Todd Kohlhepp, Kala Brown expected in court for lawsuit hearing

Daniel J. Gross | The Greenville News

Show Caption Hide Caption Todd Kohlhepp's victims help each other heal Families of Todd Kohlhepp's victims help each other through hard year

Todd Kohlhepp and his surviving victim, Kala Brown, are expected to be in court Wednesday for a hearing to determine the outcomes of some of the civil lawsuits against the serial killer.

A damages hearing will be held at 2 p.m. Wednesday at the Spartanburg County Courthouse to determine monetary amounts to be paid out to some of those who have filed wrongful death and personal injury suits, said David Wyatt, an attorney representing Brown.

Kohlhepp was charged with sexual assault and kidnapping Nov. 3, 2016, after Brown was found chained up in a shipping container on a 100-acre property in Woodruff.

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Kohlhepp was later charged with killing seven people. The bodies of Brown's boyfriend, Charlie David Carver, along with Spartanburg couple Johnny Coxie and Meagan McCraw Coxie, were found in shallow graves on the property.

Kohlhepp also confessed to being the shooter responsible for the killings in a 13-year-old quadruple homicide at a motorcycle store in Spartanburg County. There, Scott Ponder, Brian Lucas, Beverly Guy and Chris Sherbert were found dead Nov. 6, 2003.

He was convicted of the seven killings, kidnapping and weapons charges in May 2017 and is now serving life sentences in a state prison facility.

Following his arrest, Brown and several family members of victims filed civil lawsuits against Kohlhepp.

Hearings to determine damages that will be awarded to the victims and family members have already been delayed several times since the suits were first filed. Wednesday's hearings will be for Brown's personal injury suit and the wrongful death suit for representatives in the motorcycle shop killings.

A continuance was filed Monday for the wrongful death lawsuit involving Carver. Chuck Carver, Charlie David Carver's father, said Tuesday he still plans to be in the courtroom while the hearings for the other suits play out. He said he wants to see whether Kohlhepp will speak and what he might say.

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Wednesday will mark the first time Brown and Kohlhepp have been in the same courtroom. Brown did not attend Kohlhepp's sentencing or arraignment hearings.

Brown was missing from Anderson for about two months before she was found. Cell phone pings and other records helped investigators locate her on Kohlhepp's fenced-in property in Woodruff.

Investigators used saws and power tools to break through several chains and padlocks that had kept Brown captive in the container.

Wednesday's hearing will also mark Brown's first public appearance since she went on national television on the Dr. Phil show for an exclusive interview with Phil McGraw in February 2017. During that television special, Brown announced that while being held captive, Kohlhepp sexually assaulted her daily and bragged about his killings.

Jenny Dial, Brown's spokeswoman, said Tuesday that Brown will attend Wednesday's damages hearing but will not be speaking to members of the media.

Return to our website Wednesday afternoon for coverage from the hearing: https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/crime/2018/07/11/todd-kohlhepp-kala-brown-lawsuit-hearing/775173002/

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