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The investigation into South Carolina resident Mekole Harris' murder started when two households in Greenville each received a garbage bag of her body parts along with a threatening note mentioning someone named Grace in April 2008. Further investigation confirmed that Harris was strangled to death before her body was dismembered.
Trigger warning: This article contains graphic details. Readers' discretion is advised.
A South Carolina couple, Carman and Clarence Jenkins, who were in no way associated with the victim, were charged and convicted in connection to the crime.
An upcoming episode of Homicide Hunter: American Detective on ID will revisit the gruesome killing of Mekole Harris this Wednesday, March 15. The episode titled Body Parts will air on the channel at 10.00 pm ET.
The synopsis states:
"Two South Carolina women make horrifying discoveries on their doorsteps, including ominous death threats and trash bags containing severed human appendages."
Mekole Harris was strangled to death and dismembered
Mekole Harris, 34, was a mother of four and had a lengthy criminal record. However, she was trying to make it to the right side of the law when she disappeared from Labor Finders, a staffing agency on Rutherford Road. Reports by the Greenville Journal that she was murdered on April 6, 2008. The following day, a severed hand and foot were found inside two garbage bags placed outside two Greenville homes.
The garbage bags were accompanied by a threatening letter to someone named Grace. Both the letters reportedly threatened to dismember Grace if she did not pay a $10,000 debt. The body parts were identified using fingerprints from the severed hands. When Harris' remains were eventually found, an autopsy confirmed that she was strangled to death before her body was dismembered.
While law enforcement officials did not reveal much about the investigation, reports mentioned that they were able to track down the perpetrators after looking into the person named "Grace" mentioned in the threatening letters. This led them to Grace Davis, who had recently moved out of the house of a couple, Carman and Clarence Jenkins, with whom she was romantically involved. The couple was later arrested after a thorough investigation proved them guilty in Davis' case.
Moreover, there was no connection between Davis and Harris and the houses where the latter's body parts were delivered. Investigators later claimed that she was a "random victim." Harris was a longtime drug addict and was convicted on drug and prostitution-related charges not long ago. Moreover, her mother alleged that the 34-year-old knew her life was in danger shortly before she disappeared.
Evidence found at the home of Carman and Clarence Jenkins connected them to Mekole Harris' killing
Once authorities arrested Carman and Clarence Jenkins and also conducted a thorough search of their home, they found horrifying evidence linked to Mekole Harris. Inside their home, authorities found blood spattered on the walls and bathroom, and also discovered a collection of swords, knives, handcuffs, a clump of hair, and copies of other threatening letters.
Following her arrest, Carman Jenkins struck a deal with the solicitor's office in which they agreed not to seek capital punishment against her in exchange for her helping them locate Harris' remains. She revealed that Harris was held for roughly a day before the duo killed her. She claimed that after cutting off Harris' hands and feet, they carried her remains to Paris Mountain and set it on fire.
Later, Carman testified against her husband, detailing the circumstances surrounding Harris's murder and dismemberment. She claimed that her husband pretended to be a police officer and convinced the victim to cooperate with them in exchange for him keeping her out of jail. She alleged that they tied Harris up and forced her to call Davis' family and demand $10,000 from them.
ID's Homicide Hunter: American Detective will shed more light on Mekole Harris' killing and dismemberment case this Wednesday.
