Fugitive Captured In Augusta 20 Years Ago Set To Be Executed In South Carolina

Stephen Stanko sparked a nationwide manhunt in 2006 when he killed two people in South Carolina, raped and brutally attacked one of the victim's daughters, then left the area in a stolen pickup truck.

Stanko's crime spree started in April that year when he beat and strangled his girlfriend, Laura Ling, to death in the home they shared in Georgetown County, then raped the woman's daughter before slashing her throat. The young girl managed to survive and later testified against Stanko at one of his trials.

Stanko left his girlfriend's house after the crimes and went to see his friend, 74-year-old Henry Turner, in Horry County. During the course of the visit, Stanko shot and killed Turner, using a pillow as a silencer.

Police said Stanko's crime spree didn't stop there.

He stole Turner's truck, took money from the victim's bank account, and headed to Augusta.

It was Masters week when officials said it was easier to hide discreetly with big crowds in town for the tournament.

A $10,000 reward was offered for Stanko's arrest and within days tips led to his capture outside Atlanta Bread Company off Robert C. Daniel Jr. Parkway.

While in custody, Stanko admitted he committed the string of violent crimes and attorneys unsuccessfully argued that mental illness was to blame.

In 2006, Stanko was found guilty of Ling's murder and was sentenced to death, plus 110 years for criminal sexual conduct, kidnapping and armed robbery in connection with the assault on Ling's daughter.

Three years later, Stanko was sentenced to death for Turner's murder in Horry County.

Stanko is currently on death row at Broad River Correctional Institution in Columbia. He is scheduled to be executed June 13.

He will get to decide whether he'll die by lethal injection, a firing squad or the electric chair. The deadline for his decision is May 30.

Stanko's lawyers have said he was leaning toward firing squad, but wants more information now that questions have surfaced about problems surrounding Mikal Mahdi's death by the same method there last month. An autopsy revealed Mahdi didn't die within the 15 seconds predicted, and suffered for as long as 45 seconds before his heart stopped. Just one of the four chambers of Mahdi's heart was perforated, prolonging his death. Stanko's lawyers want to know if the same workers would be assigned to Stanko's execution, if he chooses a firing squad.

Stanko will be the sixth inmate killed in South Carolina since 2024. Three inmates chose death by lethal injection, while the other two died by firing squad.