FILE 445 / 30 November 2023 / 171 MIN / full

Bed Chains & Dark Deeds

Socastee, South CarolinaListen

The town

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Socasti, South Carolina... This is in eastern South Carolina over by the shore. It's right by Myrtle Beach... This is in Horry County. about 0:04:17

History, in brief

Town note

The town takes its name from a local swamp; the area was called Saucasty in the early colonial days.

about 0:05:34

1781

A skirmish between small forces of American and British troops took place near Socastee Creek in 1781.

about 0:05:56

Town note

In the next hundred years it became a big centre for the production and distribution of naval stores, turpentine and tar.

about 0:06:07

Town note

It had a sawmill, a turpentine distillery, a cotton gin and a grist mill.

about 0:06:59
All 6 history facts

Town note

The town takes its name from a local swamp; the area was called Saucasty in the early colonial days.

about 0:05:34

1781

A skirmish between small forces of American and British troops took place near Socastee Creek in 1781.

about 0:05:56

Town note

In the next hundred years it became a big centre for the production and distribution of naval stores, turpentine and tar.

about 0:06:07

Town note

It had a sawmill, a turpentine distillery, a cotton gin and a grist mill.

about 0:06:59

2002

The historic district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.

about 0:07:26

1935

The town has one of the ten operational swing bridges in South Carolina, built in 1935.

about 0:07:38

The figures, as told

Religious

42.6%

Biggest faith: Jewish, 0.0%

about 0:14:36

Who lives here

White 74.9% · Black 6.9% · Asian 1.1% · Hispanic 14.9%

Ethnicity can overlap race.

Crime / national average

Property crime
▲ almost double

about 0:25:56

Violent crime
▲ about a third high

about 0:26:15

Money

Median home value$196,600
Two-bedroom rent$1,190
Median household incomeabout $49,179 a year
Cost of living90

For sale

$79,000

Three-bedroom two-bath 1,200-square-foot trailer

about 0:17:21

For sale

$724,900

Four-bedroom five-bath 3,804-square-foot house

about 0:18:25

For sale

$1,270,000

Four-bedroom five-bath 3,000-square-foot house on 1.95 acres

about 0:19:11
All figures and comparisons, as told in 2023

Population

"24,657"

No direction stated.

As told in 2023 about 0:13:13

Median age

"42 and a half"

Comparison: "a couple of years older than the normal". Direction: above.

As told in 2023 about 0:13:22

Married

"about 47%"

Comparison: "slightly below the average". Direction: below.

As told in 2023 about 0:13:55

Single with children

"19%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2023 about 0:13:59

Voted Democrat in Horry County

"32.9%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2023 about 0:14:54

Voted Republican in Horry County

"66.1%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2023 about 0:14:54

Voted Independent in Horry County

"1%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2023 about 0:14:56

Religious

"42.6%"

Comparison: "lower than most areas in South Carolina". Direction: below.

As told in 2023 about 0:14:36

Unemployment rate

"about 6.5%"

Comparison: "higher than the national average". Direction: above.

As told in 2023 about 0:15:05

Median household income

"about $49,179 a year"

Comparison: "lower than the national average". Direction: below.

As told in 2023 about 0:15:11

Cost of living index

"90"

Comparison: "100 is regular". Direction: below.

As told in 2023 about 0:15:39

Median home cost

"$196,600"

Comparison: "way lower than the national average". Direction: below.

As told in 2023 about 0:15:45

Average two-bedroom rental

"$1,190"

Comparison: "right about the national average". Direction: about the same.

As told in 2023 about 0:16:23

Three-bedroom two-bath 1,200-square-foot trailer

"$79,000"

No direction stated.

As told in 2023 about 0:17:21

Four-bedroom five-bath 3,804-square-foot house

"$724,900"

No direction stated.

As told in 2023 about 0:18:25

Four-bedroom five-bath 3,000-square-foot house on 1.95 acres

"$1,270,000"

No direction stated.

As told in 2023 about 0:19:11

Property crime

"almost double"

Comparison: "national average". Direction: above.

As told in 2023 about 0:25:56

Violent crime

"about a third high"

Comparison: "national average". Direction: above.

As told in 2023 about 0:26:15

The reviews

3.4 / 5 · average of 5

5 stars

“Bought a home over a year ago and loves it; the house backs onto a creek leading to the waterway and the cul-de-sac is peaceful with great neighbours.”
about 0:09:27

4 stars

“A small community with a lot of hidden gems to find, getting bigger every day with new developments, stores and offices.”
about 0:10:17

3 stars

“Being a tourist-trap town makes the crime rate higher than other areas of South Carolina.”
about 0:10:49

3 stars

“It has a lot of improvements to make.”
about 0:11:34

“Doesn't know a whole lot about them personally but has no complaints.”
about 0:11:37

2 stars

“The area is bad for locals and seems to be getting worse; the cost of living is going up and pay is at a standstill.”
about 0:12:07

In South Carolina

Closest episodes

  1. A Dumb Ted BundyConway, South Carolina · 23 June 202217 km / 11 miShow on map
  2. The Ballad Of BambiNixonville, South Carolina · 17 October 202420 km / 12 miShow on map
  3. The Ozark ThumperCoward, South Carolina · 3 July 202676 km / 47 miShow on map
  4. A Troubled & Troubling PastRed Springs, North Carolina · 17 January 2019125 km / 78 miShow on map
  5. Murder Moves InSummerville, South Carolina · 11 May 2024133 km / 83 miShow on map

The story

Heather Elvis was twenty years old in December 2013. She lived in her own apartment in the Myrtle Beach area of South Carolina and worked as a hostess at the Tilted Kilt, a pub and eatery in Myrtle Beach. Her parents, Terry and Debbie Elvis, ran a shop called Always Stuck On You in the Market Common area, and her younger sister, Morgan, was sixteen.

The marriage was not an equal one. It was common knowledge at the restaurant.

She went with him to his maintenance jobs. In November 2013 she sent Heather a message giving her one last chance to answer before they met in person, and asking whether the children wanted to meet her.

She told friends she was heartbroken and wanted the whole thing behind her. She had taken a pregnancy test at work in early November; it came back with an error, and nobody ever established whether she was pregnant.

On 17 December 2013 Heather went on a first date with Steve Schiraldi, a man her own age she had known at high school. They ate at Bandito's Restaurant and Cantina in Myrtle Beach, and then he taught her to drive a stick shift in an empty mall car park and took her to his mother's house in Murrells Inlet to watch a film.

The call lasted four minutes and fifty seconds. Heather then called the payphone back nine times. At 2.31 a.m. she left her apartment, and at 2.42 a.m. she reached Long Beards Bar, where she called the payphone nine more times. None was answered.

Two doorbell cameras further up the road recorded a black Ford F-150 heading towards the landing at 3.41 a.m. and coming back the other way at 3.45. Its built-in GPS had been deliberately disabled.

At four o'clock on the morning of 19 December, a Horry County sheriff's officer patrolling the Peachtree Boat Landing found Heather's green Dodge Intrepid, which was registered to her father, parked askew with the doors locked and no sign of a struggle. Terry Elvis came to look at it, and the trunk was opened in front of him; it was empty. Heather's driving licence was on the driver's console, but her phone, wallet and purse were gone.

The police treated Heather as missing. Investigators found a bag of cement, a spent shotgun shell and a bottle of cleaning fluid by the camper in the drive, which the prosecution later called a kidnapping kit, and the truck's GPS had been disconnected.

The phone records and the payphone footage broke the alibi. Phone data placed Heather at the landing at the time the truck came and went.

Heather Elvis has never been found.

The case

Disappearance and murder of Heather Elvis

Victims

Heather Elvis (20). Hostess at the Tilted Kilt in Myrtle Beach; her body has never been found.

Accused and outcomes

As told in the episode, on 30 November 2023.

Accused

Accused

Outcome

Other people

Terry Elvis. Heather's father, who identified her car and was later fined for contempt of court after insulting a defence attorney
Debbie Elvis. Heather's mother
Morgan Elvis. Heather's younger sister, aged sixteen at the time
Steve Schiraldi. Heather's date on the night she disappeared
Brianna. Heather's best friend and roommate
Donald DiMarino. cousin, who testified that showed him a photograph of Heather's body on a burner phone
Laura. friend, who testified about the Moores' marriage, the new truck and remarks
Jessica Cook. Tilted Kilt manager, who said Heather was terrified of
Dennis Hart. Former Tilted Kilt kitchen manager, who confronted after he was seen having sex with Heather at the restaurant
Caleb. Teenager sexted from a confiscated phone
Ashley. sister, seen with her searching the yard with mirrors on the surveillance footage
Casey Brown. Defence attorney whom Terry Elvis called a lowlife and a piece of shit
Jacob. Friend of the s' son, who testified about the tattoo
Jody. Co-worker who noticed Heather had gone up a size before she vanished

The timeline

  1. September 21st, 2013 Heather tweets that an angel and a devil fell in love and it did not end well.about 0:48:35
  2. October 2013 finds out about the affair and it ends.about 0:52:41
  3. November 2nd, 2013 calls Heather and takes away phone. ( home)about 0:59:35
  4. early November 2013 Heather takes a pregnancy test at work which returns an error. (Tilted Kilt)about 1:37:16
  5. December 17th, 2013 Heather goes on a first date with Steve Schiraldi at Bandito's. (Bandito's Restaurant and Cantina)about 1:09:58
  6. about 1.15 to 1.30 a.m., December 18th, 2013 Schiraldi drops Heather at her apartment after a goodnight kiss. (Heather's apartment)about 1:10:57
  7. 1.15 a.m., December 18th, 2013 buys a pregnancy test kit and a cigar at Walmart. (Walmart)about 1:13:21
  8. 1.33 a.m., December 18th, 2013 calls Heather from the Kangaroo Express payphone; the call lasts four minutes fifty seconds. (Kangaroo Express gas station)about 1:13:50
  9. 1.35 a.m., December 18th, 2013 Heather calls the payphone back nine times. (Heather's apartment)about 1:12:39
  10. 2.31 a.m., December 18th, 2013 Heather leaves her apartment. (Heather's apartment)about 1:15:03
  11. 2.42 a.m., December 18th, 2013 Heather arrives at Long Beards Bar and calls the payphone nine more times. (Long Beards Bar)about 1:15:11
  12. 3.16 and 3.17 a.m., December 18th, 2013 Heather calls iPhone; the second call lasts over four minutes. (Long Beards Bar)about 1:15:56
  13. 3.38 to 3.41 a.m., December 18th, 2013 Heather calls four times from the landing; all go to voicemail. (Peachtree Boat Landing)about 1:18:32
  14. 3.41 a.m., December 18th, 2013 The last call is made from Heather's phone. (Peachtree Boat Landing)about 1:18:41
  15. 3.41 a.m., December 18th, 2013 Doorbell cameras record a black Ford F-150 heading towards the landing. (Peachtree Boat Landing)about 1:29:07
  16. 3.45 a.m., December 18th, 2013 The same truck is recorded heading back the other way. (Peachtree Boat Landing)about 1:29:40
  17. 4.37 a.m., December 18th, 2013 texts for the first time since taking his phone, asking for orange juice and pot stickers. ( home)about 1:19:02
  18. 4 a.m., December 19th, 2013 A sheriff's officer finds Heather's green Dodge Intrepid at the boat landing. (Peachtree Boat Landing)about 0:27:33
  19. December 19th, 2013 Terry Elvis comes to the landing and the empty trunk is opened in front of him. (Peachtree Boat Landing)about 0:30:45
  20. December 20th, 2013 Police visit at home; he denies contacting Heather or going to the landing. ( home)about 1:21:16
  21. January 17th, 2014 posts on Facebook about the affair and about being harassed by Heather's family.about 1:39:56
  22. January 2014 The family holds a prayer vigil and the reward reaches thirty thousand dollars.about 1:40:27
  23. February 20th, 2014 posts that cooperated with police and allowed their home to be searched.about 1:48:42

Places and phrases

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Places in the story

Public places are marked on the map.

Heard in this episode