In this Thursday, Nov. 3, 2016 photo, police search a field on property owned by Todd Kohlhepp where a missing woman was found chained up in a large storage container in Woodruff, S.C. (Tim Kimzey/The... (Associated Press) 
 
 In this Thursday, Nov. 3, 2016 photo, police search a field on property owned by Todd Kohlhepp where a missing woman was found chained up in a large storage container in Woodruff, S.C. (Tim Kimzey/The Spartanburg Herald-Journal via AP) (Associated Press) 
 
 WOODRUFF, S.C. (AP) — A South Carolina man killed at least seven people in a hidden crime spree that lasted more than a decade and only was uncovered when police rescued a woman chained at the neck in a storage container, authorities said Saturday. 
 
 Todd Kohlhepp accepted responsibility for an unsolved massacre one day before the 13th anniversary of the deaths that stumped authorities, said Sheriff Chuck Wright, first elected a year after the murders. 
 
 Kohlhepp, 45, confessed to the deaths of the owner, service manager, mechanic and bookkeeper of Superbike Motorsports, a motorcycle shop in Chesnee, in Spartanburg County. 
 
 "God answered our prayers. If it wasn't for Him answering our prayers and Todd talking to us, I don't know that we'd ever solve that case," Wright said. 
 
 Wright says Kohlhepp also showed law enforcement officers Saturday where he says he buried two of his other victims on his 95-acre property near Woodruff. Kohlhepp, in handcuffs and wearing an orange jumpsuit, was at the site for less than an hour. 
 
 Those are in addition to the body found Friday at the site. Wright and Coroner Rusty Clevenger identified that victim as 32-year-old Charles Carver, the boyfriend of the woman found Thursday in a locked metal container. 
 
 Carver and the woman went missing around Aug. 31. Their last known cellphone signals led authorities to the property. 
 
 The Associated Press is not naming the woman because the suspect is a sex offender, though authorities have not said whether she was sexually assaulted. 
 
 Carver died of multiple gunshot wounds. An anthropologist is helping determine how long Carver was buried, Clevenger said. He declined to say how many times Carver had been shot. 
 
 The sheriff says it's possible more bodies will be uncovered. 
 
 The wife of one of the 2003 victims said detectives told her Kohlhepp was an angry customer who had been in the shop several times. 
 
 Melissa Ponder told The Associated Press she was resigned that her husband Scott's death would never be solved before getting a phone call Saturday evening from one of the case's original detectives. 
 
 Detectives told family members of all four victims of the confession at the same time. 
 
 "He knew too much about the crime scene," Ponder said of Kohlhepp's account to detectives. "He knew everything." 
 
 The Superbike killings stunned the Chesnee community, with rumors like they were committed by a Mexican drug gang or were part of a love triangle crushing the families of the victims. 
 
 Melissa Ponder is glad the rumors weren't true. 
 
 "It isn't closure, but it is an answer," she said. "And I am thankful for that." 
 
 Kohlhepp was released from prison in Arizona in 2001. At 15 years old, he was convicted of raping a 14-year-old neighbor at gunpoint and threatening to kill her siblings if she called police. Kohlhepp had to register as a sex offender. 
 
 But that didn't stop him from getting a South Carolina real estate license in 2006 and building a firm. 
 
 Wright said "it's strange" that Kohlhepp managed the pretext of a normal life for so long. 
 
 Scott Waldrop, who's lived next door to the Woodruff property for nearly 22 years, said he thought Kohlhepp was a serious Doomsday "prepper" who liked his privacy, but "he didn't seem like a threat." 
 
 Waldrop said when he saw the container, it was full of bottled water and canned goods. After buying the property two years ago, Kohlhepp immediately started putting a chain link fence around it. 
 
 Waldrop said Kohlhepp paid him to put no trespassing signs, cut trees for him and other odd jobs around the property. Kohlhepp also installed deer cameras and put bear traps throughout. 
 
 "I was the only one he let over there, I think because I laughed at his jokes and listened to him," he said. "I just hate to know somebody who's done something like this." 
 
 Kohlhepp has a house about 9 miles away in Moore, where neighbor Ron Owen said Kohlhepp was very private, but when they did talk across the fence, he was a "big bragger." 
 
 Kohlhepp liked to talk about the money he made day trading online, for example, and about his two BMWs. He recently told Owen, 76, that he'd spent $80,000 on the chain link fence. 
 
 "We didn't see any signs whatsoever that this was going on," Owen said. "My first reaction's a baseball bat, but I know I'm not to take that in my own hands. God will deal with him." 
 
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 Collins reported from Columbia. 
 
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 Associated Press writers Allen G. Breed and Jonathan Drew in Raleigh, North Carolina; and Alex Sanz in Spartanburg contributed to this report. ||||| WOODRUFF, S.C. (AP) — Investigators will continue Monday combing for human remains and other clues on the South Carolina property of a man accused of a grisly crime spree stretching more than a decade. 
 
 Todd Kohlhepp became a suspect in at least seven deaths after a woman was found Thursday chained by her neck and ankle in a metal storage container on his 95-acre property near rural Woodruff. 
 
 His arrest in that case led to his confession in a notorious quadruple slaying at a motorcycle shop from 2003 in the small town of Chesnee, investigators said. He was denied bond Sunday during a brief court appearance on four murder charges for those slayings. 
 
 He's also charged with kidnapping the woman, and more criminal counts are expected. Authorities suspect he killed at least three people other than the motorcycle shop victims. 
 
 A Spartanburg County Sheriff's investigative report says Kohlhepp "confessed to investigators that he shot and killed" the motorcycle shop's owner, service manager, mechanic and bookkeeper, giving details only the killer would know. 
 
 Now, Sheriff Chuck Wright, who was first elected about a year after the Superbike Motorsports killings, has a wide-ranging investigation of a crime spree over more than a decade. 
 
 The investigation has expanded to other properties Kohlhepp, a real estate agent, either currently or used to own. Those properties are not limited to South Carolina, Wright said Sunday, declining to be more specific. 
 
 Both the FBI and Homeland Security are involved, he said. 
 
 Kohlhepp showed investigators Saturday where he says he buried two other victims on the property he bought two years ago. Human remains were uncovered Sunday at one of those sites, Wright said. 
 
 "We're not even close" on identifying the remains or cause of death, he said. "We can't tell anything." 
 
 Kohlhepp did not tell investigators who was buried there. Removing the remains to "preserve every bit of evidence" is a meticulous, time-consuming process, said Coroner Rusty Clevenger. 
 
 The gravesites Kohlhepp pointed to are in addition to the body found Friday in a shallow grave at the site. Authorities identified that victim as the boyfriend of the woman found Thursday. Clevenger said he died of multiple gunshot wounds. 
 
 The Associated Press is not naming the woman because the suspect is a sex offender, though authorities have not said whether she was sexually assaulted. 
 
 On Sunday, Kohlhepp appeared in an orange jumpsuit for the brief bond hearing and declined to make a statement. He didn't have an attorney. 
 
 After Kohlhepp left the courtroom, Magistrate Judge Jimmy Henson told the family members they would have a chance later to address Kohlhepp in court. 
 
 "You have something to say. You've been waiting 13 years to say it," he said. 
 
 The father of Brian Lucas, the 29-year-old slain service manager, thanked the judge. 
 
 "Your honor, I appreciate your words to us and your counsel," Tom Lucas said as two others put their hands on his shoulders. "We thank you." 
 
 Before the hearing, Lucas said he wanted to be in court to look Kohlhepp in the eye. 
 
 "I want to look at him, and I want to try to use that in healing," he said. 
 
 Before Kohlhepp emerged as a suspect, investigators had said all four victims were killed with the same pistol. They have theorized that the killer came in the back and killed mechanic Chris Sherbert, 26, as he worked. Bookkeeper Beverly Guy, 52, was found just outside the bathroom in the middle of the showroom. 
 
 Thirty-year-old shop owner Scott Ponder was found just outside the door in the parking lot. He was Guy's son. Brian Lucas was in the doorway of the shop. 
 
 Melissa Ponder, who was married to Scott Ponder, said detectives told her Kohlhepp was an angry customer who had been in the motorcycle shop several times. 
 
 "It isn't closure, but it is an answer," Ponder said by phone. "And I am thankful for that." 
 
 Kohlhepp was released from prison in Arizona in 2001. As a teenager, he was convicted of raping a 14-year-old neighbor at gunpoint and threatening to kill her siblings if she called police. 
 
 Kohlhepp had to register as a sex offender. But that didn't stop him from getting a South Carolina real estate license in 2006, building a firm and maintaining the appearance of normalcy. 
 
 In Woodruff on Sunday, scores of people congregated outside the chain link fence that surrounds the wooded property. 
 
 "Things like this don't happen at home," said Tina Gowan, who lives in Pauline but grew up in Moore, where Kohlhepp lived. "He looked like your everyday Joe." 
 
 She was among those who prayed at the fence. 
 
 Frances Bradley, who lives near the 95-acre site, said God answered prayers in solving the 2003 cold case. 
 
 "I was so awe-struck by the revelation," she said, she felt a need to pray at the fence before going to church. "I thanked God for giving us good out of this." 
 
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 Kinnard reported from Spartanburg, South Carolina. 
 
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 Associated Press writers Jonathan Drew in Raleigh, North Carolina, and Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina, contributed to this report. ||||| For 13 years, the relatives came together periodically to grieve one of South Carolina's grisliest mass shootings and compare leads with stumped investigators. 
 
 On Sunday, they gathered again on the anniversary of the crime — this time in a Spartanburg courtroom after an unexpected break led to the man who, authorities say, confessed to the quadruple slayings. 
 
 The victims' relatives sat a few feet away from Todd Kohlhepp as he was denied bond on the murder charges. It was their first chance to face the man accused of killing their loved ones. 
 
 After the hearing, Magistrate Judge Jimmy Henson thanked the families for their civility and composure. 
 
 "I know there's a lot of hurt ... beyond what a lot of people understand," he said. 
 
 Authorities have charged Kohlhepp, 45, with four counts of murder in the 2003 deaths at the Superbike Motorsports motorcycle shop in Chesnee. 
 
 Kohlhepp's alleged role in those killings was uncovered, authorities said, after a woman was found last week chained in a locked metal container on Kohlhepp's property in rural Woodruff. 
 
 The murder charges against Kohlhepp represent welcome progress for investigators and families haunted by the slayings at the motorcycle shop. The killings shocked the state and left the victims' parents and spouses reeling with each new rumor about a possible motive. 
 
 "We got 'em today. We got 'em today," Sheriff Chuck Wright said late Saturday, referring to answers in the cold case. "I'm rejoicing that this community can know that four people who were brutally murdered, there's no wondering about it anymore," said Wright, who was first elected to the position about a year after the quadruple slayings. 
 
 A Spartanburg County Sheriff's investigative report from Saturday says Kohlhepp "confessed to investigators that he shot and killed" the owner, service manager, mechanic and bookkeeper of the motorcycle shop, giving details only the killer would know. 
 
 Kohlhepp is also charged with the woman's kidnapping, and prosecutors say more charges are expected. 
 
 Officers are making more grisly discoveries as they unwind a hidden crime spree that unfolded over more than a decade. 
 
 The investigation has expanded to other properties that Kohlhepp, a real estate agent, either currently or used to own. Those properties are not limited to South Carolina, Wright said Sunday, declining to be more specific. 
 
 Both the FBI and Homeland Security are involved, he said. 
 
 Kohlhepp showed investigators Saturday where he says he buried two other victims on his 95-acre property near Woodruff. Human remains were uncovered Sunday at one of those sites, Wright said. 
 
 "We're not even close" on identifying the remains or cause of death, he said. "We can't tell anything." 
 
 Kohlhepp did not tell investigators who was buried there. Even if he did, investigators can't take that as identification, the sheriff said. 
 
 The excavation of that grave and search for others continues Monday. 
 
 The gravesites Kohlhepp pointed to are in addition to the body found Friday at the site. Authorities identified that victim as 32-year-old Charles Carver, the boyfriend of the woman found Thursday. Carver died of multiple gunshot wounds after he and the woman went missing at the end of August. 
 
 The Associated Press is not naming the woman because the suspect is a sex offender, though authorities have not said whether she was sexually assaulted. 
 
 In Spartanburg, Kohlhepp appeared in an orange jumpsuit for the brief bond hearing and declined to make a statement. He didn't have an attorney. 
 
 After Kohlhepp left the courtroom, Henson told the family members that they would have a chance later to address Kohlhepp in court. 
 
 "When it comes your time to speak to that defendant, speak from the heart," he said. "You have something to say. You've been waiting 13 years to say it." 
 
 The father of Brian Lucas, the 29-year-old slain service manager, thanked the judge. 
 
 "Your honor, I appreciate your words to us and your counsel," Tom Lucas said as two others put their hands on his shoulders. "We thank you." 
 
 Standing with his wife before the hearing, Lucas said he wanted to be in court to look Kohlhepp in the eye. 
 
 "I want to look at him, and I want to try to use that in healing," he said. 
 
 He and his wife, Lorraine, said there was a vigil Friday night to mark the anniversary of the killings, and gatherings were a regular occurrence over the years. 
 
 Before Kohlhepp emerged as a suspect, investigators have said all four victims were killed with the same pistol. They have theorized that the killer came in the back and killed mechanic Chris Sherbert, 26, as he worked. Bookkeeper Beverly Guy, 52, was found just outside the bathroom in the middle of the showroom. 
 
 Thirty-year-old shop owner Scott Ponder was found just outside the door in the parking lot. He was Guy's son. Brian Lucas was in the doorway of the shop. 
 
 Kohlhepp was released from prison in Arizona in 2001. As a teenager, he was convicted of raping a 14-year-old neighbor at gunpoint and threatening to kill her siblings if she called police. 
 
 Kohlhepp had to register as a sex offender. But that didn't stop him from getting a South Carolina real estate license in 2006, building a firm and maintaining the appearance of normalcy. 
 
 Melissa Ponder, who was married to Scott Ponder, said that detectives told her Kohlhepp was an angry customer who had been in the motorcycle shop several times. 
 
 She said that she had resigned herself to Scott Ponder's death remaining unsolved — until she got a phone call Saturday evening from detectives. 
 
 "It isn't closure, but it is an answer," Ponder said by phone. "And I am thankful for that." 
 
 Another grieving relative who came to the hearing, Terry Guy, was Scott Ponder's stepfather and Beverly Guy's husband. Guy said Kohlhepp's arrest means relatives of the victims can now finally be at peace. 
 
 "I'm just so relieved," Guy said. 
 
 The building that housed the shop is now shuttered and surrounded by a chain-link fence along a two-lane highway leading toward the Blue Ridge Mountains. 
 
 Two miles away in downtown Chesnee, Danny Lee said the killings rattled his quiet hometown of about 900 residents. The 52-year-old knew the victims and had a bike in the shop for repairs at the time. 
 
 "He said he did it. We've got to take his word for it," he said of the suspect. "What I still want to know is why." 
 
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 Adcox reported from Woodruff. 
 
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 Associated Press writers Jonathan Drew in Raleigh, North Carolina and Jeffrey Collins in Columbia contributed to this report. 
 
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 This story has been corrected to reflect that the first name of victim's father is Tom Lucas, not Todd.
– The horror in South Carolina, where authorities last week rescued a woman chained to a storage container before finding the body of her boyfriend, is only deepening. Suspect Todd Kohlhepp has now admitted to killing at least seven people over the course of a decade, reports WLTX, including an unsolved shooting rampage at a motorcycle shop that killed four 13 years to the day ago on Sunday. "God answered our prayers. If it wasn't for Him answering our prayers and Todd talking to us, I don't know that we'd ever solve that case," said local sheriff Chuck Wright, via the AP. "He told us some stuff that nobody else ought to know." Kohlhepp, a registered sex offender, was spotted on Saturday leading authorities around his rural 95-acre property near Woodruff; he apparently showed cops the locations of two bodies he'd buried there. Law enforcement is continuing to search the property, says Wright, who adds, "this is one of the biggest crime scenes I've been involved in." Says the widow of one of the victims of the motorcycle shop shooting: "It isn't closure, but it is an answer. And I am thankful for that."