April 20, 2025 • 42 mins
In 1981, Columbia Police received a call about a woman in an automobile accident. Not only did she crash, but she was also suffering from a gunshot to the head. When officers went to her home, they found nothing less than pure carnage. The episode is full of twists and turns, fingerpointing, uncanny theives, and a sprinkling of voo-doo.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
For over three hundred and fifty years, the state of
South Carolina has been the setting for some of the
most horrendous crimes ever committed. Some have gained global notoriety,
some have been forgotten, and others have been swept under
the rug completely. Now, two South Carolina natives and true
(00:26):
crime enthusiasts have teamed up to examine these heinous acts
in detail, giving their perspective of the evil that has
resided in the Palmetto State. You're listening to Carolina Crimes.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
And welcome back to Carolina Crimes, episode two eighteen. I'm
one of your hosts, Matt Hyres, along.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
With Danielle Myers, and we're.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Over the moon thrill that you joined us here this week.
Speaker 3 (00:54):
More calming entrants, Yeah, a little bit.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
I'll decide to switch it up a little bit, switch
it up, little bit, but we're still excited. We're still
over the moon excited that you joined us here this week.
And we appreciate a lot of the feedback we got
from last week's episode. Out of Pickens County. Another tough one,
tough one about Willie Earle, a very historic case in
(01:18):
the history of the state of South Carolina that need
to be told, needs to be learned from, and is
in nineteen forty seven, so it's not that not that
distant of the past, you know. But this week we're
gonna head back down to the Midlands for your episode, Danielle,
(01:39):
and we're gonna come to you from Columbia, South Carolina.
But before we do, we want to remind all you listeners.
If you're not already following us on social media, check
us out on Carolina Crimes Podcast over on Facebook, also
on Twitter at sc Crimes pod. In addition to that,
if you'd like to support the show and it's completely free,
(02:00):
if you're listening on Spotify at iTunes, Apple iTunes or
Apple Podcasts and throw us a five star review, mash
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We greatly appreciate that helps us drive us up the
charts and gain a few more listeners. Also, if you're
looking to decorate yourself for spring and get some sweet
(02:22):
Sweet Carolina Crimes paraphernalia, go and check us out at
Carolina crimesstore dot com. So, as we mentioned, we're gonna
be in Columbia, South Carolina this week, and normally, if
you're familiar with the show, we give a little setting,
a little history about the town we're going to be in.
(02:42):
We have covered Columbia several times, and we're just gonna
give a brief synopsis of where Columbia is if you're
a first time listener. It is, of course, the capital
city here in the state of South Carolina, located in
Richland County, almost at the geographic center of the state.
Graphic center actually lies I think in Sumter County. Okay, Yeah,
(03:04):
so just just east of Columbia, but Columbia, South Carolina.
It's home to a population of one hundred and thirty
six thousand, six hundred residents. That's just Columbia proper, not
the Columbia metro area. The metro area that's that's closer
to eight hundred and fifty thousand, which is includes you. Yeah,
(03:26):
but Columbia, one of the most populous regions in the
state of South Carolina, was named actually for Christopher Columbus,
who explored for the Spanish crown, and some of the
nicknames of Columbia or Cola and the Soda City, yes
they get the Soda City market.
Speaker 3 (03:46):
Downtown yeah, I've been there. It's really cool, like arts
and crafts and yeah, there's I mean they block off
like all of Main Street for a few hours. It's
usually it's usually on a Saturday. I don't know if
it's like once every couple of weeks, once a month,
I don't know for sure, but I have been and
there's a lot of vendors out there that have food trucks,
(04:08):
people selling like plants and flowers, some people you know,
making their own jewelry or you know, items, candles, things
like that. So it's just I mean, it's when it's
really nice out. It's just a nice area to go
get some food, walk around, kind of supporting local vendors.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
Yes, and I know that's one of the favorites of show.
Show enthusiast Liz tait her bow that people may be
more familiar with Tyler Cupp, who set in on several episodes,
but I know she loves that and it sounds like
a cool place, sounds like to.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
Visit, and they'll usually have some people out there playing
music and a lot of people bring their animals walking
around and it's just, yeah, it's just it's a cool
thing to do. It's something different.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
Good deal, good deal. Well, without any further ado, let's
just hop right in and tell that's what we're gonna
be talking about this week from down in Columbia, South Carolina.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
Well, this is one I was not a suggestion. It
was one I stumbled on, which happens from time to time,
and it goes back a little bit further than what
I usually go back to. It's gonna be eighty one, okay.
And even though it was you know, some of the
older cases, we do have a hard time finding some stuff,
(05:25):
but this one was covered a lot by the state newspaper,
the Columbia Star. And I did see one podcast on
it is called Missing in the Carolinas, Okay, And I
believe they do cases in North and South Carolina.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
I think, I think so, Yeah, they're they're pretty good.
They do a good job.
Speaker 3 (05:42):
Yeah they do.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
No.
Speaker 3 (05:43):
I listened to it and you know, just took some
notes and kind of piecemeal articles, you know, like we
usually do.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
That's what we gotta do.
Speaker 3 (05:51):
And I told you this one was gonna be a
little interesting because bringing up a I guess a different
kind of topic that gets mentioned. I don't know if
we've done it before. Known as voodoo.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
Oh yeah, and you said root doctors. Yeah, and there's
one from way back in the day. I've been kind
of holding on to from over in Darlington County too.
Speaker 3 (06:14):
Yeah, well that after your back pocket.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
Yeah, I was thinking more around Halloween. But yeah, let's
get started here this week, all right.
Speaker 3 (06:21):
So, enslaved African Americans were denied pretty much all their rights,
and one of those was access to proper medical care.
Because of this, they would often visit was known as
a root doctor, which for most of them, was the
only medical care available. Root doctors would treat various ailments,
(06:44):
from physical illnesses to emotional and spiritual problems. They would
prescribe herbs, roots, bark, and other natural substances to help
cure headaches, the common cold, and the flu. They also
believe that physical ailments could be intensified by social and
psychological factors. So, for example, a root doctor may notice
(07:06):
that a client is complaining of more headaches after taking
on more responsibilities at a job or in the home,
which is understandable, and they will work with a client
to help direct the negative energy away from the body
by having them journal burn a candle or putting a
glass of water by the bed at night and empty
at it in the next morning.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
Due, Okay, I'm glad you brought that up.
Speaker 3 (07:31):
And I went, maybe it's to kind of soak in
the negative energy and then you get rid of it.
I never heard of that.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
I don't know, but I'll share an experience here from
back back, back in my drinking days before I sobered up.
About fourteen years ago, I went with a bunch of
friends to New Orleans. There was a guy there in
Jackson Square. He said he could read your bones, and
(08:00):
I was like, I'll give it a shot. You know,
I was tipsy enough. I was like, let's do this man.
And he's blind, like covered my hands in oil and
he had me like shake up this cloth with like
chicken bones and dice and feathers and stuff, and he
was able to touch those. Dude, this guy was telling me
(08:22):
things about me that he shouldn't have known. I mean,
it was bonkers, and maybe he could pick up things
on my accent. He was telling me stuff, and then
it got to that exact thing. He said, Hey, when
you go home, get a glass, take it outside and
catch the first rain that comes down. And he proceeded
(08:46):
to tell me how my bedroom was set up furniture wise,
and I was like, whoa, bro, this is not for me.
I need to make a quick exit out of here.
But he said, he said, get that water. He said,
put it in the window sill, and when it's all evaporated,
wrap it in a white cloth, break the glass, and
(09:07):
throw it away.
Speaker 3 (09:08):
And I was like, did you do it?
Speaker 2 (09:11):
I was scared not to. I was like, oh my gosh.
If I don't do this, you know, I'm gonna grow
a third arm or something weird like that, or you know.
Speaker 3 (09:20):
Something's gonna happen to me. I don't know what.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
Yeah, something's gonna happen. And I was like, this is
I don't believe in any of this stuff, but he
made it very hard not to believe that he knew
he had some kind of clairvoyant power. And oh my gosh,
so yeah.
Speaker 3 (09:34):
That's uh, of course you would have an experience in that.
Speaker 2 (09:38):
Yeah, yeah, you know every time I'm around voodoo. So
but yeah, that was that was bizarre and bonkers, and
you just I was debating on whether sharing that story
or not. But then when you said the water by.
Speaker 3 (09:50):
The bed man and I've read that, and I was
like what is I don't know what that would do,
but I guess it's maybe absorbing the bad energy or whatever.
And I don't know, but.
Speaker 2 (10:02):
Yeah, because he was like, don't put it against the
He said, don't put it in the window on the
far wall. Put it on that window to the left
of your bed. And I was like, oh my gosh,
this god knows how my bedroom set up.
Speaker 3 (10:14):
So you have cameras and miles.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
Yeah, weird stuff.
Speaker 3 (10:18):
Sorry, that's a no, it's very relevant. Yeah, all right,
So that would be another option that they would give
people to help. And they would also be known as
witch doctors, as someone who could see evil and avert
it rather than just redirecting negative energy in the body.
(10:39):
And there was a lot of negative connotation with voodoo
because it came from slave owners that were fearful of
the religions that their slaves had. So that's where a
lot of it and it comes back to just not understanding. Yeah. Well,
even after slavery was abolished, root doctors continued to play
an important role in the African American communities. They were
(11:02):
still the main source for many people, especially those living
in poverty. Well, one well known route doctor was sixty
two year old Edward Harkless who went by Doc, and
he was described as the top root doctor in South Carolina.
And he lived in a low income neighborhood on Nightner
(11:24):
Road in Columbia, in what appeared to be what would
be described as like a compound. It was six acres.
It was well maintained, white brick two story home with
its own pond, two big sheds in the yard, and
also in the yard were chickens and geese. And it
(11:46):
was secluded from the ramshackle homes from the and the
rest of the neighborhood by two six foot chain link
fences with guard dogs. Okay, so everybody knew him, everybody
knew where he lived, and he just had this whole
little area set up and.
Speaker 2 (12:05):
Six acres in the middle of Columbia.
Speaker 3 (12:07):
It was at like the end of this neighborhood. And
so you go through this neighborhood and just these run
down homes, not the best area, and then there's his
little compound away from everything.
Speaker 2 (12:19):
Interesting.
Speaker 3 (12:20):
Yeah, you know. So Doc lived with his wife, thirty
nine year old Frankie Heartless, and their two children. Doc
didn't have any other income besides the fees he collected
for prescribing herbal cures, casting spells, and exercising demons.
Speaker 2 (12:38):
Well, he must have been doing pretty well. Yeah, if
he had a house with a compound and able to
raise two kids or something. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (12:49):
Well, spiritual leaders were looked up so much in the
community that they were often the wealthiest, which could lead
to a lot of theft. I mean you or a
walking target. People know who you are, they know what
you do, and they know that person has some money.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (13:10):
Well, police responded to the home on night Iner Road
on the morning of September twenty ninth, nineteen eighty one,
and inside they found a primitive altar that showed signs
of animal sacrifices and voodoo literature. Doc Is found in
his office fatally shot through the heart, and two rooms
(13:34):
away in the bathroom where police look inside, they find
what they later described as a vicious massacre. So we're
gonna take our first break and get into what exactly
was found inside of this home on this compound in Columbia.
Speaker 2 (13:55):
Well, you've got us hooked, you do, all right, folks,
We'll be right back after this quick word from our sponsor,
(14:20):
and welcome back to Carolina Crimes, Episode two. Eighteen out
of Columbia, South Carolina. And when we left off, we
talked about a police call to the compound on Knightner
Road for Edward Doc Harkless, one of the pre eminent
route doctors in the state of South Carolina back in
(14:43):
nineteen eighty one, and police, of course found Doc shot
in the chest in his office, and you mentioned then
they found the scene of what was described as a
massacre in the home.
Speaker 3 (14:56):
Yes well, in the bathroom, police found thirty three year
old Ralph Felder, who was a part time chicken and
goat farmer from Sally, South Carolina, on the floor beside
the bathtub. Twenty seven year old Maxleinia Likes, who was
a live in housekeeper of the Heartlesses, was several feet
(15:20):
from the others and was later determined to be six
weeks pregnant at the time. And Leroy Hemphill, a fifty
two year old truck driver, was in the bathtub. All
had been shot execution style from behind. What police also
found in Doc's office a safe that had been forcibly opened.
(15:45):
Immediately after the bodies were discovered, Richland County Sheriff Frank
Powell told the media that he could not say whether
the robbery of the large safe, the murders, and the
alleged occult practices were linked, because clearly people who the
victims were at least.
Speaker 2 (16:03):
The house and especially in that community.
Speaker 3 (16:07):
Doc's wife, Frankie and fifty seven year old Fletcher Felder,
who was the father of thirty three year old Ralph Felder,
had both been injured but managed to survive. Frankie had
been shot in the head, but managed to flee the
scene with a bullet lodged in her brain. She jumped
in her maroon Cadillac, but collapsed once she got behind
(16:32):
the wheel, and the car rolled three hundred and fifty
feet down the road before coming to a stop, which
was where I believe a neighbors saw her and that's
how the police were able to be notified. Fletcher had
been shot in the back of the head and the
bullet passed through his lower jaw so it didn't end
(16:52):
up brain. The two surviving victims were taken to Richly
Memorial Hospital, where Frankie, who was first listed as critical
but eventually became stable and later was determined They called
her the Miracle Lady because she had this vicious gunshot wound.
(17:12):
She had been struck in the brain and managed to survive,
and her and Fletcher were moved to an undisclosed location
during their recoveries and were under twenty four hour police
watch because they were like, this was a targeted attack
and we don't know who these perpetrators are, how many,
and we need to see if we can get some information,
(17:33):
but we need to make sure that they don't come back.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
Yeah, and it was obviously something intentional and it was
a hit.
Speaker 3 (17:41):
Yeah, I mean that's what it looked like. Yes, They
were eventually able to give details about what happened that day.
Frankie told them that she and Max Leinia Likes, the housekeeper,
had returned to the house a little after nine am
(18:02):
after taking Frankie's two children to school. Fletcher and his
son arrived around ten am. The son. The father and
son sold goats and other animals that were important to
Doc's practices, and we talked about there. It was some
stuff that looked like there was animal sacrifice.
Speaker 2 (18:20):
Chickens running around the yard.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
Geese, yeah, yeah, and I got goats involved. Okay, that's
when she said. The three men showed up just after
just after the father and son arrived so between ten
ten thirty and ended up basically busting into the house
with weapons. They rounded everybody up and held all six
(18:44):
victims hostage for two hours, she said, questioning them the
entire time. When Doc refused to open the safe that
he had in his office, he was then shot in
the heart, knocking him out of his chair. The two
men were ended up staying at the house to guard
(19:05):
the victims, while the third one drove to a local
store to buy tools that would help them break into
the safe. So you've got these six people rounded up
in this office, a person that's just been killed, and
they're being guarded while they're waiting for someone to come
back to be able to open this safe. And eventually
(19:27):
they were able to get into the safe and ended
up getting about two hundred and fifty to five hundred
thousand dollars what in cash, So he did have I
think it was he collectively. He didn't say specifically, but
some other details that will come up later. I believe
there was also it could have been between cash like jewelry, valuables, coins,
(19:51):
things like that. So all in all of everything that
they took, it ended up being pretty substantial amount and you.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
I mean, okay, I was surprised, but you started talking
about like jewelry and things like that. You got to
think with the type of air quotes medicine he was practicing,
probably not a lot of people had cash on hand
to pay for his services. Maybe there was some bartering
going on, like hey, I like that diamond necklace, you know,
(20:23):
let's give me.
Speaker 3 (20:24):
Like yeah, other ways to get payment. Yeah, maybe switch
out favors things like that to kind of help. So yeah,
all in all, there was just like I think, just
the it wasn't just you know, wads of cash in there,
but he had a good bit in there and it
was a pretty you know, decent safe.
Speaker 2 (20:42):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (20:43):
That's when Frankie said. Afterwards, they after they got the money,
which clearly was what they were there for, they herded
the fire the remaining five people into a rear bathroom
and bedroom and had them kneel down and place their
hands against the wall before shooting each of them. Once
the three men fled from the scene, Frankie and Fletcher
(21:05):
realizing that they had gone. That was when they had
managed to escape, and they were able to identify the
suspects through mugshots.
Speaker 2 (21:15):
Really so they didn't cover their face. Well, they probably
thought they'd killed everybody.
Speaker 3 (21:22):
Well that could have been the reason why they felt
like they had to kill everybody because they didn't have
their faces covered, but they knew who they were. And
you know, very brutal execution. I mean, I just think
about reading this. I was just like the fear.
Speaker 2 (21:41):
Yeah, you're seeing people get shot all around you.
Speaker 3 (21:44):
I mean, and this is a two hour ordeal.
Speaker 2 (21:47):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (21:48):
So it's fortunately though they had severe wounds, Frankie and
Fletcher were able to survive, and they were able to
identify suspects through mugshots. And now the hunt was on HM.
And we're gonna take another break and see how they
go about capturing these people.
Speaker 2 (22:07):
All right, folks, So we'll be right back after this
quick word from our sponsors, and welcome back to Carolina Crimes,
(22:33):
episode two eighteen, emanating from Columbia, South Carolina. And we've
talked about the murder of Edward Doc Harkless, the murder
of Ralph Felder, Maxina Likes, and Leroy Hemphill and the
two survivors we had Frankie, Doc's wife and the other
(22:57):
gentleman of mister Fletcher Felder is well, and when we
left off, you said that they were able to look
at mugshots and actually identify the home intruders.
Speaker 3 (23:08):
And yeah, and they both were able to identify the
same three people.
Speaker 2 (23:15):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (23:16):
And fortunately they were able to round them up pretty
quickly to Just two days after the murders, thirty two
year old Charles Livingston, who went by Bow left of
West Columbia, was arrested at one pm after ten hours
of him leading law enforcement on a chase throughout the
(23:38):
city of Columbia ten hours. When police attempted to stop him,
he fled before crashing into a parked car, where he
got out and took off on foot. Three bloodhounds from
Sled were brought in to pursue him, but it was
called off after they lost his scent. And also they
being in downtown Columbia. If you're in a city like that,
(24:00):
you don't want to be in too much of a chase,
as far as a car chase, because it's very dangerous,
a lot of pedestrians, a lot of traffic, and you
can end up potentially hurting somebody else.
Speaker 2 (24:13):
So they don't get it.
Speaker 3 (24:14):
Not the best place, but they didn't have to go
too far because then he ended up taking off and
then the bloodhounds lost the scent.
Speaker 2 (24:21):
Wow, and they okay, so, yeah, you said, a chase
through Columbia for ten hours.
Speaker 3 (24:26):
I thought this guy was well. He did well. He
eluded them in the car for a while before he
ran into a parked car and then just took off ditched. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (24:37):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (24:38):
William James, who went by Blood Stroman, forty three, was
arrested in Charlotte and refused to waive extradition, claiming he
wasn't even in South Carolina at the time of the murders,
so they held him in Charlotte jail okay. On November ninth,
the third and final suspect, Frank Emmanuel, who went by
(25:01):
Frank O McDonald, who was twenty six, was also arrested
in Charlotte at his mother's home. Livingston and McDowell had
been picked up picked from a photo lineup, and Stroman's
fingerprints were a match to a bloody fingerprint found on
a note that had been put on Doc's front door
that said the doctor is out. So when they went
(25:25):
to leave, it was almost a way of keeping people
from fire at that yeah, at least right away, giving
them some time to get out of dodge.
Speaker 2 (25:33):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (25:35):
All three were charged with murder, kidnapping, armed robbery, safe cracking,
and assault and battery with intent to kill.
Speaker 2 (25:44):
So a safe all right, I'm getting real nitpicky. So
a safe cracking charge. That's like for any safe I believe.
Speaker 3 (25:52):
So I remember seeing that. I was like, I don't
know if I have ever ever heard of that charge.
Speaker 2 (25:58):
I thought it was only like applicable like in bank
robberies or if you you know, burgled someplace that had,
you know, a money drop box or something like that.
But I guess that applies in a private home as well,
I believe though.
Speaker 3 (26:13):
I mean they I guess maybe because it they used tools.
Speaker 2 (26:18):
Yeah, I guess I.
Speaker 3 (26:20):
Have to look further into that one. Because I said
safe cracking. I haven't heard that. Well. Even though all
the suspects had been rounded up and charged and we're
in jail awaiting trial, the drama around this case continued.
On November ninth, the same day that the third suspect,
(26:42):
Frank McDowell, had been arrested. The a call came in
about a suspicious vehicle near Euclaire High School. Oh Claire.
I knew I was going to say, that wrong, I
always say it Okay oclere rock that had been sitting
there for several hours. So around ten am, two patrol
officers arrived and approached the driver, asked for identification, and
(27:06):
they were met with a twenty two caliber rifle and
the driver threatening to shoot them Okay. They immediately called
for backup and police Commander BT Mike Galvin and Lieutenant
John L. Keith arrived on the scene to help with negotiations.
The man was soon identified as fifty six year old
(27:27):
Freddie Harkless, the brother of Doc Harkless Okay. Police then
called his sister, Pearl Johnson to try to get him
to surrender, but after a couple hours nothing happened. He
refused and told her to just go home. Police were
about eight feet from him when Freddy turned and they
(27:49):
were able to rush him, not before he got a
shot off, striking Lieutenant Keith in the shoulder and causing
a minor flesh wound. Pearl, who had a heart condition
and feinted at the scene and was taken to Richland
Memorial Hospital, where she was examined and later released.
Speaker 2 (28:06):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (28:07):
So Pearl later ended up telling police that Freddy had
been very distraught ever since their brother had been murdered
and was not handling it well that's I.
Speaker 2 (28:19):
Mean, that's not the way to handle it, but obviously,
but it's kind of understandable. You know, he's going through
a rough time.
Speaker 3 (28:27):
It sounded like well, and I think he was married
and had kids of his own and was living in
his own home. But after this happened, he for some reason,
I don't know if it's because he wanted to be
near his surviving sibling, but he was staying with her
for a little bit for the past few days.
Speaker 2 (28:43):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (28:44):
A month later, Freddie was declared incompetent to stand trial
for shooting Lieutenant Keith and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder
and depression with psychotic features. He was ordered to remain
in the care of the medical staff at the State
Hospital under a temporary court order commitment that checks out
the next The next day, police made a statement that
(29:07):
Freddie Harkless's arrest was not related in any way to
the investigation of his brother's murder, and this was another
way that this crime had an effect on people the community.
Speaker 2 (29:20):
Ye, another layer peeled back.
Speaker 3 (29:23):
So we'll take one last break and then get into
them going to trial and what their uh, what their
sentences are if they get convicted.
Speaker 2 (29:35):
All right, but we'll be right back after this quick
break and we'll come back to Carolina Crimes, episode two
(30:02):
eighteen for a third time. I'm Matt Heyers along with
co host Danielle Myers in this case out of Columbia.
That just keeps getting weirder and weirder. And uh, sorry,
we normally only take two breaks, That's what I was
kind of laughing about it. And yeah, we forgot we
took one. But thanks to the advertisers and thanks for
(30:23):
bearing with us. We're good, Yes, we're good. Sorry about that.
Speaker 3 (30:29):
So they Charles Livingston and William Strowman both went to
trial in June of nineteen eighty two. Frank McDowell had
pled guilty and agreed to testify against the other two
men at their trial.
Speaker 2 (30:42):
Okay, he's turning state's evidence.
Speaker 1 (30:45):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (30:46):
Livingston's boss had testified that he Livingston had come to
him earlier that morning between none non forty five ish
and said that he wasn't feeling very well, and he
told Livingston to just go ahead and go home for
the day. I don't want you getting anybody else sick,
and this was not too long before the murders occurred,
(31:09):
so that fit with him not being able to say
that he was working. Another witness named Homer Buddy McCombe
from Charlotte testified that Stroman had brought forty five hundred
dollars in cash to his house the day after the murders,
and he asked him, did you did you hurt somebody?
(31:35):
Wondering where this money's coming from all of a sudden.
Speaker 2 (31:37):
Yeah, I've never had that much cash in my life,
probably never will.
Speaker 3 (31:41):
Well, And for him to just show up and be like,
look what I have, He's like, did you hurt somebody?
And Strouman told him that, you know, it came from
holding up a bookie home in the mountains of North Carolina,
but nobody was hurt. Okay, He's testified, and also that
Strowman later brought over a cooler filled with almost three
(32:05):
thousand dollars worth of coins and the two of them
rolled them.
Speaker 2 (32:11):
So this is not like valuable coins like change.
Speaker 3 (32:15):
That's what it sounds like. That's why I'm saying I
don't think it was just straight cash that was taken.
Speaker 2 (32:21):
Good gosh, three thousand dollars in change.
Speaker 3 (32:26):
I haven't done it in a while, I like, but
I've done it in the past plenty of times. And
I actually don't mind rolling change, but I couldn't imagine
how much time that would take.
Speaker 2 (32:36):
Yeah, that's I'd be like.
Speaker 3 (32:38):
Dude, I'm not go throwing a coin coinstar, I'm not
doing this.
Speaker 2 (32:42):
And I actually I actually watched a TikTok this morning
about a guy with a five gallon bucket full of change,
and it was like ended up being like over twelve
hundred dollars. So a cooler, Yeah, okay, that would have
that would have explained it. But why would Doc Harkless
have a cooler full of change or that much change
(33:04):
on hand?
Speaker 3 (33:05):
I haven't.
Speaker 2 (33:08):
Maybe he you know your car.
Speaker 3 (33:12):
I've seen some people they have those empty giant water
coolers and they'll just throw loose change in there. Maybe
they just saw it and was like, let me scoop
this up on the way out. This might be worth something.
Speaker 2 (33:24):
I mean it's three thousand bucks. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (33:26):
People people don't realize, you know, change is underrated. Okay,
I always pick up coins.
Speaker 2 (33:33):
Man, that's a lot. Okay, sorry to interrupt.
Speaker 3 (33:35):
No, you're fine. A Charlotte Jeweler testified that Stroyman had
actually paid in advance to have diamonds set into his
dental plate. So it sounds like he's kind of doing
I would think the equivalent of the people in Goodfellas,
where you start just throwing your money around right afterwards, Yeah,
(33:59):
and you're not supposed to be doing.
Speaker 2 (34:00):
Yes, was Latanza heist?
Speaker 3 (34:03):
I think though the burcoats and Catillac, you know cars and.
Speaker 2 (34:08):
Just Robert, what did I tell you? What did I
tell you?
Speaker 3 (34:12):
Yeah? Take it off, take it off off. So that's
that's about the equivalent is he was high rolling it immediately.
Besides all the evidence, surviving victims Frankie and Fletcher were
both able to identify the two men on trial, and
during one part of the trial, while Stroman's attorney was
(34:34):
approaching the bench to speak to the judge, a mouse
jumped out of the evident one of the evidence crates.
And because Doc had been a root doctor, a lot
of talk about voodoo had dominated during this the headlines
during this entire trial, and a court reporter I think
ended up putting in the in the transcript that one
(34:57):
of the deputies nearby said, it's the doc come back
as the mouth, mister Jingles could be He's like, I'm here.
So yeah, it was just like a weird, weird thing
that happened to that kind of trial of all places.
So yes, which is a weird thing that happened. But
the trial ended six weeks later and Livingston and Stroumann
(35:19):
were both found guilty of the four murders, five kidnappings,
and one count each of safe cracking, armed robbery, assault
with battery with intent to kill, and conspiracy to commit
armed robbery. They received thirty life terms plus one hundred
and forty five years in prison, and Frank McDowell received
(35:41):
the same sentence in exchange for his testimony, and all
three somehow managed to avoid the death penalty. There were
people that were it's still unknown as to why they
that wasn't an option. They think some things. Maybe the
jury didn't hear. I don't think that they heard that
Maxillena was pregnant at the time. Yeah, that could have
(36:03):
altered that.
Speaker 2 (36:05):
So Frank, oh, he turned state's evidence against He had
bo left in blood Livingstone and blood Stroman and he
ended up getting the same sentence anyway, that's.
Speaker 3 (36:16):
I saw that. So it was like with the what
what like? What did they maybe conscience? I mean, he
was the youngest out of all of them, so yeah,
I don't know if that had something to do with it,
or if he just he felt better. I don't know,
but either way, he didn't come out any easier. Yeah,
(36:38):
for his testimony. In February of nineteen eighty four, Stroman
and Livingstone wanted new trials because they felt that they
didn't receive affair one the first time. There was comments
about the jury was shown graphic pictures of the victims
(36:58):
from the crime scene, and won juror actually fainted on
the stand. You know, there's just but it came back
later that those were necessary to be able to show
and the arguments that they had were easily able to
be disputed. And in May of nineteen eighty four, the
State Supreme Court upheld the nineteen eighty two murder convictions,
(37:22):
but voided the life sentence they received for kidnapping, saying
it was it violated state law for you to get
a life sentence for kidnapping when they were already serving
life sentences for the murders. Okay, so I don't don't know,
same punishment, So you take one life sentence off, but
(37:44):
you still have a bunch. More So, it was never
determined who was actually the one that shot Dark Heartless,
though it was believed to have either been living Stone
or Stroman. McDowell admitted to shoot each of the victims
in the bathroom, but he said he pulled the trigger
(38:04):
while Strowman and Livingston held guns to his back. Okay,
so almost like he wasn't given a choice.
Speaker 2 (38:12):
You're gonna have skin in the game too.
Speaker 3 (38:14):
Mm hmm, yeah, yeah, you're gonna do something. Richland Sheriff
Frank Powell said that this was one of the most
difficult murder cases that we've had in the twenty six
years that I've been here. And though there were rumors
that Doc had put hexes on people, and that they
believe that maybe he had put a hex on someone,
they found out about it decided to come back and
(38:36):
even the score because again, like I said, this whole
voodoo witch doctor root doctor was all in the headlines
and we'll have pictures up of that about it. People
were believing that it could have had something to do
with that, but at the end of the day, police
determined that this was just a case of robbery that
(38:56):
turned very wrong. And yeah, us it was strange some
of the things that they saw on the property and
in the house, but it wasn't related. But people tried
to make it because it makes it more interesting. I
guess the rumors more sensation. Yeah, yeah, it sounds better.
(39:19):
I guess.
Speaker 1 (39:19):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (39:20):
And I mean they believe that they executed all the witnesses.
If it weren't for that bloody fingerprint left by Stroman,
they may have never called them.
Speaker 3 (39:32):
The only way they would have is if one of
the other two would have been willing to give him up.
And sometimes people do and sometimes they don't. I feel
like if I was involved in a crime with multiple
people and I got caught, and like there was still
somebody else out there, and I know I'm gonna go
to jail for the rest of my life. I think
(39:54):
I want to see you in there with me.
Speaker 2 (40:00):
Particularly.
Speaker 3 (40:00):
No, I'm saying like, if I were to go, I
wouldn't want something know when somebody's out there free, and
only because I'm not giving information.
Speaker 2 (40:07):
But yeah, this is the end of Carolina Crimes podcast.
Speaker 3 (40:09):
I don't I don't plan on committing any crimes. I'm
just saying, but I thought so they could have they
could have said, they could have told his name or whatever.
But yeah, he ended up. I mean, they believe they
executed everyone. He put a note up. Nobody's gonna know,
which I feel like, if there's a bloody fingerprint on there,
somebody probably would have been like, huh, that's wow. Interesting.
Speaker 2 (40:31):
But or maybe they were used to the animal sacrifices
that I might be goat blood cool. Uh.
Speaker 3 (40:35):
Yeah, I probably didn't think anything of it, just turn
around and leave. But fortunately two people did survive it. Fortunately, again,
the two children were not home, they were at school.
So but yeah, it's just a brutal murder. So they
can get some money because this person was well known
(40:59):
and everyone knew that guy's got money. Yeah, and it
made him a target unfortunately. But wow, it was interesting,
a lot of different things that we hadn't covered, and yeah,
that was.
Speaker 2 (41:12):
An interesting story for sure. Well, we want to thank you,
thank you Danielle for bringing us that one, and thank
you all for listening this week's edition of Carolina Crimes.
A few parting notes, Like Danielle said, on this episode,
we're gonna put up some pictures on Facebook at Carolina
Crimes Podcast also over on Twitter at sc crimes pod
(41:33):
if you haven't already, If you'd like to leave us
and support the show, leave us a five star review
and tell us what you like about the show at
If you're listening on Apple, iTunes, Apple Podcast, or Spotify,
that's available. Also, if you'd like to get some sweet
Carolina Crimes paraphernalia for your back, head on over to
Carolina Crimestore dot com and check those out. But until
(41:55):
next week, thank you for listening to this week's edition
of Carolina Crimes
For over three hundred and fifty years, the state of
South Carolina has been the setting for some of the
most horrendous crimes ever committed. Some have gained global notoriety,
some have been forgotten, and others have been swept under
the rug completely. Now, two South Carolina natives and true
(00:26):
crime enthusiasts have teamed up to examine these heinous acts
in detail, giving their perspective of the evil that has
resided in the Palmetto State. You're listening to Carolina Crimes.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
And welcome back to Carolina Crimes, episode two eighteen. I'm
one of your hosts, Matt Hyres, along.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
With Danielle Myers, and we're.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Over the moon thrill that you joined us here this week.
Speaker 3 (00:54):
More calming entrants, Yeah, a little bit.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
I'll decide to switch it up a little bit, switch
it up, little bit, but we're still excited. We're still
over the moon excited that you joined us here this week.
And we appreciate a lot of the feedback we got
from last week's episode. Out of Pickens County. Another tough one,
tough one about Willie Earle, a very historic case in
(01:18):
the history of the state of South Carolina that need
to be told, needs to be learned from, and is
in nineteen forty seven, so it's not that not that
distant of the past, you know. But this week we're
gonna head back down to the Midlands for your episode, Danielle,
(01:39):
and we're gonna come to you from Columbia, South Carolina.
But before we do, we want to remind all you listeners.
If you're not already following us on social media, check
us out on Carolina Crimes Podcast over on Facebook, also
on Twitter at sc Crimes pod. In addition to that,
if you'd like to support the show and it's completely free,
(02:00):
if you're listening on Spotify at iTunes, Apple iTunes or
Apple Podcasts and throw us a five star review, mash
that purple subscribe button and tell us a little bit
of something you like about the show or your pet's names.
We greatly appreciate that helps us drive us up the
charts and gain a few more listeners. Also, if you're
looking to decorate yourself for spring and get some sweet
(02:22):
Sweet Carolina Crimes paraphernalia, go and check us out at
Carolina crimesstore dot com. So, as we mentioned, we're gonna
be in Columbia, South Carolina this week, and normally, if
you're familiar with the show, we give a little setting,
a little history about the town we're going to be in.
(02:42):
We have covered Columbia several times, and we're just gonna
give a brief synopsis of where Columbia is if you're
a first time listener. It is, of course, the capital
city here in the state of South Carolina, located in
Richland County, almost at the geographic center of the state.
Graphic center actually lies I think in Sumter County. Okay, Yeah,
(03:04):
so just just east of Columbia, but Columbia, South Carolina.
It's home to a population of one hundred and thirty
six thousand, six hundred residents. That's just Columbia proper, not
the Columbia metro area. The metro area that's that's closer
to eight hundred and fifty thousand, which is includes you. Yeah,
(03:26):
but Columbia, one of the most populous regions in the
state of South Carolina, was named actually for Christopher Columbus,
who explored for the Spanish crown, and some of the
nicknames of Columbia or Cola and the Soda City, yes
they get the Soda City market.
Speaker 3 (03:46):
Downtown yeah, I've been there. It's really cool, like arts
and crafts and yeah, there's I mean they block off
like all of Main Street for a few hours. It's
usually it's usually on a Saturday. I don't know if
it's like once every couple of weeks, once a month,
I don't know for sure, but I have been and
there's a lot of vendors out there that have food trucks,
(04:08):
people selling like plants and flowers, some people you know,
making their own jewelry or you know, items, candles, things
like that. So it's just I mean, it's when it's
really nice out. It's just a nice area to go
get some food, walk around, kind of supporting local vendors.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
Yes, and I know that's one of the favorites of show.
Show enthusiast Liz tait her bow that people may be
more familiar with Tyler Cupp, who set in on several episodes,
but I know she loves that and it sounds like
a cool place, sounds like to.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
Visit, and they'll usually have some people out there playing
music and a lot of people bring their animals walking
around and it's just, yeah, it's just it's a cool
thing to do. It's something different.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
Good deal, good deal. Well, without any further ado, let's
just hop right in and tell that's what we're gonna
be talking about this week from down in Columbia, South Carolina.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
Well, this is one I was not a suggestion. It
was one I stumbled on, which happens from time to time,
and it goes back a little bit further than what
I usually go back to. It's gonna be eighty one, okay.
And even though it was you know, some of the
older cases, we do have a hard time finding some stuff,
(05:25):
but this one was covered a lot by the state newspaper,
the Columbia Star. And I did see one podcast on
it is called Missing in the Carolinas, Okay, And I
believe they do cases in North and South Carolina.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
I think, I think so, Yeah, they're they're pretty good.
They do a good job.
Speaker 3 (05:42):
Yeah they do.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
No.
Speaker 3 (05:43):
I listened to it and you know, just took some
notes and kind of piecemeal articles, you know, like we
usually do.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
That's what we gotta do.
Speaker 3 (05:51):
And I told you this one was gonna be a
little interesting because bringing up a I guess a different
kind of topic that gets mentioned. I don't know if
we've done it before. Known as voodoo.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
Oh yeah, and you said root doctors. Yeah, and there's
one from way back in the day. I've been kind
of holding on to from over in Darlington County too.
Speaker 3 (06:14):
Yeah, well that after your back pocket.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
Yeah, I was thinking more around Halloween. But yeah, let's
get started here this week, all right.
Speaker 3 (06:21):
So, enslaved African Americans were denied pretty much all their rights,
and one of those was access to proper medical care.
Because of this, they would often visit was known as
a root doctor, which for most of them, was the
only medical care available. Root doctors would treat various ailments,
(06:44):
from physical illnesses to emotional and spiritual problems. They would
prescribe herbs, roots, bark, and other natural substances to help
cure headaches, the common cold, and the flu. They also
believe that physical ailments could be intensified by social and
psychological factors. So, for example, a root doctor may notice
(07:06):
that a client is complaining of more headaches after taking
on more responsibilities at a job or in the home,
which is understandable, and they will work with a client
to help direct the negative energy away from the body
by having them journal burn a candle or putting a
glass of water by the bed at night and empty
at it in the next morning.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
Due, Okay, I'm glad you brought that up.
Speaker 3 (07:31):
And I went, maybe it's to kind of soak in
the negative energy and then you get rid of it.
I never heard of that.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
I don't know, but I'll share an experience here from
back back, back in my drinking days before I sobered up.
About fourteen years ago, I went with a bunch of
friends to New Orleans. There was a guy there in
Jackson Square. He said he could read your bones, and
(08:00):
I was like, I'll give it a shot. You know,
I was tipsy enough. I was like, let's do this man.
And he's blind, like covered my hands in oil and
he had me like shake up this cloth with like
chicken bones and dice and feathers and stuff, and he
was able to touch those. Dude, this guy was telling me
(08:22):
things about me that he shouldn't have known. I mean,
it was bonkers, and maybe he could pick up things
on my accent. He was telling me stuff, and then
it got to that exact thing. He said, Hey, when
you go home, get a glass, take it outside and
catch the first rain that comes down. And he proceeded
(08:46):
to tell me how my bedroom was set up furniture wise,
and I was like, whoa, bro, this is not for me.
I need to make a quick exit out of here.
But he said, he said, get that water. He said,
put it in the window sill, and when it's all evaporated,
wrap it in a white cloth, break the glass, and
(09:07):
throw it away.
Speaker 3 (09:08):
And I was like, did you do it?
Speaker 2 (09:11):
I was scared not to. I was like, oh my gosh.
If I don't do this, you know, I'm gonna grow
a third arm or something weird like that, or you know.
Speaker 3 (09:20):
Something's gonna happen to me. I don't know what.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
Yeah, something's gonna happen. And I was like, this is
I don't believe in any of this stuff, but he
made it very hard not to believe that he knew
he had some kind of clairvoyant power. And oh my gosh,
so yeah.
Speaker 3 (09:34):
That's uh, of course you would have an experience in that.
Speaker 2 (09:38):
Yeah, yeah, you know every time I'm around voodoo. So
but yeah, that was that was bizarre and bonkers, and
you just I was debating on whether sharing that story
or not. But then when you said the water by.
Speaker 3 (09:50):
The bed man and I've read that, and I was
like what is I don't know what that would do,
but I guess it's maybe absorbing the bad energy or whatever.
And I don't know, but.
Speaker 2 (10:02):
Yeah, because he was like, don't put it against the
He said, don't put it in the window on the
far wall. Put it on that window to the left
of your bed. And I was like, oh my gosh,
this god knows how my bedroom set up.
Speaker 3 (10:14):
So you have cameras and miles.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
Yeah, weird stuff.
Speaker 3 (10:18):
Sorry, that's a no, it's very relevant. Yeah, all right,
So that would be another option that they would give
people to help. And they would also be known as
witch doctors, as someone who could see evil and avert
it rather than just redirecting negative energy in the body.
(10:39):
And there was a lot of negative connotation with voodoo
because it came from slave owners that were fearful of
the religions that their slaves had. So that's where a
lot of it and it comes back to just not understanding. Yeah. Well,
even after slavery was abolished, root doctors continued to play
an important role in the African American communities. They were
(11:02):
still the main source for many people, especially those living
in poverty. Well, one well known route doctor was sixty
two year old Edward Harkless who went by Doc, and
he was described as the top root doctor in South Carolina.
And he lived in a low income neighborhood on Nightner
(11:24):
Road in Columbia, in what appeared to be what would
be described as like a compound. It was six acres.
It was well maintained, white brick two story home with
its own pond, two big sheds in the yard, and
also in the yard were chickens and geese. And it
(11:46):
was secluded from the ramshackle homes from the and the
rest of the neighborhood by two six foot chain link
fences with guard dogs. Okay, so everybody knew him, everybody
knew where he lived, and he just had this whole
little area set up and.
Speaker 2 (12:05):
Six acres in the middle of Columbia.
Speaker 3 (12:07):
It was at like the end of this neighborhood. And
so you go through this neighborhood and just these run
down homes, not the best area, and then there's his
little compound away from everything.
Speaker 2 (12:19):
Interesting.
Speaker 3 (12:20):
Yeah, you know. So Doc lived with his wife, thirty
nine year old Frankie Heartless, and their two children. Doc
didn't have any other income besides the fees he collected
for prescribing herbal cures, casting spells, and exercising demons.
Speaker 2 (12:38):
Well, he must have been doing pretty well. Yeah, if
he had a house with a compound and able to
raise two kids or something. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (12:49):
Well, spiritual leaders were looked up so much in the
community that they were often the wealthiest, which could lead
to a lot of theft. I mean you or a
walking target. People know who you are, they know what
you do, and they know that person has some money.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (13:10):
Well, police responded to the home on night Iner Road
on the morning of September twenty ninth, nineteen eighty one,
and inside they found a primitive altar that showed signs
of animal sacrifices and voodoo literature. Doc Is found in
his office fatally shot through the heart, and two rooms
(13:34):
away in the bathroom where police look inside, they find
what they later described as a vicious massacre. So we're
gonna take our first break and get into what exactly
was found inside of this home on this compound in Columbia.
Speaker 2 (13:55):
Well, you've got us hooked, you do, all right, folks,
We'll be right back after this quick word from our sponsor,
(14:20):
and welcome back to Carolina Crimes, Episode two. Eighteen out
of Columbia, South Carolina. And when we left off, we
talked about a police call to the compound on Knightner
Road for Edward Doc Harkless, one of the pre eminent
route doctors in the state of South Carolina back in
(14:43):
nineteen eighty one, and police, of course found Doc shot
in the chest in his office, and you mentioned then
they found the scene of what was described as a
massacre in the home.
Speaker 3 (14:56):
Yes well, in the bathroom, police found thirty three year
old Ralph Felder, who was a part time chicken and
goat farmer from Sally, South Carolina, on the floor beside
the bathtub. Twenty seven year old Maxleinia Likes, who was
a live in housekeeper of the Heartlesses, was several feet
(15:20):
from the others and was later determined to be six
weeks pregnant at the time. And Leroy Hemphill, a fifty
two year old truck driver, was in the bathtub. All
had been shot execution style from behind. What police also
found in Doc's office a safe that had been forcibly opened.
(15:45):
Immediately after the bodies were discovered, Richland County Sheriff Frank
Powell told the media that he could not say whether
the robbery of the large safe, the murders, and the
alleged occult practices were linked, because clearly people who the
victims were at least.
Speaker 2 (16:03):
The house and especially in that community.
Speaker 3 (16:07):
Doc's wife, Frankie and fifty seven year old Fletcher Felder,
who was the father of thirty three year old Ralph Felder,
had both been injured but managed to survive. Frankie had
been shot in the head, but managed to flee the
scene with a bullet lodged in her brain. She jumped
in her maroon Cadillac, but collapsed once she got behind
(16:32):
the wheel, and the car rolled three hundred and fifty
feet down the road before coming to a stop, which
was where I believe a neighbors saw her and that's
how the police were able to be notified. Fletcher had
been shot in the back of the head and the
bullet passed through his lower jaw so it didn't end
(16:52):
up brain. The two surviving victims were taken to Richly
Memorial Hospital, where Frankie, who was first listed as critical
but eventually became stable and later was determined They called
her the Miracle Lady because she had this vicious gunshot wound.
(17:12):
She had been struck in the brain and managed to survive,
and her and Fletcher were moved to an undisclosed location
during their recoveries and were under twenty four hour police
watch because they were like, this was a targeted attack
and we don't know who these perpetrators are, how many,
and we need to see if we can get some information,
(17:33):
but we need to make sure that they don't come back.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
Yeah, and it was obviously something intentional and it was
a hit.
Speaker 3 (17:41):
Yeah, I mean that's what it looked like. Yes, They
were eventually able to give details about what happened that day.
Frankie told them that she and Max Leinia Likes, the housekeeper,
had returned to the house a little after nine am
(18:02):
after taking Frankie's two children to school. Fletcher and his
son arrived around ten am. The son. The father and
son sold goats and other animals that were important to
Doc's practices, and we talked about there. It was some
stuff that looked like there was animal sacrifice.
Speaker 2 (18:20):
Chickens running around the yard.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
Geese, yeah, yeah, and I got goats involved. Okay, that's
when she said. The three men showed up just after
just after the father and son arrived so between ten
ten thirty and ended up basically busting into the house
with weapons. They rounded everybody up and held all six
(18:44):
victims hostage for two hours, she said, questioning them the
entire time. When Doc refused to open the safe that
he had in his office, he was then shot in
the heart, knocking him out of his chair. The two
men were ended up staying at the house to guard
(19:05):
the victims, while the third one drove to a local
store to buy tools that would help them break into
the safe. So you've got these six people rounded up
in this office, a person that's just been killed, and
they're being guarded while they're waiting for someone to come
back to be able to open this safe. And eventually
(19:27):
they were able to get into the safe and ended
up getting about two hundred and fifty to five hundred
thousand dollars what in cash, So he did have I
think it was he collectively. He didn't say specifically, but
some other details that will come up later. I believe
there was also it could have been between cash like jewelry, valuables, coins,
(19:51):
things like that. So all in all of everything that
they took, it ended up being pretty substantial amount and you.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
I mean, okay, I was surprised, but you started talking
about like jewelry and things like that. You got to
think with the type of air quotes medicine he was practicing,
probably not a lot of people had cash on hand
to pay for his services. Maybe there was some bartering
going on, like hey, I like that diamond necklace, you know,
(20:23):
let's give me.
Speaker 3 (20:24):
Like yeah, other ways to get payment. Yeah, maybe switch
out favors things like that to kind of help. So yeah,
all in all, there was just like I think, just
the it wasn't just you know, wads of cash in there,
but he had a good bit in there and it
was a pretty you know, decent safe.
Speaker 2 (20:42):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (20:43):
That's when Frankie said. Afterwards, they after they got the money,
which clearly was what they were there for, they herded
the fire the remaining five people into a rear bathroom
and bedroom and had them kneel down and place their
hands against the wall before shooting each of them. Once
the three men fled from the scene, Frankie and Fletcher
(21:05):
realizing that they had gone. That was when they had
managed to escape, and they were able to identify the
suspects through mugshots.
Speaker 2 (21:15):
Really so they didn't cover their face. Well, they probably
thought they'd killed everybody.
Speaker 3 (21:22):
Well that could have been the reason why they felt
like they had to kill everybody because they didn't have
their faces covered, but they knew who they were. And
you know, very brutal execution. I mean, I just think
about reading this. I was just like the fear.
Speaker 2 (21:41):
Yeah, you're seeing people get shot all around you.
Speaker 3 (21:44):
I mean, and this is a two hour ordeal.
Speaker 2 (21:47):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (21:48):
So it's fortunately though they had severe wounds, Frankie and
Fletcher were able to survive, and they were able to
identify suspects through mugshots. And now the hunt was on HM.
And we're gonna take another break and see how they
go about capturing these people.
Speaker 2 (22:07):
All right, folks, So we'll be right back after this
quick word from our sponsors, and welcome back to Carolina Crimes,
(22:33):
episode two eighteen, emanating from Columbia, South Carolina. And we've
talked about the murder of Edward Doc Harkless, the murder
of Ralph Felder, Maxina Likes, and Leroy Hemphill and the
two survivors we had Frankie, Doc's wife and the other
(22:57):
gentleman of mister Fletcher Felder is well, and when we
left off, you said that they were able to look
at mugshots and actually identify the home intruders.
Speaker 3 (23:08):
And yeah, and they both were able to identify the
same three people.
Speaker 2 (23:15):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (23:16):
And fortunately they were able to round them up pretty
quickly to Just two days after the murders, thirty two
year old Charles Livingston, who went by Bow left of
West Columbia, was arrested at one pm after ten hours
of him leading law enforcement on a chase throughout the
(23:38):
city of Columbia ten hours. When police attempted to stop him,
he fled before crashing into a parked car, where he
got out and took off on foot. Three bloodhounds from
Sled were brought in to pursue him, but it was
called off after they lost his scent. And also they
being in downtown Columbia. If you're in a city like that,
(24:00):
you don't want to be in too much of a chase,
as far as a car chase, because it's very dangerous,
a lot of pedestrians, a lot of traffic, and you
can end up potentially hurting somebody else.
Speaker 2 (24:13):
So they don't get it.
Speaker 3 (24:14):
Not the best place, but they didn't have to go
too far because then he ended up taking off and
then the bloodhounds lost the scent.
Speaker 2 (24:21):
Wow, and they okay, so, yeah, you said, a chase
through Columbia for ten hours.
Speaker 3 (24:26):
I thought this guy was well. He did well. He
eluded them in the car for a while before he
ran into a parked car and then just took off ditched. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (24:37):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (24:38):
William James, who went by Blood Stroman, forty three, was
arrested in Charlotte and refused to waive extradition, claiming he
wasn't even in South Carolina at the time of the murders,
so they held him in Charlotte jail okay. On November ninth,
the third and final suspect, Frank Emmanuel, who went by
(25:01):
Frank O McDonald, who was twenty six, was also arrested
in Charlotte at his mother's home. Livingston and McDowell had
been picked up picked from a photo lineup, and Stroman's
fingerprints were a match to a bloody fingerprint found on
a note that had been put on Doc's front door
that said the doctor is out. So when they went
(25:25):
to leave, it was almost a way of keeping people
from fire at that yeah, at least right away, giving
them some time to get out of dodge.
Speaker 2 (25:33):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (25:35):
All three were charged with murder, kidnapping, armed robbery, safe cracking,
and assault and battery with intent to kill.
Speaker 2 (25:44):
So a safe all right, I'm getting real nitpicky. So
a safe cracking charge. That's like for any safe I believe.
Speaker 3 (25:52):
So I remember seeing that. I was like, I don't
know if I have ever ever heard of that charge.
Speaker 2 (25:58):
I thought it was only like applicable like in bank
robberies or if you you know, burgled someplace that had,
you know, a money drop box or something like that.
But I guess that applies in a private home as well,
I believe though.
Speaker 3 (26:13):
I mean they I guess maybe because it they used tools.
Speaker 2 (26:18):
Yeah, I guess I.
Speaker 3 (26:20):
Have to look further into that one. Because I said
safe cracking. I haven't heard that. Well. Even though all
the suspects had been rounded up and charged and we're
in jail awaiting trial, the drama around this case continued.
On November ninth, the same day that the third suspect,
(26:42):
Frank McDowell, had been arrested. The a call came in
about a suspicious vehicle near Euclaire High School. Oh Claire.
I knew I was going to say, that wrong, I
always say it Okay oclere rock that had been sitting
there for several hours. So around ten am, two patrol
officers arrived and approached the driver, asked for identification, and
(27:06):
they were met with a twenty two caliber rifle and
the driver threatening to shoot them Okay. They immediately called
for backup and police Commander BT Mike Galvin and Lieutenant
John L. Keith arrived on the scene to help with negotiations.
The man was soon identified as fifty six year old
(27:27):
Freddie Harkless, the brother of Doc Harkless Okay. Police then
called his sister, Pearl Johnson to try to get him
to surrender, but after a couple hours nothing happened. He
refused and told her to just go home. Police were
about eight feet from him when Freddy turned and they
(27:49):
were able to rush him, not before he got a
shot off, striking Lieutenant Keith in the shoulder and causing
a minor flesh wound. Pearl, who had a heart condition
and feinted at the scene and was taken to Richland
Memorial Hospital, where she was examined and later released.
Speaker 2 (28:06):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (28:07):
So Pearl later ended up telling police that Freddy had
been very distraught ever since their brother had been murdered
and was not handling it well that's I.
Speaker 2 (28:19):
Mean, that's not the way to handle it, but obviously,
but it's kind of understandable. You know, he's going through
a rough time.
Speaker 3 (28:27):
It sounded like well, and I think he was married
and had kids of his own and was living in
his own home. But after this happened, he for some reason,
I don't know if it's because he wanted to be
near his surviving sibling, but he was staying with her
for a little bit for the past few days.
Speaker 2 (28:43):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (28:44):
A month later, Freddie was declared incompetent to stand trial
for shooting Lieutenant Keith and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder
and depression with psychotic features. He was ordered to remain
in the care of the medical staff at the State
Hospital under a temporary court order commitment that checks out
the next The next day, police made a statement that
(29:07):
Freddie Harkless's arrest was not related in any way to
the investigation of his brother's murder, and this was another
way that this crime had an effect on people the community.
Speaker 2 (29:20):
Ye, another layer peeled back.
Speaker 3 (29:23):
So we'll take one last break and then get into
them going to trial and what their uh, what their
sentences are if they get convicted.
Speaker 2 (29:35):
All right, but we'll be right back after this quick
break and we'll come back to Carolina Crimes, episode two
(30:02):
eighteen for a third time. I'm Matt Heyers along with
co host Danielle Myers in this case out of Columbia.
That just keeps getting weirder and weirder. And uh, sorry,
we normally only take two breaks, That's what I was
kind of laughing about it. And yeah, we forgot we
took one. But thanks to the advertisers and thanks for
(30:23):
bearing with us. We're good, Yes, we're good. Sorry about that.
Speaker 3 (30:29):
So they Charles Livingston and William Strowman both went to
trial in June of nineteen eighty two. Frank McDowell had
pled guilty and agreed to testify against the other two
men at their trial.
Speaker 2 (30:42):
Okay, he's turning state's evidence.
Speaker 1 (30:45):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (30:46):
Livingston's boss had testified that he Livingston had come to
him earlier that morning between none non forty five ish
and said that he wasn't feeling very well, and he
told Livingston to just go ahead and go home for
the day. I don't want you getting anybody else sick,
and this was not too long before the murders occurred,
(31:09):
so that fit with him not being able to say
that he was working. Another witness named Homer Buddy McCombe
from Charlotte testified that Stroman had brought forty five hundred
dollars in cash to his house the day after the murders,
and he asked him, did you did you hurt somebody?
(31:35):
Wondering where this money's coming from all of a sudden.
Speaker 2 (31:37):
Yeah, I've never had that much cash in my life,
probably never will.
Speaker 3 (31:41):
Well, And for him to just show up and be like,
look what I have, He's like, did you hurt somebody?
And Strouman told him that, you know, it came from
holding up a bookie home in the mountains of North Carolina,
but nobody was hurt. Okay, He's testified, and also that
Strowman later brought over a cooler filled with almost three
(32:05):
thousand dollars worth of coins and the two of them
rolled them.
Speaker 2 (32:11):
So this is not like valuable coins like change.
Speaker 3 (32:15):
That's what it sounds like. That's why I'm saying I
don't think it was just straight cash that was taken.
Speaker 2 (32:21):
Good gosh, three thousand dollars in change.
Speaker 3 (32:26):
I haven't done it in a while, I like, but
I've done it in the past plenty of times. And
I actually don't mind rolling change, but I couldn't imagine
how much time that would take.
Speaker 2 (32:36):
Yeah, that's I'd be like.
Speaker 3 (32:38):
Dude, I'm not go throwing a coin coinstar, I'm not
doing this.
Speaker 2 (32:42):
And I actually I actually watched a TikTok this morning
about a guy with a five gallon bucket full of change,
and it was like ended up being like over twelve
hundred dollars. So a cooler, Yeah, okay, that would have
that would have explained it. But why would Doc Harkless
have a cooler full of change or that much change
(33:04):
on hand?
Speaker 3 (33:05):
I haven't.
Speaker 2 (33:08):
Maybe he you know your car.
Speaker 3 (33:12):
I've seen some people they have those empty giant water
coolers and they'll just throw loose change in there. Maybe
they just saw it and was like, let me scoop
this up on the way out. This might be worth something.
Speaker 2 (33:24):
I mean it's three thousand bucks. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (33:26):
People people don't realize, you know, change is underrated. Okay,
I always pick up coins.
Speaker 2 (33:33):
Man, that's a lot. Okay, sorry to interrupt.
Speaker 3 (33:35):
No, you're fine. A Charlotte Jeweler testified that Stroyman had
actually paid in advance to have diamonds set into his
dental plate. So it sounds like he's kind of doing
I would think the equivalent of the people in Goodfellas,
where you start just throwing your money around right afterwards, Yeah,
(33:59):
and you're not supposed to be doing.
Speaker 2 (34:00):
Yes, was Latanza heist?
Speaker 3 (34:03):
I think though the burcoats and Catillac, you know cars and.
Speaker 2 (34:08):
Just Robert, what did I tell you? What did I
tell you?
Speaker 3 (34:12):
Yeah? Take it off, take it off off. So that's
that's about the equivalent is he was high rolling it immediately.
Besides all the evidence, surviving victims Frankie and Fletcher were
both able to identify the two men on trial, and
during one part of the trial, while Stroman's attorney was
(34:34):
approaching the bench to speak to the judge, a mouse
jumped out of the evident one of the evidence crates.
And because Doc had been a root doctor, a lot
of talk about voodoo had dominated during this the headlines
during this entire trial, and a court reporter I think
ended up putting in the in the transcript that one
(34:57):
of the deputies nearby said, it's the doc come back
as the mouth, mister Jingles could be He's like, I'm here.
So yeah, it was just like a weird, weird thing
that happened to that kind of trial of all places.
So yes, which is a weird thing that happened. But
the trial ended six weeks later and Livingston and Stroumann
(35:19):
were both found guilty of the four murders, five kidnappings,
and one count each of safe cracking, armed robbery, assault
with battery with intent to kill, and conspiracy to commit
armed robbery. They received thirty life terms plus one hundred
and forty five years in prison, and Frank McDowell received
(35:41):
the same sentence in exchange for his testimony, and all
three somehow managed to avoid the death penalty. There were
people that were it's still unknown as to why they
that wasn't an option. They think some things. Maybe the
jury didn't hear. I don't think that they heard that
Maxillena was pregnant at the time. Yeah, that could have
(36:03):
altered that.
Speaker 2 (36:05):
So Frank, oh, he turned state's evidence against He had
bo left in blood Livingstone and blood Stroman and he
ended up getting the same sentence anyway, that's.
Speaker 3 (36:16):
I saw that. So it was like with the what
what like? What did they maybe conscience? I mean, he
was the youngest out of all of them, so yeah,
I don't know if that had something to do with it,
or if he just he felt better. I don't know,
but either way, he didn't come out any easier. Yeah,
(36:38):
for his testimony. In February of nineteen eighty four, Stroman
and Livingstone wanted new trials because they felt that they
didn't receive affair one the first time. There was comments
about the jury was shown graphic pictures of the victims
(36:58):
from the crime scene, and won juror actually fainted on
the stand. You know, there's just but it came back
later that those were necessary to be able to show
and the arguments that they had were easily able to
be disputed. And in May of nineteen eighty four, the
State Supreme Court upheld the nineteen eighty two murder convictions,
(37:22):
but voided the life sentence they received for kidnapping, saying
it was it violated state law for you to get
a life sentence for kidnapping when they were already serving
life sentences for the murders. Okay, so I don't don't know,
same punishment, So you take one life sentence off, but
(37:44):
you still have a bunch. More So, it was never
determined who was actually the one that shot Dark Heartless,
though it was believed to have either been living Stone
or Stroman. McDowell admitted to shoot each of the victims
in the bathroom, but he said he pulled the trigger
(38:04):
while Strowman and Livingston held guns to his back. Okay,
so almost like he wasn't given a choice.
Speaker 2 (38:12):
You're gonna have skin in the game too.
Speaker 3 (38:14):
Mm hmm, yeah, yeah, you're gonna do something. Richland Sheriff
Frank Powell said that this was one of the most
difficult murder cases that we've had in the twenty six
years that I've been here. And though there were rumors
that Doc had put hexes on people, and that they
believe that maybe he had put a hex on someone,
they found out about it decided to come back and
(38:36):
even the score because again, like I said, this whole
voodoo witch doctor root doctor was all in the headlines
and we'll have pictures up of that about it. People
were believing that it could have had something to do
with that, but at the end of the day, police
determined that this was just a case of robbery that
(38:56):
turned very wrong. And yeah, us it was strange some
of the things that they saw on the property and
in the house, but it wasn't related. But people tried
to make it because it makes it more interesting. I
guess the rumors more sensation. Yeah, yeah, it sounds better.
(39:19):
I guess.
Speaker 1 (39:19):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (39:20):
And I mean they believe that they executed all the witnesses.
If it weren't for that bloody fingerprint left by Stroman,
they may have never called them.
Speaker 3 (39:32):
The only way they would have is if one of
the other two would have been willing to give him up.
And sometimes people do and sometimes they don't. I feel
like if I was involved in a crime with multiple
people and I got caught, and like there was still
somebody else out there, and I know I'm gonna go
to jail for the rest of my life. I think
(39:54):
I want to see you in there with me.
Speaker 2 (40:00):
Particularly.
Speaker 3 (40:00):
No, I'm saying like, if I were to go, I
wouldn't want something know when somebody's out there free, and
only because I'm not giving information.
Speaker 2 (40:07):
But yeah, this is the end of Carolina Crimes podcast.
Speaker 3 (40:09):
I don't I don't plan on committing any crimes. I'm
just saying, but I thought so they could have they
could have said, they could have told his name or whatever.
But yeah, he ended up. I mean, they believe they
executed everyone. He put a note up. Nobody's gonna know,
which I feel like, if there's a bloody fingerprint on there,
somebody probably would have been like, huh, that's wow. Interesting.
Speaker 2 (40:31):
But or maybe they were used to the animal sacrifices
that I might be goat blood cool. Uh.
Speaker 3 (40:35):
Yeah, I probably didn't think anything of it, just turn
around and leave. But fortunately two people did survive it. Fortunately, again,
the two children were not home, they were at school.
So but yeah, it's just a brutal murder. So they
can get some money because this person was well known
(40:59):
and everyone knew that guy's got money. Yeah, and it
made him a target unfortunately. But wow, it was interesting,
a lot of different things that we hadn't covered, and yeah,
that was.
Speaker 2 (41:12):
An interesting story for sure. Well, we want to thank you,
thank you Danielle for bringing us that one, and thank
you all for listening this week's edition of Carolina Crimes.
A few parting notes, Like Danielle said, on this episode,
we're gonna put up some pictures on Facebook at Carolina
Crimes Podcast also over on Twitter at sc crimes pod
(41:33):
if you haven't already, If you'd like to leave us
and support the show, leave us a five star review
and tell us what you like about the show at
If you're listening on Apple, iTunes, Apple Podcast, or Spotify,
that's available. Also, if you'd like to get some sweet
Carolina Crimes paraphernalia for your back, head on over to
Carolina Crimestore dot com and check those out. But until
(41:55):
next week, thank you for listening to this week's edition
of Carolina Crimes
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