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Georgia serial killer who chose victims from clubs raped and murdered at least two more women, thinks expert

The confessed serial killer pleaded guilty to three murders but could be responsible for two unsolved cold cases
PUBLISHED MAR 29, 2020
Jennifer Clemmings (Oxygen), Charles Lendelle Carter (Fulton County Sheriff's Office)
Jennifer Clemmings (Oxygen), Charles Lendelle Carter (Fulton County Sheriff's Office)

FULTON, GEORGIA:  Lendelle Carter received his third life sentence for murder in 2011 though authorities cannot confirm exactly how many he has killed. 

Carter had pleaded guilty to two slayings — one in Fulton County and one in Gwinnett County. His victims were 38-year-old Apriel Allen who was an administrative assistant, Angela Thayer Green who was a mother of six, and 40-year-old Lisa Rosenthal. 

Oxygen's documentary 'The DNA of Murder with Paul Holes' puts forward a theory on how Carter could very well also be linked to two cold cases involving the deaths of two young women — Jennifer Clemmings and Tamekia Taylor.

The Cases of Jennifer Clemmings and Tamekia Taylor 

Jennifer Clemmings, 32, was found dead on January 27, 2003, while she was at her home in DeKalb County, Georgia. She was a bright, independent, and successful woman who lived alone. That night at 8.30 pm, her friends received a very distressing call where she was heard begging for her life. Her friends called the police who immediately rushed to her home where they were met with a horrific crime scene.

According to cold case investigator Paul Holes, Jennifer Clemmings' case was more than a financially motivated crime. "There is no question in my mind this is a sexually motivated crime," he shared before adding how the killer used the financial dispute to enter the house after which his true motive kicked in.

"I’m realizing I’m dealing with a very dangerous individual, a serial predator that uses financial or personal ruses to gain access to his victims. This individual possibly has other victims, both before Jennifer’s case and potentially after Jennifer’s case," he also shared.

In the case of Tamekia Taylor, 27, she was a high-flying socialite who was also a successful businesswoman. Taylor was found dead in December 2002, 6 weeks prior to Clemmings' murder. She was very well connected and had been scheduled to go to a party on the night she died. What was alarming was that she had made a call to the party host to ask if she could be there with a companion. She never made it to the party.

Similarities in the Clemmings and Taylor cases

Both Clemmings and Taylor were found bound, stabbed multiple times in their own homes which are located five miles apart. The two women lived in similar neighborhoods that had detached single-family residences. 

The neighborhood was not cheap and so it meant that their killer/s were comfortable to move about in such a neighborhood. Neither case showed a break-in or any forced entry implying that both the women either knew or were acquainted with their attacker.

The voice recording from Clemmings' case picked up the possible sexual assault against her.  DeKalb County Police Lt. Rod Bryant said, "That voicemail recorded a voice exchange between Jennifer and the suspect, and it lasted for about 30 seconds. That suspect was basically telling her to be still, to quit playing, what he's about to do to her, he's about to sexually assault her."

Taylor was found totally nude and sexually assaulted. "There were fingerprints found at the location," Lt. Bryant shared. The documentary shows how a bloody sock was found in one of the drawers. However, they have not been able to find a match so far. 

The Charles Lendelle Carter theory 

Sharon Hagan, a criminal profiler, put forth the theory that Taylor's murder was definitely not a one-time event and it was likely to be the work of a serial offender given the wounds to her neck and significant slashing to the face. Forensic linguist Dr Betsy Barry, who analyzed Clemmings' voicemail without having any prior knowledge of the case said it was "a rape situation" which ended in murder and that the man was probably a repeat offender.

Holes identified that the times of the murder had been carefully selected at a time when everyone was home and free. He also noted how both women had been stabbed with knives that the attacker took from their kitchens. This could mean that the attacker could not risk being caught with a weapon on him given probation or parole.

Holes and his team checked for single serial predators through public source information and found one individual who was an active serial predator at the time, Charles Lendelle Carter.

It was also found that Carter was known to frequent Jamaican clubs where he had met one of his other victims, Apriel Allen. According to Jennifer Clemmings' sisters, Clemmings also used to spend time at Jamaican clubs.

Current Status 

Holes and his team are awaiting DNA test results that will confirm whether Charles Lendelle Carter is responsible for the murders of Jennifer Clemmings and Tamekia Taylor.

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