Kala Brown survived 65 days chained inside a shipping container on Todd Kohlhepp’s rural South Carolina property after he shot and killed her boyfriend in late August 2016. Deputies found her alive on November 3 of that year, and her rescue led Kohlhepp, a licensed real estate agent and registered sex offender, to confess to seven murders, including a quadruple homicide that had gone unsolved for thirteen years.
How Brown and Carver Ended Up on the Property
Brown and her boyfriend, Charles David Carver, were lured to Kohlhepp’s 95-acre property near Woodruff under the pretense of a clearing and pruning job. Brown had done cleaning work for Kohlhepp before, so the arrangement didn’t raise alarm.1CBS News. Confessions of a Serial Killer: Buried Truth
Carver was last heard from on August 29, 2016. Surveillance footage showed him leaving work the next evening. Brown’s last known message was a text to a friend on the morning of August 31.2Independent Mail. Tracking a Killer: How Investigators Uncovered Crimes of Todd Kohlhepp The couple had left Brown’s car behind, along with their dog without food or water. Friends reported them missing that same day.3BBC News. The Woman Found Chained Like a Dog in a Container
The Killing of Charlie Carver
Brown later told investigators that Kohlhepp opened fire shortly after the couple arrived, and that she watched him kill Carver.4ABC News. Man Accused of Kidnapping Kala Brown in Ongoing Investigation Carver was shot three times in the chest.5Independent Mail. Todd Kohlhepp The Spartanburg County coroner ruled the death a homicide caused by multiple gunshot wounds, and Carver’s body was recovered from a shallow grave on the property.
In her first public interview, on “Dr. Phil,” Brown said Kohlhepp had told her “it was easier to control someone if you took someone they loved,” which she said explained why he targeted the couple together.6People. Kala Brown Update on Dr. Phil Kohlhepp’s mother, Regina Tague, told CBS News her son claimed he shot Carver because Carver “got nasty” and mouthed off.1CBS News. Confessions of a Serial Killer: Buried Truth
Two Months Chained in a Shipping Container
After killing Carver, Kohlhepp locked Brown inside a metal shipping container, chaining her by the neck and ankle to the wall. She slept on thin dog mattresses with a single blanket and pillow, and used buckets for a toilet.7CNN. Kala Brown Video: Todd Kohlhepp, South Carolina He gave her paperback crime novels, a DVD player, and a battery-powered lantern.2Independent Mail. Tracking a Killer: How Investigators Uncovered Crimes of Todd Kohlhepp
Kohlhepp visited daily, usually between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. He would unchain Brown and lead her at gunpoint to an apartment he had built above a garage, where he sexually assaulted her while armed. Brown told investigators Kohlhepp made clear her survival depended entirely on his satisfaction.2Independent Mail. Tracking a Killer: How Investigators Uncovered Crimes of Todd Kohlhepp She described a deliberate strategy on “Dr. Phil”: “I realized it was easier if he thought things were going his way. So I made him think whatever I had to.”8Independent Mail. Kala Brown Says Todd Kohlhepp Was Infatuated With Her
Brown said Kohlhepp described Stockholm syndrome to her, told her it would “kick in,” called her “his property,” and said he had “chosen” her.8Independent Mail. Kala Brown Says Todd Kohlhepp Was Infatuated With Her Investigators later found that Kohlhepp had pre-dug an open grave for Brown beside Carver’s.2Independent Mail. Tracking a Killer: How Investigators Uncovered Crimes of Todd Kohlhepp
The Rescue on November 3, 2016
Investigators from the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office went to Kohlhepp’s property on November 3, 2016, after tracking Brown’s cellphone records there.7CNN. Kala Brown Video: Todd Kohlhepp, South Carolina While searching the grounds, officers heard banging and screaming from inside a padlocked shipping container. They broke the lock and found Brown, then 30, shackled inside.9ABC News. Woman Rescued After Months in Container in Good Spirits
Sheriff Chuck Wright said she had been “chained up like a dog” but was in “good spirits” given what she had endured. She told deputies she had been held for two months and immediately said Kohlhepp had killed Carver.9ABC News. Woman Rescued After Months in Container in Good Spirits Kohlhepp was arrested at 10:45 a.m. that day and charged with kidnapping.4ABC News. Man Accused of Kidnapping Kala Brown in Ongoing Investigation
What Investigators Uncovered After the Arrest
Brown’s rescue cracked open more than a decade of violence. Kohlhepp cooperated extensively in the days after his arrest, confessing to seven murders and leading detectives to burial sites on his property.
The 2003 Superbike Motorsports Murders
On November 6, 2003, four people were shot and killed at Superbike Motorsports, a motorcycle shop in Chesnee, South Carolina: owner Scott Ponder, 30; bookkeeper Beverly Guy, 52; mechanic Chris Sherbert, 26; and employee Brian Lucas. All four were killed with the same pistol, and the case had gone cold for thirteen years.10ABC News. Todd Kohlhepp’s Confession to 2003 Murders in South Carolina
Kohlhepp voluntarily confessed, giving Sheriff Wright details only the killer would know. He said he had bought a motorcycle from the shop, returned it because he struggled to ride it, and been mocked by employees. He told detectives he “cleared that building in under 30 seconds.”11Independent Mail. New Documents Released in Kohlhepp Case He later told investigators he had fired a single bullet into each victim’s forehead.12CBS News. Confessions of the South Carolina Serial Killer
Meagan and Johnny Coxie
Kohlhepp also led investigators to the remains of Meagan Leigh McCraw-Coxie, 25, and her husband, Johnny Joe Coxie, 29, buried on his property. The couple had been reported missing in December 2015 after being released from jail in Spartanburg earlier that month.13NPR. Bodies of Missing Married Couple Found on South Carolina Kidnapper’s Land Both had been shot. Kohlhepp confessed to killing Johnny Coxie with a Glock .40 caliber handgun.14The State. Todd Kohlhepp Victims A former coworker of Meagan Coxie told CBS News that she had worked at a Waffle House in Roebuck that Kohlhepp frequented, and that she knew “for a fact he didn’t just pick her up off the street, he met her there.”15CBS News. Todd Kohlhepp Accused Serial Killer Met Victim at Waffle House
Kohlhepp’s 1987 Arizona Conviction
Kohlhepp had a violent record long before 2003. In 1987, at age 15, he kidnapped a 14-year-old neighbor at gunpoint in Tempe, Arizona, forced her to his home, tied her hands, and sexually assaulted her.16Goupstate.com. Court Files Detail Kohlhepp’s Disturbing Behavior as Youth His case was transferred to adult court in Maricopa County Superior Court, where he pleaded guilty to kidnapping in exchange for the sexual assault charge being dropped, and was sentenced to 15 years.17People. Former Attorney for South Carolina Serial Killer Suspect Speaks
He was released around 2001, registered as a sex offender, and relocated to South Carolina. He went on to build a real estate career and started his own firm, Todd Kohlhepp and Associates, employing as many as ten agents.18CBS News. Who Is Suspected Serial Killer Todd Kohlhepp Few people around him knew his history.
Guilty Plea and Sentencing
On May 26, 2017, Kohlhepp pleaded guilty before Judge Jimmy Henson in Spartanburg County to seven counts of murder, two counts of kidnapping, one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, and four counts of possession of a weapon during a violent crime.19Spartanburg County. Kohlhepp Sentenced to 7 Consecutive Life Prison Terms The plea was part of a deal to avoid the death penalty.20NPR. Confessed Killer Pleads Guilty to 7 Murders Over a Dozen Years in South Carolina
He received seven consecutive life terms plus 60 additional years for the kidnapping, sexual assault, and weapons charges. He waived his right to appeal in state or federal court and agreed never to seek or accept parole.19Spartanburg County. Kohlhepp Sentenced to 7 Consecutive Life Prison Terms Sheriff Wright told the court the investigation into potential additional victims would stay open. Kohlhepp had claimed in a letter to a local newspaper that he killed more than seven people, and the FBI investigated those claims, but no evidence of further victims was found.12CBS News. Confessions of the South Carolina Serial Killer
Kala Brown After the Rescue
Brown’s first public appearance was a two-part “Dr. Phil” interview beginning February 13, 2017, where she described Carver’s killing, the conditions of her captivity, and the sexual assaults. “He tried to crush me, but I’m not broken,” she said. “He cannot destroy who I am, and I won.”21CNN. Spartanburg Serial Killer Survivor
She later filed a civil lawsuit against Kohlhepp alleging kidnapping, false imprisonment, assault, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligence, seeking $360 million. In August 2018, a Spartanburg County court awarded her $6.3 million, including more than $1.5 million in actual damages and more than $4.7 million in punitive damages.22Greenville Online. Todd Kohlhepp Estate
In July 2019, Brown was arrested on a third-degree domestic violence charge in Greenville County after an altercation with a boyfriend, in which an arrest warrant said she admitted to striking him in the face. She was released on a $2,000 personal recognizance bond.23CBS 17. Kala Brown, Victim of Todd Kohlhepp, Facing Domestic Violence Charge Prosecutors dismissed the charge in September 2019, saying it could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.24ABC News 4. Charge Dropped Against SC Woman Who Escaped Serial Killer
Where Kohlhepp Is Now
Kohlhepp is incarcerated at the Kirkland Correctional Institution in South Carolina, serving his seven consecutive life sentences.25South Carolina Department of Corrections. Inmate Details: Todd Christophe Kohlhepp In 2025, a FOX Carolina investigation revealed he had been using a prison-issued tablet to communicate with people outside the facility and direct them to sell autographed memorabilia tied to his crimes. The items included signed copies of his written confession to the Superbike murders, autopsy reports of his victims, court transcripts, hand-drawn artwork, and stenciled quotes such as “kill some more” and “what would Kohlhepp do.” He had also tried to launch a “TK SK” T-shirt line.26FOX Carolina. Fox Carolina Investigates: Uncovers Serial Killer’s Attempts to Sell Merchandise Behind Bars
After the investigation, the South Carolina Department of Corrections moved Kohlhepp to supermax confinement indefinitely. He lost all tablet, phone, and visitation privileges, is monitored by cameras around the clock, and is allowed out of his cell for one hour per day.27FOX Carolina. Convicted Upstate Serial Killer Todd Kohlhepp Moved to Supermax Confinement The Department of Corrections and the state Attorney General’s office both opened investigations. South Carolina law requires offenders to notify the Crime Victim Services Division about income derived from their crimes, and the Attorney General’s office confirmed no such notification had been received from Kohlhepp.26FOX Carolina. Fox Carolina Investigates: Uncovers Serial Killer’s Attempts to Sell Merchandise Behind Bars As of late 2025, whether criminal charges would be filed over the scheme remained unclear.