GUILTY SC - Yana Schenker, 75, & Shalamar Byrd, 38, slain, Aiken County, 11 Aug 2010

[Reannan]

LE seems to have some sort of evidence that indicates both victims were killed inside the Aiken home. I keep going back to why SB's body would have been moved before being set on fire?? Why not just set SB's body on fire in the same room as Mrs. Schenker's? Perhaps the perp was so connected to SB that he/she at first couldn't believe that SB was actually dead. The robbery had gone horribly wrong, and Mrs. Schenker was murdered. Maybe SB was upset about that, and argued with the murderer - which resulted in her death also. The perp had come to rob the home with SB, so SB was taken away after the robbery. After a few miles of driving with a dead body in the car, the perp decided that he/she had to get rid of SB's body. Without time to think things thru, the same method of disposal was used - fire. That is the scenario that keeps playing over in my head. I don't think it is going to take too long to find this/these perp(s).

 

[epiphaknee]

http://www.aikenstandard.com/Local/0829identification

When Aiken firefighters entered Schenker's home, they found light smoke and smelled gasoline.

(snip)

Investigators have not said what type of accelerant was used to set Byrd's body on fire.

I'm sure some of this information will come to light but I keep running through different scenarios. Was the gasoline found in Schenker's garage and used in the crime (e.g. empty container left behind)?

Was the murderer driving around with a can of gasoline on the way to Ms. Schenker's? Augusta is about 20 miles / 20 minutes from Aiken, SC. Gasoline has a pretty strong odor even in an approved container. If SNB is in the same vehicle with the murderer, there has to be a pretty good idea of what it might be used for, in the near future? Are they traveling in a truck, with the gasoline in the bed? Did they fill-up the container, minutes from Ms. Schenker's home? I always assumed gasoline was used in the second incident too, but the police say otherwise.

Why use the "T" in the road, as the second location? Local farmer's are familiar with the area but the murderer may not have been. He may have selected the "T" in the road because it was easy to recognize at night, to someone not familiar with the area. He may have stashed the second accelerant, so that it could be found quickly nearby, knowing all along the chain of events that evening which would transpire.

 

[epiphaknee]

http://chronicle.augusta.com/latest-news/2010-08-31/no-arrests-related-aiken-homicides

Despite rumors to the contrary, authorities have made no arrests in the Aug. 11 slayings of Yana Schenker and Shalamar Byrd in Aiken.

"It hinders our investigation," Aiken County sheriff's Capt. Troy Elwell said of stories circulating that an arrest had been made.

Law enforcement is looking at more than one person of interest in the slayings of the two women, both found strangled and set on fire.

A silver ring set with turquoise that belonged to Schenker was found with Byrd's body.

The 38-year-old Byrd ... had served a two-year prison term for burglary, according to Georgia Department of Corrections.

Whether one of a handful of workers frequently "coming and going" to work on projects Schenker often had under way at her house, one of Byrd's "johns" whom her brother speculated was the killer, or someone else, authorities "haven't ruled anybody out," Elwell said.

Billy Schenker, son of the elder victim, said whoever was making false claims about an arrest was "some selfish, stupid person on the Internet."

 

[Reannan]

"Shalamar Byrd was a regular at the Neighbor*hood Outreach of Sims Avenue, the name the Skinners use for the ministry they started to serve their neighborhood's poor and homeless. She stopped coming about a month ago, not long before her badly burned body was found in the woods outside Aiken in August."

http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/m...remembers-shalamar-byrd?v=1283389314#comments


It would appear something happened about a month ago that probably eventually led to Shalamar's death. I wonder what it was??? I just don't see Mrs. Schenker having any connection to Shalamar before the night of their murders.

 

[epiphaknee]

http://www.wistv.com/Global/story.asp?S=13092377

WARNING: The second photo in this article is somewhat graphic of the location of SNB's body.


AIKEN, SC (WIS) - Arrest warrants have been issued for a man [Franklin Wright] accused of killing two women in Aiken County.

Investigators are looking for 55-year-old Franklin Wright of Beech Island, who is wanted for the murders of Yana Schenker and Shalamar Byrd. Aiken County Sheriff Michael Hunt says Wright should be considered armed and dangerous.

Last month, the body of 75-year-old Yana Schenker was found burned in her home. About an hour later, Shalamar Byrd's body was found in some nearby woods.

Byrd had also been burned. Both women died of asphyxiation.

 

[Snoopster]

Sounds like they have a suspect -- 55 year old Franklin Wright.

Authorities continued their search Friday for a man they said killed two women, set their bodies on fire, then severely beat a Georgia store clerk several weeks later.

Georgia authorities said Friday that Wright had been helping 54-year-old Jennie Hope around her store in Augusta for several months. On Wednesday night, authorities said, Wright beat Hope severely in the face, fracturing her skull and leaving her bleeding in a back room of the store before taking money from the cash register.

On Thursday, authorities obtained warrants charging Wright with murder and arson in the deaths, although South Carolina authorities said they suspected him in the two deaths even before Hope's assault.

http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2010/sep/04/slayings-suspect-sought/


ETA: It's too bad they didn't close in on him sooner. It sounds like his latest victim is in pretty rough shape.

 

[Snoopster]

Franklin Wright's address is Beech Island. (Isn't that where Shalamar was found?)

http://www2.wjbf.com/news/2010/sep/04/search-franklin-wright-moves-weekend-ar-787855/

 

[Snoopster]

Has anyone seen any news on whether the suspect has been caught? If not, the people in the area must be very unsettled knowing that the manhunt has not been successful so far!

 

[Cat99]

Wright arrested Monday. Link

http://www.aikenstandard.com/Local/0906-wright-arrested

 

[LaLaw2000]

Thanks, Cat99!

I am glad this was captured.

 

[Snoopster]

Wright arrested Monday. Link

http://www.aikenstandard.com/Local/0906-wright-arrested

There is a video at the above link as well, where the reporter talks to the suspect as he is brought in. The video also includes a brief clip from a surveillance camera showing someone who looks like the suspect dragging the owner of the Lotto shop from behind the counter.

One thing that they mentioned on the video that I hadn't heard before was that the perpetrator had pulled out the teeth of Yana and Shalamar to slow down identification. Sounds like a sweetheart, doesn't he?! :furious:

 

[MsFacetious]

I can't believe they finally identified this woman....but I'm glad to see they have the suspect so he can't hurt anyone else.

Did you ever see a picture of the Blue Man from using that? Totally bizarre. He looks like a blueberry.

I'm related to him... :innocent:

And he is the normal one in the family. :waitasec:

 

[Backwoods]

I realize this case really no longer exactly fits the category of Crimes in the News -- not current news anyhow -- but I got to reading this WS thread the other night and saw that it kind of ended abruptly, with no real resolution, so I hunted around a bit and found the 2011 article linked below, which sort of summarizes how things turned out and how:

Details emerge of investigations into two Aiken slayings

...Warrants for Wright’s arrest went active Sept. 2 when he didn’t show up for a fourth interview at which investigators planned to confront him with their evidence. ...


...As Aiken County authorities began to search for Wright, Richmond County deputies wanted him for another crime. On Sept. 1, Wright beat the owner of Lotto Express on the corner of 13th and Broad streets so badly that the first deputy to arrive at the store thought she had been shot. ...


...Wright eluded a dragnet for four days until he was captured in Hephzibah. In January, he pleaded guilty to the Richmond County beating and received life in prison.



Two weeks ago, he pleaded guilty to murder in Aiken, receiving an additional 30 years to the life sentence. ...

more at: http://m.chronicle.augusta.com/news...ails-emerge-investigations-two-aiken-slayings