https://johnsonvilleschistory.org/files/original/7d0e90c1455646c73094d410228c1dbe.pdf 105fa2d874becd46ef1ef12fd09ff4b0 PDF Text Text Donald Ray Gaskins , better made of three or the victims . He known locally as Junior Parrott Is specifically charged with the of Prospect, was charged murder of Johnny Sellers, 38,. of Monday with three coWJls of North Charleston on or about murder In the bizarre lncldent June 22, 1974, John Henry where six bodies were found Knight, 15, and Dennis Bellany, burled In three shallow groves 28. Knight and Bellamy, half In the Prospect community last brothers ~hose address was Thursday and Friday . listed as 1us Emden Street In According to the latest reports North Charleston, have been two additional bodies were missing from their home since discovered Tuesday morning October 10. 1975. within a mile of the first burial Also charged with the three site. counts of murder ware Walter Gaskins, In his forties, was In Leroy Neely, 30 of North the Central Correctional Charleston. who had been held Institute CCCI> in Columbia in the Florence Detention where he had been placed Center as a material witness, following his arrest In Sumter and who Is believed to be the County late Irr November on Clll' informer who led officers to the theft charges and contributing wooded area about a mile south to the delinquency of a minor . of highway 341 on the outskirts He had been listed as a "prime of a corn field where the three suspect" by authorities since shallow 1 unmarked graves the bodies were unearthed and yielded the six bod!~. had been questioned at length Also charged with the murder by North Charleston detectives, of Sellers Is James Koney Judy, State Law Enforcement 23. of 2224 Parsonage Road, Department <SLED> officials Charleston, who was arrested at the residence of his mother and others. The charges came after Saturday night by North positive identification had been Charleston Police on a warrant Scene Of Crime lrom Olanta. Hernlngway od the Prospect community gather at the Ii two victims who were apparently executed and burled In the tommunlty. At last reports a total of eight bodies had been discovered, discovered Tuesday morning. Issi oner, m that the bj highway I ~ont'!!_ued from Page 1 Knight and Bellamy was made through medical and dental records, according to North Charleston Police Chief L. B. 1 Simmons. Coroner Eaddy said 1 1 positive identification of the other bodies could take several days because they were so • badly decomposed. According to reports, it is 1 expected that at least two other 1 sites in Florence County will be searched for additional bodies. 1 , Published reports Monday j .stated that four of the six people . found in the shallow WJmarked . graves were shot to death in · apparent ''execution-style '• . .I sJ ay1ngs and two others may : have had their throats cut . The · reports said there is also evidence of sexual attack on at ~ least one of the female victims . ·• F our bullets of unde· term ined were •· removed fromcaliber one of the bodies 1 a nd forwarded to SLED 1 headquarte r s in Columbia . Sunda y. a ccording to reports , · which say several different • wea pons were used in the . slayings, the first of which · occurr ed in 1974. ; Law enforcement officers , . according to the r eport, say the ' victims were probably alive 1 when brought to the site down > the narrow , winding dirt road. I , The three graves from which the bodies were removed are • · located within a few feet of each 1 other in the remote area . I No motives hav e been esta blished for the killings , but officers speculate they may be 1 connected to an auto theft ring. 1 ~ The shaky theory that auto ; thefts may be linked to the ! slayings is a pparent!)' based on ! the arrest of P arrott on car l theft charges a nd the later > charges of murder in 1 connection with the case. I Gaskins, who has been in · trouble with the law off and on ~ most of his adult life. was employed in the North 1 signed by Florence County have been cooperating In the Sherrlr\Vllllam C. Barnes. He Investigation. waa taken to Florence where he Neely led Williamsburg remains in the custody of County Deputy Glenn Ard to Florence County offlclal1. two sites In that county several Nothing has touched off as weeks after police had been much Interest and concern In tipped about a "private this rural area In several graveyard ." Diggings were decades, if ever, a1 the made at the Snow farm In Black discovery of the bodies. Those Mingo Swamp near the of four males and two females, community of Henry and In the all believed to be from the Roper Crossroads section of Charleston area. were located Williamsburg County. After a down a narrow, twisting field search of these areas failed to road, accesaable by car and produce any bodies, Neely then according to residents, often led Ard to the Prospect site. used as a lover's lane, When dlgglnp there yielded a approximately a mile behind body, Florence County Sheriff the old home place of Parrott. William C. B'arnes and Florence The diggings In that area County Coroner William T. started Thursday afternoon cBilly> Eaddy were called to the diggings following an Investigation scene . Further which had begun about a month Thursday afternoon located earlier, following the another grave and two disappearance of a 13-year-old additional bodies. North Charleston girl . The bodies were not removed According to reports, officials Thursday night, but were !en of the North Charleston Police covered with several Inches of Department, Williamsburg dirt a waiting the arrival early County Sheriff's Department, Friday of Dr. Joel Sexton, Florence County Sheriff's forensic pathologist at the Department and SLED officials Medical University of South Carolina In Charleston. Florence County Chief Deputy Franklin McAll1ter, In charge or the Investigation, ordered a 24·hour guard of the graves and cordoned off the area aa far as a mile from the bodies. A special pelce of vapor equipment, a • sophlatocated Instrument developed to ,a11llt In locating missing aer vice men in Viet Nam. was flown la hum Tallahassee, Florida to be ••'Id In the search for addltim•I bodies. After two days of l'rultl. . digging Saturday and Sundry, the hunt was called ott n& the Prospect site, at lea1t temporarily . Sheriff Barna said In.a brief neWI Cllllfienmea late Sunday arternoon, '''111 re i1 nothing more we caa du ~ at thl1 time, There II aJwayi tbe pPulbillty that we ma, have overlooked 1ometbln1.'' la respon1eto a reporters qulltlon aa to whether or ant they wauld return to that IHe at a latw .date . The crowd of curloua 7 11>•ctator1 1welled S•d•J lft•r- 1mW lbs HIP•llJ Patrol wu called out te help wttb tbe direction of trafftc . Tbl11atllend . . . . the road llloclil wlme ~ _.. waltt'W, IH+llll to pm 101ae new turuc ....uaa • Ille lituatlm lllme . . . ID Ill* &1ad1y ftalry. otlMrl . . . cu•t•Uy di 1111d • tlllf lllml 1111uud. Muy broulbt Ill* w1- aud abOdrm. rt wu a dUferen1 S1111day artaw at11IOltlhsM t"PD In die~ of Ulla rural me•••-n, . ..., wwe awaJtllll lbs ........S tf tbl nad blaetr ID Ibey GOllld a ftnt ha"" Yin of ... ..aveallel. Altboalb dark blluD to abut 111. ..., an chve dowa UM lwiMllll road aud 1pectalerl . . . . . tbl wODdad .... al ........ w Swlmpwlth~ Aacard'nl to npna. w11 ldentlfted by Pll*'I f'MtM ID U. ..._. 1be Ill ..... thr•• ........ body tf I ...... wap """"' . Polltl II C1ndrlnll .. Pqe I • I Charleston area as a sheet metal worker. and had formerly been associated with a well digging firm in the Prospect area. He had his first brush with the law in 1950, according to official reports. He has previously been convicted of assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature In 1952 ; accessory after the fact of murder in 1957 ; a national motor vehicle theft act in 1959 ; and rape in 1964. He has served time on each conviction. A visit to Prospect Monday afternoon showed few residents were willing to discuss the situation. One man . who asked not to be identified said, " l just don 't believe that is JWJior's work . He is too slick. JWJior might have been an accessory after the fact . but he didn't do the killings ." He continued that it was possible that Parrott may have been in a position where he had to help dispose of some bodies. but he dldn 't believe even that. He a dded that in his opinion , Judy was responsible for the whole deal , and sa id, "Wouldn 't it be just like a m an to dispose of bodies in the area of a nother noted criminal a nd let him CParrott l take the r ap. Why. one grave was r ight in a foot pa th which .JWJior knew everybody around here used when they go coon hunting in those woods. No sir. I just don 't believe Junior did it." He answered in the affir mative when asked if Judy ha d been aro und in t he Pros pec t community . An older gentleman. seated by the store's heater , concluded, " I believe you are wrong. I think you will find he (Parrott ) was r esponsible for everything." Several people who said they knew Parrott said he didn 't show the side that woul d indicate he was " that kind of person at all ." One Johnsonville man said he might well have a split personality . Another sa id, " If he liked you, he would do anything in the world for you, and if he didn 't like you , you had better look out." "- - --- ···"-- -..l-- ·--:'--~ ' t ' One •'tnan who describe d Pljtrott as " one of the b.est fr iends 1 have " said he might weigh 90 pounds, and was the next thing to a midget . He related that Parrott had hid out in that same swamp while officers sought him on the assault and battery charges in 1952 . He said he lived in the swamp for ten days on a two poW!d bag of sugar and berries, finally corning out on his own and asking a Prospect man to take him to Florence to give himself up. One gentleman said, " This thing has got my nerves all upset. and I didn't even have anything to do with it." Mrs. Maydell Lyerly said Parrott was a fine man, and came from a fine. very will liked family. She described him as bring smart and Intelligent, but said he bad always needed love, and hadn't had what he needed most. The Investigation into the murders is expected by law enforcement officials to be a loog and tedious process at best. North Charleston Chief Simmons told the Observer that bis department Is swamped with book work. but added. "Don't feel sorry for us. we're just doing our job.'' Two Prospect · women. Ms. Qierry Albnan and Ms. Marie Marlow. have been arrested In connection with the car tbelt ''ring'' and relea1ed on boip,d, accordiq to qilet Sfmmo , st sr w h'. H rE lE IT H a VI u '· 15 Hemingway, S. C., 29554 Thursday, December 11, 1975 12 Pages ~=================================:.J � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Weekly Observer Description An account of the resource The Weekly Observer was published out of Hemingway, SC from 1973 until printing ceased in 2012. The paper continues as an e newpaper on scnow.com Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1973-2012 Subject The topic of the resource Local Newspaper covering the Johnsonville and Hemingway communities. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Weekly Observer Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Local Man Charged In Murders WO 12-11-75 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Weekly Observer News Newspaper Weekly Observer