Is S.C. serial killer trying to cash in on crimes from behind bars?
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Serial killer Todd Kohlhepp is apparently attempting to make money from the sale of merchandise related to his crimes, which could be a violation of South Carolina state law.
In 2017, Kohlhepp pleaded guilty to multiple murders in Spartanburg County. His crimes were discovered in November 2016. Deputies were searching his property for a missing couple, when they found the woman chained up in a storage container. She said Kohlhepp killed her boyfriend, Charlie Carver, whose body was found in a shallow grave.
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Kohlhepp then led investigators to the bodies of Johnny and Meagan Coxie, and, while in custody, itted to 2003 killings of Scott Ponder, Brian Lucas, Chris Sherbert, and Beverly Guy at the Superbike shop near Chesnee.
He was sentenced to seven consecutive life sentences for the seven victims dead at his hands.
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Now, it appears he’s trying to profit off his infamy, according to prison messages sent to and from Kohlhepp that were obtained through an open records request.
One message sent from Kohlhepp to another individual reads in part: “Well, get busy making the TK SK T-shirt line as I have buyers interested ... someone was going to do them for me with an embroidery machine.” In other messages, Kohlhepp explains TK SK stands for “Todd Kohlhepp serial killer.”
A message sent to Kohlhepp references a pitch for a documentary about Kohlhepp’s crimes. Part of the message reads as follows: “What that means for all of us is ... book sales should go up. Which ... for legal purposes of course you can’t profit from and we would never break the the law. Your merchandise sales should increase a lot which means more money on your . That should lead to you getting your transfer out here ... I have a feeling that if I can make this documentary happen based on your book, that your merchandise will sell very quickly. I’m working it hard for you man.”
Another message sent from Kohlhepp says “make that cha-ching.”
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“It makes me sick to my stomach,” said Chuck Carver, Charlie Carver’s father. “He’s possibly cashing in on the tragedy that happened to us.”
Kohlhepp was moved to Kirkland, a maximum security prison, for disciplinary reasons after a reporter started asking questions about the messages. The Department of Corrections says it was because of the messages.
Kohlhepp lost computer tablet privileges indefinitely.
READ HIS PRISON FILE:
In South Carolina, there are restrictions on whether offenders can profit from their crimes.
Now, nearly a decade after his son’s murder, Chuck says the messages from Kohlhepp leave him and his family living through the trauma once more.
“It just uncovers wounds,” he told us. “I mean, here we are, all this time since it happened ... and here we are revisiting it again.”
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The Department of Corrections is also looking into a website where Kohlhepp’s merchandise is allegedly being sold.
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