Donald “Pee Wee” Gaskins court-record journal

Keep the convictions, the victims, and the claimed totals in separate columns.

Use South Carolina and federal court records to follow the documented prosecutions and prison murder, while treating sensational self-reported victim totals as disputed claims—not settled history.

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Build a private Research File with original links, search context, and your own notes.

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The app explains the next move while the sources stay original.

On iPhone, open Gaskins’s profile, start or reopen the Research File, and choose one timeline part. Almost Solved helps you ask a focused question, tune the search, leave the app for one source, and return with a traceable note.

1
Open the profile
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2
Pick one timeline part
Keep who, what, where, when, and the source attached to the correct moment.
3
Ask one question
Use Who, What, Where, When, Why, How, or Verify instead of searching the whole case at once.
4
Choose “Search with”
Tap a plain-language term that narrows the outside query to this exact timeline part.
5
Choose a source lane
Podcast Links open in Apple Podcasts. Blogs & Writeups, Confirmed Sources, and Websites open in Safari.
6
Return and save the breadcrumb
With Find It Again on, returning records the trip. Add the exact URL and your own note when useful.

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These panels show the question, the Search with terms, representative source results, and the note prompt you answer after returning.

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What · Court record

What do the South Carolina opinions actually establish about the Bellamy and Tyner cases?

In the app: Search with

State v. Gaskins
Dennis Bellamy
Rudolph Tyner

Start in Confirmed Sources and save each docket separately. Similar names and repeated summaries can collapse distinct prosecutions into one story.

Representative results

Confirmed SourcesSouth Carolina Supreme Court · 1978

State v. Gaskins, 270 S.C. 296

The appellate record for the Dennis Bellamy murder conviction and the capital statute used at the 1976 trial.

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Confirmed SourcesSouth Carolina Supreme Court · 1985

State v. Gaskins, 284 S.C. 105

The Rudolph Tyner murder appeal, prison evidence, sentence review, and the court’s account of earlier pleas.

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Podcast LinksCarolina Crimes · January 3, 2023

Creating a Monster — Part 1

A South Carolina-focused narrative source. Use it to identify questions, then verify names, dates, and counts in the court record.

Open in Apple Podcasts

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Which victim, charge, court, decision date, and outcome belong to this exact record?

Verify · Victim chronology

Which victim count is supported by pleas or convictions, and which total came from Gaskins’ later claims?

In the app: Search with

seven guilty pleas
eight counts
claimed victim total

Do not force every number into one total. Keep charge count, conviction count, plea count, and claimed count as separate fields with separate sources.

Representative results

Confirmed SourcesSouth Carolina Supreme Court · 1985 opinion

Court description of the 1978 pleas

The opinion names seven victims tied to seven murder pleas and separately describes Gaskins as already serving sentences for multiple murder convictions.

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Blogs & WriteupsSouth Carolina Encyclopedia

Donald Gaskins reference profile

A secondary historical overview that repeats broad confession claims. File those as claims unless a named case record supports them.

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Podcast LinksLast Podcast on the Left · December 1, 2017

Pee Wee Gaskins Part I

Commentary with graphic subject matter. Treat its totals and anecdotes as leads for source checking, not court findings.

Open in Apple Podcasts

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What kind of count is this, who supplied it, and which source can be reopened?

What “results” means here: These are representative direct destinations and original Almost Solved navigation summaries. Search ordering can change. The app saves your path and note; it does not copy an article body, transcript, social post, hosted audio, or a publisher’s conclusion into your Research File.

The research journal

19 entries. One traceable file.

9 dated case entries and 10 source-room entries point to 11 original destinations. Search the journal or narrow it by source role.

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Preparing the journal…

1969-1975 Alcatraz East

Carolina highway murders context

Alcatraz East says investigators found remains of murdered boys and girls along Carolina highways from the period between 1969 and 1975.

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1975-02-12 Alcatraz East

Silas Yates murder

Alcatraz East says Gaskins kidnapped and murdered Silas Yates on February 12, 1975 in a paid killing arrangement.

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1975 Alcatraz East

Doreen Dempsey and child murder

Alcatraz East describes Gaskins murdering Doreen Dempsey and her child and burying them together.

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1976-04-27 Alcatraz East

eight murder charges

Alcatraz East says Gaskins and Walter Neely were charged with eight counts of murder on April 27, 1976.

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1976-05-24 South Carolina Supreme Court

Dennis Bellamy conviction

The 1978 South Carolina Supreme Court opinion records that a jury convicted Gaskins of murdering Dennis Bellamy in May 1976 and imposed a death sentence under the statute then in effect.

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1982-09-12 South Carolina Supreme Court

Rudolph Tyner murder

State v. Gaskins says Gaskins was serving life sentences when death-row inmate Rudolph Tyner was murdered by an explosive device on September 12, 1982.

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1984-09-12 South Carolina Supreme Court

state supreme court appeal heard

State v. Gaskins says the appeal was heard by the South Carolina Supreme Court on September 12, 1984.

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February 15, 1978 South Carolina Supreme Court

Bellamy judgment reviewed

The South Carolina Supreme Court reviewed the Dennis Bellamy conviction and the capital-sentencing statute. This decision should be read with the later plea and Tyner records rather than treated as the whole case.

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1978 plea record described in 1985 opinion South Carolina Supreme Court

Seven named murder pleas entered

The later South Carolina Supreme Court opinion says a plea agreement placed a detailed confession in the Florence court record and served as the basis for seven guilty pleas to murder.

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Reference room law.justia.com