Hastings Arthur Wise

Mass Murderer

Hastings Arthur Wise and the 1997 R.E. Phelon Factory Murders

Background

Hastings Arthur Wise was a former factory employee who murdered four of his former co-workers and wounded three other people during a carefully planned workplace shooting in Aiken, South Carolina. The attack occurred on September 15, 1997, inside the R.E. Phelon Company, a manufacturing plant that produced ignition and engine components for lawn equipment. Wise was born on February 16, 1954, in North Augusta, South Carolina. Earlier in his life, he had served time in prison for crimes that included bank robbery and receiving stolen property. After his release, he earned technical training and eventually obtained employment with R.E. Phelon. He worked at the company as a machine operator for more than four years and reportedly maintained a stable life for many years before the shooting. Wise was dismissed from the factory in July 1997, approximately eleven weeks before the murders. His termination followed a workplace confrontation involving a supervisor. Wise believed that he had been treated unfairly by management and had also been denied opportunities for advancement within the company. According to testimony presented during his trial, he believed that racial discrimination had prevented him from receiving jobs and promotions that were instead awarded to white employees. After being fired, Wise reportedly made statements indicating that he intended to return. Investigators later concluded that the shooting was not an impulsive act. He obtained ammunition, carried multiple loaded magazines and selected people whom he blamed for his dismissal or his failure to obtain better positions within the plant.

The September 15, 1997 Attack

On the morning of September 15, 1997, Wise arrived at the R.E. Phelon factory for what was supposed to be a meeting to collect a box containing personal belongings he had left behind after his termination. Security guard Stanley Vance was expecting him at the employee entrance. Instead of simply retrieving his property, Wise produced a semiautomatic handgun and shot Vance in the chest. Vance fell seriously wounded but survived. Wise then disabled telephone lines at the guard station, preventing workers from immediately using the station's telephone to summon help. He reportedly told the wounded guard that he had things to do before proceeding into the main factory. Wise first went to the company's personnel office. There he encountered 56-year-old Charles Griffeth, the personnel director involved in Wise's termination. Wise shot Griffeth twice in the back, killing him. Griffeth appears to have been one of Wise's primary intended targets because Wise directly blamed him for the loss of his job. Wise then moved through the plant toward the tool-and-die department. Employees heard gunfire as he walked through the building carrying the pistol and additional ammunition. In the tool-and-die area, he opened fire on several workers, killing 30-year-old David Wayne Moore and 31-year-old Ernest Leonard Filyaw. Both men reportedly worked in an area where Wise had wanted to obtain a position. Two additional employees, Jerry Corley and John Mucha, were wounded during the shooting but survived. Wise continued moving through the factory, reloading his weapon as he searched for additional targets. Investigators later recovered four empty ammunition magazines, several loaded magazines and more than 100 additional rounds of ammunition. Wise's final murder victim was 27-year-old Esther Sheryl Wood, who worked in quality control. Wise had reportedly wanted a position similar to the one held by Wood and believed that he had been unfairly denied that opportunity. He shot Wood in the back and leg before firing a fatal shot into her head. Prosecutors later characterized the final shot as an execution-style killing.

Victims

• Charles Griffeth, 56 Killed on September 15, 1997, inside the personnel office at the R.E. Phelon Company in Aiken, South Carolina. Griffeth was the personnel director involved in Wise's termination.
• David Wayne Moore, 30 Killed on September 15, 1997, in the tool-and-die area of the R.E. Phelon factory in Aiken. Moore was reportedly engaged to be married at the time of his death.
• Ernest Leonard Filyaw, 31 Killed on September 15, 1997, in the tool-and-die area of the factory. Filyaw was also reportedly engaged to be married.
• Esther Sheryl Wood, 27 Killed on September 15, 1997, inside the R.E. Phelon plant. Wood worked in quality control and was shot several times.

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Confirmed Victims: (4)

Ernest Leonard Filyaw Jr. 31 yr old Male

Hastings Arthur Wise