The Greenville County Sheriff’s Office Friday announced arrests in two cold case killings that had gone unsolved.
The first solved case was that of Charity Sutherland.
“On April 2nd of 2022, she was fatally shot during a domestic dispute with the father of her child,” said Greenville County Sheriff Hobart Lewis at a press conference. “The suspect has been identified as 22-year-old Charles Russell Reams. Mr. Reams was a person of interest early on. However, investigators lacked the necessary evidence to make charges.”
Lewis (pictured above) said that in January, investigators were able to link DNA evidence to Reams, along with gathering eyewitness testimony.
Reams is currently in jail in Rome, Georgia, on unrelated charges, which, according to Coosa Valley News, include aggravated assault, battery, kidnapping, false imprisonment, felony theft by receiving stolen property, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime.
“The second case, which involves Zachary Whitley,” said Reams. “In 2016, Mr. Whitley was shot following an attempted robbery over a narcotics transaction, so this is a drug deal gone bad in some form.”
Lewis said that investigators learned that 34-year-old John Wesley Nix and two other co-conspirators drove to a residence to commit the robbery.
“At the home, Nix and two other unidentified suspects shot four people, wounding three and killing one, Mr. Zachary Whitley,” he said. “Cold case investigators began reviewing the case in late 2022 and thanks to their hard work, through follow up interviews and improved evidence, DNA and forensic technology, using those things, were able to tie Nix to the murder.”
Lewis said his office is still working to identify the other two suspects.
Coincidentally, both murders, though unrelated, occurred at the same location: 220 Eastview Rd. in the town of Pelzer, according to Lewis.
“These arrests certainly again bring closure to these families, and gives us the opportunity to ensure justice is upheld,” said Lewis. “Our Greenville County Sheriff’s Office is relentless in pursuing justice for these families and victims, and I think that should be a testament to the hard work they put into this community.”
Lewis added that in 2022, there were 29 homicides in Greenville County, and investigators cleared all of them. In 2023, he said, there were 17 murder victims in the county, and 16 of the murders have been solved.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on X / Twitter.
