4 family members found dead at SC home, teen arrested

[Jenefer3]

http://www.comcast.net/news/articles/national/2008/04/27/SC.Slayings/
42 minutes ago
EASLEY, S.C. — An 18-year-old man gunned down his father, stepmother and two siblings at the home they shared in suburban South Carolina, authorities said Saturday.

Nathaniel Dickson, 18, was arrested 8:30 p.m. Saturday at a home in Belton about 20 miles from where the bodies of his family members were found, Anderson County Sheriff's spokeswoman Susann Griffin said. He was charged with four counts of murder.

Less than 12 hours earlier, a 911 call led paramedics to find the father dead in the yard. Inside the home they found the other three victims, all shot to death.

The youngest victim, Dickson's 14-year-old brother, was apparently trying to hide behind a clothes dryer when he slain, authorities said.

Investigators have not determined a motive for the killings, Griffin said.

Griffin said Dickson does not have a lawyer. She would not say if he is cooperating with investigators.

The coroner's office identified the victims as Dickson's 46-year-old father, Samuel Andrew Dickson Jr.; his 46-year-old stepmother, Martiza Hurtado Dickson; his 19-year-old stepsister, Melissa Giliam Salazar; and his 14-year-old brother, Taylor Alex Dickson.

Neighbor Melissa Funk said Nathaniel Dickson moved out of his family's home after graduating from high school last year, but had moved back in the past few weeks. She said the teen played video games with her 16-year-old son and never appeared to cause any problems.

Authorities were called to the scene at about 9:30 a.m. by a 911 caller who reported someone had possibly fallen from a car.

Fred Gilbert, who has lived in the neighborhood for about 20 years, said most of the houses along the quiet, dead-end street near Easley are on one or more acre tracts.

"I've never had any problems, and I bought this house from my parents," said Gilbert, who lives about a quarter-mile from where the bodies were found.

Located in northwestern South Carolina, Easley is a city of about 19,000 people some 15 miles west of Greenville.

[gmyers]

I wonder what would make someone do that. I really feel for the 14 year old who was trying to hide behind the dryer. I've never understood why the others don't run out of the house when they start shooting the others.

[dv8grl]

Found his myspace ---> http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=198596800

[PrincessArky]

OMG how sad

look who he put as his hero on his myspace.........his dad

[DAVESBABYDOLL]

Found his myspace ---> http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=198596800

Sad, looks like a all american kid. wonder what happened

[katgirl3]

Found his myspace ---> http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=198596800

I don't use myspace so maybe I'm missing something here....is there a last name for this guy? I mean, how do we know this is the same Nathaniel? The news story said Easley has 19,000 residents. I'm sure there's more than one Nathaniel in Easley who has a Myspace account.

[PrincessArky]

I don't use myspace so maybe I'm missing something here....is there a last name for this guy? I mean, how do we know this is the same Nathaniel? The news story said Easley has 19,000 residents. I'm sure there's more than one Nathaniel in Easley who has a Myspace account.

If you do a search on his whole name and town this is the only one that comes up

[dv8grl]

If you do a search on his whole name and town this is the only one that comes up
YEAH THAT!!!!!



~~~ Saw that his "girl-friend" is no longer his myspace friend. Poor girl., I'm sure she has to be blaming herself in a way.

[dv8grl]

SC teen charged with killing family recently moved back home

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080428/ap_on_re_us/sc_slayings;_ylt=AvaVggfIDmb8ctJ509IltGVG2ocA

EASLEY, S.C. - A teenager who had recently moved back home after breaking up with his live-in girlfriend is accused of gunning down and killing four family members, stunning friends and neighbors.

Nathaniel Dickson, 18, was arrested Saturday night at a home in Belton about 20 miles from where the bodies of his father, stepmother, stepsister and younger brother were found, authorities said.

Those who knew Dickson grappled with how the quiet teen who loved video games and sports now was charged with four counts of murder.

"I can't put my finger on what happened," said Melissa Funk, whose 16-year-old son, Robbie, was good friends with both the suspect and the youngest victim. "It's not what I've known him to be."

Authorities would not discuss a possible motive.

"I'm going to have this case tried in the courtroom, not out on the streets," Anderson County Sheriff David Crenshaw said Sunday.

The suspect's mother, Patricia Dickson, screamed and cried as he appeared before a county magistrate on a closed-circuit television for a brief hearing Sunday night, the Anderson Independent-Mail reported.

The teen remained motionless as the judge read him his rights and said a higher-level judge would hear any request for bail. He did not have an attorney at the hearing.

Dickson's father was found shot early Saturday in the yard of his one-story house in a wooded neighborhood just outside of Easley.

Samuel Andrew Dickson Jr., 46, died as paramedics arrived. Officers then went inside and found the bodies of his wife, Martiza Hurtado Dickson, 46; Melissa Giliam Salazar, 19; and Taylor Dickson, 14. All had been shot to death.

One victim was found behind a clothes dryer, apparently trying to hide when slain. Authorities refuse to say how many times the victims were shot or release other details.

Dickson is the only suspect, and more charges could be filed against him, the sheriff said.

Dickson graduated from high school last year and moved in with his girlfriend, working a series of fast-food and restaurant jobs. The two broke up, and Dickson moved back in with his parents about two weeks ago, said Funk, who wasn't sure whether he had a current job.

Neighbors said the family was quiet and kept to itself. Joyce Allen's husband worked with Samuel Dickson, who went by Andy. The elder Dickson was an electrician with Vulcan Materials, a company that provides sand, gravel and crushed stone for construction.

Dickson didn't say much at work, keeping to himself. Most of Allen's memories are of him with his sons.

"He was crazy, crazy, crazy about those kids," Allen said. "I'd see him running up and down the road, taking them to ball games."

Taylor Dickson had just made one of the junior varsity baseball teams at Wren High School.

Neighbors said Martiza Dickson was a native of Colombia and worked as a translator. Melissa Salazar was attending a nearby technical college, Funk said.

[katgirl3]

If you do a search on his whole name and town this is the only one that comes up

Still doesn't mean this is the same Nathaniel. It also says on this Myspace that he attends college and is a proud parent. Didn't see that anywhere in the news article. I'm not saying it's 100% not him. But you can't say it 100% is. The kid killed his entire family. You have to be careful what you post if you're not sure. Otherwise it's just gossip and rumors. Maybe we'll get more info as this goes along. They usually mention if they had a Myspace page and take them down. This Nathaniel's is still up.

So Yeah That.

[dv8grl]

Still doesn't mean this is the same Nathaniel. It also says on this Myspace that he attends college and is a proud parent. Didn't see that anywhere in the news article. I'm not saying it's 100% not him. But you can't say it 100% is. The kid killed his entire family. You have to be careful what you post if you're not sure. Otherwise it's just gossip and rumors. Maybe we'll get more info as this goes along. They usually mention if they had a Myspace page and take them down. This Nathaniel's is still up.

So Yeah That.
I'm sure the town of 19,000 residents there has to be more than one Nathaniel Dickson, such a coincidence that they are both 18 as well. WOW! Its such a small world!
oohh ohhh... lets not forget the strange coincidence that his "girlfriend" took herself off his myspace. I guess its rough for kids named Nathaniel Dickson, who live in EASLEY, who happen to be 18.

But just to set your mind at ease. --> http://www.thestate.com/local/story/388422.html Link to another article, with pic & a link to the AP video.

AS far as his myspace still being up, check out www.mydeathspace.com where they have murders myspaces that are still active, just because you kill someone doesn't mean they take your myspace acct away.

[katgirl3]

I'm sure the town of 19,000 residents there has to be more than one Nathaniel Dickson, such a coincidence that they are both 18 as well. WOW! Its such a small world!
oohh ohhh... lets not forget the strange coincidence that his "girlfriend" took herself off his myspace. I guess its rough for kids named Nathaniel Dickson, who live in EASLEY, who happen to be 18.

But just to set your mind at ease. --> http://www.thestate.com/local/story/388422.html Link to another article, with pic & a link to the AP video.

AS far as his myspace still being up, check out www.mydeathspace.com where they have murders myspaces that are still active, just because you kill someone doesn't mean they take your myspace acct away.


The killer has blue eyes. Looks like your Myspace guy has brown. Contacts maybe? And don't search engines go by keywords? Could be you got that Nathaniel because of his first name and not his last. I'm just saying you shouldn't be posting this stuff if you're not 100% sure. And I'm not sure you should be doing it then.

[dv8grl]

I have no doubt that its his myspace.

[dangerousfem]

how sad.. what makes a kid do something like that?

[katgirl3]

I have no doubt that its his myspace.

That's great for you. But this is a terrible tragedy. Not a circus. It's not your place to post anyone's Myspace except your own. As a matter of fact, I'm editing the photos out of my last post. Otherwise, I'm no better than you. If people want to look, they can use the links you've provided.

[PrincessArky]

That's great for you. But this is a terrible tragedy. Not a circus. It's not your place to post anyone's Myspace except your own.

then YOU go prove her wrong

[katgirl3]

then YOU go prove her wrong


I don't need to prove her wrong. I already have my proof. I'm satisfied. I could give a rats ass what either of you think.

[PrincessArky]

I don't need to prove her wrong. I already have my proof. I'm satisfied. I could give a rats ass what either of you think.

yeah that goes both ways lol

[Jolie Rouge]

S.C. teen spent day of slayings with friend
By PETE IACOBELLI, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 34 minutes ago

COLUMBIA, S.C. - A teen accused of killing his family spent the hours after the slayings riding four-wheelers with a friend and buying steaks for dinner, the friend's grandmother said Tuesday.

Nathan Dickson, who is accused of shooting his father, stepmother, stepsister and brother on Saturday morning, was arrested that evening outside friend Brantley Creel's home.

"I thought my heart was going to stop beating," said Creel's grandmother, Sybil Philyaw, who saw the arrest.

The teens had spent the day together and had gone to get supplies for a cookout when authorities arrived on Philyaw's doorstep, she said. They told her and her husband that four members of Dickson's family had been killed and that Dickson didn't know police were looking for him, she said.

Her husband called their grandson's cell phone, telling him to come home because it was about to rain and the four-wheelers needed to be cleaned and put away. When they returned, Dickson was arrested, she said.

Creel, who did not immediately return a message left by The Associated Press, told a local newspaper that Dickson seemed carefree Saturday. But he told his grandmother his friend had one odd request: to clean his feet in a tub.

"We were just cutting up and having fun all day," Creel, 19, told the Independent-Mail of Anderson.

Authorities have not offered a motive for the killings, and would not confirm Philyaw's account Tuesday. A message seeking comment was not immediately returned by Dickson's public defender. He is jailed pending a bond hearing and could face the death penalty.

Neighbors say Dickson, 19, who had worked a series of fast food jobs, had recently moved back into his family's Easley home after a breakup with his live-in girlfriend.

Philyaw said Creel met Dickson at a career center used by local school districts and that he had been hanging around her home in Belton — about 20 miles from Easley, a Greenville suburb in the northern part of the state — more often in recent weeks.

On Tuesday, the neighbor who discovered Dickson's father's body in the front yard of his home said she had trouble reconciling the charges with the once-common sight of Dickson playing outside with the younger brother he is accused of shooting multiple times.

"You'd always see them tossing a ball, shooting hoops, things like that," said Shelia Dilelio, who lived down the block.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080429/ap_on_re_us/sc_slayings;_ylt=ApLdR_tJfHf4og93RnZwto5H2ocA

[ilovecats]

yeah that goes both ways lol

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[katgirl3]

yeah that goes both ways lol

Well... apparently you do care. But it's good to know that I can post anything, say for instance, about you, true or not and you'd have to prove me wrong. Otherwise, of course, it'd be true. If I were like you and a couple others at this forum, I could have BIG fun with that. Luckily I'm not EDITED like you and you know who. But again, good bit of info to know.

[dv8grl]

SC man confesses to slayings of 4 family members
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090921/ap_on_re_us/us_sc_slayings;_ylt=AoYuTSxBrxlZxZQHD355q7lG2ocA;_ ylu=X3oDMTJrYTZxMmh2BGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMDkwOTIxL3VzX3 NjX3NsYXlpbmdzBHBvcwM3BHNlYwN5bl9wYWdpbmF0ZV9zdW1t YXJ5X2xpc3QEc2xrA3NjbWFuY29uZmVzcw--
COLUMBIA, S.C. – A South Carolina man confessed Monday to methodically stalking and murdering four family members in their home, reloading his shotgun five times before firing the final shot into his father as the man said "I love you."

Nathan Dickson, 20, pleaded guilty to four counts of murder as part of a deal that will allow him to avoid the death penalty. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Dickson didn't say why he killed his father, stepmother, stepsister and younger brother at their Easley home in April 2008, and Prosecutor Chrissy Adams said the motive may never be known. Defense attorney Kurt Tavernier said not being able to figure out why he killed his family gnaws at Dickson every day.

Adams read Dickson's confession in court in Anderson County. He had been arrested hours after the killings — spending the time before police found him riding four-wheelers with a friend.

Dickson said he woke up that Saturday morning and saw a shotgun while looking for some of his clothes in his 14-year-old brother's closet. The killing began when he shot his stepmother, 41-year-old Maritza Dickson, while she was in bed talking to her daughter.

Dickson's stepsister, 19-year-old Jiliam Salazar, was killed after running into the kitchen screaming. He punched his brother, Taylor, in the head when he yelled at Dickson to stop, and shot him twice, going to his father's bedroom to get more ammunition each time. The final shot went into his brother's head as he was sprawled across a chair crying for help, according to the confession.

Dickson's father was out of the house when the killings began. Dickson said he shot him first in their back yard, then after going to the bedroom to get another shell, shot him again at the edge of the front yard. After firing the last shot at his brother and getting one final shell, Dickson said he went to the front yard and confronted his father, who had called 911.

"He rolled over and told me, 'I love you' right before I took my last shot at him," Dickson wrote in his confession, adding he then slammed the stock of the shotgun into his father's head like a club because he was still breathing.

Adams said she decided not to pursue the death penalty because the victims' relatives were strongly opposed, and because Dickson had no criminal record and was 18 at the time of the murders.

While Dickson vividly recounted the killings for nearly two weeks afterward, he can't remember them now, his attorneys said. But Adams said the confession matched physical evidence, right down to how many times the victims were shot.

Dickson had several problems just before the killings. The Marines rejected him, but he told people he had already served in the military. Money went missing from his house, and he had just broken up with his girlfriend, Adams said.

But Dickson called his father his hero on his MySpace page, and friends told investigators he appeared to get along well with his stepmother and stepsister. He was a decent student in high school and well-liked by teachers and friends. There also were no drugs or alcohol in his system, Adams said.

The confession gives no clues.

"I don't know why I killed all my family today. Once I loaded that shotgun and shot Maritza I couldn't stop and I did not stop until I had shot them all," Dickson wrote, adding he was concerned it would affect his chances of enlisting in the Marines.

The confession also includes what Dickson did after the killings. He threw the gun into the woods, put on sandals and drove to a nearby convenience store for water and smokeless tobacco. He then bought a chicken biscuit with his stepsister's debit card, but was so sick he only ate two bites. Then he rode four-wheelers with a friend.

Dickson apologized after pleading guilty.

"The question that will go unanswered — what was it that caused him to snap?" defense attorney Tavernier said. "We'll probably never know."

[gmyers]

Thats sad that he could beat his father in the head and shoot him after his dad said he loved him. And how cold can you be too worry the killing would hurt his chances of enlisting in the marines. Was that all he cared about. Not his family apparently. And to go buy something to eat and go ride a four wheeler with his friend like nothing happened. And I bet one day the prison will be crowded and they'll let him out early.

[shadowcats]

seems cold and callused to me and no remorse at all....... sad,,,,,,,,,:thumpdown::stunned:headshake:headshak e:headshake