Unsolved Murders

Two recent murders, one in North Charleston and one in Charleston, remain unsolved. These cases stand out because the victims were not the typical criminals we have become so accustomed to seeing gunned down in the Charleston thug wars. Both of these victims were minding their own business when confronted by an element of the Lowcountry previously hidden from most citizens, but recently exposed in the pages of Charleston Thug Life.

We are profiling these two cases in order to keep them foremost in the minds of people in the Lowcountry. Keeping these cases at the forefront also might shame those who know the identity of the murderers into coming forward. If that doesn't work, reminding the denizens of the crime infested neighborhoods where these two murders occurred of the substantial monetary rewards being offered might induce some of them into anonymously divulging the information they are concealing and claiming the cash.

Matthew Renken

Matthew Renken, owner of Port City Liquors in Brentwood Plaza at 4400 Dorchester Road, was found shot to death on 23 April, 2012. Police have revealed that a Rolex watch was stolen from Mr. Renken.

The shopping plaza is located near the subdivisions known as Brentwood and Bennett Yard. Other nearby neighborhoods are Murray Hill, Dorchester Waylyn and Dorchester Terrace. The entire area is infested with Section 8 ne'er-do-wells, drug dealing locations and the thugs who operate them. Port City Liquors has been robbed several times in recent years as has the Domino's Pizza next door. The perpetrator of this crime probably calls Bennett Yard or or Brentwood home.


The statement below was released by the Renken family, who has offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest of the murderous bastard who pulled the trigger.

"It's been more than two months since our son, Matthew Renken, died at the hands of another person in his liquor store in North Charleston. We know that the North Charleston Police Department is working hard on this case and thank them for their continuous effort on our son's homicide. We feel that some individuals in our community may know what happened that evening of April 22, 2012 to Matthew and we are asking anyone with information of that night to please come forward with any information. All tips to Crime Stoppers are anonymous, but if your tip leads us to the person or persons who committed this heinous crime, you will be rewarded the $11,000 reward.

All we want is to find whomever did this our son. Matthew was kind, loving, generous and made friends wherever he went. We want to make sure that the person(s) who did do this never have another chance to kill someone's brother, son or uncle. Our hearts are heavy and all we want is a resolution to our son's senseless death. No parent should endure this heartache.

All it takes to pass on information is one call to 554-1111, or toll free to 1-888-CRIME-SC. Every call is treated with absolute anonymity so that nobody will know the identity of the caller, except you, the caller. Rewards are available and are paid to people who call the program and their information leads to an arrest. All without compromising a caller's anonymity.

Please do the right thing. We must all do our duty to stop this wave of domestic terrorism i.e. random murders, drug-related crime and fear that is sweeping our cities, states and our country. God help us recover our humanity.

Signed,

Linda Renken and Nick Wackym 
The Renken Family"

Domestic terrorism, indeed.

Marley Lion - Only 17 when he was brutally murdered.

The murder of Marley Lion occurred on 16 June, 2012 in the parking lot of a shopping plaza located just in front of the thug infested Ardmore subdivision. As a result of Lion's murder we have been graced with stories from the Propaganda and Criminals newspaper telling us what a super-duper neighborhood Ardmore is. We have heard from a Charleston officer who gave us the standard on-camera platitude of, "There are good people here." Yeah, we know that. Unfortunately those good people are living under the thumb of a violent criminal element. The department's own statistics tell us that. We all know the officer was put on the spot and couldn't very well say, "Yeah, this area is screwed. We should just nuke it." He does have to keep his job, after all.

Just some of the thug crew in Ardmore

In the Lion murder case we are fortunate to have a video of the incident, however grainy it might be. Unfortunately, the police department edited the video prior to releasing it. The department tells us that a black male walked by the vehicle and was probably not involved in the incident, but they still want to interview him as a witness. A second black male approaches the vehicle and peers inside. Lion sets off his panic alarm and the thug flees. He returns a short time later and fires multiple times into the vehicle. Lion was struck five times and died of his wounds.

A multitude of readers have written us with a number of theories, but most seem to think the police minimizing the participation of the first black male is an error. Simply watching his behavior, his walk, and how closely he passed by the vehicle are all things noted by readers. Those readers believe this individual spotted Marley in the backseat of his vehicle and headed into the neighborhood to alert the rest of his crew.

Unfortunately, some are confused by the video below because the first black male is actually shown last - after the shooting. The other interesting thing is that portion of the video is cut short so we don't see in which the direction that person disappears.

So, whether you are a citizen or a denizen, step up with your information and claim the rewards offered in these cases.