Town file
Rock Hill, South Carolina
Rock Hill, South Carolina is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 396, "Sifting Through Suspects" (10 June 2023). Melinda Renee Snyder was 22 in January 1990.
- Town
- Rock Hill
- State
- South Carolina
- Country
- USA
- Episodes
- 396
- Approximate location
- 34.938, -81.019
Episode 396 / 10 June 2023 / 72 min / express
Sifting Through Suspects
"James says, let's head on down to South Carolina, yes, Rock Hill, South Carolina" about 0:02:38
The case: Murder of Melinda Snyder (January 23rd, 1990). Read the case file.
The figures, as told in 2023
- Population
- almost 73,000
- Median household income
- $40,718
- Median home value
- $279,500
- DNA match probability in SLED testing
- one in 230,000
- DNA match probability in FBI testing
- one in ten
History, in brief
- Settlers started coming to the area in the 1830s and 1840s. about 0:03:39
- The railroad wanted a station at the nearby village of Ebenezerville, but the locals refused to have the line run through their village, so the line was run two miles away. about 0:03:49
- The spot was marked on the map and named Rocky Hill. about 0:04:35
- The first families of Rocky Hill were named White and Black. about 0:04:39
- George Pendleton White, one of the large landowners, contracted with the railroad to build a section of the line starting in 1848. about 0:04:45
- After the Civil War the former land-owning elite had to sell land off to stay financially afloat. about 0:05:15
- By 1870 the town's buildings were only one storey tall and there were no sidewalks. about 0:05:23
- A bordello arrived in 1881 and paved the first sidewalk. about 0:05:30
- In 2021 former NFL player Phillip Adams shot and killed six people, including two children, at a house in Rock Hill, then committed suicide. about 0:05:42
The reviews read out
5 stars
"Nicknamed Football City USA, the fifth largest city in the state, considered the prime spot for football players to reach the NFL; bowling, Winthrop University, lakes and home cooking, and the writer invites you to rock the hill with him."about 0:06:15
4 stars
"A common suburban town, fairly safe, not a whole lot to do but just enough; many areas are very safe, you just have to avoid the places and streets that are not."about 0:07:00
3 stars
"A nice area with a lot of violence, not a place to stay all your life; if you can move away, do not ever come back."about 0:07:32
2 stars
"We need more good choices."about 0:08:04
1 star
"A small southern city with no major attractions or events; it indulges in a lot of sports such as football, and a lot of NFL players have come out of the area."about 0:08:18
1 star
"The police are responsive but the outside of the area is not kept up well, pets use the bathroom all over the place and people leave rubbish outside, causing bug problems."about 0:08:35
Nearest Small Town Murder towns
- Chester, South Carolina20 miles
- Gastonia, North Carolina23 miles
- Kings Mountain, North Carolina28 miles
- Cherryville, North Carolina37 miles
- Gaffney, South Carolina38 miles
- Roebuck, South Carolina54 miles
Everything here is as told in the episode, on the date it went out; figures and places may have changed since. Endings are covered: open an episode and use the spoiler switch to read them.