Details of girls 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 Rebeccas 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 Sheriffs 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 Carolinas 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 wasnt 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. Attorneys
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 its a happy ending.
But the case hasnt ended for Russ and neighbors who seem to
be slowly putting clues together in their own minds that hadnt
seemed as obvious when the Bradleys lived within
shouting distance of Russ.
In thinking back to the familys 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 theyve been moving is because hes 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 didnt 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 nurses 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 Rebeccas baby teeth had been
kept with dates when they fell out, and they said they thought
Rebeccas 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 dont
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. Josephs 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 doesnt matter
whether its 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 cant
ever get it right? No matter what any incumbent accomplishes, or
even proposes, challengers always argue that change is needed
..... and whats 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. Isnt
it amazing, though, how many of them take the bait election after
election instead of really considering whats said, whats
been done ..... and who has the most to gain from negative
campaigning and demanding change.