South Carolina

Couple arrested in Florida to face additional murder charges in SC

FT. MEADE, Fla. — The Polk County Sheriff is investigating a couple charged in connection with four murders spanning two states.

Christopher Taylor was charged with killing 47-year-old Douglas John Bowling. Bowling's body was found early last month near an orange grove near Ft. Meade, Florida.

Investigators say Taylor beat Bowling for nearly two hours with a skillet and aluminum bat, then strangled him and put his body in a bathtub. Authorities say Christopher Taylor, 21-year-old Gary Taylor and 36-year-old Kristina Sluss then went out to dinner and dumped the body.

On Friday, Christopher Taylor and Kristina Sluss were charged with the murders of three people at a home in South Carolina.

Sheriff Grady Judd said Saturday that Gary Taylor made the statement, "another one bites the dust," indicating they may have murdered others. Grady asked for the public's help to identify other victims.

Before they moved to Florida, Christopher Taylor and Sluss were staying with Taylor's mother near the home of a South Carolina couple who was found dead in January, Judd said.

During the Polk County investigation, Christopher Taylor and Sluss gave information that connected them to the deaths of the deceased couple and another South Carolina man who was found dead at the home at the time, Judd said.

The Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office were investigating the deaths of Fred Richards, Francis Delancey Richards and Nathan Louis Poffenberger when they were contacted by the Polk County Sheriff's Office.

The three bodies were found at 630 Landrum Mill Road in Landrum, S.C., the morning of January 20.

Sluss and Christopher Taylor are being held in the Polk County Jail in connection with the three murders in South Carolina, Judd said.

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Associated Press

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