July 6, 2025 • 43 mins
In 2007, a fire at a Pawley's Island home uncovered something much more sinister. In an attempt to cover up a robbery, assault, and murder, someone had taken the life of a beautiful soul and new grandmother. With seemingly no enemies, investigators weren't only looking for who did this but why?
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
For over three hundred and fifty years, the state of
South Carolina has been the setting for some of the
most horrendous crimes ever committed. Some have gained global notoriety,
some have been forgotten, and others have been swept under
the rug completely. Now, two South Carolina natives and true
(00:26):
crime enthusiasts have teamed up to examine these heinous acts
in detail, giving their perspective of the evil that has
resided in the Palmetto State. You're listening to Carolina Crimes.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
And welcome back to Carolina Crimes, episode two twenty nine.
I'm one of your hosts, Matt Hyres along.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
With Daniel Myers, and we're over the moon real that
you joined us here this week and this exciting episode
coming to you from the coast of South Carolina.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
We hope everybody had a safe, enjoyable Fourth of July weekend.
You gotta go back to work tomorrow, guys, all right, Yeah,
that's the rules. Them's the rules. So we did hope.
We hope everybody they made it through safe. Everybody. Like
I said, I hope you got all your fingers and toes,
no fireworks accidents.
Speaker 4 (01:20):
No mugshots.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Yeah, especially those so uh don't be a subject of
one of these episodes. A little bit of housekeeping before
we get started. As always, if you're not already following
us on social media, check us out on Facebook at
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We'll put some pictures from each episode on there, so
(01:44):
you'll be able to visualize and know who we're talking
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We would really appreciate that. And also, if you'd like
(02:06):
to support the show monetarily and get a little something
in return, some nice stuff in return, head on over
to Carolina Crimestore dot com. So Episode two twenty nine, Danielle,
We're coming from Paully's Island. That's right South Carolina, a
summer destination for some folks, most folks. And uh, I was.
Speaker 4 (02:29):
There for a weekend trip about a month ago.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
Yeah, how is I've never ever been to Paully's really?
Speaker 4 (02:35):
Yeah, it's really nice. It's a nice area, good beaches.
I like it. Busy, crowded, yeah, it is, especially the
time of year, Okay, but I have been in the
off season, and like most coastal places in the off season,
it's not as busy, okay. So, but the downside is
there's a lot of shops aren't open.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
Either, the Hammocks. Hammock shops, I think that's what they're
famous for producing over there.
Speaker 4 (03:06):
Yes, and I've been there to see demonstration. They have
a bunch of other shops that you can go around in,
little boutiques and things. So it's just a really nice area.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
Cool, cool. Well. Pauley's Island, South Carolina is located in
Georgetown County, of course, on the Atlantic Coast, and Georgetown
County lies between Or County, which is probably best known
for the Myrtle Beach area, North Myrtle Beach, the Grand Strand,
and just south of Georgetown is Charleston County, which is
(03:36):
famous for its history, beaches and all around culture. So
right in between is Georgetown County where Polly's Island is located.
And the history of Pauley's Island actually dates back over
ten thousand years. When it was inhabited by the Waucamaw
and Wenya when Ya native American tribes, now the first Europeans.
(03:58):
They arrived on Paully's Eye Island via Spain in fifteen
twenty one, and eventually the land fell into the hands
of a man by the name of George Pauley pawl
e Y. For those that are that are trying to
figure that out, it's not poll Y. So George Polly
he gained control of most of the land on the
(04:19):
island in the seventeen hundreds, and he got it the
old fashioned way through his father George. He created actually
a summer refuge and this is back in the seventeen hundreds,
which it's still a summer refuge and resort today. But
he created it for rice plantation owners that were concerned
(04:41):
about malaria. And we've seen that with a lot of
towns in South Carolina. And I always have the gripe.
I'm like, okay, so you own animals on your plantation livestock,
you also, unfortunately own human beings and you're just gonna
ditch all of them because you and your family are
(05:01):
more concerned about malaria, and you leave them to do
all the hard work.
Speaker 4 (05:05):
And possibly get the disease and.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
Possibly get the disease. But they did say that a
lot I've gotten some answers to that question through the years,
and they said a lot of livestock and the people
that they owned, the slaves that were on some of
the plantations had a natural immunity to the malaria disease.
So not that it makes the situation any better whatsoever.
(05:30):
But I was really concerned. I was like, what a
bunch of you know, how inconsiderate can you be a
own people? And b I mean just forgetting about them
and worrying about your own saving your own skin. So
Paul's Island was created as that retreat and refuge for
(05:50):
the very wealthy. The town was officially recognized in eighteen
ninety five as a pleasant, low key vacation destination. And
this is gonna blow your mind. That's why I asked
if it was crowded or not. Take a stab at
the full time population of Paul's Island.
Speaker 4 (06:11):
Okay, full time full.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
Time like now, yeah, well as of the twenty twenty census.
Speaker 4 (06:21):
I'm not good at get these guessing games.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
One hundred thousand, one hundred thousand.
Speaker 4 (06:28):
I don't know. I told you, I'm not good at this.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
You're you're terrible at this. No, it's one hundred and
thirty people, hundred thousand.
Speaker 4 (06:39):
I don't know. I was just trying to come up
with it. We've had places that are super inhabited that
I don't realize are populated that I was like, there's
that many people there.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
Yeah, I'm not editing that out, but that's okay.
Speaker 4 (06:50):
I'll own it. I'm not good at it. I'm not
good at the guessing games.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
And maybe later you can give us your loaded baked
potato recipe.
Speaker 4 (06:56):
Yes, I can do that.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
I see the Daggers from across the way here. So
one hundred and thirty full time residents in Paully's Island.
We've touched on Paully's Island before. In fact, you did
with the Gray Man episode.
Speaker 4 (07:11):
You're in Halloween. We did the spooky episodes.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
Yeah, the legend of the Gray Man, where there's a
few different origins. But if you see the Gray Man,
your house will be protected from upcoming storms. And it's
kind of a good thing to see that specter walking
on the beach.
Speaker 4 (07:28):
He's a friendly ghost.
Speaker 2 (07:30):
He's a friendly ghost, but other other than the gray
Man and the one hundred and thirty full time population there.
One famous person came from Paully's Island and it was
Elizabeth Alston Pringle. She was a plantation owner, a female
plantation owner, and a writer between and she lived between
(07:52):
eighteen forty five and nineteen twenty one. She used the
pseudonym or pen name Patience Pennington, and she wrote A
Woman Rice Planter and Chronicles of Chakora would. She had
a lot of wealth, mostly due to her father, who
was the sixty seventh governor of the state of South Carolina,
(08:15):
Robert Austin. So, Elizabeth Austin Pringkle, that's cool.
Speaker 4 (08:20):
Yes, well, there are a lot of female plantation owners
in that time.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
I wouldn't think so, just because of kind of chauvinism,
and yeah, heirs that usually went to the firstborn male.
And I don't I don't think so. I knew. I
remember Eliza Lucas Pinkney when they talked about indigo back
in our South Carolina history lessons in school. I don't
(08:47):
even know if they teach that still, but I remember that.
But I don't think. I don't think they were very common.
So if we're wrong on that smartness up.
Speaker 4 (08:57):
Well, I think a lot of it probably had to
do with the fact that you don't they don't. They
didn't like a lot of women in power at that time, either.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
Or owning land or anything like that.
Speaker 4 (09:06):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
So with that being said, let's kick off this episode
from Polly's Island, South Carolina.
Speaker 4 (09:13):
Take it away, all right, So this we're gonna be
in two thousand and seven, so I want to say
not too far along, but it actually was a good
bit of time ago. I just don't feel like it
is that long.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
Yeah, because we're getting old. I mean, that's almost twenty
years ago.
Speaker 4 (09:31):
That's awful.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
It's incredible.
Speaker 4 (09:33):
Anyways, now I feel bad about myself. But we're gonna
go back a little bit before then to Julianne Blakely
grew up in Andrews, South Carolina, and graduated from Andrews
High School, and then she went on to graduate from
Columbia College and then went to Converse College where she
(09:54):
got her masters. So she was very driven, very smart,
very educated. Yes, and upon finishing college. I guess they
met in college. I didn't find too much about that,
But in nineteen sixty eight she married Kenneth Thornton and
(10:15):
Julianne began teaching at Coastal Carolina while Kenneth was going
to law school, and so she was the primary bread
winner during this time, and four years into their marriage,
in nineteen seventy two, the couple welcomed their daughter, Kathleen,
and then just another four years later, in nineteen seventy six,
(10:37):
the couple was thrust into the spotlight when Julianne gave
birth to quadruplets.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
Wow. Wow.
Speaker 4 (10:45):
She had two boys and two girls, Olivia, Katie, Blake,
and Clay. And I remember a time when, like you
think octomom or anybody else, anytime there were these molultiples born. Yeah,
there was always like news articles, you know, magazine articles.
(11:06):
It was just such a phenomenon. Everybody was very intrigued
that somebody could have, you know, that many kids Johnny
Cable's eight.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
Yeah. And I mean nowadays you have kind of the
advances or whatever you want to consider them of, you know,
fertility drugs, things like that that that wasn't common, especially
in nineteen seventy six. No, and you start putting that
in perspective, And I remember as a kid, a family
in our church had triplets and that was a huge
(11:37):
deal and we were.
Speaker 4 (11:38):
Like, oh my gosh, you know, yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:40):
That's wild. But now you hear about it, it's more commonplace.
Speaker 4 (11:44):
Really, okay, you had you had five kids at once.
Speaker 2 (11:46):
What do you want me to well, I mean, that's.
Speaker 4 (11:48):
Still no, I'm kidding, it's just not as you know, publicized,
because you do see it a little bit more and certainly.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
Not discounting it in any way. Still absolutely not gave
birtha multiple kids at the same time.
Speaker 4 (12:02):
Well and the family continued to stay in the news
as the Quiets got older, keeping up with milestones, seeing
where they're at now. So the family was. They were
in the news a lot throughout the years, so it
was kind of an interesting thing known about town.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
And what was Kenneth's last name or their last.
Speaker 4 (12:20):
Name, Thornton Thornton.
Speaker 2 (12:23):
Well.
Speaker 4 (12:24):
In nineteen eighty, just a few years after giving birth
to the quadruplitz, Kenneth left his wife and children. He
admitted to having multiple affairs. I don't know if having
that many young kids was too much, but it just
(12:45):
wasn't for him anymore, and he left five kids. Five kids, Yeah,
and officially two years later they were divorced after twelve
years of marriage. In nineteen eighty seven, tragedy struck when
Julianne's oldest daughter, Kathleen, was killed in a car accident
(13:08):
at the young age of fifteen, leaving the family devastated.
And then in nineteen eighty nine, Julianne's house was heavily
damaged by the infamous Hurricane Hugo. Yeah, it struck the
coast of Carolina, and.
Speaker 2 (13:24):
There was a lot in the history of Polly's Island
talking about the devastation that occurred. I mean that was
right there, just north I think what was it, Mcclellanville,
Allen Dau just north of Charleston, just south of Paully's Island.
That was kind of the I don't want to say epicenter,
(13:45):
but that's where it got hit the hardest. And a
lot of these coastal communities, I mean, those were homes
passed down generation to generation, and they weren't they were older.
I mean, you see pictures from the early eighties of
beach houses and I remember going to Edistow with my
family and you know, we stayed in the house one year.
(14:06):
It didn't have air conditioning and it was fourth of
July weekend. We had to bring box fans and I
mean they were just older, older beach houses I stayed.
Speaker 4 (14:18):
We went with my dad's side years ago. I was
little for to Edistow and we stayed out of house
and I remember it just had like paneling or wood everywhere.
It was. Yeah, I was like, oh my god.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
That yeah, you know, not really something I want to
revisit now. I'm gotting soft with air conditioning and stuff
like that. But yeah, and that Hurricane Hugo was a
huge event in South Carolina. I remember it and what
it did to these beach communities. It it's almost like
a wildfire and you see it go through forests and
(14:53):
it takes out old trees, some dilapidated, some not, and
it room for regrowth. And that's kind of what you
see with the building boon at the beaches now. I
mean it cleared out the way for bigger I don't
necessarily want to say better, more modern, modernized homes to
(15:17):
be built.
Speaker 4 (15:18):
Yes, And unfortunately Julianne was one of those people who
was affected by that. Having so many bad things happen
in a row, it seemed like she just could not
catch a break and on top of that, she's lost
one child and is raising four all the same age,
(15:38):
which I think would be a little bit better than
them being staggered. Going you get one out of a
stage and then the other one's coming up right behind them.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
Oh yeah, and I just did some math to nineteen
eighty nine, they're all thirteen years old. Oh fun. She was,
God bless her well.
Speaker 4 (15:57):
Unfortunately a lot of these bad luck, bad happenings turned.
She turned towards taking some pills to help cope, and
it led to becoming a little bit of a problem,
which she recognized. In nineteen ninety she was hospitalized in
an attempt to wean herself from this chemical dependency. She
(16:18):
was released from the hospital in ninety one. She was
healthy and begin the road to taking back her life.
But ever since Julianne and Kenneth had divorced in nineteen
eighty two, they had been to court multiple times with
constant back and forth over custody of the children, alimony,
(16:41):
and child sport. There was a lot of accusations that
Kenneth was not being forthcoming with his true amount of
his salary because now he was a successful lawyer at
his own practice and along with or along with the
fact that he wasn't being honest about the exact amount
of the assets that he possessed. He would argue he
(17:01):
didn't have the means to pay the amount of alimony
and child support that she was asking for, though he
owned multiple home horses properties and made over one hundred
thousand dollars every year, so they were able to determine
you do have the means. Eventually, somewhat of an agreement
(17:22):
was made in nineteen ninety five, over ten years after
the two of them divorced. It was like, I was like,
I can't even believe it took this long. It's just
like so ridiculous. Her life had been in limbo through
this whole time. Well through the whole ordeal, Julianne was
still able to move on with her life. She was
(17:43):
still teaching, this time at or Georgetown Technical College. She
was a member of All Saints Church and kept an
out of social life. She was a beautiful woman who
was always smiling and kept her vivacious spirit, and by
two thousand and seven life was going really well for
her and her Litchfield home in Polly's Island, and by
(18:04):
this time she was a grandmother doing very well, getting
to dote on her. I think it was she had
one granddaughter at the time, but.
Speaker 2 (18:13):
As we're thirty one years old.
Speaker 4 (18:15):
Yeah, but unfortunately the string of bad luck wasn't over
for Julianne. And we're gonna take our first quick break
and when we come back, we're going to get into
the meat with the story.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
All right, well, we'll be right back after this quick
word from our sponsors, Hi friends, Matt Hire's here. One
of my favorite parts of bringing you Carolina Crimes each
week is spotlighting the many wonderful towns and communities within
(18:49):
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 Mulleins.
Once a vibrant depot town and the former tobacco capital
of South Carolina, Mullins is a hidden treasure in the
PD region. Explore our offerings by savoring a cup of
(19:11):
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. Your visit would not
be complete without a stop at the South Carolina Tobacco Museum,
(19:31):
situated in the historic train depot in downtown Mullens, 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 a photo gallery highlighting contemporary tobacco practices.
(19:54):
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 Simmons was one of the victims of
the Mother Emmanuel nine tragedy, and he spent his childhood
(20:16):
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. Rather it's for a road trip
or a weekend getaway. Mullins is a perfect place to
(20:38):
visit and a place to call home. Visit Mullins, South
Carolina and welcome back to Carolina Crimes, episode two twenty nine.
(21:07):
And this story about Julianne Blakely Thornton centers around Pauley's Island,
South Carolina, and a string of tragedies. Really that kind
of summed up her early life and losing a daughter,
a marriage, a home to Hurricane Hugo. And you know,
(21:28):
it seems like she struggled a little bit with some
chemical dependency, some substance abuse disorders, and she had finally
gotten herself steady yep. And in two thousand and seven
you said she was enjoying her first grandchild. And let's
see where this story takes us.
Speaker 4 (21:46):
On the morning of September twenty sixth, two thousand and seven,
firefighters responded to a report of a small fire at
Julianne's Lichfield Beach home after neighbors saw smoke coming from
the house. It was not fully engulfed, it was just
they knew just that there was like, this is a
(22:06):
little suspicious. We're gonna call the fire department. And when
firefighters arrived, they found that this wasn't a big fire,
but instead small fires that had been set in several
different places in the home. And when they went further
into the house after everything was put out, in the
master bedroom, they found sixty three year old Julienne Blakeley
(22:31):
partially clothed in her bed and she was deceased. Detectives
arrived on scene and quickly determined that Julianne hadn't died
as a result of the fire, though she did have
burns on her arms and legs. She had a wound
to the back of her head, and she had been
(22:51):
stabbed in the neck.
Speaker 2 (22:53):
Oh my gosh.
Speaker 4 (22:55):
She had also been sexually assaulted, and determined that she
had been dead for some time.
Speaker 2 (23:02):
So this has drawn similarities in parallels to the Brian
Wallas case from Buford, where there was a lady around
this same age and it seemed that a fire was
set up to kind of cover the criminal the murderer's tracks. Yes,
is everything this is pointing.
Speaker 4 (23:22):
To Well, I told you that this one has similarities
to the story that you did, and when I first
started going through it, I had to check to make
sure that I wasn't looking at another case, like a
case that we had already done. I was like, no,
it's not the same one, but the circumstances are very
early similar.
Speaker 2 (23:41):
Yes.
Speaker 4 (23:43):
Georgetown County corner Kenny Johnson said it appeared as though
she was stabbed while getting ready for bed or while
she was resting in bed. Just going off of the scene.
Detectives believed that after she was killed, the suspect then
started the fires in an attempt to cover up any evidence.
But they were like little small fires. I guess they
(24:04):
were hoping it would like catch but yeah, and it
maybe it did to an extent, but not enough to
completely burn the house.
Speaker 2 (24:11):
It looked like a big fire.
Speaker 1 (24:13):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (24:13):
Yeah, Well. News of Julianne's murder quickly spread, devastating her
children and friends. She no one could understand how or
why this happened or who could be irresponsible. They were like,
she doesn't have any enemies. The only person anyone could
(24:33):
think of that Julianne had any kind of issues with
was her ex husband, Kenneth.
Speaker 2 (24:40):
Yeah, and by this time, though they've been divorced, since
nineteen eighty two. Mm hmm, it's two thousand and seven,
so amazing holding onto this this long and the.
Speaker 4 (24:49):
Kid and it took over ten years for them to
completely kind of air everything out in regards to alimony,
child support, child custody. And like you said, the kids
are grown, so they're not arguing over that stuff anymore.
Speaker 2 (25:05):
Yeah, but the.
Speaker 4 (25:08):
Detectives did learn that, you know, they the two did
have a contentious relationship and though he wasn't listed as
an actual suspect, he was someone that they needed to
speak to.
Speaker 2 (25:18):
Ye, that's that's common.
Speaker 4 (25:20):
To We need to find out, you know, are you
still holding on to this grudge from all these years ago?
Did something recent come up? And she's you're mad. I'm
guessing at this point he's probably still having to pay alimony, Yeah,
because I believe in South Carolin. I don't know how
it is in different states, but I know in South
Carolina it's unless she gets remarried, he has to continue
(25:41):
to pay alimony, alimony.
Speaker 2 (25:43):
Now child support, that's.
Speaker 4 (25:44):
Love, that's yeah. So this would be the only thing
that he would still be paying on and they're like, well,
would this be an issue? And so they were able
to make contact with Kenneth, and I wasn't able to
find anything, as saying, a lot of news articles, but
nothing that said exactly what his alibi was or what
(26:06):
he told police. But he did have one and apparently
it was valid and he was cleared from the beginning. Okay,
So a few days go by after this murder, and
the news is reported that police still don't have any
suspects and are encouraged to encourage the public to come
(26:26):
forward with any information, and they did by a way
of an anonymous phone call. All right, And I do
know we just came back from a break, but I
don't want to cut this one, so we're gonna take
this last break and then we'll jump right into what
this caller has to say.
Speaker 2 (26:44):
All right, We'll be right back after this quick word
from our sponsors, and welcome back to Carolina Crimes, episode
(27:15):
two twenty nine out of Paully's Island, South Carolina, and
this murder and apparent arson attempt to cover up the
murder in Pauli's Island, South Carolina.
Speaker 4 (27:27):
Julianne Blake, Well, like I said, police had reached out
to the public asking anyone to come forward because at
this point they didn't have anything in any suspects, and
then an an anonymous call came in and the caller
gave police the name of Shane Earle law Shee. He
(27:48):
was thirty three years old.
Speaker 2 (27:50):
What was his last name?
Speaker 4 (27:51):
Law shee? Law she Okay, it literally spelled how it sounds.
I was like, which is interesting seeing because like, yeah,
I was like, maybe it's pretty Yeah, this name didn't
ring any bells to police, but it was a start.
So a bolo was put out because they needed to
(28:14):
speak to him. Why is somebody you know you're like
they like a lot of detectives like to say, we
didn't just pull your name out of a hat. It
was given to us, so we need to speak to
you for a reason. And on October third of two
thousand and seven, exactly a week after the murder, Shane
Lawshey was apprehended without incident at the Little River Swing Bridge.
(28:34):
I don't know if you've ever been there. Yeah, he
was at the Little River Swing Bridge and was waiting
for the bridge to come back around.
Speaker 2 (28:42):
Yeah, you ain't got nowhere to go, but he.
Speaker 4 (28:44):
Was literally I'm gonna go off the edge of the cliff.
I'm gonna let you take me in. So his vehicle
was found and he was taken in.
Speaker 2 (28:50):
He probably wouldn't dukes over that swing bridge, so I don't.
Speaker 4 (28:55):
Think he would have made it, So detectives bring he's
brought in for questioning, and detectives learned that Shane worked
for a relative of his doing construction work, and it
was a bunch of different stuff. It was a small
business local. They did home renovations, they did repairs, and
(29:15):
they would do house painting, okay. And they learned that
at the time of the murder, Julienne was actually having
her house painted and some repairs done, and Shane was
on the crew that was working at her house okay,
(29:35):
So they believed he had seen her come and go
while he had been working, and I guess it was
getting time to the job being done, and he decided
to come back at night. Knowing that she lived alone,
he had plenty of time to kind of see and
figure out nobody else lives here, And he came back
(29:56):
at night and he sexually assaulted her. He murdered her
and then stole items from her home before setting the house,
trying to set the house on fire to cover up
any kind of evidence he ended up not putting up
much of a fight. He confessed to all of this,
(30:16):
but he also had other crimes that he decided to
go ahead and admit to as well.
Speaker 2 (30:21):
Okay, so let's let's wrap this up with miss Blakely.
I mean, so he was just happened to be a
construction worker, so she had nice things and decided he
was going to kill her and take them and try
to set fire to and he couldn't.
Speaker 4 (30:39):
I don't think he did, but I'm just saying I
don't there there couldn't be an argument of, well, I
murder her because you know, I had to kill her
because I was at her house, burglarizing her home and
she happened to come in. It was like, you like,
he had to have known that she was there.
Speaker 2 (30:58):
Yeah, it was a home invasion.
Speaker 4 (31:00):
And it's weird to think. I don't know how long
this crew was here, but apparently it was at the
end of when they needed to be done with this job,
wrapping it up. When he decided to do this knowing
that they weren't going to be back anymore after that,
so they wouldn't have to have any interactions. But the
whole time, he's probably in her house able to see
(31:24):
some stuff because there was some repair work that needed
to be done, like iming. So he was probably in
the house. He was outside of the home, and he
was probably taking in everything as he was walking through,
realizing kind of maybe her routine a little bit, and
just really watching her. And it's very weird, But I
don't believe that this was I happened upon. She happened
(31:45):
upon me while I was burglarizing her home. Well, the
other crimes that he decided to go ahead and confess
to it was earlier on the day of the murder.
He told them that he broke into the Sherwin Williams
paint store were and stole some things, and also the
merls Inlet veterinary clinic on US seventeen bypass. Okay, so
(32:09):
I'm not really sure what you steal from a vet.
You need some food, you need some medication, bill pockets.
Speaker 2 (32:17):
I don't know what you need to take, but yeah,
I don't know. Maybe looking for cash sounds like certainly
drugs were involved.
Speaker 4 (32:26):
It's possible.
Speaker 2 (32:26):
I never yeah, I mean soon, but if you're breaking
into a VET and Sherwin Williams, that looked like another
crime of opportunity. I mean, he's probably there every day
with his line of work. Yeah, and knew you know, hey,
they probably keep a lot of cash on hand, or
maybe I can get some tools to sell or I
(32:49):
mean that could be.
Speaker 4 (32:50):
That could be another place that he was kind of
canvassing a little bit too, Like as he would go
in to get supplies for his work, he might have
been kind of taking inventory of the employee and where
they keep things. I mean, so it's very apparent this
guy's like always keeping his head on a swivel.
Speaker 2 (33:05):
Just a miscreant, That's exactly what he is.
Speaker 4 (33:09):
He also confessed that four days after the murder, on
September thirtieth, he burglarized the Shell Rapid Lakes gas station
on North Gate Road in Myrtle Beach, so Shane lost
the last She was eventually charged with murder, first degree burglary,
(33:31):
first degree criminal sexual conduct, second degree arson, and two
counts of second degree burglary Okay. He was also charged
with second degree burglary in ri County. When the Myrtle
Beach detectives were tipped off by Georgetown detectives about Shane's confession,
they're like, uh, this guy admitted to a committee to crime.
(33:52):
This is not our jurisdiction, but if you want to
charge him, and they this was an open case. He
robbed a gas station. Yeah, so they were able to
throw him in and he ended up being transferred from
the Rie County I mean the Georgetown County jail to
Ory County so that he could go before a judge
where his bond was denied, and then he was brought
(34:14):
back into prison. It was also learned that this was
the third time in five years that he had been
released on probation or parole in connection to serious crimes,
and multiple prosecutors that had prosecuted his former cases had
said that he was on an upward spiral of danger.
Speaker 2 (34:37):
Yeah, and it culminated, and fortunately there.
Speaker 4 (34:40):
Was an article and I'm not going to get too
deep into it, but there was an article that highlighted
this crime, but then also other crimes within South Carolina
where they were basically trying to outline the issue with
certain people getting on probation and parole who shouldn't be
because we're not just trying to lock you up, keep
(35:03):
you take your rights away, but you are not learning
anything right. And these kind of things end up happening
where they escalate because they have had too many chances.
Speaker 2 (35:17):
Yeah, and you get into the conversation of is the
penal system does it, does it take an account, is
it a human warehousing or is it a rehabilitation And
that's where you kind of get into and I understand
people do deserve grace, a modicum of grace, a modicum
(35:41):
of a second chance. I mean, I've been the beneficiary
of it. Everybody I know has had a second chance
in some way or another. But when it comes to
becoming a threat to society, a threat to safety, a
threat to human life, that needs to be really taken
(36:02):
into consideration. And I'm not a judge, probably never will
be a judge, but yeah, that's that's something to consider.
It's just it's a conversation I've had with a lot
of people.
Speaker 4 (36:15):
Yeah, And that's why I was like, this is interesting.
So even though the rest of the article wasn't just
about this case, I did read up because I went
to school for criminal justice, I've seen a lot of
different parts of it and so I was able to
read that and I can understand both arguments about wanting
to give people second chances. But this was a case
where they feel like, I don't know the circumstances behind
(36:37):
his former cases, but there was enough for multiple people
to say, this guy's escalating and it doesn't need to
keep getting let out. It needs to be somewhere for
a little bit until he can figure out what he's doing.
Speaker 2 (36:50):
And we say that a lot about different instances. You
and I even this past week when we talked about, hey,
if CNN shut up at our door and said, hey,
this guy committed this crime, we were like, yeah, I'm
not going to be surprised. Yeah, so yes, yes, and
(37:11):
that seems to be the case here.
Speaker 4 (37:12):
Yeah, they wouldn't be surprised. And I'm sure these prosecutors
were like, we really got now this. Now he's murdered
an innocent woman and he sexually assaulted her grandmother. This
is enough. So prosecutors decided to pursue the death penalty,
and his trial was set for July two thousand and eight,
(37:33):
but it was delayed because they wanted to give attorneys
a little bit more time to prepare, and a new
trial was rescheduled, but there was another delay, this time
due to scheduling conflicts and changes in lawyers. Okay, during
this time, Shane had consistently entered a not guilty plea
(37:57):
even though you had confessed. He was still I don't
know what the defense was going to be, but he
pled not guilty. And I don't know if it's the
delays or possibly his time spent in jail, but Shane
lawshe now thirty six when this at this time, pled
guilty in Georgetown County courtroom in June of twenty ten
(38:20):
to murder, burglary, criminal sexual conduct, second degree arson, and
two counts of second degree burglary. Part of his plea
agreement was taking the death penalty off the table, and
his defense attorneys just said that he appreciated the willingness
(38:43):
to save this man's life. You know, they always have
to say something. And he was sentenced to life in
prison without parole. Shane said that he wasn't promised anything
when he was allowed to speak, he was like, I
was not threatened or promised anything when I took this
plea agreement. He was satisfied with his attorneys and the
only thing that he had to say in regards to
(39:04):
this specific crime against julian was sorry. One word. Olivia,
one of Julianne's quadruplets, said my mom was not the
only victim. My name is Olivia and you killed my mother. Yeah,
and that's our way of saying, you know, the other
victims are here, still living, still dealing with everything, and
(39:28):
family and friends were satisfied with the verdict but said
no punishment can provide pure justice in this case. It's
not going to bring her back, but it makes them
feel better to know that somebody has taking accountability or
is being punished at least, yeahuntability. So the two burglary
charges for Myrtle Beach were eventually dismissed. They figured not
(39:53):
really any point continuing to pursue this because he's going
away for life without prison and part of what he
got sentenced with or charged with was burglary. So there's like,
there's no point wasting the tax you know, the taxpayer's
money to have him in our court and he's currently
at Kershaw Correctional.
Speaker 2 (40:12):
And her.
Speaker 4 (40:13):
Julianne's family did decide to file a civil lawsuit against
Shane and the own his relative who owned that company,
because they were like, well, you're yeah, as kind of
like as a liability because it's like he was employed
under your care. I don't know if you didn't vet him,
or you had this criminal or your payroll. As of now,
I don't know where that stands because when they first
(40:34):
filed that, he had not been convicted, right, so it
was said that we can't move on with the civil
aspect of it until we get the criminal part of
it completed. So I don't know where that is, but
I do know that they attempted on that to try
to I guess hold other people responsible. But it was
(40:56):
it's a sad story. It was. It was really interesting
to see that she, you know, not being a public figure,
but kind of in her own right, you know, having
the quadruplets, and she looks we'll put her picture up,
but she's just a beautiful woman, yeah, and very loving.
Her family says that they, of course will never get
(41:17):
over this, but you know, her children are still doing
still doing well. I'm sure she's got other grandkids now.
But it's unfortunate that that that happened because she just
crossed paths with someone just doing what everybody else did,
which was hiring someone to do stuff around your house,
which we do.
Speaker 2 (41:37):
Yeah. Yeah, just horrible, tragedy, horrible, So we appreciate you
bringing us that one as tragic as a lot of
these are. I mean, this is this is a bad one.
Speaker 4 (41:52):
Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 5 (41:53):
You feel for her family, her quadruplets, her grandchildren, the
one it may have memories of her especially, but just
then the ones.
Speaker 4 (42:07):
That she the ones that she didn't get to meet
and didn't won't ever get to experience. Yeah, having her
as a grandmother.
Speaker 2 (42:15):
Man, what a what a major loss? Yeah, the community
or a georgetoundtech too, our co workers, just a sheer tragedy. Well,
we appreciate you, Danielle for bringing us that one. We
appreciate you for listening this week. A couple of loose
ends to tie up here at the end. If you
(42:36):
want to see these pictures Danielle mentioned, check us out
on Facebook at Carolina Crimes Podcast or on Twitter at
sc Crimes pod. If you're listening on Apple iTunes, Apple
Podcasts and enjoy the show or Spotify, please throw us
five star review and mash that purple subscribe button and
tell us a little something you like about the show.
Your pet's names, We love those, and we'll have some
(42:58):
special thank yous next week for folks done that and
also that have visited Carolina Crime Store and gotten some
sweet T shirts for this summer season, So until next week,
we appreciate you and 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
(00:26):
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 nine.
I'm one of your hosts, Matt Hyres along.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
With Daniel Myers, and we're over the moon real that
you joined us here this week and this exciting episode
coming to you from the coast of South Carolina.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
We hope everybody had a safe, enjoyable Fourth of July weekend.
You gotta go back to work tomorrow, guys, all right, Yeah,
that's the rules. Them's the rules. So we did hope.
We hope everybody they made it through safe. Everybody. Like
I said, I hope you got all your fingers and toes,
no fireworks accidents.
Speaker 4 (01:20):
No mugshots.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Yeah, especially those so uh don't be a subject of
one of these episodes. A little bit of housekeeping before
we get started. As always, 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.
We'll put some pictures from each episode on there, so
(01:44):
you'll be able to visualize and know who we're talking
about when you listen to these episodes. Also, if you're
looking to support the show for free and you're listening
on Apple iTunes, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, please throw us
a five star review, mash that purple subscrib button and
let us know a little something you like about the show.
We would really appreciate that. And also, if you'd like
(02:06):
to support the show monetarily and get a little something
in return, some nice stuff in return, head on over
to Carolina Crimestore dot com. So Episode two twenty nine, Danielle,
We're coming from Paully's Island. That's right South Carolina, a
summer destination for some folks, most folks. And uh, I was.
Speaker 4 (02:29):
There for a weekend trip about a month ago.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
Yeah, how is I've never ever been to Paully's really?
Speaker 4 (02:35):
Yeah, it's really nice. It's a nice area, good beaches.
I like it. Busy, crowded, yeah, it is, especially the
time of year, Okay, but I have been in the
off season, and like most coastal places in the off season,
it's not as busy, okay. So, but the downside is
there's a lot of shops aren't open.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
Either, the Hammocks. Hammock shops, I think that's what they're
famous for producing over there.
Speaker 4 (03:06):
Yes, and I've been there to see demonstration. They have
a bunch of other shops that you can go around in,
little boutiques and things. So it's just a really nice area.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
Cool, cool. Well. Pauley's Island, South Carolina is located in
Georgetown County, of course, on the Atlantic Coast, and Georgetown
County lies between Or County, which is probably best known
for the Myrtle Beach area, North Myrtle Beach, the Grand Strand,
and just south of Georgetown is Charleston County, which is
(03:36):
famous for its history, beaches and all around culture. So
right in between is Georgetown County where Polly's Island is located.
And the history of Pauley's Island actually dates back over
ten thousand years. When it was inhabited by the Waucamaw
and Wenya when Ya native American tribes, now the first Europeans.
(03:58):
They arrived on Paully's Eye Island via Spain in fifteen
twenty one, and eventually the land fell into the hands
of a man by the name of George Pauley pawl
e Y. For those that are that are trying to
figure that out, it's not poll Y. So George Polly
he gained control of most of the land on the
(04:19):
island in the seventeen hundreds, and he got it the
old fashioned way through his father George. He created actually
a summer refuge and this is back in the seventeen hundreds,
which it's still a summer refuge and resort today. But
he created it for rice plantation owners that were concerned
(04:41):
about malaria. And we've seen that with a lot of
towns in South Carolina. And I always have the gripe.
I'm like, okay, so you own animals on your plantation livestock,
you also, unfortunately own human beings and you're just gonna
ditch all of them because you and your family are
(05:01):
more concerned about malaria, and you leave them to do
all the hard work.
Speaker 4 (05:05):
And possibly get the disease and.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
Possibly get the disease. But they did say that a
lot I've gotten some answers to that question through the years,
and they said a lot of livestock and the people
that they owned, the slaves that were on some of
the plantations had a natural immunity to the malaria disease.
So not that it makes the situation any better whatsoever.
(05:30):
But I was really concerned. I was like, what a
bunch of you know, how inconsiderate can you be a
own people? And b I mean just forgetting about them
and worrying about your own saving your own skin. So
Paul's Island was created as that retreat and refuge for
(05:50):
the very wealthy. The town was officially recognized in eighteen
ninety five as a pleasant, low key vacation destination. And
this is gonna blow your mind. That's why I asked
if it was crowded or not. Take a stab at
the full time population of Paul's Island.
Speaker 4 (06:11):
Okay, full time full.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
Time like now, yeah, well as of the twenty twenty census.
Speaker 4 (06:21):
I'm not good at get these guessing games.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
One hundred thousand, one hundred thousand.
Speaker 4 (06:28):
I don't know. I told you, I'm not good at this.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
You're you're terrible at this. No, it's one hundred and
thirty people, hundred thousand.
Speaker 4 (06:39):
I don't know. I was just trying to come up
with it. We've had places that are super inhabited that
I don't realize are populated that I was like, there's
that many people there.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
Yeah, I'm not editing that out, but that's okay.
Speaker 4 (06:50):
I'll own it. I'm not good at it. I'm not
good at the guessing games.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
And maybe later you can give us your loaded baked
potato recipe.
Speaker 4 (06:56):
Yes, I can do that.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
I see the Daggers from across the way here. So
one hundred and thirty full time residents in Paully's Island.
We've touched on Paully's Island before. In fact, you did
with the Gray Man episode.
Speaker 4 (07:11):
You're in Halloween. We did the spooky episodes.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
Yeah, the legend of the Gray Man, where there's a
few different origins. But if you see the Gray Man,
your house will be protected from upcoming storms. And it's
kind of a good thing to see that specter walking
on the beach.
Speaker 4 (07:28):
He's a friendly ghost.
Speaker 2 (07:30):
He's a friendly ghost, but other other than the gray
Man and the one hundred and thirty full time population there.
One famous person came from Paully's Island and it was
Elizabeth Alston Pringle. She was a plantation owner, a female
plantation owner, and a writer between and she lived between
(07:52):
eighteen forty five and nineteen twenty one. She used the
pseudonym or pen name Patience Pennington, and she wrote A
Woman Rice Planter and Chronicles of Chakora would. She had
a lot of wealth, mostly due to her father, who
was the sixty seventh governor of the state of South Carolina,
(08:15):
Robert Austin. So, Elizabeth Austin Pringkle, that's cool.
Speaker 4 (08:20):
Yes, well, there are a lot of female plantation owners
in that time.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
I wouldn't think so, just because of kind of chauvinism,
and yeah, heirs that usually went to the firstborn male.
And I don't I don't think so. I knew. I
remember Eliza Lucas Pinkney when they talked about indigo back
in our South Carolina history lessons in school. I don't
(08:47):
even know if they teach that still, but I remember that.
But I don't think. I don't think they were very common.
So if we're wrong on that smartness up.
Speaker 4 (08:57):
Well, I think a lot of it probably had to
do with the fact that you don't they don't. They
didn't like a lot of women in power at that time, either.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
Or owning land or anything like that.
Speaker 4 (09:06):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
So with that being said, let's kick off this episode
from Polly's Island, South Carolina.
Speaker 4 (09:13):
Take it away, all right, So this we're gonna be
in two thousand and seven, so I want to say
not too far along, but it actually was a good
bit of time ago. I just don't feel like it
is that long.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
Yeah, because we're getting old. I mean, that's almost twenty
years ago.
Speaker 4 (09:31):
That's awful.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
It's incredible.
Speaker 4 (09:33):
Anyways, now I feel bad about myself. But we're gonna
go back a little bit before then to Julianne Blakely
grew up in Andrews, South Carolina, and graduated from Andrews
High School, and then she went on to graduate from
Columbia College and then went to Converse College where she
(09:54):
got her masters. So she was very driven, very smart,
very educated. Yes, and upon finishing college. I guess they
met in college. I didn't find too much about that,
But in nineteen sixty eight she married Kenneth Thornton and
(10:15):
Julianne began teaching at Coastal Carolina while Kenneth was going
to law school, and so she was the primary bread
winner during this time, and four years into their marriage,
in nineteen seventy two, the couple welcomed their daughter, Kathleen,
and then just another four years later, in nineteen seventy six,
(10:37):
the couple was thrust into the spotlight when Julianne gave
birth to quadruplets.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
Wow. Wow.
Speaker 4 (10:45):
She had two boys and two girls, Olivia, Katie, Blake,
and Clay. And I remember a time when, like you
think octomom or anybody else, anytime there were these molultiples born. Yeah,
there was always like news articles, you know, magazine articles.
(11:06):
It was just such a phenomenon. Everybody was very intrigued
that somebody could have, you know, that many kids Johnny
Cable's eight.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
Yeah. And I mean nowadays you have kind of the
advances or whatever you want to consider them of, you know,
fertility drugs, things like that that that wasn't common, especially
in nineteen seventy six. No, and you start putting that
in perspective, And I remember as a kid, a family
in our church had triplets and that was a huge
(11:37):
deal and we were.
Speaker 4 (11:38):
Like, oh my gosh, you know, yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:40):
That's wild. But now you hear about it, it's more commonplace.
Speaker 4 (11:44):
Really, okay, you had you had five kids at once.
Speaker 2 (11:46):
What do you want me to well, I mean, that's.
Speaker 4 (11:48):
Still no, I'm kidding, it's just not as you know, publicized,
because you do see it a little bit more and certainly.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
Not discounting it in any way. Still absolutely not gave
birtha multiple kids at the same time.
Speaker 4 (12:02):
Well and the family continued to stay in the news
as the Quiets got older, keeping up with milestones, seeing
where they're at now. So the family was. They were
in the news a lot throughout the years, so it
was kind of an interesting thing known about town.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
And what was Kenneth's last name or their last.
Speaker 4 (12:20):
Name, Thornton Thornton.
Speaker 2 (12:23):
Well.
Speaker 4 (12:24):
In nineteen eighty, just a few years after giving birth
to the quadruplitz, Kenneth left his wife and children. He
admitted to having multiple affairs. I don't know if having
that many young kids was too much, but it just
(12:45):
wasn't for him anymore, and he left five kids. Five kids, Yeah,
and officially two years later they were divorced after twelve
years of marriage. In nineteen eighty seven, tragedy struck when
Julianne's oldest daughter, Kathleen, was killed in a car accident
(13:08):
at the young age of fifteen, leaving the family devastated.
And then in nineteen eighty nine, Julianne's house was heavily
damaged by the infamous Hurricane Hugo. Yeah, it struck the
coast of Carolina, and.
Speaker 2 (13:24):
There was a lot in the history of Polly's Island
talking about the devastation that occurred. I mean that was
right there, just north I think what was it, Mcclellanville,
Allen Dau just north of Charleston, just south of Paully's Island.
That was kind of the I don't want to say epicenter,
(13:45):
but that's where it got hit the hardest. And a
lot of these coastal communities, I mean, those were homes
passed down generation to generation, and they weren't they were older.
I mean, you see pictures from the early eighties of
beach houses and I remember going to Edistow with my
family and you know, we stayed in the house one year.
(14:06):
It didn't have air conditioning and it was fourth of
July weekend. We had to bring box fans and I
mean they were just older, older beach houses I stayed.
Speaker 4 (14:18):
We went with my dad's side years ago. I was
little for to Edistow and we stayed out of house
and I remember it just had like paneling or wood everywhere.
It was. Yeah, I was like, oh my god.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
That yeah, you know, not really something I want to
revisit now. I'm gotting soft with air conditioning and stuff
like that. But yeah, and that Hurricane Hugo was a
huge event in South Carolina. I remember it and what
it did to these beach communities. It it's almost like
a wildfire and you see it go through forests and
(14:53):
it takes out old trees, some dilapidated, some not, and
it room for regrowth. And that's kind of what you
see with the building boon at the beaches now. I
mean it cleared out the way for bigger I don't
necessarily want to say better, more modern, modernized homes to
(15:17):
be built.
Speaker 4 (15:18):
Yes, And unfortunately Julianne was one of those people who
was affected by that. Having so many bad things happen
in a row, it seemed like she just could not
catch a break and on top of that, she's lost
one child and is raising four all the same age,
(15:38):
which I think would be a little bit better than
them being staggered. Going you get one out of a
stage and then the other one's coming up right behind them.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
Oh yeah, and I just did some math to nineteen
eighty nine, they're all thirteen years old. Oh fun. She was,
God bless her well.
Speaker 4 (15:57):
Unfortunately a lot of these bad luck, bad happenings turned.
She turned towards taking some pills to help cope, and
it led to becoming a little bit of a problem,
which she recognized. In nineteen ninety she was hospitalized in
an attempt to wean herself from this chemical dependency. She
(16:18):
was released from the hospital in ninety one. She was
healthy and begin the road to taking back her life.
But ever since Julianne and Kenneth had divorced in nineteen
eighty two, they had been to court multiple times with
constant back and forth over custody of the children, alimony,
(16:41):
and child sport. There was a lot of accusations that
Kenneth was not being forthcoming with his true amount of
his salary because now he was a successful lawyer at
his own practice and along with or along with the
fact that he wasn't being honest about the exact amount
of the assets that he possessed. He would argue he
(17:01):
didn't have the means to pay the amount of alimony
and child support that she was asking for, though he
owned multiple home horses properties and made over one hundred
thousand dollars every year, so they were able to determine
you do have the means. Eventually, somewhat of an agreement
(17:22):
was made in nineteen ninety five, over ten years after
the two of them divorced. It was like, I was like,
I can't even believe it took this long. It's just
like so ridiculous. Her life had been in limbo through
this whole time. Well through the whole ordeal, Julianne was
still able to move on with her life. She was
(17:43):
still teaching, this time at or Georgetown Technical College. She
was a member of All Saints Church and kept an
out of social life. She was a beautiful woman who
was always smiling and kept her vivacious spirit, and by
two thousand and seven life was going really well for
her and her Litchfield home in Polly's Island, and by
(18:04):
this time she was a grandmother doing very well, getting
to dote on her. I think it was she had
one granddaughter at the time, but.
Speaker 2 (18:13):
As we're thirty one years old.
Speaker 4 (18:15):
Yeah, but unfortunately the string of bad luck wasn't over
for Julianne. And we're gonna take our first quick break
and when we come back, we're going to get into
the meat with the story.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
All right, well, we'll be right back after this quick
word from our sponsors, Hi friends, Matt Hire's here. One
of my favorite parts of bringing you Carolina Crimes each
week is spotlighting the many wonderful towns and communities within
(18:49):
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 Mulleins.
Once a vibrant depot town and the former tobacco capital
of South Carolina, Mullins is a hidden treasure in the
PD region. Explore our offerings by savoring a cup of
(19:11):
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. Your visit would not
be complete without a stop at the South Carolina Tobacco Museum,
(19:31):
situated in the historic train depot in downtown Mullens, 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 a photo gallery highlighting contemporary tobacco practices.
(19:54):
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 Simmons was one of the victims of
the Mother Emmanuel nine tragedy, and he spent his childhood
(20:16):
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. Rather it's for a road trip
or a weekend getaway. Mullins is a perfect place to
(20:38):
visit and a place to call home. Visit Mullins, South
Carolina and welcome back to Carolina Crimes, episode two twenty nine.
(21:07):
And this story about Julianne Blakely Thornton centers around Pauley's Island,
South Carolina, and a string of tragedies. Really that kind
of summed up her early life and losing a daughter,
a marriage, a home to Hurricane Hugo. And you know,
(21:28):
it seems like she struggled a little bit with some
chemical dependency, some substance abuse disorders, and she had finally
gotten herself steady yep. And in two thousand and seven
you said she was enjoying her first grandchild. And let's
see where this story takes us.
Speaker 4 (21:46):
On the morning of September twenty sixth, two thousand and seven,
firefighters responded to a report of a small fire at
Julianne's Lichfield Beach home after neighbors saw smoke coming from
the house. It was not fully engulfed, it was just
they knew just that there was like, this is a
(22:06):
little suspicious. We're gonna call the fire department. And when
firefighters arrived, they found that this wasn't a big fire,
but instead small fires that had been set in several
different places in the home. And when they went further
into the house after everything was put out, in the
master bedroom, they found sixty three year old Julienne Blakeley
(22:31):
partially clothed in her bed and she was deceased. Detectives
arrived on scene and quickly determined that Julianne hadn't died
as a result of the fire, though she did have
burns on her arms and legs. She had a wound
to the back of her head, and she had been
(22:51):
stabbed in the neck.
Speaker 2 (22:53):
Oh my gosh.
Speaker 4 (22:55):
She had also been sexually assaulted, and determined that she
had been dead for some time.
Speaker 2 (23:02):
So this has drawn similarities in parallels to the Brian
Wallas case from Buford, where there was a lady around
this same age and it seemed that a fire was
set up to kind of cover the criminal the murderer's tracks. Yes,
is everything this is pointing.
Speaker 4 (23:22):
To Well, I told you that this one has similarities
to the story that you did, and when I first
started going through it, I had to check to make
sure that I wasn't looking at another case, like a
case that we had already done. I was like, no,
it's not the same one, but the circumstances are very
early similar.
Speaker 2 (23:41):
Yes.
Speaker 4 (23:43):
Georgetown County corner Kenny Johnson said it appeared as though
she was stabbed while getting ready for bed or while
she was resting in bed. Just going off of the scene.
Detectives believed that after she was killed, the suspect then
started the fires in an attempt to cover up any evidence.
But they were like little small fires. I guess they
(24:04):
were hoping it would like catch but yeah, and it
maybe it did to an extent, but not enough to
completely burn the house.
Speaker 2 (24:11):
It looked like a big fire.
Speaker 1 (24:13):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (24:13):
Yeah, Well. News of Julianne's murder quickly spread, devastating her
children and friends. She no one could understand how or
why this happened or who could be irresponsible. They were like,
she doesn't have any enemies. The only person anyone could
(24:33):
think of that Julianne had any kind of issues with
was her ex husband, Kenneth.
Speaker 2 (24:40):
Yeah, and by this time, though they've been divorced, since
nineteen eighty two. Mm hmm, it's two thousand and seven,
so amazing holding onto this this long and the.
Speaker 4 (24:49):
Kid and it took over ten years for them to
completely kind of air everything out in regards to alimony,
child support, child custody. And like you said, the kids
are grown, so they're not arguing over that stuff anymore.
Speaker 2 (25:05):
Yeah, but the.
Speaker 4 (25:08):
Detectives did learn that, you know, they the two did
have a contentious relationship and though he wasn't listed as
an actual suspect, he was someone that they needed to
speak to.
Speaker 2 (25:18):
Ye, that's that's common.
Speaker 4 (25:20):
To We need to find out, you know, are you
still holding on to this grudge from all these years ago?
Did something recent come up? And she's you're mad. I'm
guessing at this point he's probably still having to pay alimony, Yeah,
because I believe in South Carolin. I don't know how
it is in different states, but I know in South
Carolina it's unless she gets remarried, he has to continue
(25:41):
to pay alimony, alimony.
Speaker 2 (25:43):
Now child support, that's.
Speaker 4 (25:44):
Love, that's yeah. So this would be the only thing
that he would still be paying on and they're like, well,
would this be an issue? And so they were able
to make contact with Kenneth, and I wasn't able to
find anything, as saying, a lot of news articles, but
nothing that said exactly what his alibi was or what
(26:06):
he told police. But he did have one and apparently
it was valid and he was cleared from the beginning. Okay,
So a few days go by after this murder, and
the news is reported that police still don't have any
suspects and are encouraged to encourage the public to come
(26:26):
forward with any information, and they did by a way
of an anonymous phone call. All right, And I do
know we just came back from a break, but I
don't want to cut this one, so we're gonna take
this last break and then we'll jump right into what
this caller has to say.
Speaker 2 (26:44):
All right, We'll be right back after this quick word
from our sponsors, and welcome back to Carolina Crimes, episode
(27:15):
two twenty nine out of Paully's Island, South Carolina, and
this murder and apparent arson attempt to cover up the
murder in Pauli's Island, South Carolina.
Speaker 4 (27:27):
Julianne Blake, Well, like I said, police had reached out
to the public asking anyone to come forward because at
this point they didn't have anything in any suspects, and
then an an anonymous call came in and the caller
gave police the name of Shane Earle law Shee. He
(27:48):
was thirty three years old.
Speaker 2 (27:50):
What was his last name?
Speaker 4 (27:51):
Law shee? Law she Okay, it literally spelled how it sounds.
I was like, which is interesting seeing because like, yeah,
I was like, maybe it's pretty Yeah, this name didn't
ring any bells to police, but it was a start.
So a bolo was put out because they needed to
(28:14):
speak to him. Why is somebody you know you're like
they like a lot of detectives like to say, we
didn't just pull your name out of a hat. It
was given to us, so we need to speak to
you for a reason. And on October third of two
thousand and seven, exactly a week after the murder, Shane
Lawshey was apprehended without incident at the Little River Swing Bridge.
(28:34):
I don't know if you've ever been there. Yeah, he
was at the Little River Swing Bridge and was waiting
for the bridge to come back around.
Speaker 2 (28:42):
Yeah, you ain't got nowhere to go, but he.
Speaker 4 (28:44):
Was literally I'm gonna go off the edge of the cliff.
I'm gonna let you take me in. So his vehicle
was found and he was taken in.
Speaker 2 (28:50):
He probably wouldn't dukes over that swing bridge, so I don't.
Speaker 4 (28:55):
Think he would have made it, So detectives bring he's
brought in for questioning, and detectives learned that Shane worked
for a relative of his doing construction work, and it
was a bunch of different stuff. It was a small
business local. They did home renovations, they did repairs, and
(29:15):
they would do house painting, okay. And they learned that
at the time of the murder, Julienne was actually having
her house painted and some repairs done, and Shane was
on the crew that was working at her house okay,
(29:35):
So they believed he had seen her come and go
while he had been working, and I guess it was
getting time to the job being done, and he decided
to come back at night. Knowing that she lived alone,
he had plenty of time to kind of see and
figure out nobody else lives here, And he came back
(29:56):
at night and he sexually assaulted her. He murdered her
and then stole items from her home before setting the house,
trying to set the house on fire to cover up
any kind of evidence he ended up not putting up
much of a fight. He confessed to all of this,
(30:16):
but he also had other crimes that he decided to
go ahead and admit to as well.
Speaker 2 (30:21):
Okay, so let's let's wrap this up with miss Blakely.
I mean, so he was just happened to be a
construction worker, so she had nice things and decided he
was going to kill her and take them and try
to set fire to and he couldn't.
Speaker 4 (30:39):
I don't think he did, but I'm just saying I
don't there there couldn't be an argument of, well, I
murder her because you know, I had to kill her
because I was at her house, burglarizing her home and
she happened to come in. It was like, you like,
he had to have known that she was there.
Speaker 2 (30:58):
Yeah, it was a home invasion.
Speaker 4 (31:00):
And it's weird to think. I don't know how long
this crew was here, but apparently it was at the
end of when they needed to be done with this job,
wrapping it up. When he decided to do this knowing
that they weren't going to be back anymore after that,
so they wouldn't have to have any interactions. But the
whole time, he's probably in her house able to see
(31:24):
some stuff because there was some repair work that needed
to be done, like iming. So he was probably in
the house. He was outside of the home, and he
was probably taking in everything as he was walking through,
realizing kind of maybe her routine a little bit, and
just really watching her. And it's very weird, But I
don't believe that this was I happened upon. She happened
(31:45):
upon me while I was burglarizing her home. Well, the
other crimes that he decided to go ahead and confess
to it was earlier on the day of the murder.
He told them that he broke into the Sherwin Williams
paint store were and stole some things, and also the
merls Inlet veterinary clinic on US seventeen bypass. Okay, so
(32:09):
I'm not really sure what you steal from a vet.
You need some food, you need some medication, bill pockets.
Speaker 2 (32:17):
I don't know what you need to take, but yeah,
I don't know. Maybe looking for cash sounds like certainly
drugs were involved.
Speaker 4 (32:26):
It's possible.
Speaker 2 (32:26):
I never yeah, I mean soon, but if you're breaking
into a VET and Sherwin Williams, that looked like another
crime of opportunity. I mean, he's probably there every day
with his line of work. Yeah, and knew you know, hey,
they probably keep a lot of cash on hand, or
maybe I can get some tools to sell or I
(32:49):
mean that could be.
Speaker 4 (32:50):
That could be another place that he was kind of
canvassing a little bit too, Like as he would go
in to get supplies for his work, he might have
been kind of taking inventory of the employee and where
they keep things. I mean, so it's very apparent this
guy's like always keeping his head on a swivel.
Speaker 2 (33:05):
Just a miscreant, That's exactly what he is.
Speaker 4 (33:09):
He also confessed that four days after the murder, on
September thirtieth, he burglarized the Shell Rapid Lakes gas station
on North Gate Road in Myrtle Beach, so Shane lost
the last She was eventually charged with murder, first degree burglary,
(33:31):
first degree criminal sexual conduct, second degree arson, and two
counts of second degree burglary Okay. He was also charged
with second degree burglary in ri County. When the Myrtle
Beach detectives were tipped off by Georgetown detectives about Shane's confession,
they're like, uh, this guy admitted to a committee to crime.
(33:52):
This is not our jurisdiction, but if you want to
charge him, and they this was an open case. He
robbed a gas station. Yeah, so they were able to
throw him in and he ended up being transferred from
the Rie County I mean the Georgetown County jail to
Ory County so that he could go before a judge
where his bond was denied, and then he was brought
(34:14):
back into prison. It was also learned that this was
the third time in five years that he had been
released on probation or parole in connection to serious crimes,
and multiple prosecutors that had prosecuted his former cases had
said that he was on an upward spiral of danger.
Speaker 2 (34:37):
Yeah, and it culminated, and fortunately there.
Speaker 4 (34:40):
Was an article and I'm not going to get too
deep into it, but there was an article that highlighted
this crime, but then also other crimes within South Carolina
where they were basically trying to outline the issue with
certain people getting on probation and parole who shouldn't be
because we're not just trying to lock you up, keep
(35:03):
you take your rights away, but you are not learning
anything right. And these kind of things end up happening
where they escalate because they have had too many chances.
Speaker 2 (35:17):
Yeah, and you get into the conversation of is the
penal system does it, does it take an account, is
it a human warehousing or is it a rehabilitation And
that's where you kind of get into and I understand
people do deserve grace, a modicum of grace, a modicum
(35:41):
of a second chance. I mean, I've been the beneficiary
of it. Everybody I know has had a second chance
in some way or another. But when it comes to
becoming a threat to society, a threat to safety, a
threat to human life, that needs to be really taken
(36:02):
into consideration. And I'm not a judge, probably never will
be a judge, but yeah, that's that's something to consider.
It's just it's a conversation I've had with a lot
of people.
Speaker 4 (36:15):
Yeah, And that's why I was like, this is interesting.
So even though the rest of the article wasn't just
about this case, I did read up because I went
to school for criminal justice, I've seen a lot of
different parts of it and so I was able to
read that and I can understand both arguments about wanting
to give people second chances. But this was a case
where they feel like, I don't know the circumstances behind
(36:37):
his former cases, but there was enough for multiple people
to say, this guy's escalating and it doesn't need to
keep getting let out. It needs to be somewhere for
a little bit until he can figure out what he's doing.
Speaker 2 (36:50):
And we say that a lot about different instances. You
and I even this past week when we talked about, hey,
if CNN shut up at our door and said, hey,
this guy committed this crime, we were like, yeah, I'm
not going to be surprised. Yeah, so yes, yes, and
(37:11):
that seems to be the case here.
Speaker 4 (37:12):
Yeah, they wouldn't be surprised. And I'm sure these prosecutors
were like, we really got now this. Now he's murdered
an innocent woman and he sexually assaulted her grandmother. This
is enough. So prosecutors decided to pursue the death penalty,
and his trial was set for July two thousand and eight,
(37:33):
but it was delayed because they wanted to give attorneys
a little bit more time to prepare, and a new
trial was rescheduled, but there was another delay, this time
due to scheduling conflicts and changes in lawyers. Okay, during
this time, Shane had consistently entered a not guilty plea
(37:57):
even though you had confessed. He was still I don't
know what the defense was going to be, but he
pled not guilty. And I don't know if it's the
delays or possibly his time spent in jail, but Shane
lawshe now thirty six when this at this time, pled
guilty in Georgetown County courtroom in June of twenty ten
(38:20):
to murder, burglary, criminal sexual conduct, second degree arson, and
two counts of second degree burglary. Part of his plea
agreement was taking the death penalty off the table, and
his defense attorneys just said that he appreciated the willingness
(38:43):
to save this man's life. You know, they always have
to say something. And he was sentenced to life in
prison without parole. Shane said that he wasn't promised anything
when he was allowed to speak, he was like, I
was not threatened or promised anything when I took this
plea agreement. He was satisfied with his attorneys and the
only thing that he had to say in regards to
(39:04):
this specific crime against julian was sorry. One word. Olivia,
one of Julianne's quadruplets, said my mom was not the
only victim. My name is Olivia and you killed my mother. Yeah,
and that's our way of saying, you know, the other
victims are here, still living, still dealing with everything, and
(39:28):
family and friends were satisfied with the verdict but said
no punishment can provide pure justice in this case. It's
not going to bring her back, but it makes them
feel better to know that somebody has taking accountability or
is being punished at least, yeahuntability. So the two burglary
charges for Myrtle Beach were eventually dismissed. They figured not
(39:53):
really any point continuing to pursue this because he's going
away for life without prison and part of what he
got sentenced with or charged with was burglary. So there's like,
there's no point wasting the tax you know, the taxpayer's
money to have him in our court and he's currently
at Kershaw Correctional.
Speaker 2 (40:12):
And her.
Speaker 4 (40:13):
Julianne's family did decide to file a civil lawsuit against
Shane and the own his relative who owned that company,
because they were like, well, you're yeah, as kind of
like as a liability because it's like he was employed
under your care. I don't know if you didn't vet him,
or you had this criminal or your payroll. As of now,
I don't know where that stands because when they first
(40:34):
filed that, he had not been convicted, right, so it
was said that we can't move on with the civil
aspect of it until we get the criminal part of
it completed. So I don't know where that is, but
I do know that they attempted on that to try
to I guess hold other people responsible. But it was
(40:56):
it's a sad story. It was. It was really interesting
to see that she, you know, not being a public figure,
but kind of in her own right, you know, having
the quadruplets, and she looks we'll put her picture up,
but she's just a beautiful woman, yeah, and very loving.
Her family says that they, of course will never get
(41:17):
over this, but you know, her children are still doing
still doing well. I'm sure she's got other grandkids now.
But it's unfortunate that that that happened because she just
crossed paths with someone just doing what everybody else did,
which was hiring someone to do stuff around your house,
which we do.
Speaker 2 (41:37):
Yeah. Yeah, just horrible, tragedy, horrible, So we appreciate you
bringing us that one as tragic as a lot of
these are. I mean, this is this is a bad one.
Speaker 4 (41:52):
Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 5 (41:53):
You feel for her family, her quadruplets, her grandchildren, the
one it may have memories of her especially, but just
then the ones.
Speaker 4 (42:07):
That she the ones that she didn't get to meet
and didn't won't ever get to experience. Yeah, having her
as a grandmother.
Speaker 2 (42:15):
Man, what a what a major loss? Yeah, the community
or a georgetoundtech too, our co workers, just a sheer tragedy. Well,
we appreciate you, Danielle for bringing us that one. We
appreciate you for listening this week. A couple of loose
ends to tie up here at the end. If you
(42:36):
want to see these pictures Danielle mentioned, check us out
on Facebook at Carolina Crimes Podcast or on Twitter at
sc Crimes pod. If you're listening on Apple iTunes, Apple
Podcasts and enjoy the show or Spotify, please throw us
five star review and mash that purple subscribe button and
tell us a little something you like about the show.
Your pet's names, We love those, and we'll have some
(42:58):
special thank yous next week for folks done that and
also that have visited Carolina Crime Store and gotten some
sweet T shirts for this summer season, So until next week,
we appreciate you and thank you for listening to Carolina
Crimes
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