Man on camera sought

Web posted August 25, 2000

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By Greg Rickabaugh
South Carolina Bureau

AIKEN - He's not a suspect in Jessica Carpenter's death, but Aiken police want to interview a young man pictured on a store video surveillance near the victim's home a few hours before the slaying.

Police want to interview an unidentified man caught on video by a store camera near the time of Jessica Carpenter's slaying.

``The guy was at the store on Aug. 4. He was there longer than the average time for a customer,'' said Investigator Wendell Hall with the Aiken Department of Public Safety. ``He wasn't doing anything wrong that we know of, and he's not under arrest. All we're trying to do is interview him - simply that, nothing more.''

The video was taken at Starvin Marvin Food Store on York Street At 12:49 p.m. It shows a young man purchasing something at the store counter. The man appears to be a white male in his late teens or early 20s with dark hair and a dark T-shirt with an unidentifiable logo.

The video was taken a few hours before Jessica was found slain in her home in Crosland Park. She was discovered just before 6 p.m. by her mother, Judy Carpenter.

An autopsy shows the 17-year-old died from lack of oxygen and internal bleeding.

Aiken investigators have processed more than 115 leads and interviewed more than 200 people in the homicide. They consider the surveillance tape and their request for public help as one of many leads they are checking out.

``This is just another one of those bases we need to touch,'' Investigator Hall said. ``I don't want to make him a prime suspect or make it larger than it is. He's one of the 100 people we are talking with.''

Anyone who knows the identity of the man in the picture is asked to call the Aiken Department of Public Safety at (803) 642-7620.

In the next day or two, officers will begin a third canvass of the Crosland Park neighborhood to gather more information.

Reach Greg Rickabaugh at (803) 279-6895.