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'Serial killers need love too': missing woman claims alleged kidnapper had 'more victims'

Police fear they may have uncovered a serial killer, after a missing woman who was found chained up like a dog in a shipping container on Thursday claimed her alleged kidnapper had more victims.

It’s understood registered sex offender Todd Christopher Kohlhepp, has yet to be charged with any murders.

Kohlhepp, 45, is accused of kidnapping Kala Brown and her boyfriend Charlie Carver, 32, who went missing in late August.

Police have reportedly begun scouring missing persons reports in their search for more bodies on the farm where Ms Brown was held captive.

Kohlhepp allegedly held Ms Brown captive for weeks.

Todd Christopher Kohlhepp is accused of kidnapping, he is yet to be charged with any murders. Photo: Yahoo US
Todd Christopher Kohlhepp is accused of kidnapping, he is yet to be charged with any murders. Photo: Yahoo US

Only months before the couple disappeared the accused kidnapper wrote a comment defending serial killers on Facebook.

On April 19, four months before Ms Brown and Mr Carver went missing, Kohlhepp left a chilling response on a Facebook post which read: "(People need) to start appreciating the effort I put in to not be a serial killer."

Kohlhepp wrote: “Why? Serial killers need love, too.”

Kohlhepp also made frequent online posts about moving around rocks and trimming trees at the rural property, according to the Facebook page that have been confirmed as his.

More recently, he wrote a post about news reports on missing people: "reading the news.. this person missing, that person missing, another person missing.. oh wait.. that person just went to beach with friend, other person found with her parole violation boyfriend... in the event I become missing, please note no one would take me. I eat too much and I am crabby..."

The post was written about two weeks after the couple disappeared.

Search crews digging on the property found one body on Friday and feared there could be more.

Prosecutor Barry Barnette said Ms Brown saw her captor shoot and kill her boyfriend, who went with her for a cleaning job on the suspect's property.

The body discovered Friday was not immediately identified, and Spartanburg County Coroner Rusty Clevenger said he isn't sure when that might happen.

"This is a very, very dangerous individual," the prosecutor said.

Couple Kala Brown and Charlie Carver went missing in August.
Couple Kala Brown and Charlie Carver went missing in August.

Kohlhepp appeared Friday at a bond hearing in Spartanburg on a kidnapping charge. More charges are expected.

It’s claimed the South Carolina couple disappeared about August 31 when they went to do the work on the suspect's 40-hectare property near Woodruff, said Daniel Herren, a friend of Ms Brown.

The property includes grassy areas, some covered in waist-high weeds, as well as stands of trees. Most or all of it is surrounded by a two-metre chain-link fence.

In the middle was the cargo container, which measured about 9 by 4.5 metres. It was next to a two-car garage that had a living space on top, Barnette said.

Guns and a large amount of ammunition were seized from Kohlhepp, the prosecutor said.

"It's unbelievable how much he had," he said, adding that Kohlhepp frequently took target practice in an area near the storage container.

Records show Kohlhepp received his South Carolina real-estate license in 2006 before a state law went into effect requiring background checks.

A real estate agent who worked at the firm run by Kohlhepp said she had known him for 10 years after they met at a university in the Spartanburg area and were study partners. She said she was in disbelief.

"He's not the kind of person to do something like this," Cherry Laurens said by phone. "Working with him, he was an excellent boss. He stood up for us whenever we needed him."

A chilling comment left on Facebook by the accused.
A chilling comment left on Facebook by the accused.