CHESNEE, S.C. — For 13 years, the relatives came together periodically to grieve one of South Carolina’s grisliest mass shootings and compare leads with stumped investigators.
On Sunday, they gathered again on the anniversary of the crime — this time in a Spartanburg courtroom after an unexpected break led to the man who, authorities say, confessed to the quadruple slayings.
The victims’ relatives sat a few feet away from Todd Kohlhepp as he was denied bond on the murder charges. It was their first chance to face the man accused of killing their loved ones.
After the hearing, Magistrate Judge Jimmy Henson thanked the families for their civility and composure.
“I know there’s a lot of hurt … beyond what a lot of people understand,” he said.
Authorities have charged Kohlhepp, 45, with four counts of murder in the 2003 deaths at the Superbike Motorsports motorcycle shop in Chesnee.
Kohlhepp’s alleged role in those killings was uncovered, authorities said, after a woman was found last week chained in a locked metal container on Kohlhepp’s property in rural Woodruff.
The murder charges against Kohlhepp represent welcome progress for investigators and families haunted by the slayings at the motorcycle shop. The killings shocked the state and left the victims’ parents and spouses reeling with each new rumor about a possible motive.
“We got ’em today. We got ’em today,” Sheriff Chuck Wright said late Saturday, referring to answers in the cold case. “I’m rejoicing that this community can know that four people who were brutally murdered, there’s no wondering about it anymore,” said Wright, who was first elected to the position about a year after the quadruple slayings.
A Spartanburg County Sheriff’s investigative report from Saturday says Kohlhepp “confessed to investigators that he shot and killed” the owner, service manager, mechanic and bookkeeper of the motorcycle shop, giving details only the killer would know.
Kohlhepp is also charged with the woman’s kidnapping, and prosecutors say more charges are expected.
Officers are making more grisly discoveries as they unwind a hidden crime spree that unfolded over more than a decade.
The investigation has expanded to other properties that Kohlhepp, a real estate agent, either currently or used to own.