Pickens man draws life prison term

A 23-year old man from Pickens has been sent to prison for the rest of his life after pleading guilty yesterday to strangling an 89-year old woman in Liberty, sexually assaulting her, and then stealing cash from her.  Walt Wilkins, the Greenville-Pickens solicitor, announced that Thomas James Chapman pleaded guilty to murder, criminal sexual conduct first degree, and assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature.  According to Wilkins, Chapman compounded the crimes by returning to the woman’s home the same night in April 2020, breaking in once again, and this time violently cutting her throat with a large knife, resulting in her death.