Gretchen Parker was not on any registry. She had no record, no offense, no reason to be targeted. She was simply home when Jeremy and Christine Moody knocked on the door of her Jonesville, South Carolina house pretending to have car trouble. That detail, more than anything else in this case, tells you exactly what kind of logic was driving the people who killed her.

How It Happened

Jeremy and Christine Moody found the name of 59-year-old Charles Parker on South Carolina's public sex offender registry. His home address was listed alongside his name, as it is for every registered offender in the state. The Moodys used that address to show up at his door under the pretense of needing help with their car.

Once inside, they killed Charles Parker and his 51-year-old wife Gretchen. Jeremy Moody later told police the reason was straightforward: Charles Parker was on the registry, and that was sufficient justification. Investigators also found a written list of other registered sex offenders, with another name apparently scheduled to be visited days later. The arrests came first.

What They Said in Court

The Moodys pleaded guilty to two counts of murder, two counts of kidnapping, two counts of possession of a firearm during a violent crime, and first-degree burglary. When the sentencing hearing ended and they were being led out of the courtroom to begin their life sentences, Jeremy Moody shouted that child molesters do not deserve to live. Christine Moody told reporters that killing Charles Parker was the best day of her life.

When it was pointed out that she had told the court she repented, Christine Moody did not hesitate. She said it was not true and that her lawyer had made her say it.

Charles Parker's sister Brenda Franklin watched all of it. She told reporters the Moodys were laughing about what they had done and how they had done it.

The Ideology Behind the Violence

Jeremy Moody had the words "white power" tattooed across the top of his bald head and "skinhead" tattooed nearly ear to ear beneath his chin. He and Christine identified as members of a white supremacist group called Crew 41. A psychologist who evaluated them, Harold Morgan, concluded they believed they had a divine assignment to kill sex offenders.

Their stated mission was not personal. Jeremy Moody told police his intention was to rid the world of sex offenders entirely, working through the registry name by name.

The Registry as a Targeting Tool

After the murders, the National Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws formally asked then-Governor Nikki Haley to remove home addresses from the public view of the online registry. The request was disregarded.

Gretchen Parker had no connection to the registry at all. She was at home. Jeremy and Christine Moody are both serving life sentences in South Carolina.