September 7, 2025 • 43 mins
What started as a getaway to Florida for one Virginia businessman ended in drunken tragedy for two men after hitchhikers were introduced to the equation. A rolling party, complete with drugs and debauchery turned fatal and the trip to The Sunshine State was traded for a trip to South Carolina's Death Row.
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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 (00:42):
And welcome back to Carolina Crimes episode two thirty eight.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
I'm one of your hosts, Matt Hyres, along.
Speaker 4 (00:48):
With Danielle Myers, and we're over the moon thrilled that
you joined us here this week.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Thank you all so much for all your feedback from
episodes two thirty six and to thirty seven last week.
Just that tragedy of young girl Cyprus Noonan that was
murdered and manipulated.
Speaker 5 (01:11):
Yeah, short, young age.
Speaker 3 (01:14):
Yeah, just a tragedy.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
We appreciate everybody reaching out about that one, letting us
know your take and a lot of the people that
were not as objective as we were.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
Yeah, I'm on the same page with you.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
I really am, and I appreciate what you said, and
that's we had to kind of call it. Just give
the facts, but yeah, your opinion, I wholeheartedly agree with
this guy. This guy preyed on these young women. That's
not good under any circumstances. Well, before we get started,
(01:49):
we're going to actually do a little housekeeping as we
usually do. If you're not already already following us on
social media, check us out over on Facebook at Carolina
Crimes Podcast. Also also over on Twitter at sc Crimes Pod.
I'm sorry, we were going back and forth with some
memes Danielle and I before this and it's some tiktoks
(02:10):
and had a few laughs.
Speaker 5 (02:12):
Yeah, sorry, still thinking about it, yes.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
But also we want to remind you if you're listening
on Apple iTunes, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, throw us a
five star review and let us know a little something
you like about the show. Mash that purple subscribe button.
We would greatly appreciate that. Also, if you're looking to
support the show monetarily and get some sweet swag for
your back, head on over to Carolina Crimestore dot com
(02:37):
and we would love for you to pick up some
stuff there and maybe if you buy a few five
or six shirts this week or this month, maybe we
can all chip in and get Danielle Netflix.
Speaker 3 (02:50):
That's that's been a big topic.
Speaker 4 (02:51):
Yeah, everybody is very concerned, but I had a lot
of support for people who.
Speaker 5 (02:56):
Also backed me and said they themselves do not have Netflix.
So I'm alone out here.
Speaker 3 (03:02):
Yeah, you're not man. Daniel likes to read.
Speaker 5 (03:04):
I do she.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
I've always said she's a nerd and where's that flies
that nerd flag proudly and we appreciate it. We appreciate
her all the more for it. Well, this week, we're
gonna stay around the same portion of the state that
we were last week, down in Jasper County.
Speaker 3 (03:25):
We were in Ridgeland, around.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
Hardyville, all that we especially, We're gonna have a lot
of thank yous at the end of the show for everybody.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
The Gopher tortoise.
Speaker 5 (03:36):
Yeah, I got a lot of pictures I.
Speaker 3 (03:40):
Love.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
We've got a lot of feedback on that. But we
are staying right in Jasper County itself this week for
this story that is absolutely wild. There's a lot of
side notes in this one, and I'm like, whoa, what,
what in the hell is going on?
Speaker 3 (03:58):
So Jasper County.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Of course, as we mentioned last week, it's a southernmost
county in the state of South Carolina. The county itself
was founded in nineteen twelve and named for Sergeant William Jasper.
Now we've mentioned him on a couple episodes, but what
he did was just something straight out of that movie
The Patriot with Mel Gibson.
Speaker 3 (04:20):
Sergeant Jasper.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
He was a Revolutionary War soldier and at the Battle
of Fort Sullivan, which today is known as Fort Moultrie,
they were under heavy bombardment by British fleet, and it
was in June of seventeen seventy six. The fort it
was enduring heavy shelling from that British fleet to ships
(04:41):
right off the coast, and a shell hit the flagpole
or flag staff as they called it, that the Patriots
flag was attached to.
Speaker 3 (04:52):
So Sergeant Jasper he.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
Climbed the wall of the fort, which was still under
a constant barrage of British fire, and he physically held
the flag into place until it was able to be
secured on another flagstaff. So symbolically, if the other combatant
in a battle took out your flag, yeah you're you're done.
(05:18):
That's kind of a sign of yeah, you've been beaten.
So Sergeant Jasper wasn't gonna let that happen. So he
switched into badass mode, climbed the wall of the fort
and held that flag up there.
Speaker 5 (05:30):
Yeah yeah, just is that sorry? But is this kind
of like the whole premises behind capture the flag?
Speaker 3 (05:36):
I don't know, I mean'milar similar. Yeah, But.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
The naming of Jasper County it was to honor Sergeant
William Jasper. And eight counties across the United States are
named after him.
Speaker 3 (05:50):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
And seven cities or towns bear his name today in America.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
So yeah, he's a hero. He's a hero.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
Well, the economy of Jasper County, it is I wouldn't
say dependent, but it relies a lot on travel commerce.
Speaker 3 (06:07):
Of course.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
I ninety five goes straight through there. I ninety five.
Of course, the corridor from New York City to Miami,
So a lot of traffic up and down that Eastern seaboard,
and that road, that highway travels straight through Jasper. Some
of the economic drivers in the county Amergas Walmart, publics,
(06:30):
and municipal services are where the majority of people work
there in Jasper. Now some of the more famous folks
from the county. Mary Gordon Ellis. She was the first
female elected to the South Carolina State Legislature when she
was elected to Senate in nineteen twenty eight. Also LaRue Howard.
She's a gospel music singer and in two thousand and
(06:53):
nine she won a GMA Award for her album How
Great is Our God? Heard that song and that album? Yeah,
And also this is wild. This is when I had
to actually grab Ashley's attention at home land last night
and say, hey, did you know this? Yes, General Henry
(07:16):
Martin Robert. He was the author of Robert's Rules of Order,
which it is the most common standard of parliamentary procedure
in the world. Like you hear people say, all right,
I'd like to make a motion that we do that
in official governmental meetings.
Speaker 3 (07:32):
I make this motion.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
Yes, I second that motion, and yeah, and call the
question and point of parliamentary procedures. The guy that wrote
that standard is from Jasper County, South Carolina.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
How about that.
Speaker 5 (07:48):
That's a pretty big deal.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
Yeah, get you some of that. So that was fascinating
to me. So our story this week, it's going to
start back forty years ago exactly, and what This is
September of nineteen eighty five, is when we're going back
to and we're going to talk about a fifty two
(08:12):
year old businessman from Virginia by the name of Daniel Swanson.
According to sources, Swanson he had lived kind of a
stressful adult life and he dealt with a lot of
personal struggles. Most notably, he dealt with some mental health issues.
(08:35):
They called it mental illness, for which he underwent psychiatric
treatment quite a bit for back in nineteen eighty five.
If you think about it, the stigma attached to that.
Back then, not a lot of people talked about mental health.
It wasn't widely accepted to get help, yeah, for mental health,
(08:56):
which is part of the reason a lot of I
would say, crimes and violence occurred, and a lot of
people didn't know how to deal with that.
Speaker 4 (09:05):
And I think instead of addressing it and thinking that
it could be a mental illness, it was looked as like,
this is an abnormal person. You're not normal, and they
would either kind of sort of be shunned from society.
People would be like that's the person you need to avoid,
or they would house them, yeah in sil Yeah, just
to kind of get them away from the public.
Speaker 3 (09:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
Even growing up, I mean they always, oh, you're acting
wild and crazy. We're gonna see you to bull straight exactly.
Speaker 5 (09:33):
That was a that was said in my household. Yes,
not to me, but it was said.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
It was said to me. So yes.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
So in September of nineteen eighty five, at fifty two
years old, it was time for Dan Swanson to just
kind of get away. Okay, so he planned, well I don't.
I wouldn't say he planned, but he was gonna go
on a trip. He was gonna go to Florida.
Speaker 5 (09:58):
Okay, I don't know what I'm but I'm not gonna
be here.
Speaker 2 (10:02):
Yeah, And it sounds like he didn't know how he
was gonna get there. But Dan Swatson he loaded up
his RV he had a motor home, and he headed
south for a nice stay in Florida. Well, his route
would take him. Looking at the map, it was kind
of meandering. He wasn't making a straight shot to Florida
(10:24):
by any means. He was kind of going down the
east coast, and eventually he ended up in the vicinity
of Moorhead City, North Carolina, which, like I said, he
didn't go straight down nine ninety five Morehead City. You
got to get off the interstate and go quite away, Yeah,
to get out there. It's right out there by the coast.
It's near Newborn, where we visited a couple of weeks ago.
(10:46):
But he got out toward Morehead City. Well, on the road,
Dan saw what was around nineteen eighty five, I'd say,
getting more and more rare on the road ways, and
it's essentially never seen today. But he came up on
a hitchhiker.
Speaker 5 (11:07):
Oh okay, yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
And hitchhiking went way out of style. There was dangers
associated with that starting in the seventies and eighties, and
hitchhiking got a bad rap, really doing some part to
the subject from episode one hundred here on Carolina.
Speaker 3 (11:25):
Crimes Pee Week guest.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
Yeah, he prayed on hitchhikers, people in need, took advantage
of them and did terrible, terrible.
Speaker 4 (11:34):
Thing, and people who wouldn't have someone looking for them
for at least a while with at all.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
Right, So, I don't know if Dan Swatson was feeling generous, lonely,
or some kind of combo platter of both. So he
pulled over and let this young man know, Hey, I'm
headed toward Florida. I don't know what way you're headed,
but if you need a ride or want to hitch
(12:01):
up and rideshot going with me, come on.
Speaker 5 (12:04):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
The young man agreed, and his name was or he
was twenty two year old Richard C. Johnson, went by
Ricky Okay. Well, the two men they chatted on the
road and eventually found a spot to pull over and
sleep for the night.
Speaker 3 (12:24):
In North Carolina.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
Still, and at some point during this trip, or maybe
it was after they stopped, alcohol.
Speaker 3 (12:32):
And drugs came out at some point.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
It's not clear if it happened on that first night,
but it certainly happened later on in this road trip. Now,
the next morning, the two guys awoke, and it was
September twenty seventh, nineteen eighty five, and Dan Swanson and
Ricky Johnson they decided to hit the road. Well, a
(12:58):
pair did get on nine ninety five and they crossed
into South Carolina. They went right by south of the border,
and they stopped at a rest stop, which I'm by
context clues, I'm thinking it was the South Carolina Rest
area right there on ninety five south, or I'm sorry,
(13:18):
the South Carolina Welcome Center right there past Hamer, South Carolina,
where South of the Border is. It's just four miles
away from that famed illustrious landmark. Well, the two men
by that time of the day, they'd both been drinking
a bit. When they were at the rest area, they
encountered two other hitchhikers, and the thought process flowed to, well,
(13:45):
you know, it's just the two of us, you know,
two new friends hitting the road headed to Florida. The
more the merrier, y'all want to come to Florida with us.
So Dan swantson. He invited the two to saddle up
with him and come on into the RV. And it
was seventeen year old runaway Connie Sue Hess from Omaha, Nebraska,
(14:13):
and twenty year old Curtis Harbert, who was actually on
the run considered a fugitive from the law running to
escape some criminal warrants. So with two new personalities in
the RV, things got very interesting very quickly. And we
(14:38):
get back from this short break, we're going to get
into exactly what went on in this rolling party bus
in South Carolina. Folks will be right back after this
quick word from our sponsors. Hi friends, Matt Hires here
(15:00):
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.
Speaker 3 (15:13):
Rather on a road trip.
Speaker 2 (15:15):
Or a weekend getaway, discover Mullins. 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 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,
(15:39):
which include an antique market located in a repurposed tobacco warehouse.
Speaker 3 (15:45):
Your visit would not.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
Be complete without a stop at the South Carolina Tobacco Museum,
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
(16:06):
showcasing vintage equipment and 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
(16:27):
Tobacco Museum, Reverend 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
(16:49):
streamed in the museum. 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 Mullin, South
Carolina and Welcome back to Carolina Crimes Episode two thirty seven.
(17:32):
Eventually out of Jasper County, South Carolina. And when we
left off before the break, we were talking about kind
of this rolling band Hodgepodge misfits. Dan Swanson, the fifty
two year old owner of this motor home.
Speaker 3 (17:49):
He picked up Richard C.
Speaker 2 (17:51):
Johnson, Connie Hess, and Curtis Harbor, hitchhikers all along his
way to Florida.
Speaker 3 (18:00):
Eventually, so this now party of four.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
They continue their voyage to Florida in this RV, and
they continued traveling south on I ninety five, and on
this stretch of road between Hamer, South Carolina and Clarendon County.
Speaker 3 (18:23):
The booze was a flowing.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
Okay, we're not talking about cracking a couple of coal
ones for the working man.
Speaker 3 (18:28):
We were talking about liquor.
Speaker 5 (18:30):
And I'm thinking like a bottle of jack or something.
Speaker 2 (18:33):
Yeah, I mean they're like partying like a hair band
in the mid eighties, you know, in this RV going
down I ninety five.
Speaker 3 (18:42):
And also some.
Speaker 2 (18:43):
Undisclosed drugs were also broken out about that time, so
the inhabitants of this RV turned rolling party. They started
to focus more on the fun than the actual drive.
So I mentioned Clarendon County. But when they got there
(19:05):
near Lake Marion, they said, you know, let's let's stop
and rest. You know, this would be a good idea.
Speaker 5 (19:12):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (19:13):
So the four stopped, but did anything but rest.
Speaker 1 (19:19):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (19:22):
Richard Johnson, the first hitchhiker picked up in Warhead City,
the twenty two year old he'd been doing some of
the driving, which is frankly quite wild to me. That
Dan Swanson. He's like, Okay, I'm gonna let this twenty
two year old hitchhiker that I met yesterday.
Speaker 3 (19:43):
Drive my RV.
Speaker 5 (19:45):
That sounds like a good idea.
Speaker 2 (19:46):
Yeah, yeah, man, you probably got a license, you know.
Trust well, you're probably a great driver. I'm sure you've
driven one of these forty foot rolling homes.
Speaker 5 (19:58):
You're right, not gonna drive me off in some desolate
wooded area.
Speaker 2 (20:02):
Just just keep it between the lines, dog, you know.
Speaker 3 (20:05):
Yeah, cool, here's the keys. That's that's bizarre.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
So while Don Swanson was in the back all right,
I'm sorry, Dan Swanson was in the back and Richard
Johnson was driving Dan, he was enjoying some mixed drinks
and getting to know his new two traveling companions a
little better. So when they pulled over in Clarendon County,
Dan Swanson, twenty one or twenty year old Curtis Harbert
(20:34):
and seventeen year old Connie Sue Hess. They excused themselves
to the.
Speaker 3 (20:41):
R v's sleeping quarters.
Speaker 2 (20:44):
Okay, so I'm just gonna blurt it out and not
dance around it. And while back there in the bed,
all three of them had sex with each other. I mean,
we're taking guy girl, guy, guy, other guy and girl
and got it on just just a mobile minaga. Twas
(21:09):
all right, yeah, you took the words out of exactly
what doesn't So again, this fifty two year old Dan Swanson,
he had to be super trusting. H He picked up
three hitchhikers. He's letting one drive his RV. And then
he was like, all right, you two, the guy and
(21:30):
the girl, the new guys, let's go back in the
back and let's have let's all have sex with each other.
Speaker 3 (21:37):
Wild eighty five was a wild time.
Speaker 2 (21:42):
So after this three way tryst, Dan Swanson he said,
you know, kind of bushed here. I'm gonna take a
post quoital nap back here. He thought that would be
a good idea.
Speaker 5 (22:00):
Okay, but it wasn't.
Speaker 2 (22:06):
Suddenly, I'm not sure if if Richard Johnson felt left
out or some kind of argument broke out between Connie
and Curtis, but a mutiny occurred while Dan was sleeping,
(22:27):
and a gunshot rang out in the on the r V,
and Dan Swanson was killed by a single shot from
a three P fifty seven revolver. Oh gosh said, maybe
this was an argument, Maybe this was an impromptu robbery.
Maybe this was something that Connie and Curtis had planned.
(22:48):
Maybe this is something Richard had planned.
Speaker 3 (22:50):
Yeah, and.
Speaker 2 (22:52):
Probably a mixture of some of those motives. So they
were now faced with a dead body in the RV.
So Curtis Harbert he took the lead in storing this.
I guess it's an insensitive way to put it, but
this new cargo they had on. Yeah, So what he
(23:17):
did was he wrapped Daniel Swanson's body in sheets and blankets,
he bound it with stereo wire that he pulled out
there the RV, and with the help of the others,
he lifted the mattress and shoved the lifeless body into
the area or box underneath the mattress.
Speaker 4 (23:39):
So just treating him like he's just an object, yes,
instead of a person.
Speaker 2 (23:44):
No remorse, just kind of okay, we're gonna we're gonna
kill this guy.
Speaker 3 (23:50):
But oh wow, we did that. Now what that kind
of attitude that is disgusting.
Speaker 2 (23:59):
And Dan from all Matt, I mean, not much was
told about his background, but he was nice enough to
give him a ride when they needed it.
Speaker 4 (24:10):
In regardless, didn't seem like he deserved anything like that.
You know, he's offering to help these people.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
Yeah, and they must have liked him somewhat because I
mean they had sex with him. They could have killed
him before that, so I don't know what they were
thinking in this one. But once that gruesome chore was complete,
the party RV they got back on the road and
(24:37):
the journey continued. Dan's final destination was Florida. I don't
know if they knew where they wanted to go or
what they wanted to do, and no one really knew,
but fate was about to strike this RV. And when
we get back from this short word from our sponsors,
(24:57):
we're going to continue this story about just even more tragedy.
We'll be right back after this quick word from our sponsors,
(25:28):
and welcome back to Carolina Crimes, episode two thirty seven
and this ill fated turned murderous RV trip down I
ninety five in South Carolina. And as the RV rolled
along down I ninety five south. Keep in mind a
(25:49):
lot of alcohol and drugs have been imbibed.
Speaker 3 (25:54):
So driving.
Speaker 2 (25:56):
The captain of this RV driving it was the first
hitchhiker picked up Richard Johnson. Ricky Johnson, a riding shotgun
was seventeen year old runaway Connie hess and back in
the back was twenty two year old Curtis Harbert. Now,
these folks had almost gotten out of the state of
(26:18):
South Carolina. They were traveling through Jasper County when a
call came in to the South Carolina Highway Patrol reported
a reckless driver this weaving RV going down the interstate. Now,
the officer responding was thirty year old Trooper first Class
(26:41):
Bruce Kenneth Small's Trooper Smalls. He was a native of
Jasper County, and diving into his background, he was the
pre eminent selfless servant Bruce Smalls. He had served in
the US Army and as an eighteen year old, he
(27:01):
participated in the waning days of the Vietnam War. After
he got out, he became married. He was a loving
husband and a father of two young sons. Trooper Smalls
had been with the South Carolina Highway Patrol for nine
years and when the call came in, Trooper Smalls responded,
it didn't take him too long to find this erradically
(27:26):
driving RV and initiated a traffic stop. So the RV
pulled over to the shoulder without incident. Remember fifty two
year old Dan Swantson, his dead body was in the
back and Trooper Smalls he approached the driver's window and
(27:46):
stepped up onto the running board to speak with the driver.
Instead of being met with a license and registration, the
cowards inside met him with the muzzle of a three
P fifty seven. They shot Trooper first Class Bruce Kenneth
(28:06):
Small six times, killing him on the side of the road.
Speaker 3 (28:11):
That he had protected for nine years. Awful well, Ricky.
Speaker 2 (28:18):
Johnson, Connie hess and Curtis Harbert were faced with a
major problem.
Speaker 5 (28:23):
Now, yeah, you think.
Speaker 2 (28:29):
They murdered a peace officer. It wasn't like it was
in some back alley where nobody could see. It was
out in the open on the shoulder of the interstate
that was well traveled. Now I went down the rabbit hole.
I looked at some SCDOT records. The latest ones I
could find were twenty nineteen and approximately thirty two thousand
(28:54):
vehicles traveled that stretch of I ninety five south in
Jasper County each.
Speaker 5 (29:00):
Day's a lot of witnesses.
Speaker 2 (29:02):
So that means fourteen hundred vehicles per hour on average
passing by, probably more than that, because I mean this
was still there's traffic awake. I mean that accounts for
like one am, two am, three, when anybody's.
Speaker 3 (29:17):
On the road.
Speaker 2 (29:18):
So a lot of people passing by witnessed this state
trooper getting shot, so they weren't inconspicuous. The scene wasn't
at all. It was big dirty RV on the side
of the road, state trooper car behind it with its
blue lights on, and there on the side of the
(29:39):
road laid a murdered state trooper. Well, the three hitchhikers,
they're like, we gotta get out of here, and maybe
we should split up and go our separate ways.
Speaker 4 (29:54):
You can't exactly take off in a mobile home and
think that you're not going to get spotted easily.
Speaker 2 (30:01):
Yeah, that's again, very not inconspicuous, very conspicuous, I guess.
So Connie hess and Curtis Harbert they went one way.
Richard Johnson he went the other way, and several people
got their descriptions of them fleeing the scene, and it
(30:23):
was spread throughout the low country to all law enforcement
that there's an officer down. This is exactly who we're
looking for. All municipality police departments, highway patrol, county sheriff's
offices and they were on the hunt for these three people.
The Calgarry was coming and also some individuals stopped to help.
(30:49):
They were able to get descriptions of the folks as well,
and it didn't take barely an hour before all three
were captured. Well, then it came time for them to
tell their story about what in the hell happened in
this RV. The RV had been searched, the body of
(31:09):
Dan Swanson had been found.
Speaker 5 (31:11):
I can bet that was a surprise.
Speaker 2 (31:13):
Yeah, yeah, Well they were trying to look and see
what they were hiding.
Speaker 3 (31:17):
They thought drugs immediately.
Speaker 4 (31:19):
Well, people, you know, you don't react like that to
a basic traffic stop unless you have something to hide
or you're running from something so very suspicious.
Speaker 2 (31:27):
Well, I ninety five notoriously was a highway for drugs
Miami to New York, I mean coming up and down
that highway, So that was probably initially what they were
they were like, oh man, there's got to be drugs
or something we don't need to find in here.
Speaker 5 (31:44):
And there was something they didn't need to find.
Speaker 2 (31:46):
Yeah, worse than drugs, dead body. So Harbert and Hess
were taken in and essentially their stories matched. They said
that Richard C. Johnson, Ricky he had killed Daniel Swanson
in Clarendon County after the two of them had sex
(32:08):
with each other. Okay, they said Harbert, he was worried,
so he was the one. He admitted he bundled Swanson's
body in the sheets with speaker wire and when they
pulled over, it was Richard Johnson who shot and killed
Trooper Bruce Smalls. Well, Ricky Johnson's story didn't help him
(32:34):
at all. He said, I can't remember what happened. He said,
I blacked out.
Speaker 3 (32:44):
I was drunk, I was high. I wasn't used to this.
Speaker 2 (32:48):
And his blood alcohol test backed up his story he
was over twice the legal limit.
Speaker 4 (32:56):
Well, yeah, this guy very possibly doesn't remember.
Speaker 2 (32:59):
Yeah, I mean that's a legit statement that I really
can't I don't remember. So Ricky Johnson was charged with
murder and his trial was set for nineteen eighty six.
February nineteen eighty six for the murder of troopers Smalls
(33:20):
now Connie Hess and Curtis Harbert. They were granted immunity
for their testimony. Really yes, during the trial, it came
up that when Ricky Johnson was arrested, they tested his
fingers for gunshot residue, any kind of powder. It was
(33:40):
non existent. But the testimony of the other two hitchhikers
prevailed in court. The jury found him guilty and Richard C.
Johnson was scheduled to death. They'll be executed, sentenced.
Speaker 3 (33:59):
To death.
Speaker 2 (34:01):
Now in a separate trial. Johnson he did plead guilty
to the murder of Dan Swanson and he received a
life sentence. So there's two separate trials there. Richard Johnson,
he immediately filed an appeal for the death penalty and
he was granted a new trial, not based on the
(34:25):
evidence the gunshot at residue evidence, but based on a
loophole where there were improper statements made by the prosecutor
during his closing statements. So a new trial was scheduled
for Ricky Johnson. Well, Connie Hess came forward and she
(34:49):
went to her former attorney and asked to recant her
testimony from the first trial. She said that it was
actually Curtis Harbart that had committed both murders. So a
letter was drafted up from her attorney and sent to
the Jasper County Sheriff's office explaining Hess's new story in
(35:15):
their defense of the sheriff's office. This was over a
half a dozen times that Hess's story had changed once
she was granted immunity.
Speaker 3 (35:27):
She kept going.
Speaker 2 (35:29):
Back and forth and one version of the story she
was the killer and.
Speaker 4 (35:35):
Very inconsistent at the point where they're like, I don't
even know what to believe.
Speaker 2 (35:39):
Yeah, we don't know what we believe. Curtis Harbert's story
stayed the same. He was like, Hey, this guy, Ricky,
he did all this. I don't I don't know what
to tell you. But Connie's story kept changing, but the
letter was sent to the Jasper County Sheriff's office explaining
this new story, But that letter never made it to
Johnson's atturn. So in this new trial that he was granted,
(36:05):
Ricky Johnson was again found guilty and again sentenced to death.
So his execution date was set for.
Speaker 3 (36:15):
Nineteen ninety nine.
Speaker 2 (36:17):
After all these appeals, but due to Connie Hess's statements
coming to light, a stay in execution was granted and
a judicial review was ordered of the case. In June
of two thousand and one, the South Carolina Supreme Court
voted three to two to uphold Richard Johnson's death sentence.
(36:41):
They did come forward and say, you know, Connie Hess
was not considered credible due to all the inconsistencies in
her stories. And a movement was made in formed that hey,
this Richard Johnson might be innocent, let's commute his sentence
(37:03):
to life. Do not give him the death penalty. And
one of the people that came out in favor of
commuting this sentence to life was Thelma Blue Trooper Smalls's mother. Oh,
she said that an execution it wouldn't bring back my son,
(37:24):
and she wanted that death penalty vacated for who was
accused of killing her son.
Speaker 1 (37:30):
Wow.
Speaker 5 (37:31):
Yeah, that's that says a lot about her and her character.
Speaker 3 (37:36):
Yes, by faith faith, Yes, I mean that's that's huge.
Speaker 2 (37:44):
So when it came down to the execution date drawing nearer,
a lot of pressure was put on Governor Jim Hodges
to give him clemency, but it was ultimately denied. Now,
some people there are several articles online if you look
(38:04):
through these and read them, where they claim it was
for political reasons. They said, hey, there was a gubernatorial
election coming up in two thousand and two between Jim
Hodges and then eventual Governor Mark Sanford of Appalachian Trail Fame,
that same guy.
Speaker 3 (38:27):
But they said.
Speaker 2 (38:28):
That it was a hypothesis. I'll say that that Governor
Hodges wanted to appear tough on crime and did not
want Hey, Jim Hodges let a killer go, he let
a cop killer go.
Speaker 3 (38:44):
You know that.
Speaker 2 (38:46):
They said that maybe shaped his decision. I don't know.
Speaker 3 (38:49):
I am friends with Jim Hodges East from Lancaster County.
I don't I don't think.
Speaker 5 (38:54):
That's something you can officially prove.
Speaker 3 (38:57):
No, you can't.
Speaker 4 (38:58):
It's always just going to be assumptions or this is
what we think and it doesn't mean that it's correct.
Speaker 3 (39:04):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (39:04):
I don't know if it was political posturing or he
just trusted the judicial judicial process. Yeah, Okay, the Supreme
Court of South Carolina upheld this. I'm gonna stand by
their side and trust they did the right thing. So eventually,
Richard C. Johnson, he was executed on May third, two
(39:25):
thousand and two, by lethal injection. His last meal consisted
of fried Trump, fried oysters, French fries, chocolate cake, and
iced tea. He did say he was sorry. There are
several instances where he apologized for the tragedy that happened,
(39:47):
but never admitted guilt. Yeah, And some people took that
as a confession. They's, ah, well, he's confessing. Not necessarily.
He was saying he was sorry for the li that
were lost. Never explained himself or gave his story one
way or another, kept with the that I'm sorry this happened,
(40:11):
but I don't remember what happened. Yeah, so that was
that was what happened in Richard C. Johnson was executed.
His final words were he was sorry. His brother was
in attendance and I'm sorry one of his family members
was in attendance, and he said I'll.
Speaker 3 (40:27):
See you later.
Speaker 5 (40:28):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (40:31):
Trooper first Class Bruce Kenneth Smalls. He was laid to
rest at Buford National Cemetery along all the other heroes.
And we passed that every year on the way in Beaufort,
right there in the corner. And just feel for his
son's Dan Swanson's family as.
Speaker 5 (40:51):
Well a tragedy, a senseless tragedy all.
Speaker 2 (40:54):
Round, and just like a twenty four hours of just
to botchy Caligula on wheels. That was.
Speaker 3 (41:04):
Rough.
Speaker 2 (41:06):
Yes, so we appreciate you listening this week. Let us
know what you think about that, give us some feedback.
We'll put some pictures, of course, Trooper Bruce Small's not
a lot of pictures from this being from nineteen eighty five.
We'll see exactly what we can get to put on
our social media at Carolina Crimes podcast over on Facebook,
(41:27):
at sc Crimes pod over on Twitter. If you're looking
to support the show, we encourage you to please. If
you're listening on Apple iTunes, Apple podcast or Spotify. And
I think there is somebody brought it up to me
about it's not letting him leave a five star review
on Spotify, but last we heard you could.
Speaker 3 (41:45):
I'll check that out a.
Speaker 2 (41:46):
Little bit, Danielle will I don't know shit, you don't
have an Apple phone either or Netflix, but she'll.
Speaker 1 (41:53):
Check that out left and right.
Speaker 3 (41:55):
Yeah, she'll check that out.
Speaker 2 (41:56):
But please leave one of those five star reviews. Drive
us up the charts, mash that purple subscribe button. Tell
us a little something you like about the show, and
we're going to thank a lot of those folks that
did that in just a moment. Also, if you're looking
to get some sweet sweet Carolina Crimes paraphernalia for your back,
check us out at Carolina crimestore dot com. And thank
you to those that did so here this week, Alice
(42:19):
Steele and Emily Peel. I got a rhyming here there.
For those of you that did write a little something
nice about us on Apple, thank you, Stephanie haygood Gg
of M R M, S C C Lama Love and
Chill Shell and cove T Janicke. Believe I know who
(42:42):
that is and thank you so much. It could be
a brother or sister. They're both Janikee's. Both their names
start with T. One's the man, awesome, awesome plumber. The
other is an educator. We love our teachers. Thank you
so much. Thank you to Jimmy Hensley and to ms Wicker.
(43:03):
Thank you also for reaching out to Rose Howe, Tiny Willis,
Daniel Snow, Amanda Hall, Emily Jeffrey, Danielle Anderson with the
information about the gopher tortoise. Also Morgan Wilson with the
information about the gopher tortoise Laura Ashley, Misty Black, who
also chimed in on the gopher tortoise. Thank you, David Monteeth,
(43:27):
Lakwanda Coaxham, Tiffany Moss Smith, Christy Miize, Chris Neff, Craig Stevenson,
Amanda Faulkner, Madeline Addison, Kristin Hensley, Donna Jolly, Andrea Christensen,
Penny Kinerd, and Amanda hand Well. Folks, we appreciate you all.
Thank you so much for listening to episode two thirty
(43:47):
seven of Carolina Crimes, and until next week we'll see
you back here.
Speaker 3 (43:53):
Thank you,
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 (00:42):
And welcome back to Carolina Crimes episode two thirty eight.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
I'm one of your hosts, Matt Hyres, along.
Speaker 4 (00:48):
With Danielle Myers, and we're over the moon thrilled that
you joined us here this week.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Thank you all so much for all your feedback from
episodes two thirty six and to thirty seven last week.
Just that tragedy of young girl Cyprus Noonan that was
murdered and manipulated.
Speaker 5 (01:11):
Yeah, short, young age.
Speaker 3 (01:14):
Yeah, just a tragedy.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
We appreciate everybody reaching out about that one, letting us
know your take and a lot of the people that
were not as objective as we were.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
Yeah, I'm on the same page with you.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
I really am, and I appreciate what you said, and
that's we had to kind of call it. Just give
the facts, but yeah, your opinion, I wholeheartedly agree with
this guy. This guy preyed on these young women. That's
not good under any circumstances. Well, before we get started,
(01:49):
we're going to actually do a little housekeeping as we
usually do. If you're not already already following us on
social media, check us out over on Facebook at Carolina
Crimes Podcast. Also also over on Twitter at sc Crimes Pod.
I'm sorry, we were going back and forth with some
memes Danielle and I before this and it's some tiktoks
(02:10):
and had a few laughs.
Speaker 5 (02:12):
Yeah, sorry, still thinking about it, yes.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
But also we want to remind you if you're listening
on Apple iTunes, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, throw us a
five star review and let us know a little something
you like about the show. Mash that purple subscribe button.
We would greatly appreciate that. Also, if you're looking to
support the show monetarily and get some sweet swag for
your back, head on over to Carolina Crimestore dot com
(02:37):
and we would love for you to pick up some
stuff there and maybe if you buy a few five
or six shirts this week or this month, maybe we
can all chip in and get Danielle Netflix.
Speaker 3 (02:50):
That's that's been a big topic.
Speaker 4 (02:51):
Yeah, everybody is very concerned, but I had a lot
of support for people who.
Speaker 5 (02:56):
Also backed me and said they themselves do not have Netflix.
So I'm alone out here.
Speaker 3 (03:02):
Yeah, you're not man. Daniel likes to read.
Speaker 5 (03:04):
I do she.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
I've always said she's a nerd and where's that flies
that nerd flag proudly and we appreciate it. We appreciate
her all the more for it. Well, this week, we're
gonna stay around the same portion of the state that
we were last week, down in Jasper County.
Speaker 3 (03:25):
We were in Ridgeland, around.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
Hardyville, all that we especially, We're gonna have a lot
of thank yous at the end of the show for everybody.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
The Gopher tortoise.
Speaker 5 (03:36):
Yeah, I got a lot of pictures I.
Speaker 3 (03:40):
Love.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
We've got a lot of feedback on that. But we
are staying right in Jasper County itself this week for
this story that is absolutely wild. There's a lot of
side notes in this one, and I'm like, whoa, what,
what in the hell is going on?
Speaker 3 (03:58):
So Jasper County.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Of course, as we mentioned last week, it's a southernmost
county in the state of South Carolina. The county itself
was founded in nineteen twelve and named for Sergeant William Jasper.
Now we've mentioned him on a couple episodes, but what
he did was just something straight out of that movie
The Patriot with Mel Gibson.
Speaker 3 (04:20):
Sergeant Jasper.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
He was a Revolutionary War soldier and at the Battle
of Fort Sullivan, which today is known as Fort Moultrie,
they were under heavy bombardment by British fleet, and it
was in June of seventeen seventy six. The fort it
was enduring heavy shelling from that British fleet to ships
(04:41):
right off the coast, and a shell hit the flagpole
or flag staff as they called it, that the Patriots
flag was attached to.
Speaker 3 (04:52):
So Sergeant Jasper he.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
Climbed the wall of the fort, which was still under
a constant barrage of British fire, and he physically held
the flag into place until it was able to be
secured on another flagstaff. So symbolically, if the other combatant
in a battle took out your flag, yeah you're you're done.
(05:18):
That's kind of a sign of yeah, you've been beaten.
So Sergeant Jasper wasn't gonna let that happen. So he
switched into badass mode, climbed the wall of the fort
and held that flag up there.
Speaker 5 (05:30):
Yeah yeah, just is that sorry? But is this kind
of like the whole premises behind capture the flag?
Speaker 3 (05:36):
I don't know, I mean'milar similar. Yeah, But.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
The naming of Jasper County it was to honor Sergeant
William Jasper. And eight counties across the United States are
named after him.
Speaker 3 (05:50):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
And seven cities or towns bear his name today in America.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
So yeah, he's a hero. He's a hero.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
Well, the economy of Jasper County, it is I wouldn't
say dependent, but it relies a lot on travel commerce.
Speaker 3 (06:07):
Of course.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
I ninety five goes straight through there. I ninety five.
Of course, the corridor from New York City to Miami,
So a lot of traffic up and down that Eastern seaboard,
and that road, that highway travels straight through Jasper. Some
of the economic drivers in the county Amergas Walmart, publics,
(06:30):
and municipal services are where the majority of people work
there in Jasper. Now some of the more famous folks
from the county. Mary Gordon Ellis. She was the first
female elected to the South Carolina State Legislature when she
was elected to Senate in nineteen twenty eight. Also LaRue Howard.
She's a gospel music singer and in two thousand and
(06:53):
nine she won a GMA Award for her album How
Great is Our God? Heard that song and that album? Yeah,
And also this is wild. This is when I had
to actually grab Ashley's attention at home land last night
and say, hey, did you know this? Yes, General Henry
(07:16):
Martin Robert. He was the author of Robert's Rules of Order,
which it is the most common standard of parliamentary procedure
in the world. Like you hear people say, all right,
I'd like to make a motion that we do that
in official governmental meetings.
Speaker 3 (07:32):
I make this motion.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
Yes, I second that motion, and yeah, and call the
question and point of parliamentary procedures. The guy that wrote
that standard is from Jasper County, South Carolina.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
How about that.
Speaker 5 (07:48):
That's a pretty big deal.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
Yeah, get you some of that. So that was fascinating
to me. So our story this week, it's going to
start back forty years ago exactly, and what This is
September of nineteen eighty five, is when we're going back
to and we're going to talk about a fifty two
(08:12):
year old businessman from Virginia by the name of Daniel Swanson.
According to sources, Swanson he had lived kind of a
stressful adult life and he dealt with a lot of
personal struggles. Most notably, he dealt with some mental health issues.
(08:35):
They called it mental illness, for which he underwent psychiatric
treatment quite a bit for back in nineteen eighty five.
If you think about it, the stigma attached to that.
Back then, not a lot of people talked about mental health.
It wasn't widely accepted to get help, yeah, for mental health,
(08:56):
which is part of the reason a lot of I
would say, crimes and violence occurred, and a lot of
people didn't know how to deal with that.
Speaker 4 (09:05):
And I think instead of addressing it and thinking that
it could be a mental illness, it was looked as like,
this is an abnormal person. You're not normal, and they
would either kind of sort of be shunned from society.
People would be like that's the person you need to avoid,
or they would house them, yeah in sil Yeah, just
to kind of get them away from the public.
Speaker 3 (09:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
Even growing up, I mean they always, oh, you're acting
wild and crazy. We're gonna see you to bull straight exactly.
Speaker 5 (09:33):
That was a that was said in my household. Yes,
not to me, but it was said.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
It was said to me. So yes.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
So in September of nineteen eighty five, at fifty two
years old, it was time for Dan Swanson to just
kind of get away. Okay, so he planned, well I don't.
I wouldn't say he planned, but he was gonna go
on a trip. He was gonna go to Florida.
Speaker 5 (09:58):
Okay, I don't know what I'm but I'm not gonna
be here.
Speaker 2 (10:02):
Yeah, And it sounds like he didn't know how he
was gonna get there. But Dan Swatson he loaded up
his RV he had a motor home, and he headed
south for a nice stay in Florida. Well, his route
would take him. Looking at the map, it was kind
of meandering. He wasn't making a straight shot to Florida
(10:24):
by any means. He was kind of going down the
east coast, and eventually he ended up in the vicinity
of Moorhead City, North Carolina, which, like I said, he
didn't go straight down nine ninety five Morehead City. You
got to get off the interstate and go quite away, Yeah,
to get out there. It's right out there by the coast.
It's near Newborn, where we visited a couple of weeks ago.
(10:46):
But he got out toward Morehead City. Well, on the road,
Dan saw what was around nineteen eighty five, I'd say,
getting more and more rare on the road ways, and
it's essentially never seen today. But he came up on
a hitchhiker.
Speaker 5 (11:07):
Oh okay, yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
And hitchhiking went way out of style. There was dangers
associated with that starting in the seventies and eighties, and
hitchhiking got a bad rap, really doing some part to
the subject from episode one hundred here on Carolina.
Speaker 3 (11:25):
Crimes Pee Week guest.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
Yeah, he prayed on hitchhikers, people in need, took advantage
of them and did terrible, terrible.
Speaker 4 (11:34):
Thing, and people who wouldn't have someone looking for them
for at least a while with at all.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
Right, So, I don't know if Dan Swatson was feeling generous, lonely,
or some kind of combo platter of both. So he
pulled over and let this young man know, Hey, I'm
headed toward Florida. I don't know what way you're headed,
but if you need a ride or want to hitch
(12:01):
up and rideshot going with me, come on.
Speaker 5 (12:04):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
The young man agreed, and his name was or he
was twenty two year old Richard C. Johnson, went by
Ricky Okay. Well, the two men they chatted on the
road and eventually found a spot to pull over and
sleep for the night.
Speaker 3 (12:24):
In North Carolina.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
Still, and at some point during this trip, or maybe
it was after they stopped, alcohol.
Speaker 3 (12:32):
And drugs came out at some point.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
It's not clear if it happened on that first night,
but it certainly happened later on in this road trip. Now,
the next morning, the two guys awoke, and it was
September twenty seventh, nineteen eighty five, and Dan Swanson and
Ricky Johnson they decided to hit the road. Well, a
(12:58):
pair did get on nine ninety five and they crossed
into South Carolina. They went right by south of the border,
and they stopped at a rest stop, which I'm by
context clues, I'm thinking it was the South Carolina Rest
area right there on ninety five south, or I'm sorry,
(13:18):
the South Carolina Welcome Center right there past Hamer, South Carolina,
where South of the Border is. It's just four miles
away from that famed illustrious landmark. Well, the two men
by that time of the day, they'd both been drinking
a bit. When they were at the rest area, they
encountered two other hitchhikers, and the thought process flowed to, well,
(13:45):
you know, it's just the two of us, you know,
two new friends hitting the road headed to Florida. The
more the merrier, y'all want to come to Florida with us.
So Dan swantson. He invited the two to saddle up
with him and come on into the RV. And it
was seventeen year old runaway Connie Sue Hess from Omaha, Nebraska,
(14:13):
and twenty year old Curtis Harbert, who was actually on
the run considered a fugitive from the law running to
escape some criminal warrants. So with two new personalities in
the RV, things got very interesting very quickly. And we
(14:38):
get back from this short break, we're going to get
into exactly what went on in this rolling party bus
in South Carolina. Folks will be right back after this
quick word from our sponsors. Hi friends, Matt Hires here
(15:00):
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.
Speaker 3 (15:13):
Rather on a road trip.
Speaker 2 (15:15):
Or a weekend getaway, discover Mullins. 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 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,
(15:39):
which include an antique market located in a repurposed tobacco warehouse.
Speaker 3 (15:45):
Your visit would not.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
Be complete without a stop at the South Carolina Tobacco Museum,
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
(16:06):
showcasing vintage equipment and 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
(16:27):
Tobacco Museum, Reverend 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
(16:49):
streamed in the museum. 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 Mullin, South
Carolina and Welcome back to Carolina Crimes Episode two thirty seven.
(17:32):
Eventually out of Jasper County, South Carolina. And when we
left off before the break, we were talking about kind
of this rolling band Hodgepodge misfits. Dan Swanson, the fifty
two year old owner of this motor home.
Speaker 3 (17:49):
He picked up Richard C.
Speaker 2 (17:51):
Johnson, Connie Hess, and Curtis Harbor, hitchhikers all along his
way to Florida.
Speaker 3 (18:00):
Eventually, so this now party of four.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
They continue their voyage to Florida in this RV, and
they continued traveling south on I ninety five, and on
this stretch of road between Hamer, South Carolina and Clarendon County.
Speaker 3 (18:23):
The booze was a flowing.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
Okay, we're not talking about cracking a couple of coal
ones for the working man.
Speaker 3 (18:28):
We were talking about liquor.
Speaker 5 (18:30):
And I'm thinking like a bottle of jack or something.
Speaker 2 (18:33):
Yeah, I mean they're like partying like a hair band
in the mid eighties, you know, in this RV going
down I ninety five.
Speaker 3 (18:42):
And also some.
Speaker 2 (18:43):
Undisclosed drugs were also broken out about that time, so
the inhabitants of this RV turned rolling party. They started
to focus more on the fun than the actual drive.
So I mentioned Clarendon County. But when they got there
(19:05):
near Lake Marion, they said, you know, let's let's stop
and rest. You know, this would be a good idea.
Speaker 5 (19:12):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (19:13):
So the four stopped, but did anything but rest.
Speaker 1 (19:19):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (19:22):
Richard Johnson, the first hitchhiker picked up in Warhead City,
the twenty two year old he'd been doing some of
the driving, which is frankly quite wild to me. That
Dan Swanson. He's like, Okay, I'm gonna let this twenty
two year old hitchhiker that I met yesterday.
Speaker 3 (19:43):
Drive my RV.
Speaker 5 (19:45):
That sounds like a good idea.
Speaker 2 (19:46):
Yeah, yeah, man, you probably got a license, you know.
Trust well, you're probably a great driver. I'm sure you've
driven one of these forty foot rolling homes.
Speaker 5 (19:58):
You're right, not gonna drive me off in some desolate
wooded area.
Speaker 2 (20:02):
Just just keep it between the lines, dog, you know.
Speaker 3 (20:05):
Yeah, cool, here's the keys. That's that's bizarre.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
So while Don Swanson was in the back all right,
I'm sorry, Dan Swanson was in the back and Richard
Johnson was driving Dan, he was enjoying some mixed drinks
and getting to know his new two traveling companions a
little better. So when they pulled over in Clarendon County,
Dan Swanson, twenty one or twenty year old Curtis Harbert
(20:34):
and seventeen year old Connie Sue Hess. They excused themselves
to the.
Speaker 3 (20:41):
R v's sleeping quarters.
Speaker 2 (20:44):
Okay, so I'm just gonna blurt it out and not
dance around it. And while back there in the bed,
all three of them had sex with each other. I mean,
we're taking guy girl, guy, guy, other guy and girl
and got it on just just a mobile minaga. Twas
(21:09):
all right, yeah, you took the words out of exactly
what doesn't So again, this fifty two year old Dan Swanson,
he had to be super trusting. H He picked up
three hitchhikers. He's letting one drive his RV. And then
he was like, all right, you two, the guy and
(21:30):
the girl, the new guys, let's go back in the
back and let's have let's all have sex with each other.
Speaker 3 (21:37):
Wild eighty five was a wild time.
Speaker 2 (21:42):
So after this three way tryst, Dan Swanson he said,
you know, kind of bushed here. I'm gonna take a
post quoital nap back here. He thought that would be
a good idea.
Speaker 5 (22:00):
Okay, but it wasn't.
Speaker 2 (22:06):
Suddenly, I'm not sure if if Richard Johnson felt left
out or some kind of argument broke out between Connie
and Curtis, but a mutiny occurred while Dan was sleeping,
(22:27):
and a gunshot rang out in the on the r V,
and Dan Swanson was killed by a single shot from
a three P fifty seven revolver. Oh gosh said, maybe
this was an argument, Maybe this was an impromptu robbery.
Maybe this was something that Connie and Curtis had planned.
(22:48):
Maybe this is something Richard had planned.
Speaker 3 (22:50):
Yeah, and.
Speaker 2 (22:52):
Probably a mixture of some of those motives. So they
were now faced with a dead body in the RV.
So Curtis Harbert he took the lead in storing this.
I guess it's an insensitive way to put it, but
this new cargo they had on. Yeah, So what he
(23:17):
did was he wrapped Daniel Swanson's body in sheets and blankets,
he bound it with stereo wire that he pulled out
there the RV, and with the help of the others,
he lifted the mattress and shoved the lifeless body into
the area or box underneath the mattress.
Speaker 4 (23:39):
So just treating him like he's just an object, yes,
instead of a person.
Speaker 2 (23:44):
No remorse, just kind of okay, we're gonna we're gonna
kill this guy.
Speaker 3 (23:50):
But oh wow, we did that. Now what that kind
of attitude that is disgusting.
Speaker 2 (23:59):
And Dan from all Matt, I mean, not much was
told about his background, but he was nice enough to
give him a ride when they needed it.
Speaker 4 (24:10):
In regardless, didn't seem like he deserved anything like that.
You know, he's offering to help these people.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
Yeah, and they must have liked him somewhat because I
mean they had sex with him. They could have killed
him before that, so I don't know what they were
thinking in this one. But once that gruesome chore was complete,
the party RV they got back on the road and
(24:37):
the journey continued. Dan's final destination was Florida. I don't
know if they knew where they wanted to go or
what they wanted to do, and no one really knew,
but fate was about to strike this RV. And when
we get back from this short word from our sponsors,
(24:57):
we're going to continue this story about just even more tragedy.
We'll be right back after this quick word from our sponsors,
(25:28):
and welcome back to Carolina Crimes, episode two thirty seven
and this ill fated turned murderous RV trip down I
ninety five in South Carolina. And as the RV rolled
along down I ninety five south. Keep in mind a
(25:49):
lot of alcohol and drugs have been imbibed.
Speaker 3 (25:54):
So driving.
Speaker 2 (25:56):
The captain of this RV driving it was the first
hitchhiker picked up Richard Johnson. Ricky Johnson, a riding shotgun
was seventeen year old runaway Connie hess and back in
the back was twenty two year old Curtis Harbert. Now,
these folks had almost gotten out of the state of
(26:18):
South Carolina. They were traveling through Jasper County when a
call came in to the South Carolina Highway Patrol reported
a reckless driver this weaving RV going down the interstate. Now,
the officer responding was thirty year old Trooper first Class
(26:41):
Bruce Kenneth Small's Trooper Smalls. He was a native of
Jasper County, and diving into his background, he was the
pre eminent selfless servant Bruce Smalls. He had served in
the US Army and as an eighteen year old, he
(27:01):
participated in the waning days of the Vietnam War. After
he got out, he became married. He was a loving
husband and a father of two young sons. Trooper Smalls
had been with the South Carolina Highway Patrol for nine
years and when the call came in, Trooper Smalls responded,
it didn't take him too long to find this erradically
(27:26):
driving RV and initiated a traffic stop. So the RV
pulled over to the shoulder without incident. Remember fifty two
year old Dan Swantson, his dead body was in the
back and Trooper Smalls he approached the driver's window and
(27:46):
stepped up onto the running board to speak with the driver.
Instead of being met with a license and registration, the
cowards inside met him with the muzzle of a three
P fifty seven. They shot Trooper first Class Bruce Kenneth
(28:06):
Small six times, killing him on the side of the road.
Speaker 3 (28:11):
That he had protected for nine years. Awful well, Ricky.
Speaker 2 (28:18):
Johnson, Connie hess and Curtis Harbert were faced with a
major problem.
Speaker 5 (28:23):
Now, yeah, you think.
Speaker 2 (28:29):
They murdered a peace officer. It wasn't like it was
in some back alley where nobody could see. It was
out in the open on the shoulder of the interstate
that was well traveled. Now I went down the rabbit hole.
I looked at some SCDOT records. The latest ones I
could find were twenty nineteen and approximately thirty two thousand
(28:54):
vehicles traveled that stretch of I ninety five south in
Jasper County each.
Speaker 5 (29:00):
Day's a lot of witnesses.
Speaker 2 (29:02):
So that means fourteen hundred vehicles per hour on average
passing by, probably more than that, because I mean this
was still there's traffic awake. I mean that accounts for
like one am, two am, three, when anybody's.
Speaker 3 (29:17):
On the road.
Speaker 2 (29:18):
So a lot of people passing by witnessed this state
trooper getting shot, so they weren't inconspicuous. The scene wasn't
at all. It was big dirty RV on the side
of the road, state trooper car behind it with its
blue lights on, and there on the side of the
(29:39):
road laid a murdered state trooper. Well, the three hitchhikers,
they're like, we gotta get out of here, and maybe
we should split up and go our separate ways.
Speaker 4 (29:54):
You can't exactly take off in a mobile home and
think that you're not going to get spotted easily.
Speaker 2 (30:01):
Yeah, that's again, very not inconspicuous, very conspicuous, I guess.
So Connie hess and Curtis Harbert they went one way.
Richard Johnson he went the other way, and several people
got their descriptions of them fleeing the scene, and it
(30:23):
was spread throughout the low country to all law enforcement
that there's an officer down. This is exactly who we're
looking for. All municipality police departments, highway patrol, county sheriff's
offices and they were on the hunt for these three people.
The Calgarry was coming and also some individuals stopped to help.
(30:49):
They were able to get descriptions of the folks as well,
and it didn't take barely an hour before all three
were captured. Well, then it came time for them to
tell their story about what in the hell happened in
this RV. The RV had been searched, the body of
(31:09):
Dan Swanson had been found.
Speaker 5 (31:11):
I can bet that was a surprise.
Speaker 2 (31:13):
Yeah, yeah, Well they were trying to look and see
what they were hiding.
Speaker 3 (31:17):
They thought drugs immediately.
Speaker 4 (31:19):
Well, people, you know, you don't react like that to
a basic traffic stop unless you have something to hide
or you're running from something so very suspicious.
Speaker 2 (31:27):
Well, I ninety five notoriously was a highway for drugs
Miami to New York, I mean coming up and down
that highway, So that was probably initially what they were
they were like, oh man, there's got to be drugs
or something we don't need to find in here.
Speaker 5 (31:44):
And there was something they didn't need to find.
Speaker 2 (31:46):
Yeah, worse than drugs, dead body. So Harbert and Hess
were taken in and essentially their stories matched. They said
that Richard C. Johnson, Ricky he had killed Daniel Swanson
in Clarendon County after the two of them had sex
(32:08):
with each other. Okay, they said Harbert, he was worried,
so he was the one. He admitted he bundled Swanson's
body in the sheets with speaker wire and when they
pulled over, it was Richard Johnson who shot and killed
Trooper Bruce Smalls. Well, Ricky Johnson's story didn't help him
(32:34):
at all. He said, I can't remember what happened. He said,
I blacked out.
Speaker 3 (32:44):
I was drunk, I was high. I wasn't used to this.
Speaker 2 (32:48):
And his blood alcohol test backed up his story he
was over twice the legal limit.
Speaker 4 (32:56):
Well, yeah, this guy very possibly doesn't remember.
Speaker 2 (32:59):
Yeah, I mean that's a legit statement that I really
can't I don't remember. So Ricky Johnson was charged with
murder and his trial was set for nineteen eighty six.
February nineteen eighty six for the murder of troopers Smalls
(33:20):
now Connie Hess and Curtis Harbert. They were granted immunity
for their testimony. Really yes, during the trial, it came
up that when Ricky Johnson was arrested, they tested his
fingers for gunshot residue, any kind of powder. It was
(33:40):
non existent. But the testimony of the other two hitchhikers
prevailed in court. The jury found him guilty and Richard C.
Johnson was scheduled to death. They'll be executed, sentenced.
Speaker 3 (33:59):
To death.
Speaker 2 (34:01):
Now in a separate trial. Johnson he did plead guilty
to the murder of Dan Swanson and he received a
life sentence. So there's two separate trials there. Richard Johnson,
he immediately filed an appeal for the death penalty and
he was granted a new trial, not based on the
(34:25):
evidence the gunshot at residue evidence, but based on a
loophole where there were improper statements made by the prosecutor
during his closing statements. So a new trial was scheduled
for Ricky Johnson. Well, Connie Hess came forward and she
(34:49):
went to her former attorney and asked to recant her
testimony from the first trial. She said that it was
actually Curtis Harbart that had committed both murders. So a
letter was drafted up from her attorney and sent to
the Jasper County Sheriff's office explaining Hess's new story in
(35:15):
their defense of the sheriff's office. This was over a
half a dozen times that Hess's story had changed once
she was granted immunity.
Speaker 3 (35:27):
She kept going.
Speaker 2 (35:29):
Back and forth and one version of the story she
was the killer and.
Speaker 4 (35:35):
Very inconsistent at the point where they're like, I don't
even know what to believe.
Speaker 2 (35:39):
Yeah, we don't know what we believe. Curtis Harbert's story
stayed the same. He was like, Hey, this guy, Ricky,
he did all this. I don't I don't know what
to tell you. But Connie's story kept changing, but the
letter was sent to the Jasper County Sheriff's office explaining
this new story, But that letter never made it to
Johnson's atturn. So in this new trial that he was granted,
(36:05):
Ricky Johnson was again found guilty and again sentenced to death.
So his execution date was set for.
Speaker 3 (36:15):
Nineteen ninety nine.
Speaker 2 (36:17):
After all these appeals, but due to Connie Hess's statements
coming to light, a stay in execution was granted and
a judicial review was ordered of the case. In June
of two thousand and one, the South Carolina Supreme Court
voted three to two to uphold Richard Johnson's death sentence.
(36:41):
They did come forward and say, you know, Connie Hess
was not considered credible due to all the inconsistencies in
her stories. And a movement was made in formed that hey,
this Richard Johnson might be innocent, let's commute his sentence
(37:03):
to life. Do not give him the death penalty. And
one of the people that came out in favor of
commuting this sentence to life was Thelma Blue Trooper Smalls's mother. Oh,
she said that an execution it wouldn't bring back my son,
(37:24):
and she wanted that death penalty vacated for who was
accused of killing her son.
Speaker 1 (37:30):
Wow.
Speaker 5 (37:31):
Yeah, that's that says a lot about her and her character.
Speaker 3 (37:36):
Yes, by faith faith, Yes, I mean that's that's huge.
Speaker 2 (37:44):
So when it came down to the execution date drawing nearer,
a lot of pressure was put on Governor Jim Hodges
to give him clemency, but it was ultimately denied. Now,
some people there are several articles online if you look
(38:04):
through these and read them, where they claim it was
for political reasons. They said, hey, there was a gubernatorial
election coming up in two thousand and two between Jim
Hodges and then eventual Governor Mark Sanford of Appalachian Trail Fame,
that same guy.
Speaker 3 (38:27):
But they said.
Speaker 2 (38:28):
That it was a hypothesis. I'll say that that Governor
Hodges wanted to appear tough on crime and did not
want Hey, Jim Hodges let a killer go, he let
a cop killer go.
Speaker 3 (38:44):
You know that.
Speaker 2 (38:46):
They said that maybe shaped his decision. I don't know.
Speaker 3 (38:49):
I am friends with Jim Hodges East from Lancaster County.
I don't I don't think.
Speaker 5 (38:54):
That's something you can officially prove.
Speaker 3 (38:57):
No, you can't.
Speaker 4 (38:58):
It's always just going to be assumptions or this is
what we think and it doesn't mean that it's correct.
Speaker 3 (39:04):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (39:04):
I don't know if it was political posturing or he
just trusted the judicial judicial process. Yeah, Okay, the Supreme
Court of South Carolina upheld this. I'm gonna stand by
their side and trust they did the right thing. So eventually,
Richard C. Johnson, he was executed on May third, two
(39:25):
thousand and two, by lethal injection. His last meal consisted
of fried Trump, fried oysters, French fries, chocolate cake, and
iced tea. He did say he was sorry. There are
several instances where he apologized for the tragedy that happened,
(39:47):
but never admitted guilt. Yeah, And some people took that
as a confession. They's, ah, well, he's confessing. Not necessarily.
He was saying he was sorry for the li that
were lost. Never explained himself or gave his story one
way or another, kept with the that I'm sorry this happened,
(40:11):
but I don't remember what happened. Yeah, so that was
that was what happened in Richard C. Johnson was executed.
His final words were he was sorry. His brother was
in attendance and I'm sorry one of his family members
was in attendance, and he said I'll.
Speaker 3 (40:27):
See you later.
Speaker 5 (40:28):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (40:31):
Trooper first Class Bruce Kenneth Smalls. He was laid to
rest at Buford National Cemetery along all the other heroes.
And we passed that every year on the way in Beaufort,
right there in the corner. And just feel for his
son's Dan Swanson's family as.
Speaker 5 (40:51):
Well a tragedy, a senseless tragedy all.
Speaker 2 (40:54):
Round, and just like a twenty four hours of just
to botchy Caligula on wheels. That was.
Speaker 3 (41:04):
Rough.
Speaker 2 (41:06):
Yes, so we appreciate you listening this week. Let us
know what you think about that, give us some feedback.
We'll put some pictures, of course, Trooper Bruce Small's not
a lot of pictures from this being from nineteen eighty five.
We'll see exactly what we can get to put on
our social media at Carolina Crimes podcast over on Facebook,
(41:27):
at sc Crimes pod over on Twitter. If you're looking
to support the show, we encourage you to please. If
you're listening on Apple iTunes, Apple podcast or Spotify. And
I think there is somebody brought it up to me
about it's not letting him leave a five star review
on Spotify, but last we heard you could.
Speaker 3 (41:45):
I'll check that out a.
Speaker 2 (41:46):
Little bit, Danielle will I don't know shit, you don't
have an Apple phone either or Netflix, but she'll.
Speaker 1 (41:53):
Check that out left and right.
Speaker 3 (41:55):
Yeah, she'll check that out.
Speaker 2 (41:56):
But please leave one of those five star reviews. Drive
us up the charts, mash that purple subscribe button. Tell
us a little something you like about the show, and
we're going to thank a lot of those folks that
did that in just a moment. Also, if you're looking
to get some sweet sweet Carolina Crimes paraphernalia for your back,
check us out at Carolina crimestore dot com. And thank
you to those that did so here this week, Alice
(42:19):
Steele and Emily Peel. I got a rhyming here there.
For those of you that did write a little something
nice about us on Apple, thank you, Stephanie haygood Gg
of M R M, S C C Lama Love and
Chill Shell and cove T Janicke. Believe I know who
(42:42):
that is and thank you so much. It could be
a brother or sister. They're both Janikee's. Both their names
start with T. One's the man, awesome, awesome plumber. The
other is an educator. We love our teachers. Thank you
so much. Thank you to Jimmy Hensley and to ms Wicker.
(43:03):
Thank you also for reaching out to Rose Howe, Tiny Willis,
Daniel Snow, Amanda Hall, Emily Jeffrey, Danielle Anderson with the
information about the gopher tortoise. Also Morgan Wilson with the
information about the gopher tortoise Laura Ashley, Misty Black, who
also chimed in on the gopher tortoise. Thank you, David Monteeth,
(43:27):
Lakwanda Coaxham, Tiffany Moss Smith, Christy Miize, Chris Neff, Craig Stevenson,
Amanda Faulkner, Madeline Addison, Kristin Hensley, Donna Jolly, Andrea Christensen,
Penny Kinerd, and Amanda hand Well. Folks, we appreciate you all.
Thank you so much for listening to episode two thirty
(43:47):
seven of Carolina Crimes, and until next week we'll see
you back here.
Speaker 3 (43:53):
Thank you,
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