Heather Brooke Center




Death penalty sought for suspected child killer

Seventh Circuit Solicitor Trey Gowdy will seek the death penalty for a man suspected of shooting a child to death Wednesday afternoon in Chesnee.

An investigator for the solicitor’s office served a written notice on Ricky Lee Blackwell, of 248 Ridings Road, at Spartanburg Regional Medical Center this afternoon. Blackwell, accused of murder and kidnapping, is recovering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound that occurred after officials said he fatally shot 8-year-old Heather Brooke Center on 244 Ridings Road. Officials said Blackwell grabbed the child, put her in a headlock and shot her once in the head not far from his double-wide mobile home. The man proceeded to shoot her at least three more times as she was falling on the ground, Spartanburg County Coroner Rusty Clevenger said. “The paradigm we have always used is three fold - the circumstances of the crime, the character of the defendant and the impact the crime has on the community as a whole,” Gowdy said in a news release. “The execution of a child shocks the conscience of this community and warrants seeking of society’s ultimate punishment.” Gowdy decided to seek the death penalty after talking with Sheriff Chuck Wright, Clevenger and other investigators who worked the crime scene. A timeline for the prosecution will be established once Supreme Court Chief Justice Jean Toal assigns a judge to preside over the case.

http://www.goupstate.com/article/20090709/ARTICLES/907099942/1083/ARTICLES?Title=Death-penalty-sought-for-suspected-child-killer