Killer Stories with Harvey Guillén - “The Amazon Review Killer” Todd Kohlhepp Pt. 2

Episode Date: November 4, 2021

Todd Kohlhepp’s behavior was growing increasingly erratic. In the real world, he made unsettling comments to his employees and friends. Online, he continued posting a string of disturbing Amazon reviews. And on his private compound, he locked his victims inside a shipping container. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Due to the graphic nature of this killer's crimes, listener discretion is advised. This episode includes discussions of murder, rape, sexual assault, and kidnapping that some people may find disturbing. We advise extreme caution for children under 13. On a chilly November morning, Sheriff Chuck Wright prayed to himself quietly. For the past two months, the whereabouts of Charlie Carver and Kayla Brown had perplexed the county. But now, investigators had a solid lead. According to an unidentified tipster, the young couple was likely buried somewhere in the middle of the South Carolina woods. Wright and his deputies scoured the land and came upon a 15-by-30-foot shipping container sealed shut with five huge padlocks.

Using sledgehammers, the team worked as fast as they could to break the locks open. Meanwhile, Sheriff Wright took a moment for himself. He was desperate to find the couple alive. Then, as if the universe had heard his prayers, one of Wright's deputies held up a hand. He swore he could hear something coming from inside the container. All the officers stopped and pressed their ears against the cold metal container, straining to listen. It was unmistakable. They could hear the faint sound of a person knocking, and then, a little louder, they heard a voice yelling, help.

Hi, I'm Greg Pulsson. This is Serial Killers, a Spotify original from Parcast. Every episode, we dive into the minds and madness of serial killers. Today we're returning to the strange story of Todd Colhap, the Amazon Review Killer. I'm here with my co-host, Vanessa Richardson. Hi, everyone. You can find episodes of serial killers and all other Spotify originals from Parcast for free on Spotify. Last time, we described how Colhep's sadistic temper emerged during his childhood and how he got away with mass murder in broad daylight. Then after walking away from the massacre, he reinvented himself as an ambitious real estate broker. Today we'll discuss

how Cole Hep's life imploded as he planned and executed a grisly series of murder kidnappings. We've got all that and more coming up. Stay with us. This episode is brought to you by ZipRecruiter, whether you're hiring for a role or searching for a killer. The Hunt? can be exhausting. When detectives looked and searched to find any kind of evidence to find the person they were looking for, like Jack the Ripper, the Golden State Killer, the Unit Bomber. It's tedious work to find what you're looking for. So if you're hiring, I've got news for you. You can skip the lengthy investigation and the tiresome process of sorting through hundreds of resumes. Just use ZipRecruiter. Try it for free at ZipRecruiter.com slash killers.

Because not only does ZipRecruiter have the technology to match you with potential candidates quickly, it also just added a new feature that pushes candidates who are qualified and interested in your role to the top of the list. They can even tell you why they're interested, making it easier for you to get a sense of who they are. Cut through the standard and get to the standouts with ZipRecruiter. Four out of five employers who post on ZipRecruiter get a quality candidate within the first day. And now, you can try it for free at ziprecruiter.com slash killers. That's ziprecruiter.com slash killers. Meet your match on ZipRecruiter.

This episode is brought to you by Shopify. Bonnie and Clyde, the lonely hearts killers, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. These are infamous criminal duels. But you don't need to break any laws to find your perfect business partner because you have Shopify. It's the commerce platform that can help you with literally everything. Website design, marketing, shipping, and more. So start your business today with the best

partner, Shopify, and get that. Sign up for your $1 per month trial today at Shopify.com slash killers. That's Shopify.com slash killers. This episode is brought to you by Prime. Obsession is in session. And this summer, Prime Originals have everything you want. Steamy romances, irresistible love stories, and the book to screen. favorites you've already read twice. Off campus, L, every year after, the love hypothesis, Sterling Point, and more. Slow burns, second chances, chemistry you can feel through the screen. Your next obsession is waiting. Watch only on Prime. In the fall of 2014, 43-year-old Todd Colhep was at the beginning of a downward spiral.

At first glance, nobody would have known anything was wrong. Colette was the owner of a successful real estate company in South Carolina. He also drove a BMW, had a pilot's license, and he'd just bought a sprawling second home in Woodruff. The area was sparsely populated, and all the residents knew each other by name, so it didn't take long for Coalheb to gain an unsavory reputation. It didn't help that he'd started turning his 95-acre property into a high-security compound. He installed cameras, bear traps, and erected a huge chain-link fence around the perimeter. It was clear he didn't want any visitors. Of course, his neighbors weren't eager to visit.

According to one, Kohlhep talked openly about the arsenal of weapons he kept at the compound. He also liked to talk about guns with silencers and night vision equipment. He even bragged about chasing people off his property at gunpoint. His behavior was just as alarming at his main residence, in the small town of war. At work, he'd already unsettled some of his employees by watching pornography in the office and revealing his status as a sex offender. At some point, a rival realtor heard the news and sent out letters to all of Kolhep's clients, informing them that he'd committed a sexual assault. Though it's not clear what impact this had on his business, we know he began receiving a string of hate mail. As the letters poured

in, Kolhep could see all of his hard work slipping away from him. He felt rejected, alienated, and furious. This feeling wasn't new to him. Back in 2003, when he was 31, Colhep went on a killing spree. She shot and killed four superbike motorsports employees, in part because he felt they had made fun of him. Now, more than a decade later, he was feeling that same intolerable sense of humiliation and seething resentment that had driven him to mass murder. In short, he was a textbook pseudo-commando. Vanessa is going to take over in the psychology here and throughout the episode.

Please note, Vanessa is not a licensed psychologist or a psychiatrist, but we have done a lot of research for this show. Thanks, Greg. A pseudo-commando is a mass murderer who typically kills in public during the daytime. He's driven by strong feelings of anger, resentment, and persecution. According to forensic psychiatrist James L. Knoll, the pseudo-commando views himself as someone simply carrying out a highly personal agenda of payback. The pseudo-commando is also a collector of injustices, driven by his own wounded narcissism. While we don't know if Kohlhep was ever formally diagnosed with a narcissistic personality disorder, several experts described him as having narcissistic

tendencies. He displayed many of the key traits of narcissism as defined by the DSM-5. These include an excessive need for attention, a lack of empathy for others, deceitfulness, and an obsession with success and power. So when News of Colhep's unsavory pass made the rounds, his wounded pride demanded revenge. Lawrence Shorts, a mortgage broker who worked with Colhep often, recalled one especially unsettling comment. Unprompted, Colhep reportedly said, I don't sleep much at night. I got up at 3 o'clock in the morning,

and I kind of know where people live. Shorts had long known Colhep as an intense type A personality, someone who you didn't want to tangle with. In real estate, this wasn't necessarily a bad thing. But this comment was different. It seemed like Colhipp was trying to confess something. Something Shorts likely had no desire to hear.

That tracks with what we know about Colhep because he was dropping a lot of hints about his plans around this time. That year, he began leaving a series of disturbing product reviews on Amazon. For a chainsaw, he wrote, works excellent. Getting the neighbor to stand still while you chase him with it is hard enough without having an easy-to-use chainsaw. In a review for a padlock, Cole-Hep noted that it works great on shipping containers, also if some someone talks back, go old school on them by putting this in a sock and beating them. They will not appreciate the hardened steel like you will. Had anyone been paying attention to Kolhep's Amazon reviews at the time, they might

have noticed the red flags. But of course, nobody was. And that meant there was nobody to stop him. In 2015, Kolhap started frequenting a Waffle House in the town of Roebuck, a few miles north of his more residence. It didn't take long for him to earn a reputation among the waitresses there. You see, Colhep was a big tipper, which would have normally made him popular, but the tips took on a darker meaning in light of his other behavior. He regularly asked waitresses to come home with him in a way that creeped them out. It was so unsettling that

eventually a male cook started taking Colhep's orders instead of the waitresses. Of course, none of this phased him. As a teenager, Cole Hep had had a crush on his neighbor who didn't reciprocate his feelings. But rather than accept this rejection and move on, Colhep kidnapped and raped her at gunpoint. 30 years later, he hadn't changed at all. If he couldn't get a woman to come home with him willingly, he'd simply have to force her. And he had the perfect victim in mind. In the fall, 44-year-old Colhep honed in on 26-year-old Megan Coxie.

She worked as a waitress at the Waffle House, but we don't know if she ever complained about Colhap. That's likely because Megan had other things on her mind. She and her husband, 29-year-old Johnny Coxie, had passed criminal convictions, and by that winter, they were in trouble with the law again. They were arrested within a week of each other. Johnny for unauthorized solicitation and lying to the police, and Megan for child neglect. Both were released in mid-December, and that's when Colhap. made his move. He got in touch and offered Megan and Johnny a job cleaning his company's rental

properties. When they accepted, he told them to drive out to his Woodruff compound to pick up supplies. Johnny and Megan arrived at the property sometime around December 21st, but according to Colhap, the couple had ulterior motives. According to Colhap, they were about to try and rob him, so he shot Johnny in the chest, killing him. Then, again, According to Colhep, he panicked. He didn't want to kill Megan, but knew he couldn't let her go either. So he imprisoned her inside a 15 by 30-foot shipping container that he kept in a remote area of his property. It was far from the nearest road, so no one could hear her cries for help.

And to make sure she couldn't escape, he secured it with the very same padlocks he'd reviewed so enthusiastically on Amazon. Needless to say, Colhep's claim that he shot Johnny in self-defense is hard to believe. So is the idea that he just so happened to have a padlocked shipping container ready to hold Megan captive. As far as we can tell, Cole Hep shot Johnny to get him out of the way so that he could have total possession of Megan. But while Colhap had complete control, Megan's mother felt helpless. It was very unusual for them to go without contact, so when she couldn't reach her daughter, she got worried. By the 22nd, she reported Megan missing, but the police had no leads to go on, so the investigation stalled out quickly. Colette would later allege that Megan opened up to him about her drug issues and legal troubles.

Sensing that she was craving a new start, he offered her a deal. He'd drive her west to Tennessee and let her go. He said that since Megan didn't have his name or his address, this seemed like a safe solution to him. And once again, Colhep's version of events is far-fetched and nonsensical. Since she and Johnny had driven to his Woodruff compound, Megan certainly did have his address. Even if she didn't remember where he lived exactly, she could surely identify him from the Waffle House. In any case, Colhep decided to give up on his plan. Or perhaps Megan rejected the deal.

Colhep never took her anywhere. As far as we can tell, Colhep never had any real intention. of letting Megan go, especially not after she began to be difficult. According to the book, The Killer Across the Table, which includes extensive interviews with Colhap, Colhep believed Megan was mentally unstable. He complained about her wild behavior in the storage container. Of course, Colhep didn't seem to consider the possibility that witnessing her husband's murder and then being held prisoner in a shipping container might have had an impact on her mental state. But just like the lie about why he killed Johnny, this story served Cole Hep's ego.

It let him cast himself as a level-headed guy, and Megan as the antagonist who pushed him over the edge. This kind of blame-shifting is a common behavior among narcissistic people. It's a form of projection which allows the narcissist to avoid having to feel shame for their own actions, which could threaten their fragile self-image. According to forensic psychologist Helen Morrison, Colhep was desperate to believe that he was a good guy, and it seems that more than that, he wanted to be a good guy who tried his best to be reasonable. But when he came across unreasonable people, well, then what happened next was their fault.

Colhep had kept his ego intact by using this kind of logic in his adult life. If only the Superbike employees hadn't humiliated him, he wouldn't have had to kill them. And if only Megan had behaved herself, she wouldn't have had to be imprisoned. According to Colhap, Megan regularly set things on fire inside the shipping container, which made him angry. And finally, he completely lost his temper. One day when she set yet another fire, he snapped and shot her to death. Then he buried Megan close to Johnny, deep in the woods.

His body count now stood at six, and despite not wanting to see himself as a serial killer, Colhep had no intention of stopping there. Coming up, Colhep targets a new pair of victims. Hello, I'm Hannah Maguire. And I'm Sarutie Bala, and we're the hosts of the new Spotify original from Parcast, Sinister Societies. You may know us from the very creepy and excellent podcast red-handed, but now we've teamed up with Parcast for an unprecedented look at history's most nefarious groups. Some preach extreme religious practices, others warn of impending doom, and then there are those

whose endgame is far more diabolical. Every Tuesday on Sinister Societies, we take a peek behind the curtain and discover the most ominous organisations the world may or may not have known. Learn how entrepreneurial sects made fortunes off their brand, how charismatic cult leaders caught the eye of celebrities, and why strange orders of the extraterrategories. terrestrial or collegiate kind, attract the most unlikely of followers. Some groups convene in the shadows. Others operate in plain sight.

All are absolutely sinister. Follow sinister societies free and only on Spotify. Snoring, gasping during sleep, feeling fatigued, ask your doctor about zebbound, terseptite. The first and only FDA-approved prescription medicine for moderate to severe obstructive. sleep apnea, OSA, and adults with obesity. Zepbound is a prescription medicine used with a reduced calorie diet and increased physical activity to help adults with moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea, OSA, and obesity to improve their OSA. Zetbound is approved as a 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5, or 15 milligram injection. Zetbound contains terseptitide and should not be used with other

terseptide-containing products or any GLP1 receptor agonist medicines. It is not known if Zepbound is safe and effective for use in children. Don't share needles or pins or reuse needles. Don't take if allergic to it, or if you or someone in your family had medullary thyroid cancer, or if you've had multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2. Tell your doctor if you get a lump or swelling in your neck. Stop Zepound and call your doctor if you have severe stomach pain or a serious allergic reaction. Severe side effects may include inflamed pancreas or gallbladder problems.

Tell your doctor if you experience vision changes before scheduled procedures with anesthesia. if you're nursing, pregnant, plan to be, or taking birth control pills. Taking Zepbound with a sulfonal urea or insulin may cause low blood sugar. Side effects include nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting, which can cause dehydration and worsened kidney problems. Talk to your doctor. Call 1-800-545-9 or visit Zepbound.lily.com. Now back to the story. In 2016, 45-year-old Todd Colhap unleashed a dark side that had lain door. dormant for more than a decade. But it seems that murdering 26-year-old Megan and 29-year-old

Johnny Coxie hadn't been enough. Just like everything else in his life, killing left Kohlhep feeling empty. We don't know if Kohlhep consciously planned to murder again, but soon enough, he set his sights on a new couple. That summer, 30-year-old Kayla Brown posted on social media that she was looking for work. That's why a friend put her in touch with Kohlhap, who began to message her on Facebook. He hired Kayla for various jobs throughout the summer, mostly cleaning his company's properties. All in all, the arrangements seemed to go smoothly, for a while. Then on August 31, Colhep asked Kayla to drive out for another gig.

Kayla agreed and brought her 32-year-old boyfriend Charlie Carver with her to help. The couple left their apartment in the city of Anderson and drove an hour northeast to Colhep's primary home in the town of Moore. When they arrived, Kohlhap told them that the house to be cleaned was actually around 15 minutes away, so he got into his car and told them to follow him.

Kohlhep led them straight to his Woodruff compound. There he got out of his car and unlocked the huge metal gate. Kohlhep bolted the gate behind them and got back in his car. They drove for another half mile until they reached a clearing in the woods.

Nearby, Kala and Charlie could see a garage, a garden shed, and a metal storage container. Colhap told the couple that their job was to clear the underbrush from the trails. Then he excused himself to get something from the garage. That's when Colhep overheard a conversation that made him angry. At least that's the story he told later. He said that Charlie and Kayla were talking openly about robbing him. Furious that they were trying to pull one over on him,

Cole Hep emerged from the garage with a Glock 22 pistol and shot Charlie three times in the chest. If this story sounds familiar, it should. This was almost verbatim, Cole Hep's explanation for why he shot Johnny Coxie. Is it possible that both couples intended on robbing him? Sure, but it's far more likely that Cole Hep was shifting the blame yet again. In any case, Charlie died on the spot, and as Kayla said, stared at her boyfriend's body in numb horror. Colhep pulled her into the garage.

He told her that if she didn't do exactly what he said, she'd end up just like Charlie. Then he handcuffed her by the wrists and ankles and put a ball gag in her mouth. At some point, Colhep told Kayla that he'd held another woman prisoner not too far back. He made sure to add that the woman became difficult and wound up dead. He also said he'd committed dozens of other men. murders. When he was sure Kayla was terrified of him, Kohlhap led her inside the shipping container, where he chained her to the wall by her neck. The next morning, Charlie's mother, Joanne Schifflett, was panicking. Her son had stopped responding to her texts and calls, which was completely

unlike him. Desperate for answers, she called the manager of the couple's apartment complex, who went into the unit. There, he found Kayla's Pomeranian dog, Romeo, alone without food or water. When the manager alerted Joanne and Kayla's mother, Bobby Newsom, both women were alarmed. Kayla would never leave Romeo and attended for long, not by choice. They alerted the police and began putting up missing posters around the neighborhood. The police obtained the couple's cell phone records and discovered that both Charlie and Kayla's phones had gone out of service on the day they disappeared. It's possible that Colhep saw the flyers, or at least got wind of the investigation. and wanted to throw everyone off the scent,

because soon after the couple vanished, a cryptic post appeared on Charlie's Facebook page. It was an old picture of him with Kayla, and the captions simply read, We are fine. This was the first of a series of posts that were made on Charlie's page over the next few weeks. Of course, his family and friends didn't fall for it.

For starters, the post didn't sound like him. And all the photographs he shared of him and Kayla together were taken months earlier. Clearly, somebody was impersonating Charlie. While the disappearance was sinister enough, the fake posts drew even more attention from press outlets nationwide. Outlets from the Daily Beast to Cosmopolitan

posted articles about the case and noted that while the police suspected foul play, they had no leads. Meanwhile, at Colhep's compound, Kayla's nightmare was only just beginning. She was still chained to the wall of the shipping container. Twice a day she was allowed into the garage to eat and to, quote, whatever Colhep wanted sexually.

Colhep may not have physically forced Kayla to have sex with him. However, he made it very clear to her why she was there, and that if she wasn't useful, he wouldn't keep her around. It's important to note that even though Colhep didn't physically make Kayla do anything, his actions absolutely constitute sexual assault. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, sexual coercion is unwanted sexual activity that happens when you're pressured, tricked, threatened, or forced in a non-physical way.

Being threatened with murder unless you consent to sex is a textbook example of a situation where true consent is impossible. But in Colette's warped mind, perhaps the fact that he didn't physically raped Kayla, meant that he was being respectful. What's more, the fact that she agreed to have sex with him meant that she wanted to. Of course, any reasonable person would have recognized that she was simply trying to survive. In Kolhap's mind, though, Kayla was experiencing textbook Stockholm syndrome. At least, that's what he told Kayla would happen in order to bond them together.

According to research by the American Psychological Association, hostages often develop an unconscious bond with their captors. This is commonly known as Stockholm Syndrome, a condition that was explored by psychiatrist Dr. Frank Ockberg in the 1970s. Ackberg explained that a hostage can experience a powerful, primitive, positive feeling towards their captor. This feeling can be so overwhelming that it causes them to be in denial about their captors' violent actions.

As far as they're concerned, their captor isn't a villain, but the person who is going to let them live. It's possible that any positive behavior Kayla demonstrated toward Kolhep may have been caused by this kind of denial. But based on Kayla's account, it seems that she was just doing whatever she could to keep her captive happy, to keep herself alive. But that's not how Kolhep saw it. According to him, Kayla was needy and demanding and wouldn't leave him alone. To him having a captive was, quote, not fun at all. Even still, Colhap seemed to enjoy the attention. Soon he began to tell Kayla outlandish stories about himself. He claimed that during his

time in prison, the government had let him out from time to time to serve as a hitman. He also told her that he was part of a paramilitary group. He even let Kayla handle an unloaded gun, explaining that he wanted to train her to kill. He said he might pin Charlie's death on her if he needed to. It's not clear whether Kolhev just told Kayla these stories to impress her, or whether he really believed his lies. But if the latter is true, it suggests Colhipp was experiencing delusions of grandeur. According to the DSM-5, delusions are a key symptom of several psychotic disorders. A delusion of grandeur is one of the most common types and involves a false, belief about one's own greatness or abilities. A person experiencing delusions of grandeur

might believe that they're famous or immortal or have supernatural abilities like telepathy. Or they might believe that they've been charged with a special secret mission like the one Kolhep told Kayla about. If he wasn't delusional, it's not clear what Kolhep would have had to gain by telling his story to Kayla. But in all fairness, there are a lot of things about his behavior that don't make sense. For example, for the first month of Kayla's captivity, Colhep continued sharing updates on Charlie's Facebook page. Though this plan may have started as a way to buy himself time, it soon became just one more

way to indulge his love of oversharing. If he'd simply posted the We Are Fine message and left it at that, it's possible the plan might have worked. Instead, Colhipp kept submitting post after post. He even shared updates announcing that the couple were married and experienced. expecting a baby. Cole Hep had hoped to throw investigators off the scent with these Facebook updates, but his plan backfired.

The uncharacteristic number of posts only made Charlie's friends and family more suspicious. The missing person's investigation was going strong, and Colhep was getting antsy. In an October post he again posed as Charlie and wrote, What color ribbon supports people who can't keep their nose out of other people's business? Cole Hep wanted people to stay out of his business. It's because he could sense that his luck was about to run out. Up next, a tip leads the police right to Colhip. Want to support your gut health? Take Activia's gut health challenge by enjoying two Activio yogurt today for two weeks and see if you feel a difference. With billions of

probiotics and 20 years of scientific expertise, Activia is one of the easiest and tastiest ways to start your gut health ritual. Try Activia today. Enjoying activity twice a day for two weeks as part of a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle may help reduce the frequency of minor digestive discomfort, which includes gas, bloating, rumbling, and abdominal discomfort. Transport your senses with Saltizanado's limited edition perfume mist collection. At Sephora, spritz on lush notes of rainforest orchid and crisp sea breeze with fresco paraizzo.

Embrace of floral and fruity scent inspired by Rio's nude beach with chiqui bikini or caps your sun-kissed bliss with limonada gelada. Zesty Brazilian Lemonade Accord meets coconut milk and golden brown sugar. Don't miss Sol de Janeiro's limited edition perfume mist collection only at Sephora. Now back to the story. In the fall of 2016, 45-year-old Todd Colhep was having second thoughts. Taking 30-year-old Kayla Brown hostage had seemed like a good idea in the moment. But now, after a month of keeping her hostage, the missing person's investigation was heating up.

What's more, Colhep's anxiety was consuming him. While he didn't want to kill Kayla, he didn't know what he was going to do with her. On the whole, Colhep claimed that he didn't like killing women. Sure, he had murdered two female victims before, but according to him, he had valid reasons. They'd gotten in the way or had simply made him mad. But as Kayla had done neither, it seems Colhep couldn't justify taking her life. Deep down, he also knew he could never let her go. It's just that holding her captive was too much work.

He couldn't see a way out of the situation he'd created. For the first time in his life, he started to think that he'd be happier back in prison. When he was serving a 15-year sentence as a young man, all Colhep wanted was to get out and build a real life for himself. Now, he felt nothing but stress. As usual, Colhep shared these feelings on the internet. but only expressed his tension indirectly. On his own Facebook page, he wrote,

Just admit it, you look at the news, you see the political crap and the school shootings, a zombie apocalypse is starting to look better and better every day. While the zombie apocalypse was too much to hope for, a reckoning was certainly coming for Colette. On October 18th, two detectives arrived at the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office. They were from Anderson and working Charlie and Kayla's person's case.

They told the sheriff's office they'd received a tip that said Kayla was buried on a 100-acre wooded property. Unfortunately, it was unclear where this tip came from. But the local police did their due diligence. Authorities knew the rough location of Kayla's cell phone before it had gone offline. It had pinged to a tower in Woodruff south of Spartanburg. This wasn't a densely populated area, and the only property that fit the description, from the anonymous tip belonged to 45-year-old Todd Colhep.

The sheriff's office flew a helicopter over the property, searching for clues from above, but they couldn't see anything that looked amiss. Eventually, they obtained a court order and got a hold of Colhep's phone records. The documents showed that his cell phone had been close to Kayla's on the day of her disappearance. Thanks to this discovery,

the police had enough information to get a probable-cost search warrant, On November 3rd, they dispatched teams to both of Colhap's properties. On the grounds of the Woodruff compound, officers found the 15 by 30 shipping container, its door secured with five padlocks. While trying to break the locks with sledgehammers, one of the officers heard knocking coming from inside. Everyone stopped to listen.

Investigators heard the faint but unmistakable sound of a woman calling for help. When authorities were finally able to break the doors open, they found Kayla inside, fully clothed and chained to the wall. She seemed dazed as they cut her loose. But she wasn't so dazed that she couldn't give them the information they needed. When they asked her where her boyfriend was, Kayla told them clearly, quote, Todd Colhap shot Charlie Carver three times in the chest. As they continued their search of the property, deputies found more disturbing evidence. chains and shackles in Cole Hep's garage, a freshly dug but empty grave, and Charlie's

car hidden under a pile of brush and tree branches. This was beginning to look like an open-and-shut case. But the detectives never imagined that they were also about to solve a 13-year-old multiple homicide. While Kayla was being taken to a hospital, she revealed that Kolhep had told her he was responsible for a mass murder in a motorcycle store. The Spartanburg detectives knew immediately that she could only be talking about the Superbike Motorsports Massacre, which had left authorities puzzled for years.

Later that day, Cole Hep was arrested at his more residence. He was calm and cooperative, almost as though he'd been expecting them. And according to Colhep, he had been. He said he had knew how to cover up cell phone pings and had simply chosen not to bother. He was exhausted and kept thinking about how to be. how much happier he'd been in prison. In fact, he wanted to get caught. As self-aggrandizing as Cole Hep's claims about cell signals were,

there may be some truth in what he said about being happier in prison. That's likely because Cole Hep experienced some level of institutionalization. Broadly, this term describes the way inmates are changed by the institutional environments in which they live. More specifically, institutionalization has also been described as a chronic physical and social state caused by incarceration. According to Johanna Crane, a medical anthropologist and bioethicist, institutionalization is characterized by anxiety, depression, hypervigilance,

and a disabling combination of social withdrawal and or aggression. Colhep came of age behind bars. He went to prison when he was 15 and stayed there until he was 30 years old. Once released, he built a successful life that doesn't. doesn't seem to tally with someone experiencing institutionalization. But Kolhep's high-flying existence was clearly a house of cards, just ready to collapse under enough pressure. Despite his many accomplishments, Colette became depressed and withdrawn.

It's possible, therefore, that he didn't really yearn to go back to prison for a life that felt comparatively straightforward. And so, Kolhep said he went willingly with the police. His exact words were, not to be arrogant, but they didn't catch me, I caught me. More than anything else, Colhap mainly seemed thrilled about the opportunity to wax lyrical about his crimes. As he began a voluntary, hours-long confession, Colhep told detectives he was ready to close a few cases for them.

On November 5th, two days after Kayla Brann was rescued, Colehep confirmed that he'd committed the Superbike murders, and proved it by providing specific information about the gun and ammunition that he used. He also detailed how he'd killed Johnny Coxie and later Megan, claiming that it had all started because Johnny tried to rob him. He confessed to killing Charlie Carver and holding Megan captive. Notably, the detectives who interviewed him said that he showed no remorse during his confession. In fact, there were several moments where he seemed proud of his crimes.

By the time of his confessions, Charlie Carver's body had already been found on Cole Hep's property. In the days that followed, Cole Hep accompanied investigators and showed them where he buried Megan and Johnny. After that, there wasn't much left for the authorities to do. In February of 2017, Colhep was indicted on 14 charges, including seven counts of murder. He was also charged with sexually assaulting Kayla Brown and, kidnapping Megan Coxie. Three months later, on May 26th, 46-year-old Colhap was sentenced to seven consecutive life sentences, plus an additional 60 years.

But Colhep wasn't ready to lose the spotlight just yet. The following year, he surprised authorities by announcing that he'd killed two more people. He said their bodies were buried just off Interstate 26 in Spartanburg. The sheriff's office canvassed the area for several days, but found nothing. In all likelihood, Colette was lying. He liked to follow the news about himself, which meant he had to keep feeding the press. Having run out of real crimes to confess to, it seems he started making them up. Dr. Yadira Bies Lockhart, a clinical and forensic psychologist,

was interviewed by local news channel WYFF, about this strange turn in the case. Dr. Baez-Lockhart described Cole Hep as someone with a narcissistic and antisocial personality and explained that since his confessions had brought him both attention and a sense of control, it made sense that he'd try to keep that dynamic going. Colhep knew that if he claimed to have killed more people, the authorities would have no choice but to listen. But that tactic only worked once. Sheriff Wright dismissed Colhep's later confessions as Just Talk. The police knew he had nothing more to offer them, and with no more manipulative cards left to play, Colhep faded from the headlines.

Perhaps that's only fitting. From impersonating his victims on Facebook to leaving a trail of breadcrumbs via his incriminating Amazon reviews, Colhep was always desperate to be noticed. Now all those avenues are closed to him. South Carolina, like many states, strictly prohibitive. its inmates from using any kind of social media. Cole Hep has been deplatformed. He can talk, but nobody's listening anymore. And for someone like him, that's a fate worse than death. Thanks again for tuning into serial killers. We'll be back soon with another episode.

For more information on Todd Colhep, amongst the many sources we used, we found John E. Douglas and Mark Olshaker's book, the killer across the table, extremely helpful in our research. You can find all episodes of serial killers and all other Spotify originals from Parcast for free on Spotify. We'll see you next time. Have a killer week. Serial Killers is a Spotify original from Parcast.

Executive producers include Max and Ron Cuddler, sound designed by Michael Motion, with production assistance by Ron Shapiro, Trent Williamson, Carly Madden, and Joshua Kern. This episode of serial killers was written by Emma Dibdin, with writing assistance by Jane O. and Joel Callan, fact-checking by Claire Cronin, and research by Brian Petrus and Chelsea Wood. Serial killers stars Greg Paulson and Vanessa Richardson. You aren't supposed to know about them, unless they want you to.

Powerful groups with their own very specific agendas. And if you find yourself on the inside, good luck getting out. Hi, I'm Hannah Maguire and I'm Sarutibala. Join us every Tuesday for our new Spotify original from Parcast, Sinister Societies. Whether it's doomsday predictions, deadly greed or world domination, each week we're exposing the beliefs and actions of the most ominous organizations the world may or may not have known. Follow Sinister Societies free and only on Spotify.

Own it all. Pay off your home. life drive a Ferrari. In celebration of the world premiere of the Monopoly big board buck slot machine by aristocrat gaming, Yamava Resort and Casino at San Manuel is giving one person a $1.6 million dream package. The biggest prize in Yamaba's history. Club Serrano members can earn daily instant prizes and secure a spot in the finale May 29th. Don't pass go and own it all only at Yamava, celebrating its 40th anniversary. You win? Details at yamava.com must be 21-20. Please gamble responsibly. Monopoly is a trademark of Hasbro. Hasbro is not a sponsor of this promotion.

Ryan Reynolds here for MintMobil The message for everyone paying big wireless way too much Please for the love of everything good in this world, stop With Mint you can get premium wireless for just $15 a month Of course if you enjoy overpaying, no judgments, but that's weird Okay, one judgment Anyway, give it a try at mintmobile.com slash switch Upfront payment of $45 for three-month plan

equivalent to $15 per month required Intro rate first three months only Then full price plan options available, taxes and fees extra, terms at mintmobile.com.