Evidence may lead to killer

Aiken County Sheriff's Office says FBI is analyzing clue that could solve area teen's slaying

Web posted April 1, 2000

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By Greg Rickabaugh
South Carolina Bureau

AIKEN -- The agency won't say what, but the Aiken County Sheriff's Office says it has new physical evidence in the death of Tiffaney Wilson that could help solve the case.

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And Coroner Sue Townsend says preliminary toxicology results on the teen-ager's body showed some levels of alcohol, but that doesn't mean the Jackson mother had been drinking.

``The initial toxicology test was positive for alcohol and negative for drugs, however, that alcohol could be from consumption or from decomposition,'' Mrs. Townsend said.

Testing for other drugs and the possibility Ms. Wilson was sexually assaulted is incomplete, the coroner said.

Aiken County investigators continue to dig for answers in the bizarre case that began when someone dropped off a baby at the Georgia Welcome Center on Interstate 20 on Dec. 4. Then, Mrs. Wilson, the child's mother, was reported missing.

Her car turned up in the parking lot at the Winn-Dixie grocery store in North Augusta, and her blood-stained clothes were found in a trash bin behind Discount Auto Parts, near the grocery store. On Dec. 28, two hunters found the victim in a wooded area of Graniteville, where her body was badly decomposed.

In the past month, new physical evidence has been developed, sheriff's Lt. Michael Frank said.

``(The evidence) has been sent off to the FBI lab for analysis,'' he said.

The sheriff's office cannot reveal what the evidence is because it could harm the investigation, but it is good news for an agency struggling to find new clues in the killing.

``Ideally ... the evidence could lead investigators to the person or persons responsible for her death,'' the lieutenant said, emphasizing that his statement is a best-case scenario. ``There are always obstacles that pop up.''

The sheriff's office has received calls after announcing rewards totaling $6,000 for information. During a recent news conference, Sheriff Howard Sellers said his investigators no longer believe the people who dropped Mrs. Wilson's baby off at the Georgia Welcome Center on Dec. 4 are involved in her death. But they still want to talk to the individuals.

In another unsolved mystery, investigators have determined that an inmate at the Aiken County Detention Center lied about knowing who killed David Holt.

Travis Glanton had called an Aiken County woman in February because her last name was Holt. The inmate, awaiting trial on kidnapping charges, told the lady that she needed to let investigators know that Mr. Holt's killer was in the jail with him.

``That turned out to be false,'' Lt. Frank said. ``You have to understand that this person was in jail fixing to face his own set of charges.''

The inmate could have thought that his claims or accusations against a fellow inmate might get him ``favorable treatment'' with sheriff's officials, Lt. Frank said.

Mr. Holt was the manager of Sam's Club in Augusta in 1998 when he was apparently abducted. His burned remains were discovered in a trunk of his Mazda Protege on June 21, 1998, in Aiken County. Investigators discovered his store was robbed and theorized that his killers forced Mr. Holt to unlock the store's doors.

Reach Greg Rickabaugh at (803) 279-6895.