As of 2009, Gaffney's population is 12,945 people. The median age is 38.2. The US median is 37.6. 49.80% of people in Gaffney, SC, are married. 10.37% are divorced. Gaffney, SC, violent crime, on a scale from 1 (low crime) to 10, is 6. Violent crime is composed of four offenses: murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. The US average is 3.
Police released this sketch of a suspected serial killer who they believe is responsible for four deaths in South Carolina. They describe him as a white male with salt and pepper hair who is about 6 feet 2 inches, approximately 250 pounds. The suspect's vehicle is a 1991 to1994 Ford Explorer Sport: a two-door SUV with faded paint that is gray or champagne in color. (Cherokee County Sheriff's Office)
Suspected South Carolina serial killer may be driving a light-gray or champagne tan 1991-1994 two-door Ford Explorer.- Man fatally shoots 4 people in less than a week near Gaffney, South Carolina
- "Under the FBI's definition of a serial killer, yes, we have a serial killer," sheriff says
- 100 investigators from North and South Carolina working the case
- Woman apparently kills self after police stop her while looking for shooter
'Serial killer' sought in South Carolina
CNN / Friday, July 03, 2009
(CNN) -- The Cherokee County Sheriff's Office on Friday released a second sketch of a man believed to have fatally shot four people in less than a week near Gaffney, South Carolina.
"Let me say that, under the FBI's definition of a serial killer, yes, we have a serial killer," Sheriff Bill Blanton told reporters in Gaffney, a town in the county of about 54,000 residents some 50 miles southwest of Charlotte, North Carolina.
He would not detail what has led investigators to conclude the shootings are linked or how they received the description of the suspect that has led to the two sketches. In addition, he said he did not know whether the shooter knew his victims or whether he may have chosen them at random.
Police said he may be driving a light-gray or champagne tan 1991-1994 two-door Ford Explorer.
The first shooting happened Saturday, when peach farmer Kline W. Cash, 63, was found dead by his wife in their home, said Leigh Caldwell, a victims services coordinator for the sheriff's office.
Blanton said Cash's home may have been robbed.
On Wednesday, the bound and shot bodies of 83-year-old Hazel Linder and her 50-year-old daughter, Gena Linder Parker, were found in the mother's home, where she lived alone.
"We're still trying to determine if anything's missing from there," Blanton said.
Thursday night brought two more shooting victims -- 45-year-old Stephen Tyler was found shot dead and his 15-year-old daughter wounded in the family-run furniture and appliance store, Tyler Home Center, said Chief Rick Turner of the Gaffney Police Department.
He would not say whether the Tylers were bound.
The daughter remained hospitalized Friday, Caldwell said.
Leave has been canceled for all members of the Police Department and the Sheriff's Department, said their respective chiefs, who urged residents to take precautions.
About 100 investigators from North and South Carolina were working the case, Blanton said. "I think our community has a right to be concerned," he said. "We're concerned. We're dealing with a man that's killed four people."
READ ABOUT SERIAL KILLER ON THE LOOSE IN GAFFNEY, SOUTH CAROLINA...
Abby Leigh Tyler, 15, of Wind Farm Road, died at 11:25 a.m. at Spartanburg Regional Medical Center
