Todd Kohlhepp Describes the Coxie Killings to Investigators, 2016 (Part 2)
In the second hour of his November 5, 2016 interview, Todd Kohlhepp signed his Superbike statement and then told Spartanburg County investigators how he killed Johnny Joe and Meagan Coxie and buried Charlie Carver.
- Subject
- Todd Kohlhepp
- Recorded
- November 5, 2016
- Runtime
- 59:59
Content warning: Kohlhepp gives a first-person account of shooting Johnny Joe Coxie, of holding Meagan Coxie captive in chains in a shipping container for days and then shooting her, and of burying Charlie Carver. He describes a sexual act while Meagan Coxie was held captive, and the investigator refers to missing remains. Kala's captivity is also mentioned.
The Interview
This is the second of two videos of Todd Kohlhepp's interview at the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office on November 5, 2016, released by prosecutors in June 2017. It picks up where the first video ends. Kohlhepp signs the handwritten statement about the 2003 Superbike Motorsports shootings, answers a few follow-up questions, and is brought a meal. The investigator then tells him "this is just me and you talking", and the conversation turns to whether he had killed anyone else, to money for his mother, and to the deaths of Johnny Joe Coxie and Meagan Coxie and the burial of Charlie Carver on his land.
Historical Context
On November 3, 2016, deputies found a woman, Kala, chained inside a metal shipping container on Kohlhepp's land near Woodruff, South Carolina. She had been missing since August 31 with her boyfriend, Charles David "Charlie" Carver, whose body was found in a shallow grave on the property. Kohlhepp was arrested that day. On November 5 he began to confess: to the November 2003 murders of four people at Superbike Motorsports in Chesnee, unsolved for thirteen years, and to the killings of Johnny Joe Coxie and his wife, Meagan Coxie, a couple missing since December 2015, whose graves he showed investigators.
Circumstances of the Interview
The video opens with the last minute of the first video repeated, as the investigator finishes writing out the Superbike statement. Kohlhepp signs it and is told he will get a copy, "just like you got a copy of your Miranda forms". After a clarifying question about the shootings, the investigators leave the room, return to ask what he wants for dinner, and come back with food from a fast-food restaurant. The investigator then makes clear that the written statement is finished and that what follows is a conversation. He refers to earlier talks with Kohlhepp at the jail, and explains that Kohlhepp's mother had contacted the solicitor's office, which led to this meeting.
What the Interview Covers
Asked about the Superbike shootings, Kohlhepp says he waited for a man and his child to leave before shooting, and denies striking anyone. He describes his route home in 2003 with the help of a map. Asked about others, he claims that at 14, in Arizona, he shot a man he believed had shot his friend, says he is "not sure I even killed him", and otherwise denies killing anyone beyond the victims already known.
On the Coxies, Kohlhepp gives his account: he says he met them, offered them work, and drove them to his land, where, he claims, Johnny Coxie pulled a knife on him. He says he shot him twice in the chest and once more through the spine, then handcuffed Meagan Coxie and, unsure what to do, kept her chained in the container. He describes the food and cigarettes he says he bought her, says he offered to pay her $4,000 and leave her in Tennessee, and describes a sexual act during her captivity. He says that after she set fires in the container he shot her in the back of the head, with the same gun, which the investigator calls a Glock, that he says he used on Johnny Coxie and Charlie Carver. Kala is also mentioned several times: Kohlhepp says he put a ceiling in the container because she was cold, and that she did not ask him for cigarettes. The video ends while he explains to the investigator how he buried Charlie Carver using a tractor.
What Makes the Recording Significant
Kohlhepp pleaded guilty in May 2017, so there was no trial and no testimony. With video 1, this recording is one of the main records of him describing his crimes in his own words. Where video 1 covers the Superbike murders, this one contains his account of the Coxie killings, given two days after his arrest. When the files were released, The Washington Post quoted two of his lines about Meagan Coxie that are heard in this video ("Every other damn day she wanted Little Caesars Pizza" and "She tried to light my damn building on fire").
Archival Importance
The two videos together document one continuous interview session of about two hours, from the formal written statement on the Superbike case to an informal conversation about the killings on his property. They show how the investigator moved from a signed statement to open questions, asked directly about other possible victims, and used details from the scene to check Kohlhepp's account.
Important Caveats
What Kohlhepp says about the Coxies, including his claims that Johnny Coxie tried to rob him, that Meagan Coxie knew of it, and his descriptions of her behaviour, health and drug use, is his account and is not supported by any other source. His description of a sexual act during her captivity describes a woman held in chains: it must not be read as consent. His claim of shooting a man in Arizona at 14 is unverified; no charge is known. Two key answers are disputed between the machine texts and must be confirmed by a listener: whether he answered "No, sir" or "Yes, sir" when asked if he had killed anyone else in Spartanburg (the rest of the exchange supports "No"), and a line at 04:45 about other customers. The machine transcript has many unclear passages. The video ends in mid-sentence.
Investigator: So, some of my handwriting may be hard to read, so if you have a problem, let me know.
Todd Kohlhepp: Trust me, if it was my handwriting, it would be [unclear: "you" / "understand"].
Investigator: I understand.
Todd Kohlhepp: I can't, I can't criticize. I can't do any better.
Investigator: [unclear: "You give me a... put how many pages" / "I won't let them put out any pages"]. I'll get that. I just [unclear: "wrote" / "rip"] the time down. [End of the overlap with video 1.]
Investigator: Just initials and the date. And then I'm going to do the same. Five or six?
Todd Kohlhepp: Five.
Investigator: And if that's accurate, sign right there for me. And you'll get a copy. Just like you got a copy of your Miranda forms, I'll give you a copy of this as well.
Todd Kohlhepp: [unclear: "I'll need a copy. Okay." / "I'll give you a copy, that's correct."] [unclear: "Sit around and read it."]
Investigator: [unclear: "Twenty hundred" / "20000s"] when it was done.
Investigator: Okay.
Todd Kohlhepp: I just can't [unclear: "we talk, need to get out of that room" / "be talking to you to get out of that room"], and they gave me a book. They gave me a Bible, but it's...
Todd Kohlhepp: Fifth day of November, correct, sir?
Investigator: [unclear: "Since I wrote it, you'll have to wait a second" / "Since I've already left the website"].
Speaker Not Identified: [unclear: "Who do you think is going to win, Trump or Hillary?" / "Do he think he's going to win, Trump or uh, kill her"]
Todd Kohlhepp: I'm scared to know.
Investigator: [unclear: "I get you" / "I'll get you to the right of my way"]. There's a pen for you.
Todd Kohlhepp: [unclear: "What'd I put?" / "I'm so excited"] I'm sorry.
Investigator: What's the... Beretta... FS?
Todd Kohlhepp: I'm sorry.
Investigator: Okay, just initial that there.
Todd Kohlhepp: [unclear: "I ain't"]
Speaker Not Identified: [unclear: "They don't see two 927 and going" / "You know, they keep 97 years in old"].
Investigator: [unclear: "I'm just count time we get on my knees."] If you get hungry through this process too, we'll get you something to eat too, okay? If you want something cold to drink.
Speaker Not Identified: [unclear: "You stay" / "there"].
Todd Kohlhepp: Um, sir?
Investigator: Yes, sir.
Todd Kohlhepp: 'Cause I [unclear: "did" (both machine texts); context suggests "didn't"] want to shoot other customers. I'm sorry.
Investigator: [unclear: "You want to just initial that?" / "You want to just finish one of that?"]
Investigator: You're like me. You talk really fast, so...
Todd Kohlhepp: You ask me when I'm making a deal, sir. You ask me when I'm making a deal. I was in sales one side or another.
Speaker Not Identified: [unclear: "He's got to read it" / "I just got rid of it"].
Speaker Not Identified: [unclear: "I get number two" / "I'll get a number"]. I got it. [unclear: "Thank..." / "right"]
Investigator: [unclear: "I'm trying to get that cash up... for any of them carrying a gun"] (captions only)
Todd Kohlhepp: I don't know. I don't know. I read the report there was money. The guy had like 10 grand in cash and a gun in the, in the office, but I would have taken it. [unclear: "What wonder they" / "I don't know what's going to do"].
Speaker Not Identified: I think [unclear: "Mr. W" / "Mr. Lynch"] is going to roll over by tomorrow.
Investigator: Okay, there you go. Oh, this is the last one. I'm sorry. And when we get done, I do have some clarifying, additional clarifying things to ask you.
Investigator: Okay, I want to leave that part open for me real quick, um, 'cause I need to ask you a couple clarifying questions. Um, you said, you, you mentioned in here exactly where you shot her, and then you said you'd shot, and where you shot the mechanic when you shot him. The other two gentlemen, as they were running, you mentioned you shot one of them in the back. Do you know, as the other one was running, where you shot him, where he was hit?
Todd Kohlhepp: No, sir.
Investigator: Okay.
Todd Kohlhepp: Um, moving targets. Multiple moving targets.
Investigator: Mm-hmm.
Todd Kohlhepp: Um, I don't think I missed. If I did, it wasn't more than once. Um, but I mean, it's not an easy shot when you've got two moving targets running as fast as they can.
Investigator: The guy that was outside, the outside part, was he up against anything? Was he [unclear: "laying on" / "tugging on it"]...
Todd Kohlhepp: [unclear: "Was it where"] I think the curb.
Investigator: The curb? Was there anything else nearby?
Todd Kohlhepp: I don't remember anything.
Investigator: Okay.
Todd Kohlhepp: I scanned the parking lot, but that's it, nothing moved. I went back to...
Investigator: Did you... Through your story you didn't say it, but I just want to clarify. Did you hit anybody or pistol-whip anybody?
Todd Kohlhepp: No, sir.
Investigator: Okay. Um...
Todd Kohlhepp: Sir, I may shoot somebody, that's one thing, right? But I'm not a... Pistol-whipping and beating somebody is not my thing.
Investigator: Did you, when you were first there, did you see a customer leaving in a green Ford Ranger pickup truck?
Todd Kohlhepp: I don't remember.
Investigator: You don't remember? Okay.
Todd Kohlhepp: I know a guy came in with a kid looking for a go-kart, and left.
Investigator: Okay.
Todd Kohlhepp: 'Cause I intentionally waited till they were gone.
Investigator: [unclear: "To add"] a guy came in, looking for a go-kart, with his kid, and I waited for them to leave.
Todd Kohlhepp: Yes, sir.
Investigator: Okay.
Todd Kohlhepp: [unclear: "First thing" / "Which thing"] I wanted to shoot a kid.
Investigator: And that's the best of your... everything in there is the best of your knowledge?
Todd Kohlhepp: Best of my knowledge.
Investigator: Okay.
Todd Kohlhepp: I didn't see anybody else in the parking lot. If they were, they were leaving. And if they heard anything, they were leaving really damn fast, 'cause nothing was suppressed.
Todd Kohlhepp: Who got pistol-whipped?
Investigator: I don't know. Nobody may have, but there was, there was an injury that may... there was an unexplained injury. So that's what I was asking.
Todd Kohlhepp: No, sir. I didn't hit anybody with anything.
Investigator: [unclear: "My investigator Tom Clark" / "I just hear Tom Clark"] at my request, as I dictated.
Investigator: Okay, and what I need you to do, since you've already signed it once, but I added that bottom part, I just need you to sign it again for me.
Todd Kohlhepp: Below it?
Investigator: Yeah, just below it. And if you'll put this time... Well, that's one... you can just... I'll have him witness it. That's one.
Todd Kohlhepp: Okay.
Investigator: Is there anything else you can think of? Okay. Um, we're going to step out. I've got to do a few things. Um, and then I'll come back in and talk to you in a few minutes. Do you need anything else to drink?
Todd Kohlhepp: If you get something, I'll [unclear: "take it" / "pay"].
Investigator: Would you like water or soda or...
Todd Kohlhepp: Whatever it's going to be.
Investigator: Okay. I'll see what we can wrangle up for you.
Todd Kohlhepp: Yeah.
Todd Kohlhepp: Yeah. [unclear: "I one it was that" / "I wonder what was that?"]
Investigator: We'll be right back.
Todd Kohlhepp: [unclear: "What do you want... to V..." / "What? I want to eat you to what?"]
Investigator: You want...
Todd Kohlhepp: Oh, my card? [unclear: "Ashley number" / "Actually?"]
Investigator: Okay. We'll be right back.
Todd Kohlhepp: I'll just stay here.
Investigator: Okay, buddy.
Investigator: What do you want for dinner? You missed dinner over there. [unclear: "That barbecue was enough" / "that barbecue cut enough"]. What do you want?
Todd Kohlhepp: What do you have for me?
Investigator: No, I'm asking you, what do you want?
Todd Kohlhepp: Uh, I don't want to be an asshole.
Investigator: Um, shut that door, man. You're not being an asshole. I'm, I'm telling... I'm asking you, what, what do you want for dinner?
Todd Kohlhepp: Uh, I don't know.
Investigator: We've got... what do you... Bojangles around here. We've got Miami Grill around here. We've got, we've got the... whatever you want, man. Boiling Springs Cookout, whatever. What's your... what do you like to eat?
Todd Kohlhepp: Cookout would work. [unclear: "I just better work"]
Investigator: What do you like from Cookout? Never been there.
Todd Kohlhepp: Yes, sir. They have a really good... it's called a giant cheeseburger. Um, giant fries and a giant tea. They're really good. [unclear: "Looks for me"]. That's what I usually get.
Investigator: Okay. All right. I'll be right back.
Todd Kohlhepp: I just don't want to be the guy [unclear: "go, I want the same lobster" / "lober an [expletive] me"]...
Investigator: No, no. Whatever you want to eat, I'm feeding you.
Todd Kohlhepp: Thank you.
Investigator: So I mean... okay.
Investigator: Got you... I didn't know [unclear: "water" / "that"]. Okay, yeah. Got you a... they make them huge. They call them huge at, um, Cookout. It's a huge tea, it's a huge burger. I didn't know, so I just went with the normal: lettuce, tomato, pickle, mustard, mayonnaise. And then I got you huge fries.
Todd Kohlhepp: Cool, thank you.
Investigator: Um, need to ask you a quick clarifying question.
Todd Kohlhepp: Okay.
Investigator: And I'm done with that [unclear: "dense" / "next"] statement, man. So this is yours, you keep it, but I'm done with it.
Todd Kohlhepp: [unclear: "As long as I have this, I don't care" / "If you think I have things, I don't get it"].
Investigator: Yeah, you're... no, this is yours. I'm talking about me writing statements. This is just me and you talking. Although we've got some other to talk about. That's what I'm going to ask you. First of all, after you left Superbike, what was your, what was your route home? Did you go back down Parris Bridge Road? How did you get home?
Todd Kohlhepp: Same. I'm a creature of habit.
Investigator: So you left CVS, come up [unclear: "Shelby" / "shely" / "show week"], and then went up Parris Bridge? The road right next there, there, or do you remember?
Todd Kohlhepp: [unclear: "Give me a moment."] Okay. 'Cause that part of [unclear: "Springs" / "the whole experience"] to this day gets me confused with. I believe CVS, [unclear: "left hard"], CVS went right, which would be [unclear: "Shelly Bridge" / "Shy Bridge"].
Investigator: [unclear: "That Liv in Shy Bridge?" / "Who's that right here? Good, then Shelly Bridge."]
Todd Kohlhepp: Yes. Uh, that should be Old Furnace. You go left, cross over the four-way, and keep booking and booking and booking and booking.
Investigator: Say that again now. If, if you leave CVS... Here we go. [unclear: "Map is excellent" / "Yes, exactly"]. Okay, Highway 9 is here, CVS is here, okay? There's a road next to CVS right here...
Todd Kohlhepp: Yes.
Investigator: ...and then you go on up on Highway 9. And then this is Parris Bridge Road, and it eventually comes down here to Highway 9. Okay? Okay. So right here, CVS, did you... you were here at CVS, did you go up Highway 9, or did you go this road to Parris Bridge? 'Cause you're talking about Old Furnace. Old Furnace is up near the high school and all that.
Todd Kohlhepp: I didn't go by the high school.
Investigator: Okay. This road right here would have taken you by, um, [unclear: "balloon farms" / "Balloon Farms"], that little farm thing on the left. It's like a peach shed and stuff like that.
Todd Kohlhepp: It's been a long time.
Investigator: Right. Well, after you left the CVS, do you remember going up Highway 9, or do you remember... You don't remember?
Todd Kohlhepp: Knowing me, I would have taken this and on that road.
Investigator: Okay, and you came back the same way?
Todd Kohlhepp: Yes.
Investigator: Okay, 'cause you mentioned the four-way.
Todd Kohlhepp: Well, well on up, there's a four-way on Parris Bridge Road. There it is. There's a stoplight. Gas station's on the right-hand side. If you make the left, it takes you down past nothing. That's Old Furnace Road. Goes on.
Investigator: That's Old Furnace Road, because that takes you to the high school.
Todd Kohlhepp: Yeah, I think.
Investigator: That's not the way you... So you came up this little road right here and went up Parris Bridge Road?
Todd Kohlhepp: You know, I'm not entirely sure.
Investigator: Okay, that's fine. It was [unclear: "how many years ago? 14" / "a year ago"].
Todd Kohlhepp: Yeah, so [unclear: "not sure" / "I'm going to be on the show"]. [unclear: "Details are a number" / "My name details are in that room"].
Investigator: Okay. Um, can you hand me that for a second? I'm going to throw it outside.
Speaker Not Identified: One more [unclear: "minute" / "second"]. When you talk about the weapons... hold on a second.
Todd Kohlhepp: You want me to talk about the weapons?
Investigator: [unclear: "Hang on, son" / "fing Sil"]. Okay.
Speaker Not Identified: Hey, I'm kind of glad I'm not gone. I wish that one was gone.
Investigator: Um, I [unclear: "take these off" / "I'm going to take these off"], have to write. Um, you had mentioned to your mom, and that we, when we had talked at the jail, that there were others, and you told your mom she didn't have enough hands.
Todd Kohlhepp: I had some altercations in Arizona.
Investigator: Okay.
Todd Kohlhepp: Um, I don't remember all the details. I had a friend of mine that got shot coming out of the alleyway.
Investigator: Okay.
Todd Kohlhepp: I found the guy later on.
Investigator: Who was your friend that got shot?
Todd Kohlhepp: Uh, Michael something. I was a kid. I remember Michael something.
Investigator: You remember the guy that you shot?
Todd Kohlhepp: I never knew his name.
Investigator: You never knew his name?
Todd Kohlhepp: He, he drove a Nova. A [unclear: "gray" / "great"] Nova.
Investigator: What year was that, you think? Or how old were you?
Todd Kohlhepp: 14.
Investigator: You were 14. [unclear: "Once again" / "The"]. Okay.
Todd Kohlhepp: Um, my, my understanding is it was some kid who wanted to be in a gang and was doing his initiation.
Investigator: And his initiation was to shoot your friend?
Todd Kohlhepp: We were just two kids coming out of an alley. We weren't part of nothing. We were part of nothing.
Investigator: That was his initiation?
Todd Kohlhepp: Yes, sir.
Investigator: Wow. Um, have you killed anybody else in Spartanburg?
Todd Kohlhepp: [unclear: "No, sir" (captions) / "Yes, sir" (Whisper)].
Investigator: Have you killed anybody else in South Carolina?
Todd Kohlhepp: No, sir.
Investigator: Other than the, the boy in Arizona, and Superbikes, and the ones that we have on the property, have you killed anybody else? And this is where I ask [unclear: "it" / "you this"].
Todd Kohlhepp: [unclear: "Is, is that enough?" / "You better know."] I do, but...
Investigator: No, no, no, this is the thing. No, this is the thing. This is not to drive a nail home or anything like that, okay? You had your [unclear: "moment in here with your mom" / "money and he was wrong"], and this is your opportunity to get everything... it's not... you know what I'm saying? It's an opportunity to get everything out of the way. You know, because you're going to be sitting in a cell...
Todd Kohlhepp: Mm-hmm.
Investigator: ...and, and there's going to be lonely times. And, and you're a compassionate person. I'm a compassionate person, okay? In the heat of the moment, when somebody pisses you off, you may want to beat the shit out of them, shoot them, stab them, kill them, whatever. But when you're laying there at night, it's going... it may bother you. You see what I'm saying?
Todd Kohlhepp: Mm-hmm.
Investigator: And that's the reason I'm asking. That's the only one shot... that's the only one you shot?
Todd Kohlhepp: Okay. Um, I didn't want to have to explain numbers on the phone, and I sure didn't want to give numbers [unclear: "of four"]. It's, it's already hard enough. I know you guys are listening. Actually, I'm surprised. I actually thought you [unclear: "ever made it" / "you're amazing"]. I got one, I got a phone call yesterday. Finally got a phone call.
Investigator: But you, you said that you knew that, you, you said there that I had... your mom reached out... your mom reached out, and she told, she actually... you told her to reach out to me?
Todd Kohlhepp: I did.
Investigator: Okay. Well, she inadvertently reached out somehow through to the solicitor's office, who reached out to me. Okay? So that's how I met with one of their investigators, and he told me that your mom reached out to him, and he told me what she had said, and then we went from there talking. So that's how all that transpired.
Todd Kohlhepp: Okay. Okay. Um, they're, they're, they're [unclear: "video recording" / "recorded"], probably. I don't have... I, I don't, you know... I gave you everything I [unclear].
Investigator: Okay. So there's no one... because, and I was told to ask you, there's two missing people out of [unclear: "Gest on you" (captions); not in Whisper]...
Todd Kohlhepp: [unclear: "I can't remember that."]
Investigator: And it's irrelevant. You're saying you've not killed or harmed anybody else?
Todd Kohlhepp: That's correct. The other person that you were talking about, I'm not sure I even killed him.
Investigator: Okay.
Todd Kohlhepp: And it was a long, long [unclear]...
Investigator: So when you told Mom she didn't have enough fingers...
Todd Kohlhepp: I just didn't know what to tell [her] on the phone.
Investigator: Okay.
Todd Kohlhepp: So that was kind of not... I don't want to say embellishment, but it was just something to... didn't want to give her numbers.
Investigator: I got you. I got you, understand.
Todd Kohlhepp: Definitely more than one hand. But, um, it's not really a bragging kind of... I understand some of these knuckleheads may call that "ooh, that's cool". I, I don't really call that cool.
Investigator: Hey, Todd, a while ago you made a statement that said that when you... you just said "those are the only people I've shot". Any other means? Okay. I just know that you're very deliberate with what you say. Did you stab anybody or anything like that?
Todd Kohlhepp: Not... yeah, but not like you're thinking. I was a kid, I was [unclear: "killing with school bus... school scissors" / "killed by school scissors"].
Investigator: Okay. Um, [unclear: "might not" / "but now"] stab anybody and kill anybody by stabbing them or anything like that?
Todd Kohlhepp: Okay. Okay.
Investigator: And you can call me [unclear: "Tommy" (captions) / "Todd" (Whisper)], you don't have to call me sir.
Todd Kohlhepp: It's just a respect thing. How old are you?
Investigator: 45.
Todd Kohlhepp: We're the same age. [unclear: "He's sir" / "Where's that man? He's sir."]
Todd Kohlhepp: Okay. It, it's hard for me not to, to say sir.
Investigator: I mean, I understand, man. That's... it's, you know, my kids do that to me. I never told them to. My dad was a military man, and his dad was a military man, and he would not make me call him sir, because he always had to call people sir. And I don't make my children call me sir, but they do. Just, just remember too, at the beginning we told you that there's probably not a lot we're going to be able to do for you.
Todd Kohlhepp: I know.
Investigator: Giving you a, a clear conscience is one of the only things we can...
Todd Kohlhepp: Honestly, I'm not worried about my conscience. You gave me what I wanted. What I wanted was to have the opportunity to take care of my mom, [unclear: "whether my girlfriend accepts it or not" / "within my girlfriend's sense of her not"], to at least attempt to take care of her and her kid.
Investigator: You still want me to reach out and talk... I have not yet, but do you still want me to reach out and talk to her to see if she wants to come see you or talk to you?
Todd Kohlhepp: If she would, please.
Investigator: Okay, I will.
Todd Kohlhepp: The biggest thing is, please let her know that, whether I screwed up, I can't fix it.
Investigator: Mm-hmm.
Todd Kohlhepp: I hope that she doesn't basically let her pride get in the way. I've got Mom [unclear: "clearing house" / "to clear her house"] on trying to sell this stuff off. Okay? No one's going to get rich here, but the idea is I'd like to be able to get enough money where she is not damaged, where she can basically restart her life without this over her head, and put the kid through some school, she grows up to be something positive. Um, past that, that's all I really wanted. I mean, Mom's going to put some money on my books once, once the money is released.
Investigator: Okay. And you need to transfer that through the bank, on the computer, through the bank, right? Or by the checkbook?
Todd Kohlhepp: The easiest way would be one of two things. Uh, one, release the cash in the safe, that's option A, or release the two checkbooks. I don't need the escrow checkbook, but I do need the, um, personal checkbook and the company checkbook.
Investigator: What are they... what bank account, and what are they?
Todd Kohlhepp: Both of those are Wells Fargo.
Investigator: And they're going to say... [unclear: "although on the... what are they say on"]...
Todd Kohlhepp: Well, on the, on the checks, [unclear: "T T Associates" / "talk open associates"]. Okay, uh, the one I don't need, there's $1,000 in that account. That's mine. I [unclear: "did" / "didn't"] transfer over. So if you want to bring me the escrow... There's three...
Investigator: I don't know what... I don't know what, you know, I don't know what we're going to be able to do. I just...
Todd Kohlhepp: There is three checkbooks all together. One of them actually says Wachovia, it's bluish, Wachovia personal. Wachovia turned into Wells Fargo.
Investigator: Yeah.
Todd Kohlhepp: So I left that [unclear: "blue" / "glue"], because I could tell mine versus the company's. Um, since I'm sole proprietor, basically, the company is me. So I pay off a bunch of things. Um, if I can just get the checkbooks and write her a check out of each one of them... I don't know the total of each account, but if I can kick her something, then we can deal with the rest of the money later.
Investigator: No, that's... I mean, we... I, like I said, like I told you in the beginning, I'll do everything I can.
Todd Kohlhepp: 'Cause Mom doesn't have any money.
Investigator: I'll do everything I can.
Todd Kohlhepp: Um, I didn't know she was that bad. Mom... you know, I haven't seen her in years.
Investigator: Haven't seen her in years. What happened to her hip?
Todd Kohlhepp: Oh man, everything, really. She's more accident-prone than I am. Really, if, if there's a bump, there's, if there's a curb, if there's something out there, that woman will hit it. She won't mean to.
Investigator: Well, let me go [unclear: "out here" / "ahead"] and take care of a few things.
Todd Kohlhepp: She... well, 'cause she was a big girl when I met her, last time I saw her... [unclear]
Investigator: Let me ask you this too, Todd, in reference to the other two people that we talked about down there, Meagan and, um, Johnny. Is there anything that you left out while we were at the jail talking, while we were at the detention center talking about them, that we need to know? I mean, obviously you told me, and make sure that I'm getting this right. You picked them up at Blackstock and... you know what, you picked them up at Blackstock and [unclear: "Reidville" / "reeval" / "Riebel"] Road, I think you said, and then...
Todd Kohlhepp: That's, well, okay, start. I met her [there]. Okay. Got her number. We talked on the phone for a brief moment. Okay. Then I met them later on at that, um, next to [unclear: "Rooky Hot Dogs" / "Ricky Todd dogs"], big huge parking lot. They walked across, and spoke to me there. Um, I almost thought she was going to hit on me, to actually come on [unclear: "she... $1,000 car" / "she doesn't our car"]. Um, but that's not what I was there for.
Investigator: I got you.
Todd Kohlhepp: I'm going to tell you, our meeting looks shitty as [expletive].
Investigator: I understand. I mean, I got you, 'cause you show up with, with that in that parking lot.
Todd Kohlhepp: Yeah, and her kind of... the way she was.
Investigator: I understand what you're talking about.
Todd Kohlhepp: Um, basically offered her the job, offered to let him go in and come work as well. Uh, the next day... this was over several days... the next day she was in the paper, mug shots. I guess you guys had arrested her for, um, meth or some shit, uh, [unclear: "hair"], I don't know, something was in her bloodstream, and you took her kids away.
Investigator: Okay.
Todd Kohlhepp: Um, I asked her about it, and she informed me that, yes, she had drug issues. And with that...
Investigator: Okay.
Todd Kohlhepp: Um, I still was going to give them a chance. You know, I get... shit happens to people. It's hard. I get it. Um, [unclear: "great to meet him back there" / "I mean, back there"], actually I [unclear: "meet from there" / "meet them there"], but they told me the address, which is across the street where they were.
Investigator: Do you remember that address? That's... this is when you were talking about behind the apartment complex?
Todd Kohlhepp: Yes.
Investigator: Okay.
Todd Kohlhepp: I can't say the address, but another day, if you want to, the house is unique enough I can point it out, 'cause it sits on a corner at a funky angle.
Investigator: Okay. You know what [unclear: "J talking about" / "else is happening"]?
Todd Kohlhepp: Yeah. What happened there?
Investigator: What do you mean?
Todd Kohlhepp: Well, for you to know that house...
Investigator: I used to patrol out there years ago. I don't know about what particularly happened out there. I just know the house you're talking about.
Todd Kohlhepp: [unclear: "I've been talking about it"]
Investigator: No, no, when I used to patrol, I patrolled that area.
Todd Kohlhepp: Mm-hmm.
Investigator: So when you... yeah, when I, when you... so I mean, that's, that's... I patrolled that area.
Todd Kohlhepp: I didn't know something [else] happened there.
Investigator: No, not, no. I wasn't a part of it.
Todd Kohlhepp: The house is on, on a, on a corner that's kind of crooked, crooked way it's located. And I picked them up, and I drove them to my land [unclear: "event get supplies" / "to get kid supplies"], and got them down to my building, and that's when Johnny pulled a knife out.
Investigator: And you shot...
Todd Kohlhepp: I shot.
Investigator: What'd you do with his knife?
Todd Kohlhepp: Oh, I don't know. I don't keep that [unclear: "concrete" / "conc CCT"].
Investigator: You just threw it out?
Todd Kohlhepp: Yeah, I got, thrown out.
Investigator: Okay. What did she do when you shot Johnny? What did she do when Johnny pulled the knife out? What did she say?
Todd Kohlhepp: Nothing.
Investigator: So you think she was in on the planning of this?
Todd Kohlhepp: I think she [unclear: "entirely wasn't" / "entirely, it wasn't"] [unclear: "the plan of it" / "the playing of it"]. There was, there was no "Oh, shit, yeah, uh, Johnny, what are you doing?" It was... this was, her actions were, she knew he was doing that. They saw a guy who had a shitload of money, drove a car they can't afford. They didn't even have a car, and they were going to get something.
Investigator: Okay. Um, so then you shot him how many times?
Todd Kohlhepp: Shot him twice.
Investigator: Okay.
Todd Kohlhepp: In the chest.
Investigator: Okay.
Todd Kohlhepp: He dropped forward. He dropped forward. I went around him and put another one through his spinal column.
Investigator: Okay. And you shot her?
Todd Kohlhepp: Not exactly.
Investigator: Okay.
Todd Kohlhepp: Um, the Conex was not meant to be a cage.
Investigator: Okay.
Todd Kohlhepp: All that chain [expletive] was after the fact.
Investigator: Okay.
Todd Kohlhepp: The Conex was designed for my food and my weapons, and secure my four-wheeler before I had the building built.
Investigator: Okay.
Todd Kohlhepp: The back area, that's all wood. That wasn't designed for them. That was designed for my stuff. Until last week, there was no ceiling on that. I put that in because she was cold. Kala was cold.
Investigator: Okay. I thought we're still talking about Johnny.
Todd Kohlhepp: I got you. [unclear: "Sheeted" / "Sheathed"] the back to help keep her warm. I didn't know what to do with her, man. Um, one side, I really wanted to drop her. The next side, I really [unclear: "sound [expletive]" / "put the become one"], I kind of want to save her ass. I, I don't...
Investigator: Let me back up real quick before we go that far, 'cause we were talking about Johnny. The girl that was with Johnny, did you shoot her?
Todd Kohlhepp: Not at that time.
Investigator: Okay. What happened with her?
Todd Kohlhepp: She panicked, and then she s... I told her to sit down. She sat down. Uh, went ahead and cuffed her, patted her down, told her I wasn't going to hurt her. Uh, she calmed down, and I actually took her to the Conex. No, that's not true. I had her lay there for a while. I didn't know what the hell to do with her. Um, I didn't want [her in] my Conex, 'cause I had stuff in there. I didn't know what the hell to do with it. Putting her in with my guns is not a [unclear: "good thing" / "DI"].
Investigator: I understand that.
Todd Kohlhepp: Uh, actually had to go... For the first time I ever was having a little bit of a panic of what the hell do I do with her. Uh, put her here, put her there, drop her, what the hell do I do? Do I call the cops? [expletive], I got [unclear: "legal" (both texts); possibly "illegal"] guns. Uh, oh shit, oh shit, oh shit. Uh, what do I do with her? Um, she was that [expletive] crazy, man.
Investigator: That's what you said earlier.
Todd Kohlhepp: Uh, I told her I wasn't going to touch her, wasn't going to rape her, wasn't going to [unclear] her. Uh, just calm the hell down and let me sort this shit out. Somewhere between, I did that, I shot him, [unclear: "the back, tight in the back" / "set the back, tied him to the back"], got her to calm down, and kept coming back and forth trying to figure out what to do. But I had her cuffed, and she wouldn't go anywhere. Eventually I went and locked... I want to say I left her on that floor for a while. I left her on that floor cuffed, 'cause I didn't know what to do with her. I didn't want her in the building.
Investigator: Okay.
Todd Kohlhepp: Got the tractor, got it out of there, picked the body up, and was trying to figure out what the hell to do with it.
Investigator: This is Johnny's body?
Todd Kohlhepp: Yeah.
Investigator: Okay.
Todd Kohlhepp: Um, like I said, I [unclear: "was totally with a meltdown" / "with melt"].
Investigator: [unclear: "Understand" / "What's the problem?"]
Todd Kohlhepp: Um, the land was supposed to be my sanctuary.
Investigator: Yeah.
Todd Kohlhepp: Not my killing field.
Investigator: Right.
Todd Kohlhepp: Not meant to be my killing field. Um, it was supposed to be the place where I go to relax and get away from people and not deal with this shit. Um, this, this killing [unclear: "really bothered me" / "will bother"], because it was such needless bullshit. Uh, hell, I was giving them money. Why were you robbing me?
Investigator: Yeah.
Todd Kohlhepp: Um, I, I went down the [unclear: "other Conex"], cleaned out the back area, 'cause I had shit all in there. Um, and at one time those ammo racks weren't there. The ammo rack was here and here. Pistol, rifle.
Investigator: Okay.
Todd Kohlhepp: Um, so there was only that much space at the back, so I moved all the guns forward, and at that time those were on casters, and those are not on casters now.
Investigator: Okay.
Todd Kohlhepp: Put her back there, told her to calm the hell down, let me rethink this crap. Um, let me see what the hell... trying to figure out what to do. Um, [unclear: "when got" / "one guy"] Johnny, went over there and dug a hole. And like I said, you take the tractor and you keep going in and digging, and what you end up doing is making a slant, until I can put him here. Right. Um, dug that, stuck him in it, covered it up. Uh, it's a lot more work than you think. Uh, did that, went back and dealt with her, tried to figure out what to do with her, really wasn't sure. Uh, ended up basically leaving her tied up there, and went and got some chain. I had chain around. There's lots of chain in that building. Um, I use chain for all kinds of shit. There's chain in the, in, in the woods, where I've got trees that come along that are starting to lean towards my fence, and I'll put a chain around it, hook a [expletive] on to it, and [unclear: "sure it wasn't this way" / "start working this way"], and over a period of time it'll fall away from my fence. Uh, so chain and cable and that kind of stuff, I got a lot of. Um, tied her up, left her there while I tried to figure out what to... I didn't know what to do with him, man.
Investigator: Right.
Todd Kohlhepp: Um, got rid of Johnny, came back, left her there, went, got food, fed the girl.
Investigator: [unclear: "Fed her" / "Better her"] after she tried to rob you.
Todd Kohlhepp: Man, what are you going to do with her? I don't want to shoot her.
Investigator: I understand.
Todd Kohlhepp: I mean, I can't have some crazy batshit woman going back... I mean, she was going [unclear: "bipolar left and right" / "by ho left and right" / "to buy a pole and left it right"]. She wouldn't calm down, like... oh, well, she finally calmed down, but she would... she was talking to me, and first she had drug issues...
Investigator: Right.
Todd Kohlhepp: ...and then she kept going off the deep end with weird shit, and kept talking, and then she kept telling me that she had manic mode or some sort of bipolar, lithium crap, I don't know what the hell it was, where, I mean, she was up, down, up, down, up, down.
Investigator: So she didn't mellow out like Kala did?
Todd Kohlhepp: No, not at all. She did finally calm down, but she wasn't upset.
Investigator: What made you decide to shoot her?
Todd Kohlhepp: I'll get to that.
Investigator: Okay.
Todd Kohlhepp: Uh, I wasn't going to shoot her.
Investigator: Okay.
Todd Kohlhepp: I was going to give her money.
Investigator: Okay.
Todd Kohlhepp: Uh, I don't know why the hell she went the hell off. I held her... I hate the kidnapping part. [unclear: "Get another one" / "I'll get another one"]. I held her in there for a couple days.
Investigator: How many days?
Todd Kohlhepp: Five or six.
Investigator: Okay.
Todd Kohlhepp: Um, I... every other damn day she wanted Little Caesars Pizza. I hate that shit. [unclear: "Gives me heartburn" / "Look at me heartburn"]. Uh, Little Caesars Pizza, Mountain... not Mountain Dew, Dr Pepper, cinnamon rolls, and freaking Newports. If you go down to my building, you'll find an unused package of Newports that I bought for her. And then she went batshit. She took... she tried to light my damn building on fire.
Investigator: Do you know how... in the back of what building?
Todd Kohlhepp: The Conex.
Investigator: The Newport pack is still there?
Todd Kohlhepp: The Newport pack is still inside the toolbox.
Investigator: Okay.
Todd Kohlhepp: This is the unused pack. I bought her a... I actually bought her a carton.
Investigator: Okay.
Todd Kohlhepp: I didn't... I don't buy... I don't smoke.
Investigator: Right.
Todd Kohlhepp: I [didn't] know what the hell to buy. I went in the store. I said, okay, I need, I think, uh, Newport Reds, whatever the hell they were. The lady went, "You want a pack or a carton?" Oh, shit, I don't freaking know. Um, give me a freaking carton. Uh, got her that, got her a lighter. Um, wasn't sure what the hell to give her, man.
Investigator: Is that toolbox inside the Conex, or is it in one of the ones inside the...
Todd Kohlhepp: It's the building. Red toolbox inside the building.
Investigator: Okay.
Todd Kohlhepp: Bottom drawer, left-hand side. Uh, you'll find some lube and stuff in there. I had nothing [to] do [with] it. I just didn't know where the hell to put the shit. Um, there's also a friend of mine, his girlfriend gave, gave him a thousand little packets of KY. He said, "You want to use it?" I don't know.
Investigator: You didn't use it?
Todd Kohlhepp: I don't know. It's still in the bag. I [never] even touched it.
Investigator: So then what happened with her?
Todd Kohlhepp: Uh, went from there. Oh, there's a collar in there. That collar was [unclear: "careless" / "cous"].
Investigator: That collar?
Todd Kohlhepp: Yeah. She had me order it.
Investigator: She asked you to order it?
Todd Kohlhepp: Yes, sir.
Investigator: Okay. We'll get to that in a minute.
Todd Kohlhepp: Didn't use it, 'cause after, after it came in the mail, I was, went, okay, and [unclear: "[expletive] too for me" / "she kept getting you from making it"]. It's, it's a stainless steel collar with, like, hooks for putting, like, locks on. I mean, damn, it's like having me... I don't treat my dog that way.
Investigator: So what happened with Meagan?
Todd Kohlhepp: [unclear: "At, um"]... put her in there, fed her for a couple days, proceeded to go ahead... mostly just left her the hell alone. Uh, left her alone. I didn't know what the hell to do with her. And then she kept burning shit. I come in and find that she burned her blanket, and she burned this. She's sitting next to 100,000 rounds of ammo. Love of God, please stop burning shit. If that thing goes off, do you know what... you know what that would do to a neighborhood or an area?
Investigator: That's... [unclear: "only the neighborhood" / "not even a neighborhood"], it wouldn't...
Todd Kohlhepp: Yeah.
Investigator: Holy shit.
Todd Kohlhepp: Yeah. Uh, please do not catch the building on fire. She kept trying to catch shit on fire, and then go, "I'm smoking." I would open the door, and [unclear] a cloud would come out. It's like one of those cartoons. Looking back, giving her [unclear: "cigarettes" / "s"] might [have] made a mistake. Um, had her there, left her alone. Uh, took her out [to] the other building, sat [her] down for a while. I got her to calm down. Just, please calm down. Got her some food. Um, told her basically that if she would just chill the hell out...
Investigator: Mm-hmm.
Todd Kohlhepp: "You don't know me. You don't know much about me. You don't have shit." And last time I [could] check, from what was online, she had a warrant where they were looking for her ass.
Investigator: Mm-hmm.
Todd Kohlhepp: Uh, "I'll give you an envelope of $4,000. I'll drive you up to damn Tennessee. I'll drop your ass off somewhere. If you got any common sense on this planet, you'll go left and I'll go right."
Investigator: What'd she say?
Todd Kohlhepp: Oh, she got so excited, I got my dick sucked.
Investigator: She did?
Todd Kohlhepp: Yeah.
Investigator: Okay.
Todd Kohlhepp: And it wasn't bad. Um...
Investigator: All right. Okay. [unclear: "Hey, girl off he" / "Hey."]
Todd Kohlhepp: Uh, I told her I would give her $4,000 and basically release her in Tennessee. Just go. Please go. Don't come back. It seemed like an easy... it seemed like an easy solution. Uh, she didn't really know my name, she didn't know the address, she didn't know where I lived. When I first met her, I mean, I told her who I was, but I just told her I was a realtor. She didn't really know me. There was very little for her to... I mean, what's she going to do? She's got warrants out for her arrest. She's going to, what, call you guys up and say, "Some asshole shot my boyfriend, but you're looking for me anyhow. Uh, I don't know where he lives. We went to some land. I don't know where the fuck I was."
Investigator: Can I ask you a question?
Todd Kohlhepp: Yes, sir.
Investigator: Did... and I'm, I am jumping back and forth, I'll get back to Meagan in just a minute. Did you give Kala any cigarettes, or did you... Did you give Kala cigarettes?
Todd Kohlhepp: Cigarettes? No. She took a shitload of pills.
Investigator: Okay. Does she want cigarettes?
Todd Kohlhepp: She asked me for, for weed.
Investigator: Why would you not... is, is that... So obviously you didn't give it to her. Was the trouble that you had with Meagan something that you decided, "I'm not going to go through this again"?
Todd Kohlhepp: Oh, definitely. Type thing.
Investigator: So you basically went from, you know, you didn't want to give her cigarettes to let her attempt to burn shit, because you learned from what Meagan did. You weren't going to let Kala do that.
Todd Kohlhepp: But I don't remember Kala asking me for cigarettes.
Investigator: Kala didn't ask you for cigarettes, okay. But Meagan... so you're, you're sitting there with Meagan.
Todd Kohlhepp: Yes, sir.
Investigator: And Meagan...
Todd Kohlhepp: I don't understand the question, then, 'cause she didn't ask me for cigarettes.
Investigator: Well, and that's fine. I didn't know if she did or not.
Todd Kohlhepp: I just know, I just know that I wasn't going to give her anything like that there. Um, all that stuff was, was burned, and I was like, we're not going down this road.
Investigator: So with Meagan, you, you, you made her the offer of the $4,000. "Keep your mouth shut. I'll take you to Tennessee, drop you off and leave you."
Todd Kohlhepp: Drop you off and leave you. You go one way, I'll go the other way. Totally.
Investigator: What made that change? What happened?
Todd Kohlhepp: What do you mean, what made that change?
Investigator: Well, she ended up dead.
Todd Kohlhepp: Oh, you mean what, what [unclear: "were proceeded" / "word preceded"]?
Investigator: Yeah.
Todd Kohlhepp: That makes sense. Uh, I'll use your words: [unclear: "we proceeded" / "word preceded"].
Investigator: [unclear: "I'm not trying to be..." / "How was that trying to be a good one?"]
Todd Kohlhepp: No, you, man... [unclear: "turn not me an [expletive]" / "that makes sense"].
Investigator: [unclear: "What, dude, we're fine" / "You can't do it"].
Todd Kohlhepp: Um, I wanted to get rid of her. The weather went to shit. Uh, we were having sleet. It was right before Christmas, man. We were having sleet, we were having rain. The weather went to shit. And I still had to find a way to get away from Ashley, my girlfriend, long enough to get up out of work, get this person to Tennessee, drop her off, and get home. That's not, that's not just a couple hour trip.
Investigator: No.
Todd Kohlhepp: And if I'm driving her, it ain't going to be [unclear: "at B" / "at work"]. We're going north of Nashville. I want her way the hell away from me. Uh, I don't... I want her to forget where South Carolina is.
Investigator: Right.
Todd Kohlhepp: I told her, I said, "I'll give you, I'll give you $4K in cash, drop you off somewhere other side of, other side of nowhere. If you got any common sense, you keep walking. Go get a job at, go get a job at a, at a, at a diner somewhere, work as a waitress. Get your shit, get your shit right. Don't come back. They got [unclear: "warrants" / "War" / "once a year"] here, and I'm here. So just don't come back."
Investigator: Okay.
Todd Kohlhepp: Uh, she was going to take it. She was happy. She was happy as hell for like two days.
Investigator: Okay.
Todd Kohlhepp: She was happy as hell. I just couldn't get past the weather.
Investigator: Okay.
Todd Kohlhepp: Uh, the last day I went over there, uh, opened the Conex up, she burned half the freaking building. Uh, this... I mean, she took my ammo racks and grabbed them and did this.
Investigator: Holy shit.
Todd Kohlhepp: Oh, I'm going to tell you, I'm not [unclear: "for such a little [expletive]" / "There's such a little shit"]. Damn.
Investigator: So then what happened?
Todd Kohlhepp: Uh, well, there was ammo everywhere and stuff everywhere, and she broke the fan. I, I got her a fan. She broke the fan. Prime, man. You just can't beat that shit too, the two-day shipping.
Investigator: Right.
Todd Kohlhepp: Got her one of those. There's [one] there now, but it came as a two-pack. Uh, I had her those to get air ventilation. I got lanterns for her so she'd have light. I did the best I could to make it [unclear: "right, somewhat" / "so"] livable. Got her blankets, got her pillows. She lit the damn thing on fire.
Investigator: I'm surprised she didn't [unclear: probably "asphyxiate"; machine readings "fix the8" / "fix the gate"].
Todd Kohlhepp: That's what I was thinking. I'm surprised she didn't. When I walked in the building, I mean, I was choking. I'm going, holy shit. Uh, went to get her out, and then all of a sudden it's like I had a caged animal on my hands. I don't know what the hell, the hell... She went from "I'm so freaking happy in the world to be... I'm going to go to Tennessee with money and I'm going to restart my life, and thank you, thank you, thank you" to [unclear: "bet you crazy" / probably "batshit crazy"].
Investigator: Um, [unclear: "tell them just a minute" / "So let's just let her find out"]. I got you.
Todd Kohlhepp: At that point, I tried to walk her out of the building. I just had enough. I walked outside. I was trying to calm down. What the hell to do with her? What to do with her? What to do with her? I didn't know. Um, came back in the building. Um, she was going nuts. Just... it wasn't like she was emotional about the situation. This had been days. It wasn't about that. It was just like serious chemical imbalance shit. And she walked outside. I wa... I walked her outside. I'm going... I walk her outside, I put a [unclear: "for" (captions) / "we're in" (Whisper); possibly ".40"] in the back of her head.
Investigator: What gun did you shoot her with?
Todd Kohlhepp: Same one.
Investigator: That you shot Johnny...
Todd Kohlhepp: Johnny with.
Investigator: And that's a Glock?
Todd Kohlhepp: Mm-hmm.
Investigator: And that's the same one you shot Charlie...
Todd Kohlhepp: Charlie. [unclear: "Not my favorite gun" / "Why is my favorite gun"]. Just... it's just a, it's a handy gun, handy one. It's very effective, especially if you shoot [unclear: "180 grains" / "100-year-olds"].
Investigator: Let me ask you this one. I do have, I do have one clarification question with, with Charlie.
Todd Kohlhepp: Okay.
Investigator: Okay, 'cause like we talked to you before about the feet were missing.
Todd Kohlhepp: I didn't [unclear: "take my" / "tell you my"; context suggests "take his"] feet.
Investigator: I know, I know you didn't. I know you didn't. Animals, whatever, 'cause you said you had coyotes out there.
Todd Kohlhepp: I do.
Investigator: When, you know how you say, and you, you dug out, and it kind of leaves a little, a little ramp kind of thing there, when you put him in the, the hole, grave, so to speak. Okay, was he face down? Was his head going downhill? Was his head coming, going up? Was he on his back? Do you remember?
Todd Kohlhepp: I don't remember. Okay. I hit tilt [on] it.
Investigator: So you just hit tilt, he fell out?
Todd Kohlhepp: All I do... all I did is drive up there, hit tilt, dropped him out. The way he, way he landed, the way he went.
Investigator: The hole's this way?
Todd Kohlhepp: Yes, sir.
Investigator: Did he land this way or this way, do you remember? [unclear: "Well, there we got... there you go."]
Todd Kohlhepp: If, if you, if you dig here...
Investigator: Mm-hmm.
Todd Kohlhepp: ...going this way...
Investigator: Mm-hmm.
Todd Kohlhepp: ...and you basically, as you go in, you keep going down deeper, so it ends up like this.
Investigator: Right, right.
Todd Kohlhepp: As you go down, you, I put... I don't know why I keep acting like I did this a lot of times. I didn't. Um, put the dirt to the side.
Investigator: Right.
Todd Kohlhepp: Put the dirt to the side, and I put dirt behind it, and then when I basically just drove down... but there had been a lot of rain days before this.
Investigator: Okay.
Todd Kohlhepp: So there was water down there.
Investigator: Mm-hmm.
Todd Kohlhepp: And I got him down as far as I could, and then I just basically hit the [unclear: "one" / "little"] a little far forward, take the bucket, hit the... get the dirt I could behind, you pull it, put this dirt, put that dirt, and covered him as best I could.
Investigator: Okay.
Todd Kohlhepp: Um, I think he was kind of sideways, and... 'cause you know how the two holes are parallel?
Investigator: Yes.
Todd Kohlhepp: So he wouldn't, like, let's say this is a bed. He wouldn't be laying in, like, head to, head to footboard, at the headboard and at the footboard. He'd be kind of more catty-cornered across it, this one way. He'd be in there... I, he would never be like this way.
Investigator: Okay. And the, the reason... so you would have been digging from this angle, reaching out, coming back this way, right? And then... [video ends in mid-sentence at 59:59] ---