Todd Kohlhepp is a convicted sex offender accused of multiple homicides and of chaining up a woman he allegedly kidnapped. Three bodies were found on his property, all of which have been identified as of Wednesday. Photo courtesy of Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office
SPARTANBURG, S.C., Nov. 10 (UPI) -- South Carolina officials said two bodies found on the Spartanburg property of Todd Kohlhepp have been identified as husband and wife Johnny Joe Coxie and Meagan Leigh McCraw Coxie.
The husband and wife, aged 29 and 25 respectively, are believed to have been killed in December. Johnny Coxie was shot in the torso, while Meagan Coxie was shot in the head, Spartanburg County Coroner Rusty Clevenger said Wednesday, adding that they were identified by analyzing their tattoos.
The couple was reported missing mid-December 2015 shortly after being released from jail, Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office spokesman Lt. Kevin Bobo said. Johnny Coxie was arrested on Dec. 10 and charged with unauthorized solicitation and providing false information to police, while Meagan Coxie was arrested on Dec. 18 and charged with child neglect.
Meagan called her mother to bail her out of jail because she had a job lined up, Bobo said, adding that the deceased couple had a child who is safe.
Johnny Coxie's mother, Cindy, is on the ministry team of the God Invasion Revival Center in Greenville. Karyl Gaehring, founder and president of the center, released a statement over the identification of the bodies.
"Cindy came about a year ago requesting prayer for her son Johnny and his wife ... who were missing ... We have been praying for about a year now that they would be found and we would know what happened. Today they received the news," Gaehring told The Greenville News in a statement. "The family is in shock, grieving, and are not comfortable talking to anyone at this time. They have asked for people to please try and understand and give them time to heal. They appreciate everyone's love and concern."
Kohlhepp is a convicted sex offender accused of multiple homicides and of chaining up a woman he allegedly kidnapped. A first body, belonging to Charles Carver, 32, was found on Friday. Carver was the boyfriend of Kala Brown, 30, who was found alive last Thursday by police investigating a sex crime tip. Brown was found chained by the neck and ankles inside a storage container for two months.
A second body was found Saturday and a third was found Monday, which were identified as the Coxies.
Kohlhepp, 45, is charged with four deaths but is implicated in seven and could face additional charges, officials said. He is charged in the 2003 deaths of Scott Ponder, 30, owner of Superbike Motorsports; Beverly Guy, Ponder's 52-year-old mother and part-time employee; and employees Brian Lucas, 29; and Chris Sherbert, 26.
Kohlhepp previously spent 15 years in prison for kidnapping. He has not been charged in the deaths of Carver or the Coxie couple.
"There's no reason to rush," Bobo said. "His bond's been denied. He's not going anywhere."
