Depraved killer who taunted police to 'catch him' in message written in victim's blood to be executed on death row
A killer who left behind a taunting message for police in his victim's blood is set to be executed in South Carolina.
Stephen Bryant is scheduled to be put to death next month, making him the 50th person to face the ultimate punishment in the US state since 1985.
South Carolina’s Supreme Court issued a death warrant for the 44-year-old's execution on Friday (17 October), while his lawyers' pleas for a delay due to the US government shutdown were rebuffed.
Bryant's execution date has now been set for 14 November, which comes more than two decades after he committed the murder which landed him on death row.
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He confessed to taking the life of Willard 'TJ' Tietjen after stopping at the 62-year-old's rural home and claiming he was experiencing car trouble. According to local news outlet The Sumter Item, Tietjen was shot nine times before Bryant arranged several lit candles around his corpse.
Chillingly, authorities said the killer then painted a message on the wall in his victim's blood which stated: "victem 4 in 2 weeks. catch me if u can."
He used a potholder, reportedly crafted by Tietjen's daughter, Kimberly Dees, to daub the taunt on the wall, CBS News reported.
Sumter County Sheriff Tommy Mims said at the time, as per WIS News 10: "At the Tietjen residence, [Bryant] left a message on the wall that challenged law enforcement, 'catch me if you can.' And I'm happy to say that law enforcement has responded to that challenge, and we have caught him.
"We believe very strongly, about as strongly as you can get it, that he acted alone."
Tietjen's daughter, Kimberly, previously told a court that she had called her father multiple times on the evening of his murder and became concerned when he didn't answer - until someone picked up on her sixth attempt.
She testified that she ordered the mysterious voice on the other end of the phone to allow her to speak to Tietjen, explaining: "And he said, 'You can’t, I killed him'.
"I said, ‘This isn’t funny, who are you?’ He said, ‘I’m the prowler'. And I said, 'Excuse me, who are you?' He said, ‘I’m the prowler'."
At the age of 27, Bryant was sentenced to death for the murder and robbery of Tietjen in 2008. He is also said to have stolen several items - including a ring from his victim's finger, other jewellery items and tools - during the murder.
Officials say that he was also behind the murders of two other men, one of which occurred before Tietjen's death and another afterwards.
It is believed that Byrant offered the victims a lift, only for him to shoot them in the back when they got out on the side of rural roads to relieve themselves.
Lawyers representing Bryant during his trial said that he had been extremely troubled in the months leading up to Tietjen's murder and that he had begged a probation officer and a family member for help after undergoing alleged sexual abuse as a child.
His aunt, Terry Caulder, told the court: "He was very upset. He looked like he was being tortured. It’s like his soul was just laid wide open. In his eyes, you could see he was hurting and suffering, and he was living the abuse over again as it was coming out."
Bryant's legal team revealed that he had been using methamphetamine and smoking joints sprayed with bug killer to cope with his trauma.
The 44-year-old killer now has until 31 October to choose which way he wants to leave this world - by lethal injection, the firing squad or the electric chair.
South Carolina had to pump the brakes on executions for 13 years due to issues in obtaining the drugs used for lethal injections, but they resumed in September last year.
It is one of the few states in the US where death by the firing squad is legal.
Olivia Burke