Gaffney, SC: Serial Killer Capital of the World?

No, not hardly. They're only on their second string of serial murders in less than a half century.

Of course, not many people are aware of that, what with all the media frenzy surrounding the recent bout of celebrity deaths and political scandals. North Korea launches missile tests like crazy and Iranian clerics denounce the election, yet this major international news is barely noticed as the media continue to report that Michael Jackson is still, in fact, quite dead (This man is no more! He has ceased to exist!) and that -- big shock here -- politicians cheat on their wives and misappropriate funds.

I guess, then, there's no chance of any real coverage of a string of murders in a town of less than 13,000 people.

Not even if they had two murders during all of 2007 and absolutely no murders in 2006? Why, they've had more murders in the past two weeks alone than they did over the past several years.

Even more interesting is the fact that this is not the first time this tiny town has been the scene of a string of murders that met the FBI's definition for a serial killer. In 1968 police arrested a man named Lee Roy Martin, aka the Gaffney
Strangler, who murdered four people and had even begun taunting police and the local papers with letters promising he'd kill more if he wasn't caught. He later died in prison (or did he? -- http://www.switchplates.netfirms.com/).

Maybe if this new killer were strangling his/her victims the media wouldn't be able to ignore it. This would be far too sensational -- a copycat serial killer. It's the stuff movies are made of...maybe the illegitimate child of Martin, or perhaps a split personality of a victim's sister who could never quite process what happened.

*sigh* This should be a huge story. CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, and countless AP, Reuters, and local news agencies should be camped out in Gaffney...interviewing "witnesses" to the current murders and the ones from 40 years ago, confusing the facts, reporting on every tidbit of gossip or conjecture they can get their hands on, frightening the townsfolk even more than they already are....

...then again, maybe it's better this way. The killer doesn't get the attention he's likely after and what little is actually reported has been verified and isn't just the latest gossip "reported here first." Yes, let these people suffer through this in peace. The FBI is involved, as are local law enforcement. They're not alone.

For some interesting coverage on the Gaffney Strangler:

Lee Roy Martin

Sister of Gaffney Strangler victim

Coverage on the July shootings:

Murder Timeline

Links to the latest news

More breaking news updates

The Gaffney Ledger

Armchair detectives following the recent murders



Update!!
Authorities believe they killed the Gaffney Shooter. My work, it seems, is done.