You can also contact the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division at (803) 737-9000. He said its unlikely that no one saw the shooter, but rather that witnesses dont feel comfortable sharing what they saw. cityofgreenwoodsc.com/departments/police/submit-an-anonymous-tip. Your e-mail address will be used to confirm your account. Three other people were shot that day and taken to the hospital by others, but many in the crowd said they saw nothing and police couldnt confirm the nature of the shooting. Kia was dead. Calling them cold cases implies they're no longer active, but Chaudoin. When her sister, Renee, went home approximately twenty to thirty minutes later, she was surprised to find out that Kia had not yet returned. Calling them cold cases implies theyre no longer active, but Chaudoin said the unsolved homicides in Greenwoods city limits since 2001 are still top of mind for him. 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. (LogOut/ He openly confessed to committing several of the child abductions, providing explicit details of the subsequent sexual assaults. 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. When does she have the time, you ask? They did, however, share a similar suspect description of a middle-aged white man with grey stubble, a pockmarked complexion and a tattoo of either a dragon or a snake on one of his biceps. The families and friends of those slain deserve answers, and Chaudoin said he asks investigators to revisit these open cases every now and then. About two weeks earlier, Cody Hawkins was shot in an apparent drive-by shooting May 19 on Pearl Street, close to Osborne Avenue. Despite their efforts, no evidence was found. Hampton would plead guilty to his original felony Peeping Tom charge, meaning that he would be spending the next five years in state prison. But, rather, because he has said some very damning things about himself and committed some criminal acts, none of which would paint him as a flattering neighbor. 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.". He described not only his sex life - which included sex with both genders - but his prior criminal history. Homicides dont get closed. I criticize us for not raising such an uproar it would be heard across this nation .. Let's send the message forth: "Greenwood County folks get right upset when one of their children is criminally abused. Invalid password or account does not exist. Change). This not being enough, the skull would later be sent to an FBI lab in 1998. Tipsters can also reach out on Facebook, or submit a tip anonymously online at bit.ly/3zN6rM2. They were just a few hundred or so yards from their apartment, where the sisters lived with their mother, a middle school teacher. In an idling SUV, Sherwin Gittens was found dead by police. Greenwood city's six unsolved homicides stay a police priority, By DAMIAN DOMINGUEZ ddominguez@indexjournal.com. This was in 1996, where he plead guilty to having drilled a hole into a womens restroom at a Georgia rest stop and was sentenced to five years. "Maybe he did it, maybe he didn't. Higher means more crime, U.S. average is 254.8. However, because of its size, they were able to determine that the victim had been thirteen years of age or younger. Winds light and variable.. A clear sky. Needless to say, Charles Hampton was now on their radar. She then contacted Lori's daughter and found that she hadn't heard from Lori since 1992. 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.". Coffee is her best friend and a good book cannot be beat! We dont close out these cases because theyre so important.. The City-Data.com crime index weighs serious crimes and violent crimes more heavily. 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. Coroner IDs man killed in Greenwood shooting, Greenwood police identify suspect in Taggart Avenue slaying, Father of firsts: Man's life is a walk through Black history in Greenwood, Greenwood man gets 23-year sentence in death of 18-month-old, Calhoun Falls man faces federal drug count, PTC Foundation lacing up sneakers for Spring Forward 5K, Pi Day Lecture at the Arts Center of Greenwood, EAA and AMA sponsors Build and Fly project. They are asking local law enforcement to. On June 22nd, 2007 - a Friday - the charges against Charles Wade Hampton were suddenly dropped. There were witnesses that say they saw a white male whose face was pockmarked driving an older model, dark, Monte Carlo, but none of them ever saw Malakia with him or any other suspicious activity. If you know any information about this crime, you can contact the Greenwood County Sheriff's Department at (864) 942-8600. Unfortunately, this didn't seem remiss and then in 2007, her mother passed away and that is where the story begins. The best hidden gems and little known destinations - straight to your inbox. Missing Persons my Neighborhood alarm registration File a report 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. On October 1, 1990, a deer hunter was walking along a pasture in a wooded area on US Forest Service Property in Newberry County, South Carolina. He was described as white, between the ages of 35 and 40, 58 to 59 tall and 250 pounds. Cold cases and unsolved crimes in Greenwood, SC. ddominguez@indexjournal.com. When the police finally arrived they found all three of the victims in a utility room in the back of the bank. Detectives will re-interview witnesses and relatives of victims to try and find any new leads. While some descriptions of this suspect varied - such as at least one of the girls calling the suspect "fat in his tummy" and the perpetrator's hair color varying - these details were all universally agreed upon. She didn't want to miss any potential calls from Kia. Anyone with information on any of Greenwood's homicides is asked to call law enforcement at 911, or police detectives at 864-942-8407. Three years later, in 1996, Newberry County investigators asked a private genetics lab in North Carolina to perform mitochondrial DNA testing, using DNA obtained from Kias parents, which suggested the skull did, in fact, belong to Kia, a fact that was confirmed upon the skull being sent to the FBI lab in Washington in 1998. An unsolved murder. When it was discovered by her parents that she was gone there was no trace to follow. Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password. It has been over a decade since there was any news or developments in the investigation, with it seeming to entering the pantheon of cold cases which will likely never be truly solved. Learn how your comment data is processed. Gunshots were heard on Pearl Street near Osborne Avenue. By September 15th, Kia had been missing for four months. Dispatchers told police several men were seen running behind a residence on Sumter street and dropping guns off. Within the year, the Malakia Z. Logan Reward Fund had topped $20,000, for any information that would lead to answers for the missing eight-year old. Unless new evidence emerges, our participation is over.". They had suspended the searches on Tuesday afternoon, after finding nothing in the two days out there. It happened around 9:15 p.m. at a home. On May 16, 1988, approximately 75 people, including citizen volunteers, conducted another search of the area around the apartment complex, aided by helicopters provided by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, also known as SLED. At the scene, people were scrambling into cars and driving off, including someone driving Hawkins to the hospital for treatment. This would come up later in the story, so please keep that in-mind. 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. James Paul Freund (September 16, 1946 - August 9, 1976) and Pamela Mae Buckley (December 16, 1951 - August 9, 1976), commonly known as the Sumter County Does, Jock Doe and Jane Doe respectively, [5] were two previously unidentified American murder victims found in Sumter County, South Carolina on August 9, 1976. Peace stated that Hampton had falsely confessed to "one, maybe two murders in Georgia and one in Columbia. It all pointed to a very confusing puzzle, which police didn't know how to make sense of. The felony, which carried a potential ten year sentence, was handed down shortly after his plea. Video from the area showed a car with someone hanging out of the back passenger window and firing. 24 Cause of Death. You see, in 1981, he had been arrested and convicted for the rape of a sixteen-year old, telling interrogators that his seminal fluid had been used to convict him. 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. 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. Her father was the mayor of Saluda, a small town in South Carolina, and her mother was a teacher at a local middle school. "We're looking for a medium blue utility-type van with dark tinted windows. The investigation to find her had still gone nowhere truly productive, with police beginning to expand their search out of the area according to some in the police department, even out of the state. There were approximately 17,721 homicides in South Carolina between 1980 and 2019, according to the Project: Cold Case website for unsolved homicide statistics. That was when police announced that they were looking for two men, who had been seen in the vicinity of the Georgetown apartment complex late Sunday afternoon. One of the most intriguing and promising leads in this investigation came on that Wednesday night, May 18th, when a composite sketch of a potential suspect was aired on the evening news. Dennis Beauford, one of the first deputies to arrive at the scene, stated: "It was a pretty Sunday afternoon. In the weeks after, she would find it difficult to leave the telephone unattended, in case she missed a call from someone related to the case. "It's definitely changed the lifestyle here. Not only were Georgia and South Carolina preparing cases against him, but North Carolina and Florida were investigating him for similar child abductions and sexual assaults in their states. Numerous people called in potential sightings of Kia or of people who may know something about the case. To this day, the case remains open and unsolved. Upon being let out of prison, he was immediately re-arrested for the 1995 abduction and rape of a 7-year-old victim from Richland County, South Carolina. The Disappearance of Nguyet Thu Wiki Phung, Case Update: Brittanee Drexels Remains Discovered After 13 Years, SuspectCharged, The Disappearances of Tina & BethanySinclair. There are just no leads or evidence to go on even though the police push every avenue they come across. 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. On this Sunday afternoon, in the middle of May, all seemed to be well. OnlyInYourState may earn compensation through affiliate links in this article. Little else could be determined of the victim or how they had died, as the skull showed no signs of obvious trauma or any bullet holes. All of these cases are still open and being investigated when or if leads become available. It was not long until 52-year-old Charles Wade Hampton, a maintenance worker at the Hard Labor Creek State Park rest stop in Georgia and a former employee of the Department of Transportation, came onto police radar. Discuss Greenwood, South Carolina (SC) on our hugely popular South Carolina forum. While they were not considered suspects, investigators did want to question them. Who was the man who found them? Her father, Richard Logan, was the mayor of a small South Carolina town named Saluda. Somewhere out there is someone who knows something about each one of these mysteries and it is up to us to not let them grow cold. GREENWOOD, S.C. Cody Hawkins, 24, was shot and killed May 19 about 2:50 a.m. But Mr. Murdaugh, part of a prominent family of South Carolina lawyers, has denied any involvement in the unsolved killings . 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. Create a password that only you will remember. If they wanted to try him for any of those crimes, they needed a more definitive smoking gun. I am not criticizing the authorities, who are working hard to solve the case. 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. As an adult, he stood about five-feet-eight-inches tall, weighing it at only 132 pounds. Police found him sitting on steps beside the sidewalk, bleeding from his head; an officer couldnt find his pulse. We won't share it with anyone else. Theyre experiencing the most horrific thing thats probably ever happened to them in their life, Chaudoin said. Prosecutors, once-confident that the case against him was looking rock-solid, were now worried about not having enough evidence against him. The physical search didn't produce any leads or clues. 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. It is what life is made of. She hopped on her bike and began riding back to her mother's apartment - a distance no greater than three-hundred yards. The authorities are opening a new investigation into an unsolved 2015 death as a result of information gleaned after two . It was August 9, 1976, on a deserted road in Sumter County, SC, when a trucker happened upon the scene of the murders. The DNA testing from the six sexual assaults linked them together, indicating that a single suspect was behind each of the crimes - however, none of those samples matched up with Hampton himself. While in a Georgia prison, investigators in North Carolina and Florida were looking at Hamptons potential involvement in similar abductions and assaults in their states, as the abductions stopped as soon as he was locked up. It took police a while to line up the suspect description because the vehicles in-question varied based on each witness: two described the vehicle they had been abducted in as a champagne-gold Mazda, while others pointed out either a white Toyota Corolla or a white Chevy Celebrity. Police and prosecutors seemed certain at the time of this indictment - November 6th, 2002 - that Charles Hampton was responsible for the abduction and murder of Malakia Zali Logan. Anyone with information on those cases is urged to call law enforcement. But, let a Carolina or a Clemson sports event take the forefront and emotions bubble over throughout the community. Soon, children began playing outside of the Georgetown apartments once again, Kia's disappearance becoming an outlier to a safe community. Sam Riley, who had been a Major in the Greenwood County Sheriff's Office, had recently been elected Sheriff. The responding deputy ended up spending the night on the Logan familys couch, in case someone called with a ransom or if Kia herself somehow managed to communicate with them.