Sumter's Finest

Sumter, South Carolina is know for three things. The first being Shaw Air Force Base. Shaw attracts people from all over the world, and is something like the fifth biggest air force base in the country. Yadda Yadda Yadda. Secondly, Sumter is known for Swan Lake. Swan Lake is the only place in the world to have all 7 types of swans. Yadda Yadda Yadda. Finally, and most noteably, Sumter is known as the murder capitol of the south. . . or the country. . . THE WORLD. Sumter is among the tops in the country in death rate . Gangs are prevalent in the area, and Sumter is not a safe place to be after dark. Sumter's most famous murderer dates back a few years to a man by the name of Pee Wee Gaskins.

Donald "Pee Wee" Gaskins was born and raised somewhere between Sumter and Florence. His mother apparently was a floosy and bounced around from man to man, all of whom beat poor little Pee Wee. The object of frequent ridicule, Pee Wee (named for his small body) often got into fights at school. That is until he dropped out at age 11. He worked on his family farm and at a local car garage. At this garage, he found two buddies , Danny and Marsh, and they named themselves "the trouble trio" . The trio went around town robbing houses, picking up hookers, and even raping and beating smaller boys. Keep in mind they  was about 11 years old. The trio's sexual rampage ended when they were busted by one of the boys parents . The father of Marsh walked in while the trio was raping Marshes sister ! The father beat the boys senseless, and Marsh and Danny skipped town. Pee Wee stuck around and continued to rob homes.

 

At the age of 13, Pee Wee was interrupted during a robbery by a girl he knew. She attacked him with an axe , and in defense, he gained control of the axe and attacked her , striking her in the head and arms. He was charged with assuault and attempt to kill. He was sent off to reform school until he turned 18. While there, he was raped over and over by his dorm boss. He was constantly trying to escape, causing more sexual and emotional abuse. After a trip to the looney bin, Pee Wee escaped AGAIN and joined the traveling carnival. 

Yadda Yadda Yadda after finishing his sentance at reform school ( he turned himself back in after getting married to a 13 year old), Pee Wee went to work for a tobacco farmer. He began an insurance fraud scam by teaming up with local farmers and burning their barns down for the insurance money. After a short amount of time , people began to talk. They knew something fishy was up , and one girl confronted him. In fact is was the farmer's daughter . His bosses daughter made the mistake of calling him a barn burner. Her second mistake was doing so when he was equipped with a hammer. Pee Wee split her skull. He was sent to prison ( big boy prison this time ) for 5 years for assault . 

It was the same old story in prison for Pee Wee who was sexually abused in exchange for protection. Pee Wee grew tired of the abuse and decided to take action. Knowing his small frame would intimidate no one , he took a different route. He became friends with the meanest man in prison, Hazel. After getting close with him, he cut his throat in front of everyone. Though it cost him six months in solitary confinement, it gained him a lot of respect. Pee Wee never had any more problems in prison. He escaped and was returned several times before being released in 1961.

In 1961 he took a job as a driver and assistant for a traveling minister. This gave him an opportunity to burglarize homes all over the state, and making it hard for him to be traced. During this time, Pee Wee was turned into the police by his forth wife for statutory rape. he was returned to prison.  After being released , he picked up a female hitch hiker. When she laughed at his sexual propisition, he decided to kill her. First he beat her unconscious, raped and tortured her, then weighted her body down and drowned her in a swamp. It is believed this set him off. It was his first of many acts of torture. He began to torture all of his victims , often keeping them alive for days to watch them suffer. He even cannibalized his victims, forcing them to do the same. By 1975 he had killed more than 80 young boys and girls, and considered killing and torture as a "form of weekend entertainment." These were just for fun. This did not compare with his "serious murders."

Serious murderers included family members and close friends . He killed his 15 year old niece and two of her friends after torturing them in front of each other. In another incident, he raped a killed a pregnant woman, and her unborn child. He later described the sex with the unborn child as " the best sex of his life". Several people in town considered Pee Wee insane but harmless. Pee Wee did nothing for his reputation when he bought a hurst , telling people he needed it to drive around dead bodies.  Gaskins returned to prison in 1978 after being convicted of more than 100 murders. In an effort to avoid execution, Pee Wee began to tell of other bodies, not yet known by authorities. People he confessed to killing had already had trials and conviced other people who were in jail. On execution day, Pee Wee slashed his wrist in a suicide attempt. His wrist were stitched when he died in the electric chair. 

More about Gaskins, including gorey details about his tortures and killings, can be found in his book, A Final Truth.