The tragic case of the Amazon Review killer
In the late months of 2016, someone noticed that an anonymous account was leaving strange product reviews on Amazon.
The reviews targeted products like knives, shovels, padlocks, and chainsaws. Some of the reviews;
“It’s blacker than my soul, and priced right.”
“Keep in the car for when you have to hide the bodies.”
“Haven’t stabbed anyone yet. When I do, it will be with a quality tool like this.”
“Solid locks. Have 5 on a shipping container.. won’t stop them.. but sure will slow them down until they are too old to care.”
Johnny and Meagan Struggled Financially
Twenty-nine-year-old Johnny Coxie and his wife, twenty-six-year-old Meagan Coxie, lived in a low-income section of Spartanburg, South Carolina.
The couple often found themselves begging for money on the streets. Child protective services took their child away from them. Then a local successful real estate agent reached out to the couple. The real estate agent was an old friend to the couple.
He offered Johnny and Meagan pretty decent-paying jobs at his plot of land that he had recently purchased.
The job offer was to clean it up. Johnny and Meagan agreed.
Three days later, the couple’s family couldn’t get in touch with them.
Meagan’s Mother Filed Missing People’s Reports to The Police
Megan’s mother called the police when she couldn’t find either Johnny or Meagan at their house.
The police began their investigation by speaking to the owner of the plot. He was one of the last people to see Johnny and Meagan before they went missing.
But the owner of the plot told the police that he had limited interaction with the couple. The couple cleaned two buildings on his property, then he paid them, and they left.
Months went by, and the case went cold.
Kala and Charles Went Missing As Well
On August 31st, 2016, another couple from Spartanburg, Kala Brown and Charles Carver, went missing. But that couple wasn’t struggling financially.
The couple’s families reported them missing when they couldn’t find either of them at their respective houses.
The police started their search with no leads. So, the police looked at the couple’s respective cell phone records. They discovered that Kala’s last location was inside the same 95-acre plot of land that Johnny and Meagan had been in before they went missing.
The Police Searched The Plot
The police immediately put in for a search warrant to go search the 95-acre property.
Meanwhile, another group of police officers went to the plot owner’s house. The plot owner told the police that this was just a weird coincidence. He had reached out to his friend Kala and offered her work.
Kala came along with her boyfriend, Charles. But, the plot owner said he didn’t know the couple disappeared afterward. When the search warrant cleared, the police flew through the gate and located Kala’s last known location.
It was inside a clearing that contained two green buildings.
One building was like a shed. And the other building was a metal shipping container shut by metal chains and five padlocks.
The police found nothing inside the shed. Then they opened the shipping container.
The Police Couldn’t Believe What Was Inside the Shipping Container
The authorities were astounded at what they saw inside the shipping container.
They found Kala in rough shape, but she was alive. And she told them what happened after they cut her free and got her out of the building.
Kala said she was contacted by a friend of hers, Todd Kohlhepp, back on August 31st, 2016. Todd was looking for people to help him clean up his new plot of land.
Kala agreed to do it. She asked her boyfriend, Charles, to accompany her. The couple drove to the plot, where they met Todd.
Todd was standing in front of the shed and the metal shipping container.
Todd Pointed a Gun at Kala And Charles
Todd pulled out a gun as soon as the couple stood before him.
He shot Charles and then aimed the gun at Kala. Todd threatened Kala that he would shoot her if she tried to run.
Kala watched as Todd put the gun away. Todd walked over to Charles’s body and wrapped him in a blue tarp. Then he carried the lifeless body, and he dumped it in a nearby bucket of a tractor.
And then Todd walked back to Kala, pulled out his gun again, and ordered her to go into the shipping container.
Kala was Todd’s prisoner for a total of 65 days.
The Owner of the Plot, Todd, Was Arrested
The police at Todd’s plot immediately informed the other team of police officers at Todd’s residence. Then the police at Todd’s residence arrested Todd.
Todd initially denied any wrongdoing. But Todd eventually confessed not only to killing Charles and kidnapping Kala. But also to killing Johnny and Meagan Coxie.
Todd killed Johnny before he kidnapped Meagan. But Meagan fought back, and she was resistant. So, Todd killed her five days after he killed Johnny.
The Police Discovered Three Bodies at Todd’s Plot
Charles, Johnny, and Meagan’s bodies were discovered in shallow graves outside the shipping container.
Todd told the police he could confess to more murders in exchange for immunity against the death penalty.
The police agreed. Todd told the police he had walked into a motorbike shop and gunned down four staff members in 2003.
He killed them because they said that Todd was bad at riding motorcycles.
Todd Felt the Urge to Review Murder Weapons
The police discovered that the anonymous account that left strange product reviews on Amazon belonged to Todd. Todd reviewed products like knives, shovels, padlocks, and chainsaws.
His reviews were about how he planned on using the tools to kill people. Or how he had used the tools to kill people. Or how he had disposed of bodies.
Todd was sentenced to seven consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole. Which means he will spend the rest of his life in prison.