The Item from Sumter, South Carolina • 11

State local Thursday August 21 1986 Page IB Flit Slimier Hail Item A Sumter County ghost story After 10 years the 1-95 murders bring nothing but dead-end clues Authorities hoped they would be able to find a dentist who had done work on a man with the initials JP and who was expected to come in fpr another visit "For all that work to be done on the bottom i teeth) it would just stand to reason that he would continue and finish his top teeth Hanna said But dental records proved to be too hard to check and although these records were sent to every dental crime or medical seminar across the nation for years no one was ever able to help identify the man Other clues led authorities to believe the two were quite possibly not Americans For example the girl who was thought by examiners to have been in good health and most likely wealthy because of her finely manicured hands and other features had not shaved her legs or underarms Also reports said the woman was carefuly pedicured well-groomed and dressed and added her hands were smooth as though she had not had to do much housework or many other physical tasks Interpol US Customs investigators and immigration personnel were questioned and asked for assistance but nothing ever came of that either Also the year was the year of our Bicentennial and many people from all across the country and even from other countries were visiting the coastal areas such as Charleston Savannah and other places of historical interest While the search for the identity of the two continued at full speed so did the search for the killer or killers Police believe that the couple was brought to the scene of their deaths by a van or station wagon Tire tracks were found near the scene and by using wheelbase measurements police were able to state the car had further been equipped with worn mudgrips later identified as Firestone Town and Country Wide-Oval tires The front tires were common commercial treads in fairly new condition Whatever vehicle had carried these treads had gone down to a nearby tobacco barn and turned around as though the driver would have taken the frontage road back in the direction of 1-95 More than five months after the bodies were found the gun used in the killings was discovered A North Carolina man had been arrested in Latta SC in December of 1976 and a gun found in his car was confiscated and put in an evidence room Months later the gun was sent to the South Carolina Law Enforcement lab in Columbia to be checked out and it was then discovered the gun was the same gun that had been used in the killings Investigators traced the gun as far back as possible and found many people had been in possession of it At the time of the shootings in Sumter the gtin was in the possession of a man (See MURDERS on page 2B) at one point to be related perhaps brother and sister Each bore a distinct resemblance to the Other both were slightly olive-skinned with smooth complexions and both had brown hair The woman's pockets were completely empty the held only a pack of matches with the name Truck on its cover The man was about six feet tall weighed 150 to 160 pounds and had shoulder length hair and brown eyes He was wearing faded Levi blue jeans sandals and a red Coors T-shirt The T-shirt had COOR America's Fine Light Beer on the front and a cartoon sketch of Snoopy driving a race car on the back with the legend Challenger G-T Sebring 75" It was later established this shirt probably came from the 1975 Coor s-sponsored Sebring Races in Florida but this was just one of a long list of dead-end clues for investigators The woman was wearing cut-off blue jeans manufactured that way and not cut off after purchase a pink halter top that tied in the front and an unbleached muslin blouse She also wore a pair of Stride Rite wedge-heeled sandals with lavender pink and purple straps She had medium-length hair was about 5-feet-5 and weighed about 100 pounds She also had two small moles on her left cheek and another on the right side of her face They were not prominent but were extremely small and of medium darkness The girl was probably about 19 or 20 years old authorities said Examiners said the man was in his 20s or perhaps even older Three rings were taken from the girl's fingers and were described as handmade Indian or Mexican styled rings One of a faceted band with red white and blue stones Another was an oblong black stone with three green flecks and the third was a very noticeable piece of jewelry a large intricate feather scroll band with a rust and green stone set into the curves of the scroll The man wore an expensive Bulova Accutron yellow gold watch and a Linde Star ring commonly known as a tiger eye It was set in a heavy 14-karat gold band and engraved inside were the initials JP Investigators followed every possible lead that year and in the years to follow More than $175000 has been spent on the investigation and leads will continue to be followed as they come up The man was found to have had extensive dental work done and dental records from every available source were checked At one point this was a crucial piece of information because one forensic dentist said he found what he believed to be evidence of intricate dental work and thought perhaps he had found the key to solving the mystery Dr Charles Hanna said the dental work would have cost more than $2500 and said it had not been completed Evidence of radiopaque something used only experimentally before 1975 was found and Hanna said the work would have been tedious for both the dentist and the man By TRACI QUINN DUFFY ITEM Staff Writer Ten years after Sumter's most mysterious murders a shooting that left two people dead and no clues that would point to the killer or even the identity of the dead investigators are still following leads and hoping to find the answer to the most important question of all "The silent secret that lies in the earth's one local authorities had hoped would be unearthed by now remains buried more than a decade after two unknown youths were shot to death hundreds perhaps thousands of miles from their homes The story began on a dirt road between Interstate 95 and 341 in Sumter County Aug 9 1976 On Aug 11 1977 two young people perhaps a handsome couple perhaps brother and sister were buried in the Bethel United Methodist Church cemetery in Oswego as a crowd of more than 200 looked on Some sent flowers and wreaths addressed simply "Unknown Couple Others donated money to pay for the funerals of people who surely had loved ones somewhere who surely would have wanted flowers to mark the graves of those they lost Their graves in Sumter County are marked by simple bronze plaques that read "Male Unknown Aug 9 and "Female same date But now ten years later no one comes to visit or leave flowers No one even knows their names On Aug 9 1976 a motorist who had stopped to rest about 6:20 a saw two people lying by the side of the road just off the interstate on a dirt road commonly known as Locklair Road They looked almost peaceful lying there he would say but the driver knew something was terribly wrong and alerted police What authorities found was a young woman and a slightly older young man both victims of multiple bullet wounds lying on their backs near the road Neither had any identification on them except for a ring with engraved initials that was found on the man There was not much blood at the scene but there was enough to help determine the two had been shot where they lay Investigators also found bullets in the ground directly under where the couple was found It was later determined they had died almost instantly after receiving three gunshot wounds each An autopsy report showed the two had most likely been killed between 11 30 and midnight the night of Aug 8 A man who lived nearby later told police he had been listening to Johnny Carson's monologue on TV when he heard two shots followed quickly by two more shots He said he had thought they were related to something on television until he heard about the murders The two were very handsome and were thought uthorilies have circulated thcsc pictures of the 1-95 murder victims all over the world since their deaths 10 years ago but no killer or killers have ever been found Heavy rains across state putting end to drought 1 JmniMrnfiAn lllAllId hn in cnim in th would be in town in Administration the next several days to see whether low-interest loans will be available City and Union County workers county inmates neighbors and friends helped flood victims clean up Wednesday The Red Cross provided food shelter clothing and cleaning supplies for flood victims but all of those evacuated Wednesday stayed with friends and neighbors said Stanley Williamson job director for the American Red Cross Twenty-five to 30 residents in York were evacuated Tuesday night as flash flooding sent 6 feet to 8 feet of water rushing through the streets The afeas of Lockhart and York have had flooding problems before residents said been reported we dry up and now we re going to drown said Jean Davis 43 who had to be rescued by boat early Wednesday after her house in Lockhart was flooded waist high A gully-washer fed by 6 inches of rain in slightly more than three hours flooded a hollow in Lockhart and forced 70 people to evacuate their homes: The flooding caused more than $1 million damage to 40 houses three chuches and two businesses Lockhart Mayor Walter Marlin said The high school the post office and trailers also were damaged by the flood in the poorly drained area Martin said he had been in touch with the governor's office and has been told a team from the Small Business "We probably catch up with all these deficits before the winter state Climatologist John Purvis said the severe drought as we experienced this summer is probably over In Lockhart about 75 people were evacuated early Wednesday from homes in low-lying areas along the Broad River after heavy rains overloaded the town's storm drainage system Seven families also were evacuated from a neighborhood in York County A flash flood watch for all but the coastal areas of the state was canceled early today A weather service statement said rainfall was light to moderate Wednesday night and early today and no flash flooding was reported No injuries or deaths from the flooding had By The Associated Press After months of the driest weather on record the drought basically over for now" thanks to several days of heavy rains across South Carolina Rain has swept the state for the past two weeks with Newberry York Union and Richland counties getting the most Forecasters said Wednesday that some regions could expect a total of up to five additional inches of rain today and Friday 1 think the drought is basically over for now Alfred Vang executive director of the state Water Resources Commission said Wednesday The rain has eased drought conditions throughout the state but officials warned that full recovery will probably not be achieved until after winter State economy continued moderate growth in June More education money Suit claims state shirking responsibility to educate calls for new financing system for unemployment insurance accounted for most of the the loss in the index The average manufacturing workweek down 0 5 hours and non-farm jobs unfilled down 15 percent also contributed to the decline in the index Meanwhile the total employment rate edged up 0 1 percent to 6 6 percent and residential construction was up 14 percent the report said benefits was not available In May 10 of the indicators rose and five fell according to the report which is published by the University of South Carolina and the state Employment Security Commission The South Carolina Composite Index of Leading Indicators fell 15 percent in June to 973 from 988 in May Those indicators generally project where the economy is heading A 33 percent rise in initial claims COLUMBIA (AP) South Carolina's economy continued a but uneven growth" in June according to state economists The June pattern of a weakening manufacturing sector and a growing non-manufacturing sector has continued for two years according to the report released Wednesday Of the 16 indicators monitored nine fell and six grew according to the latest South Carolina Economic-Indicators issue The leading indicator unemployment insurance Florence to Myrtle Beach connector vital Campbell says each district will receive a specified amount of money for each of its students But the act also insures no district will get less money than it received "in the prior year If a district were to have fewer students one year but receive the same money as the year before the suit says the district would be funded for Richland County Councilman Ray McKay proposed the suit earlier this year and most of his fellow members voted for it The Richland County Council approves the budgets of Richland school districts one and two McKay said at the time that school districts should be allowed to raise additional funds for education if they wanted But under the constitution districts should not be forced to provide education financing he said school system The suit says the constitutional requirements have' been violated by the 1984 Education Improvement Act and the 1977 Education Finance Act which mandate tha "school districts pay their share' of money to support education The suit says because local governments only raise funds through property taxes the acts make "the quality of education for school-age children a function of the wealth of the children's parents and neighbors as measured by the tax base of the school Requiring local governments and school districts to provide money no reasonable relation to the South Carolina legislative purpose of providing equal educational oppotunity for all school children The EIA also includes a state funding system that guarantees COLUMBIA (AP) The state is shirking its responsibility to help fund public education according to a lawsuit in which Richland County seeks to overturn the present financing system The suit asks that the financing system be declared unconstitutional and that school funds be reallocated under a different plan The suit doesn't propose an alternative system Gov Dick Riley Lt Gov Mike Daniel and House Speaker Robert Sheheen are named in the suit which was filed Wednesday in Richland County Common Pleas Court The suit alleges South Carolina illegally requires local school districts to provide funds shirking a constitutional provision that calls on the General Assembly to provide for the maintenance and support of free public schools Both state funds and local property taxes pay for the public Lt Gov Mike Daniel on a campaign swing through Horry and Georgetown counties Wednesday also stressed the importance of tourism to South Carolina Campbell is the Republican nominee for governor and Daniel is on the Democratic ticket for the November election At a time when jobs are being lost in other areas Daniel said the Grand Strand's tourism industry is gaining more importance can ill afford not to do everything we possibly can do to keep the industry Daniel said at a news conference at Coastal Carolina College got to put our priorities in our spending and start putting our money into things that will return a profit he said If elected governor Campbell said his first priority in dealing with transportation problems will be a new highway on the Grand Strand MYRTLE BEACH (AP) US Rep Carroll Campbell said an Interstate 95 connector from Florence to the Grand Strand and a second runway at the Myrtle Beach airport are vital in securing tourism We just can sit back and take tourism for granted Campbell said Wednesday at a news conference in Myrtle Beach have to move forward and we have to be very objective in what we re planning to do.