February 4, 2014
(Anderson, SC) Charlie Gene Wood received a twenty-year sentence today in Anderson General Sessions Court following his guilty plea to voluntary manslaughter in the death of Renee Charping in 2011. The Honorable Edward Miller presided.
On December 6, 2011, Anderson County deputies responded to a call regarding a deceased female, who was eventually identified as Renee Charping, 42 years of age, located outside of her car at 727 Little Mountain Road in Anderson County. Two bystanders had initially located the body and also found an infant child in the back of the car who had not been harmed. They took the baby to their home until the deputies arrived. Charlie Gene Wood was identified as one of the last persons to have been seen with the victim when she was alive. According to witnesses, the victim had come into contact with the Defendant when she was looking to buy meth and the two drove off in her car together, with the baby in the backseat. Two receipts for pseudoephedrine were located in the car, and investigators were able to obtain surveillance videos from the pharmacies wherein the victim was seen buying the pseudoephedrine, an ingredient used in the manufacturing of methamphetamines. Several other witnesses report seeing the Defendant after the incident would have occurred and stated he was acting strangely and had made an admission of sorts regarding having killed Charping. When questioned by law enforcement, the Defendant claimed that Charping was setting him up and that she pulled a gun on him and tried to rob him. However, he also stated that he blacked out and did not know what happened. The Defendant’s fingerprint was located in the victim’s blood on the window of her car and his jacket with his ID was also located at the crime scene. Autopsy results showed the victim died as a result of massive blunt force trauma from multiple blows to the head. The toxicology reports indicate that the victim did have meth in her system, with levels suggesting recent use.
“The vicious nature of the crime, plus the fact that a baby was in the back seat when it happened, demanded that Mr. Wood be punished severely,” stated Solicitor Chrissy Adams. “We hope this brings the family of Renee Charping some sense of justice and closure. We want to assure our community that the law is in place to protect all people, regardless of circumstances.”