Dangerous Area Ahead

           History has multiple stories of happiness, discussing life, and discussing a bright future. This SC story is not one of those; it is one of death, destruction, and darkness within the telling and understanding. The Story of Donald Henry “Pee Wee” Gaskins is one where multiple people were murdered, and the reasonings for these murders vary depending on the source. When looking into Gaskins, it can be seen how he shaped the truth to suit his narrative better, making him a terrifying threat to his enemies or a loving neighbor to others. With most killers, like Gaskins, people want to understand them, their motives, and why they performed different actions. The FBI's definition of these types of killers, who commit a massive number of murders, falls into two categories: Serial and Mass Murderer. Serial is multiple instances of murder occurring over a large area of time indifferent spaces, while Mass Murder is all acts committed in an individual location. Gaskins is a serial killer who has the charm and charisma to make someone of his small size and build not to be threatening and then attack out of nowhere. Pee Wee forms little relationships with other people but does not care about right and wrong; his actual charge is self-preservation and enjoyment of criminal enterprises. Each victim should be remembered for more than just a number and actions related to Gaskins, so a lot of gory details will be left out to honor these victims' memories. Gaskins’ life intersects with many during his time, and, through many choices, what will become of those decisions—a look more into the victims not related to Pee Wee’s criminal circle. Finally, there is a discussion about his supposed victims that will never be confirmed and what impact that one life will have that influenced SC.                                                                                                     

‍

                      Early Childhood of Gaskins

            Pee Wee Gaskins (aka Junior Parrot) was born on March 3^rd, 1933, to a young Eulee Parrott, an impoverished teen mother with no spousal support, only her mother and father to help her with her child. Junior was a small child; even as he grew up, he would be the smallest in whatever setting; at a year old, he drank kerosene due to neglect by his mother. This action caused convulsions up until he was three years old when the effects of this drink died down. His mother saw many men, some staying longer than others until she settled down with a Hanna. Pee Wee will claim in his book, speaking of his stepfather, his family, and school life,

“He used to backhand me and knock me clean across the room just for practice. But then everybody knocked me around, my uncles, my other stepdaddies, and near about all the boys and girls I played with and went to school with.” -(Donald Gaskins and Wilton Earle, Final Truth: Autobiography of a Serial Killer (London: Mondo, 1993), 2.)

This kind of abuse and neglect can have a damaging impact on a child, which can answer many different problems and could partly explain Pee Wee's transformation in the future.

“Children who have experienced abuse and neglect are therefore at increased risk for a number of problematic developmental, health, and mental health outcomes, including learning problems (e.g., problems with inattention and deficits in executive functions), problems relating to peers (e.g., peer rejection), internalizing symptoms (e.g., depression, anxiety), externalizing symptoms (e.g., oppositional defiant disorder, conduct disorder, aggression), and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). As adults, these children continue to show increased risk for psychiatric disorders, substance use, serious medical illnesses, and lower economic productivity.” -(Petersen, Anne C.  “Consequences of Child Abuse and Neglect,” New Directions in Child Abuse and Neglect Research., March 25, 2014,https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK195987/.)

           During school, he developed a good relationship with two boys. They would start, Gaskins’ five-decades-long criminal career, breaking into houses and stealing whatever they could. This “Trouble Trio,” Pee Wee Gaskins would claim later in life, did follow up to their name and cause trouble. Still, the families of these boys prevented law enforcement from coming in due to a lack of reporting these crimes and, in most cases, delivering their own forms of justice. An arrest article in the Florence Morning News shows the first credible evidence of Pee Wee’s violent streak. In the June 18, 1946, edition, the front-page article states that 14-year-old Junior Parrott (Pee Wee) was being held under arrest for the assault of a girl (15 years old). Parrott went into her house, not knowing she was there, and used a blunt instrument to strike her multiple times. Though the girl survived the ordeal, she was put in a ditch to hide the crime by her assailant.

‍

‍

Multiple newspapers covered this in various sections with a variety of information. Gaskins would be sentenced to reform school. During this period, the reform school system was flawed, and later, in the late sixties, a probe was placed, and gross misconduct and other ethical violations were discovered throughout the system. Four years into his sentence at the reform school, on February 28, 1950, the Head of the school wrote to the South Carolina State Hospital superintendent about transferring Parrott to an adult prison. In the letter, it was stated:

“‘recurrent instances of psychopathic lying and stealing,’ escape attempts and violence; ‘We are … sure from our dealing with abnormal delinquents that this boy is anti-social, and there is something in his past development that is preying upon his mind … ‘We consider him dangerous and also believe that he has the homicidal tendencies peculiar to a paranoid type. We are requesting proper placement because we have been unable to adjust this boy to our group.’”-Margaret N. O’Shea, “A Life of Death: Gaskins’ Gruesome Deeds Embedded in State’s Memory,” The State, September 5, 1991, sec. Cover and page 8, 8.

     Gaskins was abused, much like in school claims, and used by the boys in the facility. Gaskins would eventually escape the reform school. In his escape, he would make it to a traveling circus where he would work for some time, meeting his first wife Mary(he was sixteen, she was 13 1/2). He would eventually marry this woman, but to keep them from constantly running, Gaskins would turn himself in and complete his sentence until turning eighteen for the future Mrs. Gaskins.

‍

                     Adult Life of Pee Wee

       Upon his release from the South Carolina Reform School for Boys and being recently married, Gaskins searched for employment and found some in the tobacco industry near his hometown of Prospect, SC. Here, Gaskins gets involved with an insurance scheme. This scheme involved burning a farmer’s tobacco barn and making it look accidental. (Very few farmers did this, which was not a widespread practice). Gaskins and an accomplice did this scheme until 1952 when his accomplice and one barn owner were arrested for conspiracy to commit fraud. The new tobacco farm owner Pee Wee worked for allowed the continuance of staff. The farm owner's daughter commented that Pee Wee might have been a part of the arson scheme; this enraged Gaskins and struck the girl for such a comment. When Pee Wee was arrested in November of 1952, he was charged with assault, arson, and intent to kill. Acting as his attorney, he plead guilty to an assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, coming with a sentence of 5 years. He would be taken to CCI(Central Correctional Institution, originally the South Carolina Penitentiary) and be a part of the murder of a fellow inmate, Hazel Brazell. His actual involvement in this murder is known, whether he killed the man himself (as he claimed) or supplied someone else to do it. This murder is one of the many times the precursor of the Head of the Reform School’s words will be coming true of the pathological liar. In his book “The Final Truth, ”Gaskins claims that he kills Hazel Brazell for the power dynamic that would change due to killing someone; thus, Gaskins does it alone, and with a knife he snuck out of the prison cafeteria, choosing when he was most vulnerable. In newspapers like The State and The Greenville News, it is reported:

“A coroner’s jury found … that Hazel Brazzell, South Carolina penitentiary inmate slain October 10, came to his death as the result of wounds inflicted by Arthur Wines. The jury further found that Junior (“Pee Wee”) Gaskins was an accessory to the act in that he handed the death weapon, a 6 or 7-inch knife, still unfound, to Wines. Both Wines and Gaskins are penitentiary inmates.”- (“Jury Finds Wines Dealt Fatal Knife Wounds to Pen Inmate,” The State, October 17, 1953.)

 Gaskins would be punished with more years added to his sentence for his actions. These added years would have helped Mary justify her feelings about filing for divorce as she did after the sentencing from the judge ended. This prompted Gaskins to escape in November of 1955. Gaskins would claim in his book that he escaped the prison in a manner that would rival most spy movies, using a garbage barrel and boring holes into the sides for air and sightline. News reports talked about his escape and how the exact method was used, but he did not escape from CCI or any prison but from the State Hospital for observation and treatment for his mental condition.

“Gaskins failed to return to his Williams Building dormitory about 8:30 Saturday night, and an alarm was put out shortly afterward. Ctp R. Fuller Goodman, head of the penitentiary guard, said last night he considered Gaskins ‘dangerous.’”- (“Dangerous Convict Flees State Hospital,” The State, November 7, 1955, Monday edition, 20.)

‍

      This vast discrepancy between his first escape shows how Pee Wee thinks of himself. How he changes simple information to bolster his story, for his ego, and how this story would affect certain people’s view of him. Gaskins will be caught just a month after his escape in Tennessee and be charged with auto theft over state lines. Gaskins' first escape brought light to something that the State Penitentiary did not have access to a means to help psychiatric prisoners. The need for a facility was sparked in early November 8^th, 1955, because, with such a facility, prisoners would receive care and make sure that an escape attempt would be difficult for other inmates in the future, as mentioned in the State newspaper at the time of his escape and leading to his capture. Gaskins would receive an extra year and be released without another notable event happening. Gaskins would end up in 1964 being arrested and charged for a statutory offense. During the time between a case in Charleston County (in which he was found not guilty) and his case in Florence County, he was transferred to a waiting room in the Florence County courthouse. Gaskins had little time and fashioned a makeshift rope from stolen mattress covers from the county jail, slid down, and escaped. Another prisoner, said to be of African American descent, called this escape to a deputy’s attention. However, the officer arrived too late to prevent it. His escape in early June was successful; unfortunately, by August, he was arrested by a North Carolina state trooper for reckless driving. He was the subject of several manhunts, and due to his escape from custody, he was issued a federal warrant by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. In the end, he was charged with the statutory offense, feloniously fleeing, and multiple auto thefts, with some coming across state lines of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. He would be paroled in November of 1968 from Florence County, and as part of his parole, he was not allowed to step foot in the county for two years. To abide by his parole and to be close enough to his mom and daughter, Gaskins chose to work in Sumter as a roofer in construction. Gaskins did violate his parole by visiting his mom and family on multiple occasions. Gaskins also chose this time to continue his criminal profession in the business of stealing, stripping, and reselling stolen vehicles.

‍

                       The Serious Killings

       To discuss what Pee Wee will do later, looking at what guided him to take multiple people's lives is essential. Later in prison, Pee Wee will attempt to justify his actions of murder by stating that most of his victims violated “his code.” Gaskins’ code is strange and outdated; it openly invited people to violate them. The code was against alcohol abuse, the use of drugs, interracial dating, and those who violated trust against him. Gaskins will make claims against each victim that they violated these codes in some form or fashion.

       On November 10, 1970, both his niece Janice Kirby and her friend Patricia Ann Alsbrook went missing from Sumter County. Rumor was that both left for California, but later, it was found out that both girls were killed by Janice’s uncle, Donald Henry “Pee Wee” Gaskins. Gaskins would commit acts far beyond just the killing; however, he would justify the killing two times. The first was when Patricia’s body was found. Gaskins claimed that she and his niece were taking drugs, and he could not stand it; later in the publishing of his book, he claimed that they both drank even though they were underage. Another missing persons/murder case happened in December of 1970 and into 1971, which is vital to note for speculation discussed later. March 29, 1972, Martha Ann Dicks of 113 Brand St. was declared missing. She was an African American; Mrs. Dicks was last seen at a club with a white gentleman. Under that code, Pee Wee assumed but did not follow; she violated his rule twice because she had an addictive personality. Police and news media had two other possible motives for her death. She was said to have picked on Gaskins, and when it came to them having a more dynamic relationship, Gaskins snapped and killed her. The other is that she was involved with Gaskins and his wife, Sandy, and she possibly became with child through this relationship. Through knowledge, his actions were solidified. Martha Ann Dick’s family would, in 1972, file a missing person’s report in the newspaper. In February of 1973, Gaskins is approached by Suzanne Kipper, who hires Gaskins, through John Owens and John William Powell, to kill her scorned lover Silas Barnwell Yates (a wealthy farmer in Florence County) and will pay him $1500 to do it. Pee Wee accepts the offer and completes the task on February 13, 1975, when he is declared missing. Gaskins did have help in this murder, and a person thought to have helped in luring him out was Dianne Neeley and a couple of others. In December of 1973, Doreen Hope Dempsey and her young daughter Robin Michelle Dempsey went missing from Florence County, last seen by Mrs. Gaskins (wife #5). It is believed that Ms. Dempsey lived with the Gaskins at Ropers Crossroad. Pee Wee would drown both mother and child. The latter was of mixed descent.

“‘One thing led to another … and I just shoved her right in the pond and grabbed her by her feet and held her under and then I went back and got the kid and done the same thing,’ read Summerford, who was called to testify by Anders. The people referred to were Doreen Dempsey, 23, and her 2-year-old daughter, Robin Michelle Dempsey. They were killed in June 1973. After the drownings Gaskins said he threw their bodies in the back of the hearse he drove and buried them. Testimony indicated the murder arose primarily from Gaskins’ hatred of racial mixing.”- (Howard Schneider, “Gaskins’ Murder of Six Read to Jurors,” The State, March 25, 1983, Friday edition, 37.)

From 1969 to his eventual capture, Gaskins not only killed people but continued his criminal enterprise by stealing cars and selling the pieces of them. This allows him to move around, generate money, and get connections to a criminal underworld. This would also allow him excuses to kill people who would wrong him or try to take advantage of him. Between 1974 and 1975, Gaskins killed six known partners in his criminal circle. The reasons for these killings are unknown; the thing that multiple sources agreed on was the manner of the killings and the disposal of these victims. Most male victims in his criminal circle were shot to death, and only one was stabbed. Gaskins stabbed the female victims. All would be buried in three graves to mark when he killed each grouping of people. The victims would be Johnny Sellers, his partner Jessie Judy, Diane Neeley (who was the common-law wife of his friend Walter Neeley), her bf/affair partner Avery Howard, Dennis Bellamy (Diane’s brother), and Johnny Knight (Dennis and Diane’s half-brother). These six victims would be found near the town of Prospect, SC, almost halfway between Lake City and Johnsonville, all in three graves. The two other bodies found were closer to Johnsonville, a mile away from the six bodies, these being of Doreen and Robin Dempsey. Different bodies belonging to Patricia, Yates, Janice, and some remains of Martha Dicks will be found due to Gaskins’ admission and him showing police officers where they are. Gaskins would be put on trial, found guilty of murder, and sentenced to life nine times for the people that he killed.

‍

‍

                  Caught in the Web with a Surprise

     Gaskins was still free and causing trouble, but one missing person’s case blew up Gaskins’ life and revealed his dark secret to the world. Mrs. Ghelkins passed while she was still young and left behind a husband with two daughters. Kim, the eldest of these daughters, grew up with no accurate mother figure until meeting Mrs. Gaskins (wife #6). Kim would be close to the Gaskins family and go on some vacations with them. Pee Wee Gaskins would get defensive over the children and cause a ruckus if anyone cursed while the children were around. In September 1975, a schoolteacher noticed a 13-year-old female student was missing from class. She questions her younger sister about her and discovers she never returned home. Kim’s teacher tried to file a missing person’s report, but being this early on, she did not have the authority to do it. Eventually, Kim’s aunt will file that report.

“About the middle of September last year, Kim Ghelkins was classified by police as a routine teenage runaway, one of thousands who suddenly disappear from home each year. Any similarities between her disappearance and other routine cases quickly began to dissolve after authorities began looking for the 13-year-old North Charleston girl who hadn’t been in trouble before.”- (Carl Baab, “Kim Ghelkins: What Appeared to Be Routine Runaway Pre-School Turned into SC’s Worst Mass Murder,” The Columbia Record, December 23, 1976,25.)

     During the questioning phase of the case, Detectives Stoney and Green noticed a pattern of people becoming missing, and every person had a personal connection to Pee Wee in some way, shape, or form. This missing child case would lead the two detectives to former Ms. Sandy Gaskins, who was living in the same house with her ex-husband and his new wife; she told the officers that she had seen the young Ghelkins girl with Mr. and Mrs. Gaskins as they were heading towards Prospect. Though Mrs. Gaskins would not be criminally charged, Pee Wee would be taken into custody on November 20^th under the charge of contributing to minor delinquency due to the eyewitness testimony. Later, the evidence found in the Gaskins’ Prospect residence was Ms. Ghelkins’ clothes. Gaskins was also charged at the time for auto theft due to him driving a stolen car to a known fencer, someone who could secretly get him out of town and away from police. Gaskins tried to flee town in Florence but was arrested with a ticket to Tugaloo, Mississippi, on his person. In his trial, Gaskins claimed to be trying to find Ms. Ghelkins to clear his name, while other witness testimonies spoke the opposite. They stated that Gaskins was attempting to leave the state and get a job near Tugaloo. After Gaskins' arrest, a “friend” of Gaskins, Walter Neeley, came forward and showed police Gaskins’ “private graveyard.” In the original search, this found the final resting place of four men and two women buried within this “graveyard” made, established, and additions by Pee Wee. Police arrested Neeley and another man named James Judy, Jessie Judy’s husband, for abiding in some of the murders separately. Many events happened during the first trial, including testimonies from Gaskins' daughter, Ms. Sandy Gaskins (wife #5), Mrs. Gaskins(wife #6), multiple police, and other witnesses. However, Ms. Ghelkins was still not found. It was not until December 1976 that the body of a young girl and a man was found. Both were later identified as Ms. Kim Ghelkins and Silas Barnwell Yates, found in a shallow grave in the Roper’s Crossroad area of Williamsburg County. Miss Ghelkins was stabbed and

“The State learned that the identification was made from a smile in a photograph. According to usually reliable sources, pathologists at the Medical University of South Carolina at Charleston had a blown-up photograph of Miss Ghelkins smiling and were able to match five specific points in the smile with the teeth of the body.”- (J. Duncan Hite, “Body is Identified as Kim Ghelkins,” The State, Dec. 23, 1976.Pg. 19)

Gaskins would be charged in both the contract murder of Yates and the murder of the Ghelkins girl. During this trial, many other names were accused of the contracting of murder completed by Gaskins, including Suzanne Kipper Owens and John William Powell.

           The Yates Trial was interesting; the trial was moved to Newberry to get outside Williamsburg County because Gaskins’ life could be in danger of retribution. There were cases where some witnesses felt intimidated by a defense attorney. Gaskins, part of the way through the trial, confessed to killing a Black woman known as Clyde, Patricia Ann Alsbrook, Janice, and the Cuttino Girl, as well as Yates and Ghelkins. He did this to solidify a deal for movement towards CCI (Columbia Corrections Institution) with the prosecution not taking the death penalty. The four other women he would confess to killing three were found later in the year within five miles of the original “graveyard.” Janice was found buried outside a Gaskins’ tenant house, Patricia was found in the septic tank of Janice’s house (this was after Janice’s family moved), and Clyde was found in a drainage ditch near where Gaskins claimed to have dumped her. This will also lead to controversy since all these girls were from Sumter County, and from the confession, only one girl had a search party made by law enforcement. In contrast, the others were written off as runaways or never searched for by law enforcement. Gaskins would serve at CCI with eight life sentences.

‍

                                    One Last Job

       Even though Gaskins was able to keep his life, it did little to satisfy his ego and want of murder. During the Yates trial and up to September 12, 1982, Gaskins was interviewed by many people in hopes of authoring a book involving or biography about “The Meanest Man in America.” Even with the controversy of his trials and his reputation of being a mass murderer, Gaskins was not satisfied. Pee Wee heard about an African American teenage Yankee who killed an elderly white couple that owned a gas station in Murrells Inlet. This teen shot this couple once in the chest, each with a 12-gauge shotgun. This murdered elderly couple left behind a large family that included an adopted son, Tony Cimo. Tony Cimo would trust that the justice system would provide the due justice for the murder of his parents. However, this went through multiple appeals against the death penalty. Cimo would grow weary of the delay to justice and hire, through a middleman, Gaskins, to kill Tyner. Gaskins would take C-4 (smuggled in through shoe soles), TV wire, and other smuggled or gotten material and craft his device. Given to Tyner as a radio/intercom between cells, Tyner would hold this device to his ear, and with a loud explosion was the end of the contract. Gaskins would try to get rid of the physical evidence and set up his alibi, calling a news reporter and telling her about an explosion at CCI and stating, “And you know they say that I did this.” CCI and investigators initially thought that this was a failed escape attempt by Tyner; upon further look, they found that Tyner was indeed murdered. When police and others looked through Gaskins’ cell, they found very little physical evidence that Gaskins could have committed such a crime. The problem was that Gaskins recorded every phone conversation; he called Cimo and Cimo’s contact to discuss the materials and the job. Using this as the main point of evidence, they investigated Cimo and found the motive, some of the critical material, and payment upon completion.

      Cimo had the belief that the Justice system was doing its job after the sentencing of Tyner to death by the electric chair. However, Tyner’s trial had a renewal due to the prosecution giving information to jurors that if they chose the death penalty, a new trial would be held to uphold that or put a life sentence for each count. Cimo’s sisters could not take another year or so battle in the courts for justice for their beloved parents' deaths to come. They would prefer it to be over so that they can grieve for their parents and move on in their lives.

“For four years, he lay awake nights, haunted by the shotgun murder of his parents, grocery store owners whose killer, he heard, laughed from Death Row as the courts ordered new trials and appeals dragged on and on. ‘I dreamed constantly about him laughing while my mother begged on her knees for her life,’ he reflects. ‘Plain as the TV, I kept seeing my mother and father lying in a pool of blood.’ So Tony Cimo, 36, a beefy bricklayer with a wife and two daughters, did what he believed he had to do. He brought down the Angel of Death. A man possessed by revenge, infuriated by plodding courts, he had the killer killed in prison. ‘I don't feel the good Lord holds nothing against me for this,’ said Cimo (pronounced see-moe), toasting his last day of freedom with a cold Budweiser among friends in his backyard here.”- (Art Harris, “The Seeds of Vengeance,” - (The Washington Post, June 23, 1983, https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1983/06/24/the-seeds-of-vengeance/c77f669f-278d-4011-a0f5-89d49bc81a04/.)

Cimo would use his contacts to hire Donald Henry Gaskins to bring justice to his parent’s murder. Gaskins would gather the supplies and complete the task ahead of him, enjoying and relishing doing something that seemed impossible.

“‘He was like a rabid dog that needed to be done away with.’ He says he sleeps well now, has no regrets and would do the same thing again. It will be costly for him: eight years in prison, out of a possible twenty, for contracting for execution, a sentence he began serving yesterday after a tearful farewell beneath a pecan tree. He kissed his wife and family goodbye, grabbed a beer, and climbed into a friend's pickup for the 175-mile drive to Columbia, where he turned himself in to state prison officials. He will be eligible for parole in 2 1/2 years and for work release, perhaps sooner. ‘I'm going to prison, but I'll sleep better knowing he's dead,’ Cimo said. ‘Two judges and two juries in two different counties sentenced him to die and set an execution date. I was just helping 'em along."- (Art Harris, “The Seeds of Vengeance,” The Washington Post, June 23, 1983, https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1983/06/24/the-seeds-of-vengeance/c77f669f-278d-4011-a0f5-89d49bc81a04/.)

 Gaskins would be set on trial again. Gaskins would be found guilty and sentenced to death by the electric chair. His legal team would set forward many appeals from 1983-1991 stating that the jurors were biased, that he was being overcharged, and the most critical appeal was that Gaskins was being sentenced to death not for Tyner’s murder but for the other murders he had committed and being punished under a new law for them. Gaskins would be the first person in SC to be executed for killing an African American. Gaskins would try his best to fight for his life, though the irony was that Gaskins was a strong defender of the death penalty. In a telephone interview with the Charlotte Observer, Gaskins stated his belief in the electric chair:

“That this is one of the most malicious, most cold bloodedest, premeditatest, murders that there is. It can’t be no worse than if I was to sit down and plan to kill someone.”- (Associated Press, “Gaskins Numb about Approaching Execution,” The Florence Morning News, August 19, 1991, 1.)

Gaskins’ fight, including fasting in protest, would petition President George Bush to allow Death Row inmates to serve in the Gulf War in favor of a conversion to a life sentence, appealing wording used in the conviction, attempting to escape by various means, and trying to commit suicide. Gaskins could not rob the executioner and was put to death on September 6, 1991. His autobiography, “The Final Truth,” was released after his death. This book was Gaskins’ words for his life, education, profession, and the reasons he gave for different murders. This book would be the last words of Gaskins.

‍

                                    Pee Wee Speculations

    Identifying a fundamental problem when discussing “Pee Wee” Gaskins’ victims is the validity of his actions. Gaskins was a pathological liar who would twist his words and stories to suit his needs. As of today, the known victims of this predator (known as “The Meanest Man in America”) are the number thirteen. The reason for this specific number will be due to evidence found at the scenes and their connections back to Gaskins from his first known kill in 1969 until his arrest in 1977. Gaskins will claim in jail, and within his autobiography, that the number of victims killed will be much larger and more in the 100s, many of those being hitchhikers and transient people down the Carolina Coast. With no evidence, mainly because the people he claimed he murdered were never reported missing, other than the confession of a person known to stretch anything to make more of his image, we cannot take what he says as complete truth. The reason for doubt in Gaskins’ victims is that the only place this number is determined was through Gaskins’ testimony and his book. In the book, he describes in graphic detail some of his more memorable “Coastal Killings;” however, he speaks of it as a fantasy where everything goes right or as correct as possible. We cannot say that it could not have a shred of truth throughout it; if 1% of what came from his lips were authentic, it would mean that other lives have been lost and have not been recovered.

        One confession that he gave that was the cause of speculation was in the Silas Yates Trial. Earlier, when discussing this trial, Gaskins confessed to killing four people. He killed his niece, her friend Patricia, and a Black woman known as Clyde. There was a fourth person that he claimed to have killed; her name was Peg Cuttino. To give context to the importance of this confession, Peg was the 13-year-old daughter of a member of the SC State legislature. She went missing on December 18, 1970, en route from her house in Sumter to her sister’s school to join her for lunch. After not showing up at her sister’s school within 3 hours of leaving her home, members of SLED and the community-led a search party. A full 12 days passed without knowing where she was, the culprit, and why someone did this. After the 12^th day, Captains Gregory Dorsey and Paul Nowalk stumbled upon the body of Ms. Cuttino on their motorcycle ride in Manchester Forest. Much time passed, and almost a year afterward, a man in Georgia confessed to killing the young girl in Sumter; he would give a couple of details not mentioned before in the news. Through this confession and some eyewitness testimonies, William Junior Pierce was arrested, tried, and convicted of her murder. Almost 6 years later, Gaskins would confess to killing Cuttino. This led to three main problems: one was who killed Ms. Cuttino, two what was the purpose of killing Peg, that 4 Sumter girls went missing over 2 years and only 1 case had an official search party, and finally, the controversy that still plagues some today despite the court upholding Pierce’s conviction two separate times.

‍

After Ms. Cuttino was discovered, Gaskins’ employer was questioned about his employee’s whereabouts during the time that the kidnapping took place. The employer stated that Gaskins was at the job site. The problem is that was also the case being made by Atlanta attorney Charles King about Pierce. King will also claim that police accused Pierce due to pressure and …

“deliberately suppressing evidence that could lead to a real killer’ … King charged authorities had obtained confessions from Pierce ‘by torture and the evidence of physical maltreatment may secured from existing medical records.’ King refused to release his evidence to reporters. ... King said his investigation, prompted by a letter from Pierce, had proven that two of Pierce’s confessions could not be true because records showed that he was in prison at the time of the crimes. ‘With Overwhelming documentation supported by four witnesses, our investigation reveals that William “Junior” Pierce could not have killed “Peg” Cuttino,’ said the attorney. ‘Pierce was legitimately employed on that day and the owner-supervisor and foreman of the firm employed him verified that.’ Said King”- (Richard Beene, “Lawyer Says His Evidence Proves Innocence of Convicted Killer,” The State, December 21, 1978, 32.)

Both men would say the same alibi that both were at work at the time of the abduction; only Pierce’s work would put him in Georgia while Gaskins would be in Sumter. The reasons for either killing would be unknown. The reason for the unknown motive is the proof that both men would lie to better themselves in the eyes of others and to be remembered as more than they were. Gaskins claimed to have killed Brazzell by slitting his throat on the toilet, when the truth is he supplied an inmate by Wines with the means to kill this man (sourced in The State October 17^th, 1953). Meanwhile, Pierce claims to speak multiple languages, though he has never spoken another language besides English.

The longest and most important topic from this confession was a view of the difference in treatment in these four cases. Ms. Peg Cuttino was missing for three hours, and SLED (South Carolina Law Enforcement Division) agents were used to search for the daughter of the state’s representative. Best said in the Gaffney Ledger, Wednesday, May 11, 1977, that voiced the concerns from a group of citizens known as Sumter County Citizens for Justice.

“Peg Burleson, spokeswoman for the group, contended in a letter she said had been sent to Gov. James B. Edwards and the US Justice Department that the sheriff’s department improperly handled missing persons reports on the three teenagers. They were Janice Kirby, Patricia Alsbrook, and Marth Ann ‘Clyde’ Dicks. Miss Alsbrook disappeared on Nov. 11, 1970, and was found in a septic tank in December. She was reportedly last seen with Miss Kirby, Gaskins’ niece, who is still missing. The Alsbrook girls’ remains were found about a mile from a drainage ditch where authorities found bones two weeks ago. That location was near where Gaskins said he had buried a woman he killed. Miss Dicks, who disappeared in March 1972, was known by the nickname Gaskins used in telling a trial of one of his victims. The Citizens’ group questioned what Mrs. Burleson called a ‘gross difference’ in police investigations of the disappearances of Margaret ‘Peg’ Cuttino in December 1970 and the disappearances of the other three.”- (Associated Press, “Law and Judicial Systems Could Be Investigated,” The Gaffney Ledger, May 11, 1977, 12A.)

The group's spokeswoman speaks more about how a letter was received stating that a search party was formed two ½ hours after her disappearance. They were upset with Sheriff I. Byrd Parnell’s response that

“he backed his department’s handling of the three missing persons reports. He said no formal search parties were organized for the three because the department didn’t know they were missing.”- (Associated Press, “Law and Judicial Systems Could Be Investigated,” The Gaffney Ledger, May 11, 1977, 12A.)

This would lead to multiple problems: one lady being arrested and sued for passing out Peg’s autopsy report saying that Pierce was innocent, another was trusting in police involvement at the time due to the lack of transparency with their missing person’s case handling, lastly was that this high profile case was coming back after being supposedly solved. Gaskins' confession brought these problems to light, and even more confusion occurred. Sumter would gather the material for a Grand Jury and gather a ton of evidence to deliberate on two significant aspects of the case. One, did Gaskins commit this murder based on the evidence collected? Second, what reason did Gaskins have for confessing to a murder that has a conviction in it? The Grand Jury would come back and find no negligent acts committed by law enforcement authorities, and the grand jury unanimously voted to give law enforcement a clean bill of health. They also saw that Gaskins’ confession alone did not grant an order to reopen the Cuttino investigation. Many people in the field of law commented that Gaskins’ motive for his confession was to create controversy and garner fame before a book about him was in the works.

‍

                                  The End of the Tape

           Gaskins’ death did not herald the end of his vile villainy, nor did it stop people from saying varied reasons why he committed the crimes, both known and unknown. Upon a search of his name, finding a multitude of people who claim to know Gaskins, understand Gaskins, or know his exact number of kills. One of the main reasons this article was published was the fact that Gaskins fascinates many people and is SC’s most notorious serial killer. Lynches Lake, being in Lake City, is close by that discussion of this man and his actions, which have merit in looking more at the man behind the monster and putting some perspective on how he became his future. It does not excuse his actions, nor does it say that people who are abused will turn into killers. Gaskins’ personality for killing, lying, and criminal mischief would lead to many people losing their lives. Gaskins played on people’s assumptions of his short, skinny size, high-pitched voice, and limited vocabulary to trick people into a lull, whether they were lulled into criminal compliance, to be murdered, or worse, in some cases. Gaskins understood enough about people and how to exploit them for his own needs.

         Many positives came from the horrible experiences with Donald ‘Pee Wee’ Henry Gaskins. From a more public interest in people who have killed other people multiple times, concerns about children in public, and looking more at patterns when murders are involved. During the time of many serial killers being incarcerated in the seventies, this large fascination with serial killers became more pronounced. A few movies discussing these “villains” are in the eras of Hitchcock’s Psycho, Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver, and Jonathan Demme’s Silence of the Lambs. These movies and popular media use ideas from some notorious killers. This fascination has kept a hold of society for a long time. Multiple murders are not new to our species, but the difference in reasoning is what has caused different terms to emerge to explain more of why people have committed these acts. The difference in terms used for someone who has killed many people is between serial murder and mass murder.

“Unlike serial homicide, which is manifested in a number of separate events, mass murder is a one-time event that involves the killing of multiple people at one location. In a mass murder, the victims may be either randomly selected, or targeted for a specific reason, such as retaliation or revenge by the killer.”- (Dr. Scott A. Bonn, “Origin of the Term ‘Serial Killer,’” Psychology Today, June9, 2014,https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/wicked-deeds/201406/origin-the-term-serial-killer.) 

The national look into why someone has killed many is based on reasoning so that in our way of seeing more clues to prevent more of this from occurring in the future. The term “serial killer” was used by the late profiler and FBI Agent Robert Ressler. While lecturing in Bramshill, England 1974, to the police academy, he compared crimes that occurred in a series (murders, robberies, burglaries, arsons, etc.) like that of television shows or “serial adventures”. This was because, much like viewers wanting to continue with the story to relieve the tension from the show, the criminals who perform these serial acts believe that the stress will be relieved while performing the “perfect crime” the stress will be relieved.

“Rather than being satisfied when they murder, serial killers are instead agitated toward repeating their killings in an unending ‘serial’ cycle.” (Vronsky, P. 2004. Serial Killers: The Method and Madness of Monsters. New York: Berkley Books)

This cycle helps law enforcement know if other crimes may occur with similar circumstances and warn the public when deemed correct for the safety of a community. This research and recording of serial crimes were done by specialists from the Federal Bureau of Intelligence due to the high rise of violent crimes of serial activity in the 1970s to try to stop it.

           Some serial concerns from the 1970s to today have to do with children, and safety is still a significant concern for many people, especially parents. Even after losing his child, State Representative James Cuttino Jr. proposed and tried to get a bill passed that would require children and young college students to get their fingerprints as part of the enrollment process. This was said by Rep. James Cuttino Jr. in ‘The Herald’ on February 9^th,1971, “the idea of getting the fingerprints stemmed from the thought that had his daughter’s fingerprints been, for example, on an abductor’s car, they would have been excellent evidence.” Cuttino believed that this fingerprint card system should be used only by law enforcement and on orders of a court record to protect both children and have a much easier way for criminals to be tracked. Cuttino’s bill would get multiple changes to appease both sides but would soon become part of the SC Code of Laws in Title 59 (Education)- Chapter 63 (Pupils Generally)- Section 59-63-50. This today says:

“Each county shall provide to every school in the county the forms and ink pads necessary to record each pupil's fingerprints in kindergarten and grades one through twelve. The State Law Enforcement Division and all local law enforcement agencies are instructed and authorized to assist local school authorities in the fingerprinting of school children in kindergarten and grades one through twelve when the parent of a child requests in writing that his child be fingerprinted for identification purposes for the protection of the child. The fingerprints must be given to the student's parents or guardian. The implementation of this section is a local responsibility, and it must be implemented as the local school board determines appropriate. HISTORY: 1962 Code Section21-756; 1971 (57) 998; 1984 Act No. 512, Part II, Section 9, Division II, Subdivision A, Subpart 2, Section 3; 1985 Act No. 201, Part II, Section 9(J);1986 Act No. 355, Section 1.”

           Even with Gaskins’ history and many others like him, some good has sprung from such evil. These good things had us looking at protecting the young in our society, trying to understand more of why people kill in vast numbers (whether serial or mass homicide), or why this fascination with these types of people has seemed to grab hold of society. Gaskins became a prolific SC killer who was executed in September 1991 to deliver justice to his victims and prevent Gaskins from harming more. In looking through his life, we can see that his childhood was horrible, but it does not excuse the man for the crimes that he committed. We see that the trouble he was a part of during his childhood steered him towards a criminal career later in life and, through that career, put an end to the lives of some innocent and some criminal people. Throughout the story of Pee Wee, we see that monsters are not something that can be easily seen.

“The majority of serial killers are not reclusive, social misfits who live alone. They are not monsters and may not appear strange. Many serial killers hide in plain sight within their communities. Serial murderers often have families and homes, are gainfully employed, and appear to be normal members of the community. Because many serial murderers can blend in so effortlessly, they are often times overlooked by law enforcement and the public.”- ( “SerialMurder,” FBI, May 21, 2010,https://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/serial-murder#ncavc.)

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

                                                   Works Cited

‍

                 Adams, Jerry, and Kathy Edwards. “Ann Dicks: Will Identification of Bones End Her Mystery?” The Item. May 4, 1977.

                 Adams, Jerry, and Kathy Edwards. “Carter Among 6 Called by Jury.” The Item. June 13, 1977.

                 Adams, Jerry, and Kathy Edwards. “Citizens Expected to Ask Probe of Murder Cases.” The Item. May 9, 1977.

                 Adams, Jerry, and Kathy Edwards. “Investigators Dig Anew for Victims.” The Item. May 12, 1977.

                 Adams, Jerry, and Kathy Edwards. “Jury Begins Sorting-Out Job.” The Item. June 9, 1977.

                 Adams, Jerry, and Kathy Edwards. “Jury To Hear Grievances.” The Item. May 18, 1977.

                 Adams, Jerry. “Attorneys Consider Filing for New Trial for Pierce.” The Item. June 4, 1977.

                 Adams, Jerry. “Clues Sought in Alsbrook Case.” The Item. November 10, 1976.

                 Adams, Jerry. “Girl Missing Since 1971 Linked to Gaskins’ Victims.” The Item. May 2, 1977.

                 Adams, Jerry. “Jury Charged, Begins Work.” The Item. May 23, 1977.

                 Adams, Jerry. “Search For Bodies Resumes Next Week; Authorities May Question Gaskins.” The Item. December 10, 1976.

                 Baab, Carl. “CCI Officials Nervous.” The County Record, December 14, 1976.

                 Baab, Carl. “Gaskins Accused Neeley’s Wife ‘Knew Too Much.’” The Columbia Record, June 2, 1976.

                 Baab, Carl. “Kim Ghelkins: What Appeared to Be Routine Runaway Pre-School Turned into SC’s Worst Mass Murder.” The Columbia Record. December 23, 1976.

                 Baab, Carl. “Prospect Case Again Hopping with Activity.” The Columbia Record, November 10, 1976.

                 Baab, Carl. “Prospect Graves Revisited.” The Columbia Record, April 12, 1976.

                 Bailey, Steve. “Gaskins Guilty in Slaying Case.” The State. May 28, 1976.

                 Bailey, Steve. “Neeley Defense Rests Case.” The State. June 4, 1976.

                 Bailey, Steve. “Neeley Found Guilty.” The State. June 5, 1976.

                 Blackburn, Bonnie L. “Gaskins’ Terror Is Over.” The Item. September 6, 1991.

                 Bonn, Dr. Scott A. “Origin of the Term ‘Serial Killer.’” Psychology Today, June 9, 2014.https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/wicked-deeds/201406/origin-the-term-serial-killer.

                 Bureau, Pee Dee. “Judy Sentenced to Ten Years.” The State. July 22, 1976.

                 Capps, Henry. “‘Pee Wee’ Gaskins and the Subjectivity of History.” Caravel Undergraduate Research Journals 2014, no. Fall (2012).

                “Cuttino Asks ‘Matter Be Ended, Laid to Rest.’” The Item. May 11, 1977.

                “Dangerous Convict Flees State Hospital.” The State. November 7, 1955, Monday edition.

                “Dangerous Convict Flees State Hospital.” The State. November 7, 1955.

                Dyer, Jerry. “New Suspect Arrested Soon After Gaskins Admits Slaying Guilt.” The State. April 19, 1978.

                Edwards, Kathy, and Jerry Adams. “‘Clyde’ Left Winding Trail.” The Item. July 13, 1977.

                Edwards, Kathy. “Body Hunt Called Off.” The Item. May 16, 1977.

                Edwards, Kathy. “Gaskins And Law Officials Leave Court.” The Item. April 17, 1978.

                Edwards, Kathy. “McLeod Wouldn’t Seek Death for Gaskins.” The Item. April 20, 1978.

                Edwards, Kathy. “Slain Girl’s Father Obtains Order.” The Item. August 13, 1977.

                Fox, William. “Prison Officials Tighten Security around Gaskins.” The Greenville News, August 21, 1991.

                “Gaskins Pleads To 7 Murders.” The Item. December 30, 1978.

                Gaskins, Donald, and Wilton Earle. Final truth: Autobiography of a serial killer. London: Mondo, 1993.

                “Gaskins’ Victims.” The State. March 25, 1983.

                Gatling, Holly. “Three Now Charged in Prospect Slayings.” Florence Morning News, December 9, 1975.

                Harris, Art. “The Seeds of Vengeance.” The Washington Post. June 23, 1983.https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1983/06/24/the-seeds-of-vengeance/c77f669f-278d-4011-a0f5-89d49bc81a04/.

                Heller, Dan. “Doreene: Young Slaying Victim Led Fast-Moving Life.” The Item. January 16, 1976.

                Heller, Dan. “Man Charged in One Slaying.” The Item. December 8, 1975.

                Hite, J. Duncan. “Link With Prospect Case Looks Firmer.” The State. November 10, 1976.

                Hite, J. Duncan. “Postponement of Judy Trial May Be Due to Lie Detector.” The State. July 21, 1976.

                “Impasse Clouding Cuttino Inquiry.” The Item. June 8, 1973.

                International, United Press. “Body Discovered in Shallow Grave.” The Greenville News, December 9, 1976.

               Johnson, Scott. “S.C. Refuses Parole to Inmate in Georgia.” The State. June 27, 1985.

               “Jury Finds Wines Dealt Fatal Knife Wounds to Pen Inmate.” The State. October 17, 1953.

               Keating, Jeff. Pee Wee Gaskins was not my Friend. Other. iHeart Radio and Doghouse Productions, July 26, 2021.

               Lester, Will. “Tyner Was Killed For ‘Peace of Mind,’ Cimo Says.” The State. June 19, 1983.

              “Letter Asks Council to Request Probe.” The Item. May 11, 1977.

              “Man Held for Contributing to Delinquency of Minor.” The Item. November 21, 1975.

              “Map of Bodies in Sumter County.” The Item. April 29, 1977.

              O’Shea, Margaret N. “A Life of Death: Gaskins’ Gruesome Deeds Embedded in State’s Memory.” The State. September 5, 1991, sec. Cover and page 8.

             O’Shea, Margaret N. “State Executes Gaskins.” The State. September 6, 1991.

             O’Shea, Margaret N., and G.G. Rigsby. “Private Funeral ‘Closes the Book’ on Gaskins.” The State. September 7, 1991.

             “Parnell’s Statement to Council-- A Response to Citizens’ Allegations.” The Item. May 11, 1977.

             “Patty Alsbrook: More Unanswered Questions.” The Item. December 31, 1976.

             Petersen, Anne C. “Consequences of Child Abuse and Neglect.” New Directions in Child Abuse and Neglect Research., March 25, 2014.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK195987/.

             “Police Search Is Still on for Escapee.” The State. November 8, 1955, Tuesday edition.

             Press, Associated. “Body Search Continuing.” The State. November 15, 1976.

             Press, Associated. “Gaskins Denies Involvement in Death Row Bombing.” The Item. October 7, 1982.

             Press, Associated. “Gaskins Numb about Approaching Execution.” The Florence Morning News, August 19, 1991.

             Press, Associated. “Gaskins to Plead Guilty, Get Life.” The Herald. April 18, 1978.

             Press, Associated. “Here’s Prospect Murder List.” The Herald. April 18, 1978.

             Press, Associated. “Law and Judicial Systems Could Be Investigated.” The Gaffney Ledger, May 11, 1977.

             Press, Associated. “Pee Wee’s Final Day.” The Times and Democrat. September 7, 1991.

             Press, Associated. “Prison Puts Gaskins under 24-Hour Watch.” The State. June 15, 1991.

             Press, Associated. “Prosecutors Paint ‘Frightening Picture.’” Florence Morning News, March 16, 1983.

             Press, Associated. “Prospect Mass Murder Victims.” The State. April 19, 1978.

             Press, Associated. “SC Pen Escapee Is Recaptured.” The Herald. January 25, 1956.

             Press, Associated. “Search Under Way ‘To Dig Up Every Rumor in Sumter County.’” The State. May 13, 1977.

             Press, Associated. “Slaying Victim: Who Was She?” The Item. n.d.

             Press, Associated. “Taped Phone Calls Entered in Murder Trial.” Sun-News. March 15, 1983.

             Press, Associated. “Tony Cimo: A Man Who Took the Law into His Own Hands.” The Gaffney Ledger, June 20, 1983.

             Press, Associated. “Tony Cimo: I’d Do It Again.” Florence Morning News, March 26, 1986.

            Press, Associated. “Trial Set for Monday in Plot to Kill Inmate.” The State. May 20, 1983.

             Press, Associated. “U.S. Supreme Court Turns down Gaskins Appeal.” The Item. June 1, 1987.

             Press, Associated. “Witness Testifies Gaskins Key Man.” Florence Morning News, March 18, 1983.

             Press, Associated. “Woman Claims New Evidence: Cuttino Death.” The Times and Democrat. August 13, 1977.

             Press, Associated. “‘Bloodiest Criminal’ May Face Death Penalty.” The Gaffney Ledger, January 12, 1983.

             Putnam, Walter. “Case Taking on ‘Manson’ Style.” The Columbia Record, December 12, 1975.

             Putnam, Walter. “Six Missing Persons Keep Search Alive.” The Columbia Record, December 16, 1975.

             Rigsby, G.G. “Witness Says Gaskins Took Death Quietly.” The Item. September 6, 1991.

             Schneider, Howard. “A Common Thread Links 14 Deaths- Pee Wee Gaskins.” The State. March 25, 1983.

             Schneider, Howard. “As Trial Begins, ‘Pee Wee’ Gaskins Remains a Mystery,” February 14,1983.

             Schneider, Howard. “Gaskins’ Murder of Six Read to Jurors.” The State. March 25, 1983, Friday edition.

             Schneider, Howard. “Tony Cimo Reports to Prison.” The State. June 24, 1983.

             Schneider, Howard. “What Blew Up? How Did Bomb Get Into CCI?” The State. March 17, 1983.

            “SerialMurder.” FBI, May 21, 2010.https://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/serial-murder#ncavc.

            “SLED Talks to Gaskins about Threat.” The State. March 6, 1985.

             Smith, Mike. “Mass Killer Linked to Murders Here but Never Tried.” The Item. October 7, 1982.

             Smith, Mike. “Sheriff Says He Doubts Pierce Killed Cuttino Girl.” The Item. October 7, 1982.

             Staff, Item, and Wire Reports. “Search For Bodies to Resume; Dead Lake City Man Identified.” The Item. December 14, 1976.

           “State to Ask Death Penalty for Gaskins.” The Index-Journal. January 12, 1983.

           “Sumter Girl Said Missing.” The Item. April 14, 1972.

            Truluck, Jack L. “Question Raised in Sumter May Never Be Resolved.” The State. June 7, 1977.

            Vronsky, P. 2004. Serial Killers: The Method and Madness of Monsters. New York: Berkley Books

           Williams, Ed. “Sheriff’s Report Lists 4 More Unsolved Slayings.” The Item. February 25, 1980.

           Williams, Ed. “Some Murders Confound, But Cases Never Close.” The Item. February 11, 1980.

           Williams, Ed. “The Home Stretch Parnell, Reeves Keep Heat On.” The Item. June 6, 1980.

          “Wines Held for Prison Slaying.” The Greenville News, October 17, 1953.

          Writer, Associated Press. “Bill Prohibits Profit from Crime.” The State. January 24, 1980.

‍

‍