‘Monster’ convicted in 1991 killing of Crystal Faye Todd waives right to parole hearing
A man convicted in brutal 1991 murder of 17-year-old Conway girl Crystal Faye Todd has waived his right to a parole hearing, an official said Monday.
Johnnie “Ken” Register filled out a form waiving his right to parole consideration, said Anita Dantzler, spokesperson for the South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole, and Pardon Services.
The hearing would have been held this week.
Register will be eligible for another parole hearing in two years, Dantzler said.
When asked why Register - or any inmate - would waive the right to a parole hearing, Dantzler declined comment.
“We can’t release any other information other than that,” she said.
An online petition against granting parole to Register has garnered more than 2,600 signatures as of Monday afternoon.
Todd’s body was found the morning of Nov. 17, 1991, in a ditch in the Maple community of Horry County.
She had been raped and stabbed at least 30 times. Horry County police charged Register, who was one of Todd’s friends, with murder. Police collected DNA evidence from Todd’s body that was used to convict Register.
The case was the first in the state of South Carolina to use DNA evidence for an arrest and conviction.
Register, described by the victim’s family as a “monster,” was convicted in 1993 and is serving a life sentence in prison.
