Serial Confessions | Full Episode | Forensic Files

[Music] watch out out a woman found chained in a storage container her captor a successful
realtor who confessed to seven murders a double life beyond belief those were the headlines now
we've got the story behind the story the court has just released hundreds of documents photographs and even hours of
videotape that reveal in stunning detail a Serial Killer's Journey Into Darkness Caleb Brown is a very good
friend of mine she's really a wonderful person she always wants to please people
one day Kayla met Charlie she said that this was different that they had a love that went beyond
anything superficial I found out they were missing on Labor Day weekend after searching for her for 2
months I then got a text message from another good friend of mine and they said they found Kaya she's
alive investigators discovered Brown chained up like a dog inside of a metal storage container on Cup's rural South
Carolina property let's talk about the day you're rescued what happened I think it was 9:00 I started hearing
noises and then I heard somebody's voice and I couldn't say anything I couldn't breathe like I panicked somebody came up
and like asked if I was in there and I said yeah and they're like we're going to get you
out are you okay just a girl just a girl just a girl I remember asking her I'm like who are are you what's your name
here's this girl chained up like a dog my neck's attached to the wall up here in the back of a container did I just
step into Hollywood on a movie set she told the bise that she saw Todd cup shoot her boyfriend Charlie Carver
do you know where your buddy is Charlie yes she shot him where did he shoot him in the
chest and did he say anything not at first not until he grabbed me and told me to come inside or i' joined
Charlie coap was arrested Thursday after 30-year-old Caleb Brown was rescued and he said can I talk to my mom
before anything starts being said I'm sorry Mom did he cry mhm his eyes horrible they
were both ing out of his face and they were red Todd is not a monster he's never been a monster he's not even close
to it shot him twice okay in the chest he dropped forward I went around him and put another one through a spinal
call he did some bad things but a monster no Ted Monday I'd call a monster but Todd
he wasn't doing it for enjoyment he was doing it because he was mad and he was hurt I wonder what a mother says to a
son after he tells her I killed seven people oh my God that's what she said and she experiences hurt that she's
never experienced in her [Music] life 48 Hours serial confessions [Applause] [Music]
this bizarre and frightening story began Labor Day weekend 2016 when 30-year-old
Kayla Brown and her 32-year-old boyfriend Charles David Carver went missing near Spartanburg Charles David
Carver is my son he is my first born Joanne shifflet he could bring a smile to the
saddest person he loved to laugh Charlie Carver operated a printer at a local business his father Chuck
says he was a gentle soul he never hurt anybody he would give you the shirt off his back or last $2 in his
pocket that was just the guy he was the effort to find Charlie and Kaya started as soon as they went missing but it
would take a couple of months to put that puzzle together investigators got a hold of a search warrant that allowed
them to access Kayla's Facebook page and that's where they found a message that Kayla sent to Charlie where she
referenced Todd kup and then there were the cell phone records Apparently one of
the couple's last pings from their cell phones was near a property that Cola owned all signs pointed to a 99 acre
piece of land owned by CB he kept it fenced off but sheriff's deputies obtained a warrant and they began
searching there on November 3rd 2016 that's when they heard the female voice yelling for help inside that
storage container I got there in 6 minutes that was 25 minutes away and I made it in
six Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright in his deputies rush to cut the five locks off the storage container
door those dramatic moments were captured by police are you okay do you have any
weapon coming through okay what's your name what's your name okay all right just a girl just a girl
just a girl how are you honey this Cutters this is our best he's a paramedic sthe okay we're going to get
you out of there okay this hand loose for me anybody got a I need a handcuff key you put your hands down sweetheart
you're okay we're here okay yes sir just both feet just one attach to a chain wall and my next attach to the wall up
here okay all right all right we're going get you out sweetheart okay we'll get it off here cut it right here
we're going to sty out sweet Kayla was rushed from the scene into an ambulance where she began talking about her twomon
imprisonment at the hands of Todd cup what did Todd do while you were there we would get there between 1 and 3:00 every
day take me up to the main building feed me make me do whatever he wanted seually
and then he' put me back in the building it's okay to cry you've been through hell he said he was breaking all his
rules with me and he didn't know if he was going to kill me or sell me or what [Music]
yet Kayla told investigators she had gone to KB's isolated property to do some cleaning as she had before her
boyfriend Charlie accompanied her and without warning or provocation Kayla said Todd CB shot
Charlie as he stood next to her Kayla said it was so sudden and unexpected she could hardly believe it I was in shock I
just went he pulled me to go and told me to go or he or I could join Charlie and
I just went I was numb I I couldn't think I I still hadn't comprehended what happened Kayla Brown gave her first and
only television interview to Dr Phil watching and she described how her two-month ordeal inside that storage
container began it was pitch black but he had a flashlight and he had a lot of shelving with um like dried food and
rations and stuff and like lots of bottles of water did he come in there with you yeah he he took me all the way
in the back and did he leave you bound or did he unbind you he left me bound and he also
put a chain around my neck how long was the chain 2 and 1/2 3 ft my neck was in one
corner my ankle was in the other corner at the same time deputies were searching for Kayla other detectives
were dispatched to Cup's home at that point the deputies do not know Kayla has been found they were there for C of cell
phone and the visit begins with a cordial tone hello how you doing doing well but things start to get serious
Rich stay right here as deputies begin getting phone calls on their cell phones from their colleagues who were at Cup's
property kup is handcuffed and then he's told the news KLA has been rescued all right this is where we're at Mr
Co while we were here all right M my sergeant Ser search one on your property okay okay we have cayb excuse me we have
cayb in your property she was locked in a container okay she has told us that you
shot and killed Charlie you're under arrest right now for kidnapping all right they continued to
search for your property they're going to continue to bring they got cab dogs down there okay okay 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 okay do you want to help me yourself and tell me where the body's at so we
can go recover Charlie's body no sir you don't want to no sir okay why' you shoot
him I didn't shoot any place her okay why did you lock her in a container in your property I was talking about I'm
onlyy an attorney um probably good thing go ahead and put him in the back of your
car want your driveway right here going on passenger side all right yes sir [Music]
okay Kayla told Dr Phil that Kip raped her repeatedly when he raped you did his demeanor change
afterwards no same before and same after did he leave you bound during this time yes sir hands behind your back yes
sir after his arrest kup begged the sheriff to allow him to tell his mother Regina tag what he had done before she
heard it from someone else she in turn tried to tell her son's story to us I want to say something to the people
that have been hurt I want the world to know that he's he's not a bad person he's a good
person why did he chain that girl up because he didn't know what to do at that point she saw evidently saw him
kill the other the her boyfriend and he didn't know what to do with her he couldn't turn her loose
she go get the police so he chained her up and tried to make her as comfortable as possible and he he had a dilemma
Regina says kup promised her that he did not abuse Kayla and in fact treated her
well I wanted to know how sorry I am and I think Todd is too because he didn't want to hurt
her he just said know what to do why did he kill her boyfriend because he got nasty and got smart mouth and tied hired
him to to do some stuff and Todd pays well and the guy got mie about it and from what I
gathered said some smart things to Todd and I just Tod shot him is that how your son handled his anger
he just killed people when they mistreated him never before that may be what KB told his mama
but it was far from the truth as he himself told police is going to be up late tonight in a series of candid
confessions KB stunned investigators by admitting to seven different murders and I shot her two to three times in the
chest not my best work it seems almost surreal now but if you would ask people in town about Todd
Cola before his arrest they would have talked about him in glowing terms just listen to the local sheriff he did his
job super good you know I just met him around town I mean he he did his job very well I mean he was a good realtor
if you wanted to buy a house to see someone you'd have called well heck yeah I would have this guy know knew exactly
what he was doing he's very smart kup was single lived in an upscale home drove a BMW and had a pilot's
license but there was no doubt he had a dark side after invest tigators located the
body of Charlie Carver kup LED detectives to two other bodies that he buried on his land a young married
couple Megan and Johnny Joe coxy got her number we talked on the phone for a brief moment okay basically
offered her the job offered to let him go in and do come work as well and then in an otherwise ordinary interrogation
room at the Spartenburg County Sheriff's Department kup began began his extraordinary confessions talking for
hours with investigators there was almost no emotion except for laughter he joked that his new notoriety might give
a boost to his real estate business I mean I'm thinking some people put my face on some Billboards were like hey no
the face hire [Music] him cup revealed that he crossed paths with Megan and Johnny Joe when they were
down on their luck he offered to pay them to do some cleanup work at his property
and I picked them up and I drove them to my land event kid supplies M and got them down to my building and that's when
Johnny pulled a knife out mhm and you shot I shot okay and you shot her not exactly it was December 2015 about a
year before Kayla was rescued Kip says he held Megan in the same container where he later chained
Kayla I didn't know what to do with it man um one side I really want to drop her the next side I
really kind of wanted to save her he says he bought Megan cigarettes Pizza even her favorite soda pop but after
about a week CB says she became too hard to control and he felt the easiest way out for him was to kill
her all drop side to put a for in the back of her head what gun did you shoot her with same one that you shot mhm
Johnny Johnny with M and that's a Glock and that's the same one you shot Charlie
Charlie it's not my favorite gun just it's just it's a it's a handy handy one it's very
effective less than a year later on August 30th 2016 colip says he invited Caleb Brown
to his quote Sanctuary she asked if her boyfriend Charlie could come along and cup agreed but says he got a little
testy when the two began bickering in front of him what made you shoot Charlie I don't
know how to answer that I don't know how to answer that honestly I was angry at her I was angry
at him it just went very quickly after he killed Charlie CB kept Kayla alive as a sex slave for 2 months
before she was rescued she believes CB did not kill her because it seemed as she told Dr Phil that he
was infatuated with [Music] her how did he seem infatuated I mean he let me know that I
was his property and that he chose me and told me how beautiful and smart I was and stuff like that did you respond
when he said these things to you not at first later on I realized that I had to stay alive in order to be
found so I made him think whatever I had to to stay alive and to keep him from abusing me but if you ask Todd cup he'll
tell you all the sex was consensual the only problem I have with any of this is I'm not going to set
Kayla's right that's not going to that's I'll fight all the way we'll go JY I won't win but I'm make it extremely
extremely costly the idea that he claims all these rapes were actually consensual
sex is outrageous Dr Chris Mandi is a forensic psychologist and CBS News consultant it's failing to take into
account the scenario that he created he's put her into bondage after seeing her boyfriend executed the fact that
he's outraged you know that he might be char charged with rape ridiculous kup said he allowed
Kayla to shower at an apartment he kept next to the storage container and he claims he pretty much gave her what she
asked for she had me get her 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 indulge her requests for Creature Comforts like
coloring books is his way of playing God with her it's almost like granting her prayers it is not actions of goodness
Mandi says whether she realizes it or not Kayla was manipulating kup while it seemed to him that he was granting her
favors Kayla was actually ingratiating herself to him submissiveness as a behavioral tactic very effective with
Todd Kap so these kinds of behaviors that she was asking for and that he was granting were a brilliant and
resourceful way of her surviving to the extent that you can get the offender to do things for your
well-being it's going to make it that much more difficult for them to harm you did he have a fantasy that at some point
the two of you would become a couple oh yeah yeah and live together and did he talk about the fantasy yeah I mean he
was going to build a house in the property and I was going to have a you know a soundproof room and you know he'd
let me have the run of the property eventually when he trusted me and yeah he even said that he would let me go and
give me some money if he ever got old and sick so he was thinking very long term Mandi says there's really only one
way to describe the type of man Todd kup is he is a reptile in the truest in in the truest sense of the word in fact
long before he took Kayla captive Todd kup was a sexual predator when he was only 15 years old he kidnapped and raped
a 14-year-old girl in tempy Arizona Todd Kip charged as an adult pleaded guilty to kidnapping in exchange
that sexual assault charge was dropped the troubled teens spent the next 14 years in the Arizona Prison System and
when he got out he moved right back here to South Carolina started a new life and
eventually bought this home here I set everything up so that he could be a productive part of our
city and that he could enjoy the rest of his life and do what he loved doing you never give up on
him no you don't give up on kid you don't do that you can't cup was not done confessing far
from it the next story he told shocked the sheriff to his core he admitted to mass murder and the sheriff knew exactly
what he was talking about a cold case that had been unsolved for nearly 13 years Peter vanand has that story
[Music] next it is one of the most notorious unsolved murder mysteries in South Carolina's history four people shot
execution style at Superbike Motorsports in chzn a brutal crime that baffled police for for over a decade was now
being claimed by Todd Kap who says he opened fire that day after what he perceived was rude
treatment by the owner and his staff 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 I will tell you that once I engaged I was
engaged okay um so it's at that point it's almost like a video game it's not a game but
it's almost you you're focused on you've been there sir you know what I'm talking about before Cole hepp's
confession back when the murders happened investigators had a very different suspect in mind this woman
it's still sometimes hard for me to believe that this is my story this is my late husband's story that
this is us sitting here talking about it it All Began one cold November morning in 2003 Melissa Ponder was 7 weeks
pregnant and still asleep when her husband Scott left for work at the Motorsports dealership their family
business hours later he would call to check in what were the last words he said to you he said okay I will see you
later I love you bye sometime after 2 p.m. Scott Ponder his mother Beverly his service manager
and close friend Brian Lucas and his mechanic Chris sheret were all hard at work at the bike shop when someone
gunned them down where is your emergency it's Motorsports okay what's the problem
apparently everybody's been shot up here four murders committed in a matter of seconds ending for Melissa a picture
perfect marriage I was happy I was pregnant sicker than a dog but I was so excited about
it Terry guy was Scott's stepfather he lost Scott and his wife just a split second your whole
worlds just turned completely upside down here's a no Lorraine and Tom Lucas lost their son Brian I was real proud of
him he's just a good person anybody that needed help and they asked him he would
do it he got married he had two children two sons he was a wonderful father and I
have heard from people that they say he was the best mechanic around early on in the investigation a
witness reported seeing a man in the bike shop not long before the murders in his confession Todd corroborated that
part of the story saying he spared that witness because he was with his young son I knew a guy came in with a kid
looking for a go-kart and Le left okay cuz I intentionally waited till they were gone at the time police thought it
was strange that nothing had been taken from the bike shop this was not a robbery gone bad so police did what they
always do they focused on those closest to the victims I was polygraphed and I was asked the very serious questions of
did you kill your husband Scott Ponder did you plan the murder of your husband Scott Ponder your answers were always oh
absolutely not no 7 months later Melissa gave birth to a son that birth overshadowed any type of of sadness that
I had felt through this I got to hold a piece of him again I had his flesh and blood with me she
named him Scotty after his father how long after the birth did did the police come back my son was 6 months old I get
a phone call one day we need you to come down to the dealership don't bring the baby with you we need to talk to you
what Melissa didn't know is that police had gotten an anonymous tip that Scott was sterile police suspected Melissa was
having an affair and wanted Scott out of the picture they they proceeded to tell
me that we took a diaper that you threw away here a couple weeks ago and and sent it off to have a DNA test done the
problem is it doesn't match up with your husband's DNA and I immediately said no
way there's no way what there's there's no way that this is not my husband's baby there's no way and so I said I'm
going to get my baby you will swab his mouth in front of me I will watch you put it in that envelope you know I was
just no no notion is a potential love triangle for sure and a love triangle can create
a motive for for murder correct and they're wondering if you did the killing or if someone you know right Melissa was
sure the second DNA test would prove Scott was the father but incredibly it did not he said Melissa we now have two
DNA tests that show Scott Ponder is not the father of your baby we need you to come clean and we need you to tell us
who the father is and I said you're trying to pin something on me that has nothing to do with me this is his baby
and I will have his body exhumed right now that never happened police soon admitted that they got it wrong the vial
of blood they were testing against the baby's DNA was mislabeled by another agency Melissa was cleared but it was
too late the damage was done the rumors ran rampant I cannot tell you the things
that have been said about me I know that Scott's grandmother who I thought I was
close to died believing that that was not her own grandson the truth of what happened that
day would not be revealed for 13 years not until Todd Co have in an even and unemotional tone calmly laid out the
horrifying details of how he slaughtered four people received to walk back to the
building again to clear and as I went I one round to each person's [Music] [Applause]
[Music] [Music] forehead The Fast and Furious world of Superbike Motorsports was once the
premier pit stop for high octane Thrill Seekers anytime I was off work I would go up
there a lot of us went up there to hang out it was it was a good time a really good time nol Lee was a regular at the
shop and became friends with Scott Ponder and Brian Lucas definitely my closest friends I would leave there some
on some days I was say all right guys love you guys but on the afternoon of November 6th 2003 when no went to see
his friends he stumbled onto a horrifying blood soaked crime scene it's Motorsports apparently
everybody's been shot up here everybody's laying down in a pool of blood no is still haunted by the
memories of what happened I know it doesn't look like much now but uh back in 2003 this was the place you wanted to
be this is supposed to be a safe place everything changed when Caleb Brown was found chained inside that
container after her capture and Todd Kip's arrest he unraveled for police his murderous career taking full credit for
the superbike killings showing no emotion he told detectives the story of what happened that day I bought a
motorcycle from them it All Began Co hiip says after he bought a motorcycle he admits he could not ride he says went
back and asked the store's employees for help and told him that I was having a hard time writing it and I was trying to
see if I could possibly traded in for a smaller bike they proceeded to give me little on the road side about uh my
inability to to to ride that kind of bike no one ever taught me days later the motorcycle was stolen and Cole help
felt someone at the superbike shop was involved it was implied that we up your after his arrest cooh hiip told his
mother The Experience left him feeling humiliated they made fun of him and they laughed at
him made jokes at him he was hurt on a quiet afternoon in 2003 Kap sought Revenge coap picked out a bike to
buy and when the mechanic went into a back room to parrot Kap followed him and pulled a Baretta from his shoulder
holster so you pulled out the Baretta and what happened um shot the mechanic twice downward
angle I got him to lung t two lung shots okay I got each longer they had heard the gunshots in the back and were coming
this way to figure out what had happened all sudden I had three people in front of me mom was the closest and I shot her
two to three times in the ja just not my best work she fell that the owner and the
manager ran from the door took off in the process of that I emptied popped a few rounds and
got one of them in the back and he crumpled in the door did a tactical reload and dropped the other one before
he got out the door I put I believe two maybe three rounds in him I'm not sure the count that was a very fast
rning after kp's confession Melissa got a phone call at her Arizona home from one of the detectives involved in the
original case he told Melissa about the arrest and said KP had revealed a key detail only the killer would know Kap
admitted firing a single bullet in into the forehead of each of his victims after all those years you are
finally told who murdered your husband right and it's somebody that didn't even ring a bell
with me never even heard of the guy in fact police knew the name Todd Kap for years because he'd been a
customer investigators had sent cooh hiip a form letter in 2013 asking him to come forward if he
had any information about the murders that letter was one of hundreds of pages of documents in the case File released
this month there was no reason to interview everybody there was nothing in this gentleman's background that
screamed you know I did this but that infuriates Scott's stepfather Terry Guy the sad part about it
is you know had they thoroughly checked every every person on it they might have
helped ever how many people this gentleman's killed in the last 13 years days after his arrest Todd Kap was
formally charged with the superbike homicides and for the first time Tom and Lorraine Lucas came face to face with
their son's killer I was expecting probably to see somebody that had tattoos and earrings and you know just
me looking and so forth and I was just just staring at him thinking I'm not I I just don't get it there's a lot about
Todd Kap people just don't get he seems different somehow after all most murderers don't make casual jokes about
killing their victims I said my golf game is weak my kill game is strong despite all the confessions kp's
case still needed to be heard in a court of law and he was upfront when asked what a fitting end to his story might be
I mean I'm joking aside I what do you want take me out back sh me back in the head I shot her two three times in the
chest not my best work shot the mechanic twice in the hours he spent confessing to Detectives
did a tactical reload and dropped the other one Todd kup remained remarkably candid even when he showed police where
he buried his victims up there at the spot where you took Charlie mhm there were two holes dug mhm what was your
intent with the second hole hadn't decided yet was that possibly for Kayla yes sir kup even told Kayla he had already
picked out his next victim some girl named Holly he supposedly planning to kill if he can
never get her and her boyfriend out I don't know why he there was really only one way to describe Todd kup your son is
the definition of what's known as a serial killer I hate that you think he'll plead guilty or not
guilty he compl guilty cuz he knows he did it and so 7 months after his arrest on
May 29th 2017 Todd KB stood before judge J Durham Cole do you wish to enter a ple of
guilty or not guilty to each of the charges contained in each of these separate indictments in the quiet South Carolina
courtroom the moment felt like a dry legal matter but in truth the softspoken Todd kup had just admitted killing
Charlie Carver cayla's boyfriend Johnny Joe coxy and his wife Megan Lee mcra coxy and the four people at the super
bike Motorsports store owner Scott Ponder his mother Beverly service manager Brian Lucas and mechanic Chris
Sherbert as to each of the seven counts of Murder in the end Todd KB bargained for his own life is that true he would
escape the death penalty in exchange for pleading guilty to seven murders as well as the kidnapping and
rape charges related to Caleb Brown he was given seven con itive life sentences plus 60 years my kill game is
good the man who laughed during his confession showed no remorse even when the families of his victims poured into
the courtroom to make their Victim Impact statements I hope Mr K will spend every day for the rest of his life
thinking about pain and suffering he has caused so many people cayb Brown was not in the
courtroom but Melissa Ponder was I don't have a hatred towards him the only thing that comes to mind
for me is I'm sad that his life has been something that has led to these different events that has caused so much
trauma to other people yay her greatest love is for Scotty the young boy that was born after his father was murdered
Scotty watched as KB got the sentence that even he had wished for I just really hope he'd be in jail for the rest
of his like can die like I just don't want any more people to Die the question of whether KB killed others is an open
one there is nothing to indicate there are more victims but Sheriff Chuck Wright said in court he has not closed
that door and I vow to you that we will continue to search for other people who need and deserve closure as for cayb
brown she is recovering and she told Dr Phil she is a Survivor if he's watching this right now what do you have to say
to him I would just tell him that no matter what he did to me he did not break me he
cannot destroy who I am and I won there was no relief for Todd KB's 7-year-old mother she had told us that
his Killing Spree made her heart sick what do you want to say to the families did I know how bad they've hurt
all this time and they've all lost someone they love so dearly and I am so sorry that it was my son that hurt
them Regina T died without ever having to watch her son stand before the families of his victims and admit the
unthinkable and there's nothing I can do about it I can't change it I wish to God I
could for them as much as me and Todd everybody's hurt he hurt [Music] everybody
[Music]

The shocking confessions of Todd Kohlhepp -- a real estate agent-turned-serial killer and the stunning rescue video of a woman he held hostage in a shipping container. David Begnaud and Peter Van Sant report in this episode from June, 23, 2018. Watch more full episodes of "48 Hours" on Pluto TV.

True crime. Real justice. "48 Hours" investigates the most intriguing crime and justice cases that touch on all areas of the human experience including greed and passion. "48 Hours," which premiered in 1988, has developed a rich history of original reporting and impact journalism that has helped exonerate wrongly convicted people, caused cold cases to be reopened and solved, and along the way changed lives.

Brief Summary

Todd Kohlhepp's chilling confessions reveal his murders and Kayla Brown's harrowing captivity and rescue story.

Key points

A Mother's Pain. A mother grapples with her son's admission of murder, expressing unimaginable hurt.
The Rescue of Kayla Brown. Kayla Brown was found alive after being chained in a storage container for two months.
The Confession. Todd Kup confessed to multiple murders, shocking investigators with his calm demeanor.
DNA Test Shocker. Melissa learns the DNA test shows her baby isn't Scott's, raising suspicions.
Todd Kap's Confession. Todd Kap admits to the murders in a chilling confession, revealing his motives.
Sentencing Day. Todd Kap is sentenced to life in prison, leaving families to confront their pain.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

Oh my God, that's what she said.

A shocking moment reflecting a mother's reaction.

3:58WatchMar 4, 2025

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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