In the late summer of 1975, a shadow fell over North Charleston, South Carolina, with the disappearance of 13-year-old Kim Ghelkins. A white female, Kim was last seen in September of that year, having been staying at the residence of a local man with a sinister past, Donald 'Pee Wee' Gaskins. Initial investigations into her whereabouts led to Gaskins's arrest on a lesser charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, as some of the young girl's clothing was discovered at his home.
This, however, was just the beginning of a much larger and more horrifying discovery.
As law enforcement delved deeper into Gaskins's life, a disturbing pattern emerged. It became apparent that several other individuals connected to him had also vanished without a trace. The breakthrough in the case came when investigators questioned Walter Neely, an associate of Gaskins. Neely's conscience gave way, and he confessed that Gaskins was a prolific murderer who had buried his victims near his home in Prospect, South Carolina. On December 4, 1975, Neely led the authorities to the grim burial site, where the remains of eight individuals were unearthed. Among them was the body of Kim Ghelkins.
The discovery of the mass grave led to multiple murder charges against Donald Gaskins. In May 1976, he was tried and convicted for the murder of Dennis Bellamy, one of the eight victims, and was sentenced to death. However, a legal ruling by the South Carolina Supreme Court in 1978 overturned his death sentence. To avoid a new trial, Gaskins entered into a plea agreement, admitting guilt in the murders of Bellamy and eight other people, which resulted in ten concurrent life sentences. His reign of terror did not end with his incarceration. While in prison, Gaskins orchestrated the murder of a fellow inmate, Rudolph Tyner, using an explosive device. This final act of violence led to a second death sentence. Donald 'Pee Wee' Gaskins was executed by electrocution on September 6, 1991. Before his death, he boasted of having committed over 100 murders, a claim that law enforcement officials have viewed with skepticism, believing it to be a final, grandiose exaggeration.
