The Disturbing Case of the Amazon Review Killer

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He already did it

👍︎︎ 1 👤︎︎ u/TrumpsPissSoakedWig 📅︎︎ Sep 02 2021 🗫︎ replies

A very good suggestion

👍︎︎ 1 👤︎︎ u/Single-Pin4768 📅︎︎ Sep 02 2021 🗫︎ replies
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- All right, this is where we're at, Mr. Kohlhepp. While we were here, all right, my sergeant served a search warrant on your property. - Okay. - Okay. We have Kala. - Excuse me? - We have Kala, in your property. She was locked in a container, okay. She has told us that you shot and killed Charlie, okay. So at this time, I'm gonna need you to stand up and put your hands behind your back. - [Man] He's already handcuffed. - [Man] He's already cuffed. - Okay. You're under arrest right now for kidnapping. - [Host] What's up, EWU Crew. It's the Ravon, here to share another shocking, interesting, or just strange, but very true story with you. This is Todd Kohlhepp. Between 2003 and 2016, he murdered at least seven people in South Carolina, and his story is one of the most bizarre I've ever heard. What you're seeing is Todd's taped confession, and less than a minute in, he says this: - I'm thinking it's kind of funny. - What? - At the end of all this-- - Right. - You tell us, let me get back with my mom. - Right. - And I'm helping you solve the problem that just cleans the books up, that-- - [Host] You see, Todd agreed to tell the truth about his crimes in exchange for a few things. First, he wanted to talk to his mother and give her a photograph. And second, he wanted to transfer money to the college fund of a friend's child. - There's probably not a lot we're gonna be able to do for you. - I know. - Giving you a clear conscience is one of the only things we can-- - Honestly, I'm not worried about conscience. You gave me what I wanted. What I wanted was to be, have the opportunity to take care of my mom, whether my girlfriend accepts it or not, to at least attempt to take care of her and her kid. Do you understand-- - Do you still want me to reach out and talk to, I have not yet, but do you still want me to reach out and talk her to see if she wants to come see you or talk to you? - If she would, please. - Okay, I will. - The biggest thing is please let her know that whether, I screwed up, I can't fix it. - Mm-hmm (affirmative). - [Host] You'll notice he seems pretty friendly and gregarious on the outside, and the more I learned about this case, the more I realized that's kind of his whole persona. You see, if there was one word that I could use to describe Todd, it's cocky. He likes getting his way and receiving praise for his actions. In fact, many people theorize that the only victim who managed to escape Todd with her life realized this very personality trait and used it to stay alive until help could arrive. Her name is Kala Brown. On August 31st, 2016, 30-year-old Kala and her 32-year-old boyfriend, Charles David Carver, went missing. They just decided to move in together after a few months of dating, and in order to start building their new life together, the pair was looking to pick up some extra work on the side. Kala goes, "Oh, I know the perfect job. "There's this guy, a real estate broker, "who I met through one of my exes a few years back. "I'm sure he'll have something for me." And he did. Todd was a very successful man in the area, after all, and he put Kala to work cleaning houses for his listings. She was stoked to have the additional income and the deal only got sweeter when Todd said he had a job that both she and Charles could take on together. This time, it was clearing brush at his own 95-acre property, which was only about eight miles away from his actual residence. When Kala and Charles arrived, Todd simply instructed them to wait outside while he went into a garage on the grounds to get something. As they stood alone in the creeping silence, neither one had any idea that these few quiet moments out in the middle of nowhere, were the last they'd ever spend together. Over the next few days, the couple's loved ones started to grow concerned. Kala's friend knew something was off when all her calls and texts went unanswered. But even when she visited Kala's home and left notes on her car, there was no response. Charles was very close with his mother and they talked every day, so when she stopped hearing from him after August 31st, she quickly reported him missing. Soon enough, the couple's apartment was checked, and although they were nowhere to be seen, their poor dog was inside all alone without any food or water. This just wasn't like Kala or Charles. Something was seriously wrong. But even when the two were reported missing, there was virtually no trace of where they could have vanished. And then something really weird happened. Charles posted on Facebook. That's right. All of a sudden, just like nothing had even happened, Charles was back on social media with posts informing his friends that he and Kala were expecting a child, that they had bought a house together, and that they were now married. He apparently also shared out-of-character posts about digging holes, sword violence, for some bizarre reason, and chillingly, the final lyrics to The Eagles' song "Hotel California," which finishes: "You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave." He shared strange posts like, "I wonder if I said hello, "how many people would say it back? "Let's try it. "Hello!" "What color ribbon supports the cure for people "who can't keep their nose out of other people's business?" And, "Sometimes, late at night, I dig a hole in the backyard "to keep my nosy neighbors guessing." These all seemed to be aimed towards deliberately provoking Charles' friends, and on this last post, people commented: "Is that what you did to Kala and the real Charlie?" And, "Are you hinting at what you did with them?" To make things even weirder, Charles' account was sharing and liking the missing persons pages set up by the couple's families, even promoting a fundraiser that hoped to hire a private investigator to look into the disappearances. None of this sat right with, well, anyone. The grammatically incorrect and mean-spirited posts didn't sound like Charles at all, not to mention the real Charles was barely ever active on Facebook before all these sudden posts. The account, at one point, even posted an old picture of the couple captioned, "We are fine," which was soon deleted. On October 1st, a concerned friend commented, "Where the hell is Kala Brown?" to which Charles' account responded, "Kala is with her husband, Charlie." "Why can't she have any contact with us?" And "Who is this?" "She doesn't want to." "I don't believe that. "I know Kala. "She's not going to just run away from everyone. "You or her should at least let someone know she's alive." "The people that need to know that we are okay, know that." If you look at the timestamps on these comments, they're only minutes apart. Whoever was replying wasn't even taking the time to carefully think out these cryptic responses. One friend shared that they were sent a disturbing message from the account, reading, "I'm just missing to everyone else. "We are both okay. "There's only one person that knows where we are... "The person that means the most to me and Kala. "She knows where we are and we are coming that way forever." Well, as you can probably guess, this wasn't Charles using his account at all. It was Todd trying to throw people off his trail, buy himself some time, or maybe, just maybe, he was doing this purely for the fun of it, like a little performance he got to put on. And the further we dive into his life, the more you'll see that Todd definitely cares a lot about having all the attention on him. But now, let's go back to what really happened that last day of August, when Charles and Kala showed up on the property. After going inside, Todd had suddenly re-emerged from the door, but the friendly facade that he was known for in town had completely drained. Now, he was dead serious, and as Kala and Charles looked down, their hearts sank at the realization that he was holding a gun. Before they even had time to process what was happening, scream for help or run, Kala says that three bullets were fired right into Charles' chest. Kala's whole world screeched to a halt and she could do nothing but watch. She knew in this moment she was trapped, all alone on the expansive property of an unpredictable killer, one who absolutely nobody in town would ever suspect to be hiding such a horrible secret. She was utterly silent and still from shock as Todd grabbed her, placed her in handcuffs, and then led her inside of a dark metal shipping container. This would become her prison. She was chained by the neck, ankles and hands, and would spend all day inside the box, except for 1 to 3 p.m., and 5 to 7 p.m. At those times each day, like clockwork, Todd would come retrieve her, bring her inside of a two-story garage on the property, and force her to perform (bleep) acts. She would be fed, allowed to use the bathroom once, and given a small container of water to clean herself. She looked for any opportunities to escape, but they never came. For Kala, time was running out. This was the hell she lived in while authorities were trying to piece together the puzzle of where she and Charles had disappeared to. All the while, Todd's posts on his own Facebook account were getting weirder and weirder, and looking back, his strange and cynical words are very telling. He had some generally questionable posts, like this one from September 15th, two weeks after Kala and Charlie went missing: "Reading the news... This person is missing, "that person is missing, another person is missing. "Oh, wait, that person just went to the beach with a friend. "Another person found with her parole violation boyfriend. "In the event I become missing, "please note, no one would take me. "I eat too much and I'm crabby. "They would just bring me back." On September 26th, he once again took to Facebook to rant: "In my family, you get backhanded "for talking back or being disrespectful. "Wonder what the punishment would have been "if I had looted, burned cop cars and threw stuff at people. "When I messed up, mom beat my ass, "stepfather beat my ass when he got home. "Next time I went to my grandparents, I got my ass beat. "You just didn't act up. "These kids and adults just don't know. "Damned shame, too. "They might learn to appreciate if they did." Needless to say, the hypocrisy of this post is pretty ironic, considering all the horrible things Todd's done in his life. On September 30th, he posted: "Just admit it. "You look at the news, you see the political crap "and the school shootings and just general WTH is going on. "Zombie apocalypse is starting to look "better and better every day." On November 3rd, he shared a post that really shows just how quick his fuse was, how he viewed almost every interaction through an angry lens, and really how much he loathed others, or maybe just felt better than everyone else. "We need Ebola to come as a huge snow storm, "wipe out half the population, then melt away. "Just tired of entitlement, rude ass people for no reason, "people who race to cut in front of you "to slam on the brakes to make right turns. "And that mother that stands in the aisle "at the grocery store, and dude, you know who you are, "that blocks the aisle, checking out the microbrews "and blocking everyone on their way to their Michelob. "(Bleep) move." Notice how incredibly furious Todd gets when he feels that he's been personally slighted by random strangers. Remember this, because it will become extremely important later on. But despite Todd's obvious temper online, nobody would have expected in a million years what skeletons he had tucked away in his closet. It wasn't until authorities got a search warrant to access Kala's Facebook account that the picture would come together all at once. Investigators began searching the online profile for clues, and that's when they saw conversations between Kala and Charlie about the job on Todd's property on August 31st. Now police knew what they were doing on that crucial last day, and when they went to trace the pair's phones, their worst fears were confirmed. Neither Kala nor Charles had ever left the area of Todd's property. Police now knew exactly what they had to do, but not one person was fully prepared for what they might find. At about 8 a.m. on November 3rd, one group of investigators went to Todd's house where they spoke for a while with the man, both sides remaining a bit guarded, unsure what the other side was hiding. As Todd was questioned about what he knew concerning the missing couple, Kala and Charlie, he didn't know that another team of investigators was simultaneously arriving at his 95-acre property a few miles away, to scour it for evidence. However, at this time, the authorities who were with him did reveal to Todd that they knew the cell phones of the missing persons had last pinged on his property. Todd responded: "You're trying to find the girl." The detective corrected him that they were looking for both her and her boyfriend. Guess Todd slipped up there, as he was the only one who knew Charlie was already gone. Meanwhile, not long after arriving on Todd's expansive rural land, the other team of deputies drove down his long gravel road and came upon the two-story garage. When they went inside, they were immediately concerned to see that the makeshift living space was adorned by shackles. But then they came upon the thing that fully stopped them in their tracks. In the bathroom, inside of a lone wastebasket, was a pile of hair clippings, reddish-brown in color. They warily headed back outside to continue the search, but as the investigators came across Todd's looming shipping container and went to take a closer look, they were suddenly chilled to the bone by a strange noise. Someone was banging on the walls from the inside and they were screaming desperately for help. In that moment, the whole atmosphere changed. Deputies rushed to open the doors, but the container was tightly sealed shut by five heavy padlocks. This unforgettable video captured the few tense minutes where everyone held their breath as a few men cut and pry open the locks, and then finally, they were in. (men mumbling) (police radio chatter) - [Man] Watch out. Y'all move. (men shouting) - [Host] The dark box was littered with supplies and crime novels, and in the very back, chained to the wall by her neck, sat a despondent Kala, on top of the dog bed she'd been made to sleep on for the past two months, barely able to move as her restraints had forced her to stay sitting up almost all the time during her captivity. The investigators try their best to console Kala as they get bolt cutters to set her free. - [Man] Just a girl, just a girl. How are you, honey? - [Man] This is bolt cutters. - [Man] This is our best here, he's a paramedic, sweetheart. Okay, we're gonna get you out of there, okay. Just hang loose for me. - [Man] Anybody got-- I need a handcuff key, handcuff key. - [Man] I don't have one here-- - [Man] Got one right here. - [Man] Hold up. Y'all slide back. - [Man] Hold on. - [Man] He's got a light. - [Man] We gotta let him get pictures. - [Man] Brandon, let me see the light, Brandon. - [Man] You can put your hands down, sweetheart. You're okay, we're here, okay. - [Host] But despite the extended trauma Kala had just endured, her immediate response to being rescued was clear, coherent, and calmer than anyone could have expected. Her strength in this footage is beyond admirable. - [Man] Do you know where your buddy is? - Charlie? - [Man] Yes. - He shot him. - [Man] He shot him? - [Man] Who did? - Todd Kohlhepp shot Charlie Carver three times in the chest, wrapped him in a blue tarp, put him in the bucket of the tractor, locked me down here and I never seen him again. - [Man] Okay. - He says he's dead and buried, he says there's several bodies dead and buried out here and he says that the dogs would be ruined if they go looking because there's red pepper. - [Man] We're gonna step you out, sweetheart. They're looking because there's what? - Red pepper. - [Man] Okay. - [Man] Tell the dog people that. (men mumbling) - [Kala] He says there's red pepper everywhere, around the car and supposedly a ravine, (indistinct) land. - [Man] Okay. - [Host] The investigators at Todd's house were alerted of the shocking discovery and they quickly confronted Kohlhepp, letting him know the jig was up. They had Kala, and there was no weaseling his way out of it now. - All right, this is where we're at, Mr. Kohlhepp. While we were here, all right, my Sergeant served a search warrant on your property. - Okay. - Okay. We have Kala. - Excuse me? - [Man] We have Kala, in your property. She was locked in a container, okay. - Okay. - She just told us that you shot and killed Charlie, okay. So at this time, I'm gonna need you to stand up and put your hands behind your back. - [Man] He's already handcuffed. - [Man] He's already cuffed. - Okay. You're under arrest right now for kidnapping. - Kidnapping? - All right. They're, they need to search your property. They're gonna continue, they got cadaver dogs down there. - Okay. - Okay. If you want to help yourself, tell me where Charlie's at so we can go find his body. - Okay. - That's pretty much where we're at right now. - Okay. - [Man] Do you want to help yourself and tell me where the body's at so we can go recover Charlie's body? - No, sir. - [Man] You don't want to? - No, sir. - [Man] Okay. - Why'd you shoot him? - I didn't shoot anybody, sir. - Okay, why'd you lock her in a container in your property? - I don't know what you're talking about. - She's on your property right now, locked in a container. They just got her out of a, like a, they called it a-- - [Man] Shipping container. - [Man] CONEX box. - CONEX box. She was locked in a container in a CONEX box. They got her. We are, we have investigators, we have like 20 investigators on your property right now. - Okay. - And they have found her in the CONEX box. So she never left your property. - Okay. - Okay, you locked her in the CONEX box and she has told investigators that you shot and killed Charlie. Okay, so I'm trying to give you an opportunity to help yourself and help us, help you, find this body, because Charlie, she's saying Charlie's body, you'd buried Charlie's body on that property. - No, sir. - So you're saying you didn't lock her up, you didn't put her in the CONEX box or anything? - No, sir. I wanting an attorney. - Probably a good thing. Go ahead and put him in the back of your car. - [Man] Yes, sir. - [Host] Watching this clip, Todd seems almost frozen by disbelief, like he never thought he'd actually get caught. Authorities soon discovered Charlie's car also on the property, which Todd had spray-painted and covered in debris in order to conceal it. It's kind of weird to me that Todd seems to consider himself a criminal mastermind, and thought out all these ways to keep his dirty deeds secret, but he didn't even seem to consider the possibility that authorities could ping the victim's phones and find him that way. One sergeant would later say that he feels Todd wanted to get caught so he could have an audience and tell people about his awful crimes. I might have to agree. As she rode in the ambulance, Kala would reveal more heartbreaking details of her time trapped with Todd. One of the things I found most disgusting was the harrowing way she described the (bleep) assaults. - Most of the time, I'd do whatever, whatever, he wanted s****lly, again. If I refused to do anything he wanted... If I said no, he didn't force himself on me because he said he didn't believe in r**e, but he made it very well known why I was there, and if I wasn't useful, then I wouldn't need to be kept any longer, and then he would shoot me. - [Host] This is seriously one of the most evil things I could ever imagine. Not only did he do unspeakable things to her without her consent, but it seems like he somehow managed to convince himself that this was not assault, probably in order to feel less guilty and pathetic, and, in turn, make Kala feel even more worthless. Simply unbelievable. And it just goes to show, once again, the mental gymnastics a narcissistic person like Todd would do to believe that his victim genuinely wants to be intimate with him, even though he's literally putting Kala's life on the line if she doesn't comply. He apparently also told her that Stockholm syndrome would kick in and she'd be happy with him, and that he'd planned to build a soundproof room for her to live in long-term. Kala also revealed that Todd liked to brag that he was a serial killer and a mass murderer, and that his dream was to get his body count in the three digits, since it was supposedly only in the high two digits so far. Just listen to these bizarre claims that Todd allegedly boasted about to Kala. - He said if I was a good girl, he'd teach me how to kill, and I'd get to be his partner. He said he used to kill people for the government. He said he was a paramilitary contractor. That when he got home, he just couldn't keep from seeing the bad in everybody. - [Host] I really don't know where the whole killing people for the government thing comes from, but I'd guess it was just a fabrication Todd made up just for the sake of attention. So this was the big case that finally put Todd Kohlhepp behind bars, but as authorities continued speaking with him, they would discover that the rabbit hole of Todd's life was far deeper and darker, and more evil, than they could have ever imagined. First of all, shortly after being taken into custody, Todd would lead police to a site on his property where two more corpses were found. Authorities were shocked to unearth Johnny Coxie and his wife, Meagan McCraw-Coxie, a young couple who had been missing since December 2015. Autopsies revealed that Meagan died from a gunshot wound to the head, while her husband received a fatal wound to the torso. To make matters even worse, while it was determined that Johnny had been killed immediately, Meagan had been kept alive for six days before Todd brutally murdered her on Christmas. Upon further research, it appears Meagan and Johnny had just been released from jail shortly before they went missing, and with various sources reporting that they had a history of panhandling and that their baby tested positive for heroin, you kind of get the feeling that Todd specifically preyed upon people he knew were at a bad place in life and particularly vulnerable. Now, Meagan and Johnny may have had problems of their own, but of course, when Todd told the story of how they died, he framed it in a way that made him look like the good guy in the situation. Well, sort of. Todd gave investigators this play-by-play in his confession. - You picked them up at Blackstock and, you know what? You picked them up at Blackstock and? Regal Road, is what you said-- - Regal Road. - And then? - That's, well-- - Okay. Tell us from the start. - I met her there. - Okay. - Got her number. We talked on the phone for a brief moment. - Okay. - Then I met them later on at that, next to Ricky's Hot Dogs' big, huge parking lot. They walked across-- - Okay. - And spoke to me there. - Okay. - I almost thought she was gonna hit on me to actually, come on (indistinct) car, but that's not what I was there for. - I gotcha. - I'll tell you, our meeting was cheese. - I understand. I mean, I got you. She told you to show up with that? - In that parking lot? - Yeah, and her, kind of the way she was, I understand what you're talking about. - Basically offered her the job, offered to let him go in and do it with, could work as well. The next day, she was, next day, or this was over several days, the next day she was in the paper, mugshots. I guess you guys had arrested her for meth or some (bleep), I don't know, something was in her blood stream and you took her kids away. - Okay. - I asked her about it and she informed me that, yeah, she had drug issues and would that-- - Okay. - I still was gonna give them a chance. You know, I get-- Having people, it's hard. I get it. And I picked them up and I drove them to my land to get supplies. - Mm-hmm (affirmative). - And got them down to my building, and that's when Johnny pulled a knife out. - Mm-hmm (affirmative). - And... - You shot him. - I shot him. - What'd you do with his knife? - I don't know, I don't keep that kind of crap. - You just threw it out? - Yeah, I threw it out. - Okay. - I-- - When did she do when you shot Johnny? What'd she do when Johnny pulled the knife out? What'd she say? - Nothing, nothing. - So you think she was planning, in on the planning of this? - I think she entirely was in the planning of it. - Okay. - There was, there was no (bleep). - Yeah. - Johnny, what are you doing? There was none of that. This was, her actions were, she knew he was doing that. - Mm-hmm. - They saw a guy who had a (bleep) load of money driving a car they can't afford. They didn't even have a car, and they were gonna get something. - So then you shot him how many times? - Shot him twice-- - Okay. - In the chest. - Okay. - He dropped forward. When he dropped forward, I went around him and put another one through his spinal column. - Okay, and you shot her? - Not exactly. - [Host] Do you believe Todd's version of events? To me, it seems like he could have easily done the exact same thing to this couple as he did to Kala and Charles, just attack them unprovoked in order to keep the female party to himself. Even the way he tells the tale seems like an excuse to humble brag about how much money he has. After all the heartless crimes Todd has committed against innocent people, I just don't know if I can buy this, but it is true that Meagan and Johnny had a sketchy record, and it's not too unbelievable that they could have tried something. Either way, I really doubt that Todd was very upset when he got the opportunity to kill. Next, Todd goes on some random tangents about how his property and storage container was never supposed to be used for such gruesome purposes, which is just a pretty bizarre topic to ruminate on after everything he's done. - The CONEX was not meant to be a cage. - Okay. - All that chain (bleep) was after the fact. - Okay. - The CONEX was designed for my food and my weapons, and to secure my four wheeler before I had the building built. - Okay. - The back area that's all wood-- - Mm-hmm (affirmative). - That wasn't designed for them. - Mm-hmm (affirmative). - That was designed for my stuff. - Okay. - Until last week, there was no ceiling on that. - Okay. - I put that in because she was cold. Kala was cold. - [Host] And Todd just loves talking about all his stuff. - I went down to the CONEX, cleaned out the back area. - Mm-hmm (affirmative). - Because I had (bleep) behind there. - Mm-hmm (affirmative). - And at one time, those ammo racks weren't there. The ammo rack was here and here, pistol, rifle. - Okay. - And I had chain around. There's lots chain in that building. I use chain for all kinds of (bleep). There's chain in the woods where I've got trees will come alongs that are, sort of lean towards my fence, and I'll put a chain around and hook a come-along to it and start working it this way, and over a period of time, it'll fall away from the fence. - Right, okay. - So chain and cable and that kind of stuff, I got a lot of. - Mm-hmm (affirmative). - [Host] Okay, let's pause right here. Todd is obviously very proud of all his gear and he clearly has kidnapping down to a science, but before we go any further with Meagan's story, you need to see the backstory to all this equipment, and it's actually probably the most bizarre thing about this entire case. The Amazon reviews. Yep, that's right. When investigators looked into Todd's internet activity, they discovered something absolutely insane. Todd had been buying the tools for his crimes out in the open on Amazon, and he left public reviews where he described exactly what he was using them for. The crazy part is, anybody who read these creepy reviews probably laughed it off as just some dark humor. On a Master padlock review, the review read: "Solid locks. "Have five on a shipping container. "Won't stop them, but sure will slow them down "till they're too old to care." On a fixed blade: "Haven't stabbed anyone yet... yet... "but I am keeping the dream alive, and when I do, "it will be with a quality tool like this." On a Master lock: "Works great. "Also, if someone talks back, go old-school on them "by putting this in a sock and beating them. "They will not appreciate the hardened steel like you will. "Works great on," looks like he said shipping container. "Keep in car for when you have to hide the bodies "and you left the full-size shovel at home. "Does not come with a midget, which would have been nice." "Works excellent. "Getting the neighbor to stand still "while you chase him with it is hard enough "without having an easy-to-use chainsaw." "It's blacker than my soul and priced right." There was even a review that read: "Now my locks have locks. "Place is Hotel California now." Guess Todd was a big fan of that song. What would you have thought if you saw these on Amazon? Would you have been concerned or just brushed it off? Either way, all of Todd's reviews just further demonstrate how smart and funny he fancies himself as, and how much he wanted to brag about his crimes, even if he had to do it in this roundabout way. But moving forward with Todd's 2015 crime, this next clip is very disturbing and disgusting as Todd describes how he decided what to do with Meagan. It really feels like he views his victims as nothing more than objects which he can dispose of whenever it gets inconvenient for him. - I don't know what to do with her, man. One side, I really want to drop her. The next side, I really (mumbles), I kind of want to save her ass. - Let me back up real quick before we go that far, because we were talking about Johnny. - Okay. - The girl who was with Johnny, did you shoot her? - Not at that time. - Okay, what happened with her? - She panicked but then she said, I told her to sit down, she sat down. - Mm-hmm (affirmative). - Went ahead and cuffed her. - Mm-hmm (affirmative). - Patted her down. - Mm-hmm (affirmative). - Told her I wasn't gonna hurt her. - Mm-hmm (affirmative). - She calmed down-- - Mm-hmm (affirmative). - And I actually took her to the CONEX. No, that's not true. I had her lay there for awhile because I didn't know what I was gonna do with her. I didn't want her in my CONEX because I had stuff in there and didn't know what the hell to do with it. - Mm-hmm (affirmative). - Putting her in with my guns is not a good move. - I understand that. - Actually had to go... For the first time ever, I was having a little bit of a panic about what the hell do I do with her? - Mm-hmm (affirmative). - Put her here, put her there, drop her, what the hell do I do? Do I call the cops? Oh shit, I've got illegal guns. (tape scratching) I told her I wasn't going to touch her, wasn't gonna r**e her, wasn't gonna do anything to her, just calm the hell down and let me sort this (bleep) out. - Mm-hmm (affirmative). - Somewhere between when I did that, when I shot him was at the back, tight in the back, got her to calm down, and kept coming back and forth trying to figure out what to do, but I had her cuffed and she wasn't going anywhere. Eventually, I went and, once I left her on that floor for awhile. I left her on that floor, cuffed, because I didn't know what the hell to do with her. I didn't want her in the building. - Okay. - Got the tractor, got it out of there. Picked the body up and was trying to figure out what the hell to do with it. - This is Johnny's body? - Yeah. - Okay. - Like I said, I was having a little meltdown. - [Host] And listen to how much more concerned he is about losing his sanctuary than he is about murdering people. - The land was supposed to be my-- - Sanctuary. - Yeah. Not my killing field. - Right. (Todd laughing) I understand. - This is not meant to be my killing field. It was supposed to be the place where I go to relax and get away from people and not deal with this (bleep). - Mm-hmm (affirmative). - This killing really bothered me because it was such needless (bleep). Hell, I was giving them money. Why were you robbing me? - [Host] He thinks this violence was all needless and stupid. Pretty ironic considering all the people he's killed out of petty personal grudges. You'll see what I mean soon enough. It's all about what works for Todd. He goes on to nonchalantly describe burying Johnny, saying, "It was a lot more work than you think." Then, he wasn't sure what to do with Meagan. - Tied her up, left her there while I try to figure out what to, I didn't know what to do her, man. - Right. - Got rid of Johnny, came back, left her there, went and got food. Fed the girl. - You fed her after she tried to rob you? - Well, what are you gonna do with her? I don't want to shoot her. - I understand. - I mean, I can't hear some crazy bat (bleep) woman going back to, I mean, she was going bipolar electric bright. - She wouldn't calm down (indistinct). - Well, she finally calmed down, but she... She was talking to me, and first she had drug issues. - Right. - And then she kept going off the deep end with weird (bleep), and kept talking, and then she kept telling me that she had manic mode or some sort of bipolar lithium crap, I don't know what the hell it was. Where she was up, down, up, down, up down. So she didn't mellow out like Kala did. No, not at all. And she did finally calm down, but she wasn't upset. - What made you decide to shoot her? - I'll get to that. - Okay. - [Host] It's clear from the way Todd tells this story almost with a sort of glee, that he has no remorse. Even here, when the investigator tries to get him to cut to the chase and tell them why he shot Meagan, he just said, "I'll get to that," like this is some juicy drama he's been dying to share. Then, he complains about all the stuff he bought for Meagan while keeping her captive. - I wasn't gonna shoot her. - Okay. - I was gonna give her money. I don't know why the hell she went the hell off. I held her, I hate the kidnapping part, but I did another one. I held her there for a couple days. - How many days? - Five or six? Every other damned day, she wanted Little Caesar's Pizza. I hate that shit. It always gives me heartburn. Little Caesar's Pizza, Mountain Dew, not Mountain Dew. Dr. Pepper. Cinnamon rolls and friggin' Newports. If you go down to my building, you'll find an unused package of Newports I bought for her, and then she went bat (bleep). She took, she tried to light my building on fire. Do you know how-- - In back of what building? - The CONEX. - CONEX. - [Host] And then this part is just kind of weird. While telling the investigators where they can find the cigarettes he bought Meagan, in the storage container, he says something extremely weird and unprompted. - Oh, there's a collar in there. That collar was Kala's. - Neck collar? - Yeah. She had me order it. - She asked you to order it? - Yes, sir. - Okay. We'll get to that in a minute. - Didn't use it because after it came in the mail, (mumbles). - Okay. - That shit (mumbles). It's a stainless steel collar with like, hooks for putting like, locks on. (Todd laughing) I mean, dude, it's like having your, I don't treat my dog's that way. - [Host] Okay, so let me explain the backstory for this one, because it's really strange, and I was very confused at first, too. Todd actually claimed that Kala had been writing letters to him while she was in captivity, asking for intercourse, with Todd himself even telling a reporter, "I'm not saying she's not a victim. "She's not the victim she portrays. "I mean, it turned into '50 Shades of Gray' with bodies." So I guess that's where this supposed collar comes in. - Honestly-- - Well, you made this comment to me. Sorry to interrupt, but you made this comment to me, and I believe you. You didn't do the r**e. - No, sir. - And I believe you, and I talked to the solicitor about that, and I told them what you told me. I said, he's made the comment to me, solicitor, he'll plead to everything, but he's not pleading to r**e. - Not a chance. - Because he didn't do a r**e. I said, he told me that he's admitted to everything he's done, he's willing to take the responsibility for it, but he will not take responsibility as to the kidnapping. I said, but he will not take responsibility for the r**e because he did not r**e her. That anytime they had s*x, it was consensual. She had the choice and she actually initiated it at times. - Mm-hmm (affirmative). - And he said, okay. I said, so we're gonna need to re-interview her, and we're setting that up. We're gonna do that this week. I told him, I said, I gave him my word that we would re-interview them and I want to move, or we want to re-interview her. Because, I mean, I think it needs to be done. (tape scratching) - She had me get her a vibrator, the TV, the DVD player, the MP3 player, the coloring books. - Coloring books? - Adult coloring books. - Okay. - Dude, I didn't question, I just... It got her to shut up and got her to roll over. (Todd laughing) - That led me to something else that you said, the Satanic book? - Yeah, what the hell, man? - I've never... Let me ask you this. The mattress is up against the wall, and we did that, looking to see if there were any weapons in there. - There was a bag. - Yeah. Did you ever spend the night there with her in the bed? Like stay the night, you and her in the bed overnight? - Never stayed the night. - Okay. - We spent a lot of time on the bed. She wanted the comfort thing that was on the floor. - Mm-hmm (affirmative). - That was her idea. That was her submissive kitty bed, her kitty bed. Man, it threw me off. All of a sudden, I put the collar thing on her-- - Yeah, they found that. They were like, what-- They thought it was for a dog (mumbles). - Well, now the cage that was up there, that was in pieces? That, I built, and it was originally meant for my dogs. - Right, no I'm talking about the metal collar thing you told me about. - That, I ordered off of one of the website's that delivered and I got it because she want, she requested that as opposed to me putting a chain around, and I got that away. Mm-mm (negative). I went, that ain't going on nobody. - Right. - But she wanted that and then the kitty bed, and she went into this whole thing of explaining to me that I had to give her permission to speak to me-- - Mm-hmm (affirmative). - Give her permission to look at me. - Mm-hmm (affirmative). - Dude, I don't do all that (bleep). You know, I'm like, ask Ashley. Ashley's never had to deal with any of that crap. Yeah, it was just, I don't know. She, dude, she had all this stuff, she kept asking for this kind of stuff, I got it, and she wanted, it's a big black book about that deep. - Mm-hmm (affirmative). - Like, $23, that damned book. - Mm-hmm (affirmative). - And it's The Enchanted Sorcerer, Sorcery, (bleep). It's the how-to guide to be a witch. Dude, I just was figuring she'd read the damned book and shut the (bleep) up for awhile. Kala has before asked me to beat up people for her or use my resources, which she thinks my resources are, go get someone killed. - Really? - Yeah. With people that she doesn't like. A-- - And you have, and have you do it or have you hire somebody to do it? - Yes. - Both? - Yes. - Okay. - In fact, read my Facebook, it may be on there. - Really? - Yes. - Yeah, how are those his? - Yeah, well, I blocked her after all this (bleep) so they wouldn't know because, I mean, literally-- - Well, we have her Facebook page. - Then you have it. - Okay. - It'll take you forever and a damned day to go through it. - Okay. - But go back to the messages. - Really? - And her phone messages. She supposedly hid money in her car and the guy took her money, but that's bullshit. And then she wanted me to either use my resources to either have him killed-- - Mm-hmm (affirmative). - Or beat up. I believe he was beat up, but she wanted me to use my resources to have him, hand him offed or go do it. Kala uses that thing between her legs to get dumb asses to go do stupid (bleep). And that's why I'm trying to say that she's going to use that to get Dustin hurt. - [Host] So, yeah. I'm just gonna leave it at that out of respect for the victim, but I haven't seen any of those letters or anything to suggest Kala was there consensually. What I will say is that even if such letters existed, who's to say that Kala wasn't just appealing to Todd's ego to stay in his good graces and save her own life. After all, she herself has stated, "I realized it was easier if he thought "things were going his way, "so I made him think whatever I had to." Plus, Todd had reportedly warned Kala that there was a woman who he'd kidnapped before her who hadn't been so lucky to make it out with her life, which brings us back to Meagan. Unsurprisingly, Todd said a gross and totally unnecessary (bleep) remark about Meagan, too, during his confession. - Told her basically that if she would just chill the hell out. - Mm-hmm (affirmative). - You don't know me. You don't know very much about me. You don't have (bleep) and last time I could check from what was online, she had a warrant really looking for her ass. - Mm-hmm (affirmative). - I'll give you any work for $4,000, I'll drive you up to damned Tennessee, I'll drop your ass off somewhere, and if you've got any common sense on this planet, you'll go left and I'll go right. - And what'd she say? - Oh, she got so excited I got my (bleep) sucked. - She did? - Yeah. - Okay. - And it wasn't bad. I told her I would give her $4,000 and basically release her in Tennessee. Just go, please go, don't come back. - [Host] It's cringey and horribly sickening at the same time to hear him talk so proudly about these things. It's like he thinks the investigators are his buddies, which just shows how large his ego truly is. He goes on to say that he thought his plan to set Meagan free would work since she didn't really know who he was, and because of her sketchy background, she probably wouldn't want to go to law enforcement for help. But, somewhere along the line, Todd changed his mind. - With Meagan, you made her the offer of the $4,000, keep your mouth shut, I'll take you to Tennessee. - Drop you off and leave you. - Drop you off and leave you, you go one way, I'll go the other way. - Totally. - What made that change? What happened? - What do you mean, what made that change? - Well, she ended up dead. - Oh, you mean, what, why, (indistinct). - Yeah. - That makes sense. I wanted to get rid of her. The weather (bleep). - Mm-hmm (affirmative). - We were having sleet. It's right before Christmas, man. We were either having sleet, you were having rain. - Mm-hmm (affirmative). - The weather went to (bleep). - Okay. - And I still had to find a way to get away from Ashley, my girlfriend, long enough to get up out of work, get this person to Tennessee, drop her off and get home. That's not a, that's not just a couple hour trip. - No. - And if I'm dropping her, it ain't gonna be at the border. - Mm-hmm (affirmative). - We going north to Nashville. I want her way the hell away from me. If she was going to tell you, she was happy, she was happy as hell for like, two days. - Okay. - She was happy as hell. I just couldn't get past the weather. - Okay. - The last day, I went over there, open the CONEX up. She'd burned half the frigging building. This stuff, I mean, she took my ammo racks and grabbed them and did this. Oh, I'm gonna tell you, for such a (bleep), damn. - So then what happened? - Well, there was ammo everywhere and stuff everywhere, and she broke the fan. I got her a fan. She broke the fan. Prime, man, you just can't beat that (bleep), their two-day shipping. (tape screeching) There's a pin in there now, but it came with a two-pack. - Mm-hmm (affirmative). - I had her those to get air ventilation. - Mm-hmm (affirmative). - I got lanterns for her so she had light. - Mm-hmm (affirmative). - I did the best I could to make it... - Right. - Somewhat livable. Got her blankets, got her pillows. She lit the damned thing on fire. I'm surprised she didn't asphyxiate. - That's what I was thinking. - I'm surprised she didn't. When I went to the building, I mean, I was choking. Went to get her out and then all of a sudden, it's like I had a caged animal on my hands. I don't know what the hell, what the hell. She went from, I'm so frigging happy in the world to be, I'm gonna go to Tennessee with money and I'm gonna restart my life and thank you, thank you, thank you. - Mm-hmm (affirmative). - To bat (bleep) crazy. At that point, I tried to walk her out of the building. I just had enough. I walked outside, I was trying to calm down, figure out what the hell to do with her, what to do, what to do with her, I didn't know. - Mm-hmm (affirmative). - I came back in the building. She was going nuts. It wasn't like she was emotional about the situation. This had been days. It wasn't so much about that, it was just like serious chemical imbalance (bleep). And she walked outside. I walked her outside and walked her outside, I put a bullet in the back of her head. - What gun did you shoot her with? - The same one. - That you shot? - Mm-hmm (affirmative). - Johnny-- - Johnny with? - Mm-hmm (affirmative). - And that's a Glock? - And that's the same one you shot Charlie. - Charlie. - Wasn't my favorite gun, just, it's just... - It's a handy gun. - A handy one. It's very effective. So you could shoot 180 range. - [Host] And sadly, that's how things ended for Meagan. Todd's temper got out of control, and just like that, Mr. Nice guy was no more. Later on, a former coworker of Meagan actually revealed that the victim had met Todd while working at her Waffle House job, and when authorities started digging deeper, they were told that Todd would act so creepy at the restaurant, inviting waitresses to his home and leaving large tips in a bid to get their attention, that a male cook actually started taking Todd's orders whenever he'd come in just to keep the waitresses safe and more comfortable. Another detail concerning Todd's romantic life that will send a shiver down your spine is something Kala revealed when rescued. So apparently, Todd had had an ongoing relationship with a woman named Holly for about 10 years. Sources say it was an affair and that she was actually the person who paid for the storage container Kala was trapped in. But Holly never suspected that her lover was hiding a gruesome second life from her, saying only that he gave her a lot of attention and made her feel very important. However, when Holly found out about Kala's kidnapping and watched the footage of her being transported to the hospital, she was left speechless at this line: - Some girl named Holly, he's supposedly planning to kill. - [Host] Who knows how many more victims could have fallen prey to Todd if authorities hadn't stepped in to stop him. Even Kala could have been days or hours away from becoming another voiceless victim of Todd's unpredictable wrath. But you know, all these stories of how creepy Todd was while also simultaneously being a respected businessmen in the area, really caught my attention. But to understand how this masked monster was made, I had to take a look back at his early years, and although the unspeakable things he did even back then left me at a loss for words, it all led up to his most brutal crime of all: a quadruple homicide, one that plagued and puzzled the community for 13 years, and wasn't solved until Todd proudly confessed to police during his interrogation. We'll be going over that infuriating footage next. But first, you really need to understand the absolute disaster that was Todd's childhood. Todd was born in Florida in 1971, but raised in South Carolina and Georgia. He didn't have the most normal childhood, as his parents' marriage was crumbling and they were divorced when he was still a baby. Growing up, Todd reportedly loathed his stepfather and wanted to live with his biological dad, despite having seemingly no contact with him for about eight years. And because of these unfortunate circumstances, or maybe something that had always been broken within him, Todd started to behave in very concerning ways early on. He was violent towards other children and showed signs of severe emotional and mental instability. He would destroy classmates' property at school and was actually sent to a mental facility at the age of nine due to his sudden explosions of anger. Throughout this counseling, Todd was described as being preoccupied with (bleep) content at a disturbingly young age. If you're a true crime fan, then this won't be surprising to you at all, but Todd was also known to be extremely cruel to animals as a child, often a telltale sign of a psychopath. Not only did he heartlessly shoot a dog with a BB gun, but he also killed a goldfish with Clorox bleach because he wanted a gerbil instead. He even locked another young boy in a dog crate and rolled the cage while laughing until the child was in tears and begging him to stop. Todd's father would later lament that the only emotion his son was capable of was anger. His mother must've been well aware of this as well, because she later described locking him in his room at night and placing locks on her own bedroom door, just in case he decided to try anything. She also said he stabbed a little girl on the school bus, in the leg, with scissors, to get back at her, destroyed a bunch of new furniture his mother bought him with a hammer, and even threatened to kill her. Still, in 1983, Todd got his wish of reuniting with his biological father after purportedly threatening to kill himself otherwise, but this ended up being just another bad influence on Todd as the man apparently taught the boy how to blow things up. But despite bonding over shared interests, living with his father didn't play out like Todd had dreamed it would. The man's frequent absence due to his many girlfriends left Todd thinking it would be better to return to his mother, but at this point, she made excuses to prevent this. This clip from Todd's police interview shed some light on his rocky relationship with his father. - My dad took me to office parks. While he would steal half the (bleep) his hands on, and then want me to help him load truck and deal with his nonsense, and then would tell me that if I got into a fight, if I didn't win, you're not my son, don't come home. But then if I get into a fight and I whoop the kid's ass, I went too far, I'm getting my ass whooped because I went too far. - [Host] Also in his 2016 interrogation, Todd spoke on a shocking incident he got into around this same time of his teenage years. - You had mentioned to your mom, and that when we had talked at the jail, that there were others, and you told your mom she didn't have enough hands. - I had some altercations in Arizona. - Okay. - I don't remember all the details. I had a friend of mine that got shot coming out of a alleyway. - Okay. - I found the guy later on. - Who was your friend that got shot? - Michael something. I was a kid, I don't remember. Michael something. - Do you remember the guy that you shot? - I never knew his name. - You never knew his name? - He drove a Nova, gray Nova. - What year was that, do you think? Well, how old were you? - 14. - You were 14? (mumbles) Okay, and-- - My understanding is there was some kid who wanted to be in a gang and was doing his initiation. - And his initiation was to shoot your friend? - We were just two kids coming out of an alley. We weren't part of nothing. We weren't part of nothing. - That was his initiation? - Yes, sir. - Wow. - [Host] And so, in October, 1986, Todd was still in Arizona living with his dad when his violent tendencies would extend to a new extreme. He was only 15 years old, but he managed to lure a 14-year-old neighbor girl, whom he had a crush on, out of her home by saying her boyfriend wanted to speak to her. Then he held a gun to her head, brought her home, tied her hands with rope, taped her mouth shut and (bleep) assaulted her. After this, he walked her home and threatened her not to tell anyone what had just happened or else he would kill her little brother and sister. Luckily, somebody ultimately did call the police, and when Todd was apprehended, the first thing he had to say was: "How much time am I going to get for this?" And get this. Todd explained that his motive for the disgusting crime had been because he was mad at his father, who was out of town, and wanted to rebel. At this time, he was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. Okay, now I want to take a brief moment to touch on Todd's late mother, because some of the things she said about her son's behavior are a bit odd to me. Before he was sentenced for this crime, she wrote to an adult probation officer pleading for leniency on Todd. According to Greenville News, she claimed that the incident had brought her and her son closer together as he wrote her frequently while in jail, musing: "You know, it's strange. "Maybe a little good does come from some bad." She also wrote, "They don't stop to think "that he even walked the girl home. "Does that sound like a dangerous criminal? "He even walked the girl home." While she may have had decent intentions, I just feel like a statement like this would be a slap on the face to the teenage victim and her family. Ultimately, it was recommended that Todd be tried as an adult, with one neighbor even describing him as a devil on a chain. And here's what I find really interesting. When evaluated, Todd was found to show deep emotional disturbance, but not psychosis. This would seem to suggest that Todd was not, in fact, out of touch with reality, which makes his detached behavior that much more chilling. Overall, the psychiatrist determined that Todd had an inflated ego and was extremely rebellious towards authority, someone who "generally feels like he should be in control." And there's one other key element that might play an underlying role in all of these big ideas Todd holds about himself: his IQ. When tested, Todd was found to have an above-average IQ of 118. Although interestingly, his high school teacher reported poor academic performance. It seems to me like Todd just felt like he was better than everyone, above the rest of the crowd, and rather than apply his intelligence towards positive goals, he used it to manipulate people and orchestrate heinous crimes. In this case, even the juvenile probation officer would end up recommending adult incarceration, as they did not think Todd's deep-seated issues could be solved easily, and Todd agreed to plead guilty to kidnapping in exchange for the (bleep) assault charges to be dropped. If that's infuriating to you, you're not alone, as one probation officer went so far as to say this was a travesty of justice. Another official declared that Todd had little to no conscience and presented the greatest risk to the community. It appeared that Todd believed the world owed him something. Very few held hope that he could be rehabilitated. Well, as much as we can wish someone had locked Todd up for longer so he couldn't hurt anyone else, that wasn't the case. Unfortunately, he only received a 15-year sentence, and when he got out at 30 years old, he moved back to South Carolina and was placed on the s*x offender registry. Interestingly, while incarcerated, Todd had only been cited for violent behavior in the first few years of his stay, but throughout his 20s, he had no other records of disobedience, almost like Todd had learned how to put on a friendly act in order to get what he wanted. Upon release, Todd hit the ground running, paving a new life for himself. He had earned a bachelor's degree in computer science while in prison, and in 2002, he got a job as a graphic designer for a sports apparel company. Todd went on to get another degree in business administration marketing, and in 2006, he applied to receive a real estate license. But, there was one little problem. Applicants were required to explain any history of criminal convictions in order to obtain the license. However, Todd had a clever plan. There was no background check in place, and so when Todd explained the felony on his record, he twisted things to sound way better for him than the reality. He painted it as a petty argument between his teenage self and his girlfriend, saying they broke up and then her dog got loose, and then when they were looking for it, the girl's parents got worried and called police. He said the only reason he had a gun was due to concerns over gangs in the Phoenix area, and that the kidnapping charge was due to him telling her "not to move while they talked this out." So, yeah, just a complete lie, but a very deliberate one which fit all the parameters that would reasonably explain his charges without revealing the awful, ugly crime he actually committed. Well, this fabrication worked out for Todd, and after getting his bearings in the real estate scene, he even started his own business called TKA Real Estate, which employed about a dozen agents. His career was booming, and on the surface, he seemed like a pretty charismatic, hardworking guy to those around him, but still his darker side leaked through the cracks at times and people soon started to take notice. Coworkers were very uncomfortable with how he would casually watch inappropriate adult videos at work for hours, and some women felt uneasy at the s****l innuendos he made to them. He even made a distasteful joke on his firm's website that he motivated workers by not feeding them. Apparently, he was very open about his status as a s*x offender, but would claim the charges stemmed from a girl's dad getting mad and overreacting after the teens took a joy ride together. Again, very far from the truth. But all the same, Todd had glowing reviews, was described by many associates as very personable, and even got recognized as a top-selling rookie agent in his region at one point. All in all, his strange habits and unusual quirks were chalked up to, well, just that, so it wouldn't be until his 2016 confession that authorities would find out a brutal and high-profile quadruple homicide that they'd been struggling to solve since 2003 had been all Todd's doing. - Now, can, what I want you to do is tell me from the very beginning about Superbikes. - [Host] It was a warm afternoon in November 2003, Spartanburg County, when an unsuspecting customer walked into the store, Superbike Motorsports, only to be faced with a horrifyingly gruesome scene. All the employees staffing the shop had been shot to death. Terrified, the customer quickly called the police, who hurried over to inspect the blood bath. - [911 Operator] Okay, and what's the problem? - [Caller] Apparently, everybody's been shot up here. Everybody's laying down, in a pool of blood. His mama's been shot, the mechanic's been shot, and the owner. - [Host] The victims were quickly identified as the shop's owner, his mother, and two young workers, but as much as their devastated loved ones grieved and hoped for justice, the killer behind such an audacious and reckless shooting somehow managed to slip through the cracks. And as years went by and authorities racked their brains fruitlessly for answers, going down a few dead ends in the process, they had no idea that the real monster behind this notorious unsolved crime was hiding right under their noses the whole time as a respected member of the community. And so in this 2016 interrogation, they're finding out the full extent of what really happened that dark day at the motor shop, and the real motive was probably the last thing they ever expected. - So, go ahead, you bought the bike. - Bought the bike. Tried to ride it and (indistinct) anyway. Key points. Had it 14 days and it got stolen from the front of the apartment complex. - You said you went back to them? - Before it got stolen, I had gone back to them a few days prior to it being stolen and told them that I was having a hard time riding it and I was not so sure I had made a wise decision. - Okay, and you went back to them because you were inexperienced, and what else did you say? - I thought it was a bad decision. I was trying to see if I could possibly trade it in for a smaller bike or something of that nature. Maybe I just, I didn't know how to ride it. They were... Please understand this has been many, many years. They proceeded to give me, well, the rude side about my inability to ride that kind of bike. No one ever taught me. So I mean, I didn't know how to operate the clutch and the possibility they could re-buy it sometime with a trailer, maybe buy to make up my mind. They had dropped it off at the apartment-- - Okay. - So they knew, they knew exactly where it was stolen because the guy brought it over to me. - So you said they knew where it was stored? - They knew it was stored. - Okay. - Because they had dropped it off there. - Okay. - Two, three days later, it came up missing. There was a police report. As far as I know, they never found the bike. - [Host] It's pretty obvious that Todd's anger stems from him being miffed at what he saw as the employees looking down on him, and for some reason, that seems to be the one thing Todd just can't tolerate. Watch here as he even gets sidetracked to complain about the police not taking him seriously when he reported the motorcycle theft. - You said I made a police report. - I did. Actually, the law enforcement officer made fun of me. He informed me that that's a shame it had got stolen before I did, before I got a chance to write you a ticket. That was the one time I didn't like you guys. - [Host] Todd says a little while after that incident cooled down, he was once again making visits to the motorcycle shop. - Got to jonesing again for a motorcycle and started going back to the shop. During one of my times over there sitting on them, one of their, I believe it was the manager, the owner's friend, kind of was a bit of an asshole. I was looking at bikes and trying to let the earlier part go, and the manager sort of making some comments about the last one being stolen, and he says something, it's something about mine was on its way to Florida. I have no idea what's up or why he said that. When he said he was (indistinct), he was not talking about the time when I asked him about possibly selling it. It was implied that, we took your (bleep). I let it slide for the time being, got mad about it, kept going out there. Why I kept going to the same bike place, I don't really know, but I'd go out there, sit on the bikes and listening to these two, the owner and the manager, basically talk trash. - [Host] I find this part so intriguing because even Todd himself admits he doesn't know why he would keep going back to the bike shop if the employees' attitudes bothered him so much. Part of me feels like he just wanted a reason to get more and more agitated so he'd feel justified in what he was about to do. To the workers, Todd was just some weird customer who kept coming in and acting strange, but they never could have predicted the absolutely evil plan that was simmering just below the surface. - Bought a Beretta 92FS. - Beretta 92? - 92FS. - FS. - Nine millimeter... At the time, it was only had 10 round mags because they had slapped a limitation, and the aftermarket pro mags were god awful. - So how many rounds, so you had a 10-round magazine? - Yes, sir. Three of them. - Three 10-round magazines? - Mm-hmm (affirmative). Although I've got quite a few of those Kydex. - Mm-hmm (affirmative). - They work very well. Bravo Concealment. - Mm-hmm (affirmative). - I would recommend them. - [Host] He gives a long-winded explanation about suppressors. - A suppressor would shoot on a semi-automatic requires a Nielsen device also known as a RAD. - Hold on. - Recoil assist. If you have a moveable barrel. - Okay. - Otherwise, you have to use a spacer and lock it in. - You're having some problems with a suppressor, you got to say that part-- - He's understanding it and you're just going, okay. (Todd laughing) - [Host] And then declares that he made his own. - Dependability surpasses everything else. - Okay. - Years later, I actually learned how to make it myself and actually buying the (indistinct). - Then what happened? - [Host] It's almost funny how the investigators just cut Todd off whenever he starts to ramble about his accomplishments. I feel like a big motivator for Todd was getting the recognition he felt he deserved, so these utter dismissals during his big moment to tell his story probably feel like a big let-down. Anyways, here's where Todd finally tells the methodical timeline from the day of the crime. - I left college, left my class. - Okay. - Drove to Dolan Springs. Put the shoulder holster on at the CVS parking lot. (Indistinct) school. Got there, not everybody was there. Went in, sat on a few bikes, did my usual and did my best to make sure that the paying customers were not there. Collateral damage is not cool. - [Host] Todd really harps on the point that he didn't want to kill paying customers, which seems to be his way of painting himself as a sort of anti-hero, like he really seems to relish in viewing himself through this lens. - You said you were waiting on what? - This was during the time, as you know, that it was not busy. I chose a time that was not after work when I would have a lot of people in there. Did not want to shoot up people. Kind of funny. Kala put on her paperwork when she was writing stuff out to me that she found a killer with a conscience and a kidnapper with morals, whatever the hell that meant. - You remember that? - Yeah. I used to-- - So you said, I did not-- - After she (bleep), I spent a lot of time thinking, going, wow, kinda, okay. - [Host] So as Todd waited for who he judged as innocent people to leave, he was also waiting for one of the employees who he felt wronged him to show up. Once he was alone with the workers, Todd says he asked to buy a bike so that the mechanic would take it back to prep it, and then he says one of the most outrageous things the police have probably ever heard. - That was one big building. Yeah. I cleared it in under 30 seconds. - You what now? - I cleared that building in under 30 seconds. You got a little bit proud. I'm sorry, but you guys would have been proud. - [Host] The interrogators brush off his comment and his story continues. He says he first went to the back where the mechanic was prepping a bike. - Okay. - Walked up, pulled out the Beretta, put the safety off. Shot the mechanic twice, downward angle. He was beneath me. He was down, crouched down on this side of the bike. Mike was here, I'm on this side. So I leaned over the bike and I believe it was two shots. - And that's how long? - [Host] Here, he brags about how good his shots were. - I got him too lung, two lung shots. - Okay. - I got each lung. - You got him in two lung shots? - Yes, sir. If he could get up from my that, I'm impressed. - [Host] Then unprompted, he offers up the reason why authorities weren't able to find fingerprints in order to brag once again. - The reason why you didn't get any fingerprints is on the door, I used my knuckles instead of my hand, my hand to open the door. (tape screeching) And the reason you have no prints of me on any of the shell casings-- - Mm-hmm (affirmative). - Is I wear two pairs of gloves when loading every firearm, even in practice. - Okay. - Even my practice ammo doesn't get fingerprints. That's why I don't have to worry about picking up shell cases. If you wear one pair, you can still have a bleeding print because the acids in your finger, in regard to that, when they touch, you still get that. If you had any chemicals on the outside of that that you had touched first, before you touch it, you can put a print on it even though you didn't, you had gloves. If you wear glove on top of the glove, it causes friction between the two of them and negates matter. - So when you're talking about gloves, you're talking about latex gloves? - Yes, sir. But if you wear two pairs, not one, one pair won't work. - So you used two pair of gloves. - Yes, sir. - Latex gloves. - [Host] After that, Todd went to find the other victims. - Okay. - At that time, all three, manager, owner and mom, they had heard the gunshots in the back and were coming this way to figure out what had happened. I had all of a sudden, I had three people in front of me. Mom was the closest and I shot her two to three times in the chest. Not my best work. Her pattern was horrible. She was actually surprised. At her being up in my path. - Three times in the chest. - [Host] "Not my best work. "The pattern was horrible." You can truly see Todd's narcissistic side coming out in these words, especially. The whole thing was just like a game to him and he really wants these officers to be impressed. - She fell. The son and manager, son, it was the owner and the manager ran for the door. At that range, they should have ran to me, not away. They were way too close. When I came around that door, it was boom, three people right there. - Okay, so then what happened? They ran to the door. - They ran to the door. In the process of that, I emptied, topped a few rounds, topped one, I don't know which one is which. - Topped in the process-- - In the process of them running. - Of them running. I popped-- - [Host] You can almost see Todd's impatience here. He really wants to tell his story, and it's like this confession is the performance of his lifetime, and he doesn't look too happy to get interrupted. Luckily, anytime he tries to go off on a tangent, the investigators pretty much ignore it and bring him back to the straight facts of the case. - Then proceeded to go, did a reload. While this guy was still running, this guy, but when I hit him, he crumpled in the doorway. - Okay. - When I did my reload before this guy got out, I put two in him before, and he actually fell outside. That was a very fast reload. (Todd laughing) - [Host] Todd says he might've put an extra round in the guy who fell by the door as he walked over him, but he's not sure. And then he says something so chilling and insensitive I almost couldn't believe my ears. - At any point, did anybody, I mean, was there... - There was nobody else. - Okay, there was nobody else, but did anybody, as they were falling, I mean, did they look at you? Did they face you? Did they say anything to you? Was there any conversation, don't, please, whatever? - No, sir. - With any of this? - I don't remember hearing any of that. I will tell you that once I engaged, I was engaged. - Okay. - So-- - If, at that point, it's almost like a video game. It's not a game, but it's almost like you, you're focused on, you've been there, sir. You know what I'm talking about. - [Host] Absolutely insane. I can't imagine what must've been going through the detective's heads at this point. Todd says he then walked around and put one last round in each victim's forehead, got in his car and drove home. He took the gun apart, put its parts into parts of his trash and even cat litter, and then disposed of that evidence in the dumpster. - If it hadn't have been so long, you guys could have actually pulled records and actually know and figure out where they put it, but at this point, it's kind of a moot point. - [Host] When the detectives go on to clarify some points, Todd just finds every opportunity to make it about himself. - Moving targets, multiple moving targets, I don't think I missed. If I did, it wasn't more than once. - Okay. - But I mean, it's not an easy shot when you got two moving targets running fast as they can. (tape screeching) I may shoot somebody as (indistinct)-- - Right. - But I'm not a... Pistol whipping and beating somebody is not my thing. - [Host] He even makes a point to say he wasn't initially planning on shooting the mom, like that gives him some sort of brownie points or something. - I actually wasn't meaning to hit the mom. - You actually, what? - I was not meaning to hit the mom. I prefer not to shoot women if I can. - Okay. - And I refuse to shoot a kid. - [Host] But then, Todd's dark sense of humor comes through every now and then to remind us how he really feels about his actions. - I still got the T-shirt. - They give you a T-shirt? - They did. I kept it. I'm not a trophy guy. - You're not a trophy guy? - Mm-mm (negative). - They wanted to give you a trophy? - No, sir, that was actually-- - I got you. - I don't keep trophies. - [Host] But at this point, nothing is too shocking coming from the man famous for saying, "My golf game was weak. "My kill game is strong." What might be most frustrating about the Superbike case in the end, is that during the 13-year-long investigation, one asset that police gained was a sketch of a potential suspect that a witness, presumably a customer who had been one of the last people at the bike shop that day, had described. The witness remembered this man filling out paperwork to buy a particular bike. In 2012, the sheriff held up a newly revised sketch and said, "I'm going to be bold enough "to say this is my man right here." This is that picture. As accurate as it may be, it unfortunately wasn't able to catch Todd before he committed his other atrocities. Now to be honest, the raw footage of Todd's whole confession was tedious to watch at times. You see, Todd didn't want to write out his statement because he said he writes for a living and his hands hurt, and so the detectives had to stop him after every sentence and very slowly transcribe his confession, at one point even saying Todd uses big words and talks fast. Here's where things get super intriguing though. Many people argue that this was actually a deliberate interrogation tactic, and when you think about it, it makes sense. By playing dumb and making Todd feel like he's smarter than them, they subtly encourage him to keep talking freely and bragging about his accomplishments, not to mention repeating key details over and over again. And on the same token, while some people have questioned why detectives even needed to write down his answers in the first place, since the interview was being taped, others assert that suspects often don't realize they're being recorded, and having someone write down their words in front of them would make them feel even more secure that this conversation is not being permanently taped, therefore making them feel comfortable sharing more risky details or side comments that they might not otherwise divulge. Okay, now, this next part has nothing to do with crime, but it is super interesting to me because it feels like Todd is really basking in the feeling of being catered to while trying to seem humble and friendly with the detectives at the same time. I don't know, the whole thing just gives me a weird vibe because of how casual, unbothered and almost giddy he's acting while confessing murders. (door screeches) - What do you want for dinner? You missed dinner over there. That barbecue wasn't enough. What do you want? - Whatever you have convenient. - No, I'm asking you, what do you want? (Todd laughing) - I don't wanna be an asshole. - Shut that door, Mike. You're not being an asshole, I'm telling you, I'm asking you, what do you want for dinner? - Shit, I don't know. - We've got-- - What do you got? - We've got barbecue around here, we've got Miami Grill around here, we've got, we've got the, whatever you want, man. Willow Springs Cookout, whatever. What's your, what do you like to eat? - Cookout will work. I just, that'll work. - What do you like from Cookout? - Never been there. - You've never been there? - No, sir. - They have a really good, it's called a giant cheeseburger, giant fries and a giant tea. They're really good. - Works for me. - That's what I usually get. Okay. All right, I'll be right back. - I just don't want to be one of those, be the guy who says, I want the stuff, law officer, and then be an asshole. - No, no, no. No, whatever you want to eat, I'm feeding you. - Thank you, but I mean-- - Okay. (Todd laughing) - [Host] There are actually a lot of moments sprinkled throughout where Todd seems just a bit too comfortable given the subject matter at hand. - So who do you think is gonna win, Trump or Hillary? - I'm scared to know. Can I get you to look at that? (indistinct) - [Host] But to be honest, there were times during the confession when I did feel like I was watching buddies talk and it was a little surreal. - Is that good? - Mm-hmm (affirmative). (Mumbles), we'll just get your own, man. (indistinct) - I made a joke with him, I was like, yeah, I'm gonna go back to pod, I'm gonna let one fart loose, and I might just (indistinct) jail. (interrogator laughing) - Take this crop dust. (laughter) - (Indistinct) up in here. (Mumbles), oh, they're all back in (indistinct). - Well, the thing about it is, they're, kids that age aren't, yeah, they call them millennials, and they want everything handed to them. Had a buddy, and this is when I first realized it, but I wouldn't expect it from my generation. - [Host] But if being friendly with Todd was enough to butter him up to spill the whole truth and put him behind bars for life, it was worth it. In the end, I think this statement from the investigator best sums up how authorities were able to treat Todd with kindness and respect, despite the things he's done. - The thing about it is, like you said, there are cops in the world that are bad, there are cops in the world that are good. I should not like you, I should want to nail you to the cross. You know, but... - I'm going there anyway-- - Well, no, it's not that. - But, yeah, I get it. - I want to do the right thing for you. I want to make sure the right thing is done for you and by you. I don't do this job just to put people in jail and do stuff like that. I do this job because that's the way I want to be. - [Host] This next part of the conversation might give us the most valuable insight into Todd's head space, so I'll let it play without commentary. - I wonder how this is gonna play out. - What do you mean? - They're either going to put me on a gurney. - Mm-hmm (affirmative). - It's what I'm expecting. That's what I'm expecting. Or they're gonna put me in a little box somewhere away from anybody and everybody, which I don't expect. I actually expect the gurney. - What do you want? I mean, all joking aside, I'll tell them, what do you want? - Take me out back, shoot me in the back of the head. - No, I wouldn't do that. (indistinct) I studied psychology a little bit in college. Wanted to finish stuff, (indistinct), I'm working on finishing college. The people at Superbikes made you angry. - Mm-hmm (affirmative). - I don't know, you tell it, the people at Superbikes made you angry, and not just angry, but I mean, they belittled you, they humiliated you, they made you angry, enough to do what happened. - Mm-hmm (affirmative). - And then you had the situation last, this last Christmas, and then this most recent situation. - Mm-hmm (affirmative). - The time span. What kept anything from happening? You know? Because that's a question-- - I don't need to kill. - Well, I'm not saying you do. I mean, that's a dueling question. - I mean, per your legal definition, I'm serial, but I'm not. - Okay. - Honestly, if Johnny hadn't pulled a knife. - Mm-hmm (affirmative). - But if you'd seen the knife, you'd laugh your ass off. - Really. - Oh, God. Black and white tiger stripe. It was rogue. - The handle? - Yeah. - The kind you buy at the little convenience store? Are you serious? (interrogator laughing) - I'm going, my ammo cost more than your damned knife. Are you kidding me? It cost me money killing him. - If you're gonna stab me, at least stab me with a buck knife or something, you know. (interrogator laughing) At least something with a little history, you know. - I picked the thing up, I looked and it, and I went, are you fucking kidding me? - And this is after you shot him? - Oh, yeah. (interrogator laughing) - Hi flipped that thing out and I went, here's how it's gonna go, okay. Let's dance. And the other problem is if they don't put me on the gurney, when the people inside realize the people I hunt is them. - They'll be scared to death of you. They'll be scared to death of you. - Because I can go the rest of my life and never hurt another person. I'm entirely okay with that. - And so like, with Superbikes and with this, it's just a reactional situation. - Mm-hmm (affirmative). - Okay. - I would never hurt or kill a person again. And for me to take myself... it's not hard. - Mm-hmm (affirmative). - I mean, you can slam your throat on a desk somewhere and crush the larynx, you're gonna die a shitty death. - Yeah. - But you can do it. - But you hurt the people. - If I did any of that, and I won't, it would probably cause my mother to have heart attack and die. - Yeah. - [Host] As Todd was sealing his fate, investigators were conducting a thorough search of his property. They found a multitude of weapons and ammunition, such as handguns with silencers and rifles, but as there was no record of a background check under Todd's name for firearm purchases, it is believed that he illegally obtained these, which just adds to the laundry list of his crimes. In 2017, Todd Kohlhepp pleaded guilty to seven counts of murder, two counts of kidnapping, and one count of criminal (bleep) assault. He entered a plea bargain that spared him from capital punishment, and instead was sentenced to seven consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole, plus 60 years. Relatives of the Superbike shooting victims filed a wrongful death lawsuit against him, and Kala has also filed her own civil lawsuit against Todd. She was awarded $6.3 million. However, even behind bars, Todd has not been silent. In late 2017, he wrote to the Spartanburg Herald-Journal claiming that he had more victims who have yet to be discovered, which would go along with what he told his mother right after he was caught. When she asked how many other victims there were besides the ones he confessed to, he apparently said, "You do not have enough fingers." In the eight-page letter to the publication, Todd 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." Yes, Todd apparently earned his pilot's license at some point and could have potentially traveled to commit more unsolved murders, but he has also expressed that at this point, he doesn't see any reason to give numbers or locations of other victims. At the same time though, Todd reassured investigators in 2016, that he hadn't, in fact, killed anyone else. - Have you killed anybody else in Spartanburg? - No, sir. - Have you killed anybody else in South Carolina? - No, sir. - Other than the boy in Arizona and Superbikes, and the ones that we have on the property, have you killed anybody else? And this is why I ask you this. - You got enough. - I do, but no, no, this is the thing. No, this is the thing. This is not to drive a nail home or anything like that, okay. You had your moment in here with your mom and this is your opportunity to get everything. It's not, you know what I'm saying? There's opportunity to get everything out of the way. You know, because you're going to be sitting in a cell. - Mm-hmm (affirmative). - And there's gonna be lonely times-- - Correct. - And you're a compassionate person. I'm a compassionate person, okay. In the heat of the moment when somebody pisses you off, you may want to beat the (bleep) out of them, shoot them, stab them, kill them, whatever, but when you're laying there at night, it's gonna, it may bother you. You see what I'm saying? - Mm-hmm (affirmative). - And that's the only reason I'm asking. - That's all that you have. - That's the only one you shot? - Yes, sir. - Okay. - I didn't want to have to explain numbers on the phone. I sure didn't want to get numbers of four. - So when you told mom she didn't have enough fingers-- - I just didn't know what to tell her on the phone. - Okay, so that was kind of, not a, I don't want to say an embellishment, but it was just something to-- - Didn't want to give her phone numbers. - I gotcha. - I gotcha, I'm just trying-- - Tell them more than one hand, but it's time for your bragging, kind of-- - I understand. - Some of these knuckleheads may call that, oo, that's cool. I don't really call that cool. - Hey Todd, awhile ago you made a statement that said that, one you just said, those are the only people I've shot. Any other meanings? - Mm-mm (negative). - Okay. - [Host] What do you think? On one hand, it does seem a little suspicious that there would be a 13-year lull in between the Superbikes shooting and Todd's next victims, but I can also see how Todd might just be showboating in a bid to get more attention now that his case has died down. But get this. Some people actually think that Todd may not have even really committed the Superbike murders. All right, strap in, because now I'm going to take you through some of the more controversial internet theories and conspiracies that have arisen around this case. Just a disclaimer. I'm not endorsing these theories in any way, but I think it's really fascinating to see the information people have dug up and the wildly different conclusions they've come to. So about the Superbike murders, a woman named Pat Brown, who is a profiler claiming to have worked on this case in the past, has written about her doubts. She says a serial killer that is also a mass murderer is not what you would normally expect because serial killers like to have complete control over their victims. She also feels that there is no actual evidence beyond a potentially false confession that Todd was the perpetrator in this case, and she even asserted that the sheriff was up for reelection around the time Todd confessed, and this may have been a convenient way to solve that cold case in the nick of time. However, a counterpoint to this idea is that Todd mentioned a detail in his confession that apparently was never released to the public before when he said that he shot each of the victims in the forehead, so investigators feel pretty confident that he was the one behind the crime. But still, Pat refutes this claim and actually says that none of the victims were shot in the forehead. There's honestly so much to go into here, but to me, it seems like Todd's motive and explanation of this crime were clear, so I'll let you decide what you think really happened. And then another conspiracy theory people have posited centers around Kala herself. This one is rather sensitive, and I again want to emphasize that I don't subscribe to these beliefs and would never do anything to blame the victim, as what she had to go through was undoubtedly unimaginable. With that being said, here's the theory some people propose. When Kala appeared on Dr. Phil to talk about the case, she said that she met Todd on Facebook several years before and they had had little contact besides a few messages here and there where he would ask how she's doing before he ultimately contacted her about the job opportunity. However, according to the Newberry Observer, an initial interview at Todd's residence between Todd and an investigator suggested that there may have been more to the relationship. The alleged transcript of that exchange shows the investigator asking Todd if Kala was a stripper who would also sleep with Todd for money, which Todd claims is true. He also apparently claimed that he'd taken her to dinner and that she'd spent the night at his house before, among other physical encounters. So these details have apparently led some online circles to speculate that Kala could have known more than she was letting on about the whole situation, especially considering those letters she had allegedly written to Todd during her capture. Other updates that have added fuel to this fire include the fact that Kala, in 2019, was charged with third degree criminal domestic violence after a fight between her and her boyfriend. Kala claimed that during an argument, the man bucked his chest into her, then she struck him in the face with a closed fist, and then he allegedly slammed her to the ground and put her in a headlock. The charge was her first criminal charge in South Carolina and was eventually dismissed. However, people still drew attention to another tragedy that occurred in her life about five months before this incident. At that time, her then fiance shockingly died of a self-inflicted stab wound to the chest. All of these factors have caused some internet communities to turn a suspicious eye on Kala, but at the same time, most recognize that she is still trying to heal from the traumatic experience she endured at the hands of Todd Kohlhepp. I think everyone can agree that even if we don't have the full picture of Kala's life, she was still a victim who did not deserve any of the horrible things that happened to her during that kidnapping, and I hope she is doing well today, or at least getting the help she needs to work back towards a normal life. Further updates following Todd's arrest failed to show any growth nor regret on his part. In a hearing, family members of the Superbike victims got to make statements directly to Todd, and after one mother spoke about how Todd was frustrated that he couldn't ride a bike properly, and said her son would have been happy to show him how, Todd actually spoke up to say, "With all due respect, ma'am, I'm sorry, "but your information is incorrect." The judge reminded him he was only allowed to speak if he had a question for the mother. Todd apparently remarked, "I want to let her know why it happened." Jeez, I bet you could've heard a pin drop in that room. Todd is certainly one of the most psychologically intriguing killers I've ever heard of. According to a forensic psychologist who has interviewed about 130 serial killers, Todd wanted to believe he was a good guy. He apparently doesn't want to be associated with the worst serial killers, and has said, "I'm not a bad person, but I do bad things sometimes." It seems he justifies his murders in his head by classifying people into categories of good or bad, but obviously, it's a childish mindset to have when you think you can judge people's character and decide their life or death based on how it suits you. Perhaps his twisted personal philosophy and complete lack of remorse was best summed up when he told detectives, "I've never done anything to anybody "who didn't have it coming." Todd Kohlhepp's story is especially disturbing, I think, because in the eyes of most people who knew him, he was just a normal dude, outgoing and charismatic even, and at the very least, successful. He's a guy you probably wouldn't give a second look if you passed him on the street, and you'd probably walk away from a conversation with him thinking he's a chatty, decent guy. And maybe, that's the most scary part of all, is wondering how many monsters like Todd are hidden in plain sight.
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Channel: EXPLORE WITH US
Views: 8,756,658
Rating: undefined out of 5
Keywords: Explore With Us, EWU Crew, documentary, true crime documentary
Id: 4GL8gk3b2L8
Channel Id: undefined
Length: 86min 7sec (5167 seconds)
Published: Tue Jul 20 2021
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