Families reflect 1 year after SC serial killer Todd Kohlhepp pleads guilty

SPARTANBURG, S.C. — Anniversaries are important to Lorraine and Tom Lucas as a way to remember their son, Brian.

Just a few weeks ago, on May 1, they had a special dinner to celebrate Brian's birthday, an annual ritual Lorraine said helps keep her connected to him.

"We always go out to dinner, and we have cake, we pray, we celebrate, we include him," she said. "I remember what happened that morning (when Brian was born). That was the day when I went to the doctor's office. and I was already in labor and they put me right in the hospital. I go through all of those things, so those are the happy memories."

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And every year, they celebrate Brian on Nov. 6, the day he and three other people were shot and killed at Superbike Motorsports near Chesnee - murders that would go unsolved for 13 years.

May 26 marks another anniversary for the Lucases, but one Lorraine said she has no plans to acknowledge, much less celebrate. One year ago to the day, Todd Kohlhepp pleaded guilty to murdering Brian and six other people.

On Nov. 2, 2016, a missing Anderson woman was found in a storage container on Kohlhepp's property in Woodruff and soon afterward, three bodies were found nearby. Two days after his arrest, authorities said Kohlhepp admitted to committing the quadruple murder at Superbike.

He pleaded guilty May 26, 2017, to all seven killings, among other charges. He will be in prison the rest of his life.

Chuck Carver's son, Charles, was among the three people found on Kohlhepp's property in November 2016. In the year since Kohlhepp's guilty plea, Carver and Tom Lucas have become advocates for improving the state's execution system.

Prosecutors said at the time of Kohlhepp's conviction they did not pursue the death penalty because of a lack of access to lethal injection drugs in the state - essentially, seeking the death penalty would have incurred a cost and emotional toll over years that ultimately would have been pointless, because without lethal injection drugs, South Carolina doesn't have a functioning death penalty.

In the past year, Carver and Tom Lucas have spoken at the Statehouse multiple times about bringing back the electric chair and supporting "shield law" legislation, which would protect the identity of companies that provide the state with lethal injection drugs, increasing their availability.

For Carver, Kohlhepp's plea didn't bring closure, and he said he's doing what he can to focus his grief on bringing about change.

"We were willing to get involved because we wanted to make it easier on other families," Carver said. "We were just trying to take a positive approach."

Lorraine Lucas said she's never felt a sense of closure, either, but Kohlhepp's conviction did bring her relief.

After 13 years of fear and uncertainty, Lorraine Lucas said the day Kohlhepp pleaded guilty was one of the happiest of her life.

"I think we all walked in there afraid he would change his mind at the last minute," she said. ". We all went in there not knowing, so walking out, it was just like the biggest weight in the world was off of my shoulders, thankfully."

Even so, it's not a day she plans to commemorate. The days Lorraine Lucas said she'll honor the rest of her life are all about her son, not his killer.

"That's not a day that's going to be among our days to celebrate," she said. "Our days to celebrate are the day he was born, the day of his death. We have nothing to celebrate for Todd Kohlhepp. We have no feelings for him."

When the Herald-Journal first asked Lorraine Lucas about the anniversary, she said she was shocked she didn't realize it had already been a year.

The fact that she wasn't fixated on the day, she said, is a good sign - an indication that she's finally beginning to heal.

"I guess that shows I'm trying to move forward," she said. "Normally, anniversaries and stuff just cling to me, but I'm amazed that that could come up by me."

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