Disclaimer: This article contains mentions of murder and assault. Reader discretion is advised.
Todd Kohlhepp is a convicted South Carolina serial killer who has allegedly killed more than seven victims over a decade as he ran a real estate business. According to CBS News, Kohlhepp is currently serving seven consecutive life sentences without parole in Columbia’s Broad River Correctional Facility.
As per the report, Kohlhepp’s crimes first surfaced in 2016 when police rescued a woman from a storage container. She was reportedly chained at the neck. The rescued woman then told investigators that she witnessed Kohlhepp shoot and kill her 32-year-old boyfriend. The two were on Kohlhepp’s property in rural Spartanburg County for a cleaning job.
Authorities arrested Todd Kohlhepp in November 2016. On his property, they found three bodies buried in shallow graves, per USA Today. Kohlhepp also confessed to shooting and killing four people in the Superbike motorcycle shop in Chesnee in November 2003, reported ABC News. These victims include the shop owner, a service manager, a mechanic, and a bookkeeper.
What was Todd Kohlhepp convicted of?
CBS News reported that Todd Kohlhepp had previously served time in prison before moving to South Carolina in 2001. He was in prison for 14 years after pleading guilty to kidnapping in Tempe, Arizona. Authorities said that Kohlhepp, then 15, had forced a 14-year-old neighbor back to his home at gunpoint, tied her up, and sexually assaulted her in 1987. Kohlhepp had pleaded guilty to kidnapping and was named on the sex offender registry.
Arizona criminal defense attorney Allen Bickart told People Magazine, “He [Kohlhepp] was a very troubled, very vicious kid.” Bickert represented the convicted serial killer back in 1987. The defense attorney further said, “[Kohlhepp] had some very, very, very serious issues. He was off the edge” and “took responsibility for what he did.” However, “He didn’t qualify for the state hospital because he didn’t show all the symptoms of being a complete whacko.”
Following his arrest in 2016, Todd Kohlhepp reached a plea deal with South Carolina prosecutors. As part of the deal, Kohlhepp pleaded guilty to 14 charges, including seven counts of murder, per ABC News. In exchange, prosecutors agreed not to seek the death penalty. He received seven consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole.
Where is Todd Kohlhepp now?
According to several sources, such as CBS News and Grunge, Todd Kohlhepp is now serving seven consecutive life terms in Broad River Correctional Facility in Columbia, South Carolina. However, in 2018, the convicted serial killer wrote an eight-page letter to the Herald-Journal of Spartanburg, acknowledging that he has more victims who have not been discovered.
The aforementioned ABC News report stated that Kohlhepp wrote in the letter he tried to tell investigators and the FBI, but “it was blown off.” He wrote, “Yes there is more than seven. I tried to tell investigators and I did tell the FBI, but it was blown off. It’s not an addition problem, it’s a multiplication problem. Leaves the state and leaves the country. Thank you private pilot’s license.”
CBS’ August 2018 report mentioned that Kohlhepp told investigators two people are buried near Interstate 26 in Spartanburg County. According to USA Today, Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright claimed that nothing was found during a search. He also said that they are unsure who the supposed additional victims are or exactly where they are. Kohlhepp reportedly offered specifics on signs and locations. The serial killer also gave a timeline, stating that these unfounded killings occurred in or around 2003.
The crimes of serial killer Todd Kohlhepp have been revisited in an episode of Inside the Mind of a Serial Killer. Other true crime shows that have covered the killings include World’s Most Evil Killers and the TV mini-series Serial Killer: Devil Unchained.
