body parts found, (Identified, Mekole Michelle Harris)[Suspects Arrested]

[nanabillie]

www.wspa.com

Not good with links, but body parts have been found in two different places in Greenville, SC

[Battnt]

Body parts found at two Greenville residences

Greenville police are investigating how human body parts showed up at two Greenville residences this morning.


Cpl. Jason Rampey said police received a call at about 8 a.m. from a resident of Andover Park apartments who had discovered human body parts nearby. During that investigation, Rampey said, a second call came in from a person who was related to the first caller, who had found body parts at their home on Rose Avenue.

Investigators are trying to determine who the body parts belong to. Rampey said they are not at this time releasing information about what specific body parts were found.

Check back to GreenvilleOnline.com for updates and photos as this story develops.


http://greenvilleonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080407/NEWS01/80407013

[KittyMom]

Wow

[packy]

How horrible, and I wonder since they are related if the remains are of someone they both know?

[awakening2lite]

Here are the addresses of the findings:

Andover Park Apartments, 831 Cleveland Street
113 Rose Ave

EXCERPT
Officers also will begin reviewing missing persons files in an attempt to identify the body parts.
source: http://www.foxcarolina.com/news/15814285/detail.html


http://greenvilleonline.com/assets/gif/BS10516447.GIF
source: http://greenvilleonline.com/assets/gif/BS10516447.GIF

==========================

This was all over the local news, this morning.
Greenville is a very nice medium sized town with a small town feel. This has many people concerned.

[awakening2lite]

http://www.wistv.com/Global/story.asp?S=8129332&nav=0RaP

EXCERPT

Authorities are investigating the discovery of two hands and two feet found at separate Greenville County residences.

[nanabillie]

As of 6 o'clock news, still all they have. No torso. African American person.

[Audie]

Coroner: Severed hands, feet found in S.C. residences a mile apart; unclear whose they are

Associated Press - April 7, 2008 8:53 PM ET

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) - Authorities in South Carolina are investigating the discovery of severed hands and feet at two homes about a mile apart.

Greenville County Coroner's investigator Scott Ramsey says the body parts were found early Monday in black plastic bags.

Greenville police Cpl. Jason Rampey (RAMP'-ee) says a woman found body parts near her apartment. A second person soon reported a similarly gruesome find inside a home about a mile away.

Rampey says the callers are related but he wouldn't say how.

Authorities aren't sure if the body parts are from the same person and wouldn't say which parts were found where. Ramsey says investigators found very little blood.

http://www.newschannel5.com/Global/story.asp?S=8132200&nav=menu374_2

[KittyMom]

This is too much. It sounds like a really bad mob movie. :(

[KittyMom]

http://www.wyff4.com/news/15813379/detail.html

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Police spent much of Monday talking with family members of people who live at a house and an apartment in Greenville where bagged body parts were found on Monday morning.

Investigators said the human body parts were discovered at the residences on Monday morning.

Cpl. Jason Rampey said Monday afternoon that bags contained hands and feet.

Rampey said that at about 7:55 a.m., police responded to a call at Andover Park Apartments on Cleveland Street. A resident had called after finding human body parts at an apartment at the complex.

While officers were investigating that call, they were called about a similar discovery at a home on Rose Avenue, about a mile and a half away.

A neighbor said that the body parts at that home were in a black plastic bag on the porch.

"When I saw that bag on the front porch this morning, I got a funny feeling that something just wasn't right," neighbor Andrea Young said.

Young said her dog had crossed the street to sniff at the bag.

"We're dumbfounded, we don't know what to think right now," neighborhood watch president Felsie Harris said.

Rampey said that investigators have determined there is a family connection to the calls from the two locations.

In addition, police have learned that a woman who lived in the house on Rose Street is the sister of a woman who lives in the apartment.
Police are talking with the family members to see if they can get information related to the case. "We want to make sure all of them are accounted for," Rampey said.

Greenville County Coroner's investigator Scott Ramsey said that the coroner's office is trying determine the identity of the person or people the body parts are from and if they are still alive.

"The first thing is to try to determine to whom the body parts belong," Rampey told WYFF News 4's Myra Ruiz. "It is a gruesome task that these investigators face as to try to determine who the victim is."


So, it was sisters who lived at the two residences.

[awakening2lite]

Hands, Feet Found In Two Locations
10:35 am EDT April 8, 2008


EXCERPTs


Investigators with the coroner's office said a set of hands and a set of feet were found at both locations, so they believe the body parts belong to one person. They also said the toes of the feet had been cut off.

source: http://www.foxcarolina.com/news/15823318/detail.html

=======================

It's reported they found a bag on a front porch containing 1 hand and 1 foot at one residence. At a (vacant) house they found a bag containing the matching hand and foot. This is leading them to believe they belong to one victim. The news station reported, last night, because a person can live with out hands and feet it is not being treated as a homicide investigation.

[awakening2lite]

http://www.wach.com/news/news_story.aspx?id=118497
Authorities ID woman whose body parts were found
April 08, 2008 at 1:23 p.m.

EXCERPT
body parts were cut from Mekole Michelle Harris. He says fingerprints were used to identify the body parts.

EXCERPT
Her last known address was a boarding house in the city.

Police are looking for the rest of the body.

[KittyMom]

Was this lady related to the two sisters?

[Claudia]

I sure hope they are now considering this a homicide....

I understand that someone can live without hands & feet, but not when they are chopped off by some sicko & bagged up to be dumped on peoples' doorsteps. Do they think someone surgically removed them & she's holed up somewhere just fine? Please.

[KittyMom]

I sure hope they are now considering this a homicide....

I understand that someone can live without hands & feet, but not when they are chopped off by some sicko & bagged up to be dumped on peoples' doorsteps. Do they think someone surgically removed them & she's holed up somewhere just fine? Please.

With the toes missing I would assume she was tortured before having her feet removed. Can you imagine???

[Claudia]

With the toes missing I would assume she was tortured before having her feet removed. Can you imagine???

No, I can't. Disgusting. And for LE to not consider toeless feet & severed hands evidence of a homicide is beyond me. :rolleye0001:

[KittyMom]

No, I can't. Disgusting. And for LE to not consider toeless feet & severed hands evidence of a homicide is beyond me. :rolleye0001:

Maybe its part of that "no body no crime" school of thought?:rolleye0001:

[packy]

So horrible and I hope she was not alive when cut. Hope they give this case priority.

[Claudia]

Maybe its part of that "no body no crime" school of thought?:rolleye0001:

Could be, but seems ridiculous to me. :z0tdntknw:

I will be interested in hearing more about this - have you read anything about the child abuse she was accused of? Not sure if she was convicted or not.

[Nut44x4]

It doesn't even phase me anymore...what people will do to a living being. I swear...I have become numb and immune to what I see. Horrible things that are done every single day to humans and animals. Simply horrible.

[KittyMom]

http://greenvilleonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080408/NEWS01/80408037/-1/rss

Jessie Mae Harris broke down in tears today while rembembering her youngest child, Mekole Michelle Harris, a 34-year-old Greenville woman whose severed hands and feet were found outside two residences.

"She was my baby," Jessie Mae Harris said.

Mekole Michelle Harris had four children, ages 4-15, and sometimes lived on the streets, her mother said.

Jessie Mae Harris said her daughter recently told her that she had been kicked out of her last known address, 205 King St. in Greenville, after someone accused her of stealing. Mekole Michelle Harris denied it, her mother said.

But why anyone would want to leave the severed parts outside of two homes remained a mystery to Jessie Mae Harris.

"She never hurt anybody," she said. "She only hurt herself."

Jessie Mae Harris said she last spoke to her daughter by phone on April 1. The conversation ended when someone tried to sell Mekole Michelle Harris a microwave, her mother said.

Mekole Michelle Harris was the youngest of seven children, her mother said.

[Claudia]

It doesn't even phase me anymore...what people will do to a living being. I swear...I have become numb and immune to what I see. Horrible things that are done every single day to humans and animals. Simply horrible.

It IS horrible. And shocking, and depressing. I cannot in a million years imagine what possesses people to do these things to another human. That is where my fascination stems from - I want to know what is in their heads, it's a near obsession. I should have been a criminal psychologist.

I wish I could say I have become numb, but no way. I frequently sign on here in the morning and literally gasp out loud at this child being found dead, or that mother gone missing. It tears me up inside, and makes me want to do something - anything - to help, but there is nothing I can do. As I said on another thread, this world is going to hell & it scares the sh*t out of me. This place is one big, harsh dose of reality.

[KittyMom]

It IS horrible. And shocking, and depressing. I cannot in a million years imagine what possesses people to do these things to another human. That is where my fascination stems from - I want to know what is in their heads, it's a near obsession. I should have been a criminal psychologist.

I wish I could say I have become numb, but no way. I frequently sign on here in the morning and literally gasp out loud at this child being found dead, or that mother gone missing. It tears me up inside, and makes me want to do something - anything - to help, but there is nothing I can do. As I said on another thread, this world is going to hell & it scares the sh*t out of me. This place is one big, harsh dose of reality.


I thought of this quote when I read your post.

Albert Einstein

"The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it."

[Claudia]

I thought of this quote when I read your post.

Albert Einstein

"The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it."

Good quote, I like it. Except for one thing - it makes me feel even worse for doing nothing!! Thanks for the added guilt, KM!!! :serious:

[KittyMom]

Good quote, I like it. Except for one thing - it makes me feel even worse for doing nothing!! Thanks for the added guilt, KM!!! :serious:

I DIDN"T MEAN IT THAT WAY!!!! I was trying to reassure you that you are doing something by coming here and being involved. I apologize. I didn't really to make you feel bad.

[awakening2lite]

EXCERPT

Asked whether she was believed to be alive, Evans said, "I wouldn't think so. We don't know that for absolutely sure. We do know for absolutely sure that these are her hands."


EXCERPT

The remains were not decomposing, so they appeared to have been recently severed, Evans said. The hands didn't have skin under the nails or any other signs of struggle, he said.

source: http://greenvilleonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080408/NEWS01/80408034/1001/NEWS01

[Claudia]

I DIDN"T MEAN IT THAT WAY!!!! I was trying to reassure you that you are doing something by coming here and being involved. I apologize. I didn't really to make you feel bad.

Oh, no!!! I know you didn't! I know you would never ever say something to hurt me like that! I was really just kidding - I guess I should have put J/K at the end!! I am so sorry, I didn't mean to upset you! OMG, now I really feel bad. I still love ya, KM!

[KittyMom]

Oh, no!!! I know you didn't! I know you would never ever say something to hurt me like that! I was really just kidding - I guess I should have put J/K at the end!! I am so sorry, I didn't mean to upset you! OMG, now I really feel bad. I still love ya, KM!

:girl_haha::love0085:

I think we may be a lot alike!!! :friends3:

[Claudia]

:girl_haha::love0085:

I think we may be a lot alike!!! :friends3:

That's fine with me, because I think a lot of you!!!


http://www.auburnfootball.com/GIFS/hug.gif

[awakening2lite]

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Police are offering a reward for information in the case of a woman whose hands and feet were removed, placed in bags and then left on the front porches of two Greenville homes.

Investigators want to know what happened to Mekole Harris, 34, the woman from whom the body parts were taken.

Greenville County coroner Parks Evans said that it not yet known whether Harris was alive when her extremities were removed, but it is extremely unlikely that she could have survived it if she was.


The case has not yet been classified as homicide, but will be as soon as Harris' body is located, Evans said.

"Right now, we don't know where she is," Greenville Police Cpl. Jason Rampey said. "We don't know exactly where the primary crime scene is."

Wednesday, investigators said that a $2,000 CrimeStoppers reward has been offered for information that leads to a conviction in the case.

Police said that they want to find the last person to see Harris alive.

Family members said that she was seen Friday at a store in Greenville. Her body parts turned up at the house and apartment in Greenville on Monday morning.

"I hope that someone will come forward and I can have closure and put my daughter to rest," Harris' mother, Jessie Harris, told WYFF News 4's Myra Ruiz.

Jessie Harris said Tuesday that she is certain that her daughter is dead.

Mekole Harris' family said that she was living on the streets, sometimes staying with other people at a motel on David Street in Greenville County. She also was often seen at a convenience store near the motel, they said.

"When you have somebody who's somewhat of a transient, staying at different places, there's more people to contact and sometimes they're not known to investigators," Rampey said.

Police are asking people to take a look at Harris' picture and contact them if they saw her recently.http://ap.google.com/media/ALeqM5g9Q7iSl_u8xkc4YswH2Ve2uLwoLw?size=m

"Try to remember where that was and if she was in the company of somebody," Rampey said. "Let us know who that was. "

"All we want is her body so we can lay it to rest," Jessie Harris said. "So she can rest and her kids can be able to say goodbye to her. That's all we're asking for. "

Anyone with information on Mekole Harris' case is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 23-CRIME (232-7463).
source: http://www.wyff4.com/news/15837099/detail.html

[packy]

I hope someone can remember seeing her with someone and comes forward with information. Wonder what the reason was that her partial remains were placed at these two sisters residences too.

[awakening2lite]

I hope someone can remember seeing her with someone and comes forward with information. Wonder what the reason was that her partial remains were placed at these two sisters residences too.

I'm sure LE is wondering the same thing, packy.

Here's a bit in the news today:

Ex-resident reported threats �before body parts found

EXCERPT
A woman who received threatening letters moved out of a Greenville home before another woman found a black plastic bag containing body parts on the front porch, according to a Greenville police report released Wednesday

source: http://greenvilleonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080410/NEWS01/804100332/1001/NEWS01

[packy]

Thanks for that update, Awake. This case is so macabre.

[awakening2lite]

Thanks for that update, Awake. This case is so macabre.

Yes, it is! Cutting the toes off the feet is also chilling. IMO the killer wants to scare everyone and is enjoying the publicity. SICK

Here's an image of the missing victim, 34-year-old, mother of 4, Mekole Michelle Harris

http://www.wjbf.com/media/JBF/2008/04/09/0017.Image.NULL,NULL.300,198,2,NULL,NULL.MGSpooler .img

[awakening2lite]

A Greenville couple has been charged with murdering Mekole Michelle Harris, the 34-year-old Greenville woman whose severed hands and feet were found in black plastic bags at two Cleveland Street-area residences.


Clarence Williams Jenkins Jr., 24, and Carman Major Jenkins, 20, both of 105 Tindal Road, also are accused of dismembering the body, according to warrants.

The pair were arraigned on the charges today, according to Greenville police Maj. Gary McLaughlin.

He said the police and Greenville County Sheriff’s Office investigators worked around the clock since the body parts were discovered Monday. He said the crime scene was in the county.

The pair were being held without bond in the Greenville County Detention Center, McLaughlin said.

Parts of Harris still remain to be found, he said.

source: http://greenvilleonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080411/NEWS01/80411047/1013/NEWS05

[Faith]

This is scary. We just had something similar to happen near me in Memphis.

Link (http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/feb/19/boyfriend-charged-in-slaying-of-woman/)

[lost indie]

http://www.wyff4.com/news/15813379/detail.html

Yikes...

[Faith]

I pray she felt no pain. :sad0119:

[packy]

They found them pretty fast, if they are the ones who did this I hope they tell us she did not suffer.

Rest in Peace now, Mekole.

[Nut44x4]

Couple charged with murder in severed body parts case 10:24 PM

10:24 PM EDT on Friday, April 11, 2008

Associated Press

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- A Greenville couple was charged with murder Friday in the death of a woman whose severed hands and feet were found in bags.

Physical evidence found at the home of Clarence Jenkins Jr. and Carman Major Jenkins was linked to evidence found in the two places where Mekole Michelle Harris' feet and hands were found in bags on Monday, according to arrest warrants obtained by The Greenville News.

Greenville Police Maj. Gary McLaughlin refused to talk about the evidence at a Friday night news conference, according to the newspaper.

A call to Greenville police by The Associated Press on Friday night was not immediately returned.

Not all of Harris' remains have been found, said McLaughlin, who appealed to the public for help.

McLaughlin refused to say how the couple knew Harris, how she was killed or any possible motive. He also refused to say if the couple picked where they left Harris' hands and feet on purpose or if any other parts of the woman's body have been located.

Clarence Jenkins, 24, and Carman Jenkins, 20, were each being held without bond Friday night and the Greenville county jail, according to the jail's Web site.

Jail officials did not know if they had attorneys and a phone listing for the couple could not be found.

Family and friends said Harris, 34, was a longtime drug addict whose four children live with relatives. Police records show that she had been convicted of drug and prostitution charges as recently as last year.

Harris' mother said her daughter said she knew her life was in danger shortly before she disappeared, but wouldn't say who wanted to kill her.

Jessie Mae Harris said her daughter was a kind person who never hurt anyone except for herself.

Mekole Harris' severed hands and feet were found Monday outside two homes about a mile apart.

Police said the people in the two homes were related to each other, but have not said how.

Authorities have said there was no obvious connection between Harris and where the limbs were found.
http://www.wcnc.com/news/topstories/stories/wcnc-041108-mw-bodypartscase.557fc617.html

[Faith]

Anyone that would do such as this has some major issues. I cannot even imagine.

[KittyMom]

So, have LE found her remains?

[awakening2lite]

So, have LE found her remains?

Hi KittyMom, They're still looking for the rest of Mekole Harris.

Here's the latest:

No Violent Past for Suspects in Body Parts Case


The criminal backgrounds of a couple charged in the death of a woman whose severed limbs were found on relatives' doorsteps do not reveal a violent past.

Greenville police arrested 24-year-old Clarence Jenkins and his 20-year-old wife Carmen on Friday for the slaying of Mekole Harris.

Harris' body parts were found on Monday at two separate locations.


According to arrest records from SLED, Clarence Jenkins was convicted last year for three counts of driving with a suspended license.

His wife, Carmen, was charged with passing a fraudulent check under $500.

Former prosecutor Warren Mowry said, "It's not unheard of, but it is rare to have a person leap from no record at all or at least a minimal record to the charge of murder."

Detectives are still looking for the rest of Mekole Harris' body.

Meanwhile, her family is planning a vigil for Sunday at 3 p.m.

It will be held in front of the home where some of Harris' body parts were found on Rose Avenue in Greenville.

source: http://www.wyff4.com/news/15866755/detail.html

[KittyMom]

Hi KittyMom, They're still looking for the rest of Mekole Harris.

Here's the latest:

No Violent Past for Suspects in Body Parts Case


The criminal backgrounds of a couple charged in the death of a woman whose severed limbs were found on relatives' doorsteps do not reveal a violent past.

Greenville police arrested 24-year-old Clarence Jenkins and his 20-year-old wife Carmen on Friday for the slaying of Mekole Harris.

Harris' body parts were found on Monday at two separate locations.


According to arrest records from SLED, Clarence Jenkins was convicted last year for three counts of driving with a suspended license.

His wife, Carmen, was charged with passing a fraudulent check under $500.

Former prosecutor Warren Mowry said, "It's not unheard of, but it is rare to have a person leap from no record at all or at least a minimal record to the charge of murder."

Detectives are still looking for the rest of Mekole Harris' body.

Meanwhile, her family is planning a vigil for Sunday at 3 p.m.

It will be held in front of the home where some of Harris' body parts were found on Rose Avenue in Greenville.

source: http://www.wyff4.com/news/15866755/detail.html

That is so weird. I guess they are being very forthcoming in where she can be found.

[awakening2lite]

Greenville Police are continuing the hunt today for clues to the whereabouts of Mekole Michelle Harris, whose hands and feet were found in plastic bags at two Greenville residences a week ago today.

Police made two arrests in the case late Friday, charging husband and wife Clarence Williams Jenkins, Jr., 24, and Carman Major Jenkins, 20, of 105 Tindal Road, with Harris' slaying.

Authorities are being tight-lipped about details of the incident, and have interviewed 30 people in connection with it, but so far have not had any luck uncovering the location of Harris' remains.

source: http://greenvilleonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080414/NEWS01/80414007/1004

[awakening2lite]

Police chase leads but don't find missing woman after body parts found

Investigators used a specially trained dog Monday to search for a dismembered Greenville woman, but it turned out to be one of at least two dead ends they hit as the hunt began its second week.

Mekole Michelle Harris, 34, remained missing a week after her severed hands and feet were found outside two downtown homes April 7, said Cpl. Jason Rampey, a spokesman for Greenville Police Chief Terri Wilfong.

While police led the search, Greenville County sheriff's investigators helped by using a dog to search a wooded area next to the mobile home of a husband and wife who have been charged with murder, said Lt. Shea Smith of the Sheriff's Office.

Investigators were double-checking the area and "didn't locate anything," Smith said.

Charged with murder are Clarence Williams Jenkins, 24, and his wife, Carman Major Jenkins, 20, according to warrants. Police found physical evidence in the residence at 105 Tindal Road, Lot 16, directly linking the defendants to evidence recovered at the locations where the victim's remains were found, warrants allege.

Early Monday, investigators followed up on a report that human remains may have been found, but the lead didn't pan out, Greenville County Coroner Parks Evans said.

Rampey said he didn't know how many leads investigators were chasing, whether any more arrests were coming or if any evidence has been sent to the State Law Enforcement Division.

source: http://greenvilleonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080414/NEWS01/804140331/1004/NEWS01

[awakening2lite]

http://www.wyff4.com/2008/0417/15910999.jpg
Clarence and Carman Jenkins

12:10 pm EDT April 17, 2008


GREENVILLE COUNTY, S.C. -- Investigators are asking the public to be on the lookout for the remains of a woman whose hands and feet were found last week.

Mekole Harris is presumed to be dead. The dismembered remains of the 34-year-old were left in bags at the homes of two relatives of hers in Greenville, but her body has not been found.

Greenville County Coroner Parks Evans is asking that residents make note of clues that might indicate that a body is near by.

"Biggest thing is the smell," Evans said. "If they see any vulture activity or buzzard activity around, check to see that it is a dead animal and not the corpse or something of that nature."

Clarence Jenkins Jr., 24, and his wife, 20-year-old Carman Major Jenkins, are charged with murder in connection with Harris' death. Police said they still have not determined a motive.

Harris had four children; three sons, ages 9, 13 and 15, and a 5-year-old daughter who is in the custody of the state.

source: http://www.wyff4.com/news/15910961/detail.html

[LiveLaughLuv]

Authorities ID Body Parts Found in SC
April 8, 2008 - 8:46pm


This is an undated mugshot provided by the Greenville County Sheriff's Office of Mekole Michelle Harris, 34 who was identified during a news conference Tuesday, April 8, 2008, in Greenville, S.C. Authorities say her severed hands were found in seperate black bags on Monday. Authorities think Harris is likely dead.(AP Photo/The Greenville County Sheriff's Office) By KATRINA A. GOGGINS
Associated Press Writer

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) - A woman whose severed hands and feet were found outside two homes about a mile apart had known her life was in danger, her mother said Tuesday.

Using fingerprint records, authorities on Tuesday identified the hands as those of Mekole Michelle Harris, a 34-year-old with a lengthy criminal record.

Greenville County Coroner Parks Evans said the feet also are believed to be from Harris, and that although the rest of her body has not been found it's unlikely she's still alive. The body parts were found Monday.

Jessie Mae Harris said her daughter told her last week that "someone wanted to kill her" but did not say who.

"She said that she was trying to get her life straight," said Jessie Mae Harris, of Fountain Inn.

Family and friends said Mekole Harris tried to be caring, but that she was a longtime drug addict whose four children live with relatives. Police records show that Harris had been convicted of drug and prostitution charges as recently as last year.

"She was a kind, loving person," her 64-year-old mother told The Associated Press. "She never hurt anybody. The only person she hurt was herself."

Harris lived in poor, dangerous neighborhoods of this South Carolina city and some residents in the community where the body parts were found said they were taking extra safety measures until an arrest is made.

"Can't nobody sleep now," said Andrea Young, 40, whose dog discovered one of the bags containing body parts. "They're locking their doors, windows, lights on in their house _ everything."

Trash bags, empty bottles and other debris line the dead-end street near the home where one of the bags was found. The other was discovered about a mile away at an apartment. Harris' last known address is less than 4 miles from there.

Authorities said there was no obvious connection between Harris and where the limbs were found.

http://www.wtopnews.com/?nid=104&sid=1382137

[awakening2lite]

Prosecutor: Blood, Hair Found In Suspects’ Home
1 Of 2 Suspects In Body Parts Case In Court On Friday


POSTED: 2:16 pm EDT May 23, 2008
UPDATED: 2:34 pm EDT May 23, 2008


GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Prosecutors released new details in the dismemberment of an upstate woman’s body during a court appearance by one of the two suspects in the case on Friday.

Carman Jenkins and her husband, Clarence Jenkins, have been charged with murder after police said body parts belonging to Mekole Harris were found on two door steps in April.

Police said Harris’ severed hands and feet were found inside plastic bags placed outside a home on Rose Avenue and an apartment on Cleveland Street on the morning of April 7. The rest of her body has not been found.

A few days after the gruesome discovery, police arrested the Jenkinses in connection with the case, but never talked about evidence linking the couple to Harris' dismemberment.

Carman Jenkins appeared in court on Friday for a bond hearing. During that hearing, prosecutors said the couple used the body parts to send a message to their former roommate.

Prosecutors said the Jenkinses claimed the roommate owed them money and that they were trying to scare her into giving them the money. The deputy solicitor described Harris as a “random victim.”

Harris’ family was in the courtroom for the hearing and cried as prosecutors talked about the evidence found inside the Jenkinses’ home.

“They (police) noticed blood spatter on the walls, blood spatter in the bathroom, numerous knives and swords, a set of handcuffs and a huge clump of hair were found in the bedroom,” said deputy solicitor Betty Strom.

The judge denied bond for Carman Jenkins.

Prosecutors said they may seek the death penalty in this case.

There was no word on when Clarence Jenkins will appear in court.

source: http://www.foxcarolina.com/news/16376495/detail.html


Two very sick and evil people! A random murder to scare someone! May their days be numbered

[Nut44x4]

Couple Charged In Body Parts Case Appear In Court
Prosecution Lays Out Case Against Couple

POSTED: 3:28 pm EDT October 15, 2008
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- The couple charged in the death and dismemberment of 34-year-old Mekole Harris appeared in court on Wednesday.

Police said Harris’ severed hands and feet were found in plastic bags in front of two homes in Greenville on April 7.

On April 11, police charged 24-year-old Clarence Jenkins Jr. and his wife, 20-year-old Carmen Jenkins, with murder in the case.

On Wednesday, Clarence Jenkins appeared in court, where prosecutors laid out their case against him. A hearing for Carmen Jenkins was waived.

Prosecutors have said that blood was found in the bathroom of the couple’s home, as well as knives, swords, handcuffs and a huge clump of hair.

During a preliminary hearing in May, prosecutors said the Jenkinses used the body parts to send a message to a former roommate who owed them money.

Although the remainder of Harris’ body has not been found, she is presumed dead.
http://www.foxcarolina.com/news/17723233/detail.html

[Nut44x4]

Death penalty looms for couple in dismemberment case
March 20, 2009

A Greenville couple will face the death penalty on charges that they dismembered a woman in a bizarre attempt to extort thousands of dollars from another person the woman didn't know.

Clarence and Carman Jenkins -- charged with murder in Mekole Harris' presumed death last April -- are in court today as lawyers argue over small-scale legal issues related to their trial.

Thirteenth Circuit Solicitor Bob Ariail said today he hasn't decided yet whether to try the married couple together as co-defendants.

The couple are eligible for capital punishment if convicted because they are accused of killing someone for money or something of value and dismembering a body, Deputy Solicitor Betty Strom said.

Clarence Williams Jenkins, 25, and Carman Major Jenkins, 21, are accused of dropping trash bags containing the severed hands and feet of the 34-year-old Harris in front of two Greenville residences last April.

The limbs were meant to frighten a woman into paying the Jenkins' $10,000, Strom said in earlier court proceedings.

Harris' body hasn't been found, but authorities say it's unlikely she survived. Harris had no connection with the people her appendages were sent to, and it's unclear why she was involved, Strom said.

Last April, two trash bags containing Harris' hands and feet were found on the doorstep of two separate Cleveland Street-area residences -- one at Andover Park Apartments and another on Rose Avenue, Strom said.

A few days before the body parts were found, Clarence Jenkins was seen with Harris at a Labor Finders office in Greenville, Strom said.

An email address to respond to the alleged demand was provided along with "threatening letters" left with Harris' body parts, and in the days following the discovery of the body parts, the email account was checked three times, Strom said.

Greenville police investigators used IP addresses to track where the account was checked -- twice from a Greenville County library computer and once from the Jenkins' home, Strom said.

The library provided images of the couple checking the email address, she said.

Investigators went to the Jenkins' home and asked Carman Jenkins to come to the Law Enforcement Center to talk about the case, Strom said. Jenkins told investigators that she would meet with them but that she had "child-care issues" to deal with first, Strom said.

Instead of going back to the Law Enforcement Center, investigators staked out the home and watched as Carman Jenkins made several trips to a trash dumpster over the course of an hour and a half, throwing away cleaning supplies and trash bags resembling the ones used to hold Harris' hands and feet, Strom said.

Carman Jenkins eventually came to the Law Enforcement Center, where she lied to investigators about what she had been doing since they last spoke, Strom said.

Later, investigators went to the couple's home to serve a separate arrest warrant on Clarence Jenkins and found blood spattered on the walls and bathroom, as well as a collection of swords and knives, handcuffs, a clump of hair and copies of other threatening letters, Strom said.

The letters -- demanding $10,000 -- had been sent to a woman who had lived with the couple for a time, she said.

The woman was connected to the residences where the body parts were found, but Harris had no connection to the woman or the people at the residences, Strom said.

http://www.greenvilleonline.com/article/20090320/NEWS01/90320016/1069/YOURUPSTATE01

[Nut44x4]

Monday, Apr. 06, 2009
Thoughts of dismembered SC woman torment mother

PIEDMONT, S.C. -- Jessie Mae Harris' emotions stir with every telephone ring and knock on the door as she waits to bury her daughter.

The woman's severed hands and feet were found in plastic trash bags at two houses in nearby Greenville nearly a year ago, and Harris is left to agonize over the rest of her daughter's body. She wonders when she'll be able to bury the parts authorities are holding as evidence.

"It's destroyed me," Harris said last week as she planned a candlelight vigil Tuesday at her home. "I go to bed and sometimes I wake up thinking about her exposed to the weather. And it hurts. It hurts."

All indications are that 34-year-old Mekole Harris is dead. Authorities have said that and a medical examiner concluded she couldn't have survived. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against a married couple charged with murder in her death.

Jessie Mae Harris knows her daughter, who long struggled with crack addition, is gone.

"She was a human being. She did not deserve to be chopped up like an animal," she said, sitting in her two-bedroom ranch in a quiet neighborhood in this town.

Mekole Harris spent her days wandering Greenville streets lined with trash and boarded-up, graffiti-tagged houses. Sometimes, her sister would pull her from a crack den. But Harries was a longtime addict whose four children lived with relatives or were in the custody of the state. She had been convicted of drug and prostitution charges as recently as a year before her disappearance, records show.

Fingerprints were used to identify her severed hands and feet, found April 7, 2008, in black plastic bags at two homes about a mile apart. A few days later, police said threatening letters and other evidence found at the home of Clarence Jenkins Jr. and Carman Major Jenkins led them to charge the couple. Their public defender did not return telephone messages seeking comment.

Investigators said the Jenkinses were involved in a "three-way love relationship" with a different woman and used the severed hands and feet to frighten that woman into paying them $10,000. Police have said they don't know whether Harris had a connection to the couple or the woman who was being threatened.

A few days before her body parts were discovered, Mekole Harris told her mother that she felt like someone was trying to kill her and wanted to better her life. She didn't offer anymore details.

Prosecutors declined to comment on the case, but they announced recently they would pursue the death penalty for the couple.

Mekole Harris' severed hands and feet are still being held as evidence and the couple has not revealed any information on Harris' other remains, authorities said.

Tests continue to be done on the limbs, including one to determine whether Harris already was dead when her hands and feet were severed, said medical examiner Michael Ward. Authorities also are trying to figure out what could have been used to cut off the limbs. Ward didn't know when test results were expected.

Ward said remains are not usually held for so long.

Jessie Mae Harris is left to think about her child - before the drugs, when the kind and caring girl volunteered to help the blind. Even as she grew older, Mekole Harris still tried to help others and trusted most people she met. Her mother wonders whether those qualities cost Harris her life.

Jessie Mae Harris cries often and hopes a burial will quell the pain.

"They touched the body. They couldn't touch the soul," Harris said. "She's at peace. We are not."

http://www.thesunnews.com/575/story/850354.html

[packy]

Oh how sad. I hope something can be done soon to help bring some peace to her mom.

[sarahhod]

Mother awaits closure in dismemberment case

Severed hands, feet found about a year ago

By KATRINA A. GOGGINS
Associated Press
Tuesday, April 7, 2009


PIEDMONT — Jessie Mae Harris' emotions stir with every telephone ring and knock on the door as she waits to bury her daughter.
The woman's severed hands and feet were found in plastic trash bags at two houses in nearby Greenville nearly a year ago, and Harris is left to agonize over the rest of her daughter's body. She wonders when she'll be able to bury the parts authorities are holding as evidence.
"It's destroyed me," Harris said last week as she planned a candlelight vigil for Wednesday at her home. "I go to bed and sometimes I wake up thinking about her exposed to the weather. And it hurts. It hurts."
All indications are that 34-year-old Mekole Harris is dead. Authorities have said that and a medical examiner concluded she couldn't have survived. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against a married couple charged with murder in her death.
Jessie Mae Harris knows her daughter, who long struggled with crack addiction, is gone.
"She was a human being. She did not deserve to be chopped up like an animal," she said, sitting in her two-bedroom ranch in a quiet neighborhood.
Mekole Harris spent her days wandering Greenville streets lined with trash and boarded-up, graffiti-tagged houses. Sometimes, her sister would pull her from a crack den. But Harris was a longtime addict whose four children lived with relatives or were in the custody of the state.
She had been convicted of drug and prostitution charges as recently as a year before her disappearance, records show.
Fingerprints were used to identify her severed hands and feet, found April 7, 2008, in black plastic bags at two homes about a mile apart.
A few days later, police said threatening letters and other evidence found at the home of Clarence Jenkins Jr. and Carman Major Jenkins led them to charge the couple. Their public defender did not return messages seeking comment.
Investigators said the Jenkinses were involved in a "three-way love relationship" with a different woman and used the severed hands and feet to frighten that woman into paying them $10,000.
Police have said they don't know whether Harris had a connection to the couple or the woman who was being threatened. A few days before her body parts were discovered, Mekole Harris told her mother that she felt like someone was trying to kill her and wanted to better her life. She didn't offer any more details.
Prosecutors declined to comment on the case, but they announced recently they would pursue the death penalty for the couple.
Jessie Mae Harris cries often and hopes a burial will quell the pain. "They touched the body. They couldn't touch the soul," Harris said. "She's at peace. We are not."



http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2009/apr/07/mother_awaits_closure_dismemberment_case77824/

[Nut44x4]

Defense In Dismemberment Killing Wants Gag Order
Clarence, Carman Jenkins Accused Of Killing Mekole Harris
POSTED: 7:57 pm EDT May 29, 2009

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Defense attorneys for a couple accused of killing a woman whose body parts were found in plastic bags have requested a gag order in the case.

Attorneys for Clarence and Carman Jenkins asked Judge John Few on Friday to issue the gag order. As of late Friday, Few had not made a decision.

The Jenkins were accused of murder in April 2008. That's when police recovered body parts left outside two Greenville homes. The body parts were later identified as those of Mekole Harris.

Investigators later revealed what they found inside the Jenkins' home, linking them to the death of Harris.

"I saw what I believed to be suspected blood spatter on the wall," an investigator said.

Now, with the trial scheduled for early November, defense attorneys want to limit what potential jurors might hear before then.

"What we are asking that this court do is instruct parties to the case and anyone else directly or indirectly connected with the parties to the case from making public statements," said 13th Circuit Public Defender John Mauldin.

Mauldin mentioned all the pre-trial publicity in the case of a deadly car crash that led to a murder charge against Greenville businessman John Ludwig, and also in the capital murder case of Jerry Buck Inman, now on death row after admitting he strangled and raped a Clemson University student.

"The Inman case, you issued a gag order forthwith, but in that case, in my opinion, the defense was totally out of control," said 13th Circuit Solicitor Bob Ariail. "So that became necessary to just stop that."

Whether it's necessary to prohibit what some may say before the Jenkins trial is up to the judge.

At this point, the solicitor's office said it plans to try the couple together.
http://www.wyff4.com/news/19606462/detail.html