Making a Serial Killer - Season 1, Episode 3 - Todd Kohlhepp and The Captives - Full Episode | Forensic Files

[MUSIC PLAYING] [SAW WHIRS] NARRATOR: Inside a locked metal container, a woman named Kala Brown hear the sounds of a chainsaw.
OFFICER: How are you, honey? This is bolt cutters. This is [INAUDIBLE]. He's a paramedic, sweetheart.
OK, we're gonna get you out of there, OK? Just hang loose for me. Anybody got-- I need a handcuff key.
Handcuff key. [MUSIC PLAYING] OFFICER: Is it both feet? KALA BROWN: Just one. It's attached to a chain to the wall,
and my neck's attached to the wall up here. OFFICER: OK. All right. All right. We'll get you out, sweetheart, OK?
NARRATOR: The young woman has been imprisoned by Todd Kohlhepp. She has witnessed Kohlhepp shoot her boyfriend.
It just-- parent's worst nightmare. NARRATOR: Todd Kohlhepp, a popular realtor in South
Carolina, a serial killer. [MUSIC PLAYING] A sprawling property in rural South Carolina.
Police are searching for missing couple Kala Brown and Charlie Carver. Shortly after their disappearance,
missing flyer posters go up, family starts reaching out to media. There's news stories in the public--
public light about their disappearance. CHUCK CARVER: You know, weeks turned into more weeks,
into months, and it just-- parent's worst nightmare. You know, we went from maybe had an accident, you know,
is in a ditch somewhere, to, what happened? It was-- it was a very-- it was a long 65 days.
NARRATOR: Cops are about to make a breakthrough in the case. It's not good news.
Sir. Yes, sir, I will [INAUDIBLE] I'm not resisting. OFFICER: OK. Just stand up for me.
NARRATOR: Successful local realtor Todd Kohlhepp. 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, OK?
Kohlhepp really became successful through his business. He had a decent house. He had obviously boughten that 100-acre property in Woodruff.
He had several BMWs, motorcycles. NARRATOR: What no one knew was that Todd Kohlhepp obtained his real estate
license under false pretenses. Kohlhepp himself was a mystery to those that knew him.
Todd Kohlhepp, extensive history, very unique life. He was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
before moving to Spartanburg with his mom. He was uprooted several times. His mom was married and remarried several times.
His birth father divorced his mom at a very young age. And then, when she remarried, his stepfather
adopted him legally. Kohlhepp was born in 1971. By 1973, he's-- he's described as being out of control.
Right? This is two years old, though. So you think about the terrible twos and you wonder,
is it just sort of normal behavior. NARRATOR: It soon emerged that there was nothing normal about Kohlhepp's activities
as a young child. As a young boy, there's records indicating that he bleached a goldfish because he wanted
a gerbil, meaning, like, he actually poured Clorox into a-- onto a goldfish to--
to torture and kill the goldfish. He-- he shot pellet guns at dogs. He punched holes in his walls.
He shredded his clothing. Not a lot of ability to connect emotionally with other-- other people.
One of the biggest red flags for an eventual antisocial personality disorder, or what people colloquially
know as psychopaths, is that they torture animals at a young age. And it shows a level of lack of empathy, lack of emotionality,
and just something that can't simply be learned from your social environment, typically.
It shows that there might be a genetic predisposition here towards doing evil acts.
NARRATOR: The adults in little Todd's life tried to get to the bottom of his troubling behavior.
Nine years old, he's referred to a behavioral institute in Georgia because of his mother's inability
to enforce limits, because of his behavioral problems in school. [MUSIC PLAYING]
[BELL RINGS] NARRATOR: But he wasn't improving. At 12 years old, Todd was moved to Tempe, Arizona
to live with a man he had not seen for over 10 years. In disagreement with his mother
and her marital situation, he protested her and moved to Arizona to live with his birth father.
NARRATOR: To get his mother to allow him to leave her, he threatened her, he threatened to kill himself.
He took a hammer to his newly remodeled bathroom. She gave in. He had been clearly manipulating and deceiving
people from the time he was a child, and this, really, he got quite good at it by the time he was a teenager.
He might have seen his dad as his savior from his mother, who was unable to control him,
or who was absent, or just disinterested in his life. NARRATOR: But according to documents later used in court,
Todd soon began to feel that he was playing second fiddle to his father's romantic relationships.
[MUSIC PLAYING] In November, 1986, Kohlhepp chose a target to take out his anger on.
15 years old, Kohlhepp lures a 14-year-old neighborhood girl back to his house. Apparently, this 14-year-old girl had rejected him.
She had a crush on someone else. The records indicate that he duct taped her, held her
at gunpoint, sexually assaulted her, and then actually proceeded to walk her home.
He threatens her family. He threatens to kill them, and she believes him. She truly believes Todd is going to kill her family.
And he threatens her, but that courageous girl spoke up. NARRATOR: Todd's traumatized victim told
her family what he had done. Less than 90 minutes after the abduction, Todd Kohlhepp was arrested at home.
Kidnapping is a very serious offense in Arizona. He might not have known what what
the full punishment for his actions were, and he might have-- he might have known.
He ends up going to prison in Arizona for about 15 years. NARRATOR: At sentencing, a probation officer
told the court that Kohlhepp's lack of conscience could lead to more crimes in the future.
Kohlhepp blamed his behavior on his father for always being out of town. For criminologist Brian Frederick,
the theme of rejection looms large in Todd Kohlhepp's life story. Kohlhepp internalized this.
Here's another woman that has rejected him, that doesn't truly love him, right, that maybe loves someone else.
That could have been the thing, the catalyst that caused him to snap. NARRATOR: It was a theme throughout Todd Kohlhepp's
life with devastating consequences for those who dared reject him. NARRATOR: Todd Kohlhepp, always ready,
willing, and able to kill. [MUSIC PLAYING] Locked up for 15 years in an adult jail,
teenager Todd Kohlhepp played the model prisoner with few citations for violence
or disruptive behavior. While inside and on his release, he worked towards a job.
He is smart enough that he's gone to college. He's obtained knowledge. He has recreated himself.
He has completely changed who he was, at least on the outside. So when he gets out of prison there,
moves back to Spartanburg, sort of starts his life over. Kohlhepp arrives in South Carolina.
He gets a job as a graphic designer and further tries to reinvent himself. NARRATOR: But in 2003, Kohlhepp had demonstrated he
still had a mind for violence. He went to what was then a motorcycle store to buy a bike for $9,000.
It all happened at Superbike Motorsports, which was a pretty popular motorcycle dealer and shop
there in Chesnee, South Carolina off of Paris Bridge Road. [MUSIC PLAYING] NARRATOR: It was 13 miles north of Kohlhepp's home
in Spartanburg. NARRATOR: Days later, the bike was stolen, and Kohlhepp suspected the guys at the bike store.
And he claims they, to some degree, kind of made fun of him or just poked fun at his experience level, which
apparently really upset him. He's humiliated. He's made to feel small. This takes him back to 15 years old,
the rejection by the neighbor. NARRATOR: Simmering with resentment, Kohlhepp had made a decision, to kill.
NARRATOR: It was November 6, 2003. Kohlhepp had just begun studying for a business
degree at Greenville Technical College. NARRATOR: Soon, those left in the store where the staff.
DANIEL GROSS: So it was Scott Ponder, who was the owner, Brian Lucas, who was the shop manager,
Beverly Guy, who was Scott's mother and also the bookkeeper there, and then Chris Sherbert,
who was a mechanic there. NARRATOR: Kohlhepp would later describe the cold, methodical way he had hunted his prey.
Now, he's in this store. He's being humiliated again. His therapist, his caseworkers, probation, his parole,
they're not there to help him. His dad's not there to help him. NARRATOR: Inside the store, owner
Scott Ponder, service manager Brian Lucas, mechanic Chris Sherbert, and bookkeeper Beverly Guy.
NARRATOR: Chris Sherbert died instantly. NARRATOR: Kohlhepp turned towards the mother
of Scott Ponder, Beverly Guy. NARRATOR: Kohlhepp had achieved what he set out to do.
Years later, he would look back on that day with not a regret of remorse, but pride.
The definition of a serial killer is somebody who kills two or three people over a period of time with a cooling off period.
What Kohlhepp has done is Kohlhepp has kidnapped someone 15 years ago, and now, he's committing mass murder.
Very different from serial killing. NARRATOR: Minutes later, the massacre was discovered.
A frequent customer, a regular there who had known the-- known the crew, he shows up and finds Brian and Scott's body
in the front parking lot, and then finds the other two inside. So he calls 9-1-1.
The authorities show up right away, and next thing you know, it becomes a massive crime scene, bigger than Spartanburg
County's ever known. This is a mass murder. This is a massacre of four people in a shop minding their own business,
but pushing the wrong buttons. NARRATOR: The little boy who had bleached goldfish till they
died, the teenager who had felt humiliated by a girl before assaulting her, who had felt disrespected
in a motorbike store felt disrespected again, so he killed the four people. [MUSIC PLAYING]
There was very, very little physical evidence left-- left behind at the scene, which made
it difficult to investigate. Next thing you know, years go by without it being solved.
NARRATOR: Todd Kohlhepp, two years after his release from prison, remained a free man, free to continue
his studies, free to live a double life in a small city in upstate South Carolina, a place where he would soon
become a respected realtor and one day hire the son of Chuck Carver. You know, I just remember that day when
he came into this world that-- man, that was the best thing that ever happened to me.
NARRATOR: Charlie Carver disappeared one day, a day he had been with Todd Kohlhepp.
Oh, lord, that was an awful day, awful chain of events. [MUSIC PLAYING] NARRATOR: In June, 2006, 35 year old Todd Kohlhepp
wrote a heartfelt letter to the South Carolina Real Estate Commission. He earnestly requested to be allowed to take the state
real estate exam and explained what he described as the grave misunderstanding that had led
to his 15-year incarceration. The letter, littered with fantasy and untruths, made no mention of the duct tape,
the sexual attack on a 14-year-old, or the threats to kill his victim's family. Three weeks after sending that letter,
Todd Kohlhepp was a licensed realtor, something he turned out to be good at. DANIEL GROSS: He just devoted his life, at least,
on the surface, to his work as a real estate agent. He eventually opened his own company, TKA Real Estate.
He was the lead broker, and he had almost a dozen agents working under him selling
houses for him and everything. NARRATOR: In 2007, he bought his own home in Moore, a town
southwest of Spartanburg. He appeared successful, but he wasn't likeable. A lot of his friends, co-workers, neighbors,
they all had a similar story about who Kohlhepp was, the type of person he was, his character.
Many of them said how arrogant he was, just how really full of life, full of himself
type of guy. He would talk frequently about the amount of guns he had, brag about that.
Definitely a braggart. Here's how successful I am. Here's my business. Here's my my hobbies.
I think because of that loud personality, a lot of the folks that he encountered
had-- had a sort of eeriness feeling to it about him. And-- and so I think a lot of folks were
left kind of wondering, you know, who's really the face behind-- behind this guy that we're seeing?
NARRATOR: Seven years later, the residents of Woodruff, a nearby town, would ask the same thing.
Eventually, he had bought a almost 100-acre property down in Woodruff. Beautiful area, pastures, rolling hills, trees.
NARRATOR: Immediately, curl have surrounded the huge patch of land with an $80,000 high chain-link fence.
Visitors were not welcome. Neighbors there would say, hey, Todd, yeah, welcome to the neighborhood.
I remember hunting in your property there. You know, we used to go down there and-- and hunt on your land there before you bought it.
And his response was, you're hunting days are over. [MUSIC PLAYING] They would hear gunshots every night,
hundreds of rounds of ammunition, they would say. So they were only left wondering,
you know, what's-- what's going on down there? There must be a lot of target practice
if that's-- that's the case. NARRATOR: Neighbors had no doubt that Kohlhepp was unusual, but was he dangerous?
Now that he's reinvented himself, now it's time to capture his bride again. Now, it's time to-- to-- to capture the woman that
won't reject him. And he's going to ensure she doesn't. [MUSIC PLAYING] Charlie and Kala, they met through Kala's mom,
became friends, and just kind of stayed friends, you know, for a year or so. NARRATOR: Charlie's father, Chuck Carver,
remembers that in August, 2016, the relationship was still brand new. They were basically just friends,
and then eventually, I guess, it led to them dating. I really didn't meet Kala until the Saturday.
I think it was August the 26th or 27. You know, they probably only been dating just a couple of months.
They hadn't been together for too long, but they started living together in Anderson.
NARRATOR: Kala introduced her new boyfriend to her part-time employer, Todd Kohlhepp.
He meets Todd Kohlhepp through a mutual friend, and eventually, Kala starts working
for Todd through his business. He had asked her to clean some properties. So she had been doing that.
She would go to houses to clean based on his request. NARRATOR: On August 31, 2016, Kohlhepp
had a job for Kala that required a little more muscle. Kohlhepp asked Kala and her boyfriend, Charlie,
to come to the property in Woodruff to help clean. This was primarily to help him clean
up the land there outside. He wanted them to make some paths for him and clean up some pathways for him.
Wednesday, the 31st, he didn't show up for work where he was-- he was signed up to work overtime.
And we found out a few days down the road that he didn't show up that day. Now, Charlie's mom, she texted him
and he didn't respond on the 31st. Then Thursday, she didn't hear from him. Then on that Saturday, which was Labor Day weekend,
she tried to get in touch with him. And she couldn't get in touch with him. She went by his apartment.
Nobody was home. Texted him, called him for days. And then on that Sunday, his mom went in
and filed a police report and reported him missing. It got pretty unnerving. Shortly after their disappearance,
missing flyer posters go up. Family starts reaching out to media. There's news stories in the public--
public light about their disappearance. The whole time, for at least the first 30 days, on our days
off, time, spare time, you know, we would just cover roads, rural roads looking for a car that was wrecked off
the side of the road, parked on the road, go down an embankment, you know, through anything that looked
out of place or a car can be hit up under, you know, if it went underneath brush or whatever.
NARRATOR: Weeks after they disappeared, the couple started posting messages on social media.
Charlie's family knew this was more sinister than a freak accident. An update, you know, saying that they were fine, that they
were going to get married. Now, this is interpreted by family and friends as very unusual.
They hadn't heard from them in quite a long time, and now, there's this post that they've gotten married.
That was the unnerving part that then I was just like, it's not him. And I knew in my heart that it wasn't him.
But it still bothers you. He was an aspiring writer, and you know, he was writing books and stuff, and what really tipped us off
that it wasn't him was the grammar and words being misspelled. At this point, Anderson had been tracking Facebook
messages, trying to track credit card information, and they were waiting on cell phone pings
to come back from the cell phone companies. Weeks turned into more weeks into months, and it just--
parent's worst nightmare. You know, we went from maybe he had an accident, you know,
is in a ditch somewhere to, what happened? And is it was a very-- it was a long 65 days.
NARRATOR: Finally, a lead. Kala Brown's cell phone had pinged off several masts in the area immediately northwest
of the town of Woodruff, an area dominated by a 95-acre compound surrounded by a chain-link fence.
They traced the property back to the owner, who was Kohlhepp at the time. So that leads us to November 3, 2016.
On this day, there's a team of law enforcement officers who go to the property in Woodruff.
Meanwhile, another team goes to Kohlhepp's house in Moore, South Carolina about 20
minutes away from each other. NARRATOR: Forcing their way through the outer gates
on Wofford road, Woodruff, a team of officers began to search. First, they combed through the large, partially
renovated barn building. It was empty. Then, they noticed the shipping container.
And this shipping container had several padlocks, chains, really bolted shut, this place.
NARRATOR: After two months, signs of life were perhaps not what detectives expected to find.
Unsure of who or what they were going to find, searchers began to prise the container open.
[INTERPOSING VOICES] They spent a long time cutting through all this metal to actually get into the container.
OFFICER: Watch out. Y'all move. OFFICER: Just throw 'em. OFFICER: Get the girl. Get a girl.
How are you, honey? This is bolt cutters. This is [INAUDIBLE]. He's a paramedic, sweetheart, OK? we're
gonna get you out of here, OK? Just hang loose. [MUSIC PLAYING] NARRATOR: As one team of officers
broke into a metal shed on Todd Kohlhepp's rural property, another held the real estate agent at his home in Moore.
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, OK? OFFICER: What's your name? What's your name? OFFICER: Lauren, Lauren, we gotcha.
OFFICER: Just throw 'em. OFFICER: Get the girl. Get the girl. How are you, honey?
This is bolt cutters. This is [INAUDIBLE]. He's a paramedic, sweetheart. OK? We're gonna get you out of there, OK?
Just hang loose for me. Anybody got-- I need a handcuff key. Handcuff key. OFFICER: Have it right here.
OFFICER: Hold up. Y'all slide back for him. [INTERPOSING VOICES] OFFICER: Randy, let me see the light, Randy.
OFFICER: You can put your hands down if you want. You're OK. We're here, OK? OFFICER: We'll get rest of it here.
Let's get her out of here. OFFICER: We're getting bolt cutters, honey. Don't-- don't--
OFFICER: You got pictures of the cuffs? So the sheriff described it as walking in there
and seeing her chained up like a dog. OFFICER: Both feet? KALA BROWN: Just one. It's attached to a chain to the wall
and my neck's attached to the wall up here. OFFICER: OK. All right. All right, we'll get you out, OK?
You got handcuffed too. OFFICER: Bolt cutter. Just hit the chain right there loose.
Just-- no, just right that are hanging, Brandon. We'll get it off. We'll it off here.
NARRATOR: Kala has a thick dog chain wrapped around her neck. Metal cuffs were cut from Kala's ankles too.
The man who owned the container was confronted with the discovery. We have Kala.
We have Kala. In your property. She was locked in a container. OK? OK, why'd you lock her in a container on your property?
She's on your property right now locked in a container. They just got her out of a-- like, a--
they called it a shipping container. Conex box. Conex box. She was locked in the container, a Conex box.
They got her. We are-- we have investigators. We have like, 20 investigators on your property right now.
And they have found her in the Conex box. So she never left your property. NARRATOR: Kala told officers she'd
been kept captive in the storage container for 65 days. He had made her his sex slave.
Reports that he'd raped her repeatedly, sometimes twice a day. NARRATOR: Where was Kala's boyfriend, Charlie Carver?
His anxious family recall hearing news of a breakthrough in the case. November the 3 started off like a normal day.
You know, I got up, I got the family up. We had breakfast. Everybody went to school, work, you know, the normal routine.
Then, about probably 12 o'clock that day, 11:45, I got a phone call, and it was from Anderson
City Police Department. And the gentleman on the line told me, he said, Mr. Carver, we need to talk.
We found Kala. And I just remember thinking, wow. You know, I mean, because at that point,
my first question to him was, where's my son? And his response was, we haven't found him yet.
Seemed like an eternity to get to Woodruff. We followed the patrol car out there
and they warned us ahead of time that the media presence was just overwhelming. They said don't talk or stop, just drive by.
NARRATOR: One of those camped at the gates to Kohlhepp's rural plot was journalist Daniel Gross.
Being the crime reporter, I rushed to the scene. Was one of the first journalists on the scene there,
and just started reporting what was going on down there. Police everywhere, neighbors had come out, seeing what
was going on, helicopter above. Of course, then we learn that it was the massive property where a missing woman out of Anderson
was found. [MUSIC PLAYING] OFFICER: Do you know where your buddy is? Charlie? OFFICER: Yes.
He shot him OFFICER: He shot him? OFFICER: 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. He says he's dead and buried. If you want to help yourself, tell me where Charlie's
at so we can go find his body. That's-- that's pretty much where we're at right now.
Do you want to help yourself and tell me where the bodies at so we can go recover Charlie's body.
You don't want to. Why did you shoot him? She's saying Charlie's body-- you buried Charlie's body on that property.
So you're saying you didn't lock her up, you didn't put her in the Conex box or anything.
Probably a good thing. NARRATOR: What happened to Charlie? Detectives now know Kohlhepp had abducted Kala brown
and held her captive. So at this time, I'm gonna need you to stand up and put your hands behind your back.
OFFICER: He's already handcuffed. OK. You're under arrest right now for kidnapping.
Go ahead and put him in the back of your car. OFFICER: Yes, sir. OFFICER: OK. Stand up for me.
Will you-- OFFICER: Stand up for me. NARRATOR: Cops in Woodruff warn Charlie Carver's family the news of the missing man might be delayed.
I said, if all y'all wanna go back to Anderson, just drop me at the gate, because that's where
I'm staying. And they were all in the same position I was. No, we're not going. So we just pulled into the gate right there
where all the-- everybody was going in and out of the property, and that's where we
stayed for the next four days. Meanwhile, authorities canvas the property. They go through what they said was
every acre of this property. Just a day or two goes by, and they find Charlie's body.
On that Friday, they thought they found him. They weren't sure. They eventually brought Kohlhepp back to the property,
they said, to help make sure they were in the right areas. Then on, I guess it was Saturday evening, late,
the coroner and them finally came out and told us that it was Charlie. And they were sorry to tell us that he was deceased.
[MUSIC PLAYING] Just didn't seem real. The con-- the whole conversation, you're thinking,
no, it can't be. You know, you-- you get to that point, you're denying it, you know?
You gotta show me, you gotta prove to me that you know without a doubt that it's him, you know?
And they were going off of a couple of tattoos that he had and things of that nature.
That's how they identified him. It's a hard thing to accept that your son is gone.
[MUSIC PLAYING] DANIEL GROSS: Once they arrive, they show up to the property together, same vehicle,
and go up to the garage that was there. Immediately, Kohlhepp comes out, fires three shots, three
gunshots into Charlie's chest. He dies on the scene. Charlie was murdered that very first day.
You see, Todd didn't need Charlie. He wanted Kala. He made Kala her chained up sex slave.
He says, you know, when you've killed someone that they love, it's much easier to control them.
NARRATOR: As investigators interviewed Kala Brown, she told them she and Charlie were
not Kohlhepp's first victims. The mystery of Meagan and Johnny Coxie, who disappeared on Christmas Day in 2015, was now solved.
In late 2015, Kohlhepp lures Johnny and Meagan Coxie, a couple in their late 20s, married, to his property
with the promise of a bogus job offer. DANIEL GROSS: The Coxies, they-- they lived a pretty modest life.
They had a small home in Spartanburg County. They had three kids in total combined together,
and they had a criminal record. So they had a pattern of petty crimes. NARRATOR: The moment the couple arrived at the property
in Woodruff, Kohlhepp turned on them. He kills the husband immediately and then keeps
Meagan alive for some time. And he holds her there for about a week's time. This is near Christmas of 2015.
Until Meagan tries to get out, and she-- she puts up a struggle with-- with Todd, and Todd kills her.
NARRATOR: Confronted with this story in custody, Todd Kohlhepp finally started talking.
This has a similar MO. Let's look on the property. And sure enough, they discover the bodies.
They find the body of Johnny and Meagan Coxie all there in shallow graves. NARRATOR: Todd Kohlhepp was not done with his confessions.
Just a couple of days after he was arrested, he sat down with investigators and confessed
to being the only one responsible for that quadruple homicide in Spartanburg. And the investigators knew right away it was him based
on the level of detail he gave. They said only-- only the killer would know these things.
And they were all-- all shot-- several gunshot wounds, but all of them had a gunshot wound to the head.
So now, he's looking at seven bodies to his name. NARRATOR: In fact, Kohlhepp have told
his captive, Kala Brown, that there were many more victims. He says there are several bodies
dead and buried out here. He told her at one point that he was nearing the triple digits.
He said he travels. Traveled the country, he traveled outside of the country. BRIAN FREDERICK: This is posturing.
This is, look what I did, you know? And what have I got to lose now. I'm sure he thought, 15 years in prison
is nothing compared to what I'm going to do now. I'm gonna go down big. He writes from prison to say that there are more bodies.
Is he fearful that he's going to be forgotten? Is he fearful that he's not going to be in the papers
any longer? DANIEL GROSS: Only about six months after his arrest, he enters a plea deal and the families all
agree that in exchange for the death penalty, which would be a long, arduous process in South Carolina,
lengthy appeals process, issues with lethal injection drugs not being available, they, in--
in light of that, they opt to go for a life sentence in prison without the possibility of parole.
You know, my wife and I, we-- we struggled for about two months trying to make the right decision.
You know, I'm-- I'm not a young man anymore, and I might not see the last appeal.
Charlie would have gave you the shirt off his back. You know, I mean, he would have gave you his last few dollars,
whatever he had if you needed it. And for him to take him out the way he did was terrible.
And, you know, and I-- and I said that. You know, and I did look at him, because I wanted him to know.
You know, I realize he didn't have significant role models in his life from mother to father,
step dads or whatever. He was passed around. But there's right and wrong, and everybody knows what's right,
and everybody knows what's wrong. You choose to do what you do. And, you know, I would prefer Todd just to go away
and we never hear from him again, you know? Maybe that'll happen one day. I don't know.
[MUSIC PLAYING]

A young woman is found chained to the wall of a shipping container and for detectives, it’s only the tip of the iceberg in taking down South Carolina’s very own serial killer.

A true crime series that focuses on what makes killers do what they do, taking insights from scientific experts, detectives and survivors.

Brief Summary

Todd Kohlhepp, a realtor, kidnapped Kala Brown and murdered her boyfriend Charlie Carver, revealing a history of violence and multiple victims.

Key points

Todd Kohlhepp's Dark Past. Kohlhepp's childhood reveals troubling behaviors that foreshadow his future crimes.
The Massacre at the Motorcycle Shop. Kohlhepp's violent outburst leads to the murder of four people in a motorcycle shop.
The Discovery of Kala Brown. Officers break into a shipping container to rescue Kala Brown, who has been imprisoned.
Kala's Rescue. Officers work to free Kala from her chains and captivity.
Discovery of Charlie's Body. Authorities find the body of Charlie Carver on the property.
Kohlhepp's Confession. Todd Kohlhepp admits to multiple murders, revealing a pattern of violence.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

It just-- parent's worst nightmare.

Kala Brown's situation described by an officer.

1:09WatchJul 29, 2022

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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