Todd Kohlhepp, often called the Amazon review killer, is a South Carolina real estate agent who murdered seven people between 2003 and 2016 and left a trail of roughly 140 Amazon product reviews joking about stabbing people, hiding bodies, and padlocking victims inside shipping containers. The reviews read as dark humor until his November 2016 arrest, when investigators found his kidnapping victim chained inside a padlocked shipping container on his property and realized the posts had been describing real crimes. He pleaded guilty in May 2017 and is serving seven consecutive life sentences plus 60 years.
The Reviews That Described Real Crimes
Between May 2014 and August 2016, an Amazon account tied to Kohlhepp under the username “me” posted reviews on everything from a pet feeder to tactical vests to season six of “The Walking Dead.” A handful stood out.
On a set of Master high-security padlocks, he wrote: “Solid locks. Have 5 on a shipping container.. wont stop them.. but sure will slow them down til they are too old to care.” On a SOG folding knife: “Haven’t stabbed anyone yet…… yet…. but I am keeping the dream alive and when I do, it will be with a quality tool like this.” On a folding shovel: “keep in car for when you have to hide the bodies and you left the full size shovel at home.” Another review read simply: “It’s blacker than my soul, and priced right.”1NBC News. Alarming Amazon Reviews Linked to Alleged SC Killer2CBS News. Chilling Amazon Product Reviews Linked to Todd Kohlhepp
The padlock review was literal. When deputies searched his 95-acre property near Woodruff in November 2016, they found Kala Brown chained by the neck inside a locked green shipping container. The account also reviewed carabiners, gun magazine pouches, weapon mounts, and books on rappelling, sniping, and emergency war surgery. Some of the listings were removed after the connection became public. Investigators have confirmed they knew about the reviews but have not publicly detailed their role in the case.3Fox Business. Chilling Clues in Amazon Reviews
The Murders Behind the Reviews
On November 6, 2003, four people were shot and killed at Superbike Motorsports, a motorcycle shop on Parris Bridge Road in Spartanburg County: shop owner Scott Ponder, his mother Beverly Guy, manager Brian Lucas, and mechanic Chris Sherbert. The case went cold for 13 years. Kohlhepp confessed to all four murders in 2016, and Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright said he gave details “only the killer would know.”4FOX Carolina. Man Confesses to 2003 Cold Case Murders of 4 Superbike Employees5BBC News. South Carolina Killer Confesses to 2003 Motorcycle Shop Murders
Johnny Coxie, 29, and his wife Meagan Coxie, 25, were killed and buried on Kohlhepp’s Woodruff property, believed to have been murdered in late 2015.6Independent Mail. Missing: How Anderson Couple’s Case Unfolded
On August 31, 2016, Kala Brown and her boyfriend Charles David Carver went to the property to clear underbrush. Brown had done cleaning work for Kohlhepp’s real estate business. When they arrived, Kohlhepp shot Carver three times in the chest, wrapped the body in a blue tarp, and placed it in the bucket of a tractor. He chained Brown by the neck inside a metal shipping container.7CNN. Kala Brown Video Shows Rescue From Todd Kohlhepp8People. Inside the Rescue of Kala Brown From a Serial Killer
Brown was held for about two months. On November 3, 2016, investigators from the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office and Anderson Police Department executed search warrants after tracking the couple’s cellphone signals to the area and identifying Kohlhepp through Brown’s Facebook page. Officers heard screaming from inside the container, broke the locks, and used bolt cutters to free Brown from the wall. She told deputies immediately that Carver had been shot and that “several bodies dead and buried” were on the property. In the ambulance, she also told investigators Kohlhepp had confessed to her about the four Superbike killings. Within days, investigators recovered Carver’s body from a shallow grave and uncovered the remains of the Coxies.9ABC News. Chilling Video Shows Rescue of Kala Brown10Independent Mail. Todd Kohlhepp and Kala Brown Investigation
A Convicted Rapist With a Real Estate License and a Gun Pipeline
Kohlhepp’s violent record started in 1986. At 15, he used his father’s handgun to force a 14-year-old neighbor into his home in Arizona, where he bound and raped her. The case was transferred to adult court, and he pleaded guilty to kidnapping. An adult probation officer called the plea deal a “travesty of justice.” A neighbor described him in a pre-sentencing report as “a devil on a chain.” He served 15 years, from 1987 to 2001, and registered as a sex offender on release.11Statesman Journal. Todd Kohlhepp Teenage Rapist
In 2006, Kohlhepp obtained a South Carolina real estate license. The Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation did not require background checks at the time; applicants were asked to explain any convictions in writing. He checked “yes” and submitted a misleading statement describing his Arizona crime as a verbal argument with a 15-year-old girlfriend that led to a kidnapping charge only because of the firearm. The agency did not verify the account against the sex offender registry, and state law barred automatic denial based on a conviction.12WSPA. South Carolina’s Licensed Sex Offenders13HousingWire. How Did Alleged Serial Killer Get His Real Estate License
In May 2017, Governor Henry McMaster signed legislation requiring fingerprint-based SLED and FBI background checks for real estate agents, brokers, property managers, and their supervisors. Sponsored by Representative Chip Huggins of Columbia, the law requires the check every third license renewal, or every six years, and took effect in 2020. It covers roughly 48,000 people in the state’s real estate and property management industries.14Yahoo Finance. Real Estate Agent Accused of Killings Prompts Law Change
As a convicted felon, Kohlhepp could not legally buy firearms, and the FBI’s background check system had no record of his name. He used a straw purchaser named Dustan Lawson, who bought 12 guns and five silencers between 2012 and 2016, signing federal paperwork falsely stating the items were for his personal use. During some purchases at Academy Sports + Outdoors, Kohlhepp reportedly stood near Lawson and picked out the firearms himself, modifying them later. Lawson was indicted on 36 federal weapons charges, pleaded guilty in May 2018, and was sentenced to more than seven years in federal prison.15Greenville Online. Todd Kohlhepp FBI Guns Investigation16CBS News. Man Who Sold Guns to Serial Killer Todd Kohlhepp Indicted17Seattle Times. Man Who Bought 12 Guns for Serial Killer Pleads Guilty
The Plea Deal and Sentence
On May 26, 2017, Kohlhepp pleaded guilty in Spartanburg County to seven counts of murder, four counts of possession of a weapon during a violent crime, two counts of kidnapping, and one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct. He was sentenced to seven consecutive life terms plus 60 years for the kidnapping and sexual assault of Kala Brown.18Spartanburg County. Kohlhepp Sentenced to 7 Consecutive Life Prison Terms
The nine-page plea contract was signed by Kohlhepp, his attorneys, Seventh Judicial Circuit Solicitor Barry Barnette, Kala Brown, representatives of the seven victims’ families, Sheriff Chuck Wright, and an attorney from the South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services. Kohlhepp waived all rights to appeal in state or federal court, agreed never to seek or accept parole, and acknowledged the state could re-sentence him and seek the death penalty if he escaped or violated any condition.18Spartanburg County. Kohlhepp Sentenced to 7 Consecutive Life Prison Terms
Barnette said the plea was pursued because South Carolina’s death penalty was effectively non-functional at the time due to an expired supply of lethal injection drugs, and because Brown and the families preferred certainty to a capital trial and years of appeals.19Death Penalty Information Center. South Carolina Killer Pleads Guilty to 7 Murders in Deal to Avoid Death Penalty
Civil Judgments and the Academy Sports Settlement
Kala Brown sued Kohlhepp in Spartanburg County in November 2016 and was awarded $6.3 million, comprising more than $1.5 million in actual damages and more than $4.7 million in punitive damages. She had originally sought $360 million. A court-appointed receiver was assigned to liquidate Kohlhepp’s assets, though his attorneys acknowledged recovery would fall well short of the award. The receiver auctioned his personal property in August 2018, and the 95-acre Woodruff tract sold the following month for $500,000.20Greenville Online. Todd Kohlhepp Estate Award21WACH. Serial Killer Todd Kohlhepp’s Property Sold for $500,000
Families of three Superbike victims filed wrongful death suits in Spartanburg County.22GoUpstate. Families of Superbike Victims File Lawsuit Against Todd Kohlhepp
Victims’ families also sued Academy Sports, alleging negligent sales to Lawson despite red flags. At least seven of the guns Lawson bought came from Academy stores. In November 2023, the retailer agreed to a settlement of approximately $2.5 million, split among the estates of Charles Carver, Johnny Coxie, and Meagan Coxie. A circuit court judge denied Academy’s motion to seal the terms.23FOX Carolina. Academy Sports Settles Lawsuit With Serial Killer Victims’ Families24Brady United. Brady: Victims’ Families Settle With Academy Sports
Claims of More Victims
In a December 2017 letter to the Spartanburg Herald-Journal, Kohlhepp claimed to have killed more than the seven he was convicted of murdering. He wrote: “It’s not an addition problem, it’s an multiplication problem,” and alleged he had used his private pilot’s license to travel across state lines and out of the country to commit crimes. The FBI’s Columbia office confirmed a pending investigation but declined to provide specifics. No additional victims have been publicly confirmed as linked to him.25ABC News. Convicted Serial Killer Todd Kohlhepp Claims More Victims26NBC News. South Carolina Serial Killer Todd Kohlhepp Says There Are More Victims
Where Kohlhepp Is Now
A 2025 FOX Carolina investigation found that Kohlhepp had been using his prison-issued tablet to try to profit from his crimes. He arranged the sale of T-shirts branded “SK TK” (for “Serial Killer Todd Kohlhepp”), communicated with outside contacts about a potential documentary, and signed hundreds of items including artwork, photos, and copies of his victims’ autopsy reports. He told one contact to “make that cha-ching.” Profiting from crimes while incarcerated violates South Carolina law.27FOX Carolina. Todd Kohlhepp Moved to Supermax Confinement28Corrections1. Convicted SC Serial Killer Under Investigation for Trying to Profit From Murders
The South Carolina Department of Corrections stripped his tablet, phone, visitation, and canteen privileges and moved him to supermax confinement at Kirkland Correctional Institution. He is held in his cell 23 hours a day under 24-hour camera surveillance, with no access to visitors, phones, or tablets. The South Carolina Inspector General’s Office has been investigating whether criminal charges should be filed. As of late 2025, it remained unclear whether the investigation was still active or whether charges would result.27FOX Carolina. Todd Kohlhepp Moved to Supermax Confinement29WYFF4. South Carolina Serial Killer Todd Kohlhepp Under New Investigation