May 18, 2025 • 40 mins
May is a month of graduations which are usually marked by family celebrations, but that was not the case in 2000. A Furman University Senior's father was excited and set to celebrate his son's big day but didn't make it. We examine this cold case and evidence presented in the death of Michael McCuen.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
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 (00:42):
And welcome back to Carolina Crimes, Episode two twenty two.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
I'm one of your hosts, Matt Hyres, along.
Speaker 4 (00:50):
With Danielle Myers, and we're over the moon.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
Thrilled that you joined us here.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Please excuse my voice this episode. It's been a long
weekend with a lot of talking, Danielle, so we kind
of went over everything from broadcasting an Italian festival to
being an auctioneer and MC at a fundraiser last night,
and it's it kind of took a toll on me
(01:14):
here this morning.
Speaker 4 (01:15):
I don't blame I don't see how it wouldn't. I mean,
I never know what fifteen adventures you're going to have
in one weekend.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
Well this is my favorite one, so yes, that's all
that matters. Yes, and welcome. Thank you all so much.
We hope all you moms out there had a happy
Mother's Day. It was interesting and fun to have my
mom here in the studio with us.
Speaker 4 (01:38):
Was some competition. I have to watch my back.
Speaker 3 (01:43):
Yeah, she did a good job. She did a good job.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
We had kind of that palate cleansing episode. We appreciate
all the feedback about that from Grandison Harris, the resurrection
Man and the grave robbing shenanigans and everything that he did.
That just such a wild story that that happened right here.
So incredible, incredible. Well, this week's story is gonna come
(02:08):
from Anderson, South Carolina. But before we hop into that,
just wanted to cover our bases. I think you wanted
to talk about if your grandmother's birthday you had last weekend.
Speaker 4 (02:20):
Oh yeah, you told me you were going to shout
out my nat. She turned ninety and we had a
surprise party for her. She's very okay not doing stuff
for herself, so she was very surprised. Had great time,
a lot of friends and family from out of town,
out of state, so it was a good time, good.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
Good and you're doing something and you talk about my
weekend shenanigans. You're going to do something pretty interesting tonight, right, Yes,
tell everybody.
Speaker 4 (02:49):
A drag him, kicking and screaming with me to Congrete
National Park. I've seen this a few years and I've
been meaning to do it, and I finally did. It's
the synchronization of the fireflies, So I think I don't
really know what to expect, but I think you go
out there, it's a couple of hours, you're like pitch dark,
and they're supposed to be thousands of just fireflies everywhere, and.
Speaker 3 (03:13):
Experience kind of horrify.
Speaker 4 (03:16):
Ah, I love it. I don't know, man, I like being.
Speaker 3 (03:19):
Outside winged creatures, you know.
Speaker 4 (03:22):
I don't think they're bothering you, So I'll have to.
I'll take pictures and report back.
Speaker 3 (03:26):
Why are they? Why are they sinking up?
Speaker 4 (03:28):
Or how do they I don't know exactly how they
do it, but I think it's just the big old
mating thing. I'm guessing. So it's like a firefly orgy,
I guess so, But I won't be participating. I'm gonna
watch it voyeuristic.
Speaker 3 (03:46):
That's a little voyeurist and then you said you're gonna
take pictures.
Speaker 4 (03:50):
Well, it's it's nature. Okay, that's how it is.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
It's a circle of life, as Mufassa says. But okay,
so enough of that. Sorry, we got that back and
forth going. But before we get started, just want to
remind folks, if you want to look at pictures from
our episodes, put some faces with some names. Check us
out on social media over at Carolina Crimes Podcast on Facebook.
(04:15):
Also over on Twitter at sc Crimes pod. If you're
looking to support the show, and we're going to thank
a lot of people that did so at the end
of this show, give you some shout outs, head on over.
Speaker 3 (04:26):
If you're listening on.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
Apple Podcast or Apple iTunes or Spotify, make sure to
throw us a five star review, tell us a little
something about what you like about the show, and also
excuse me, and also tell us what you like about
the show, your pets names, anything like that, what you're
having for dinner, all that paraphernalia. Speaking of paraphernalia, if
(04:49):
you're looking to get some sweet Carolina Crimes paraphernalia for
your back, head on over to Carolina Crimestore dot com
and get you some paraphernalia there. We would greatly appreciate that. So,
as we mentioned, we're going to Anderson County, South Carolina
this week. And Anderson County, if you're not familiar with
the state, it's located in the northwest portion of South Carolina,
(05:12):
just south of Pickens County and west of Greenville. So
I think right there that Pickens Anderson Greenville area. It's
really where Clipson University is, of course, And originally that
area was Cherokee land, and it was actually acquired by
the South Carolina legislature after the American Revolution.
Speaker 3 (05:36):
That was.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
Part of some treaty or law that took the land
away from the Cherokee because they sided with the British.
Speaker 3 (05:44):
In the war.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
Now, the county it was named for Robert Anderson, who
was a militia officer during the Revolution, but he was
also a surveyor who explored and mapped out most of
the region in the seventeen hundreds. During the Civil War,
Anderson was home to a Confederate treasury building, which was
eventually ransacked by Union forces.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
They did have.
Speaker 2 (06:09):
Some small skirmishes around Anderson. It looked like only two
Union officers lost their lives and those but source of contention,
especially when you throw money in the mix there. Now,
the establishment, this is awesome. It's my favorite story I
think about Anderson County. The establishment of the hydro electric
(06:30):
plant on the Rocky River in eighteen ninety five made
Anderson one of the first cities in the Southeast to
have electricity, leading to its nickname the Electric City. Oh
so that's a pretty cool, uh feather in Anderson's cap there.
In nineteen eleven, Anderson College was established by the Chamber
(06:51):
of Commerce in Anderson, and today it's known as Anderson University.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
Today.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
The economy of Anderson County it revolves almost not exclusively,
but heavily on manufacturing, and it's bolstered by Glenn Raven Incorporated.
And a good portion of the twenty eight thousand citizens
of Anderson they worked there or in manufacturing. Now, some
(07:19):
of the more famous citizens to come out of Anderson County,
We're going to start with one of my favorites. I'm
very grateful to have the opportunity to have met him
one time, James Kennedy, also known.
Speaker 3 (07:31):
As Radio Oh yeah, if you remember, there was a
motion picture, yeah, Cuba Gooding with Cuba.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
Gooding junior, and it was about a special needs young
man back in the late sixties, I'm sorry, late sixties,
early seventies who kind of became a part of the
TL Hannah High School football program, welcome by coach Jones
(07:59):
there and Coach Jones kind of took him in, took
him under his wing, took care of him, especially after
Radio's mother passed, and he was a mainstay and would
travel with the team and was always a junior.
Speaker 3 (08:15):
He would say he would.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
Hang out at the high school and he'd always say
he was a junior because he was a senior that
many had to graduate, and just a absolute character. When
I met him and everybody that's met him, he had
an indelible impact on their lives. But unfortunately James or Radio,
he left us in twenty nineteen. Also from Anderson, another
(08:41):
very sad story. The actor Chadwick Boseman, Yes, played star
in the movie forty two, was Vonte Mack in Draft
Day and also was the Black Panther and the Black
Panther in Avenger movies. And he passed away from cancer
in twenty twenty at a very young age.
Speaker 1 (09:02):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
Also from Anderson Kipling Kip Anderson. He was a singer
songwriter who worked with some of the all time greats,
including Sam Cook, Jackie Wilson, and the Drifters. All right, yes, ma'am,
but Danielle, let's dive into it. Tell us what we're
gonna be talking about today, Okay, as I try not
(09:24):
to sound like Berry White.
Speaker 4 (09:26):
Yeah, so say you do kind of have like a
smooth voice, all right, smooth.
Speaker 3 (09:30):
Days worn out.
Speaker 4 (09:31):
It's like you're trying to just calm the room.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
No, I don't mean to be boring, it's just my
vok learning can.
Speaker 4 (09:40):
Can't even anymore after this weekend. Well, this is a
case that has gone cold and to this day has
yet to be solved. It was it was featured on
the show Cold Justice, which is shown on Oxygen, when
the victims family reached out to see if they would
give this the investigators look at this stuff and give
(10:04):
it a second look, see if we can get this
case solved, because that's exactly what they do. They try
to bring justice for cold cases. Okay, and the producers
and everyone agreed. And this episode actually aired last April,
and it included investigators from the Anderson County Sheriff's Office,
including their the sheriff himself along with a retired LAPD
(10:28):
cold case investigator. So this story's going to kind of
be going over the crime and then things that they
have research or what they've uncovered since revisited this case.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
Just some some new new additives in.
Speaker 4 (10:45):
This yes, and what they just again, fresh set of
eyes always helps, always well. In the early morning hours
of May twenty seventh, two thousand, around six point thirty
in the morning, Matthew McEwan, who's twenty at the time,
arrived at the house of his father, Michael McEwan to
surprise him for breakfast before the two were gonna set
(11:08):
off for Matthew's graduation from Furman University that afternoon. His
father was also a university Furman University alumni, so this
was kind of a special little bonding experience for the two.
As Matthew approached the house, instead of surprising his dad,
(11:30):
he was the one who was surprised. Matthew found his
dad in the back of the house in a flower bed, deceased.
Speaker 3 (11:39):
Whoa on his graduation?
Speaker 4 (11:42):
Yes. He called nine to one one and when police arrived,
they saw fifty six year old Michael. He was naked,
He was seated and slumped over into the flower bed
with a cordless phone and a gun at his feet.
In so, there was a blood trail that was found
leading from the bedroom all the way throughout the house
(12:07):
to ultimately where he ended up right outside in the
flower bed. It was believed that Michael was attacked while
he was asleep, and though fatally wounded, managed to grab
his gun while which he actually kept near his bed,
probably his bedside table and the cordless phone, probably with
hopes of getting to be able to call for help,
(12:29):
and unfortunately passed away before he could make that call.
They Upon entering the home, police also noticed that there
was a broken window by the back door in a
kitchen drawer that had been opened and clearly rifled through,
which they believe this is most likely where the killer
retrieved the murder weapon. But other than that, nothing else
(12:52):
in the house was disturbed. Even though this seemed like
someone broke into the house, Well, there was a it
looked like somebody had broken into the window to maybe
reach across it opened the latch. So they're like, okay,
this is a break in, but other than his kitchen
drawer being opened, we don't see where anything else is
(13:15):
rifled through, anything's overturned. There wasn't any kind of struggle
other than something happened in the bedroom and then the
person fled and he ended up outside. The bloody kitchen
knife was found inside the home, but they were unfortunately
not able to get any DNA off of it. An
autopsy was performed and it was determined that Michael had
(13:35):
suffered seventeen stab wounds, with a fatal wound being in
the heart, and it was determined that Michael was most
likely killed between three and six in the morning, So
you know, his son showed up at six thirty, now,
so it could I mean, he could have just yeah,
(13:56):
just very you know, just bypassed this person. Though this
was believed to be a break in, nothing was stolen,
so police had to ask themselves. Did the intruder break
into the home not thinking anybody was there and was
surprised to find Michael's sleeping he woke up, he attacked
or was this something more personal? And we're gonna take
(14:19):
our first break and when we come back, we're gonna
get into the investigation of what they find.
Speaker 2 (14:26):
We'll be right back, all right, We'll be right back
after this quick word from our sponsors and welcome back
(14:53):
to Carolina Crimes, episode two twenty two out of Anderson County,
South Carolina. And this weird story about Matthew mchun his
graduation day, coming home and finding his dad Michael in
the backyard, stabbed seventeen times once in the heart, had
the cordless phone and a gun out there beside him
(15:15):
like he was trying to defend himself, but unfortunately.
Speaker 3 (15:18):
He did lose his life.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
Yes, and so investigators, like you said, they had some questions.
Speaker 3 (15:26):
There was a broken window, but nothing was.
Speaker 4 (15:29):
Taken, No, and it appeared that the murder weapon came
from the house. Well, many times in investigating cases like this,
detectives will do what they call a victimology, or literally
is the study of the victim, where you need to
learn more about their habits, who they associate with, etc.
(15:51):
And that's a way that you can kind of see
if they had any issues with anybody or if there
was anyone who could be responsible for this. And they
learned that Michael had lost his wife Bobby to breast
cancer just two years before in nineteen ninety eight, and
the two of them only had one child together and
that was Matthew. He was big in the community, a
(16:12):
member of the West Peltzer Baptist Church where he was
a deacon and a Sunday school director. And you'll appreciate this.
He was a South Carolina High School League football official.
Speaker 3 (16:24):
Oh wow wow.
Speaker 4 (16:27):
And he was considered what they would call a low
risk victim. He didn't owe anybody any money, he didn't
have a risky lifestyle, he wasn't involved in drugs. So
it kind of made it a little bit harder to
find out who had such a vendetta against him, and
detectives were able to quickly rule out possible suspects, anybody
(16:50):
that he'd associate with in the community. Everybody had great
things to say about him, and so they decided to
turn their attention to those closest to him, and that
includes did his son, Matthew. Matthew was described as highly intelligent.
He was valed victorian in his high school.
Speaker 5 (17:08):
Well, you have to be very intelligent to get into Furman, yes,
and he was, like we said, set to graduate from
Furman University the day that he unfortunately found his dad.
Speaker 4 (17:20):
He was friendly and he had a good relationship with
his father, and on the surface, there didn't appear to
be any red flags until they started to dig a
little deeper and speaking with colleagues and acquaintances, they learned
that Matthew was raised to attain greatness. His parents had
very high expectations, some saying that they expected him to
(17:44):
even have perfect grades, even getting a little disappointed if
he came home with a ninety five. They hated me
as a kid. Yeah, I would have been a very
big disappointment. A friend of Matthews said that his relationship
with his parents was strained a lot because he felt
that they were too hard on him, required too much,
(18:05):
and a lot of it. I think reading stuff, it
appeared almost as if they just wanted what was best
for him. And because he was an only child, all
of that attention an effort goes into you instead of
being spread out, so it can seem like a lot.
Speaker 2 (18:23):
Yeah, and that's that's a lot of pressure to put
on a young person. I mean, you know, him getting
upset of something less than a ninety five, and that
that's that's some undue pressure. You know, sometimes when kids
grow up in that kind of environment, they're not they
don't really get to enjoy being a kid.
Speaker 4 (18:44):
Yeah, because you always that makes sense.
Speaker 2 (18:46):
Yeah, No, they're always trying to attain you know, attain approval,
trying to gain favor by by your grades. And sometimes
you know, in life, like with everything, you you're gonna
fall short sometimes. So that's that's something to keep in mind.
And as a parent, that's something I've got to remember too.
Speaker 4 (19:07):
Yeah. And also Matthew Michael was big into football when
he was in school. Obviously, he ended up being on
the high school league and he wanted Matthew football. Coaches
said that he wanted Matthew to play and be able
to start and do well, even though he wasn't that good. Yeah,
(19:30):
and some people just haven't. Some people don't and some
I mean I come from a family where three out
of four of my sisters we grew up in sports,
and my youngest sister was like, they tried, and it's
just won her thing. And she's more artistic and that's
what she excels in.
Speaker 3 (19:44):
And you got to appreciate those talents.
Speaker 4 (19:47):
Yeah, Differently, it makes some individuals well. At the time
of his death, Michael had actually been dating a woman
named Patsy Underwood, who said that Michael worshiped his son
and though he would get aggravated with him, as most
parents do. She never knew them to have serious fights.
Michael's sister, Barbara Durham said detectives told detectives that Matthew
(20:12):
was upset when he learned that his dad was making
plans to have Patsy move into the house and had
said he wasn't going to have that. And obviously, most kids,
even when you're an adult, whether it be through divorce
in this case, because you lost the parent, it isn't
easy to see your parent with somebody else who isn't
(20:34):
your parent, and sometimes you have feelings about it that
aren't always good. And in this case, because it was
past his mom had passed, your thinking, well then you
just don't need to be with anybody or get too serious.
And it's a hard thing to experience that, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (20:52):
It is, and you know, I'm not in any way
making light of it. But this situation we talked about
out you know, Jesse, Judy and Kelvin.
Speaker 4 (21:03):
Yeah, I mean that's I don't that's a perfect example.
Speaker 3 (21:07):
Righteous Gemstones.
Speaker 2 (21:08):
They had, they struggled, their their mother passed away a
cancer as well. M M. And you know they did
not want to they weren't really mentally prepared yet for
their parent, their living parents to.
Speaker 4 (21:21):
Start dating, even though years had passed.
Speaker 3 (21:23):
Yeah, and I mean that's the case here. It's it's tough.
Speaker 2 (21:27):
You know, you love your mom and if something happens
to her, to see your parent move on, you're like, well,
that's disrespectful and you have all kinds of bad feelings.
So that's that's something really tough to wrestle with.
Speaker 4 (21:40):
Well, and just like you are you did you even
care about her? You're replacing her, you know, you're, like
you said, being disrespectful to her honor, and that's not it. It's you.
You know, life goes on and you still need to
let them have the ability to be happy.
Speaker 2 (21:54):
Yeah, and thank god, I've never been in that situation
and hope I never am. And well, i mean my
parents will pass away one day. But yeah, that's that's tough.
That's tough, pilled to swallow.
Speaker 4 (22:06):
Yeah, so he did. His sister. Michael's sister did express
that Matthew was not happy about that. So then detectives
are thinking, is there some bone of contention with that?
And people said that Matthew, of course, was very devastated
when his mom passed away, and this caused him to
have changes in his mood and his grades began to slip,
(22:30):
and that's when detectives learned another interesting fact about Matthew,
one that even Michael didn't know. So we'll take our
last break and then we'll wrap.
Speaker 2 (22:42):
This up, all right, Well, stick with us, We'll be
right back after this quick word from our sponsors, and
(23:08):
welcome back to Carolina Crimes, episode two twenty two out
of Anderson County, South Carolina. And I know we took
two early breaks, but Danielle, she said she wanted to
get those out of the way before we got to
the meat of the order here and the meat of
this story and a.
Speaker 3 (23:26):
Tragedy. Sounds like there was a lot of pressure, a
lot of.
Speaker 2 (23:35):
I want to put this respect respectfully, but I'm really
some not conflict, but you know, uneasiness surrounding Michael, Matthew's father,
you know, having a new girlfriend and Miss Underwood and
talking about maybe moving her in, and you know, it's
(23:56):
it's uneasy for a child. I mean, they lost their
their mother and then this happens, and then the pressure
of school and facing the pressure of really getting ready
to graduate.
Speaker 3 (24:06):
College and getting out in the real world. So a
lot going on there well.
Speaker 4 (24:11):
As detectives looked more into this, they realized as people
had said, that Matthew's grades had begun to slip to
the point that he was actually failing and was not
in fact going to be graduating oh wow on May
twenty seventh. And this brought up a question of whether
(24:33):
he was embarrassed and afraid of his father finding out,
and that drove him to do something. So his dad
had these plans to go to this graduation ceremony and
he wasn't going to graduate, and that's a big thing,
yeah to I mean, that's a big secret. And so
(24:54):
his dad had no no clue that he was.
Speaker 2 (24:56):
Going to go to the graduation and his son was
not going to walk that state Yeah, holy cow, that's.
Speaker 4 (25:06):
M And he had no idea that he was not
doing well. I think every thing that he believed about
Matthew's school and his grades was what Matthew told him,
which was probably the exact opposite of what was happening.
Speaker 2 (25:22):
And in college, that's what you got to that's what
you got to accept with your children. I mean, I've
had to face that here recently. I mean Madison. I mean,
she's a great girl, our daughter, and she's just like, ay,
my grades, grades are good, grades are good. Yeah, they're fine. Yeah,
they're fine. I was like, this ain't going this ain't.
Speaker 4 (25:42):
Gonna end up with I need you to pull up
your thing because I know that there's a lot more
monitoring availability online where parents can see what assignments are due.
I don't even know.
Speaker 3 (25:51):
I not in college.
Speaker 4 (25:52):
No, not in college, but they can do that in
like second, you know, elementary, middle of high school, which
we didn't have report cards. I'm sure they still get them,
but my parents didn't know anything until that came in.
But you don't have that ability in college. You just
have to kind of go off their word.
Speaker 3 (26:08):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:08):
So you're holding your breath till you get the final grades.
And it ended up okay, she was doing it okay,
and then you.
Speaker 4 (26:15):
Can go look, see I've been doing great.
Speaker 3 (26:17):
Yeah. Two a's, two a's, three b's. I was like,
all right, that is good. Yeah. I was like, I
can I can certainly live with that.
Speaker 4 (26:26):
You don't even get me started. Detectives also learned that
Michael had recently retired from the Unemployment Bureau and had
received a substantial sum of money. He also owned two
homes and had around forty two thousand dollars in the bank,
all of which Matthew stood to inherit should something happen
(26:47):
to his dad, Okay, could this also be a motive?
And I put in from the seas, I mean, yeah,
money's been a motive for murder since the dawn of time, Yeah, forever.
So they're looking at things. Of there's a couple of
reasons we have here to be looking at his son.
We just don't know exactly whether which one it is
(27:09):
or even if it is him.
Speaker 2 (27:11):
Well, at the same time, it's it's his son. He
obviously loves his dad. And I mean, yeah, there is
the there's always the opportunity for motive for a family
member when there's money involved and there's some complicated situations
going on.
Speaker 4 (27:29):
Yeah, hard feelings, emotions, We've seen plenty of those.
Speaker 2 (27:33):
Yeah, But for them to just look at the sun,
I mean yeah, I mean you gotta look at him.
Speaker 3 (27:40):
But also let's let's not put on blinders.
Speaker 4 (27:43):
Well, yeah, you don't want to get tunnel vision, but
you also want to make sure that you investigate every
avenue to the fullest.
Speaker 2 (27:50):
Yes, And Matthew, probably knowing his parents. You probably didn't
have a prior criminal record or any record of violence
anything like that.
Speaker 4 (27:59):
No, I think I looked and all it was was
like there was a traffic ticket years ago. I mean,
who hasn't been there. So investigators went back to this
is the cold justice investigators. They went back to Michael's
house to recreate the crime scene to and believe that
(28:20):
the killer tried to stage a break in. So they
went back. They had the crime scene photos with them,
the reports, and basically it's just kind of getting eyes
on alright, this is the picture, this is how it
was then, and just c helps put it together a
little bit easier. And the reason they believe that the
killer staged this break in and it wasn't a true
(28:43):
intruder coming into the house is because only two kitchen
drawers were opened, including the furthest one, which is where
they believe the murder weapon came from. The killer didn't
bring a weapon with them, and it suggests to them
that the person was familiar with the home, know on
exactly where to look. There was also never any indication
(29:04):
again that anything was stolen. Crime scene photos taken at
the time of the murder showed the blood trail leading
from Michael's bed to the back door, and it also
showed a broken window which was by the back door,
and it appeared to be how the intruder got in,
where they would reach across to open the lock of
(29:25):
the door. But the window was only partially broken and
there was a lot of jagged pieces, so if somebody
were to put their arm through, it'd be very hard
for them not to cut themselves. So there was no
indication of blood on any of the shards of glass,
and they believed that an intruder would most likely break
out the entire window so that they wouldn't injure themselves.
(29:49):
They also saw that the glass that was on the
floor was on top of the blood, meaning the window
was broken after Michael had through bleeding. So it's almost
like you have the attack took place in the bedroom
and the killer runs out, Michael grabs his gun in
(30:11):
his cordless phone. He comes out going towards the back door,
and this person probably doesn't realize that he's still alive
at this point. Maybe is when he busts the window
to kind of do a.
Speaker 2 (30:23):
Or someone came in administered the stab wounds to Michael.
Michael ran out succumbed to the injuries in the flower bed,
and this person thought, hey, we got to make this
look like a burglary, and went outside and busted the
window after the fact, after Michael was deceased.
Speaker 4 (30:46):
So, I mean, either one, it's plausible. But one thing
they noticed was that the blood was under the glass,
so this was not beforehand.
Speaker 3 (30:54):
Okay.
Speaker 4 (30:56):
So other than the physical evidence, there were also a
lot of inconsistencies in Michael's original statements to police. Matthew
said that when he found his father outside the home,
he attempted to resuscitate him by performing mouth to mouth,
and when he was unable to bring him back, he
cradled his father's body against his but there was no
(31:16):
blood transfer on his clothes, which they said would be
virtually impossible. Matthew also did end up admitting to detectives
that he was not going to be graduating and that
he never told his dad. Even up to that morning,
his dad never knew, so this of course raised some
more suspicions. Yeah, these examples, coupled with the fact that
(31:41):
Michael was stabbed seventeen times, indicated the killing was personal
and rage filled and they say, you know, you have
to get it has to be personal to get close
enough to stab somebody. But it was interesting to me
that they said they didn't find any blood on the
nine because we've talked about this with other cases in
(32:03):
the past where people, especially stabbing someone that many times
they get that slippage and they end up cutting themselves. Yeah,
and so that's interesting that didn't happen here.
Speaker 3 (32:16):
In seventeen times. That's that's a lot.
Speaker 2 (32:20):
I mean, if you like, on your own, take a watermelon,
I mean, and try to stab that seventeen times. I mean,
that's I guess kind of the consistency. That's what they
always use on TV shows. Okay, but yeah, try try
doing that. I mean, your your arm's gonna get worn out,
and unless you are just completely full of adrenaline and rage, and.
Speaker 4 (32:44):
You have to continue to keep in the mind that
the person could be fighting back.
Speaker 3 (32:48):
Yeah too.
Speaker 4 (32:48):
So you're wrestling with a person trying to save their life.
So there's a lot of things going on. It's just
interesting to me that they didn't find any blood on
my life.
Speaker 2 (33:00):
Then maybe someone else and they may have used another
knife and taken it with him.
Speaker 3 (33:09):
I mean, let's look at all angles there.
Speaker 4 (33:11):
Yeah, maybe they grabbed more than one knife, yeah, and
just dropped the one and kept the one that they
really use. Is a lot of all over the places
with this one. Well, at this point, a random killer
had pretty much been ruled out, and attention has still
been turned toward Matthew. Much of the evidence is still circumstantial,
(33:31):
and because of that, charges have never officially been filed.
The investigators from cold Case reached out to Matthew at
his home and he actually still lives at the home
where his father was killed, and no one answered the door.
So Matthew did end up calling them back and said
that he would be in touch once he contacted his attorney.
Speaker 3 (33:53):
Which I mean is smart on his anthem.
Speaker 4 (33:55):
Now, yeah, look, I would be one of the first
people to dig my own hole. I'd rather just be like,
let me be with someone to make sure I don't
say something that's gonna come back and bite me later.
Speaker 3 (34:07):
Yeah, I mean, did it or not?
Speaker 2 (34:09):
You know, I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed.
Speaker 4 (34:13):
So well, and if they're looking at you and you
didn't do it, it wouldn't take a lot for a
slip up for them to go, huh, what do you
mean by that? And I'd be like, well, uh no,
what I meant it just I just make it so
much worse. So no, nothing suspicious on that end. I
don't think the information that was found during the course
of revisiting the case. The the Anderson County Sheriff's office
(34:38):
said they do plan on bringing their findings to the
Anderson County Prosecutor's office to see if anything will come
formal charges or anything. But currently to this day, it
is still an open case. No one has been charged,
but Michael's sister says she has hopes that one day
their family will get answers. And I do very much
(34:59):
put out there that I'm not saying that Matthew is
the one that did it. I'm not pointing fingers at anybody.
He's never been officially charged with anything. Like I said,
this is still an open investigation. But that's the stuff
that they looked at, and it could and is it
tunnel vision?
Speaker 3 (35:18):
That's it?
Speaker 4 (35:19):
That's is there another third party that you know? Sometimes
they're looking at someone and then another person comes up
and they're like, where did this name come from?
Speaker 3 (35:28):
Exactly?
Speaker 4 (35:29):
So I believe they'll do due diligence and hopefully justice
can be brought answers. Can you know come out because
it has been twenty five years next this week, next week.
Speaker 2 (35:45):
The twenty fifth anniversary here, so yes, So if you
happen to know anything, which I don't know, if our
listeners listeners would or have any input or can help
Anderson County Sheriff's Department in helping solve this or get
some answers for Michael McEwan's family, we would certainly encourage
(36:07):
you to reach out.
Speaker 4 (36:08):
Yeah, it's just it was a it's a we've done
cold cases before, but I was like, this is this
is bizarre. A lot of weird yeah stuff a lot,
and it's.
Speaker 2 (36:16):
Time in questions and with the twenty fifth anniversary and
a lot of graduate a lot of graduations coming up.
Speaker 4 (36:24):
For sure, some people have already graduated. I have my
supervisor's son is graduating this Wednesday. I mean, is that
time of year?
Speaker 3 (36:33):
It is? It is?
Speaker 2 (36:34):
But thank you Danielle for bringing that to us, and
thank you all you listeners.
Speaker 3 (36:39):
We've got some special thank.
Speaker 2 (36:40):
Yous here to dole out and I'm gonna try to
make it through with my voice.
Speaker 3 (36:45):
Thank y'all for bearing with me this week.
Speaker 2 (36:48):
But first of all, we want to thank those that
went over to Carolina Crimestore dot com purchased some sweet
Carolina Crimes paraphernalia. Thank you to Benjamin Pratt and Robbing Folks.
Also for those of you listening on Apple iTunes Apple
Podcasts that threw us those five star reviews told us
you liked the show. Thank you to Becky D fifty six,
(37:10):
Crystal Carlyle Winnsborough Friend. Also thank you to Brandon Lank
and Amanda and Mack. Also thank you to Chris Nef,
TJ Harrison, Sean Terrell, Terrell, Todd Branham, David Monteith and
his son who was just a ployed overseas, Sergeant Harrison Monteeth.
(37:34):
Best wishes for safety, comfort and come home safe brother.
Thank you to Terry Ranley, Cheryl Calder, Noah Ross, Amanda Hall.
And we're going to start getting into this on the
Carolina Crimes Fans page. We had a little trend, I
guess going on the last two weeks of people spilling
(37:54):
the tea on their bad pets and proving them, are
trying to prove them guilty and putting them up on trial.
For tearing stuff up or getting in the trash or
has harassing guests. Yes, thank you to Ashley Richards and
her grandpup Bell and also Lovey. Thank you to Rebecca Cockrell,
(38:15):
Daniel Snow, to Jennifer Lyons and Poe Poe got put
on trial his tea was spilt. Thank you to Morgan Wilson,
Jennifer Wickings and all her fur babies Willow, Opie, Teddy,
Ellie May and Sophia. Thank you to Erica Bell and
Dobby her pup. Thank you to Lakwana Coax Them, Megan Abbott,
(38:35):
Lauren Alford, Amy Flowers, Beth Glaze, Ross Schamard, to Francis Marion, Good,
South Carolina Name and swamp Fox chiming In. Thank you
to Holland Seek, Rose Howell, Rita Schuler, Blair Kobolisky, Alison Green,
(38:55):
Erica Armstrong, Shennon Burrows, Eric Cheek, Erica Bell, Sandy Garrison
and Ty Milligan. We thank you all so much. But uh,
this one, I mean open ended. Yeah, you know, I
don't like those open ended ones, but they're certainly intriguing.
Speaker 3 (39:12):
They are.
Speaker 2 (39:13):
They may make you think, and that's uh.
Speaker 3 (39:16):
That's one we appreciate you covering here this week.
Speaker 2 (39:19):
And next week we're actually gonna have some special guests
with us, UH and looking forward to that, some some
fans of the show and they're coming from around the
Edgefield area to join us. So something, something always special
and wild is out of Edgefield and that's I'm expecting,
nothing less.
Speaker 4 (39:37):
Maybe they'll have some good stories.
Speaker 3 (39:39):
Maybe they will.
Speaker 2 (39:40):
And I'll go drink some lemon tea and honey and
try to get my voice back to back to normal.
And I promise not to have so many events and
talk so much and.
Speaker 4 (39:49):
Go rest your instrument.
Speaker 2 (39:50):
Rich rest my instrument this week. But thank you so much,
and until next time, we'll see you on 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 (00:42):
And welcome back to Carolina Crimes, Episode two twenty two.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
I'm one of your hosts, Matt Hyres, along.
Speaker 4 (00:50):
With Danielle Myers, and we're over the moon.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
Thrilled that you joined us here.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Please excuse my voice this episode. It's been a long
weekend with a lot of talking, Danielle, so we kind
of went over everything from broadcasting an Italian festival to
being an auctioneer and MC at a fundraiser last night,
and it's it kind of took a toll on me
(01:14):
here this morning.
Speaker 4 (01:15):
I don't blame I don't see how it wouldn't. I mean,
I never know what fifteen adventures you're going to have
in one weekend.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
Well this is my favorite one, so yes, that's all
that matters. Yes, and welcome. Thank you all so much.
We hope all you moms out there had a happy
Mother's Day. It was interesting and fun to have my
mom here in the studio with us.
Speaker 4 (01:38):
Was some competition. I have to watch my back.
Speaker 3 (01:43):
Yeah, she did a good job. She did a good job.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
We had kind of that palate cleansing episode. We appreciate
all the feedback about that from Grandison Harris, the resurrection
Man and the grave robbing shenanigans and everything that he did.
That just such a wild story that that happened right here.
So incredible, incredible. Well, this week's story is gonna come
(02:08):
from Anderson, South Carolina. But before we hop into that,
just wanted to cover our bases. I think you wanted
to talk about if your grandmother's birthday you had last weekend.
Speaker 4 (02:20):
Oh yeah, you told me you were going to shout
out my nat. She turned ninety and we had a
surprise party for her. She's very okay not doing stuff
for herself, so she was very surprised. Had great time,
a lot of friends and family from out of town,
out of state, so it was a good time, good.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
Good and you're doing something and you talk about my
weekend shenanigans. You're going to do something pretty interesting tonight, right, Yes,
tell everybody.
Speaker 4 (02:49):
A drag him, kicking and screaming with me to Congrete
National Park. I've seen this a few years and I've
been meaning to do it, and I finally did. It's
the synchronization of the fireflies, So I think I don't
really know what to expect, but I think you go
out there, it's a couple of hours, you're like pitch dark,
and they're supposed to be thousands of just fireflies everywhere, and.
Speaker 3 (03:13):
Experience kind of horrify.
Speaker 4 (03:16):
Ah, I love it. I don't know, man, I like being.
Speaker 3 (03:19):
Outside winged creatures, you know.
Speaker 4 (03:22):
I don't think they're bothering you, So I'll have to.
I'll take pictures and report back.
Speaker 3 (03:26):
Why are they? Why are they sinking up?
Speaker 4 (03:28):
Or how do they I don't know exactly how they
do it, but I think it's just the big old
mating thing. I'm guessing. So it's like a firefly orgy,
I guess so, But I won't be participating. I'm gonna
watch it voyeuristic.
Speaker 3 (03:46):
That's a little voyeurist and then you said you're gonna
take pictures.
Speaker 4 (03:50):
Well, it's it's nature. Okay, that's how it is.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
It's a circle of life, as Mufassa says. But okay,
so enough of that. Sorry, we got that back and
forth going. But before we get started, just want to
remind folks, if you want to look at pictures from
our episodes, put some faces with some names. Check us
out on social media over at Carolina Crimes Podcast on Facebook.
(04:15):
Also over on Twitter at sc Crimes pod. If you're
looking to support the show, and we're going to thank
a lot of people that did so at the end
of this show, give you some shout outs, head on over.
Speaker 3 (04:26):
If you're listening on.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
Apple Podcast or Apple iTunes or Spotify, make sure to
throw us a five star review, tell us a little
something about what you like about the show, and also
excuse me, and also tell us what you like about
the show, your pets names, anything like that, what you're
having for dinner, all that paraphernalia. Speaking of paraphernalia, if
(04:49):
you're looking to get some sweet Carolina Crimes paraphernalia for
your back, head on over to Carolina Crimestore dot com
and get you some paraphernalia there. We would greatly appreciate that. So,
as we mentioned, we're going to Anderson County, South Carolina
this week. And Anderson County, if you're not familiar with
the state, it's located in the northwest portion of South Carolina,
(05:12):
just south of Pickens County and west of Greenville. So
I think right there that Pickens Anderson Greenville area. It's
really where Clipson University is, of course, And originally that
area was Cherokee land, and it was actually acquired by
the South Carolina legislature after the American Revolution.
Speaker 3 (05:36):
That was.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
Part of some treaty or law that took the land
away from the Cherokee because they sided with the British.
Speaker 3 (05:44):
In the war.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
Now, the county it was named for Robert Anderson, who
was a militia officer during the Revolution, but he was
also a surveyor who explored and mapped out most of
the region in the seventeen hundreds. During the Civil War,
Anderson was home to a Confederate treasury building, which was
eventually ransacked by Union forces.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
They did have.
Speaker 2 (06:09):
Some small skirmishes around Anderson. It looked like only two
Union officers lost their lives and those but source of contention,
especially when you throw money in the mix there. Now,
the establishment, this is awesome. It's my favorite story I
think about Anderson County. The establishment of the hydro electric
(06:30):
plant on the Rocky River in eighteen ninety five made
Anderson one of the first cities in the Southeast to
have electricity, leading to its nickname the Electric City. Oh
so that's a pretty cool, uh feather in Anderson's cap there.
In nineteen eleven, Anderson College was established by the Chamber
(06:51):
of Commerce in Anderson, and today it's known as Anderson University.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
Today.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
The economy of Anderson County it revolves almost not exclusively,
but heavily on manufacturing, and it's bolstered by Glenn Raven Incorporated.
And a good portion of the twenty eight thousand citizens
of Anderson they worked there or in manufacturing. Now, some
(07:19):
of the more famous citizens to come out of Anderson County,
We're going to start with one of my favorites. I'm
very grateful to have the opportunity to have met him
one time, James Kennedy, also known.
Speaker 3 (07:31):
As Radio Oh yeah, if you remember, there was a
motion picture, yeah, Cuba Gooding with Cuba.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
Gooding junior, and it was about a special needs young
man back in the late sixties, I'm sorry, late sixties,
early seventies who kind of became a part of the
TL Hannah High School football program, welcome by coach Jones
(07:59):
there and Coach Jones kind of took him in, took
him under his wing, took care of him, especially after
Radio's mother passed, and he was a mainstay and would
travel with the team and was always a junior.
Speaker 3 (08:15):
He would say he would.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
Hang out at the high school and he'd always say
he was a junior because he was a senior that
many had to graduate, and just a absolute character. When
I met him and everybody that's met him, he had
an indelible impact on their lives. But unfortunately James or Radio,
he left us in twenty nineteen. Also from Anderson, another
(08:41):
very sad story. The actor Chadwick Boseman, Yes, played star
in the movie forty two, was Vonte Mack in Draft
Day and also was the Black Panther and the Black
Panther in Avenger movies. And he passed away from cancer
in twenty twenty at a very young age.
Speaker 1 (09:02):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
Also from Anderson Kipling Kip Anderson. He was a singer
songwriter who worked with some of the all time greats,
including Sam Cook, Jackie Wilson, and the Drifters. All right, yes, ma'am,
but Danielle, let's dive into it. Tell us what we're
gonna be talking about today, Okay, as I try not
(09:24):
to sound like Berry White.
Speaker 4 (09:26):
Yeah, so say you do kind of have like a
smooth voice, all right, smooth.
Speaker 3 (09:30):
Days worn out.
Speaker 4 (09:31):
It's like you're trying to just calm the room.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
No, I don't mean to be boring, it's just my
vok learning can.
Speaker 4 (09:40):
Can't even anymore after this weekend. Well, this is a
case that has gone cold and to this day has
yet to be solved. It was it was featured on
the show Cold Justice, which is shown on Oxygen, when
the victims family reached out to see if they would
give this the investigators look at this stuff and give
(10:04):
it a second look, see if we can get this
case solved, because that's exactly what they do. They try
to bring justice for cold cases. Okay, and the producers
and everyone agreed. And this episode actually aired last April,
and it included investigators from the Anderson County Sheriff's Office,
including their the sheriff himself along with a retired LAPD
(10:28):
cold case investigator. So this story's going to kind of
be going over the crime and then things that they
have research or what they've uncovered since revisited this case.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
Just some some new new additives in.
Speaker 4 (10:45):
This yes, and what they just again, fresh set of
eyes always helps, always well. In the early morning hours
of May twenty seventh, two thousand, around six point thirty
in the morning, Matthew McEwan, who's twenty at the time,
arrived at the house of his father, Michael McEwan to
surprise him for breakfast before the two were gonna set
(11:08):
off for Matthew's graduation from Furman University that afternoon. His
father was also a university Furman University alumni, so this
was kind of a special little bonding experience for the two.
As Matthew approached the house, instead of surprising his dad,
(11:30):
he was the one who was surprised. Matthew found his
dad in the back of the house in a flower bed, deceased.
Speaker 3 (11:39):
Whoa on his graduation?
Speaker 4 (11:42):
Yes. He called nine to one one and when police arrived,
they saw fifty six year old Michael. He was naked,
He was seated and slumped over into the flower bed
with a cordless phone and a gun at his feet.
In so, there was a blood trail that was found
leading from the bedroom all the way throughout the house
(12:07):
to ultimately where he ended up right outside in the
flower bed. It was believed that Michael was attacked while
he was asleep, and though fatally wounded, managed to grab
his gun while which he actually kept near his bed,
probably his bedside table and the cordless phone, probably with
hopes of getting to be able to call for help,
(12:29):
and unfortunately passed away before he could make that call.
They Upon entering the home, police also noticed that there
was a broken window by the back door in a
kitchen drawer that had been opened and clearly rifled through,
which they believe this is most likely where the killer
retrieved the murder weapon. But other than that, nothing else
(12:52):
in the house was disturbed. Even though this seemed like
someone broke into the house, Well, there was a it
looked like somebody had broken into the window to maybe
reach across it opened the latch. So they're like, okay,
this is a break in, but other than his kitchen
drawer being opened, we don't see where anything else is
(13:15):
rifled through, anything's overturned. There wasn't any kind of struggle
other than something happened in the bedroom and then the
person fled and he ended up outside. The bloody kitchen
knife was found inside the home, but they were unfortunately
not able to get any DNA off of it. An
autopsy was performed and it was determined that Michael had
(13:35):
suffered seventeen stab wounds, with a fatal wound being in
the heart, and it was determined that Michael was most
likely killed between three and six in the morning, So
you know, his son showed up at six thirty, now,
so it could I mean, he could have just yeah,
(13:56):
just very you know, just bypassed this person. Though this
was believed to be a break in, nothing was stolen,
so police had to ask themselves. Did the intruder break
into the home not thinking anybody was there and was
surprised to find Michael's sleeping he woke up, he attacked
or was this something more personal? And we're gonna take
(14:19):
our first break and when we come back, we're gonna
get into the investigation of what they find.
Speaker 2 (14:26):
We'll be right back, all right, We'll be right back
after this quick word from our sponsors and welcome back
(14:53):
to Carolina Crimes, episode two twenty two out of Anderson County,
South Carolina. And this weird story about Matthew mchun his
graduation day, coming home and finding his dad Michael in
the backyard, stabbed seventeen times once in the heart, had
the cordless phone and a gun out there beside him
(15:15):
like he was trying to defend himself, but unfortunately.
Speaker 3 (15:18):
He did lose his life.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
Yes, and so investigators, like you said, they had some questions.
Speaker 3 (15:26):
There was a broken window, but nothing was.
Speaker 4 (15:29):
Taken, No, and it appeared that the murder weapon came
from the house. Well, many times in investigating cases like this,
detectives will do what they call a victimology, or literally
is the study of the victim, where you need to
learn more about their habits, who they associate with, etc.
(15:51):
And that's a way that you can kind of see
if they had any issues with anybody or if there
was anyone who could be responsible for this. And they
learned that Michael had lost his wife Bobby to breast
cancer just two years before in nineteen ninety eight, and
the two of them only had one child together and
that was Matthew. He was big in the community, a
(16:12):
member of the West Peltzer Baptist Church where he was
a deacon and a Sunday school director. And you'll appreciate this.
He was a South Carolina High School League football official.
Speaker 3 (16:24):
Oh wow wow.
Speaker 4 (16:27):
And he was considered what they would call a low
risk victim. He didn't owe anybody any money, he didn't
have a risky lifestyle, he wasn't involved in drugs. So
it kind of made it a little bit harder to
find out who had such a vendetta against him, and
detectives were able to quickly rule out possible suspects, anybody
(16:50):
that he'd associate with in the community. Everybody had great
things to say about him, and so they decided to
turn their attention to those closest to him, and that
includes did his son, Matthew. Matthew was described as highly intelligent.
He was valed victorian in his high school.
Speaker 5 (17:08):
Well, you have to be very intelligent to get into Furman, yes,
and he was, like we said, set to graduate from
Furman University the day that he unfortunately found his dad.
Speaker 4 (17:20):
He was friendly and he had a good relationship with
his father, and on the surface, there didn't appear to
be any red flags until they started to dig a
little deeper and speaking with colleagues and acquaintances, they learned
that Matthew was raised to attain greatness. His parents had
very high expectations, some saying that they expected him to
(17:44):
even have perfect grades, even getting a little disappointed if
he came home with a ninety five. They hated me
as a kid. Yeah, I would have been a very
big disappointment. A friend of Matthews said that his relationship
with his parents was strained a lot because he felt
that they were too hard on him, required too much,
(18:05):
and a lot of it. I think reading stuff, it
appeared almost as if they just wanted what was best
for him. And because he was an only child, all
of that attention an effort goes into you instead of
being spread out, so it can seem like a lot.
Speaker 2 (18:23):
Yeah, and that's that's a lot of pressure to put
on a young person. I mean, you know, him getting
upset of something less than a ninety five, and that
that's that's some undue pressure. You know, sometimes when kids
grow up in that kind of environment, they're not they
don't really get to enjoy being a kid.
Speaker 4 (18:44):
Yeah, because you always that makes sense.
Speaker 2 (18:46):
Yeah, No, they're always trying to attain you know, attain approval,
trying to gain favor by by your grades. And sometimes
you know, in life, like with everything, you you're gonna
fall short sometimes. So that's that's something to keep in mind.
And as a parent, that's something I've got to remember too.
Speaker 4 (19:07):
Yeah. And also Matthew Michael was big into football when
he was in school. Obviously, he ended up being on
the high school league and he wanted Matthew football. Coaches
said that he wanted Matthew to play and be able
to start and do well, even though he wasn't that good. Yeah,
(19:30):
and some people just haven't. Some people don't and some
I mean I come from a family where three out
of four of my sisters we grew up in sports,
and my youngest sister was like, they tried, and it's
just won her thing. And she's more artistic and that's
what she excels in.
Speaker 3 (19:44):
And you got to appreciate those talents.
Speaker 4 (19:47):
Yeah, Differently, it makes some individuals well. At the time
of his death, Michael had actually been dating a woman
named Patsy Underwood, who said that Michael worshiped his son
and though he would get aggravated with him, as most
parents do. She never knew them to have serious fights.
Michael's sister, Barbara Durham said detectives told detectives that Matthew
(20:12):
was upset when he learned that his dad was making
plans to have Patsy move into the house and had
said he wasn't going to have that. And obviously, most kids,
even when you're an adult, whether it be through divorce
in this case, because you lost the parent, it isn't
easy to see your parent with somebody else who isn't
(20:34):
your parent, and sometimes you have feelings about it that
aren't always good. And in this case, because it was
past his mom had passed, your thinking, well then you
just don't need to be with anybody or get too serious.
And it's a hard thing to experience that, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (20:52):
It is, and you know, I'm not in any way
making light of it. But this situation we talked about
out you know, Jesse, Judy and Kelvin.
Speaker 4 (21:03):
Yeah, I mean that's I don't that's a perfect example.
Speaker 3 (21:07):
Righteous Gemstones.
Speaker 2 (21:08):
They had, they struggled, their their mother passed away a
cancer as well. M M. And you know they did
not want to they weren't really mentally prepared yet for
their parent, their living parents to.
Speaker 4 (21:21):
Start dating, even though years had passed.
Speaker 3 (21:23):
Yeah, and I mean that's the case here. It's it's tough.
Speaker 2 (21:27):
You know, you love your mom and if something happens
to her, to see your parent move on, you're like, well,
that's disrespectful and you have all kinds of bad feelings.
So that's that's something really tough to wrestle with.
Speaker 4 (21:40):
Well, and just like you are you did you even
care about her? You're replacing her, you know, you're, like
you said, being disrespectful to her honor, and that's not it. It's you.
You know, life goes on and you still need to
let them have the ability to be happy.
Speaker 2 (21:54):
Yeah, and thank god, I've never been in that situation
and hope I never am. And well, i mean my
parents will pass away one day. But yeah, that's that's tough.
That's tough, pilled to swallow.
Speaker 4 (22:06):
Yeah, so he did. His sister. Michael's sister did express
that Matthew was not happy about that. So then detectives
are thinking, is there some bone of contention with that?
And people said that Matthew, of course, was very devastated
when his mom passed away, and this caused him to
have changes in his mood and his grades began to slip,
(22:30):
and that's when detectives learned another interesting fact about Matthew,
one that even Michael didn't know. So we'll take our
last break and then we'll wrap.
Speaker 2 (22:42):
This up, all right, Well, stick with us, We'll be
right back after this quick word from our sponsors, and
(23:08):
welcome back to Carolina Crimes, episode two twenty two out
of Anderson County, South Carolina. And I know we took
two early breaks, but Danielle, she said she wanted to
get those out of the way before we got to
the meat of the order here and the meat of
this story and a.
Speaker 3 (23:26):
Tragedy. Sounds like there was a lot of pressure, a
lot of.
Speaker 2 (23:35):
I want to put this respect respectfully, but I'm really
some not conflict, but you know, uneasiness surrounding Michael, Matthew's father,
you know, having a new girlfriend and Miss Underwood and
talking about maybe moving her in, and you know, it's
(23:56):
it's uneasy for a child. I mean, they lost their
their mother and then this happens, and then the pressure
of school and facing the pressure of really getting ready
to graduate.
Speaker 3 (24:06):
College and getting out in the real world. So a
lot going on there well.
Speaker 4 (24:11):
As detectives looked more into this, they realized as people
had said, that Matthew's grades had begun to slip to
the point that he was actually failing and was not
in fact going to be graduating oh wow on May
twenty seventh. And this brought up a question of whether
(24:33):
he was embarrassed and afraid of his father finding out,
and that drove him to do something. So his dad
had these plans to go to this graduation ceremony and
he wasn't going to graduate, and that's a big thing,
yeah to I mean, that's a big secret. And so
(24:54):
his dad had no no clue that he was.
Speaker 2 (24:56):
Going to go to the graduation and his son was
not going to walk that state Yeah, holy cow, that's.
Speaker 4 (25:06):
M And he had no idea that he was not
doing well. I think every thing that he believed about
Matthew's school and his grades was what Matthew told him,
which was probably the exact opposite of what was happening.
Speaker 2 (25:22):
And in college, that's what you got to that's what
you got to accept with your children. I mean, I've
had to face that here recently. I mean Madison. I mean,
she's a great girl, our daughter, and she's just like, ay,
my grades, grades are good, grades are good. Yeah, they're fine. Yeah,
they're fine. I was like, this ain't going this ain't.
Speaker 4 (25:42):
Gonna end up with I need you to pull up
your thing because I know that there's a lot more
monitoring availability online where parents can see what assignments are due.
I don't even know.
Speaker 3 (25:51):
I not in college.
Speaker 4 (25:52):
No, not in college, but they can do that in
like second, you know, elementary, middle of high school, which
we didn't have report cards. I'm sure they still get them,
but my parents didn't know anything until that came in.
But you don't have that ability in college. You just
have to kind of go off their word.
Speaker 3 (26:08):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:08):
So you're holding your breath till you get the final grades.
And it ended up okay, she was doing it okay,
and then you.
Speaker 4 (26:15):
Can go look, see I've been doing great.
Speaker 3 (26:17):
Yeah. Two a's, two a's, three b's. I was like,
all right, that is good. Yeah. I was like, I
can I can certainly live with that.
Speaker 4 (26:26):
You don't even get me started. Detectives also learned that
Michael had recently retired from the Unemployment Bureau and had
received a substantial sum of money. He also owned two
homes and had around forty two thousand dollars in the bank,
all of which Matthew stood to inherit should something happen
(26:47):
to his dad, Okay, could this also be a motive?
And I put in from the seas, I mean, yeah,
money's been a motive for murder since the dawn of time, Yeah, forever.
So they're looking at things. Of there's a couple of
reasons we have here to be looking at his son.
We just don't know exactly whether which one it is
(27:09):
or even if it is him.
Speaker 2 (27:11):
Well, at the same time, it's it's his son. He
obviously loves his dad. And I mean, yeah, there is
the there's always the opportunity for motive for a family
member when there's money involved and there's some complicated situations
going on.
Speaker 4 (27:29):
Yeah, hard feelings, emotions, We've seen plenty of those.
Speaker 2 (27:33):
Yeah, But for them to just look at the sun,
I mean yeah, I mean you gotta look at him.
Speaker 3 (27:40):
But also let's let's not put on blinders.
Speaker 4 (27:43):
Well, yeah, you don't want to get tunnel vision, but
you also want to make sure that you investigate every
avenue to the fullest.
Speaker 2 (27:50):
Yes, And Matthew, probably knowing his parents. You probably didn't
have a prior criminal record or any record of violence
anything like that.
Speaker 4 (27:59):
No, I think I looked and all it was was
like there was a traffic ticket years ago. I mean,
who hasn't been there. So investigators went back to this
is the cold justice investigators. They went back to Michael's
house to recreate the crime scene to and believe that
(28:20):
the killer tried to stage a break in. So they
went back. They had the crime scene photos with them,
the reports, and basically it's just kind of getting eyes
on alright, this is the picture, this is how it
was then, and just c helps put it together a
little bit easier. And the reason they believe that the
killer staged this break in and it wasn't a true
(28:43):
intruder coming into the house is because only two kitchen
drawers were opened, including the furthest one, which is where
they believe the murder weapon came from. The killer didn't
bring a weapon with them, and it suggests to them
that the person was familiar with the home, know on
exactly where to look. There was also never any indication
(29:04):
again that anything was stolen. Crime scene photos taken at
the time of the murder showed the blood trail leading
from Michael's bed to the back door, and it also
showed a broken window which was by the back door,
and it appeared to be how the intruder got in,
where they would reach across to open the lock of
(29:25):
the door. But the window was only partially broken and
there was a lot of jagged pieces, so if somebody
were to put their arm through, it'd be very hard
for them not to cut themselves. So there was no
indication of blood on any of the shards of glass,
and they believed that an intruder would most likely break
out the entire window so that they wouldn't injure themselves.
(29:49):
They also saw that the glass that was on the
floor was on top of the blood, meaning the window
was broken after Michael had through bleeding. So it's almost
like you have the attack took place in the bedroom
and the killer runs out, Michael grabs his gun in
(30:11):
his cordless phone. He comes out going towards the back door,
and this person probably doesn't realize that he's still alive
at this point. Maybe is when he busts the window
to kind of do a.
Speaker 2 (30:23):
Or someone came in administered the stab wounds to Michael.
Michael ran out succumbed to the injuries in the flower bed,
and this person thought, hey, we got to make this
look like a burglary, and went outside and busted the
window after the fact, after Michael was deceased.
Speaker 4 (30:46):
So, I mean, either one, it's plausible. But one thing
they noticed was that the blood was under the glass,
so this was not beforehand.
Speaker 3 (30:54):
Okay.
Speaker 4 (30:56):
So other than the physical evidence, there were also a
lot of inconsistencies in Michael's original statements to police. Matthew
said that when he found his father outside the home,
he attempted to resuscitate him by performing mouth to mouth,
and when he was unable to bring him back, he
cradled his father's body against his but there was no
(31:16):
blood transfer on his clothes, which they said would be
virtually impossible. Matthew also did end up admitting to detectives
that he was not going to be graduating and that
he never told his dad. Even up to that morning,
his dad never knew, so this of course raised some
more suspicions. Yeah, these examples, coupled with the fact that
(31:41):
Michael was stabbed seventeen times, indicated the killing was personal
and rage filled and they say, you know, you have
to get it has to be personal to get close
enough to stab somebody. But it was interesting to me
that they said they didn't find any blood on the
nine because we've talked about this with other cases in
(32:03):
the past where people, especially stabbing someone that many times
they get that slippage and they end up cutting themselves. Yeah,
and so that's interesting that didn't happen here.
Speaker 3 (32:16):
In seventeen times. That's that's a lot.
Speaker 2 (32:20):
I mean, if you like, on your own, take a watermelon,
I mean, and try to stab that seventeen times. I mean,
that's I guess kind of the consistency. That's what they
always use on TV shows. Okay, but yeah, try try
doing that. I mean, your your arm's gonna get worn out,
and unless you are just completely full of adrenaline and rage, and.
Speaker 4 (32:44):
You have to continue to keep in the mind that
the person could be fighting back.
Speaker 3 (32:48):
Yeah too.
Speaker 4 (32:48):
So you're wrestling with a person trying to save their life.
So there's a lot of things going on. It's just
interesting to me that they didn't find any blood on
my life.
Speaker 2 (33:00):
Then maybe someone else and they may have used another
knife and taken it with him.
Speaker 3 (33:09):
I mean, let's look at all angles there.
Speaker 4 (33:11):
Yeah, maybe they grabbed more than one knife, yeah, and
just dropped the one and kept the one that they
really use. Is a lot of all over the places
with this one. Well, at this point, a random killer
had pretty much been ruled out, and attention has still
been turned toward Matthew. Much of the evidence is still circumstantial,
(33:31):
and because of that, charges have never officially been filed.
The investigators from cold Case reached out to Matthew at
his home and he actually still lives at the home
where his father was killed, and no one answered the door.
So Matthew did end up calling them back and said
that he would be in touch once he contacted his attorney.
Speaker 3 (33:53):
Which I mean is smart on his anthem.
Speaker 4 (33:55):
Now, yeah, look, I would be one of the first
people to dig my own hole. I'd rather just be like,
let me be with someone to make sure I don't
say something that's gonna come back and bite me later.
Speaker 3 (34:07):
Yeah, I mean, did it or not?
Speaker 2 (34:09):
You know, I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed.
Speaker 4 (34:13):
So well, and if they're looking at you and you
didn't do it, it wouldn't take a lot for a
slip up for them to go, huh, what do you
mean by that? And I'd be like, well, uh no,
what I meant it just I just make it so
much worse. So no, nothing suspicious on that end. I
don't think the information that was found during the course
of revisiting the case. The the Anderson County Sheriff's office
(34:38):
said they do plan on bringing their findings to the
Anderson County Prosecutor's office to see if anything will come
formal charges or anything. But currently to this day, it
is still an open case. No one has been charged,
but Michael's sister says she has hopes that one day
their family will get answers. And I do very much
(34:59):
put out there that I'm not saying that Matthew is
the one that did it. I'm not pointing fingers at anybody.
He's never been officially charged with anything. Like I said,
this is still an open investigation. But that's the stuff
that they looked at, and it could and is it
tunnel vision?
Speaker 3 (35:18):
That's it?
Speaker 4 (35:19):
That's is there another third party that you know? Sometimes
they're looking at someone and then another person comes up
and they're like, where did this name come from?
Speaker 3 (35:28):
Exactly?
Speaker 4 (35:29):
So I believe they'll do due diligence and hopefully justice
can be brought answers. Can you know come out because
it has been twenty five years next this week, next week.
Speaker 2 (35:45):
The twenty fifth anniversary here, so yes, So if you
happen to know anything, which I don't know, if our
listeners listeners would or have any input or can help
Anderson County Sheriff's Department in helping solve this or get
some answers for Michael McEwan's family, we would certainly encourage
(36:07):
you to reach out.
Speaker 4 (36:08):
Yeah, it's just it was a it's a we've done
cold cases before, but I was like, this is this
is bizarre. A lot of weird yeah stuff a lot,
and it's.
Speaker 2 (36:16):
Time in questions and with the twenty fifth anniversary and
a lot of graduate a lot of graduations coming up.
Speaker 4 (36:24):
For sure, some people have already graduated. I have my
supervisor's son is graduating this Wednesday. I mean, is that
time of year?
Speaker 3 (36:33):
It is? It is?
Speaker 2 (36:34):
But thank you Danielle for bringing that to us, and
thank you all you listeners.
Speaker 3 (36:39):
We've got some special thank.
Speaker 2 (36:40):
Yous here to dole out and I'm gonna try to
make it through with my voice.
Speaker 3 (36:45):
Thank y'all for bearing with me this week.
Speaker 2 (36:48):
But first of all, we want to thank those that
went over to Carolina Crimestore dot com purchased some sweet
Carolina Crimes paraphernalia. Thank you to Benjamin Pratt and Robbing Folks.
Also for those of you listening on Apple iTunes Apple
Podcasts that threw us those five star reviews told us
you liked the show. Thank you to Becky D fifty six,
(37:10):
Crystal Carlyle Winnsborough Friend. Also thank you to Brandon Lank
and Amanda and Mack. Also thank you to Chris Nef,
TJ Harrison, Sean Terrell, Terrell, Todd Branham, David Monteith and
his son who was just a ployed overseas, Sergeant Harrison Monteeth.
(37:34):
Best wishes for safety, comfort and come home safe brother.
Thank you to Terry Ranley, Cheryl Calder, Noah Ross, Amanda Hall.
And we're going to start getting into this on the
Carolina Crimes Fans page. We had a little trend, I
guess going on the last two weeks of people spilling
(37:54):
the tea on their bad pets and proving them, are
trying to prove them guilty and putting them up on trial.
For tearing stuff up or getting in the trash or
has harassing guests. Yes, thank you to Ashley Richards and
her grandpup Bell and also Lovey. Thank you to Rebecca Cockrell,
(38:15):
Daniel Snow, to Jennifer Lyons and Poe Poe got put
on trial his tea was spilt. Thank you to Morgan Wilson,
Jennifer Wickings and all her fur babies Willow, Opie, Teddy,
Ellie May and Sophia. Thank you to Erica Bell and
Dobby her pup. Thank you to Lakwana Coax Them, Megan Abbott,
(38:35):
Lauren Alford, Amy Flowers, Beth Glaze, Ross Schamard, to Francis Marion, Good,
South Carolina Name and swamp Fox chiming In. Thank you
to Holland Seek, Rose Howell, Rita Schuler, Blair Kobolisky, Alison Green,
(38:55):
Erica Armstrong, Shennon Burrows, Eric Cheek, Erica Bell, Sandy Garrison
and Ty Milligan. We thank you all so much. But uh,
this one, I mean open ended. Yeah, you know, I
don't like those open ended ones, but they're certainly intriguing.
Speaker 3 (39:12):
They are.
Speaker 2 (39:13):
They may make you think, and that's uh.
Speaker 3 (39:16):
That's one we appreciate you covering here this week.
Speaker 2 (39:19):
And next week we're actually gonna have some special guests
with us, UH and looking forward to that, some some
fans of the show and they're coming from around the
Edgefield area to join us. So something, something always special
and wild is out of Edgefield and that's I'm expecting,
nothing less.
Speaker 4 (39:37):
Maybe they'll have some good stories.
Speaker 3 (39:39):
Maybe they will.
Speaker 2 (39:40):
And I'll go drink some lemon tea and honey and
try to get my voice back to back to normal.
And I promise not to have so many events and
talk so much and.
Speaker 4 (39:49):
Go rest your instrument.
Speaker 2 (39:50):
Rich rest my instrument this week. But thank you so much,
and until next time, we'll see you on Carolina Crimes.
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