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Tempe police going through 30 years of cold cases after Kohlhepp confession

Posted at 10:16 PM, Nov 18, 2016
and last updated 2016-11-19 00:16:58-05

Investigators say a confession in South Carolina has sent them back through 30 years worth of cold cases.

Earlier this month, Todd Kohlhepp admitted to killing at least seven people over more than a decade after being arrested for having a woman chained up inside a storage container on his property.

Kohlhepp was arrested and convicted three decades ago in a kidnapping and sexual assault case brought by Tempe police.

According to Tempe Police Sgt. Josie Montenegro, investigators are now going back through unsolved homicides dating back to Kohlhepp's original Arizona arrest to see if there is any connection.

One of his suspected victims is the husband of Melissa Ponder Brackman, who now lives in Arizona. Scott Ponder was one of four people shot and killed at a Spartanburg County, South Carolina motorcycle dealership in 2003.

Brackman, who previously spoke to ABC15, said she was hopeful the case could bring closure to her and her son but did not want Kohlhepp to face the death penalty.

“I can’t forgive him, but I don’t want him to die,” Ponder said.