Judge freezes accused serial killer Todd Kohlhepp's assets

A Spartanburg County judge on Thursday froze Todd Kohlhepp’s assets ahead of criminal and civil legal proceedings the Moore real estate agent will face in connection with the deaths of seven people.

Circuit Court Judge Roger Couch appointed a Greenville attorney Reid Sherard to keep track of the property. Kohlhepp will not be allowed to access or get rid of any assets while in custody.

"This is simply placing a receiver in place of Mr. Kohlhepp for the purpose of preserving assets for future disposition by the court," Couch said in a Thursday hearing.

In other words, Sherard “steps into the shoes of Mr. Kohlhepp and he accumulates and titles things in his name so that he can preserve it,” said Chris Kennedy, an attorney representing some of the plaintiffs.

Kohlhepp waived his right to attend the hearing, but he was escorted through the courtroom before it began, in front of the families of some of the men and women Kohlhepp is accused of killing.

Several of those families, through their attorneys, asked the court to freeze Kohlhepp’s assets.

Kohlhepp was arrested Nov. 3 after authorities found a woman chained up inside a locked container on a 96-acre piece of wooded land Kohlhepp owned near Woodruff.

He has been charged with seven counts of murder and two counts of kidnapping.

After finding the woman, authorities said they also found the bodies of her boyfriend, Charlie David Carver, along with Spartanburg couple Johnny and Meagan Coxie.

Authorities said Kohlhepp also confessed to committing the 2003 slayings at Superbike Motorsports near Chesnee, where Scott Ponder, Brian Lucas, Beverly Guy and Chris Sherbert were found dead.

While in custody, Kohlhepp granted power of attorney to his mother, Regina Tague, to make her responsible for all of his assets.

Tague was at the hearing Thursday and her attorney, Albert Smith, said he planned to file a motion to release Tague from that responsibility.

Kennedy, who is representing the Superbike families, said attorneys plan to contest releasing Tague, saying it hasn’t yet been determined if any assets were already moved.

"There's been some allegations that perhaps assets may have been moved, but there's no proof of that at this time," Couch said. "I can understand they want to look at that before her dismissal."

Kohlhepp is currently being represented by attorney Shane Gorenson, a capital defender with the S.C. Commission of Indigent Defense, though there are some questions as to whether Kohlhepp qualifies as indigent.

"He does (have assets) he's just not able to use them," Kennedy said. "My thought would be he's not indigent."

David Carver's father, Chuck Carver, said he doesn’t think Kohlhepp should be eligible for state-appointed court assistance.

"I'll have to pay for the man who killed my son," he said.

Tague spoke with the Superbike families outside the hearing and told them she was sorry, Chuck Carver said.

He added: "But she didn't shed a tear."

This story was originally published January 5, 2017 at 3:18 PM with the headline "Judge freezes accused serial killer Todd Kohlhepp's assets."