Father of victim visits suspected killer’s property, as investigation there is scaled back

Tom Lucas was in shock when investigators told him the man charged with kidnapping and chaining a woman inside a storage shed also confessed to killing his son in 2003.

“When they explained what was going on, I was actually blown away,” he said Tuesday morning after visiting the 95-acre property on Wofford Road near Woodruff.

Lucas, his wife and the families of the four people killed at Superbike Motorsports in 2003 were called by investigators Saturday after Todd Kohlhepp confessed to the slayings. It was almost 13 years to the day from when their family members were killed. “We are still trying to process this,” he said.

Lucas talked about the case Tuesday, a day after a third body was found on Kohlhepp’s property near Woodruff. Lucas, father of Brian Lucas, one of the four killed at Superbike, was “curious” about the 95-acre wooded tract on Wofford Road.

Lucas said news that there was an arrest in the case was “not closure, but it is a relief.”

He said he still has questions about “why on that day, Nov. 6, 2003 in the afternoon, they were all executed. What was the real story behind that?”

Investigators were back on the scene Tuesday as part of their continuing investigation. Close to a dozen law enforcement vehicles, including one Crime Scene Unit trailer arrived at Todd Kohlhepp's property near Woodruff Tuesday around lunch time.

Otherwise, there was little activity visible from the fence line throughout the day at the 95-acre tract.

The body found Monday brings the death toll to seven that are linked to Kohlhepp, a 45-year-old real estate agent and convicted sex offender.

He has not confessed to any other deaths, said Lt. Kevin Bobo, spokesman for the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office.

On Saturday, two days after asking for an attorney, Kohlhepp reinitiated contact with investigators and confessed to the 2003 quadruple slayings at Superbike Motorsports in Chesnee that left Scott Ponder, Brian Lucas, Beverly Guy and Chris Sherbert dead, Bobo said.

During a walk with investigators on his heavily wooded property on Saturday, Kohlhepp led investigators the locations of the bodies unearthed Sunday and Monday. Bobo said he couldn’t talk about who the bodies were or if Kohlhepp identified them.

Friday, another set of remains, identified as 32-year-old Charles Carver, were recovered.

Kohlhepp has been charged with four counts of murder in the Superbike case and with the kidnapping of a 30-year-old woman, who law enforcement officials say was held for three months on the suspect’s property. He has not been charged in Carver’s death.

But other charges against him are likely, Bobo said. Kohlhepp was denied bond and his next court appearance was scheduled for Jan. 19.

Bobo and Coroner Rusty Clevenger told media outlets Monday night that they do not believe there are any more bodies on the property.

This story was originally published November 8, 2016 at 9:39 PM with the headline "Father of victim visits suspected killer’s property, as investigation there is scaled back."