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The Murder of Dr. Joe Smith in Lancaster, S.C.
It was almost Halloween in October of 1979 when a Lancaster, South Carolina physician who also worked as an assistant county coroner failed to show up for work. His colleagues heard conflicting stories about where he was, and one business owner felt the need to alert the police. When the doctor was discovered murdered, the community hoped his killer would soon be caught. But it would take more than a year before an arrest was made, and it highlighted the dangers of mixing business with pleasure and just how deadly a love affair can turn. Fifty-one-year-old Dr. Joe Smith was a fixture around the Lancaster, South Carolina community for many years. He had…
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The Murder of Nikki McPhatter
Nikki McPhatter’s story caught my attention after seeing it featured on the Investigation Discovery show “Web of Lies.” She was a 30-year-old woman working in Charlotte at the time of her disappearance. A goal-oriented person who always seemed to know what that next step was, she joined the Navy shortly after graduating from high school. After her time in the military, she took a job as a ticket agent for U.S. Airways at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport. She was an adventurous young woman who, according to her older sister LaToya, also enjoyed skydiving in her downtime. She turned to online dating hoping to find companionship. It was on a website called Tagged.com…