Details of girl’s life emerging

Abducted child lived in relative seclusion,
neighbors say; mom, daughter to reunite


June 16, 2006

BY JOANIE BAKER
Index-Journal staff writer

DONALDS — Just like any tenant who rented Charlotte Russ’ five-bedroom manufactured home, the “Bradleys’” references checked out perfectly.
They always paid on time. And in cash.
During the past 3 1/2 years, “Norma” and “Rebekah Bradley” lived at the end of the secluded red clay and rock road of Setters Lane in Donalds. Neighbors said they were quiet and left the house only about once a week while they waited for “John Bradley” to come home from Roanoke, Va., twice a month.
But the family was nice, said Russ, who often worked with “Rebekah” at Russ’ dog kennel and even bought the 12-year-old an Australian Shepherd, named Zack, for Christmas.
But not even a reference check or close ties to the family could have prepared Russ for the shocking news she received Tuesday night.
FBI agents showed up at Russ’ house, which faces the “Bradleys’” home on her property. They told her the people she had known for more than three years were not in fact the “Bradleys,” but were Rebecca Ann Braun, Danny Moran and Lillian Jean Pitts.
To add to her disbelief, Russ was told by law enforcement officers that her quiet neighbors who kept to themselves were involved in a kidnapping case that would receive national attention.
On Monday, Moran was arrested in Roanoke, Va., and charged with custodial interference and unlawful flight to avoid prosecution stemming from Rebecca’s abduction in Tempe, Ariz., 10 years ago. After Moran, who had assumed a false identity in Virginia, refused to cooperate with officials, Pitts’ location in the small, northern Abbeville County town was found by tracing his cell phone calls.
On Tuesday, authorities located Pitts and Rebecca at the home they rented from Russ. Pitts has been charged with accessory to kidnapping after the fact.
Abbeville County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Marion Johnson said officials’ main focus in detaining Pitts was to make sure Rebecca was safe and turned over to the proper authorities, where she could be counseled.
Johnson said Rebecca was “really quiet, scared and frightened” when officials came to the property.
After being given a stuffed animal, Johnson said Rebecca “settled down” as time went on.
Rebecca is in the custody of South Carolina’s Department of Social Services until she can be reunited with her mother. Virginia Williamson, general counsel for the agency, told The Associated Press that the department is helping make arrangements for a reunion that will take place tonight at an undisclosed location.
Johnson said Pitts, whose bail was set at $50,000, seemed to be packing for what officers think was a move to North Carolina. But Pitts’ landlord said it wasn’t because they were “on the run,” but because the landlord wanted to move back into the house.
Moran had been living in Virginia for six months under an assumed identity, said Kathleen Murphy, FBI spokeswoman in Columbia. Moran had been working as a subcontractor for a Roanoke-area construction firm doing work with Norfolk Southern railroad, said Larry Barry, FBI spokesman in Richmond, Va.
A detention hearing for Moran is scheduled for Monday to determine if bond should be set. He is being held in the Roanoke city jail, said Heidi Coy, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s office in Virginia.
No extradition hearings have been set for Moran, said Sgt. Dan Masters, Tempe (Ariz.) Police Department spokesman.
Other than the hairstyle being slightly different, the age progression computer-generated photo of Rebecca created by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children was almost exactly right, Johnson said.
“Once we got there, there was not much doubt she was the child we were looking for,” he said. “This is a good case to be involved in because it’s a happy ending.”
But the case hasn’t ended for Russ and neighbors who seem to be slowly putting clues together in their own minds that hadn’t seemed as obvious when the “Bradleys” lived within shouting distance of Russ.
In thinking back to the family’s customs, Russ said Pitts had mentioned to her that the three years they spent at the Donalds residence was the longest they had ever occupied a home.
Russ said the family lived in Seneca for two years before its move to Abbeville County, according to Pitts and the reference they gave Russ to become tenants.
“They would have been here four years in October, but the reason they’ve been moving is because he’s in Virginia,” Russ said she was told by Pitts. “I just figured this is the truth.”
Rebecca never had any friends or went anywhere that was out of earshot of Pitts, Russ said, adding that there was a family of eight kids just down the road that Rebecca didn’t see without Pitts.
But the landlord said Rebecca was well cared for and was homeschooled by Pitts for about six to eight hours every day. Russ said she had every kind of chemistry set, periscope, book and computer software money could buy. The family would sometimes take her out roller-skating or bowling, and she rode horses at a nearby horseback club.
Russ said Rebecca had a vision condition that caused her eyes to move back and forth. She said the parents did not have the condition examined even after Russ offered the name of her eye doctor.
The family kept their home stocked with books to the ceiling in almost all five bedrooms. Many of the books were related to natural medicine, and Russ said there were a lot of dried herbs and essential oils kept refrigerated.
One neighbor, who asked not to be identified, said she thinks the child received only home health care.
She said Pitts asked Russ to contact her brother after law enforcement officers raided the house. In addition to telling Russ that the woman who Rebecca called “Mama” had been a police officer and former nurse’s assistant, the man told Russ that he had not spoken to his sister in 15 years.
The neighbor also said the Chrysler Imperials that Moran and Pitts drove would always be parked in the back of the home with the license plates facing the home. The white Imperial presently at the home has a British Columbia license plate, and the neighbor said Pitts once accidentally “slipped” that the car could not have repairs done to it until “the man who owned it” said they could fix it.
Moran told Tempe police officials that even if he were arrested, they would never see Rebecca again because he had set up an underground network of homes for her to stay in until she turned 21.
The neighbor pointed out that the family owned a snowblower and a sled, indicating they had lived somewhere up north.
“I knew they were weird, but kidnapping never crossed my mind,” the neighbor said. “I thought maybe drugs or something.”
Moran told local residents that he was a computer operator in Virginia. One entire bedroom of the house was filled with computer equipment, which neighbors who helped the family move said was the first thing Moran wanted out of the house.
Russ said the family already moved most of its belongings to North Carolina last Friday and was planning to move the rest this week.
Now relatively empty but still maintaining its sense of homeliness, the modern manufactured home contains mostly empty bookcases and boxes filled with personal belongings.
Neighbors said they noticed the only pictures ever taken of Rebecca were Polaroids or photos that had been mailed away for developing. They said all of Rebecca’s baby teeth had been kept with dates when they fell out, and they said they thought Rebecca’s hair had been dyed much darker than its original color.
Two sun lamps and food dehydrators were still in the house, along with lots of dried herbs and about 20 bottles of refrigerated oils such as rosemary, lavender, peppermint, sage and lemon eucalyptus.
Pitts always kept the front blinds open so she could meet an approaching person outside without them coming in, the neighbor said, adding that Pitts took Rebecca to the library and PetSmart about once a week. Other than that, the neighbor said they stayed home.
For Russ, after having helped Rebecca train her dog to do tricks and getting help from the young girl at her kennel, the situation “hurts her heart.” She said she hopes Rebecca is able to take her dog with her when she is reunited with her mother, who lives in Philadelphia. Helen Braun was on her way to South Carolina on Thursday, The Associated Press said.
“Because I love that kid,” Russ said, “... I don’t think she should go back to her daddy and ‘Norma,’ or whatever her name is, but I hope her mother can make her happy because it will be a big adjustment.”

Dr. James Allen Behling

ST. GEORGE, SC — Doctor James Allen “Al” Behling, 56, of 108 Bryant Acres, St. George died June 14, 2006 at Orangeburg Regional Medical Center.
Funeral Services will be held Saturday 3:00 PM at Bryant Funeral Home Chapel with Reverend James Dukes officiating. Burial will follow in the St. George Cemetery. Pallbearers will be Behling Guess, Ryan Murray, Kenny Murray, Julius Pinson, Gene Pinson, David Fralix and David Crotts. Visitation will be Friday evening 6:00 to 8:00 PM at Bryant Funeral Home.
Dr. Behling was born on March 17, 1950 a son of Mary Etta Hill Behling and the late Allen Henry Behling. He was a 1968 graduate of Wade Hampton Academy, a 1972 Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Wofford College and completed the Universtiy of South Carolina graduate school in 1972-1973 with a degree in Biology. He was a graduate of Tulane University Medical School and completed his Externships at Neurological Institute of New York and the Neurosensory Center at Baylor College and his residency at Tulane University Medical Center/Charity Hospital. Dr. Behling completed his residency at Baylor College of Medicine and Emergency Medicine residency at Charity Hospital, New Orleans. He was an accomplished Emergency Medical Physician affiliated with Corporations in Louisiana and Texas. He was a talented writer and submitted publications for “The Medical Journal of St. Joseph’s Hospital”, “Emergency Medicine Edition” and “Headache-As Seen in the Emergency Department”. Dr. Behling was licensed in fourteen states. He enjoyed learning foreign languages, international travel, hiking, swimming and fishing. He was a member of St. George United Methodist Church.
Surviving are his mother Mary Etta Behling, St. George, his sister Jayne (Julius) Pinson, and his niece Caroline Elizabeth and his nephew Allen Behling Pinson, Greenwood; two aunts, Gertrude Behling Dukes, St. George and Maggie Hill Shuler, St. Matthews Convalescence Home.
PAID OBITUARY


Donald Chrisley

Donald K. Chrisley, 57, of 3620 Hwy 25 South, husband of Marguerite Robinson Chrisley, died Wednesday, June 14, 2006 at Self Regional Medical Center.
Born in Greenwood, he was a son of the late Johnnie and Nellie Mae Chauncy Chrisley. He was a former Western Square Dancer and Caller, and of the Holiness Faith.
Surviving is his wife of the home; two sons, Kevin (Karen) Chrisley and Keith Chrisley, both of Greenwood; five brothers, John Chrisley, Chester Chrisley, both of Saluda, Ray “Doc” Chrisley of Greenwood, Leroy Chrisley of Ninety Six, and James “Melvin” Chrisley of Clinton; two sisters, Janette Turner of Ninety Six and Sue Westmoreland of Swansboro, NC; and four precious grandchildren, Ty and Celeste Chrisley of Ninety Six and Kayla and Kayci Chrisley of Greenwood.
Graveside services will be 3:00 PM Friday at Ninety Six Mill Cemetery, with the Reverend Chuck Sprouse and the Reverend Carlise Grimsley officiating.
Pallbearers will be Eric McIntosh, Marion McMahan, Brian Wood, John Alexander, Stacy Chrisley and Jason Jones.
The family will receive friends Friday at Harley Funeral Home & Crematory from 1:00 to 2:30 PM. The family is at the home.
Harley Funeral Home & Crematory are in charge of arrangements.
Online condolences may be sent to the family by visiting www.harleyfuneralhome.com
PAID OBITUARY


George W. Gray

ABBEVILLE — Services for George W. Gray are 2 p.m. Saturday at Shady Grove AME Church, conducted by the Revs. Robert L. Johnson, Larry Merrill, Cedric Smith, Judy Richardson, Rufus East and Jerome Nance. The body will be place in the church at 1.
The family is at the home.
Brown and Walker Funeral Home is in charge.


Frances Hodges

Frances Ethridge Hodges, 87, resident of 201 Overland Drive, widow of Samuel Harold Hodges, died June 15, 2006 at Self Regional Medical Center.
Born in Greenwood County, May 5, 1919, she was a daughter of the late Dave Edgar and Fara Virginia Dukes Ethridge. She was a graduate of Greenwood High School and retired from the S&H Greenbacks Store in Greenwood.
Mrs. Hodges was a member of Mt. Lebanon United Methodist Church and the Missionary Society of the church.
Surviving are a son, William Harold Hodges, Sr. of W. Columbia and a sister, Ella McAllister of Greenwood. Three grandchildren, Julie Dawson of Chapin, Bill Hodges of West Columbia and Amanda Wickman of Cumming, GA; eight great-grandchildren.
Funeral services will be 2:00 PM Saturday from the Blyth Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Harvey Peurifoy officiating.
Burial will be in Greenwood Memorial Gardens.
Pallbearers will be Bill Hodges, Al Dawson, Larry McKellar, Gippy Cade, Tom McKellar and Jeff Wickman. The family will receive friends at the funeral home from 6:00 to 8:00 Friday evening.
Memorials may be made to Davita/Greenwood Dialysis, 109 Overland Drive, Greenwood, SC 29646.
Online condolences may be sent to the family by visiting www.blythfuneralhome.com
Blyth Funeral Home & Cremation Services is assisting the Hodges family.
PAID OBITUARY


Bessie Johnson

Graveside services for Bessie Johnson, of Wesley Commons, are 11 a.m. Saturday at Springfield Baptist Church, conducted by the Rev. Ulysess Parks. Burial is in the church cemetery.
Visitation is 6-8 tonight at the home of Marlana Grimes, 407 Parkland Place Road.
Percival-Tompkins Funeral Home is in charge.


Gene Kirkland

COLUMBIA — Lester Eugene “Gene” Kirkland, 76, died Wednesday, June 14, 2006.
Born in Columbia, he was a son of the late Raymond Kirkland, Jr. and Ruth Beam Kirkland. He was a graduate of Olympia High School and was employed with Norfolk Southern Railway from 1946-1987. He served in the US Navy from 1947-1951.
Surviving are his sons, Lester Kirkland, Jr. and his wife, Malinda of Cross Hill, S.C., Sam Kirkland and his wife, Karen of Irmo; daughter, Patsy Garrison and her husband, Tom of Greenwood; brother, Raymond Kirkland of Columbia; four grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
The family will receive friends from 2-4 p.m. Saturday at Dunbar Funeral Home, Dutch Fork Chapel, Irmo. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society, 128 Stonemark Lane, Columbia, S.C. 29201.
PAID OBITUARY


Martha Watts Lindsey

Services for Martha Watts Lindsey are 11 a.m. Saturday at Morris Chapel Baptist Church, conducted by the Rev. Ricky V. Syndab, assisted by the Revs. Dora White, Thaesa Smith and James Sturkey. The body will be placed in the church at 10. Burial is in Scurry Springs Baptist Church Cemetery, Newberry County.
Pallbearers are Johnny Leaks, James F. Brown, Ivin Leaks, Curtis Hill Jr., Chester Leaks, Durrah Watts Jr. and Roger Leaks Jr.
Flower bearers are Alease Robinson, Paulette Watts, Ellen Hill, Glenda Leaks, Mattie Dillion, Carol Leaks and Jackie Davis.
Visitation is 7-8 tonight at Robinson & Son Mortuary.
Viewing is also 1-1:15 p.m. Saturday at Scurry Springs Baptist Church.
Robinson & Son Mortuary Inc. is in charge.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at robson@nctv.com


Harper Smith

GREENWOOD — Harper Eugene Smith, 73, of 110 Bent Road, husband of Carmen Smith, died Thursday, June 15, 2006 at Self Regional Medical Center.
Born in Elberton, GA, he was the son of the late John C. and Thelma S. Smith. He was retired from Fluor Daniel. Mr. Smith was a Mason and he was a member of Lupo Memorial United Methodist Church.
Survivors include his wife of the home; three daughters Carmen Denise Schumacher of Greenwood, Betty Colon and her husband, Luis, of Greenwood and Lisa Buchanan and her husband, Karl, of Kure Beach, NC; three sons Larry Gene Smith and his wife, Libby, of Ninety Six, Nathan Brooks Smith and his wife, Sharon, of Greenwood and Juan Maldonado and his wife, Donna, of Lexington; four sisters Janie Harris, Elaine Clinkscale and her husband, Fred, Pat Garrett and her husband, Harry, all of Greenwood and Shirley McDowell and her, husband, Bodie of Greensboro, NC; thirteen grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Services will be 11:00 AM Saturday at Harley Funeral Home Chapel with the Reverend Charles Sperry officiating. Burial will be in Greenwood Memorial Gardens.
Pallbearers will be Bobby Davis, Brooks Schumacher, Luis Colon, Trai Lindley, Nathan Smith and Juan Maldonado.
The family will receive friends at Harley Funeral Home & Crematory on Friday from 7:00 until 9:00 PM. The family is at the home
Online condolences may be sent to the family by visiting www.harleyfuneralhome.com
PAID OBITUARY


Vera Turner

Vera Davis Turner, 77 of 210 Merriman Avenue, wife of J. E. “Buddy” Turner, died Thursday, June 15, 2006 at her home.
Born in Greenwood on June 11, 1929 to the late Clinton T. and Carrie Bell Scott Davis, she was retired from Greenwood Mills and was a member of the Quarter Century Club. Mrs. Turner received her GED at the age of 60 through Piedmont Technical College. She also taught Sunday school at the First Assembly of God for many years and was a member of the Prison Ministries for 20 years. She was a member of West Side Baptist Church, where she was a part of the Ann Ayers Sunday School Class.
Surviving is her husband of the home; two daughters, Judy T. Harris and Cheryl T. Culbertson, both of Greenwood; a son, Joseph Wayne Turner of Abbeville; three brothers, Broadus Davis, Leonard Davis and George Davis, all of Greenwood; three sisters, Clara Riley of Saluda, Irma Fox of Ninety Six and Ruby Weathers of Greenwood; three grandchildren, Christi L. Culbertson of Hodges, Darrin Harris and Cindy Young, both of Greenwood; and four great-grandchildren, Amber Young, Austin Young, Chance Harris and Haley Harris all of Greenwood.
Services will be 12:00 noon Saturday at West Side Baptist Church with the Reverend Hal Lane officiating. Burial will follow in Greenwood Memorial Gardens.
Pallbearers will be grandsons, Darrin Harris, Roger Young, nephews, Hank McCrickard, Al Turner, Tim Riley, Russell Fox, and Dennis Weathers.
Honorary pallbearers will be nephews Stanley Turner, Glenn Davis, Steve Fox, Don Davis, Craig Riley, Mike Riley, special friends, Tommy Pruitt, Watson Golman, Vernon Lathren, Lewis Lathern, James Childress, Don Crocker, Smiley Bryant, Bill Wilson, Rufus Davis, Mike Lewellyn, Don McKenzie, Milton Rochester, Dr. Bryan Ellenberg, Maurice Corley, Randy Ardis, Hoyt Lagrone and Hughey Holsonback.
The family will receive friends Friday at Harley Funeral Home & Crematory from 6:00 until 8:00 PM.
The family has requested that flowers be omitted and memorials be made to West Side Baptist Church Building Fund, 215 Bypass 225 South, Greenwood, SC 29646 or to Hospice House, Hospice Care of the Piedmont, 408 West Alexander Avenue, Greenwood, SC 29646.
The family is at the home.
Harley Funeral Home & Crematory is in charge of arrangements.
Online condolences may be made to the family by visiting www.harleyfuneralhome.com.
PAID OBITUARY

The message of change never seems to change

June 16, 2006

Change is constant. Yet some things never change.
Take political campaigning. Listening to the issues and/or promises of candidates who challenge incumbents in South Carolina political races, some charges, statements and “recommendations” are common in election after election. It doesn’t matter whether it’s about the economy, goverment efficiency, education, health care or anything else, the “message” is central to every election cycle: We need changes.
Does that mean that those elected to serve the people can’t ever get it right? No matter what any incumbent accomplishes, or even proposes, challengers always argue that change is needed ..... and what’s said is not necessarily always the truth.

IT SEEMS THE DEMAND for change is a constant and integral part of the politicking. That, of course, has to make voters wonder sometimes. Still, it seems they elect candidates - incumbent or challenger - based on what they say they would change.
That, to be sure, evokes yet another question. Is change really needed, always? Or is the constant drumbeat simply designed to make opponents look bad?
Every voter in the Palmetto State knows the answer to that. Isn’t it amazing, though, how many of them take the bait election after election instead of really considering what’s said, what’s been done ..... and who has the most to gain from negative campaigning and demanding change.