Police: Woman killed 4 in SC for insurance money


October 25, 2011 at 1:57p.m.

Police: Woman killed 4 in SC for insurance money

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Police say a South Carolina woman shot and killed her two sons, her ex-husband and stepmother to collect life insurance and tried to make it look like one son killed them all.

Prosecutors say 48-year-old Susan Hendricks is charged with four counts of murder for the deaths in two neighboring homes Oct. 14.

Investigators said Hendricks was in one of the homes that night. She told deputies her youngest son had been using drugs and was suicidal. Officers found a gun by his body, and Hendricks said he left her a note.

But investigators said it was all staged and her statements were inconsistent with the evidence.

The homes are about five miles outside Liberty, in an area of mixed farms and suburban residences in the state’s west.