Small-town Slayings in South Carolina

by Rita Y. Shuler

From the lowcountry through the midlands and into the upstate, criminal cases and mysterious murders cast a dark shadow on small-town South Carolina.... Ax assault, kidnapping, brutal how could these things happen in a small town? Although regional crimes hardly ever make it to the national circuit, they will always remain with the families and communities of the victims and a part of the area's history. After working with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division as special agent/forensic photographer for twenty-four years, Rita Shuler has a passion for remembering the victims. In Small-town Slayings , Shuler takes us back in time, showing differences and similarities of crime solving in the past and present and some surprising twists of court proceedings, verdicts and sentences. From an unsolved case that has haunted her for thirty years to a cold case that was solved after fifteen years by advanced DNA technology, Shuler blends her own memories with extensive research, resulting in a fast-paced, factual and fascinating look at crime in South Carolina.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, History, Crime

160 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2009

Reviews

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short and quick read. I've visited all of these small-towns, although a few just in passing. On the other hand, I was quite familiar with a bridge, shown in photos, near where one of the slayings occurred. I do not recall any of these cases, but am sure I must have read about them in the Columbia newspaper.
As for the book itself, short, cases presented factually and plainly. A true crime reader, familiar with South Carolina should find it interesting.

[Randall Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating Page - Turner of a Book

I found this book to be so good that I had a hard time putting it down. MS. Summer has a knack for true crime. Her focus on the seemingly forgotten souls that are cold cases, brings new life and fresh eyes to bear As with her other books, this was easy to read but hard to put down. God bless the victims souls

[Paula Corregan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating book!

This book contains accounts of various murders which happened in South Carolina, both solved and unsolved. It was very interesting reading. I highly recommend it to other true crime readers.

[Mary Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was a little disappointed in this. The cases were interesting but it seemed like there was a lot of repetition in including parts of the trials; info that had already been told in the synopsis of the crime. However the writing was good and as I said the cases were interesting and unknown to me.

[John Alfred Trader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed the book

I enjoyed reading this book seeing how these crimes were solved . This book was very well written by someone that did this job . I will sure read more of her books .

[Robi A · Rating 5 out of 5]

A REALLY Good True Crime Book

I just read this whole little book this afternoon. I was amazed at how excellent the author, Rita Schuler explains the cases. She also includes her OWN photos, as she was a police photographer in her past. Definitely read THIS one!

[Ronnie Cramer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty average book, but I do admire the author's commitment to remember the victims.

[Chuckdee · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting look at these cases in SC. Thanks to the author for her service to our state, and for preserving the memory of these victims.

[Cheryl Blanton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not a Novel

This isn't a novel and it doesn't read like one. These are murders that occurred in South Carolina many years ago. It was a different time, life was different.

[Shacoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

This books was really interesting. Here are my opinions on all of the cases:
(1)Ax Assault And Murder: It seemed like Samuel Wright Jr. was guilty of what he did. He even confessed to doing it. The last minute revelation by the grandmother seemed like just a desperate attempt at trying to save him from being executed. I feel bad that Mrs. Stroman was killed over something so trivial.
(2)Death Of Amos Bowers: It's difficult to say whether or not West was guilty. They sort of only briefly mentioned some rumors of infidelity between Amos and West's wife. That could've been a possible motive for the crime. I guess we'll never know now.
(3)Kidnapping Of Nancy Amaker: The suspect was a lifetime criminal. He doesn't seem to be able to be rehabilitated. I don't believe his claim that shooting the victim was an accident He deserves to be in prison for life and his wife should be ashamed of herself. She knew he went around robbing people and didn't do anything about it.
(4)Murder Of Joyce Robinson: This one was sort of weird. The suspect never gave any reason as to why he murdered her and I was just left wondering what could have made him kill her so violently. It was really sad because she was engaged at the time and had her whole life ahead of her. This case does make me thankful for DNA technology though.
(5)Murder Of Elaine Fogle: Unsolved crimes are always so sad and disturbing for me. I bet it must be awful for the family not to know who killed their relative. And there's added grief because she was also raped. It's just terrible. Hopefully they catch the person who did this.

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid read, detailing a handful of murders in South Carolina that most readers would never have heard of otherwise, which is a good thing. The author, a former forensic photographer for SC's South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, writes about these cases in a no-nonsense, yet still eminently readable way. She makes clear that she cares about the victims and those she left behind, wanting to make sure their stories are heard.

[Pam Koenig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Murders in small towns

The author tells you of murders that occurred in small Carolina towns some before DNA testing. All but the last one has been solved. The first is from the 50's and shows how investigations have changed over the years.

[Patsy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book, especially since I knew some of the doctors, etc from the Orangeburg area.

[Cindy Philbeck]

incredible true stories!