48 Hours - Serial Confessions - Encore

Episode Date: June 24, 2018

The shocking confession of a real estate agent-turned-serial killer and stunning rescue video of a woman he held hostage in a shipping container. David Begnaud and Peter Van Sant investigate.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can listen to this podcast ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app today. Even if you love the thrill of true crime stories as much as I do, there are times when you want to mix it up. And that's where Audible comes in, with all the genres you love and new ones to discover. Explore thousands of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals, with more added all the time. thousands of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals, with more added all the time. Listening to Audible can lead to positive change in your mood, your habits,

and even your overall well-being. And you can enjoy Audible anytime, while doing household chores, exercising, commuting, you name it. There's more to imagine when you listen. Sign up for a free 30-day Audible trial and your first audiobook is free. Visit audible.ca. In 2014, Laura Heavlin was in her home in Tennessee when she received a call from California. Her daughter, Erin Corwin, was missing. The young wife of a Marine had moved to the California desert

to a remote base near Joshua Tree National Park. They have to alert the military. And when they do, the NCIS gets involved. From CBS Studios and CBS News, this is 48 Hours NCIS. Listen to 48 Hours NCIS ad-free starting October 29th on Amazon Music. 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 two months, I then got a text message from another good friend of mine, and they said they found Kayla. She's alive. Investigators discovered Brown chained up like a dog inside of a metal storage container on Kolob's rural South Carolina property.

Let's talk about the day you're rescued. What happened? I think it was 9 o'clock. 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, well, 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 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 police that she saw Todd Kolop shoot her boyfriend, Charlie Carver. Do you know where your buddy is? Charlie?

Yes. He shot him. Where did he shoot him? In the chest. And 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'd join Charlie. Kohlhepp was arrested Thursday after 30-year-old Kayla Brown was rescued.

Kohlhepp 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? Mm-hmm. His eyes looked horrible. They were bulging 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, my guy in the chest. He dropped forward. I went around him and put another one through a spinal cord. He did some bad things, but a monster?

No. Ted Bundy 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 says.

And she experiences hurt that she's never experienced in her life. Hot shot Australian attorney Nicola Gaba was born into legal royalty. Her specialty? Representing some of the city's most infamous gangland criminals. However, while Nicola held the underworld's darkest secrets, the most dangerous secret was her own. She's going to all the major groups within Melbourne's underworld, and she's informing on them all. I'm Marsha Clark, host of the new podcast Informants Lawyer X. In my long career in criminal justice as a prosecutor and defense attorney, I've seen some crazy cases, and this one belongs right at the top of the list. She was addicted to the game she had created.

She just didn't know how to stop. Now, through dramatic interviews and access, I'll reveal the truth behind one of the world's most shocking legal scandals. Listen to Informant's Lawyer X exclusively on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. And listen to more Exhibit C true crime shows early and ad-free right now. As a kid growing up in Chicago, there was one horror movie I was too scared to watch. It was called Candyman.

It was about this supernatural killer who would attack his victims if they said his name five times into a bathroom mirror. But did you know that the movie Candyman was partly inspired by an actual murder. I was struck by both how spooky it was, but also how outrageous it was. Listen to Candyman, the true story behind the bathroom mirror murder, early and ad-free, with a 48-hour plus subscription on Apple Podcasts. 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 firstborn. Joanne Shiflett. 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 the last two dollars in his pocket. That was just the guy. He was. The effort to find Charlie and Kayla 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 Kolop, 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 Kolop owned. from their cell phones was near a property that Kolop owned. All signs pointed to a 99-acre piece of land owned by Kolop. He kept it fenced off, but sheriff's deputies obtained a warrant and they began searching there on November 3, 2016. That's when they heard the female voice yelling for help inside that storage container. I got there in six minutes. I was 25 minutes away and I made it in six.

Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright and his deputies rushed to cut the five locks off the storage container door. Those dramatic moments were captured by police. Sheriff's office. Sheriff's office. Sheriff's office. What? Are you okay? Go.

Do you have any weapons? Coming through, okay? What's your name? What's your name, man? Lauren. Gotcha. All right. Just a girl. Just a girl. Just a girl What's your name, man? Lauren. Lauren. Gotcha. All right. Just a girl.

Just a girl. Just a girl. How are you, honey? We're bolt cutters. This is our best... He's a paramedic. Okay, we're going to get you out of there, okay? The chain looks for me. Anybody got a... I need a handcuff key.

You can put your hands down. You're okay. We're here, okay? It's both feet. Just one. It's attached to a chain from the wall, and my neck's attached to the wall up here. Okay. All right. All right, we're going to get you out of here, okay?

We'll get it off here. Cut it right here. We're going to step you out, sweet dude. Kayla was rushed from the scene into an ambulance, where she began talking about her two-month imprisonment at the hands of Todd Kolop. What did Todd do while you were there? He would get there between 1 and 3 o'clock every day, take me up to the main building, feed me,

make me do whatever he wanted sexually, and then he'd 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 yet. Kayla told investigators she had gone to Kolob's isolated property to do some cleaning as she had before. Her boyfriend Charlie accompanied her and without warning or provocation, Kayla said Todd Kolob 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 I could join Charlie

and I just went. I was numb. I couldn't think. I still hadn't comprehended what happened. I couldn't think. I still hadn't comprehended what had happened. Kayla Brown gave her first and only television interview to Dr. Phil, 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, like, dried food and rations and stuff and like lots of bottles of water. Did he come in there with you? Yeah, 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? Two and a half, three feet.

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 Kolob's home. At that point, the deputies do not know Kayla has been found. They were there for Kolob's 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 are at Kolop's property, Kolop is handcuffed and then he's told the news Kayla's been rescued. Alright, this is where we're at Mr. Kolop. While we were here, my sergeant

served a search warrant on your property. Okay? We have Kayla. We have Kayla 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. Alright? They're going to continue to search your property. They're going to continue. They got cadaver dogs down there.

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. Do you want to help 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'd you can go recover Charlie's body. No, sir. You don't want to?

No, sir. Okay. Why did you shoot him? I didn't shoot anybody, sir. Okay, why did you lock her in a container in your property? I don't know what you're talking about. I'm a money-in-attorney. Probably a good thing.

Go ahead and put him in the back of your car. I don't want him in your driveway right now. Okay. I'm going to the passenger side. All right? Yes, sir. Okay. Kayla told Dr. Phil that Kolop 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, Kolop begged the sheriff to allow him to tell his mother, Regina Tague, 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 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, her boyfriend. And he didn't know what to do with her. He couldn't turn her loose. She'd go get the police. So he chained her up. Mm-hmm. And tried to make her as comfortable as possible, and he had a dilemma. Regina says Colop promised her that he did not abuse Kayla, and in fact, treated her well. to know how sorry I am.

And I think Todd is too. Because he didn't want to hurt her. He just didn't know what to do. Why did he kill her boyfriend? Because he got nasty and got smart mouthed and Todd had hired him to do some stuff and Todd pays well. And the guy got mouthy about it, and from what I gathered, said some smart things to Todd, and I guess Todd shot him.

Is that how your son handled his anger? He just killed people when they mistreated him? Never before. That may be what Kolop told his mama, but it was far from the truth, as he himself told police. In a series of candid confessions, Kolob stunned investigators by admitting to seven different murders.

I shot her two to three times in the chest. Not my best work. In the Pacific Ocean, halfway between Peru and New Zealand, lies a tiny volcanic island. It's a little-known British territory called Pitcairn, and it harboured a deep, dark scandal. There wouldn't be a girl on Pitcairn once they reach the age of 10 that would still a virgin. It just happens to all of us.

I'm journalist Luke Jones, and for almost two years, I've been investigating a shocking story that has left deep scars on generations of women and girls from Pitcairn. When there's nobody watching, nobody going to report it, people will get away with what they can get away with. In the Pitcairn Trials, I'll be uncovering a story of abuse and the fight for justice that has brought a unique, lonely Pacific island to the brink of extinction. Listen to the Pitcairn Trials exclusively on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

Have you ever wondered who created that bottle of sriracha that's living in your fridge? Or why nearly every house in America has at least one game of Monopoly? Introducing the best idea yet, a brand new podcast from Wondery and T-Boy about the surprising origin stories of the products you're obsessed with

and the bold risk-takers who brought them to life. Like, did you know that Super Mario, the best-selling video game character of all time, only exists because Nintendo couldn't get the rights to Popeye? Or Jack, that the idea for the McDonald's Happy Meal first came from a mom in Guatemala? From Pez dispensers to Levi's 501s to Air Jordans, discover the surprising stories of the most viral products. Plus, we guarantee that after listening, you're going to dominate your next dinner party. So follow The Best Idea Yet on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts.

You can listen to The Best Idea Yet early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus. It's just The best idea yet. It seems almost surreal now, but if you had asked 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 made him around town. I mean, he did his job very well. I mean, he was a good realtor. Do you want to buy a house? Is he someone you'd have called?

Well, heck yeah, I would have. This guy knew exactly what he was doing. He's very smart. Kolop 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 investigators located the body of Charlie Carver, Kolop led detectives to two other bodies that he'd buried on his land, a young married couple, Megan and Johnny Joe Coxsey.

Got her number. on his land, a young married couple, Megan and Johnny Joe Coxie. Got her number. We talked on the phone for a brief moment. Basically offered her the job, offered to let him go in and do work as well. And then, in an otherwise ordinary interrogation room at the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Department, Kolop 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 think I'm sleeping in front of my face on some billboards.

We're like, hey, notice me, hire him. Kolop 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 of Ip Kids supplies, and got them down to my building. And that's when Johnny pulled a knife out. And... You shot her? I shot her.

Okay, and you shot her? Not exactly. It was December 2015, about a year before Kayla was rescued. Kolop says he held Megan in the same container where he later chained Kayla. I didn't know what to do with her, man. One side, I really wanted to drop her. The next side, I really... I kind of wanted to save her.

He says he bought Megan cigarettes, pizza, even her favorite soda pop. But after about a week, Kolop says she became too hard to control, and he felt the easiest way out for him was to kill her. Walter outside, but we're in the back of our head. What gun did you shoot her with? Same one.

That you shot? Mm-hmm. Johnny. Johnny with? Mm-hmm. And that's a Glock? And that's the same one you shot? Charlie. Charlie. That's my favorite gun. And that's the same one you shot Charlie?

Charlie. It's not even my favorite gun. It's just a handy gun. It's a handy one. It's very effective. Less than a year later, on August 30, 2016, Colip says he invited Kayla Brown to his, quote, sanctuary. She asked if her boyfriend Charlie could come along,

and Kolop 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, Kolop kept Kayla alive as a sex slave for two months before she was rescued.

She believes Kolob did not kill her because it seemed, as she told Dr. Phil, that he was infatuated with her. How did he seem infatuated with 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 Kolop, 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 rape. I'll fight all the way. We'll go to the jury. I won't win. But I'm going to make it extremely, extremely costly. The idea that he claims all these rapes were actually consensual sex is outrageous. Dr. Chris Mohandy is a forensic psychologist and CBS News consultant. The idea that he claims all these rapes were actually consensual sex is outrageous.

Dr. Chris Mohandy 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 charged with rape, ridiculous. Kolop 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? Indulging 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. Mohandie says whether she realizes it or not, Kayla was manipulating Kolop. 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 Kohlhepp. 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 on the property, and I was going to have a soundproof room, and he'd let me have the run of the property eventually when he trusted me. 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.

Mohandi says there's really only one way to describe the type of man Todd Kolop is. He is a reptile in the truest, in the truest sense of the word. In fact, long before he took Kayla captive, Todd Kolop was a sexual predator. When he was only 15 years old, he kidnapped and raped a 14 year old girl in Tempe, Arizona. Todd Kolop, charged as an adult, pleaded guilty to kidnapping. In exchange, that sexual assault charge was dropped. The troubled teen 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 your kid. You don't do that. You can't. Kolop 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 Van Sant has that story next. To hear more from Kayla moments after being rescued, join us on Facebook at 48 Hours.

It is one of the most notorious unsolved murder mysteries in South Carolina's history. Four people shot execution style at Superbike Motorsports in Chesney. A brutal crime that baffled police for over a decade was now being claimed by Todd Kohlhepp, 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 will tell you that once I engaged, I was engaged. Okay. So at that point, it's almost like a video game. It's not a game, but it's almost like you're focused on, you've been there, sir. You know what I'm talking about. Before Kohlhepp'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 seven 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 Sherbert were all hard at work at the bike shop when someone gunned them down.

What is your emergency? It's at a civil rights 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 world's just turned completely upside down. 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 left. Okay. Because I intentionally waited until 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? And your answers were always... Oh, absolutely not, no. Seven months later, Melissa gave birth to a son. That birth overshadowed any type 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 the police come back? My son was six 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 proceeded to tell me that we took a diaper that you threw away here a couple weeks ago 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 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. The notion is a potential love triangle. For sure. And a love triangle can create a motive 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 Kohlhepp, in an even and unemotional tone, calmly laid out the horrifying details of how he slaughtered four people.

She had to walk back to the building again to clear, and as I went, I took one round of each person's 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 a good time, a really good time. Noel Lee was a regular at the shop and became friends with Scott Ponder and Brian Lucas. Definitely my closest friends.

I would leave there on some days. I would say, all right, guys, love you guys. But on the afternoon of November 6, 2003, when Noel went to see his friends, he stumbled onto a horrifying, blood-soaked crime scene. Is it a two-line motorsport? Apparently, everybody's been shot up here. scene. Noel 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 Kayla Brown was found chained inside that container. After her capture and Todd Kohlhip'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, Kohlhip says, after he bought a motorcycle he admits he could not ride. He says he went back and asked the store's employees for help.

And told them that I was having a hard time riding it, and I was trying to see if I could possibly trade it in for a smaller bike. They proceeded to give me more on the rude side about my inevitability to ride that kind of bike. No one ever taught me. Days later, the motorcycle was stolen, and call help felt someone at the Superbike shop was involved. After his arrest, Cole Help 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, Kohlhepp sought revenge. Kohlhepp picked out a bike to buy, and when the mechanic went into a back room to prepare it, Kohlhepp followed him and pulled a Beretta from his shoulder holster. So you pulled out the Beretta from his shoulder holster. shots in the back and were coming this way to figure out what had happened. 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. She fell. The owner and the manager ran for the door. He 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 one.

After Kohlhepp'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 Kohlhepp had revealed a key detail only the killer would know. Kohlhepp admitted firing a single bullet into the forehead of each of his victims. After all those years, you were 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 Kohlhepp for years. Because he'd been a customer, investigators had sent Kohlhepp 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 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 Kohlhepp 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 mean looking and so forth.

And I was just staring at him thinking, I just don't get it. There's a lot about Todd Kohlhepp people just don't get. He seems different somehow. After all, most murderers don't make casual jokes about killing their victims. My golf game is weak. My kill game is strong. weak, my kill game is strong. Despite all the confessions, Kohlhepp's case still needed to be heard in a court of law. And he was up front when asked what a fitting end to his story might be. I mean, all joking aside, I'll tell you, what do you want? Take me out back, shoot three times in the chest. Nothing has worked. Shot the mechanic twice.

In the hours he spent confessing to detectives, did a tactical reload and dropped the other one. Todd Kolop remained remarkably candid, even when he showed police where he buried his victims. Up there at the spot where you took Charlie, there were two holes dug. What was your intent with the second hole? Hadn't decided yet.

Was that possibly for Kayla? Yes, sir. Kolop even told Kayla he had already picked out his next victim. Some girl named Holly, he's supposedly planning to kill her. He could never get her and her boyfriend out. I don't know why. There was really only one way to describe Todd Kolop. 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'll plead guilty or not guilty? He'll plead guilty. Because he knows he did it. And so seven months after his arrest on May 29, 2017, Todd Cole stood before Judge J. Durham Cole. Do you wish to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty to each of the charges contained in each of these separate indictments? Guilty, sir. In the quiet South Carolina courtroom, the moment

felt like a dry legal matter. But in truth, the soft-spoken Todd Kolop had just admitted killing Charlie Carver, Kayla's boyfriend, Johnny Joe Coxie and his wife, Megan Lee McGraw Coxie, and the four people at the Superbike 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 Kola bargained for his own life. Is that true? In the end, Todd Kolop bargained for his own life. He would escape the death penalty in exchange for pleading guilty to seven murders, as well as the kidnapping and rape charges related to Kayla Brown.

He was given seven consecutive life sentences, plus 60 years. My kill game was 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. Caldwell will spend every day for the rest of his life thinking about being and suffering against Colossal Indian people. Kayla 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.

Her greatest love is for Scotty, the young boy that was born after his father was murdered. Scotty watched as Kolob got the sentence that even he had wished for. I just really hope he'd be in jail for the rest of his life and die. I just don't want any more people to die. The question of whether Kolob 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 Kayla 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 Kolob's 70-year-old mother. She had told us that his killing spree made her heart sick. What do you want to say to the families? That 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 Tague died without ever having to watch her son stand before the families of his victims and admit the unthinkable. There's nothing I can do about it. and admit the unthinkable. 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 everybody. Todd Kohlhepp was not allowed to attend his mother's funeral.

In a letter to a local newspaper, Kohlhepp claims he killed more than seven people. The FBI says they're investigating. If you like this podcast, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app. Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a quick survey at wondery.com slash survey.