Diggers in body hunt as woman freed after ‘being kept in chains by sex offender’ claims she was forced to watch boyfriend’s murder
Kala Brown and Charlie Carver went missing August, with the 30-year-old woman found desperately calling for help
A REGISTERED sex offender has been charged after a woman was found "chained up like a dog", with authorities admitting they fear they could be dealing with a serial killer.
Kala Brown was found in a padlocked metal box after being missing for two months with police arresting the owner of the property, Todd Kohlhepp, on charges of kidnapping.
The 30-year-old survivor has since told authorities she was forced to watch her boyfriend, Charlie Carver, murdered.
Police have confirmed they found one body on the 95-acre property, but are continuing their investigations after the traumatised woman warned four more bodies might be hidden in the sprawling fields.
Brown was only found after authorities received a tip-off, with the missing persons case involving the young woman and her 32-year-old boyfriend dragging over two months.
It has since been revealed that Kohlhepp, charged over her kidnapping, was convicted of rape after sexually assaulting a 14-year-old at gunpoint when he was just 15.
In a bond hearing for Kohlhepp on Friday, lawyers for the Woodruff Solicitor's Office said Kala witnessed her boyfriend shot dead.
Solicitor Barry Barnette said: "She told us this individual did kill him in her presence."
He added he was confident there would be a murder warrant issued in connection with the case,
Authorities have already found a number of weapons, including 9mm handguns, on the property in Woodruff, South Carolina, bringing in heavy machinery to continue their search for other evidence.
The gender of the body already discovered by detectives has not been revealed.
The missing woman told detectives she had been held in the locked in a 30 feet long and 15 feet wide metal container against her will for two months but was fed regularly.
Sheriff Chuck Wright told local media: "We're trying to make sure we don't have a serial killer on our hands.
"(It) very possibly could be what we have."
Kala and her boyfriend Charlie Carver, 32, had vanished without a trace on August 31.
Her boyfriend Charlie remains missing with investigators continuing to search the 95-acre property.
Barnette added that the woman had been chained around her neck and ankles.
Appearing in court, Kohlhepp was not handcuffed, instead sitting quietly with his hands behind his back.
According to US records, Kohlhepp is a convicted sex offender who was convicted of kidnapping in Arizona in 1987, when he was a teen.
He will remain in jail until his first court hearing, expected to take place on January 19.
The accused kidnapper and real estate agent had become increasingly active on social media over the past two months, sharing photographs of his dog appearing to hump his leg as well as a number of properties he was selling.
He also shared information about his upbringing, saying: "in my family you got backhanded for talking back or being disrespectful...actually acting up ended up a spanking that was epic.. you do NOT want to make the same mistake in my family again".
He also told friends he was trying to make the possums on his property his pets.
The family of missing man Charlie Carver released a statement to the media, saying they were overjoyed that Kala had been found.
The family said: "We ask that you continue to pray for Kala's healing and for David's safe return as well. In the meantime, we ask for some time to ourselves as we process events as they unfold."
He was on the property when cops served the search warrant, WYFF News reported
After the couple went missing, sinister messages were posted on their social media weeks after they failed to show up at a friend's house for dinner.
When someone went to check on them at their home, someone found their beloved dog had been left without food or water and the door was unlocked.
Their car was missing from the driveway and prescription medication was still there, as were their contact lenses and glasses.
The pair didn't make any contact with family, friends, or work colleagues.
A month after their disappearance Charlie’s Facebook suddenly became active.
It said the couple – who live in the United States – had got married and were expecting a baby.
It also said he and Kala were fine – but the post was then deleted.
One update read: “I weren’t crazy, I’d be insane. Sometimes late at night I dig a hole in the backyard to keep the nosy neighbour’s guessing.”
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