Published by The History Press
Charleston, SC 29403
www.historypress.net
Copyright 2007 by Mark R. Jones
All rights reserved
Cover design by Marshall Hudson.
First published 2007
e-book edition 2012
ISBN 978.1.61423.480.7
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Jones, Mark R. (Mark Rowell), 1959-
Palmetto predators : monsters among us / Mark R. Jones.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
print ISBN-13: 978-1-59629-396-0 (alk. paper)
1. Serial murderers--South Carolina--Biography. 2. Serial murders--South Carolina--Case studies. I. Title.
HV6533.S6J66 2007
364.15230922757--dc22
2007036854
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Introduction
Remorse for what? You people have done everything in the world to me. Doesnt that give me equal right?
Charles Manson
The definition of a serial killer is any offender, male or female, who kills multiple victims over a period of time. Most researchers agree that to be classified as a serial killer, there should be a minimum of three to four victims. However, sometimes through good police work, potential serial killers are stopped after the first or second victim. This volume includes two such stories.
There are notable distinctions between a mass murderer and a serial killer. The mass murderer, sometimes called a spree killer, kills several people in a short period of timethe Columbine school shootings are a good example. A serial killer murders victims over a period of timemonths or even years. The mass murderer also usually suffers from psychosis and is often considered insane. By contrast, serial killers are rarely found to be mentally ill. Most serial killers are described as obsessive-compulsive because they normally kill according to a particular style and pattern.
Greg McCrary, former FBI profiler, says, People have to be aware that [serial] offendersare not one-dimensional monsters, but project the appearance of normalcy and blend in with the rest of society in many ways.
Most serial killers are sexually motivated and derive pleasure from the physical act of murder. The more they do it, the more they enjoy it.
Is there a recipe for a serial killer? Most experts say yes. After thirty years of intense study and analysis by forensic profilers and psychiatrists, serial killers usually have some, most or all of these traits and characteristics in their past:
Most serial killers grew up in violent households with alcoholic adults. They were outcast and often suffered from physical impairments. As children they enjoyed torturing animals and setting fires, and were chronic bed-wetters.
There is also a high rate of childhood head injuries among people who become serial murderers. As adults, many have some type of brain damage and become addicted to alcohol or drugs.
They are exposed to pornography at an early age, and it quickly moves past the Playboy/Penthouse style of porno into extremely violent torture, bondage or S&M pornography.
Serial killers tend to be white, heterosexual males in their twenties and thirties who are sexually dysfunctional and suffer from low self-esteem. Their methodical rampages are almost always sexual in nature. Their killings are usually part of an elaborate fantasy that builds to a climax at the moment of their murderous outburst.
Serial killers generally murder strangers, with cooling off periods between each crime. Many killings include cannibalism and necrophilia. They often keep trophy-like body parts as mementos of their work as a way to relive the experience.
Serial killers are obsessive in nature. Some return to crime scenes or grave sites of their victims to fantasize about their deeds. Many like to insert themselves in the investigation of their crimes and some enjoy taunting authorities with letters or carefully placed pieces of evidence.
Serial killers tend to prey on women and children of their same race. Prostitutes, drifters and hitchhikers are their victims of choice.
Some homosexual killers enjoy hunting young boys and gay men.
Female serial killers tend to be black widows who kill a succession of husbands, lovers or other family members. They can also be nurses or other medical professionals who become self-appointed angels of death, murdering babies, elderly or the desperately ill in a misguided effort to relieve their suffering.
Palmetto Predators: Monsters Among Us is a collection of stories detailing the life and crimes of some of South Carolinas serial criminals. It also examines two potential serial killersmurderers who had the profile of a serial killer but were apprehended early enough to prevent them from reaching the magic threshold.
As you read about these monsters, keep this thought in mind: every time we watch a news story about the arrest of an accused serial offender, the news media rushes to interview the monsters neighbors. The typical comment from a neighbor is, He was such a nice, quiet man.
Chapter One
Richard Valenti
Super Christian
Victims: murdered 3; raped 5
This story tracks the loss of innocence, not just for the eight victims and their families, but for an entire small community.
Folly Beach, a barrier island six miles long and a half-mile wide, sits twenty minutes from Charleston, South Carolinathe closest beach to the historical city. During the War Between the States, Folly Island was the staging area from which Union troops attempted to take back Charleston from the Confederacy, and in 1934 George Gershwin rented the bungalow at 708 West Arctic Avenue and composed the music for Porgy and Bess.
A small town with a population of just over two thousand, Folly Beach is a low-scale community that is primarily a residential and family vacation beach. It also happens to have the one of the best surf areas on the East Coast, at the washout on the east side of the island. During the busy summer season, Folly Beach is cherished by tourists as a slower paced, less commercialized resort; during the off-season, the locals welcome the return of their quiet all-American small town. It is certainly not a place one expects to find a monster living with a view of the surf and dunes.
MAY 23, 1973. Thirteen-year-old Alexis Ann Latimer and her fourteen-year-old friend, Sherri Jan Clark, told Mrs. Latimer they were going out for a walk. They left the Latimers Folly Beach cottage in the mid-afternoon and never returned.
When the girls had not returned by dark, Mrs. Latimer immediately reported the girls missing and got no help from the Folly Beach police. She recalled that the police thought I was just an overwrought mother. The police assumed the girls had run away. It took more than two weeks before they took any action and began an investigation. They admitted to being baffled. None of the Charleston papers mentioned the girls disappearance.
