June 29, 2025 • 45 mins
In a remote area of Aiken County, human remains began being discovered in the late 1980's and early 1990's. The women found were all found in the same condition, around the same age, and of similar heritage. To this day, investigators are still trying to piece together what happened.
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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
(00:25):
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 twenty eight.
I'm one of your hosts, Matt Hyres.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
Along with Danielle Myers, and we're over the.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Moon thrill that you joined us here this week. Danielle,
we're over the moon thrill that you're back with us. Yeah,
you were back last week, but uh yeah, you had
a couple weeks off there in a row and good
to have you back off vacation. Yeah, we're all tanned up,
had a nice, nice time, a lot of good feedback
from last week's episode. Out of Bufort, South Carolina. We
(01:14):
had the opportunity to meet with a couple of fans.
Yes down there, Emily and Crystal. Very nice to meet them,
great people. They were able to give us some insight
on actually the episode from from last week. Yeah, so
it's good stuff. It's a pleasure meeting them.
Speaker 4 (01:32):
Yeah, it was a good visit and they were very
thankful that we took the time out of our vacation
to come and visit with them.
Speaker 3 (01:39):
But we let them know we always enjoy getting.
Speaker 4 (01:42):
To meet fans and absolutely and we put faces to
names and get to talk to people.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
I mean, so it was, it was, It was a
cool experience.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
It was, and everybody came back from vacation healthy. No
injuries this year and Sting ray Bites was kind of poor.
Extremely hot folks, stay hydrated out there. That was a
rough week last year.
Speaker 4 (02:07):
It was a week.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Yeah, and our animals are very excited to see us
come back.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
Yep.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
And Kaiser, you've got a couple of bruises him jumping
on you.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
Yeah, I got a little excited. And he got some surgeries.
Speaker 4 (02:20):
Well we were gone, so he's recuperating doing very well.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
Good good and kiddies were glad to see me and
Ashley make it back. And yeah, we appreciate the time
off and now we're going to get back into it. Yeah,
this one is out of the norm for me. Usually
I pick cases that have been adjudicated, they kind of
(02:44):
have a finality to them, but this one is not.
But it is one that deserves media attention that hasn't
really gotten much, and I gotta say, I think it's
because of the demographics of some of the victim Some
were just barely briefly mentioned in media, and so we're
(03:06):
gonna get involved in that Before we dive into this
week's episode, just a few housekeeping notes. If you're not
already following us on social media, check us out on
Facebook at Carolina Crimes Podcast. Also over on Twitter at
sc Crimes Pod. You'll be able to see some faces
from these these cases this week. You'll see some artists
(03:28):
renderings and reconstructions and some crime scene photos and you'll
be able to see that. And also you'll be able
to tell when new episodes drop, which is every Sunday
consistently now for four and a half years.
Speaker 3 (03:43):
I can't believe it's been.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
That on Sundays at nine pm. I remember we originally
said we're gonna be dropping one every Monday, but just
Sunday worked out better. Yeah, worked out better for my schedule,
your schedule, the listeners, everybody else. So we've stood true
on that. Well.
Speaker 4 (04:00):
I think it's good because it seems that it gives
a lot of people to look forward to on their
commute Monday morning.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
Yes, yes, big, big time numbers on Monday mornings for
that Monday morning rush, the rush hour traffic. Also, if
you're looking to support the show, if you're listening on
Apple iTunes, Apple Podcasts, or on Spotify, throw us a
five star review. Mash that purple subscribe button and let
us know a little something you like about the show.
And if you're looking to get some summer T shirts,
(04:29):
something to wear to the beach. I know it is
vacation time, just like it was for us, and you're
gonna be out on the beach. You're gonna be drowning
some worms out there fishing, you're gonna be doing something
like that. Listen to us. If you need some T
shirts or some Carolina Crimes apparel, head on over to
Carolina Crimestore dot com and we'll get you set up.
(04:52):
Also this week, July fourth, Independence Day. Yes, be safe.
We want everybody coming back next week with all your
fingers and toes and don't get overheated out there. Enjoy yourself.
If you drink, drink responsibly, don't do anything dumb.
Speaker 3 (05:11):
Drive responsibly, boat responsibly.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
Yes, all of the above. All of the above. Well,
we're gonna go in and get into this one, and
it's gonna come out of Aichin County, South Carolina. And
for those of you not familiar with the state of
South Carolina, Aichin County is located in central western South Carolina,
bordered by the Savannah River, and it's just across the
(05:36):
river from Augusta. Augusta, Georgia, of course, famous for the
Masters several other things, but a beautiful place in a
beautiful county for sure. Now originally called the Aiken District,
Achin was created from portions of Edgefield and Orangeburg with
an H back then, Oh yeah, from Edgefield and Orangeburg
(05:57):
districts and was home to me any immigrant farmers and
freed indentured servants. In the seventeen thirties. The county was
named for William Aiken, the first president of the South
Carolina Railroad Company, and Aiken is home to some really
neat historic places. And I didn't know this. We've gone
(06:19):
over the history of Aiken several times. But Aiken is
actually home to the Aiken Tennis Club, which was founded
in eighteen ninety eight by William C. Whitney, and it
was said that it was the home to the only
equatorial tennis court. I don't know. I mean, I had
(06:40):
to go down a rabbit hole and figure out what
that meant. I never heard that said equatorial was always
in relation to the equator, and I was like, well,
it's nowhere near the damn equator. I don't know what
that means. So if you know what an equatorial tennis
court is, let me know. But this Aiken Tennis Club,
it was actually home to one of only two tennis
(07:01):
courts found below the Mason Dixon line at the time
in eighteen ninety eight when it was built. The only
other one they said Washington d C. But that's that's
splitting hairs when you talk about the Mason Dixon line.
So we're gonna say it's the first, first one in
the South. Also in Aiken, it's home to whitney Field.
(07:22):
The same guy, William C. Whitney that founded the ac
and Tennis Club. He founded Whitney Field, which is the
oldest polo grounds in the United States. Now, obviously, when
we say those two facts, you're like, Aiken kind of
rural South Carolina. What's the deal with all these I
(07:42):
guess country club sports. You know, that's what we call
it on the air. Highbrow are considered highbrow. It was
apparent by these two facts that Aiken County in the
late eighteen hundreds early nineteen hundreds became the home to
(08:02):
affluent Northerners. In the late eighteen hundreds, even the publisher
of the Chicago Tribune had a home there, and aich
and a lot of Northerners saw this as like a
winter retreat horse racing the temperate climates. It spawned horse
farms and training facilities, causing Aiken to be labeled horse
(08:27):
country because they could train horses all year round down there. Today,
the population of Aikin County is one hundred and seventy
seven thousand, one hundred and thirty and some of the
more famous folks that have called Aikin County home. We're
going to start with Anna Camp. She's an actress. She
was in Pitch Perfect, True Blood on HBO and was
(08:50):
kind of one of the sidekicks on the Mendy Project. Colling,
Am I saying that right, Kayling.
Speaker 3 (08:57):
I think so, something like that girl from the Office.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
Yes, Yes, Kelly from the Office. Also Aikin County was
the birthplace of Paul White w W e's The Big Show.
Also WCW is the Giant. Also from Aigan County, William
Refrigerator Perry, defensive lineman who made a name for himself
because of his size at Clemson University playing football the
(09:22):
Chicago Bears, later the Philadelphia Eagles, probably most remembered as
a Super Bowl twenty champion.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
He was actually giving the ball out of the backfield
and scored a touchdown in that in that win, they're
all World, all everything. Hall of Fame running back Walter
Payton did not score one. I don't think I think
that's the controversy. They gave the ball Mike Dicker gave
the ball to William Perry and not Walter Payton. But
it's nineteen eighty five. Also from Aikin County, country singer
(09:56):
John Berry, who topped the country charge to nineteen ninety
four with Your Love amazes me. Remember that one we
were jamming us of ninety nineties country on vacation a
little bit and belting out a little bit. We had,
we had a good time. Well, we're gonna go back
(10:18):
to the nineteen eighties to start this story, and we're
gonna go to Monday, November sixteenth, nineteen eighty seven, and
it was around the Shaw Creek area of Akin County,
just south of Eureka, South Carolina. Two guys set out
(10:39):
they were gonna go hunting that day, wandering kind of
through the woods, scouting out where they were gonna set up.
When they stumbled on something disturbing. It was skeletal remains,
and it was very obvious it was human skeletal. Now,
out in the woods, you'll happen up on, you know, raccoon,
(11:01):
coyote skeleton, or maybe a deer ye something like that.
But it was very obvious to these two hunters that
there was something wrong here. It was the skeletal remains
of a human being. They were about one and a
half miles south of what's known as Johnston Highway and
Mount Calvary Road, and the body was found face down.
(11:26):
Its legs were crossed and its arms were outstretched, Okay,
almost symbolizing. I mean, it looked like someone had been crucified.
The body was found with no clothes, so the hunters
they left the woods immediately. They remembered where they were
at and went and phoned Akin County Sheriff's Department and
(11:49):
Corner Sioux Townshend, which played a huge role in this case. Now,
like you just said, Corner Townshend, she said that the
remains of this body that were laying here looked posed.
They noticed no insects were around the body and that
(12:13):
roots were growing through the fingers. This told her that
the body had been out here for quite a while,
estimated one to five years wow. Just a few of
the bones in the feet were missing and the hyoid
bone in the face was missing. They called in slid
(12:38):
who started looking around the scene there and they did
find one the brass piece of a shotgun shell, so
no plastic, no wadding left over, and they were under
the remains there. It was noticed when they started studying
the skeleton that this person was female. She had high
(13:04):
cheek bones which were indicative of her maybe having some
Native American in her, they said, possibly African American. They
were able to tell that she was between five foot
eight and five foot ten. Due to her the bones
and how they had been postured or worned. They were
able to tell specific body weight, which was very interesting.
(13:29):
They said that this body was between one hundred and
fifty and one hundred and sixty pounds. When it came
to the teeth, you know, they rely a lot on
dental recognition when they find bodies, and they said the
first molar in the lower right portion of their mouth
(13:50):
was missing. Four other teeth were missing as well, had
been possibly pulled, and this person had an overbite they
kind of determined. And I found this really interesting. They said, Okay,
so they had some teeth removed or pulled or possibly
(14:11):
rited out. They were able to tell this person probably
was in a lower socioeconomic class, wasn't a very wealthy
person because the dental work basically, when people have more
and more money, they were able to put more and
more money into their mouths. I know that from having
(14:32):
two kids with braces. I mean, I have no money
by any means, but we didn't have to shell it out.
Speaker 3 (14:40):
Most of mine is in my mouth.
Speaker 2 (14:42):
Yes. And they also said that in autopsy they were
able to find some pieces of hair around this body
that they found and they were able to test the
hair and it looked like cocaine had been in this
person's system. Facial reconstruction occurred in nineteen eighty nine, and
(15:06):
trying to get a potential idea on exactly who this
body belonged. Who was this person? There was a theory
that this lady was possibly a migrant worker working on
some farms. They did question a farmer in the area
that had previous migrant worker violations. They didn't specify. I mean,
(15:31):
it's not like it is today. We're talking about nineteen
eighty seven here, and it possibly working them too much
or underpaying them or something of that. A labor violation,
not anything you know, de violent. Yeah, that's a good
way to put it. And this farmer, he stayed really
(15:53):
a lead in this case, just trying to find some
information from him, not necessarily saying he was a suspect,
but maybe he would have known who this was.
Speaker 4 (16:03):
Well, he works or he employees these migrant workers, and
he also probably has relationships with other farmers in the area,
so that he could also say, hey, I don't.
Speaker 3 (16:15):
Recognize that person, but maybe one of them does.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
Right, So this was a The trail on this case
was very cold. They didn't really have an id trying
to trying to, you know, compare it to missing person's notes,
and it just wasn't wasn't matching up. In March actually,
(16:41):
on March twenty second, nineteen ninety one, so we're talking
about four years later, a group of loggers they were
cutting pines near Highway one ninety one there in Aikin County,
right near Shaw Creek, and they discovered human remains around
(17:03):
ten thirty am that morning. Aikin County Sheriff's office was called.
They actually arrived on scene at eleven o six, as
did the still Corner Sue Townshend, and they were skeletal remains,
again of a female. They were able to determine that
(17:26):
it had been there, the skeleton for many years, just
like the skeleton that was found back in November nineteen
eighty seven. There was no clothes, no personal belongings, you know,
no rings, no earrings, nothing there. It was just a
(17:46):
naked Jane Doe. Wow. They said that looking at the skeleton,
they were able to tell that she had a severe
overbike for lack of a better term, they said she
had protruding teeth, which I was like, so an overbite,
(18:08):
but she had to have had a very distinct look,
so hopefully this would help investigators figure out who this was.
In nineteen ninety two, about fifteen miles from the Shaw
Creek sites, another body was found, this time same emo.
(18:36):
It was a female aged around her thirties, which the
other two victims were. She was posed just like.
Speaker 3 (18:47):
They were, so they've all been posed.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
Yes, it was nude near a body of water there
and they were able to tell this time by the
dental records that this victim's name was Resting Dirden. She
was last seen at her home in a Vera, Georgia,
(19:12):
on March thirteenth, nineteen eighty nine, and she was twenty
nine years old when she had been killed. Again left nude.
Another victim there. We're going to fast forward about a
year to January twenty fifth, nineteen ninety three. At nine
(19:34):
forty five am, remains were discovered close to the border
of Aiken and Edgefield Counties. They were within about a
mile and a half of the other bodies that had
been found the other three. Just like the other three, nude,
no belongings. But one thing stood out about this body.
(20:00):
The remains had actually been burned. Oh now, investigators. They
were able to theorize that this female, she had been killed,
left to decompose, and then moved to this location and
possibly burned. They were able to tell by studying her
(20:21):
skeletal remains that she was between thirty five or I'm sorry,
twenty five and thirty two years old, between five foot
four and five foot seven, with a slight build, and
she was African American as well. The body it was
determined that it had been there between two and five years.
So these things were all over the point.
Speaker 3 (20:42):
Yeah, they weren't recent killings.
Speaker 2 (20:45):
Yeah, within a period of six years, well really five years,
from November in nineteen eighty seven now to January of
nineteen ninety three, four victims have been found around the
same area, this Shaw Creek area, which was a tribute
to off of the Edistoe River, and nobody was able
(21:06):
to determine who these people were.
Speaker 4 (21:07):
Now interesting that they were found, you know, eighty seven,
ninety one, ninety two, ninety three, but previously they had
been there for years, then nobody being.
Speaker 3 (21:19):
Found, and then all of a sudden they're now being found. Yeah,
all these bodies started close together. It's weird.
Speaker 2 (21:28):
Yes, Now this fourth victim. They were able to determine
that she died due to a stab or a blow
around the base of the neck, the base of the
skull really and they said, you know, she was killed
somewhere else then brought back and burn, which is completely awful. Well,
(21:53):
in May of nineteen ninety three, Corner sued towns and
and investigators. They went back out around this area around
Shaw Creek and started combing the area with metal detectors
keen eyes. They were able to find and uncover a
tooth fragment of vertebrae and some small bone fragments that
(22:14):
did belong to humans in this area. Later that year,
you know, we're here on the cusp of DNA testing
early nineties when this science started catching up with criminals.
And later that year the Corner and slid they collaborated
(22:34):
and tried to go the route of facial reconstruction with
victim number two, the one that they had found there.
And we get back from this short break, we're going
to talk about exactly what happened with this facial reconstruction
and where investigators were able to go. We'll be right
back after this quick word from our sponsors. Hi friends,
(23:08):
Matt Hires here. One of my favorite parts of bringing
you Carolina Crimes each week is spotlighting the many wonderful
towns and communities within our great state, and today I'm
proud to encourage you all to check out one of
my personal favorites. Rather on a road trip or a
weekend getaway, discover Mullins. Once a vibrant depot town and
(23:30):
the former tobacco capital of South Carolina, Mullins is a
hidden treasure in the PD region. Explore our offerings by
savoring a cup of coffee at our delightful coffee shop,
enjoying lunch at any of our charming restaurants, visiting Old
Brick Square, and shopping at our quaint retail stores, which
include an antique market located in a repurposed tobacco warehouse.
(23:54):
Your visit would not be complete without a stop at
the South Carolina Tobacco Museum, situated in the historian train
depot in downtown Mullins, South Carolina. Here you can explore
various exhibits such as models of tobacco plants at each
growth stage, a blacksmith shop, a log tobacco barn filled
with cure tobacco, a farmhouse, kitchen showcasing vintage equipment, and
(24:17):
a photo gallery highlighting contemporary tobacco practices. The Mullins Room
honors our town's origins and its swift growth driven by
the railroad and the tobacco industry. Additionally, in late June
twenty twenty five, the Reverend Daniel Simmons Museum will open
its doors to the public. Within the Tobacco Museum, Reverend
(24:38):
Simmons was one of the victims of the Mother Emmanuel
nine tragedy, and he spent his childhood in Mullins and
worked in its tobacco warehouses. Thanks to a generous loan
from his daughter Rose, we will exhibit many of his
personal belongings, including his beloved Bible. The documentary of his life,
One Last Breath, will be continuously streamed in the museum.
(25:01):
Rather it's for a road trip or a weekend getaway,
Mullins is a perfect place to visit and a place
to call home. Visit Mullins, South Carolina and Welcome back
(25:37):
to Carolina Crimes Episode two twenty eight. Coming out of
the Shaw Creek area of Aikin County, this tributarya of
the Edisto River and learned a lot about Shaw Creek. Yep.
I started looking at Hey, I've never heard of this place,
and it's actually one of the major freshwater supplies for
(25:58):
Aikin County in the town on a vacant the city
of Acoes. Oh really, And I didn't know the Edisto
River went up that far, but it actually started originating
in the midlands due to some underground springs. Oh okay, okay,
I went down that rabbit hole. And speaking of rabbit holes, investigators,
(26:19):
they were faced with one here the Shaw Creek area
where four unidentified female bodies, all more than likely women
of color, they had turned up all over the course
of about six years, five years really, Yeah, And they
started using new investigative techniques, and as we mentioned before
(26:44):
the break, they started a facial reconstruction product project of
the nineteen ninety one victim, the second victim that was found,
and they finally came up with one. It was pretty crude.
I mean not ugly, but I mean it was a
very crude rendering of what this lady may have looked like. Yeah,
(27:09):
we were looking at some pictures. I shared those with
you before the episode, and they released those, but they
didn't really end up getting many major leads.
Speaker 3 (27:19):
Looking at the picture that you showed me, I would
say it kind of.
Speaker 4 (27:22):
Looked a little hard to pick out any like defining characteristics.
Speaker 2 (27:29):
Or determine what she really looked like.
Speaker 1 (27:32):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (27:33):
Well, in nineteen ninety four a lead came in from
Richmond County, Georgia. Around this time, there were a couple
of serial killers in the area. They said, you know,
this has got all the mo of somebody, possibly the
same person, especially since everything was stripped of the body,
any identifying clothing, jewelry, anything at all, personal belongings, and
(27:59):
the way the body were posed and where they were found.
Speaker 4 (28:02):
And they're all about the same age, yes, same characteristic, Yes, same.
Speaker 2 (28:07):
Race generally, And they the guy that the authorities in
Georgia were fingering was a guy by the name of
Frank Potts. He was a migrant worker. He was known
to go around the southeast a lot, around the around
the Gulf Coast area early in Alabama, and he was
(28:30):
a serial rapist, serial killer. He had killed several people.
And they started looking into it and they said, this
might be your guy, but it was soon dispelled. They
were like, you know, his his victims, they don't match.
They don't match these ladies that were found in the woods.
(28:50):
The timelines aren't matching up. He couldn't have been able
to do this, So Frank Potts, it was soon determined, Yeah,
he probably didn't have a hand in this. Well, the
more that this facial recognition rendering started going around, an
Aiken County family they came forward, and that was a
(29:12):
family of a missing woman. They said that, you know,
this facial reconstruction, it could be our family member, it
could be our loved one. And they told investigators the story.
They said, in nineteen eighty six, thirty year old Jacqueline Jackie,
as she went by counsel, she went missing in November
(29:35):
of nineteen eighty six after dropping off her five year
old son at school. He was the last person to
see her alive. Now, her family believed for some reason,
it wasn't really clear. They said that, well, we had
always thought that Jackie had left on a boat, maybe
(29:56):
on the Savannah River. I'm not really sure. That very vague.
They said that she had possibly left on a boat,
and they had held out hope that she would.
Speaker 3 (30:05):
Return one day.
Speaker 2 (30:07):
But this rendering, this reconstruction, they said, you know, it
could possibly be Jackie Well in nineteen ninety seven, ten
years after the first body was found, a pathologist forensic
pathologist at the University of South Carolina. He used a
photographic overlay to actually put on that facial reconstruction from
(30:33):
nineteen ninety three, and it was a ringer for Jackie Hechlow. Yes.
So the family they said, Okay, this could more than
likely is Jackie. But it was actually confirmed in nineteen
ninety nine when the advances in DNA technology allowed for
(30:57):
a sample to be taken from Jackie Counsel's youngest son,
the one that got dropped off that day in nineteen
eighty six, and compared to the DNA that was able
to be taken from the remains, it was Jackie counsel
(31:18):
corner Sue Townshend. She was like, okay, we've got two
of these ladies. We've got Jackie Counsel, Restine Durden that
they were able to identify. She went missing from Georgia.
Remember with the dental records, we've had these four bodies
that were dumped, possibly related, and we've got two of
(31:43):
them identified, but still two left. And then they started
looking at possible potential suspects. When we get back from
the short break. We're going to go through those some
of the possibilities. Somebody knows something about these ladies. Somebody
knows something that happened, and we're going to get into
(32:03):
that right after this quick word from our sponsors. Folks
will be right back and welcome back to Carolina Crimes,
(32:36):
episode two twenty eight out of ac in South Carolina,
in the Shaw Creek area, and we're talking about these
four ladies that their bodies had been found. Two had
been identified, just Risteem Durdan, a thirty year old and
also I'm sorry, twenty eight years old and also thirty
(32:57):
year old Jackie Council. There have been all kinds of
theories throughout the years. The other two women remain Jane
Does that were found. There have been several theories about
who these people are, who could have done this to them,
and we're gonna start kind of unpacking those right now
(33:20):
and maybe come up with some of our own theories.
And we'd love to hear from you on our social
media as to what you think. But the first potential
suspect that popped up on the radar the Frank Potts.
He was discredited, but another one popped up a guy
by the name of James Patrick Washington. He worked in Augusta,
(33:43):
Georgia for the Mary Brickyard, and this was an area
where there were two young twin girls that had disappeared
back in nineteen ninety Their names were Dannett and Janet Millbrook.
Their sister Sean Tay came forward in later years to say, yes,
(34:05):
you know, I think he was responsible. I think that
their disappearance did coincide with the timeline of where these
bodies were found. Possibly the person responsible for them were
also responsible for the disappearance of my twin sisters, which
it makes sense now. Washington he was arrested in nineteen
(34:26):
ninety three for a series of rapes in the Augusta area,
and his victim profile was very similar to that as
the Shaw Creek killings. Now, when James Patrick Washington was arrested,
this is disturbing. His motive for raping women was that
(34:49):
he found out he was HIV positive from an ex
girlfriend and this was a revenge mission on women for him,
and and that's why he went around doing this to ladies.
Speaker 3 (35:04):
How cold is that? And just heartless, awful, awful.
Speaker 2 (35:13):
Eventually, in nineteen ninety nine, James Patrick Washington. He did
die while in custody, and a connection between him and
the Shaw Creek killings could never be made. There was
another man by the name of John Wayne Boyer. He
was nicknamed the long haul Territory Killer or the Santa
(35:37):
Claus Killer because he had a long, white beard. He
stood five foot seven and weighed about three hundred pounds,
and he seemed to prey on sex workers at different
truck stops, whatever you want to call them. He confessed
to raping and killing killed at least two young ladies
(36:00):
in the early two thousands. He was originally from the
Aching area, and like I said, he confessed to many
of his crimes, but never the Shaw Creek killings. He
seemed to scatter his victims throughout his route. He was
along over the road truck driver, and so that really
(36:21):
didn't fit the mo of just putting all his victims
in one place to be found. I will say this
for the murderer, the perpetrator of these things. He found
a remote, desolated location near Shaw Creek, and he stuck
with it because it worked. I mean, you gotta think
(36:41):
these bodies weren't found for several years later. So in
his mind. He was probably onto something there, and you know,
nobody's finding these ladies' bodies that I'm dumping. I'm gonna
keep doing some more theories. We're gonna go back to
episode twenty two ten Richard Sturrett from the Martinez, Georgia area.
(37:09):
He was handsome, would lure these women in and he
lived kind of a double life where his wife he
didn't know, she didn't know where he was going at night,
and she'd go on vacations and visit her family in California.
He would have these young ladies come over, put them
in bondage, kidnap them in a back bedroom with the
windows blacked out, torture them and kill them. There's a
(37:33):
theory that it could have been him, but again, none
of his victims were found in that Shaw Creek area. Also,
going back, I think it's episode one thirty two. Rinaldo Rivera,
the serial killer around the Augusta, Georgia area, who was
(37:54):
going around asking women if they wanted to be models, yeah,
and picking them up off the street. And they were
younger girls really, you know, African American ladies in their
thirties didn't really fit his mo He was after young
Caucasian women and it really didn't match up. But he
(38:16):
was also a theory also Henry Lewis Wallace, the Taco
Bell killer, who he perpetrated a lot of his crimes
around the North Carolina area, but he did have some
victims in South Carolina. He was a serial killer, and
his name is even popped up in relation to this case. Yeah,
so a lot of people out there that they're like, well,
(38:39):
if these killings stopped, they started finding the bodies in
eighty seven, then stopped around ninety three, maybe this guy
or woman. Yeah, I mean, we don't want a stereotype.
Maybe this person, this killer died, maybe they were incarcerat
(39:02):
or maybe they just stopped.
Speaker 4 (39:03):
Maybe they got married, had a family, they didn't have
that opportunity.
Speaker 2 (39:09):
Maybe they moved away. Yeah, something of that nature. And
one of the podcasts that did cover this, like I said,
there's very little media coverage out there of these murders
and these bodies being found. But one of the podcasts
that I was listening to in preparation for this episode,
they said, well, hey, do serial killers stop? And they
(39:33):
went back to reference the BTK killer. Yeah, where he
went on a long spree and then just quit. Became
what many thought was an upstanding citizen in his community,
worked for the city, deacon at his church. Nice guy,
but you know he stopped for quite a while and
they thought, well, maybe this guy just stopped. Guy or girl.
(39:58):
But in the wake of these crimes, you got to
remember the victims resting Durdan taken from her home in Georgia,
Jackie Counsel that was taken after dropping her youngest son
off at school, of Mama for.
Speaker 4 (40:17):
Her five year old son being the last one that
saw her alive.
Speaker 2 (40:20):
Yes, and then the two Jane does that obviously they
had a family too. I mean, these all the unconnected
dots in this case are very troubling.
Speaker 4 (40:32):
Well, and they've got people who have family who haven't
had anyone be identified yet, so then they don't have answers.
Speaker 3 (40:40):
And then the ones that have been identified still don't
have answers.
Speaker 4 (40:44):
When you asked if serial killers will stop, I know,
BTK stop. But one thing that I've read up on stuff,
and you know I'm into all that.
Speaker 3 (40:55):
Obviously, but they tend to even if they stop like
he did.
Speaker 4 (41:03):
They it has been known that they want the attention,
They want to make sure that it is known that
they are responsible for these crimes.
Speaker 3 (41:14):
They don't want other people to take it because it's like,
this is what I did, and I want people to know.
And I think.
Speaker 4 (41:19):
That's what made him decide to start taunting the police again,
because it's almost like he missed that attention and the
news headlines about him.
Speaker 2 (41:30):
He wanted the recognition, yeah, and just the attention rather
positive or negative.
Speaker 3 (41:36):
And then once they found him, he confessed.
Speaker 2 (41:39):
And then.
Speaker 4 (41:41):
I mean there's a one of the I think he
pled guilty in one of the conditions was he had
to say what he did in court and his sentencing,
and they said he was reading off not literally reading,
but he was listening off all of his victims, what
(42:01):
was going on that day, exactly how the crimes transpired.
And they said it was like.
Speaker 3 (42:06):
As if he was reading you a grocery list.
Speaker 4 (42:08):
And he didn't need to heartless and he didn't need
to reference anything because he had it all in his head.
And once they do start talking, they tend to own up,
unless they want to play with the detectives a little bit,
but they own up because then it's like, now I
got all the eyes on me. Everyone wants to hear
(42:28):
what I have to say.
Speaker 2 (42:29):
Yeah, that horrible attention.
Speaker 3 (42:32):
Seeking, narcissistic behavior.
Speaker 2 (42:34):
Yeah, yeah, that's the word I was looking for. Yes, So,
if anyone out there knows anything about these murders around
the Shall Creek area in the mid to late nineteen eighties,
please contact Akin County Sheriff's Department. Let them know anything,
just minor. You might think it's insignificant, but it's not.
(42:56):
It's not. So with that being said, appreciate you listening
this week. That's a tough one to get through. I
hate the ones that I have no finality to or
we don't have any finality to. But it's a story
that needs to be told. These people need closure well.
Speaker 4 (43:14):
And stuff doesn't get brought up for a while, not
that people forget, it just doesn't get talked about a lot.
And then when you bring it back up to the surface,
it might, you know, jangle loose some memories, a conversation
you might have overheard, or we're told directly, and it
(43:36):
could be beneficial in leading the police somewhere because they're
probably more aggravated than we are. And sure, you know,
hopefully there's some kind of conclusion even if the person
is not alive anymore, to be able to have a
name to point responsibility to, and the families can have
some kind of closure and be able to say, I
(43:57):
know who did this, and either their deceased or incarcerated,
and I have to worry about them anymore or they
will be incarcerated.
Speaker 2 (44:03):
This story it needs an ending. Yes, it definitely does well.
Speaking of endings, this is the ending of this week,
this week's episode to twenty I'm sorry to twenty eight
and if you're not already following us on social media,
I'm gonna put out some pictures of these, these artist renderings,
these facial reconstructions, some crime scene photos. It's gonna be
(44:26):
on our social media at Carolina Crimes Podcast, also over
on Twitter at sc crimes pod. If you're listening on
Apple iTunes, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify and would like to
support the show, tell us a five star review, tell
us a little something that you like about the show.
It helps the algorithm, and we'll have some special thanks
for you for those that have done that here soon
(44:47):
and also special thanks to everyone and everyone that has
been and is going over to Carolina crimestore dot com
to get some merch and some sweet Carolina Crimes paraphernalia
for your back. So stay cool out there, be safe
for the fourth of July, get a long weekend.
Speaker 4 (45:06):
So mm hmmm, and we're coming back. We talked about this,
We're coming back from vacation and I'm like, in, we have.
Speaker 3 (45:12):
A fortday work week.
Speaker 2 (45:14):
Yes, so everybody behave, be on your p's and q's,
and until next week. Thank you for listening to 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
(00:25):
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 twenty eight.
I'm one of your hosts, Matt Hyres.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
Along with Danielle Myers, and we're over the.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Moon thrill that you joined us here this week. Danielle,
we're over the moon thrill that you're back with us. Yeah,
you were back last week, but uh yeah, you had
a couple weeks off there in a row and good
to have you back off vacation. Yeah, we're all tanned up,
had a nice, nice time, a lot of good feedback
from last week's episode. Out of Bufort, South Carolina. We
(01:14):
had the opportunity to meet with a couple of fans.
Yes down there, Emily and Crystal. Very nice to meet them,
great people. They were able to give us some insight
on actually the episode from from last week. Yeah, so
it's good stuff. It's a pleasure meeting them.
Speaker 4 (01:32):
Yeah, it was a good visit and they were very
thankful that we took the time out of our vacation
to come and visit with them.
Speaker 3 (01:39):
But we let them know we always enjoy getting.
Speaker 4 (01:42):
To meet fans and absolutely and we put faces to
names and get to talk to people.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
I mean, so it was, it was, It was a
cool experience.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
It was, and everybody came back from vacation healthy. No
injuries this year and Sting ray Bites was kind of poor.
Extremely hot folks, stay hydrated out there. That was a
rough week last year.
Speaker 4 (02:07):
It was a week.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Yeah, and our animals are very excited to see us
come back.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
Yep.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
And Kaiser, you've got a couple of bruises him jumping
on you.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
Yeah, I got a little excited. And he got some surgeries.
Speaker 4 (02:20):
Well we were gone, so he's recuperating doing very well.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
Good good and kiddies were glad to see me and
Ashley make it back. And yeah, we appreciate the time
off and now we're going to get back into it. Yeah,
this one is out of the norm for me. Usually
I pick cases that have been adjudicated, they kind of
(02:44):
have a finality to them, but this one is not.
But it is one that deserves media attention that hasn't
really gotten much, and I gotta say, I think it's
because of the demographics of some of the victim Some
were just barely briefly mentioned in media, and so we're
(03:06):
gonna get involved in that Before we dive into this
week's episode, just a few housekeeping notes. If you're not
already following us on social media, check us out on
Facebook at Carolina Crimes Podcast. Also over on Twitter at
sc Crimes Pod. You'll be able to see some faces
from these these cases this week. You'll see some artists
(03:28):
renderings and reconstructions and some crime scene photos and you'll
be able to see that. And also you'll be able
to tell when new episodes drop, which is every Sunday
consistently now for four and a half years.
Speaker 3 (03:43):
I can't believe it's been.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
That on Sundays at nine pm. I remember we originally
said we're gonna be dropping one every Monday, but just
Sunday worked out better. Yeah, worked out better for my schedule,
your schedule, the listeners, everybody else. So we've stood true
on that. Well.
Speaker 4 (04:00):
I think it's good because it seems that it gives
a lot of people to look forward to on their
commute Monday morning.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
Yes, yes, big, big time numbers on Monday mornings for
that Monday morning rush, the rush hour traffic. Also, if
you're looking to support the show, if you're listening on
Apple iTunes, Apple Podcasts, or on Spotify, throw us a
five star review. Mash that purple subscribe button and let
us know a little something you like about the show.
And if you're looking to get some summer T shirts,
(04:29):
something to wear to the beach. I know it is
vacation time, just like it was for us, and you're
gonna be out on the beach. You're gonna be drowning
some worms out there fishing, you're gonna be doing something
like that. Listen to us. If you need some T
shirts or some Carolina Crimes apparel, head on over to
Carolina Crimestore dot com and we'll get you set up.
(04:52):
Also this week, July fourth, Independence Day. Yes, be safe.
We want everybody coming back next week with all your
fingers and toes and don't get overheated out there. Enjoy yourself.
If you drink, drink responsibly, don't do anything dumb.
Speaker 3 (05:11):
Drive responsibly, boat responsibly.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
Yes, all of the above. All of the above. Well,
we're gonna go in and get into this one, and
it's gonna come out of Aichin County, South Carolina. And
for those of you not familiar with the state of
South Carolina, Aichin County is located in central western South Carolina,
bordered by the Savannah River, and it's just across the
(05:36):
river from Augusta. Augusta, Georgia, of course, famous for the
Masters several other things, but a beautiful place in a
beautiful county for sure. Now originally called the Aiken District,
Achin was created from portions of Edgefield and Orangeburg with
an H back then, Oh yeah, from Edgefield and Orangeburg
(05:57):
districts and was home to me any immigrant farmers and
freed indentured servants. In the seventeen thirties. The county was
named for William Aiken, the first president of the South
Carolina Railroad Company, and Aiken is home to some really
neat historic places. And I didn't know this. We've gone
(06:19):
over the history of Aiken several times. But Aiken is
actually home to the Aiken Tennis Club, which was founded
in eighteen ninety eight by William C. Whitney, and it
was said that it was the home to the only
equatorial tennis court. I don't know. I mean, I had
(06:40):
to go down a rabbit hole and figure out what
that meant. I never heard that said equatorial was always
in relation to the equator, and I was like, well,
it's nowhere near the damn equator. I don't know what
that means. So if you know what an equatorial tennis
court is, let me know. But this Aiken Tennis Club,
it was actually home to one of only two tennis
(07:01):
courts found below the Mason Dixon line at the time
in eighteen ninety eight when it was built. The only
other one they said Washington d C. But that's that's
splitting hairs when you talk about the Mason Dixon line.
So we're gonna say it's the first, first one in
the South. Also in Aiken, it's home to whitney Field.
(07:22):
The same guy, William C. Whitney that founded the ac
and Tennis Club. He founded Whitney Field, which is the
oldest polo grounds in the United States. Now, obviously, when
we say those two facts, you're like, Aiken kind of
rural South Carolina. What's the deal with all these I
(07:42):
guess country club sports. You know, that's what we call
it on the air. Highbrow are considered highbrow. It was
apparent by these two facts that Aiken County in the
late eighteen hundreds early nineteen hundreds became the home to
(08:02):
affluent Northerners. In the late eighteen hundreds, even the publisher
of the Chicago Tribune had a home there, and aich
and a lot of Northerners saw this as like a
winter retreat horse racing the temperate climates. It spawned horse
farms and training facilities, causing Aiken to be labeled horse
(08:27):
country because they could train horses all year round down there. Today,
the population of Aikin County is one hundred and seventy
seven thousand, one hundred and thirty and some of the
more famous folks that have called Aikin County home. We're
going to start with Anna Camp. She's an actress. She
was in Pitch Perfect, True Blood on HBO and was
(08:50):
kind of one of the sidekicks on the Mendy Project. Colling,
Am I saying that right, Kayling.
Speaker 3 (08:57):
I think so, something like that girl from the Office.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
Yes, Yes, Kelly from the Office. Also Aikin County was
the birthplace of Paul White w W e's The Big Show.
Also WCW is the Giant. Also from Aigan County, William
Refrigerator Perry, defensive lineman who made a name for himself
because of his size at Clemson University playing football the
(09:22):
Chicago Bears, later the Philadelphia Eagles, probably most remembered as
a Super Bowl twenty champion.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
He was actually giving the ball out of the backfield
and scored a touchdown in that in that win, they're
all World, all everything. Hall of Fame running back Walter
Payton did not score one. I don't think I think
that's the controversy. They gave the ball Mike Dicker gave
the ball to William Perry and not Walter Payton. But
it's nineteen eighty five. Also from Aikin County, country singer
(09:56):
John Berry, who topped the country charge to nineteen ninety
four with Your Love amazes me. Remember that one we
were jamming us of ninety nineties country on vacation a
little bit and belting out a little bit. We had,
we had a good time. Well, we're gonna go back
(10:18):
to the nineteen eighties to start this story, and we're
gonna go to Monday, November sixteenth, nineteen eighty seven, and
it was around the Shaw Creek area of Akin County,
just south of Eureka, South Carolina. Two guys set out
(10:39):
they were gonna go hunting that day, wandering kind of
through the woods, scouting out where they were gonna set up.
When they stumbled on something disturbing. It was skeletal remains,
and it was very obvious it was human skeletal. Now,
out in the woods, you'll happen up on, you know, raccoon,
(11:01):
coyote skeleton, or maybe a deer ye something like that.
But it was very obvious to these two hunters that
there was something wrong here. It was the skeletal remains
of a human being. They were about one and a
half miles south of what's known as Johnston Highway and
Mount Calvary Road, and the body was found face down.
(11:26):
Its legs were crossed and its arms were outstretched, Okay,
almost symbolizing. I mean, it looked like someone had been crucified.
The body was found with no clothes, so the hunters
they left the woods immediately. They remembered where they were
at and went and phoned Akin County Sheriff's Department and
(11:49):
Corner Sioux Townshend, which played a huge role in this case. Now,
like you just said, Corner Townshend, she said that the
remains of this body that were laying here looked posed.
They noticed no insects were around the body and that
(12:13):
roots were growing through the fingers. This told her that
the body had been out here for quite a while,
estimated one to five years wow. Just a few of
the bones in the feet were missing and the hyoid
bone in the face was missing. They called in slid
(12:38):
who started looking around the scene there and they did
find one the brass piece of a shotgun shell, so
no plastic, no wadding left over, and they were under
the remains there. It was noticed when they started studying
the skeleton that this person was female. She had high
(13:04):
cheek bones which were indicative of her maybe having some
Native American in her, they said, possibly African American. They
were able to tell that she was between five foot
eight and five foot ten. Due to her the bones
and how they had been postured or worned. They were
able to tell specific body weight, which was very interesting.
(13:29):
They said that this body was between one hundred and
fifty and one hundred and sixty pounds. When it came
to the teeth, you know, they rely a lot on
dental recognition when they find bodies, and they said the
first molar in the lower right portion of their mouth
(13:50):
was missing. Four other teeth were missing as well, had
been possibly pulled, and this person had an overbite they
kind of determined. And I found this really interesting. They said, Okay,
so they had some teeth removed or pulled or possibly
(14:11):
rited out. They were able to tell this person probably
was in a lower socioeconomic class, wasn't a very wealthy
person because the dental work basically, when people have more
and more money, they were able to put more and
more money into their mouths. I know that from having
(14:32):
two kids with braces. I mean, I have no money
by any means, but we didn't have to shell it out.
Speaker 3 (14:40):
Most of mine is in my mouth.
Speaker 2 (14:42):
Yes. And they also said that in autopsy they were
able to find some pieces of hair around this body
that they found and they were able to test the
hair and it looked like cocaine had been in this
person's system. Facial reconstruction occurred in nineteen eighty nine, and
(15:06):
trying to get a potential idea on exactly who this
body belonged. Who was this person? There was a theory
that this lady was possibly a migrant worker working on
some farms. They did question a farmer in the area
that had previous migrant worker violations. They didn't specify. I mean,
(15:31):
it's not like it is today. We're talking about nineteen
eighty seven here, and it possibly working them too much
or underpaying them or something of that. A labor violation,
not anything you know, de violent. Yeah, that's a good
way to put it. And this farmer, he stayed really
(15:53):
a lead in this case, just trying to find some
information from him, not necessarily saying he was a suspect,
but maybe he would have known who this was.
Speaker 4 (16:03):
Well, he works or he employees these migrant workers, and
he also probably has relationships with other farmers in the area,
so that he could also say, hey, I don't.
Speaker 3 (16:15):
Recognize that person, but maybe one of them does.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
Right, So this was a The trail on this case
was very cold. They didn't really have an id trying
to trying to, you know, compare it to missing person's notes,
and it just wasn't wasn't matching up. In March actually,
(16:41):
on March twenty second, nineteen ninety one, so we're talking
about four years later, a group of loggers they were
cutting pines near Highway one ninety one there in Aikin County,
right near Shaw Creek, and they discovered human remains around
(17:03):
ten thirty am that morning. Aikin County Sheriff's office was called.
They actually arrived on scene at eleven o six, as
did the still Corner Sue Townshend, and they were skeletal remains,
again of a female. They were able to determine that
(17:26):
it had been there, the skeleton for many years, just
like the skeleton that was found back in November nineteen
eighty seven. There was no clothes, no personal belongings, you know,
no rings, no earrings, nothing there. It was just a
(17:46):
naked Jane Doe. Wow. They said that looking at the skeleton,
they were able to tell that she had a severe
overbike for lack of a better term, they said she
had protruding teeth, which I was like, so an overbite,
(18:08):
but she had to have had a very distinct look,
so hopefully this would help investigators figure out who this was.
In nineteen ninety two, about fifteen miles from the Shaw
Creek sites, another body was found, this time same emo.
(18:36):
It was a female aged around her thirties, which the
other two victims were. She was posed just like.
Speaker 3 (18:47):
They were, so they've all been posed.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
Yes, it was nude near a body of water there
and they were able to tell this time by the
dental records that this victim's name was Resting Dirden. She
was last seen at her home in a Vera, Georgia,
(19:12):
on March thirteenth, nineteen eighty nine, and she was twenty
nine years old when she had been killed. Again left nude.
Another victim there. We're going to fast forward about a
year to January twenty fifth, nineteen ninety three. At nine
(19:34):
forty five am, remains were discovered close to the border
of Aiken and Edgefield Counties. They were within about a
mile and a half of the other bodies that had
been found the other three. Just like the other three, nude,
no belongings. But one thing stood out about this body.
(20:00):
The remains had actually been burned. Oh now, investigators. They
were able to theorize that this female, she had been killed,
left to decompose, and then moved to this location and
possibly burned. They were able to tell by studying her
(20:21):
skeletal remains that she was between thirty five or I'm sorry,
twenty five and thirty two years old, between five foot
four and five foot seven, with a slight build, and
she was African American as well. The body it was
determined that it had been there between two and five years.
So these things were all over the point.
Speaker 3 (20:42):
Yeah, they weren't recent killings.
Speaker 2 (20:45):
Yeah, within a period of six years, well really five years,
from November in nineteen eighty seven now to January of
nineteen ninety three, four victims have been found around the
same area, this Shaw Creek area, which was a tribute
to off of the Edistoe River, and nobody was able
(21:06):
to determine who these people were.
Speaker 4 (21:07):
Now interesting that they were found, you know, eighty seven,
ninety one, ninety two, ninety three, but previously they had
been there for years, then nobody being.
Speaker 3 (21:19):
Found, and then all of a sudden they're now being found. Yeah,
all these bodies started close together. It's weird.
Speaker 2 (21:28):
Yes, Now this fourth victim. They were able to determine
that she died due to a stab or a blow
around the base of the neck, the base of the
skull really and they said, you know, she was killed
somewhere else then brought back and burn, which is completely awful. Well,
(21:53):
in May of nineteen ninety three, Corner sued towns and
and investigators. They went back out around this area around
Shaw Creek and started combing the area with metal detectors
keen eyes. They were able to find and uncover a
tooth fragment of vertebrae and some small bone fragments that
(22:14):
did belong to humans in this area. Later that year,
you know, we're here on the cusp of DNA testing
early nineties when this science started catching up with criminals.
And later that year the Corner and slid they collaborated
(22:34):
and tried to go the route of facial reconstruction with
victim number two, the one that they had found there.
And we get back from this short break, we're going
to talk about exactly what happened with this facial reconstruction
and where investigators were able to go. We'll be right
back after this quick word from our sponsors. Hi friends,
(23:08):
Matt Hires here. One of my favorite parts of bringing
you Carolina Crimes each week is spotlighting the many wonderful
towns and communities within our great state, and today I'm
proud to encourage you all to check out one of
my personal favorites. Rather on a road trip or a
weekend getaway, discover Mullins. Once a vibrant depot town and
(23:30):
the former tobacco capital of South Carolina, Mullins is a
hidden treasure in the PD region. Explore our offerings by
savoring a cup of coffee at our delightful coffee shop,
enjoying lunch at any of our charming restaurants, visiting Old
Brick Square, and shopping at our quaint retail stores, which
include an antique market located in a repurposed tobacco warehouse.
(23:54):
Your visit would not be complete without a stop at
the South Carolina Tobacco Museum, situated in the historian train
depot in downtown Mullins, South Carolina. Here you can explore
various exhibits such as models of tobacco plants at each
growth stage, a blacksmith shop, a log tobacco barn filled
with cure tobacco, a farmhouse, kitchen showcasing vintage equipment, and
(24:17):
a photo gallery highlighting contemporary tobacco practices. The Mullins Room
honors our town's origins and its swift growth driven by
the railroad and the tobacco industry. Additionally, in late June
twenty twenty five, the Reverend Daniel Simmons Museum will open
its doors to the public. Within the Tobacco Museum, Reverend
(24:38):
Simmons was one of the victims of the Mother Emmanuel
nine tragedy, and he spent his childhood in Mullins and
worked in its tobacco warehouses. Thanks to a generous loan
from his daughter Rose, we will exhibit many of his
personal belongings, including his beloved Bible. The documentary of his life,
One Last Breath, will be continuously streamed in the museum.
(25:01):
Rather it's for a road trip or a weekend getaway,
Mullins is a perfect place to visit and a place
to call home. Visit Mullins, South Carolina and Welcome back
(25:37):
to Carolina Crimes Episode two twenty eight. Coming out of
the Shaw Creek area of Aikin County, this tributarya of
the Edisto River and learned a lot about Shaw Creek. Yep.
I started looking at Hey, I've never heard of this place,
and it's actually one of the major freshwater supplies for
(25:58):
Aikin County in the town on a vacant the city
of Acoes. Oh really, And I didn't know the Edisto
River went up that far, but it actually started originating
in the midlands due to some underground springs. Oh okay, okay,
I went down that rabbit hole. And speaking of rabbit holes, investigators,
(26:19):
they were faced with one here the Shaw Creek area
where four unidentified female bodies, all more than likely women
of color, they had turned up all over the course
of about six years, five years really, Yeah, And they
started using new investigative techniques, and as we mentioned before
(26:44):
the break, they started a facial reconstruction product project of
the nineteen ninety one victim, the second victim that was found,
and they finally came up with one. It was pretty crude.
I mean not ugly, but I mean it was a
very crude rendering of what this lady may have looked like. Yeah,
(27:09):
we were looking at some pictures. I shared those with
you before the episode, and they released those, but they
didn't really end up getting many major leads.
Speaker 3 (27:19):
Looking at the picture that you showed me, I would
say it kind of.
Speaker 4 (27:22):
Looked a little hard to pick out any like defining characteristics.
Speaker 2 (27:29):
Or determine what she really looked like.
Speaker 1 (27:32):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (27:33):
Well, in nineteen ninety four a lead came in from
Richmond County, Georgia. Around this time, there were a couple
of serial killers in the area. They said, you know,
this has got all the mo of somebody, possibly the
same person, especially since everything was stripped of the body,
any identifying clothing, jewelry, anything at all, personal belongings, and
(27:59):
the way the body were posed and where they were found.
Speaker 4 (28:02):
And they're all about the same age, yes, same characteristic, Yes, same.
Speaker 2 (28:07):
Race generally, And they the guy that the authorities in
Georgia were fingering was a guy by the name of
Frank Potts. He was a migrant worker. He was known
to go around the southeast a lot, around the around
the Gulf Coast area early in Alabama, and he was
(28:30):
a serial rapist, serial killer. He had killed several people.
And they started looking into it and they said, this
might be your guy, but it was soon dispelled. They
were like, you know, his his victims, they don't match.
They don't match these ladies that were found in the woods.
(28:50):
The timelines aren't matching up. He couldn't have been able
to do this, So Frank Potts, it was soon determined, Yeah,
he probably didn't have a hand in this. Well, the
more that this facial recognition rendering started going around, an
Aiken County family they came forward, and that was a
(29:12):
family of a missing woman. They said that, you know,
this facial reconstruction, it could be our family member, it
could be our loved one. And they told investigators the story.
They said, in nineteen eighty six, thirty year old Jacqueline Jackie,
as she went by counsel, she went missing in November
(29:35):
of nineteen eighty six after dropping off her five year
old son at school. He was the last person to
see her alive. Now, her family believed for some reason,
it wasn't really clear. They said that, well, we had
always thought that Jackie had left on a boat, maybe
(29:56):
on the Savannah River. I'm not really sure. That very vague.
They said that she had possibly left on a boat,
and they had held out hope that she would.
Speaker 3 (30:05):
Return one day.
Speaker 2 (30:07):
But this rendering, this reconstruction, they said, you know, it
could possibly be Jackie Well in nineteen ninety seven, ten
years after the first body was found, a pathologist forensic
pathologist at the University of South Carolina. He used a
photographic overlay to actually put on that facial reconstruction from
(30:33):
nineteen ninety three, and it was a ringer for Jackie Hechlow. Yes.
So the family they said, Okay, this could more than
likely is Jackie. But it was actually confirmed in nineteen
ninety nine when the advances in DNA technology allowed for
(30:57):
a sample to be taken from Jackie Counsel's youngest son,
the one that got dropped off that day in nineteen
eighty six, and compared to the DNA that was able
to be taken from the remains, it was Jackie counsel
(31:18):
corner Sue Townshend. She was like, okay, we've got two
of these ladies. We've got Jackie Counsel, Restine Durden that
they were able to identify. She went missing from Georgia.
Remember with the dental records, we've had these four bodies
that were dumped, possibly related, and we've got two of
(31:43):
them identified, but still two left. And then they started
looking at possible potential suspects. When we get back from
the short break. We're going to go through those some
of the possibilities. Somebody knows something about these ladies. Somebody
knows something that happened, and we're going to get into
(32:03):
that right after this quick word from our sponsors. Folks
will be right back and welcome back to Carolina Crimes,
(32:36):
episode two twenty eight out of ac in South Carolina,
in the Shaw Creek area, and we're talking about these
four ladies that their bodies had been found. Two had
been identified, just Risteem Durdan, a thirty year old and
also I'm sorry, twenty eight years old and also thirty
(32:57):
year old Jackie Council. There have been all kinds of
theories throughout the years. The other two women remain Jane
Does that were found. There have been several theories about
who these people are, who could have done this to them,
and we're gonna start kind of unpacking those right now
(33:20):
and maybe come up with some of our own theories.
And we'd love to hear from you on our social
media as to what you think. But the first potential
suspect that popped up on the radar the Frank Potts.
He was discredited, but another one popped up a guy
by the name of James Patrick Washington. He worked in Augusta,
(33:43):
Georgia for the Mary Brickyard, and this was an area
where there were two young twin girls that had disappeared
back in nineteen ninety Their names were Dannett and Janet Millbrook.
Their sister Sean Tay came forward in later years to say, yes,
(34:05):
you know, I think he was responsible. I think that
their disappearance did coincide with the timeline of where these
bodies were found. Possibly the person responsible for them were
also responsible for the disappearance of my twin sisters, which
it makes sense now. Washington he was arrested in nineteen
(34:26):
ninety three for a series of rapes in the Augusta area,
and his victim profile was very similar to that as
the Shaw Creek killings. Now, when James Patrick Washington was arrested,
this is disturbing. His motive for raping women was that
(34:49):
he found out he was HIV positive from an ex
girlfriend and this was a revenge mission on women for him,
and and that's why he went around doing this to ladies.
Speaker 3 (35:04):
How cold is that? And just heartless, awful, awful.
Speaker 2 (35:13):
Eventually, in nineteen ninety nine, James Patrick Washington. He did
die while in custody, and a connection between him and
the Shaw Creek killings could never be made. There was
another man by the name of John Wayne Boyer. He
was nicknamed the long haul Territory Killer or the Santa
(35:37):
Claus Killer because he had a long, white beard. He
stood five foot seven and weighed about three hundred pounds,
and he seemed to prey on sex workers at different
truck stops, whatever you want to call them. He confessed
to raping and killing killed at least two young ladies
(36:00):
in the early two thousands. He was originally from the
Aching area, and like I said, he confessed to many
of his crimes, but never the Shaw Creek killings. He
seemed to scatter his victims throughout his route. He was
along over the road truck driver, and so that really
(36:21):
didn't fit the mo of just putting all his victims
in one place to be found. I will say this
for the murderer, the perpetrator of these things. He found
a remote, desolated location near Shaw Creek, and he stuck
with it because it worked. I mean, you gotta think
(36:41):
these bodies weren't found for several years later. So in
his mind. He was probably onto something there, and you know,
nobody's finding these ladies' bodies that I'm dumping. I'm gonna
keep doing some more theories. We're gonna go back to
episode twenty two ten Richard Sturrett from the Martinez, Georgia area.
(37:09):
He was handsome, would lure these women in and he
lived kind of a double life where his wife he
didn't know, she didn't know where he was going at night,
and she'd go on vacations and visit her family in California.
He would have these young ladies come over, put them
in bondage, kidnap them in a back bedroom with the
windows blacked out, torture them and kill them. There's a
(37:33):
theory that it could have been him, but again, none
of his victims were found in that Shaw Creek area. Also,
going back, I think it's episode one thirty two. Rinaldo Rivera,
the serial killer around the Augusta, Georgia area, who was
(37:54):
going around asking women if they wanted to be models, yeah,
and picking them up off the street. And they were
younger girls really, you know, African American ladies in their
thirties didn't really fit his mo He was after young
Caucasian women and it really didn't match up. But he
(38:16):
was also a theory also Henry Lewis Wallace, the Taco
Bell killer, who he perpetrated a lot of his crimes
around the North Carolina area, but he did have some
victims in South Carolina. He was a serial killer, and
his name is even popped up in relation to this case. Yeah,
so a lot of people out there that they're like, well,
(38:39):
if these killings stopped, they started finding the bodies in
eighty seven, then stopped around ninety three, maybe this guy
or woman. Yeah, I mean, we don't want a stereotype.
Maybe this person, this killer died, maybe they were incarcerat
(39:02):
or maybe they just stopped.
Speaker 4 (39:03):
Maybe they got married, had a family, they didn't have
that opportunity.
Speaker 2 (39:09):
Maybe they moved away. Yeah, something of that nature. And
one of the podcasts that did cover this, like I said,
there's very little media coverage out there of these murders
and these bodies being found. But one of the podcasts
that I was listening to in preparation for this episode,
they said, well, hey, do serial killers stop? And they
(39:33):
went back to reference the BTK killer. Yeah, where he
went on a long spree and then just quit. Became
what many thought was an upstanding citizen in his community,
worked for the city, deacon at his church. Nice guy,
but you know he stopped for quite a while and
they thought, well, maybe this guy just stopped. Guy or girl.
(39:58):
But in the wake of these crimes, you got to
remember the victims resting Durdan taken from her home in Georgia,
Jackie Counsel that was taken after dropping her youngest son
off at school, of Mama for.
Speaker 4 (40:17):
Her five year old son being the last one that
saw her alive.
Speaker 2 (40:20):
Yes, and then the two Jane does that obviously they
had a family too. I mean, these all the unconnected
dots in this case are very troubling.
Speaker 4 (40:32):
Well, and they've got people who have family who haven't
had anyone be identified yet, so then they don't have answers.
Speaker 3 (40:40):
And then the ones that have been identified still don't
have answers.
Speaker 4 (40:44):
When you asked if serial killers will stop, I know,
BTK stop. But one thing that I've read up on stuff,
and you know I'm into all that.
Speaker 3 (40:55):
Obviously, but they tend to even if they stop like
he did.
Speaker 4 (41:03):
They it has been known that they want the attention,
They want to make sure that it is known that
they are responsible for these crimes.
Speaker 3 (41:14):
They don't want other people to take it because it's like,
this is what I did, and I want people to know.
And I think.
Speaker 4 (41:19):
That's what made him decide to start taunting the police again,
because it's almost like he missed that attention and the
news headlines about him.
Speaker 2 (41:30):
He wanted the recognition, yeah, and just the attention rather
positive or negative.
Speaker 3 (41:36):
And then once they found him, he confessed.
Speaker 2 (41:39):
And then.
Speaker 4 (41:41):
I mean there's a one of the I think he
pled guilty in one of the conditions was he had
to say what he did in court and his sentencing,
and they said he was reading off not literally reading,
but he was listening off all of his victims, what
(42:01):
was going on that day, exactly how the crimes transpired.
And they said it was like.
Speaker 3 (42:06):
As if he was reading you a grocery list.
Speaker 4 (42:08):
And he didn't need to heartless and he didn't need
to reference anything because he had it all in his head.
And once they do start talking, they tend to own up,
unless they want to play with the detectives a little bit,
but they own up because then it's like, now I
got all the eyes on me. Everyone wants to hear
(42:28):
what I have to say.
Speaker 2 (42:29):
Yeah, that horrible attention.
Speaker 3 (42:32):
Seeking, narcissistic behavior.
Speaker 2 (42:34):
Yeah, yeah, that's the word I was looking for. Yes, So,
if anyone out there knows anything about these murders around
the Shall Creek area in the mid to late nineteen eighties,
please contact Akin County Sheriff's Department. Let them know anything,
just minor. You might think it's insignificant, but it's not.
(42:56):
It's not. So with that being said, appreciate you listening
this week. That's a tough one to get through. I
hate the ones that I have no finality to or
we don't have any finality to. But it's a story
that needs to be told. These people need closure well.
Speaker 4 (43:14):
And stuff doesn't get brought up for a while, not
that people forget, it just doesn't get talked about a lot.
And then when you bring it back up to the surface,
it might, you know, jangle loose some memories, a conversation
you might have overheard, or we're told directly, and it
(43:36):
could be beneficial in leading the police somewhere because they're
probably more aggravated than we are. And sure, you know,
hopefully there's some kind of conclusion even if the person
is not alive anymore, to be able to have a
name to point responsibility to, and the families can have
some kind of closure and be able to say, I
(43:57):
know who did this, and either their deceased or incarcerated,
and I have to worry about them anymore or they
will be incarcerated.
Speaker 2 (44:03):
This story it needs an ending. Yes, it definitely does well.
Speaking of endings, this is the ending of this week,
this week's episode to twenty I'm sorry to twenty eight
and if you're not already following us on social media,
I'm gonna put out some pictures of these, these artist renderings,
these facial reconstructions, some crime scene photos. It's gonna be
(44:26):
on our social media at Carolina Crimes Podcast, also over
on Twitter at sc crimes pod. If you're listening on
Apple iTunes, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify and would like to
support the show, tell us a five star review, tell
us a little something that you like about the show.
It helps the algorithm, and we'll have some special thanks
for you for those that have done that here soon
(44:47):
and also special thanks to everyone and everyone that has
been and is going over to Carolina crimestore dot com
to get some merch and some sweet Carolina Crimes paraphernalia
for your back. So stay cool out there, be safe
for the fourth of July, get a long weekend.
Speaker 4 (45:06):
So mm hmmm, and we're coming back. We talked about this,
We're coming back from vacation and I'm like, in, we have.
Speaker 3 (45:12):
A fortday work week.
Speaker 2 (45:14):
Yes, so everybody behave, be on your p's and q's,
and until next week. Thank you for listening to Carolina Crimes.
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