Meanwhile, looking for a less-conspicuous getaway vehicle, Brock and West kidnapped Navy lieutenant Kirby Phelps from a rest stop near Boniva, Mississippi with the intention of tying him to a tree and stealing his vehicle. While Brock was unloading the jeep, however, West shot Phelps twice. The two men then split up; Brock voluntarily surrendered to the police in Georgia on December 20, while West did the same in Chattanooga, Tennessee on Christmas Day.

Unfortunately, in the media circus surrounding the murders, Charles Scudder and Joseph Odom became victims once again, this time in the court of public opinion. Being openly gay and also interested in the occult–Scudder had joined the Church of Satan “to see what it was like,” according to a friend–the two were easy targets for the “Satanic Panic” that was sweeping the nation at the time. It didn’t help that, during his confession, West said, “All I can say is they were devils and I killed them, that’s how I feel about it.” CrimeFeed reports that both men were found guilty; Brock received three consecutive life terms, while West was sentenced to death. West's death sentence was later overturned on appeal. Today, both men are behind bars.

Related: Horror in Wisconsin: Frank Lloyd Wright and the Taliesin Murders

Stories began to circulate about the couple’s unusual homestead (probably helped along by the fact that it had as ominous a name as Corpsewood Manor). Even before a fire destroyed most of the non-brick portions of the buildings, people began to say that the place was haunted. Whether Corpsewood's alleged paranormal activity was due to the brutal murder of its inhabitants or the devil-worshipping that supposedly went on beforehand depends on who you ask.

House of Horror: The Brutal Murders at Georgia's Corpsewood Manor

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