There was no identification on them, but it was surmised they were traveling or 'backpacking'. A lot of times what you hear law enforcement say is we dont want to give a lot of details out because the case is still pending, he said. As of publishing, there have not been any new updates in relation to Kias disappearance and murder, nor about the investigation into it. Invalid password or account does not exist. A random child abduction that went "sour" - usually a byproduct of a victim choosing to fight back, or attempting to run away. One man who had met the couple stated that the man, Jacques, had told him that his father was a physician in Canada. That day - Monday, May 16th - approximately seventy-five people helped conduct a search around the apartment complex. The mid 1980's was the last contact Lori had with her family. You hate to have any murders, but I think a 91% solve rate is probably one of the highest ones out there, especially for a department our size and with that number of them, he said. As an adult, he stood about five-feet-eight-inches tall, weighing it at only 132 pounds. Then, when her family and former-sheriff Sam Riley got involved, they realized that the initial reward fund - which had been established for information - had remained untouched for around two decades. You have permission to edit this article. The sunny atmosphere from just a few days prior had evaporated. Sometimes officers get tips about rumors from the community, but these vague and often unsourced allegations arent enough to give police probable cause for an arrest. Calling them cold cases implies they're no longer active, but Chaudoin. But now a parent's worst fear was beginning to creep into their bones the realization that she had not been okay, that something HAD happened to her. No one was hurt when multiple shots were fired early Saturday in the area of Piedmont Avenue and Edgefield Street. It's a reminder of unfinished business.". The victim was not the intended target. They had suspended the searches on Tuesday afternoon, after finding nothing in the two days out there. As Hampton prepared for his five-year sentence, he was facing investigations and charges from four separate states. The sun was beginning to set, and this eight-year old climbed onto her bike to head back home. Just a couple of blocks from this airport are a number of apartment complexes - all of which are a few miles out from downtown Greenwood. He did not live here. The witness saw three young men in the car, and when officers checked near the church they found a pair of shoes that matched a sole imprint at the scene. Date of Death: October 25, 2011 Location: 15 Spartanburg Court, Apt. She was a small girl, who had been wearing yellow shorts, a yellow-and-white polka-dot shirt, and slip-on shoes on the evening she disappeared. He stated about the confirmation of the skull belonging to Kia: "I felt for a long time that the skull was hers, but I hoped it wasn't. A follow-up news article stated how employees of the local K-Mart, so moved by Wiggins' battle cry, raised $650 within an hour. Stabbed Hampton pleaded not guilty to the charges and immediately recanted his confession, just as hed done in previous cases. He was sentenced to eight years, with time already served. Richard Martin Age. Love South Carolina? Earlier that night, she and a few of her friends had attended a U2 concert and afterwards went to a nightclub, then known as Jungle Jim's. Unfortunately, the searches came up with no sign of Kia, or any clue as to what had happened to her. This is when police spoke to Hampton's ex-wife and girlfriend, who told them things about Charles that made them think he was a viable suspect. On September 23, 1992, Dail Dinwiddie vanished into the night as she was walking along Harden Street in Columbia, SC. We began checking missing children cases and conducted three weeks of intensive searches for additional remains, but we didn't find anything.". He was taken to Self Regional Medical Center for treatment, where he died of his injury. It just stops as if she evaporated into the hot southern air of South Carolina. Newberry County Memorial Hospital forensic pathologist Dr. Keene Garvin reiterated this finding, stating - after preliminary testing had been conducted - that the skull was likely placed there are the body had decomposed. Her granddaughter, Ashley, had been friends with both Kia and Renee Logan, and had actually been playing with the two on the basketball court shortly before Kia disappeared. Despite their efforts, no evidence was found. You never know if that tiny piece of information could flesh out the full puzzle. However, three - which took place in the middle of this crime spree - took place on a Thursday. There are just no leads or evidence to go on even though the police push every avenue they come across. The Malakia Z. Logan Reward Fund was established by Tuck Wooten, the Head of A.M. Tuck Inc. At around the time these sexual assaults came to an end, in the summer of 1996, police began to eye a specific sexual deviant as a potential suspect. "We're looking for a medium blue utility-type van with dark tinted windows. If they wanted to try him for any of those crimes, they needed a more definitive smoking gun. Major Sam Riley was stated: "Our department, as well as SLED and FBI personnel, are still actively investigating. They had held out hope that someone had abducted her for ransom, or perhaps - just perhaps - she actually had run away. South Carolina's Law Enforcement Division spokesman Hugh Munn stated about the composite drawing which the authorities had debuted the evening before: "We've done all the groundwork we can. This means that, between the time of his plea and now, Charles Wade Hampton has likely served his time and since been released. Tipsters can also reach out on Facebook, or submit a tip anonymously online at bit.ly/3zN6rM2. On October 1, 1990, Malakia's remains were found in a wooded area on U.S. Forest Service property in Newberry County. He reported him missing at 10 a.m. that morning. When it was discovered by her parents that she was gone there was no trace to follow. Research revealed that Lori had married Nathaniel Richardson in February of 1994 and that is where the trail grows cold. Kia was a third grade student at Merrywood Elementary School. It happened around 9:15 p.m. at a home. Share your news tips and story ideas with us. At the time of her disappearance, Reinaldo Javier "Ray" Rivera, now a convicted serial killer, was attending the University of South Carolina. Examining the world of solved and unsolved cases. Police did not share the part of town in which the shooting happened. Call the Charleston County Consolidated Dispatch Center at 843-743-7200 and ask to speak to a Detective in the Charleston Police Department Violent Crimes Unit. You can also contact the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division at (803) 737-9000. Set in the middle of Greenwood itself, the reward fund started with a $2000 donation in her name. He was described as being between thirty-five and forty years old, with slender ad pointed facial features. Tiffany, whose case I covered in the last episode, was found in a shallow grave roughly twenty miles away from where she had gone missing. Six have gone unsolved. But, let a Carolina or a Clemson sports event take the forefront and emotions bubble over throughout the community. And in that time, more terrifying and intriguing mysteries would present themselves. ", Riley, of course, was Major Sam Riley of the Greenwood County Sheriff's Office. Police found him sitting on steps beside the sidewalk, bleeding from his head; an officer couldnt find his pulse. He lifted his shirt and officers saw Perez had two gunshot wounds on his right side. In 1996, the testing of mitochondrial DNA was performed at a genetics lab in North Carolina. In an idling SUV, Sherwin Gittens was found dead by police. Despite that, police wouldn't have any real leads to follow up on until October of the next year, 1990. Jessica, a pretty little girl with brown hair and sparkling brown eyes went to bed on June 5, 1986, along with her two sisters. South Carolina is loaded with history and ghostly tales of suspense. Unfortunately for them, as soon as Hampton went to jail for Peeping Tom, he stopped cooperating with investigators. He also had a blotchy, pockmarked face, made worse from poison ivy exposure the year prior. 1-888-CRIME SC (1-888-274-6372) The ratio of all residents to sex offenders in Greenwood is 1,836 to 1. Through interviews, police learned two or three men had come over to the house prior to the shooting. Theyre experiencing the most horrific thing thats probably ever happened to them in their life, Chaudoin said. As former Sheriff Riley and current Sheriff Tony Davis stated: "members of the community supported the Logan family when in need, and now those funds will support those in need with educational opportunities.". No closure. Malakia Zali Logan, most commonly called by her nickname, Kia, was born on August 1st, 1979. It bothers me that we seem willing to accept this obvious crime against a child without a public uproar. Freeman died at the hospital while being treated for his injuries. He also soon recanted all of his prior confessions, meaning that police had to start back from square one. Sylvia Holtzclaw was running the bank alone on Friday, May 16, 2003, in Greer, SC. Dennis Beauford, the deputy who had responded to the incident and originally stayed the night, continued to feel a personal connection to the story. Also, the Kia Reward Fund is growing and we are hopeful that this will bring someone forward with positive information. It's hard not to compare the crime to that of Tiffany Nelson, a nine-year old that went missing from Augusta, Georgia in June of 1994. Soon, children began playing outside of the Georgetown apartments once again, Kia's disappearance becoming an outlier to a safe community. In all of the sexual assaults, the victim profile remained largely the same. On July 4th, the Greenwood-area newspaper, the Index Journal, ran a story detailing Kia's mom, Bernetta Logan, as she struggled with the disappearance of her youngest daughter. Investigators had been pursuing clues as far away as California, and trying to tie Kia's disappearance to other stories of missing children in the surrounding states. Will they ever find out what happened and who these two young people were? Does it not bother you, as it does me, that our community, with a few exceptions, seems to be showing little aggressive concern over the mysterious disappearance of one of our children, Kia Logan? Cold cases and unsolved crimes in Greenwood, SC. All these cases are active. This search continued until it was too dark, but resumed the next day. When does she have the time, you ask? Cold cases isnt the term Greenwood Police Chief T.J. Chaudoin likes to use for his departments unsolved homicides. The man was covered in blood, and Perez made the shape of a gun with his hand to show police that he and the other man had been shot. They wanted to keep their options option, should more evidence be found against him, so they didn't want him to go free and then lose any chance at a prosecutor under double jeopardy laws. Video from the area showed a car with someone hanging out of the back passenger window and firing. As time passed, approximately 13,853 of those murders were solved, leaving the state with approximately 3,868 unsolved murders in South Carolina as of the last website update. Login; . It began to seem to police like he was making things up as he went along, but they were constantly reminded by the facts that something was amiss. I'm not the first to ask that question and so many more than me want to know the answer. They're no closer today than they were back in 1988 when Kia was snatched up. Two months into the investigation, at least one thing was crystal clear: Kia Logan may have been missing, but she most certainly wasn't going to be forgotten. His height was listed in the range of 5'8" or 5'9", and he was of slight build, in the weight range of 150 pounds. Pity us if we don't! He described not only his sex life - which included sex with both genders - but his prior criminal history. She, also, went missing while riding her bike very close to her home, in a public setting. In 1993, the skull was sent to the National Museum of Natural History at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC for DNA testing, but the results were inconclusive. Five people in his. Greenwood city's six unsolved homicides stay a police priority, By DAMIAN DOMINGUEZ One of those cases was Stephen Smith a 19-year-old man from Hampton, S.C. who was found dead in the middle of Sandy Run Road on July 8, 2015. Gunshots were heard on Pearl Street near Osborne Avenue. No one wants to think that there is evil that walks among us; an evil that stalks the dark and steals the light. In the weeks since Kia had gone missing, Bernetta struggled to leave the phone for any prolonged period of time. In most cases, they were sexually assaulted before being abandoned in a public setting, but at least one of the girls wasn't she was simply abducted and then dumped off at a gas station, where she was able to call for help. Bernetta, the girls' mother, began looking around the apartment complex for eight-year old Kia. An eight-year-old girl that lived in this community was out playing with her sister and a friend on their apartment complex's basketball court. Police recovered six shell casings and spoke with witnesses who heard the shooting, but didnt see the car the shooter drove by in, according to a report. Renee arrived home approximately 15 to 20 minutes later and it was discovered that Kia had not returned. This Is The Number One Unsolved Mystery In South Carolina And It Will Leave You Baffled. Police spoke with about 20 people in the area, but few had anything to report. Crime in Greenwood, South Carolina (SC): murders, rapes, robberies, assaults, burglaries, thefts, auto thefts, arson, law enforcement employees, police officers, crime map All Cities South Carolina, South Carolina smaller cities, South Carolina small towns Greenwood main page US Crime Crime rate in Greenwood, South Carolina (SC) Greenwood's law enforcement now working 4 unsolved homicides, By DAMIAN DOMINGUEZ You can not have good without a bad. Malakia Kia Zali Logan was born on August 1, 1979 to parents Richard and Bernetta Logan. Other paranormal phenomena are also regularly reported here. However, no evidence has been found to link him to Dail's case and interviews with him have been sadly uninformative. On Sunday, July 17, 1966, a brutal triple murder took three lives in Henderson County, N.C. To this day, after-effects from the grisly slayings of Vernon Shipman, Charles Glass and Louise Davis. Detectives will re-interview witnesses and relatives of victims to try and find any new leads. A Mother and Son Are Found Murdered, Deepening a Mystery in South Carolina. ", Newberry County Sheriff Lee Foster also shared his thoughts, referring to the active state of the investigation or rather, the lack of one: "I can't think of anything worse than losing a child to an act of violence, then on top of that losing a child which you really don't know what happened.". He included details, some of which convinced police that he had involvement, but others they viewed skeptically. I'm going down today and make my donation and I challenge you, be you a parent, citizen or business, if you're really concerned about what happens to the children of the Greenwood Community, go down to any office of the County Bank and make your donation. Dennis Beauford, the deputy who had originally responded, was a Sergeant at this point in time for the Greenwood County Sheriff's Office. He died later at the hospital. When her sister, Renee, went home approximately twenty to thirty minutes later, she was surprised to find out that Kia had not yet returned. 6 Infamous Bone Chilling Unsolved Mysteries In South CarolinaThank for watching! Link said Maj. Hugh Butler, who oversees the detectives division, said officers are making progress with the evidence they have, but there is no new information detectives can release right now. They had no evidence that he had actually committed the crime, but they had his confession on-record, and at the very least, he had lied to investigators and caused them to waste valuable time by pursuing him as the suspect. That's really bad for the family. Police were later able to link him to a farm, which was owned by a friend. All six victims had a similar look and profile, with all living close to the highway, and they were all sexually assaulted before being abandoned in a public area, bar one, who was not assaulted and later dropped off at a gas station, where she called for help. 5C Albert Adams, known as "New York" in the Greenline community, was shot and killed on the front porch of his apartment. Missing Persons my Neighborhood alarm registration File a report The Newberry County Sheriff's Office, along with other law enforcement and volunteer agencies, conducted searches in the area where the skull had been found. But Mr. Murdaugh, part of a prominent family of South Carolina lawyers, has denied any involvement in the unsolved killings . Given the case theyd put together, they were prepared to pursue the death penalty. South Carolina's unsolved mysteries Greenville, SC 29601 62 Light Rain 90% MORE No Alerts & Closings in Your Area Sign Up to Get Future Alerts 1 / 2 Advertisement TOP PICKS South. Get more stories delivered right to your email. He had been talking with someone on a moped when a dark car came up, and two people opened fire from within. He admitted to committing three child abductions in northern Georgia and confessed to having killed a child at an out-of-state farm. The authorities are opening a new investigation into an unsolved 2015 death as a result of information gleaned after two . However, it wasn't until 2002 that prosecutors began firing off the big guns at Hampton. The physical search didn't produce any leads or clues. Friends were celebrating the warm weather by swimming in the apartment pools, kids were playing outside among others their age, and families were barbecuing and picnicking in the community areas. His hair was dark blonde, which could vary anywhere between blonde and dark brown. He'll be back on the street. In each crime, the suspect was described as a middle-aged white man, with some kind of gray stubble on his face and a pockmarked complexion, as well as a unique tattoo on a bicep - which some of the young victims called a "dragon," and others a "snake.". That's all we've got. Numerous people called in potential sightings of Kia or of people who may know something about the case. The charges against Hampton was dropped due to lack of evidence. I feel confident such an impressive reward, with the proper publicity, will help the authorities solve this mystery AND our community may well have made the solution possible. Sending it off for testing, they had to hope that they could uncover any evidence that could help lead them to the culprit. "As a result of interviews we are now looking for two men and two vehicles. James and Margaret Barnes walked into the bank together just after 1 p.m. and at 1:30 p.m. the panic button had been pushed. Advertisement Investigators with the Greenwood Police. Anyone with information on any of Greenwood's homicides is asked to call law enforcement at 911, or police detectives at 864-942-8407. In his vehicle, police found many out-of-place items: things such as clothing, toilet paper, the marriage certificate of him and his ex-wife, etc. He had green eyes, with brown hair, a brown mustache, and a few days' worth of graying stubble at the time of his arrest in 1996. Soon, the one-year anniversary of Kia's disappearance had come-and-gone. Local businesses continued by making donations to the fund. "Reading his statement, you'd think that only the person who did that would know those details. He was more than willing to continue talking, even answering questions about his prior sexual assault conviction from 1981. There were approximately 17,721 homicides in South Carolina between 1980 and 2019, according to the Project: Cold Case website for unsolved homicide statistics. When officers arrived, they found two men with gunshot wounds. One person said they saw a man running from the area between two of the apartment complexs buildings.