald Henry, Pee Wee
(08:49):
Gask did his last murder in a maximum security prison, he was
already serving multiple life sentence.
And these weren't based on speculation of fear.
They were built on hard evidence.
So there was multiple bodies, trails of witnesses, testimonies
that even Gaskins wasn't even prepared for or could get rid
(09:13):
of. But we are going to talk about
the trials first before we talk about the murder that happened
at the prison. So in 1975, following the murder
of Silas Yates, investigators begin to connect Gaskins to a
series of disappearances in South Carolina local.
The key break came when a witness who helped bury one of
(09:36):
the victims, fearing he would benext, went to the police.
That took investigators to Gaskins properties in Prospect,
South Carolina. There, they unearthed A shallow
break, 1 by 1. The remains of Diane Neely,
Avery Howard, Dennis Bellamy andJohn Henry Knight will recover.
(10:02):
The evidence was overwhelming. Bullets matched Gaskins
firearms, and the forensic results confirm the victim's
identity. Gaston was arrested in 1976, and
he was charged with multiple counts of murder.
Now, let me let you know. In South Carolina, they're not
(10:23):
called prosecutors. They call solicitors, so I'm
going to say solicitors. All right, so the solicitors had
more than just bumps. They had eyewitnesses, ballistic
evidence and more damning Gaskins own loose lips.
Cause see, he bragged in jail. That's right.
(10:44):
O Phoebe was like in jail. Like you know, they got me for
all those murders. Well, I did it.
Oh yeah, I did the murder. They deserved it.
That's all it is. I don't even know why they're
even acting like this is such a big deal.
You know, it's either kill or bekilled as I was, as I was doing
(11:07):
it out here, man. Man just did not kill.
So during the trial, when the court heard about Gaskins
methods, the manipulation, the premeditation, the cover ups,
the jury sat through the graphicforensic evidence, testimonies
from family members of the victims in chilling details
(11:28):
about how the bodies were buriedand why.
The solicitor portrayed Gaskins not as a serial killer, but a
predator who killed to protect himself, a man who murdered out
of calculation and compulsion. And the jury had agreed.
(11:49):
So in 1976 Gaston was sentenced to life in prison for the
murders of Dionne Neely, Diane Neely, I mean Avery Howard,
Dennis Bellamy and John Henry Knight charges for the Kim
Gilkin which I was the 13 year old girl that we talked about
(12:11):
and others were pending on clothes in the plea deals.
South Carolina didn't yet have the death penalty reinstated or
gases may have been executed then and there, but it still he
was shipped off to Central Correctional Institution as a
life and he sure was not remorseful and he was still
(12:35):
there and once again he was going to have the opportunity to
kill someone behind the prison wall.
So let me go up here. Pull that one up.
All right. So as Pee Wee Gaskin started
serving his time, he was not just another inmate, OK, serving
(12:55):
a life Senate. He was a man with a reputation
among the inmates. They looked at him as a legend,
a killer who cried, stretched across counties, decades and
even inside the just the justicesystem itself.
And so him being sentenced to life in prison was just to Pee
(13:16):
Wee were like another day in thepark.
Now behind the wall, Pee Wee gasses cultivated influence.
He ran errands for the guards right?
He acted as a jailhouse informant.
He was a go in between for the inmates in the outside world.
He was a hustler. He was always figuring out a way
(13:40):
to his self busy. OK, but there's one more thing
that he, we Gaskins, was always watchful for and ready to do.
An opportunity to kill. So it's in 1982, right?
Gaskins has been in prison now for roughly about 8 years.
(14:05):
No, not 8 years. I would say six years, roughly
about six years. So he came in contact with a
young death row inmate named Rudolph Time.
Now Tyner was only 23 years old and he was convicted of
murdering an elderly white couple, Bill and murder Moon
(14:28):
doing a robbery at the country store in Myrtle Beach.
Shout out to Myrtle Beach. This before Myrtle Beach was
like this extra extra popping tourist spot.
They had country stores all along the way, especially when
you going towards Ori camp. Now they son Tony Simo.
He wanted revenge, he wanted real revenge.
(14:52):
He felt like that just as an oldboy being sentenced to to death
wasn't the mood. So Tony contact someone who he
knew could get things done behind bars and through his
associates they told the man talk to Pee Wee.
Pee Wee gasps. The message was clear, China
(15:14):
needed to die and Gaskins he agreed.
But there was a price now and hewas ready to make it happen from
inside death row. Y'all hold on, my dog's barking
now. How do you murder someone while
you supposed to be under 24 hoursurveillance in one of the most
(15:37):
secure prisons in the country? Well, let me rewind that now.
You all remember this is before they had all this video cameras
and all that stuff we talked about back in the early 80s.
So basically you, you had to rely on the sight of the guards.
But then again, even with that, y'all also know in any prison
(16:00):
back then that was what you calla lot, lot of blind spots and
protocols wasn't as sharp as it was back then.
But we'll we'll talk about that another time.
So let's jump into what they did.
So P we had to be creative. So the first thing P we tried
(16:22):
was the poison time because, youknow, you got to get close to
Tyner and be good buddy buddy with him and he tried to put
cyanide into his food, but that that plane didn't work out.
Tyner either didn't digest enough or was immune to its
taste. So that's when you know, gaskins
(16:45):
like, you know what? We we want to do something else.
We want to go we want to go a little bit more violence.
We're going to have to rely on explosive.
Yeah, I just that's what I just said.
You got they going to rely on explosive And I'm feeling on
bring up Rudolph Tyner's picturebecause I want to make sure that
(17:08):
y'all are knowing who this who this guy is and I'm going to try
to see if I can find a good picture.
Oh, I don't think there's reallya big a good picture of Rudolph
Tyner. So I'm going to have to go with
what the one they said in the book, how he looked.
(17:29):
So I do know that Rudolph Tyner when I was also doing my
research that this guy also had mental disability.
I do, I do know that I do know that a lot of people in his
immediate family service said hewas not that smart at all.
(17:54):
So so I'm going to show you all this is this is Rudolf Tyner.
This is how he looks. This is the target for for
Peewee. So he managed to smuggle of all
materials into the prison. Now, some people say he got a,
(18:14):
some say he got it from through a network of corrupt guards,
outside contacts, and some said even woodshop.
A legend. OK, he assembled A cruel but
deadly device inside an intercomspeaker, something Tyner would
never suspect. And then he revert.
(18:35):
He revert. He rehearsed the con over a
prison line. Gasket convinced Tyner that he
was going to communicate via intercom as part of some secret
smuggling operation, and China took the bait.
Because y'all remember, criminals are intrigued if
there's a way that they can smuggle, smuggle some things
(18:57):
without, no, you know, without getting caught.
And it was just he took it. So on the night of September
12th, 1982, Gaskets passed the wire intercom speaker to China
through a small opening between the adjoining cells.
He told China to plug it in. He said they would need to test
(19:24):
the line. Time to hesitate.
Yo man, people, you think this shit say man, you know, I mean,
this is like not a normal intercom line.
What if something could go wrong, Pee Wee?
And you know how Pee Wee said his voice?
Come on, Rudolph, I'm your buddy.
(19:47):
We got to get this thing done, right, Right.
You need that contraband in yourself, right?
Take my advice, my friend. This is something that's going
to benefit both of us down the line, man.
So time to finally push the pluginto the wall socket.
And in an instant, they heard a.That's right, it was.
(20:15):
Actually aloud and it ripped through the cell, killing Tyner
instantly. It was one of the first recorded
use of a remotely detonated mom inside AUS prison and Gaskins.
He sat back in his cell and smiled.
(20:37):
He had put off the unthinkable. A death row hitman job executed
with chilling precision. Man, authorities were pissed and
stunned. Investigators quickly uncovered
the truth and the plan unveiled unraveled fast.
(20:57):
And they flipped 1 of Gaskins prison associates who gave them
everything, who was singing likea Canary.
He was like, yo-yo, yo-yo, this,this, this.
I tell you, I'd always do it, man.
OK, Tony. Tony.
The, the, the, the parents, the son of the parents that Rudolph
(21:17):
Tonic killed, man, they, they, they called for Pee Wee bro.
They, they was like, yo, Pee wee, we need you.
I need you to do this man. And, and he gave him a certain
amount of money. You know, that's how things
went, bro. Like, I didn't know people were
going to do this. I thought it was a con with
another con, not a actual death sentence.
(21:41):
And then they got Gaskins conviction as well.
You know Gaskins. Yeah, I did it.
He had to go. I mean, I was getting paid for a
job. And, you know, he killed that
boy's mother and father, even though he killed way worse.
But I digress. So with this going on, the FBI
(22:04):
had wired the prison line in advance.
They captured people describing the bomb in his own voice.
Yeah, it was crazy. So in 1983, Gaskins stood trial
once again, this time for the murder of Rudolf Tyner.
The evidence was overwhelming. The jury didn't need long.
They found him guilty, first degree murder and sentenced his
(22:26):
ass to death. It was the second time Gaskins
had killed while in prison. For the first time, the state
was finally ready to make him pay with his life.
That's right. Because remember we talked about
last time he killed someone in prison?
It was when he was younger. He killed the guy, but it was
(22:50):
really he got away with it because it looked it like
self-defense. Well, now it wasn't that it
wasn't going down this way. So as of his second conviction,
Gaskins was moved to death row. And this time it was for real.
No more games, no more hustle. So it is final years, you know,
(23:11):
gas just found a way to stay busy.
He worked with author Wilson Earl to write his autobiography
titled The Final Truth. Now, if you read this or this
book, I've read some of it, it is very graphic.
A lot of people said that Pee Wee Gaskins did a lot of
(23:33):
exaggerating on crimes that to this day they can't prove that
he actually did do. But he swear out that in the
book that he had did over 100 murders.
(23:54):
Now they can only prove he's done 13 to 50.
But then there's some people that really believe that he, we
was killing that many people. But then some people said he
only did it to enjoy the spotlight 'cause he gave
interviews, he posed for photos and seemed almost proud of his
(24:14):
reputation as the meanest man inAmerica.
But you know, he knew he didn't have no in this earth cause the
clock was ticking. So on the days leading up to the
execution, right, Gasket showed no remorse.
He didn't beg for Clemenson. He didn't cry.
He said he was ready to go. He was like, I'm ready to go and
(24:38):
I did what I had to do. I didn't prove everything.
I'm one of the meanest man in America.
It's just it's time for me to goto the next to the next part of
my of my journey, whatever the hell that's about.
Oh, well, we know what that's about.
He refused a special last meal. He wanted to eat a regular
prison dinner. He spent the evening writing
(25:01):
letters and praying or so he claimed.
A people say they didn't see Peewee Gaskins down on his knees
and say not one prayer or wrote one letter.
So I quite sure that Peewee was probably just chilling just like
Oh well I'm ready to get down this bitch.
(25:21):
So at one O 5:00 AM on Septemberthe 6th, 1991, I know Henry
Gaskins was led to the executionchamber at the Central
Correctional Institution. He said nothing.
He made no final statement. 5 minutes later after 2 jokes from
(25:41):
the electric ship with pee wee Gasket being so small, he was
pronounced dead. So South Carolina most notorious
killer has went to the afterlife.
News of Gasket death spread quick.
Lot of people were happy as hey,others still wanted answers
(26:02):
about missing people, unsolved murders, and whether he even
told the truth. Now his autobiography Final
Truth became a controversial best step.
He had it released right after his death.
He had told the author, listen, soon as I die, get that shit
published. Make that shit available in
(26:24):
store. Some people call it American
Horror Story, others call it evidence of a justice system
that waited too long to stop a killer and gave him free range.
The prison system, embarrassed by Gaston's ability to kill from
death row, started to look at all their protocols in the state
of South Carolina and other states too.
(26:47):
But the families of his victims?It wasn't even my procedure
policy at this point. It was about peace.
And on the day for some of them,they finally got it.
So here's my thoughts about Peewee gas.
When I think about Peewee Gaskins, I really don't see just
a killer. I see a man that was a master
(27:09):
manipulator, A man who understand how to exploit every
system he touched, from the courts to the streets to the
prison wall. And I also looked at him as an
opportunist. He, we guessed, has never turned
down an opportunity to show everyone that he was pure evil.
(27:30):
I mean, why would he? I mean, this was his opportunity
to always promote fear around anyone that he came in contact
with and to be calculated at that.
And not to mention his evil was not like a cartoon.
Ensure what Hollywood would sellto you.
This this was a controlled evil.You know what I'm saying?
(27:53):
This is like that type of evil that's calculate.
It's calm, but it's dark. And that would really just
disturbs me the most about this case.
I mean, we talking about this man could take a smile when he
talk about violating. He could laugh when he described
(28:13):
how he took somebody out. I mean, like, he ain't had no
soul. He didn't want to.
He had no remorse talking about these things.
And he was like another day at the park.
And he really wasn't scared thatpeople would hear what he had to
say. You know, a lot of people say,
well, man, I would have done this.
I would have done that to him onthis.
I would have shot him dead on the spot.
Well, how can you say that you'll be able to do that with
(28:37):
the shock factor of someone being able to tell you that in a
comfortable manner. That's the shock factor.
That what makes you not able to respond.
Like you think you're going to respond because someone is
literally telling you that they commit a horrific crime in
detail and cool about it and is walking among the free.
And that's, to me, the legacy that he left behind.
(29:01):
And we'll probably never know how many people he fully have
killed out here in Florence County and other surrounding
areas while he was operating. And one thing we do know though
is that Donald Henry Gaskins used fear to rule silent and
(29:22):
high his victim and now the sound is finally belongs to his
victim again. Thank y'all for listening to the
5th installment of Pee Wee Gaskins The Meanest Man in
America Part 5. I really enjoyed doing this
series and the reason why I enjoyed doing this series for
(29:42):
you guys. It made me learn a lot about Pee
Wee Gaskins that I did not know about.
It also showed me that people can operate with no soul at any
given moment. And last but not least, it be
your family that will kill your ass talking about how he got rid
(30:04):
of his niece and her friend. So thank y'all so much for
supporting me. Thank y'all for continuing to
reach out and inspire me again. This will be released right
after in the next 30 minutes on this beautiful Wednesday
(30:25):
morning. I hope you all enjoy the final
installment and boy, I tell you,I'll make sure the next trailer
of of goodies that's coming up. You're definitely going to
enjoy. Thank you all once again I am
out.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Special Summer Offer: Exclusively on Apple Podcasts, try our Dateline Premium subscription completely free for one month! With Dateline Premium, you get every episode ad-free plus exclusive bonus content.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!