New show tells how a SC sheriff’s office found a serial killer. Here’s how to watch

The Greenville County Sheriff’s Office’s first episode in a video series released this month takes viewers behind the scenes in the disappearance of an elderly woman, an investigation that ultimately led to the arrest of a serial killer operating in both Carolinas.

Called “Behind the Tape,” the show reveals never-before-seen footage and photos of the step-by-step process of finding out what happened to Edna Suttles, an 80-year-old Travelers Rest woman reported missing when she didn’t show up for a caregiving job.

The program is hosted by Carrie Weimer, a former Fox Carolina reporter who now works for the Sheriff’s Office as a multimedia specialist.

Lt. Ryan Flood, the Sheriff’s Office spokesman and production manager for the show, said Sheriff Hobart Lewis wanted to show the public what deputies do and at the same time allow the agency to be more transparent.

The department already produces a series called “Critical Incident Community Briefing,” which goes behind the scenes in officer-involved shootings. Dash cam and body-worn camera videos as well as surveillance footage from the scene show how an incident unfolds.

Flood, the host, said he trained with the Los Angeles Police Department to learn how to make the briefing videos. When it premiered in 2018, the series was the only one in the Southeast to be produced by a law enforcement agency, Flood said.

“Behind the Tape” will not have a regular schedule, but will be posted to social media and the Sheriff’s Office website when the episodes are completed, Flood said. The first episode took three months to produce.

As a side job, Flood runs Flash Flood Media, a video production company that films weddings and sports events.

The first episode of “Behind the Tape” shows such scenes as inside Suttles’ house the day she was reported missing, surveillance video of her car in a parking lot and of the man ultimately charged and convicted in her murder, Daniel Printz. There is also footage of police interviewing him.

Printz comes across as cocky, denying involvement in Suttles’ disappearance.

But deputies found Suttles’ bank card in his wallet and medications and belongings on his North Carolina property.

Printz ultimately took deputies to where he buried Suttles and admitted to killing three other women in North Carolina. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison. He is in custody, awaiting permanent placement to a federal prison.

Reaction to the show has been overwhelmingly positive, Flood said.

The Facebook post alone shows about 200 comments and more than 500 shares.

Suttle’s son, Doug Alexander, replied on Facebook, “Tastefully done. I can’t thank the sheriff’s department enough for the job you guys did.”

Suttles’ daughter, Tammy Privette, wrote, “This was done in an extremely professional way.” She also said, “I’m so appreciative of all the agencies not giving up on my mother and bringing her home for us to get closure.”

Others said they were eager to see more episodes.

Flood declined to say what the next episode will be about but they have already started working on it.

“That’s part of the surprise,” he said.

The subjects will be varied, he said, including cold cases and those that so far remain unsolved. The Sheriff’s Office has had a good run in solving cases that have plagued the department for years, seven in the two years since Lewis revamped the unit.

This story was originally published August 27, 2022 at 5:00 AM.