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Summary of Offense:

Charles O. Shuler, of Elloree, was sentenced to die in March 2001 for murdering his former girlfriend, her mother and her daughter on September 8, 1999. Brandishing a 12-gauge shotgun, Shuler broke into Linda Williams' Myrtle Drive home near Cordova and opened fire on the women.

During Shuler's trial the prosecutor promised "a voice from the grave" and offered a 911 recording to seal Shuler's fate. "I've been shot!" 13-year-old Stacy Williams told an Orangeburg County 911 emergency dispatcher on September 8, 1999. "Who shot you?" the dispatcher asked. "Charles Shuler," the girl replied.

Orangeburg County Sheriff's Office investigators charged Shuler in the shooting deaths of Linda Williams, 38; her mother, Dorothy Gates, 63; and her 13-year-old daughter, Stacy. A jury spent little more than an hour before finding Shuler guilty. He was later sentenced to death.

Triple killer Shuler dies in prison

By Richard Walker - TheTandD.com

April 4, 2013

Terry Gates says he hopes the nightmares will now go away.

“I see my mama, my sister, I see them all,” he said. “But they never say anything.”

After appeals kept him alive on Death Row for more than a decade, convicted triple murderer Charles Shuler has died.

Officials with the South Carolina Department of Corrections confirmed the Elloree man died of heart failure.

Gates says the family has been told the man who murdered three members of their family died peacefully in his sleep early Wednesday.

Gates wonders if, before he died, Shuler was visited in his sleep as he has been. His nightmares began after Shuler’s rampage in September 1999 left Gates’ mother, sister and niece dead of multiple gunshot wounds.

Shuler, 64, was convicted in March 2001 of murdering his former girlfriend, Linda Williams; her mother, Dorothy “Dot” Gates, and Linda Williams’ 13-year-old daughter, Stacy Williams.

He has been at Lieber Correctional Institution — Death Row — since.

Jurors heard the voice of Gates’ niece during Shuler’s trial when prosecutors introduced the 911 tapes.

“I’ve been shot!” 13-year-old Stacy tells an Orangeburg County emergency dispatcher.

“Who shot you?” the dispatcher asks.

“Charles Shuler.”

Gates’ family tried having Shuler arrested on several occasions before the shooting. They feared the man who had been dating Linda Williams off and on for the previous two years.

Finally, an arrest warrant for unlawful communication — typically a threat made over the phone — was signed.

That warrant became useless on Sept. 8, 1999.

Just days before, Williams, 38, had told authorities she believed Shuler would act on his threats to kill her. She had ended her relationship with Shuler on Sept. 3.

“I am gonna come for your a - -,” Shuler says on voice-mail at Williams’ residence that was introduced during the trial.

A county deputy was at the residence when Shuler called. He spoke with Shuler, who demanded to speak with Williams.

When the deputy refused and told him not to call her again, Shuler said, “I don’t give a d - - - what you think; I ain’t afraid of the law.”

After the deputy left, Shuler continued to call.

“Your little deputy dog, tell him to kiss my a - -.”

After the shooting rampage, the family filed a civil suit against Orangeburg County for failing to act on repeated warnings that Shuler was dangerous. Orangeburg County settled the case in 2003 for an unspecified amount under $180,000.

At the trial, testimony was introduced that a small red car was driving erratically in the Cordova neighborhood where Williams lived with her mother and daughter.

Buster Williams was 8 years old at the time. He was working on a tree house in the backyard when he saw Shuler in the car. The young boy testified the car suddenly drove over a ditch and came to a halt in the Williams’ front yard and Shuler got out with a gun.

“Nanny (Dorothy Gates) called me into the house,” he said. The front door was locked so Shuler “busted through the window,” the boy said.

Shuler “was cussin’ to my mama. He said, ‘I got you now, you b - - - -.’ I ran out the back door.”

Buster was the only survivor that day.

Then-First Circuit Solicitor Walter Bailey asked Buster if he heard anything as he ran to a nearby house.

“Shots,” he said.

Shuler shot Stacy Williams, Linda Williams and Dorothy Gates with a shotgun.

The two adults died immediately. Stacy lingered long enough to call 911 and tell operators who shot her and her family.

Shuler was found on the floor with what was determined to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Law enforcement officers arriving on scene testified the gunman was still screaming profanity at the women.

“At that time, I took the gun away from him. When I reached over, he said, ‘F--- you, f--- them all, let ‘em die’. ... ‘Kill the m - - - - - f - - - - - - and finish the job.’ He kept mumbling that,” one officer said.

The entire storm of shotgun blasts lasted just a couple of seconds. The trial, only two days.

First Circuit Solicitor David Pascoe said that after nearly 14 years, no date for Shuler’s execution had been set.

Just a few months ago, Shuler had asked for a new trial. That motion could have been taken before the state Supreme Court or even the U.S. Supreme Court, if unsuccessful.

“The delay, unfortunately, is very common because there are a lot of grounds for appeal,” Pascoe said. “I hate that it’s so hard on these families. I’ve always felt we needed to speed up the appellate process.”

As for the decision to seek the death penalty, Pascoe agreed with Bailey’s decision to prosecute Shuler’s as a capital case.

“These acts are so heinous,” he said.

The late Lori Edens, sister of Terry Gates and Linda Williams, spoke out about a 2003 Associated Press article that focused on the loneliness of Death Row.

“They do not realize what we are going through? When he dies, we have to live on with the torment every night,” she said. “It’s the first thing I think about when I go to bed at night and the first thing I think about every morning.

“What more do they want?”

Before her own death in 2010 after an extended illness, Edens remained apoplectic with the man who murdered her three family members.

“My family is in the dirt; we’ll never see them again,” she said.

But Gates does. He still sees his mother, his sister, his niece. After seeing them in his sleep for so many years, he simply hopes the nightmares will now go away.

“I guess this is all the justice we’ll get,” he said.

Killer's appeal of death sentence denied

By Richard Walker - TheTandD.com

June 3, 2011

After five years, a post-conviction motion for relief has been denied for triple murderer Charles Shuler.

Circuit Court Judge Casey Manning denied Shuler's arguments for a new sentencing hearing at which the convicted killer could receive a lesser sentence.

"The application for post-conviction relief is denied in its entirety," Manning wrote in his decision filed at the Orangeburg County Courthouse on Tuesday. "Applicant has failed to show error, and he failed to show prejudice such as would support the granting of either a new guilt proceeding, or a new sentencing proceeding."

Lisa Armstrong, Shuler's attorney for the PCR motion, did not return a message seeking comment Thursday.

Shuler, who turns 63 next month, is currently held at Leiber Correctional Institution in Ridgeville after he was sentenced to death in 2001.

He was found guilty of shooting to death his former girlfriend, Linda Williams, her mother Dorothy "Dot" Gates, and Linda Williams' daughter, Stacy Gates, on Sept. 8, 1999.

On that tragic day, Terry Gates lost three family members - a mother, sister, and niece. Gates applauds the judge's decision but feels a decade or more of appeals is unreasonable.

"It's just the long wait, it's just not right," he said. "If we don't get on to our representatives and senators, it's going to always be that way."

First Circuit Solicitor David Pascoe said more appeals could be in the offing in front of either Manning or the state Supreme Court. Shuler can ask Manning to reconsider or he can go straight to the state Supreme Court for an appeal of Manning's decision.

Once those appeals are exhausted on the state level, the federal appeals are taken up.

Should Shuler be successful during any step of the appeals process, he will still serve life in prison for a first-degree burglary conviction related to the murders.

Before handing down the sentence 10 years ago, Circuit Court Judge Thomas W. Cooper Jr. asked Shuler, "Do you have any comments before the passing of the sentence?"

"No comments at all," Shuler said.

However, since that day in 2001, Shuler has said through his attorneys much regarding his case, including the argument that his attorneys were ineffective in his defense.

For his automatic state appeal of the sentence, Shuler argued in 2003 that Cooper erred by allowing the jury to hear an entire 911 call by a dying Stacy Gates without redacting emotional moments.

The South Carolina Supreme Court, however, unanimously confirmed the conviction and the resulting death sentence.

In March, 2003 Shuler initially filed a post-conviction relief application. That was later amended in July 2006.

Over the past five years, that relief application has been amended twice.

In that later version, Shuler argued his attorneys did not examine the shotgun used for defects in function.

Shuler abandoned that argument to contend that his attorneys did not object when testimony was introduced at his trial that he made threats against another person before the opening statements were made.

The final version of the relief application on which Manning ruled alleged that not only were Shuler's trial attorneys ineffective but his appeals attorneys as well.

Manning dismissed the application for relief with prejudice, which means the Elloree man cannot argue the same points again.

Gates plans a trip to Columbia, where he'll discuss with legislators shortening the legal process of death penalty cases. His sister, Lori, died in December without having seen the case concluded.

"The way it looks, he's going to outlive us all," he said.

The centerpiece of prosecution's case against Shuler 10 years ago was the 911 recorded voice of Stacy, who was found inside the home suffering from a shotgun blast to the back.

"I've been shot!" 13-year-old Stacy tells an Orangeburg County 911 dispatcher moments after the shooting.

"Who shot you?" the dispatcher asks.

"Charles Shuler."

Besides Shuler, the only survivor was a child who ran out of the house as the gunfire started.

Buster Williams was 8 years old when an enraged Shuler broke a window at the Cordova home, climbed inside and began blasting away with a shotgun.

"Nanny (Dot Gates) called me into the house," he testified in court. The front door was locked so Shuler "busted through the window," Buster said. Linda Williams reached for the phone "and Charles Shuler said, ‘Put the m-----f------ phone down.' He was cussin' to my mama. He said, ‘I got you now, you b----.' I ran out the back door."

Investigators arriving on scene found Shuler had suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the abdomen.

Then-Lt. M.L. Varnadoe with the Orangeburg County Sheriff's Office testified in court he found the girl talking on the phone with 911.

"She was moaning. She was trying to get up, asking for help," Varnadoe said. "She was saying, ‘Please help me, please help me.' She was in extreme pain. I was telling her to be calm, that help was on the way."

The lieutenant then found Shuler on the floor. He had a noticeable wound on his left side, he said.

"At that time, I took the gun away from him," Varnadoe said. "When I reached over, he said, ‘F--- you, f--- them all, let ‘em die'. ... ‘Kill the m-----f------ and finish the job.' He kept mumbling that."

  

THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA
In The Supreme Court

The State, Respondent,
v.
Charles O. Shuler, Appellant.

Appeal From Orangeburg County
Thomas W. Cooper, Jr., Circuit Court Judge

Opinion No. 25591
Heard December 3, 2002 - Filed February 3, 2003

AFFIRMED

Deputy Chief Attorney Joseph L. Savitz, III, of South Carolina Office of Appellate Defense, of Columbia, for appellant.

Attorney General Charles M. Condon, Chief Deputy Attorney General John W. McIntosh, Assistant Deputy Attorney General Donald J. Zelenka, Assistant Attorney General Derrick K. McFarland, all of Columbia; and Solicitor Walter M. Bailey, Jr., of Summerville, for respondent.

JUSTICE BURNETT: Appellant was convicted of three counts of murder and first degree burglary. He was sentenced to death for the murders and life imprisonment for burglary. We affirm.

GUILT PHASE [1]

During his opening statement, defense counsel admitted appellant killed Linda Williams, her thirteen year old daughter Stacy, and Linda’s mother, Dorothy Gates. He stated appellant had tried to cope with a complicated relationship but “snapped.”

Evidence indicated appellant lived with Linda for two years. On September 3, 1999, Linda asked appellant to move out of her home. The following day, the police were summoned to Linda’s home and a deputy told appellant to leave. Over the next day or two, appellant telephoned Linda’s home numerous times and left threatening messages on her answering machine. In one message, he stated: “you can run, and you can hide, but you can’t go on forever, because Charles is coming for your g___d___ ass. Because you, Linda Gates, Dot Gates, Terry Gates, Lori Gates, and all you m_____f____, because I am coming for you! I am coming for you. You know what I mean? . . .”. (italic in original).

On September 6^th, a police officer was again dispatched to Linda’s home. While listening to the answering machine tapes, the telephone rang. The officer answered the telephone; appellant stated, “[p]ut that whore on the phone. She owes me $40,000.” The officer told appellant not to call again and appellant responded, “I’ll see her later.”

Buster, Linda’s nine-year-old son testified that around 7:00 p.m. on September 8, 1999, he saw appellant’s car circle the block three times before driving into his yard. Appellant exited the vehicle carrying a “long gun” and “busted through” a front window of Buster’s home. Buster testified he ran inside and heard appellant tell his mother “put the mother f___ phone down” and “I got you now, you bitch.” While running to his neighbor’s home, Buster heard a shot.

Over appellant’s objection, the State played a redacted tape recording of several 911 calls. [2] Screaming and three gunshots are heard on the first call. The 911 operator states, “we’ve been going to this house all weekend.” [3] During another call, a neighbor states her neighbor’s child had come over and reported his mother’s boyfriend was trying to kill his mother. On the last call, Stacy states five people have been shot by appellant. In response to a question from the operator, Stacy says she cannot feel below her waist and does not know where she has been shot.

Sheriff’s Department officers arrived at Linda’s home. Linda, Stacy, and Dorothy had been shot. Appellant had also been shot. [4] Initially, Linda appeared to be alive. Stacy, wounded in the back, was moving on the living room floor; she inquired about her brother. She stated “Charles” had shot them. Dorothy was dead.

Appellant was lying on the floor in the hallway. An officer testified a shotgun lay beside him; appellant’s finger was in the trigger release. Appellant stated, “F___ them. F___ them all. Let them die.” The officer took the shotgun from appellant and removed a live shell. [5] Another officer stated appellant stated “Kill me. Finish me off. Finish the job.”

A paramedic testified Stacy asked about her brother and begged not to let her die. She stated she was having trouble breathing. The paramedic estimated Stacy died within ten minutes of his arrival.

A detention center nurse testified, while arguing over who would receive medical treatment first, appellant told another inmate, “. . . I’ve killed three people and don’t mind making it four.” A detention center officer stated, on the one year anniversary of the shootings, appellant pointed to the newspaper picture of Dorothy and stated, either “I killed this witch” or “I killed this bitch” and referred to her as the devil. He stated he loved Linda and Stacy.

At the beginning of the three-day sentencing proceeding, appellant moved to exclude the admission of the unredacted 911 tape, arguing the tape’s probative value did not outweigh its prejudicial impact. The trial judge overruled the objection, concluding the tape, while “extremely prejudicial,” was relevant to the aggravating circumstance of torture. [6]

Appellant did not testify. He did not make a final statement to the jury. [7]

Second, Stacy’s apparent physical distress as revealed by the tape was relevant to establish the aggravating circumstance of physical torture. [8] Even though the pathologist described Stacy’s gunshot wounds as painful, Stacy’s own expression of her pain and suffering more fully chronicles the last few minutes of her life. See State v. Rosemond, supra (use of photographs to corroborate pathologist’s testimony victim lived for ten minutes after shooting properly admissible in penalty phase). The 911 tape was properly admitted as it was relevant to the aggravating circumstance of physical torture. See State v. Johnson, 338 S.C. 114, 525 S.E.2d 519, cert. denied 531 U.S. 840 (2000) (crime scene photographs relevant to physical torture); State v. Franklin, 318 S.C. 47, 456 S.E.2d 357, cert. denied, 516 U.S. 856 (photographs admissible in penalty phase of capital proceeding as relevant to issue of physical torture).

Furthermore, the 911 tape was not so unfairly prejudicial so as to substantially outweigh its probative value. While difficult to hear, Stacy’s physical and emotional distress is not so disturbing as to suggest appellant’s sentence was made on an improper basis. State v. Alexander, 303 S.C. 377, 401 S.E.2d 146 (1991) (unfair prejudice exists where evidence creates tendency to suggest decision on an improper basis, commonly though not necessarily, an emotional one).

Finally, the solicitor did not unduly exploit the 911 tape during the penalty phase of trial. We agree with appellant that excessive use of an otherwise admissible exhibit could result in a denial of due process. See Payne v. Tennessee, 501 U.S. 808, 825 (1991) (“[i]n the event that evidence is introduced that is so unduly prejudicial that it renders the trial fundamentally unfair, the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment provides a mechanism for relief.”). Nevertheless, we conclude the use of the 911 tape during the penalty phase of appellant’s trial did not result in a denial of fundamental fairness. During the three day proceeding, the prosecution played an excerpt from the 911 tape for identification purposes [9] and the entire tape during the presentation of its evidence. During closing argument, the solicitor again played a portion of the 911 tape and the entire tape. Under the circumstances, the use of the 911 tape did not result in a denial of due process.

Solicitor: I’m going to go ahead and play [the answering machine] tape [10] again, and when you listen to that tape, I want you to think about the circumstances of the crime and the characteristics of the Defendant, which is what you all will need to base your decision on.

[Played answering machine tape].

Solicitor: Where is the mitigation evidence in this case? Where is evidence that [appellant] has ever done one good deed or had one decent thought?

Defense Counsel: Your honor, I believe that is burden shifting. He’s starting to really - - -

The Court: No, sir. I’ll note your objection. I overrule it. Thank you.

(Underline added).