'Devil Unchained' Is A Documentary About Serial Killer Todd Kohlhepp’s Crimes
- Photo: Investigation Discovery
Todd Kohlhepp Held Kala Brown Captive For 65 Days
Both Kala Brown and her boyfriend Charlie Carver were hired to clear brush on Todd Kohlhepp’s land in rural Spartanburg County, SC - shortly afterward, they went missing. Their friends and family searched tirelessly, but the last time anyone heard from them was the same day they arrived on Kohlhepp's property.
Using social media and cell phone activity, investigators tracked Brown and Carver to the property on the day Brown disappeared, discovering that Brown's phone had been active on the property for hours, though Kohlhepp said she'd only been there for about an hour.
In November 2016, authorities delivered a warrant to Kohlhepp at his home while police searched his property. Police found Brown in a shipping container tipped on its side in the middle of Kohlhepp's property. They located her after she began banging on the side of the container and shouting for help.
Brown spent 65 days in the container chained by her neck, during which time Kohlhepp gave her food and water two times a day. After his arrest, Kohlhepp claimed that he had also committed a series of murders on the property.
- Photo: Investigation Discovery
Kohlhepp Killed Brown’s Boyfriend, Charlie Carver
Brown was held in a storage container for over two months. Her boyfriend, Charlie Carver, was dispatched by Kohlhepp on August 31, 2016, shortly after they arrived on his property. Once she was freed by authorities, Brown explained that her captor killed Carver in front of her before locking her up.
When authorities questioned Brown on Carver's whereabouts, she said:
Charlie? He shot him. Todd Kohlhepp shot Charlie Carver three times in the chest. He wrapped him in a blue tarp, put him in the bucket of the tractor, locked me down here - I’ve never seen him again.
In a phone interview played during Devil Unchained, Kohlhepp claims he knew he would be caught as soon as he shot Carver, because "none of it was planned." During the 65 days that Carver and Brown were presumed missing, authorities believe Kohlhepp posted on Facebook as Carver in order to create the illusion he was still alive.
Each post contained a taunting message or joke, and everyone who knew Carver claimed they were completely out of character for him. Before Kohlhepp was arrested, Carver's family thought that his estranged ex-wife was responsible for the posts.
- Photo: Investigation Discovery
Kohlhepp Confessed To An Unsolved Quadruple Homicide From 2003
Kohlhepp confessed to shooting and killing four people at Superbike Motorsports on November 6, 2003, in Chesnee, SC. The crime was unsolved, and Kohlhepp offered himself up as the perpetrator, but police are still unsure if he actually committed the crimes.
According to Devil Unchained, nearly 13 years passed before police had a lead in the Superbike case. During his confession, Kohlhepp claimed he committed the crimes after Superbike employees mocked him and stole his bike.
He described the crimes in crystal-clear detail - however, a map of the crime scene reveals discrepancies in his story. Not only did he describe the bodies as being in the wrong place, but his descriptions of the wounds were inaccurate.
- Photo: Investigation Discovery
Johnny and Meagan Coxie, Who Went Missing In 2015, Were Found On Kohlhepp’s Property
Before Brown and Carver went missing in 2016, another couple fell victim to Kohlhepp. Johnny and Meagan Coxie were hired to clean rental properties owned by Kohlhepp, and shortly afterward, they disappeared.
Once Kohlhepp was arrested in November 2016, he openly admitted to disposing of the couple in a manner similar to that of Carver and Brown.
Kohlhepp claimed that Johnny Coxie pulled a knife on him, so he shot the young man before entrapping Meagan Coxie in the same storage container that would eventually hold Brown. The Coxies' remains were found on Kohlhepp's property during the investigation that led to Brown's freedom.
- Photo: Investigation Discovery
Kohlhepp Confessed To Taking More Lives Than He Was Originally Charged With
During Kohlhepp's initial phone interview with Maria Awes on Devil Unchained, he reveals there is "90% more to the story" than people know, and he has "considerably more" victims than the seven the public are aware of.
While Kohlhepp may be grandstanding, researchers on the case believe there are more victims, although they have not provided any evidence indicating as much.
At the end of Kohlhepp's sentencing, as shown in the docuseries, he's given a moment to come forward with information about any additional victims, but he refrains. When Awes asks the local sheriff about the additional crimes, he also refuses to provide any information, instead complimenting Awes's dress.
In a call to his mother played in Devil Unchained, Kohlhepp says there "aren't enough fingers" to count the people he's killed.
Kohlhepp Allegedly Has An IQ Of 118
Kohlhepp received a psychiatric evaluation when he was 15 years old after he kidnapped and sexually assaulted a young girl. The doctor in the case ruled that while Kohlhepp was emotionally disturbed, he was not psychotic.
The doctor also wrote that Kohlhepp had an inflated ego and "generally [felt] he should be in control." The only emotion the doctor claimed Kohlhepp could feel was anger. His psychological evaluation also stated that he had an above-average IQ of about 118.
- Photo: Investigation Discovery
Kohlhepp Is A Registered Sex Offender
In 1986, Kohlhepp committed his first major criminal act while living in Tempe, AZ. The night of November 25, he lured his victim away from her home, held her at gunpoint, and led her to his house.
He then taped her mouth shut and bound her before sexually assaulting her. Following this act, he walked her back to her parents' home and threatened to target her brother and sister if she called the authorities.
The victim's brother reportedly called the police when he discovered his sister missing. Kohlhepp's victim said on Devil Unchained that she managed to talk her way out of the house once the police lit up the neighborhood, and that when she arrived home, she told them she was out "looking for a dog" because she was so terrified.
Betsy Cable, the officer who first spoke to Kohlhepp's victim, said she never had a perpetrator as young as Kohlhepp who "employed all of the techniques that he did." When she made the arrest, he asked, "How much time am I going to get for this?"
- Photo: Investigation Discovery
He Was Given Seven Consecutive Life Sentences
After he was arrested for Carver's murder and Brown's kidnapping, Kohlhepp confessed to six other slayings. Police accepted his admission, and he was charged with seven in total. The court handed down seven consecutive life sentences.
Kohlhepp is serving his sentences at Broad River Correctional Facility in Columbia, SC.
- Photo: Investigation Discovery
The Authorities Are Still Investigating His Additional Crimes
Even though Kohlhepp has claimed multiple times that there are more undiscovered victims buried in the Spartanburg area, the authorities state that they still haven't recovered any remains.
Investigators in Spartanburg County are taking Kohlhepp's claims seriously, although they haven't found any corroborating evidence. Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright said:
We're trying to get a game plan together to find out exactly where and what to do. Investigators have been talking to him. We're not going to try to keep that quiet. We're going to go search. We haven't been able to confirm anything he's claimed yet. It's not to say that the details are not sketchy because it's been so long, but we're obligated to go check.
According to Devil Unchained, the FBI has an open file on Kohlhepp for a series of crimes he claimed he committed in Juarez, Mexico. However, in a letter to Awes, he said he didn't want the public to know about his time in Mexico.
He Lied About His 14 Years In Prison
After serving his sentence in an Arizona prison for sexual assault, Kohlhepp moved to South Carolina and began looking for work. He first worked at a sports apparel company before getting his real estate license - both of which shouldn't have been possible given his criminal history.
He listed his previous occupation as a "graphic designer with emphasis on print media, vinyl graphics and engraving" for "Arizona Consumer Industries." In reality, he worked for Arizona Correctional Industries creating products with a group of inmates.
Kohlhepp lied on his LinkedIn profile, writing that he received a bachelor's degree in computer science from Central Arizona College. In order to get his South Carolina real estate license, he claimed the prison sentence was a misunderstanding.
He said he and his ex-girlfriend were arguing while looking for his lost dog, and the only reason he carried a gun was because of the Phoenix area's gang activity. As no laws about criminal background checks were in place at the time, his license application was approved.
- Photo: Investigation Discovery
Kohlhepp Left Detailed Amazon Reviews For His Torture Implements
After Kohlhepp purchased the property where he eventually imprisoned Brown, he began purchasing the tools and implements he used in his crimes. An Amazon account connected to Kohlhepp left a series of comments that, in hindsight, reveal his ill intentions.
A review of a knife stated, "havnet [sic] stabbed anyone yet...... yet.... but I am keeping the dream alive and when I do, it will be with a quality tool like this..." Another review for a hidden shackle padlock reads:
works great.. also if someone talks back.. go old school on them by putting this in a sock and beating them.. they will not appreciate the hardened steel like you will...
Kohlhepp Claimed He Previously Had A Sexual Relationship With Brown
In Devil Unchained, Kohlhepp reveals that he and his victim, Kala Brown, had a previous sexual relationship. He claimed they'd been "fooling around for about a year," and that she wrote letters to him while she was held captive in his storage container.
Kohlhepp claimed that Brown asked for intimate toys in her letters - however, those letters were specifically written for Brown's captor to read and were written under duress. When asked about the letters, FBI profiler John Douglas explained that the letters weren't meant to titillate, but rather to keep Brown alive. He told Investigation Discovery:
[Brown] knows he’s going to see it and its going to pacify him hopefully so that he doesn’t kill [her]. It’s a part of a survival identification.
It is unclear if Kohlhepp was trying to get Brown's boyfriend, Charlie Carver, out of his way, or if he simply panicked as he claimed. Kohlhepp says he didn't know what to do after he eliminated Carver, and he locked Brown in the storage container while he determined a course of action.
- Photo: Investigation Discovery
Kohlhepp Was Forced To Liquidate His Assets To Pay His Victims
As of July 2019, Brown and the relatives of Kohlhepp’s other victims were in the process of settling a wrongful death lawsuit against Kohlhepp. The court was expected to award Brown with half of Kohlhepp's assets, and the other half would be divided between the family members of the other victims.
These damages are on top of the $6.3 million Brown was awarded and the $2.7 million the Coxie family was awarded following Kohlhepp's conviction. The land he described as his "killing fields" was sold in 2018 for $500,000, and the rest of Kohlhepp's assets are still being itemized.
