Testimony reveals victims were decomposing while couple spent thousands of dollars
Jordan Hodge was visibly upset as prosecutors presented photos of her grandparents’ decomposed bodies in Horry County court Wednesday morning.
Hodge and her boyfriend, Kenneth Carlisle, are on trial for 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.
John Caulder, a retired Crime Scene Unit investigator with the Horry County Police Department, told the court Wednesday he was called to the Browns Chapel Avenue area on July 15 in reference to two bodies in a wooded area.
“(The bodies) were highly decomposed,” Caulder said.
Both Hodge’s lawyer, Ralph Wilson Sr., and Martin Spartlin, who’s representing Carlisle, objected to photos of the victims’ skeletal remains being submitted for evidence, calling it prejudicial and inappropriate, explaining that a “less intrusive” photo should be used. But Judge Craig Brown said the photos are relevant to mirroring “the unfortunate reality” of the case.
“The fact that the photograph is gruesome is not reason enough for non-admission,” Brown said. “This photograph serves to corroborate testimony, furthermore, it shows the unaltered condition of the victims and their remains.”
Days leading up to finding the bodies, Caulder said he was called in by Conway police to investigate what was originally a missing persons case. The victims’ family and friends testified Tuesday they last spoke to McAllister on July 3. They said it was unusual for her to miss work and not return phone calls or texts.
So, when she and Clemons vanished, 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 their 2011 Blue Dodge Ram, according to assistant solicitor George DeBusk.
However, friends who went by the victim’s house on July 8 found the home littered in dog feces and urine, the animals without food and water, food on the kitchen counter, the lights and television on and the victims wedding photo laying face down in the bedroom.
McAllister’s son, 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.
An investigation of Hodge’s and Carlisle’s mobile home in Aynor revealed a small two-shot derringer gun and a Conway National Bank bag holding McAllister’s debit card and car keys stashed in the couple’s closet. Caulder said the home was in “complete disarray,” adding that police found a fire pit outside the house containing what looked like a cellphone and gun holster.
Several items within the home appeared to be newly purchased merchandise, including a weed whacker, PlayStation, clothing, drones and groceries, he said.
“Just a whole lot of food,” Caulder said.
Receipts and video footage from a Conway Walmart presented during Wednesday’s court session show Hodge and Carlisle spending upwards of $4,000 to purchase a PlayStation, video games, cleaning products, food, clothing and other items using McAllister’s debit card from July 4 to July 12.
Bank records also show the couple used McAllister’s debit card to withdraw hundreds from four different area BB&T Banks after July 4. The couple was seen via bank security footage driving their Jeep Cherokee and McAllister’s Dodge Ram during that time.
Michael Dowd, corporate investigator with BB&T Bank, said McAllister had over $75,000 in her bank account in June, but between July 3-13, over $11,000 was spent, he said.
On July 14, Horry County police impounded the Dodge Ram, finding trash, blood stains and two .25 caliber gun casings in the interior of the truck. The blood in the car matched the victims’ profile, DeBusk said.
A witness, who the solicitor’s office requested remain anonymous, said he sold Hodge and Carlisle two guns on two separate occasions in 2017 — the first a .25 caliber gun in May and a .40 caliber gun in July.
Cynthia Anna Schandl, a forensic pathologist, confirmed in her autopsy report that both victims were shot in the head.
The trial will continue Thursday morning.
This story was originally published October 2, 2019 at 5:22 PM.
