Case Draws Attention to Need for White Women to be Armed
A surveillance camera shot of murder victim
Beverly Hope Melton from the convenience
store where she first crossed paths with her
killer
[Previously, at WEJB/NSU:
"Still Another 'Random' Killing: The Beverly Hope Melton Case"]
By Nicholas Stix
It appears that Nickolas Jermaine Miller was looking for a white woman for Christmas. On Christmas Day, he'd been fired from his job, his girlfriend had thrown him out of the house, and he wanted to give himself something. Something soft and cute and female and white.
He had hunted another woman that morning, following her as far north as the North Carolina line, before turning off. Now, he was at it again.
He first crossed paths with Mrs. Melton around noon in "Jack's," a Main Street convenience store in little Jefferson, in South Carolina's Chesterfield County. The store was two miles away from Mrs. Melton's grandmother's house. It was Mrs. Melton's day off from managing a store, and she was on her way to visit her grandmother.
When she drove off, after filling up her tank, Miller followed her in his vehicle. She saw him following her, and made a frightened call to her grandmother, and told her what was going on.
That call was abruptly cut off. My guess is that at that moment, Nickolas Jermaine Miller rammed Mrs. Melton's car off the road, and into a ditch. He then kidnapped her, forcing her to get in his vehicle. He drove to a secluded spot nearby, and raped her. He then drove her to a field in Kershaw County, where he beat her to death with a baseball bat.
Just after 1 p.m., Mrs. Melton's grandmother called relatives, who found the woman's deserted car in a ditch on the side of the road, in reverse gear. It was already too late.
SLAYING SUSPECT
Sheriff: Another woman stalked
Death penalty may be sought in Kershaw/Chesterfield case
By John Monk
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
The State
55 Comments
The man whom Kershaw and Chesterfield County authorities are charging with murder, kidnapping and rape in the brutal beating death of a 30-year-old woman likely followed another woman earlier that day, officials said Wednesday.
Chesterfield County Sheriff Sam Parker confirmed the incident and said his deputies are gathering more information. He said he didn't have enough details yet to elaborate.
Hope and Gary Melton had just been married
for one year
Also Wednesday, Kershaw County Sheriff Jim Matthews said he has talked with an assistant prosecutor in the 5th Circuit Solicitor's Office about possibly seeking the death penalty against the 23-year-old suspect, Nickolas Jermaine Miller of Jefferson. But a spokeswoman for Solicitor Dan Johnson said no final decision has been made.
A picture of murder victim Beverly Hope Melton taken by her sister, Chandra
Garces, on Christmas Day, the day before she was murdered
Miller is charged in Monday's slaying of Beverly Hope Melton of Kershaw. The victim was abducted from her car in broad daylight, sexually assaulted and beaten to death with a baseball bat. The suspect later confessed after leading authorities to her body later that night in a remote field in Kershaw County, officials said. It appears the two did not know each other. Miller remained in the Kershaw County jail Wednesday. The suspect and Melton were at the same convenience store around noon Monday on Main Street in Jefferson, a small Chesterfield County town, said Sheriff Parker.
Earlier reports said Miller was harassing Melton, but surveillance tapes didn't show the two having words, Parker said Wednesday.
Parker also gave more details about the sequence of events that led to Miller's arrest. Monday was Melton's day off from the convenience store where she worked in the town of McBee. Late that morning, Melton was driving from her home in the town of Kershaw to her grandmother's house in the White Oak community of Chesterfield County, about 13 miles northeast of Jefferson. Around noon, Melton stopped at Jack's convenience store in Jefferson to get gas.
Shortly afterward — an exact time wasn't available — Miller called her grandmother, saying she was being followed by a man in a car and was afraid. The phone conversation ended abruptly. Alarmed, her grandmother told family members, and they got into cars to look for Melton. They found her empty Chrysler PT cruiser on the side of the road, about three miles from her grandmother's house. About 1:15 p.m., Melton's grandmother called Chesterfield deputies to tell them about the empty car. She also told them that Melton usually stopped at Jack's to gas up.
A deputy who went to Jack's and checked surveillance tapes recognized Miller.
"He was not a suspect at that time," Parker said. "We thought he might have some information about Melton."A deputy located Miller, who agreed to go to Jefferson Town Hall for an interview. After being unwilling to say much for about an hour, Miller then agreed to talk with Parker.
Confessed rapist-murderer Nickolas Jermaine
Miller
After 5 p.m. — hours after the victim was abducted — Miller told the sheriff what happened, Parker said. He then led authorities to the body. Miller gave videotaped and written confessions after the body was found, Parker said.
Chesterfield County authorities called in Kershaw deputies because that is where the body was and where officers believe the killing took place.
It might not have been easy to prove murder once the body had been left outside for a long time, Parker said.
"That's coyote country," Parker said. "If he hadn't led us to the body, it could have been days — weeks — before we found it."
The apparent random killing has residents on edge.
Matthews posted on the Kershaw County Sheriff's Facebook page Tuesday — the day the killing was announced — information about a free concealed-weapons permit class to be offered by two detectives.
"The class filled in about seven minutes," Matthews said.
Reach Monk at (803) 771-8344.
Crimestoppers Phone: 1-888-CRIME-SC (274-6372) | Web: midlandscrimestoppers.com | Twitter: @midlandcstopper Text: TIPSC + your message to CRIMES (274637) News - Crime & Courts Thursday, Dec. 29, 2011
They're going to fry that brotha down there in SC... What the heck was he thinking. He just signed his death warrant
ReplyDeletefirst you might want to look over the writing you done. Miller was the suspect and didn't call her grandma. Second she wasn't driving a pt cruiser. Go to wistv.com and get the story.
ReplyDeleteAnon,
ReplyDeleteYOU might want to more carefully read my work, next time. I never said that the killer called his victim's grandmother, nor did I identify the vic's vehicle as a "pt cruiser."
Good luck with your reading comprehension and literacy problems.
My husband and I both read your article and you certainly did refer to the victim as Miller when you said "Miller called her grandmother" and you also stated that her family found her Chrysler P.T. Cruiser empty. What article are you talking about? read what you wrote! The killer was Miller and he was driving the Cruiser! Everybody makes mistakes. I still found your article to be helpful and informative.
ReplyDeleteLook, Anon, you and your husband both have a problem. I did a search of this Web page for “Miller called her grandmother,” and the only person who used that phrase is you.
ReplyDeleteAs for the “Chrysler P.T. Cruiser” reference, here’s what you do. Search the page for the phrase. Once you find it, scroll up until you find the name of the author who used it. It’s really simple.
Hello, I am the same person who posted the comment that my husband and I read your article. We do not have a problem. Being new to your page, I was reading over it late at night and already being really emotional over the whole incident because we live near where it happened, I was confused. At first glance it seems like it's all one article pieced together from different news reports and I didn't notice any other names since yours is at the top of the page. Forget the search, it wasn't you that said Miller called her grandmother and the part about the car. It was the article by John Monk from the state paper. He printed it wrong and it is probably basically a typo. I wanted to straighten it out for anyone else who might be confused. Also, I wanted to say that I am fascinated that you have information on this killer about his job and girlfriend, since no one here knows anything about it and we live in the next town near where it happened. Everyone is still in shock that this happened and no details have been given about him. How did you know that information? I think you did a good job with your article too, by the way. Thanks, from South Carolina
ReplyDeleteLets hope investigators and prosecutors will cross their T's and dot the I's to make sure this scum is properly and with maximum force to be prosecuted. Then lets hope the Jury will only take an hour to send him to the gallows via their guilty verdict.
ReplyDelete70 years ago, Miller would have already been swinging, likely dragged kicking and twisting a few body parts short into the air, while a crowd cheered his soul to hell.
ReplyDeleteNo wonder why it is called "the good old days".
This was my aunt :( will be missed we love you aunt hope.
ReplyDeleteThis is really sad she didn't deserve this we as black women have suffered from the hands of white men also from rape to torture killed and brutally beaten. Killing a white women ESP lime that does no justice and it's not payback it was just plain ol cruel and dumb. They had to have a relationship all he ever dated was white or Indian women. They were dating I just know it.
ReplyDeleteThey were "dating" you just know it????? Sounds like something an ignorant nigger would say desperately looking for a way to minimize this horrendous crime that only blacks commit. In 2005 37,000 white women were raped by blacks. You know how many black women were raped by white men???? Fucking zero!!!!! You know why??? By we don't do shit like yall monkeys also we want absolutely NOTHING to do with yall. I just wish our ancestors had the insight to see this in their future, maybe they could have done the world a favor and killed all of you or just sent you back to the jungles and your mud huts to live with no written language
DeleteAll I know is somebody needs to be held responsible for letting these animals come over here,someone let these animals into our country,now you know what comes out of a jungle,needs to stay in the jungle,you can't mix oil and water,they may keep trying,but guess what???they don't go together,structure,life style,living conditions,etc,its made for jungle living,put the animals back and let's take our america back,I know our ancestors would be ashamed to know we let's these jungle bouncers run around our towns freely,put them in cages and shipem out,to bad there is not a legal hunting season anymore....
ReplyDeleteTo the Anonymous of Dec 28,2012... Your America? Shut up ur starting 2 smell like a wet dog. RIP Bev Melton
ReplyDeleteAnother savage negros attack. No different than Tuscarora Indian savages in 1712 and when are white people going to realize that blacks need to similarly be extinguished.
ReplyDeleteIt look to me like they came in the store together so maybe they were dating. Or at least talking. She is wearing those tight jeans to show her butt off and that is the way a white girl ware if she want to be notice by a Brother.
ReplyDeleteWasn't a baseball bat used on Channon C. in Knoxville?
ReplyDeleteTo the anonymous idiot from Sunday, October 19th, you really do need to be shot in the face with an elephant gun you dumb nigger savage cunt. You fucking filthy animal spear-chucking worthless ghetto uneducated cowards and Obama-loving lowlifes and degenerates have gotten so out of control most of you belong in cages, insane asylums, boats back to Africa, or burned at the stake
ReplyDeleteAnother car jacking party?
ReplyDeleteReally you dumb fuck??!! You gotta be the most ignorant mother fucker I’ve ever heard about. Maybe what you need is someone to to rape and kill your sister, daughter or mother so you can see how that shit feels. But by now your probably in prison and will never see this post. Lmao. So to that I say,... rot in hell dumb fuck.
ReplyDeleteJust in case you want to reply to me you little bitch, my email is as follows:
salbaby1@yahoo.com
Hope to hear back from pussy.