Summary
Betty Swank
Victim: Betty Swank, 21
Murderers’ Ages: 22, 17, & 16
Death: October 17, 1977
Carlotta Hartness and Tommy Taylor
Victims: Carlotta Hartness, 14, & Tommy Taylor, 17
Murderers’ Ages: 22, 17, & 16
Death: October 29, 1977
Betty was mother to a 15-month-old son. Her husband worked at Fort Jackson. She was murdered by a group of young men at age 21.
17-year-old Tommy and 14-year-old Carlotta went out to do research for a school paper Tommy was writing about his county’s historic district. They were murdered by the same young men who had murdered Betty.
Sources
“I didn’t just lose Carlotta that day”
A look back at 10 notorious death penalty cases from the Midlands
SOUTH CAROLINA EXECUTES KILLER: AGE STIRS PROTEST
Finding Life on Death Row: Profiles of Six Inmates
By Katya Lezin
