The Murders of Linda McAllister and Chet Clemons
For this episode, I watched an episode of Killer Couples on Oxygen. This episode aired on June 25, 2020.
A loving grandma and her new husband go missing.
Background
Linda McAllister was a 64 year old mom of two and grandmother of five, living in Conway, South Carolina. She was described as spunky and full of life. Linda was also very caring, and would often help people who needed it the most.
Linda’s first marriage ended and in the summer of 2016, she met a man from Ohio named William ‘Chet’ Clemons. Chet was 20 years younger, but Linda’s family said he was good for her.
At the time that Linda and Chet disappeared, they were remodeling their home and just starting their new lives together.
Chet and Linda
The Disappearance
In the summer of 2017, a contractor called Linda’s son Bo. He said that he was supposed to work on Linda’s home, and it didn’t look like there was anyone there. The door was unlocked, so he decided to go in. The house was in disarray and Linda’s beloved dogs hadn’t been let out or fed, there was poop and urine all over.
At this time, Bo hadn’t heard from his mom in several days, so he called his sister Dara Hodge. Dara said she would go over to the house and look. Dara didn’t have a key, and after the neighbors confirmed that Linda and Chet hadn’t been seen in several days, Dara called the police.
Dara filed a missing persons report. Dara also said Linda’s blue pick up truck was missing, and the police asked for the license plate number. Dara didn’t know, but she decided to call her daughter Jordan to get the number. Jordan was Linda’s favorite grandchild, and they were really close. If anyone would know anything about Linda and her whereabouts, it was Jordan.
When Dara called Jordan, Jordan said that Linda wasn’t missing. She said Linda and Chet had to go to Ohio, where Chet’s family lived, for a family emergency. Jordan also said she had been taking care of the dogs, but Dara was pissed because that clearly wasn’t the case.
The police left, but this wasn’t the last time they would hear from the family.
Dara’s Investigation
Dara and Bo still thought it was odd that Linda wasn’t answering them, but they had no reason to not believe Jordan.
Dara decided to do her own investigation. She didn’t have any contact information for Chet’s family members, so she looked on Facebook to see if she could find anything. Dara was able to find a few people, and she asked them if Linda and Chet were still in Ohio. One person responded with “they haven’t made it back yet?” This person turned out to be a super distant cousin of Chet’s that hadn’t spoken to Chet for awhile.
Two days after filing a missing persons report, Dara decided to go back to Linda’s house. Jordan still hadn’t taken the dogs out. Then, Dara went into the bedroom and found a few things that weren’t there the previous day. Linda’s toothbrush, her asthma medication, phone charges plugged in and the TV was on. It seemed like someone had been in the house and just left.
Dara also received a call from Chet’s sister and brother, they both said there was no family emergency in Ohio. Dara was really confused.
This episode didn’t have the exact dates, so the timeline is a little messy. Dara decided to go back to Linda’s one more day just to be sure before she contacted the police again. This time Linda’s blue tennis shoes were found, Linda’s wallet was on the dresser, but all her cash and credit cards were gone and a picture of Chet and Linda was turned over. There was also a bank bag that held Chet and Linda’s keys was gone. Dara contacted the police again.
Where are Chet and Linda?
The police opened a missing persons investigation.
The first suspect that the police received a tip about was a contractor that had been fired by the couple. They apparently had a dispute with the guy about money he thought he was owed. This turned out to be a dead end, the contractor was out of town for awhile.
Dara started to become very suspicious about her daughter, Jordan. She decided to go over there to see if Linda’s truck, or even Linda herself was there. Jordan had been living in a trailer at this point, and when Dara drove down Jordan’s street, she noticed Linda’s truck. Dara called Bo, and they told the police about this.
Jordan’s New Boyfriend
Jordan Hodge had always been close to her family, especially Linda. Jordan loved to be out and about, but this all seemed to change when she met Kenny Carlisle.
Kenny and Jordan met online, and seemed to hit it off after their first date. Jordan told her family about Kenny, and brought him over to meet them. Jordan’s parents and Linda were not impressed. They noticed that Kenny had an ankle monitor on, and he told them that he had gotten into a bar fight and was arrested for battery. This didn’t stop Jordan from seeing Kenny, and soon they were together 24/7.
Jordan’s parents noticed a change in her personality, and Jordan was becoming more withdrawn from her family. Jordan moved out of her parent’s home, and she and Kenny moved in with Linda and Chet. That also stopped working, when Linda told Dara that Kenny was stealing her money. Linda had set aside some money to build a hot tub, and it was all gone.
Kenny and Jordan were soon kicked out, and they moved into a trailer.
Dara tried one more time to get her daughter to stop seeing Kenny, but Jordan blocked her family from her phone and social media. This was just a few weeks before Linda and Chet disappeared.
Closing in on the Killer(s)
After Dara discovered the truck, the police went to Jordan and Kenny’s trailer. Jordan answered the door, and the police asked her if she knew where Linda was and why she had Linda’s truck. Jordan said she already told her family where Linda was, and she had the truck because Linda gave it to her. Jordan was also asked about her grandma’s wallet and money, and Jordan said Linda gave them to her to buy dog food. The police asked Jordan if they could search the truck. Jordan said yes, and that she needed to get the keys.
While Jordan was inside, Kenny came to the door. The police asked him for his ID, and he gave it to them. The detectives said Kenny was very nervous and visibly shaking. Kenny told the police that they had lost the keys, and Jordan came back and also said they lost the keys. The police decided to seize the truck to try to get a search warrant for it.
The police brought Jordan and Kenny into the station for further questioning.
New Evidence
Jordan was very friendly and cooperative during her investigation, and she appeared like she didn’t have a care in the world. Jordan told the police that Linda followed Chet everywhere he went, which is why she went to Ohio with him. Dara said the opposite, she said Linda was a homebody and she wouldn’t just stop responding to them.
Kenny told the police that he believed Chet hurt Linda. He said Chet was the dominant one, and would even joke about punching Linda. Kenny said Chet owned a gun. Jordan and Kenny were released, but the police were about to get a lot of evidence against the young couple.
The day after the interviews, the police obtained Linda’s financial records. The bank records showed various large purchases at Walmart. The charges started on July 4th at midnight.
The police obtained surveillance footage from Walmart. They started by looking at the footage from July 4th. It showed Jordan and Kenny driving in Linda’s blue truck, and walking in holding hands. They purchased food, alcohol, hair dye and various items for their house. The police also found surveillance footage from several ATMs. They said the couple spent $11,000 in ten days, from July 4-12.
Jordan and Kenny were arrested for theft and credit card fraud.
A Discovery
One day after Kenny and Jordan were arrested, a couple called 911. They told the police they had found a body near the river, after they had smelled a foul odor.
The police arrived, and they did find a body. In fact, they found two bodies, a male and a female. They had both been shot with a .25 caliber gun. The bodies were confirmed to be Linda and Chet.
With this information, the police finally obtained a search warrant for Linda’s truck. What they found was shocking. Inside the truck, they found blood everywhere. There was blood on the floor boards in the back seat, in a compartment, on the center console and on the old floor mats found in the trunk.
Linda’s truck also had a GPS, and with the GPS, the police were able to determine that Jordan and Kenny had control over the truck. The police found out where the murder took place, and that the truck stopped there for 11 minutes. The truck then drove to a car wash, Walmart and Jordan’s trailer.
The police theorized that Kenny had been the shooter, while Jordan watched.
Arrests, Trial and Convictions
On July 16, 2017, Jordan Hodge and Kenny Carlisle were arrested and charged with two counts of first degree murder.
Kenny and Jordan mug shots and Linda with Chet
The prosecution painted Jordan as a once loving granddaughter, who turned on Linda after Kenny manipulated her. This was Jordan’s first real relationship, and she needed to please Kenny. The prosecution said Kenny and Jordan wanted money and killed Linda for it, after she let them in her home.
The defense said that Jordan and Kenny shouldn’t be found guilty because the police couldn’t determine or prove who the actual shooter was.
The jury didn’t buy what the defense was putting out, and Jordan and Kenny were both found guilty and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Other
Jordan’s parents begged for the judge to give Jordan the maximum sentence. They both said they still love her, but she deserves the consequences for what she did.
Jordan’s family after she’s sentenced
FINAL THOUGHTS
I will never understand how family members can kill their family members. I watch so much true crime and I think it’s one thing I’ll never understand. I think Jordan and Kenny were both just as guilty as the other, and they both deserve to rot in prison. The saddest part of this case was when Bo was saying all Jordan had to do was ask Linda for money or anything, and she would have given it to her. I hope Jordan and Kenny think about what they did everyday, especially Jordan.
Sources
https://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/news/local/crime/article235748382.html
https://www.wbtw.com/news/conway-man-charged-in-brutal-death-of-grandparents-sobs-in-court/
https://wpde.com/news/local/evidence-reveals-how-conway-couple-was-murder-in-day-two-of-murder-trial
