Investigators found a body Friday on a farm in northwest South Carolina where one day earlier they rescued a 30-year-old woman “chained up like a dog” inside a shipping container.
Kala Brown, who went missing with her boyfriend more than two months ago, has warned authorities that there could be other victims. A suspect in her abduction is in custody.
There are still many questions about this troubling case. Here’s what we know:
What did officials say about the body?
Murray Glenn, a spokesman for the 7th Circuit Solicitor’s Office, would not specify whether the body recovered was a man or woman.
Brown told investigators she believes four people might be buried on the property.
A cadaver dog detected something during a search Thursday, Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright said, but it’s not clear whether that led to the body.
Wright said Friday it was too early to say how the person died. He also wouldn’t comment when asked whether a body or skeletal remains were found.
Where is Brown’s boyfriend?
Brown went missing in late August, along with boyfriend Charles David Carver.
After the couple disappeared, worried family members told reporters they’d started to see cryptic Facebook posts on Carver’s page and feared it may have been hacked, CNN affiliate WSPA-TV reported. Last month, the page was deleted.
7th Judicial Circuit Solicitor Barry Barnette told a judge at Todd Kohlhepp’s arraignment that Brown told investigators she saw the kidnapping suspect kill her boyfriend.
What led investigators to the farm?
Barnette said the last social media communication Brown had before she went missing was with Kohlhepp. She was supposed to meet Kohlhepp at the 95-acre farm in Woodruff.
Through phone records, investigators tracked her phone to near where she eventually was found.
“We did some good, old-fashioned police work,” Wright told Ashleigh Banfield of HLN’s “Primetime Justice.”
Who owns the property, and how is he connected?
Kohlhepp, a registered sex offender who’s been working as a real estate agent in the area, owns the property, which he bought in May 2014 for $305,000. He was arrested Thursday and is not cooperating with investigators, the sheriff said. He does not live on the Woodruff property.
An arrest warrant alleges that Kohlhepp, 45, kidnapped Brown on or about August 31 in Spartanburg. Barnette said the maximum sentence for the crime is 30 years in prison.
For now Kohlhepp is being held without bond. At a court appearance Friday, a judge referred his bail matter to a circuit court. Kohlhepp, dressed in a blue T-shirt, said he didn’t know who to contact to get an attorney.
He will enter a plea at a future court date.
It’s not the first time Kohlhepp has been accused of kidnapping. He was added to the South Carolina Sex Offender Registry as a result of a 1987 kidnapping conviction in Arizona when he was a teenager.
He served 15 years in prison for that crime.
What else have investigators found so far?
Investigators say they found Carver’s car on the Woodruff property on Thursday. It was in a ravine, covered in brush.
Authorities have found “lots of weapons and ammo” on the property, the sheriff told HLN.
They also found targets near a two-car garage. There is a bedroom above the garage, Barnette said, and chains around the bed.
“We’re not going to leave the property until we’re 100% sure that we’ve done everything possible,” Wright said.
What has the boyfriend’s family said?
The family of Kala Brown’s missing boyfriend issued a statement Friday:
“We, Charlie David Carver’s family, would like to begin by saying how wonderful it is Kala has been found and that she is receiving care and is back with family and friends. The outpouring of concern and affection from the community has been overwhelming and we are very thankful. At this time, we know … no more than what has been reported within the media or statements made by law enforcement. We ask that you continue to pray for Kala’s healing and for David’s safe return as well. In the meantime, we ask for some time to ourselves as we process events as they unfold.”