Blue Ridge Savings Bank murders
| Blue Ridge Savings Bank murders | |
|---|---|
 FBI information poster seeking information about the murdrts | |
| Location | Greer, South Carolina, United States |
| Date | 16 May 2003 1:28 p.m. – 1:33 p.m. |
Attack type | Bank robbery and mass-killing |
| Weapon | .40 caliber Glock handgun |
| Deaths |
|
| Perpetrator | Unknown |
The Blue Ridge Savings Bank murders, also known as the Greer bank murders is an unsolved armed robbery and triple homicide at the Blue Ridge Savings Bank in Greer, South Carolina.[1]
Victims
[edit]Sylvia "Syl" Holtzclaw (née Sudduth) was born on 8 September 1946 in Greer, South Carolina. She had two kids, David and Kevin Holtzclaw, with her high school sweetheart who she later divorced. She had previously worked at the Winn-Dixie warehouse. She was also a regular at the Greer First Baptist Church. Holtzclaw and some of her friends started a Christmas toy drive.
Dr. James Elbert "Eb" Barnes was born on 5 June 1942 in Kingston, Tennessee. He studied at King University, while he was senior he met his future wife Margaret Melton who was a freshman at the time, they would marry in 1965 at the Bethesda Presbyterian Church in McConnells, South Carolina, the two would have three children. He received a Master of Teaching Arts degree from the Vanderbilt University and then a Ph.D. in physics from Clemson University. He would work as a physics professor at USC-Spartanburg for 28 years, he also served as the interim-dean twice. He later headed the Academic Programs Office at the University Center of Greenville.[2]
Margaret McAdory "Maggie" Barnes (née Melton) was born on 19 August 1944 in Bristol, Virginia. She studied at King University and then the Katharine Gibbs School. She would become a spinner and weaver after finding a flax spinning wheel in the attic of her grandparents house in Alabama. She also worked for the National Beta Club of Spartanburg for 10 years.[2]
Murders
[edit]On 16 May 2003, at the Blue Ridge Savings Bank, the only bank teller inside the bank Sylvia Holtzclaw was working an extra shift because the other bank teller was unavailable.[1]
At around 1:00 p.m. Holtzclaw's son David, entered the bank to give her lunch, at 1:24 p.m. a red coupe most likely a Oldsmobile Alero, or possibly a Chevrolet Impala was filmed by a gas station security camera driving towards the bank. Four minutes later at 1:28 p.m. the silent alarm was tripped and police were notified, after a man armed with a .40 caliber Glock handgun, most likely a Glock 22 or a Glock 23, entered the bank and held Holtzclaw at gunpoint. Seconds later a married couple who were unaware of the robbery, Eb and Maggie Barnes were going to the bank to transfer money into a IRA account. Eb and Maggie were also held gunpoint.[1][3][4]
At around 1:30 p.m. the three were forced down a hallway and into the bank's utility room. After entering the utility room the man shot all three of them killing them instantly. At 1:33 the same red coupe was filmed speeding away from the bank.[1][3]
At 1:41 police officers arrived at the scene they found that a large sum of unmarked bills were stolen, and that there was seemingly no one in the bank, but when they entered the banks utility room where the bank's security footage was located they discovered the bodies of Sylvia Holtzclaw and Eb and Maggie Barnes.[1][3] Police then found that the VHS for the security camera footage was missing, having been stolen and most likely disposed of.[4]
Suspects
[edit]
Greer Police Department and the FBI published a sketch of a man who was in the bank prior to the robbery, he was described as being a white male who was around 5'6" to 5'8", around 230 pounds, and between 50 and 53-years-old, he was also described as having short blonde hair with there being some graying and a clean cut appearance.[1] The Greer Police Department claimed they had investigated over 700 leads, that all ultimately led to nowhere.[5]
Emmerson Wright a 39-year-old convicted felon from Beech Island, South Carolina. Wright also went by Ernest Wright and Akim Johnson. Wright had an extensive criminal record in both Georgia and South Carolina from 1985 to 2002, in Georgia he was convicted of eluding an officer in 1985, aggravated assault on police in 1987, receiving stolen property in 1994 and burglary in 2002. In South Carolina he was convicted for driving with a suspended license and in 1990 he was charged for unlawful carrying of a firearm. On 1 May 2003 Wright stole a red Oldsmobile Alero from Avis Rental near the bank 15 days before the murders, he also used a .40 caliber Glock handgun in several robberies in Georgia from 2003 to 2005. The Alero was recovered in October 2004 after a police chase in Eastman, Georgia, this time he was responsible for dozens of robberies in Georgia mainly in Atlanta and Augusta. On 2 August 2005 Wright got into another police chase in Eatonton, Georgia, police attempted to pull Wright over, but when he ended up crashing the car he was driving he shot himself in the head. While a lot of people believe Wright had committed the murders there was no actual physical evidence that linked him to the crime.[4][6][7]
Todd Kohlhepp who was a serial killer and was active in the area at the time, and had matched some of the descriptions in the police sketch released by the Greer Police Department, people also made parallels between the Blue Ridge murders and the Superbike Motorsports murders.[8]
Lennell Dyches a 34-year-old janitor and felon from, was responsible for 17 known bank robberies across South Carolina from April 2000 to January 2006. He was known for wearing outlandish outfits during the robberies, during his final robbery at the Greenwich Credit Union he wore a bright pink dress. Throughout the string of robberies no one was injured. He was questioned for possible involvement in the murders but was ultimately cleared after he had an alibi.[6][9]
Jose Sandoval, Jorge Galindo and Fernando "Erick" Vela were investigated for possible involvement in the Blue Ridge Bank murders. As they committed a similar crime in which they had murdered five people in at a U.S. Bank in Norfolk, Nebraska. However the investigation was short as the men were already imprisoned for the shooting which was on 26 September 2002.[6][10]
Legacy
[edit]The FBI released a $100,000 reward for any information relating to the murders.[1] Crime Stoppers offered a $2,000 reward for information relating to the case.[11]
In October 2011 the Blue Ridge Savings Bank was shut down by the North Carolina Commissioner of Banks, possibly due to an attempted robbery earlier that year.[6]
Since 2004 friends and family of the Holtzclaws hold the annual Syl Syl Christmas Toy Drive every November in honor of Sylvia Holtzclaw.[12][13]
Memorial ceremonies we're held for the 10th and 20th year anniversaries of the murders.[3][14]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g "MURDER AND BANK ROBBERY". Federal Bureau of Investigation. Retrieved 2025-06-11.
- ^ a b "James Elbert Barnes, Ph. D". Spartanburg Herald Journal. Retrieved 2025-06-11.
- ^ a b c d Riddle, Lyn. "20 years after triple homicide at SC bank, police haven't given up on solving the case". The State.
- ^ a b c Leonard, Rachel E. "Police seek info in Greer '03 slayings". Spartanburg Herald Journal. Retrieved 2025-06-11.
- ^ Riddle, Lyn. "Family, investigators still hope for answers in Blue Ridge Savings Bank murders". The Greenville News. Retrieved 2025-06-12.
- ^ a b c d "Blue Ridge Savings Bank Robbery and Triple Murder · Greer Heritage Museum collection · Greer Heritage Museum". www.greerheritage.com. Retrieved 2025-06-12.
- ^ Guffey, Michelle. "Dead man could have robbery tie". The Augusta Chronicle. Retrieved 2025-06-12.
- ^ Gross, Daniel J. "15 years later: Blue Ridge Savings Bank triple murders still unsolved". The Greenville News. Retrieved 2025-06-11.
- ^ Herald-Journal, Rachel E. Leonard Spartanburg. "'Person of interest' in murder, robbery cases ordered evaluated". Hendersonville Times-News. Retrieved 2025-06-16.
- ^ Hansen, Matthew (2002-09-27). "Five dead after bank robbery in Norfolk". The Daily Nebraskan. Retrieved 2025-06-12.
- ^ "18 years have passed since Greer triple murder, questions still unanswered". WSPA 7NEWS. 2021-05-17. Retrieved 2025-06-12.
- ^ "Client Challenge". www.cityofgreersc.gov. Retrieved 2025-06-11.
- ^ "Syl Syl Christmas Toy Drive Still Going Strong". Harrison's. Retrieved 2025-06-11.
- ^ "Service of Remembrance and Hope to Commemorate 10th Anniversary of Blue Ridge Savings Bank Triple Murder in Greer". FBI. Retrieved 2025-06-12.