Lee Roy Martin: Difference between revisions

Lee Roy Martin
Lee Roy Martin
Born	Lee Roy Martin; April 25, 1937; Gaffney, South Carolina, U.S.
Died	May 31, 1972 (age 35); Central Correctional Institution, Columbia, South Carolina, U.S.
Cause of death	Stab wounds
Other names	The Gaffney Strangler
Conviction(s)	Murder (4 counts)
Criminal penalty	Life imprisonment
Details
Victims	4
Span of crimes	1967–1968
Country	United States
State(s)	South Carolina
Date apprehended	February 15, 1969

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Lee Roy Martin (April 25, 1937 – May 31, 1972), known as The Gaffney Strangler, was an American serial killer from Gaffney, South Carolina. He murdered four people—two women and two girls—between 1967 and 1968.^[1]

Background

When the killings began in 1967, Martin was employed at a textile mill in Cherokee County. He was married and had three children.^[2]

History and victims

On May 20, 1967, 32-year-old Annie Lucille Dedmond was murdered. She had been strangled and raped. Her husband, Roger Dedmond, was arrested and convicted of her murder. He was sentenced to 18 years in prison.^[3]

Nine months later, in February 1968, Nancy Carol Parris, 20, was abducted. Her husband had reported her missing when she took their dog for a walk at night and never returned. Her nude body was later found on a riverbank beneath a bridge.^[3] She had been strangled and raped.^[2]

Nancy Christine Rhinehart, 14, was killed on February 8, 1968. Her body was found buried under a brush pile with one foot sticking out. She had been strangled and raped.^[2]

On February 8, 1968, Lee Roy Martin anonymously called Bill Gibbons, then-editor of The Gaffney Ledger. Martin gave Gibbons directions to locate two bodies. He insisted that he was responsible for the murder of Annie Dedmond, not her husband. Gibbons reported the information to police, who then found the bodies of Parris and Rhinehart. Four days later, Martin contacted Gibbons again, warning that there would be more killings.^[3]

On February 13, 1968, 15-year-old Opal Dianne Buckson was abducted and thrown in the trunk of a car while walking to a school bus stop with her sister.^[3]^[2]^[4]^[5] Her sister was able to give a description of the vehicle to authorities. Police found Buckson's nude body in a wooded area several days later.^[3] There were indications of a struggle, and she had been strangled and stabbed to death.

Investigation, arrest, and trial

After learning of Opal Buckson's abduction on the morning of February 13, local residents Henry Transou and Lester Skinner were patrolling the area, looking for a car that matched the description given over the radio by local police. Within hours of the abduction, they saw a car backing down a dirt path in a heavily wooded area and a man standing beside it. When they drove by, the man quickly got inside and drove away. They wrote down the vehicle's plate numbers and reported what they'd seen to police. Investigators later found Buckson's body nearby, where Martin's car had been spotted.

Martin was arrested on February 27, 1968.^[2] The Sheriff took evidence from Martin and questioned him. Martin directed them to the location of bodies. However, in the process, Martin was not given adequate right to counsel, and so authorities did not seek the death penalty.^[2] Martin was convicted of first-degree murder in the deaths of Dedmond, Parris, Rhinehart, and Buckson. He received four life terms.^[2]

After Martin's arrest, Roger Dedmond, who was three months into his prison sentence, was released from Union County Prison Camp on March 1, 1968. All charges against him in the murder of his wife were dropped.^[3]

While the popular conception of Martin's motive was that he was "after young women,"^[3] in prison interviews and in discussions with his mother, Martin himself said he had a split personality, including a violent side that took control of him.^[2]

Aftermath

On May 31, 1972, while incarcerated at Central Correctional Institution in Columbia, Martin was stabbed to death by fellow inmate Kenneth Marshall Rumsey. Rumsey killed himself in prison five years later.^[3]^[6]

In popular culture

The case was the subject of the Season 3 premiere of Investigation Discovery's series A Crime to Remember in 2015 ("Lock Up Your Daughters").

References

^ Jones, Mark R. (2007). Palmetto Predators: Monsters Among Us. The History Press. ISBN 978-1-59629-396-0.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Stahl, Matt (8 February 1993). "Gaffney Strangler: 25 Years Ago". Herald-Journal. Spartenburg, South Carolina.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Dalton, Robert W. (5 July 2009). "Gaffney Strangler terrorized town 40 years ago, murdering 4 women". GoUpstate.com. Spartanburg Herald-Journal.
^ "Lock Up Your Daughters: Investigation Discovery, A Crime to Remember, Season 3, Episode 1". IMDB. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
^ "A Crime to Remember: A Closer Look at the 'Gaffney Strangler'". Crime Feed: Investigation Discovery. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
^ "Gaffney Strangler 32 years ago a killer terrorized Cherokee County. Now a documentary will look at how authorities cracked the case and brought Lee Roy Martin to justice". Spartanburg Herald-Journal. February 7, 2000. Retrieved 2024-04-14.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{short description|American serial killer}}
-{{for|the similarly named American politician|Lee Roy Martin}}
+{{for|the similarly named American police chief|LeRoy Martin}}
 {{Infobox serial killer
-|name = Lee Roy Martin
+| name              = Lee Roy Martin
+| image             =
-|image =https://www.google.com/search?q=lee+roy+martin&client=ms-android-samsung-gs-rev1&prmd=isnv&sxsrf=ACYBGNTIaxxeuOKIK0BNlTwxaznLnWELew:1569413392368&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj71Ye--OvkAhVMX30KHa3fB2UQ_AUIGCgB&biw=412&bih=718&dpr=3.5#imgrc=rpw9sH8PjElhaM
-|caption = Lee Roy Martin
+| caption           = Lee Roy Martin
-|birthname = Lee Roy Martin
+| birthname         = Lee Roy Martin
-|birth_place=[[Gaffney, South Carolina]], U.S.
+| birth_place       = [[Gaffney, South Carolina]], U.S.
-|alias = The Gaffney Strangler
+| alias             = The Gaffney Strangler
-|birth_date = April 25, 1937
+| birth_date        = April 25, 1937
-|death_date = May 31, 1972 (age 35)
+| death_date        = May 31, 1972 (age 35)
+| death_place       = [[Central Correctional Institution]], [[Columbia, South Carolina]], U.S.
-|cause =
+| cause             = [[Stab wounds]]
-|victims = 4
+| victims           = 4
-|country = United States
+| country           = United States
-|states= [[South Carolina]]
+| states            = [[South Carolina]]
-|beginyear = 1967
+| beginyear         = 1967
-|endyear = 1968
+| endyear           = 1968
-|apprehended = February 15, 1968
+| apprehended       = February 15, 1969
-|conviction =
+| conviction        = [[Murder]] (4 counts)
-|sentence = [[Life imprisonment]]
+| sentence          = [[Life imprisonment]]
 }}
-'''Lee Roy Martin''', (April 25, 1937 — 31 May 1972) also known as the "Gaffney Strangler," was an [[United States|American]] [[serial killer]] from [[Gaffney, South Carolina]]. He murdered 4 females, 2 women and 2 girls between 1967 and 1968.<ref name="jones2007" />
+'''Lee Roy Martin''' (April 25, 1937 – May 31, 1972), known as '''The Gaffney Strangler''', was an American [[serial killer]] from [[Gaffney, South Carolina]]. He murdered four people—two women and two girls—between 1967 and 1968.<ref name="jones2007" />
 ==Background==
-When the killings began in 1967, Martin was employed at a textile mill in Cherokee County. He was married and had three children. <ref name="edward" />
+When the killings began in 1967, Martin was employed at a textile mill in Cherokee County. He was married and had three children.<ref name="edward" />
-== History and Victims ==
+== History and victims ==
 On May 20, 1967, 32-year-old Annie Lucille Dedmond was murdered. She had been strangled and raped. Her husband, Roger Dedmond, was arrested and convicted of her murder. He was sentenced to 18 years in prison.<ref name="charlie" />
-Nine months later in February, 1968, Nancy Carol Parris, 20, was abducted. Her husband had reported her missing when she had taken their dog for a walk at night and never returned. Her nude body was later found on a riverbank beneath a bridge.<ref name="charlie" /> She had been strangled and raped.<ref name="edward" />
+Nine months later, in February 1968, Nancy Carol Parris, 20, was abducted. Her husband had reported her missing when she took their dog for a walk at night and never returned. Her nude body was later found on a riverbank beneath a bridge.<ref name="charlie" /> She had been strangled and raped.<ref name="edward" />
 Nancy Christine Rhinehart, 14, was killed on February 8, 1968. Her body was found buried under a brush pile with one foot sticking out. She had been strangled and raped.<ref name="edward" />
-On Feb. 8, 1968, Lee Roy Martin anonymously called Bill Gibbons, then-editor of ''The [[Gaffney Ledger]]''.  Martin gave Gibbons directions to locate two bodies. He insisted that he was responsible for the murder of Annie Dedmond, not her husband. Gibbons reported the information to police, who then found the bodies of Parris and Rhinehart. Four days later Martin contacted Gibbons again, warning that there would be more killings.<ref name="charlie" />
+On February 8, 1968, Lee Roy Martin anonymously called Bill Gibbons, then-editor of ''The [[Gaffney Ledger]]''. Martin gave Gibbons directions to locate two bodies. He insisted that he was responsible for the murder of Annie Dedmond, not her husband. Gibbons reported the information to police, who then found the bodies of Parris and Rhinehart. Four days later, Martin contacted Gibbons again, warning that there would be more killings.<ref name="charlie" />
-On February 13, 1968, 15-year-old Opal Dianne Buckson was abducted and thrown in the trunk of a car while walking to a school bus stop with her sister. <ref name="charlie" /><ref name="edward" /><ref>{{cite web|title=Lock Up Your Daughters: Investigation Discovery, A Crime to Remember, Season 3, Episode 1|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4777252/|website=IMDB|accessdate=10 November 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=A Crime to Remember: A Closer Look at the 'Gaffney Strangler'|url=http://crimefeed.com/2015/11/crime-remember-get-know-small-town-gaffney-2-serial-killers/|website=Crime Feed: Investigation Discovery|accessdate=10 November 2015}}</ref> Her sister was able to give a description of the vehicle to authorities. Police found Buckson's nude body in a wooded area several days later.<ref name="charlie" /> There were indications of a struggle and she had been strangled and stabbed to death.
+On February 13, 1968, 15-year-old Opal Dianne Buckson was abducted and thrown in the trunk of a car while walking to a school bus stop with her sister.<ref name="charlie" /><ref name="edward" /><ref>{{cite web|title=Lock Up Your Daughters: Investigation Discovery, A Crime to Remember, Season 3, Episode 1|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4777252/|website=IMDB|access-date=10 November 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=A Crime to Remember: A Closer Look at the 'Gaffney Strangler'|url=http://crimefeed.com/2015/11/crime-remember-get-know-small-town-gaffney-2-serial-killers/|website=Crime Feed: Investigation Discovery|access-date=10 November 2015}}</ref> Her sister was able to give a description of the vehicle to authorities. Police found Buckson's nude body in a wooded area several days later.<ref name="charlie" /> There were indications of a struggle, and she had been strangled and stabbed to death.
 ==Investigation, arrest, and trial==
-After learning of Opal Buckson's abduction on the morning of February 13, local residents Henry Transou and Lester Skinner were patrolling the area, looking for a car that matched the description given over the radio by local police. Within hours of the abduction, they saw a car backed down a dirt path in a heavily-wooded area and a man standing beside it. When they drove by, the man quickly got inside and drove away. They wrote down the vehicle's plate numbers and reported what they'd seen to police. Investigators later found Buckson's body nearby to where Martin's car had been spotted.
+After learning of Opal Buckson's abduction on the morning of February 13, local residents Henry Transou and Lester Skinner were patrolling the area, looking for a car that matched the description given over the radio by local police. Within hours of the abduction, they saw a car backing down a dirt path in a heavily wooded area and a man standing beside it. When they drove by, the man quickly got inside and drove away. They wrote down the vehicle's plate numbers and reported what they'd seen to police. Investigators later found Buckson's body nearby, where Martin's car had been spotted.
 Martin was arrested on February 27, 1968.<ref name="edward" /> The Sheriff took evidence from Martin and questioned him. Martin directed them to the location of bodies. However, in the process, Martin was not given adequate right to counsel, and so authorities did not seek the death penalty.<ref name="edward" /> Martin was convicted of first-degree murder in the deaths of Dedmond, Parris, Rhinehart, and Buckson. He received four life terms.<ref name="edward" />
 After Martin's arrest, Roger Dedmond, who was three months into his prison sentence, was released from Union County Prison Camp on March 1, 1968. All charges against him in the murder of his wife were dropped.<ref name="charlie" />
-While the popular conception of Martin's motive was that he was "after young women,"<ref name="charlie" /> in prison interviews and in discussions with his mother Martin himself said he had a split personality, including a violent side that took control of him.<ref name="edward" />
+While the popular conception of Martin's motive was that he was "after young women,"<ref name="charlie" /> in prison interviews and in discussions with his mother, Martin himself said he had a split personality, including a violent side that took control of him.<ref name="edward" />
 ==Aftermath==
-On May 31, 1972, while incarcerated at Central Correctional Institution in Columbia, Martin was stabbed to death by fellow inmate, Kenneth Rumsey. Rumsey later took his own life in prison.<ref name="charlie" />
+On May 31, 1972, while incarcerated at Central Correctional Institution in Columbia, Martin was stabbed to death by fellow inmate Kenneth Marshall Rumsey. Rumsey killed himself in prison five years later.<ref name="charlie" /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.goupstate.com/story/news/2000/02/08/gaffney-strangler-terrorized-cherokee-county-documentary-authorities-cracked-brought-martin-justice/29885873007/ |title=Gaffney Strangler 32 years ago a killer terrorized Cherokee County. Now a documentary will look at how authorities cracked the case and brought Lee Roy Martin to justice. |access-date=2024-04-14 |date=February 7, 2000 |publisher=[[Spartanburg Herald-Journal]] }}</ref>
 == In popular culture ==
 The case was the subject of the Season 3 premiere of [[Investigation Discovery]]'s series ''[[A Crime to Remember]]'' in 2015 ("Lock Up Your Daughters").
+== See also ==
+* [[List of serial killers in the United States]]
 == References ==
 {{reflist| refs=
+<ref name="jones2007">{{cite book|last=Jones|first=Mark R.|title=Palmetto Predators: Monsters Among Us|publisher=The History Press|year=2007|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dRvagXJCNmsC&q=%22Lee+Roy+Martin%22&pg=PA14|isbn=978-1-59629-396-0}}{{Dead link|date=October 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
-<ref name="jones2007">
-{{cite book|last=Jones|first=Mark R.|title=Palmetto Predators: Monsters Among Us|publisher=The History Press|year=2007|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dRvagXJCNmsC&pg=PA14&lpg=PA14&dq=%22Lee+Roy+Martin%22&source=bl&ots=O0z_x2-fjX&sig=G2nLPfIxr7dOec2mN_fjLpKugyo&hl=en&ei=_-6cS6neO9S3rAfjrpHlAg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CAkQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=%22Lee%20Roy%20Martin%22&f=false | isbn=978-1-59629-396-0}}
-</ref>
 <ref name="charlie">
@@ Line 66: / Line 70: @@
  | date = 5 July 2009
  | url = http://www.goupstate.com/article/20090705/ARTICLES/907051031?p=2&tc=pg&tc=ar
+ }}
- | accessdate =}}
 </ref>
@@ Line 77: / Line 81: @@
  | location = Spartenburg, South Carolina
  | date = 8 February 1993
- | url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1876&dat=19930208&id=UbQeAAAAIBAJ&sjid=UM8EAAAAIBAJ&pg=5757,2560930
+ | url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1876&dat=19930208&id=UbQeAAAAIBAJ&pg=5757,2560930
+ }}
- | accessdate = }}
-</ref>
+</ref>}}
-}}
 ==Further reading==
 *{{cite book | last = Gibbons | first = Bill R. | title = Martin: Profile of the Gaffney Strangler | date = 2003 | asin =  B000M14WCY}}
@@ Line 88: / Line 91: @@
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Lee Roy}}
-[[Category:American serial killers]]
+[[Category:1937 births]]
+[[Category:1972 deaths]]
+[[Category:20th-century American criminals]]
+[[Category:American male criminals]]
+[[Category:American murderers of children]]
 [[Category:American people convicted of murder]]
-[[Category:Serial killers murdered in prison custody]]
+[[Category:American people who died in prison custody]]
-[[Category:1972 deaths]]
+[[Category:American rapists]]
-[[Category:People murdered in South Carolina]]
+[[Category:Deaths by stabbing in the United States]]
 [[Category:People convicted of murder by South Carolina]]
-[[Category:Male serial killers]]
+[[Category:Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by South Carolina]]
-[[Category:American people who died in prison custody]]
 [[Category:Prisoners who died in South Carolina detention]]
-[[Category:American murder victims]]
+[[Category:Serial killers from South Carolina]]
-[[Category:1937 births]]
+[[Category:Serial killers murdered in prison custody]]
-[[Category:20th-century American criminals]]
+[[Category:Violence against women in South Carolina]]
-[[Category:American male criminals]]
-[[Category:Violence against women in the United States]]