Trial begins for Horry County couple accused of murdering grandparents
A jury heard opening remarks and testimony Tuesday in the first day of a murder trial for two Horry County people accused of killing a suspect’s grandparents.
Jordan Hodge and her boyfriend, Kenneth Carlisle, are charged with two counts of murder in connection to the killing of 45-year-old William “Chet” Clemons and his 64-year-old wife, Linda McAllister.
McAllister was Hodge’s grandmother and Clemons her step-grandfather.
Clemons and McAllister were reported missing from their Conway home after they were last seen on July 3, 2017. Fourteen days later, their remains were discovered near the Bucksville boat landing in an area where the couple once lived.
“Jordan Hodge grew up in Conway, and her grandmother, Linda, was a big part of her life,” assistant solicitor George DeBusk said during his opening statements. The two often had a strained relationship, he said.
Throughout Tuesday’s court session, McAllister was described as a hard-working, loving, authoritative and family-oriented woman who stuck to her routine. Witnesses testified it was unusual for McAllister to miss work and not return a phone call or text.
So, when she and Clemons went missing, leaving their four dogs unattended and phone calls unanswered for several days, it sparked suspicion among her family and friends, despite Hodge reportedly informing them that McAllister and Clemons had gone out of town to Ohio on a family emergency.
Hodge told family and friends that her grandparents left her in charge of the house, the dogs and McAllister’s 2011 Blue Dodge Ram, according to DeBusk.
But the Dodge Ram, which was later taken by Horry County Police Department, was covered in trash, blood and had two gun shell casings in the back seat with the blood in the car matching the victim’s profile, DeBusk said.
“She was a really special person to me,” said Robin Kole, McAllister’s best friend. “I’ve never been unable to reach her in 10 years.”
Kole, the first of several witnesses called Tuesday, said she last spoke with McAllister on the afternoon of July 3. Kole said McAllister, a contractor, had just finished work and would spend the night running errands.
“I never heard from her after the fact,” Kole said.
As friends who talked almost everyday for 10 years, Kole said she knew something was wrong when McAllister didn’t come to her Fourth of July barbecue she had committed to and failed to return numerous phone calls throughout the week.
Kole said she went by McAllister’s house on July 8 and found the house littered in dog feces and urine, and the dogs left without food and water. She contacted McAllister’s son, James Moran, expressing her concern.
Moran, who filed a missing persons report on July 13, had pressed Hodge for any information on his mother’s whereabouts, but came up empty handed. Moran added that his mom had just sold a house and had about $126,000 in her account.
Investigators later said they found Carlisle and Hodge had used the victims’ debit card to spend thousands at a Conway Walmart and various other places.
Hodge, who was wearing a white sweater and black slacks, spent much of the morning crying as witnesses took the stand. She and Carlisle, who were seated together, didn’t speak or look at one another throughout the day.
“Jordan Hodge is not guilty,” Hodge’s attorney Ralph Wilson Sr. rebutted. “The state is accusing her of shooting and killing her grandmother. There will not be one iota of proof that ever happened.”
This story was originally published October 1, 2019 at 6:23 PM.
