Corpsewood

Gargoyles stared down with their unblinking gaze at the  bodies of the two humans, and two huge dogs which lay decomposing on the floor of the medieval style castle nestled in the serene backwoods setting of rural Chattooga County.  Eerie pictures depicting scenes of violence still hung undisturbed on the walls, while the rooms of the castle were in massive disarray; looking as though a tornado had plowed through the middle of the house and ripped everything to shreds.  Volumes of books concerning Satanic rituals, and other black arts lay strewn haphazardly among the ruins, while over it all hung a strange, sickening odor.  “I can still see it.  That smell, ugh. I can still smell it.”  “There are times when I am in situations where it all still comes back,” said former prosecutor Ralph Van Pelt,

“Other than the smell of death, the whole place just had a funny smell that you can never forget.”  (Summerville News, Dec. 10, 1992).

This was the scene that greeted Chattooga County lawmen at the residence of Dr. Charles Scudder, and his live-in companion Joey Odom on December 16, 1982.  Scudder and Odom, along with their two English Mastiffs lay murdered inside their self-constructed stone “castle.”  Over the next several months, this would become the most infamous murder case in Chattooga County history.  The “devil worship” murders, as they came to be called, would attract national attention because of the nature of the individuals who were murdered, and the bizarre and foreboding setting.  It would wake up an entire community, naive to the lifestyle of satanism, homosexuality, and drugs that was secretly going on in their backyard, and pull them instantly into the this violent reality.

Scudder had been an Associate Professor of Pharmacology at Loyola University in Illinois before he and Odom moved to Chattooga County in 1976, to “escape the city.”  (Summerville News, Dec. 10, 1992).  It took Scudder and Odom three years to complete the construction of their medieval style home, complete with gargoyles, skulls, and old European antique furniture, including a centuries old harp.  They had named the rambling two story brick castle “Corpsewood Manor,” because of the rows of dead trees which they had found strewn around the property when they had first seen it, reminiscent to them of neat rows of corpses.  Only a few very trusted individuals had ever been allowed inside the house.  Fewer still, were allowed past the kitchen into the “inner sanctum.”  Outside, some distance away from the house was a three story building which became known as the “chicken house.”  At the top of this building was a room completely painted in pink, containing only a mattress and bed springs, sheets, a chair, and a kerosene heater.  It was in this pink room that Dr. Charles Scudder played out his homosexual fantasies with various partners, utilizing drugs and other paraphernalia to increase his pleasure.  It was this penchance for sex that lead to his downfall and death at the hands of two people he apparently trusted; Kenneth Brock, and Tony West.

It was Brock and West, along with two other companions, Joey Wells and Teresa Hudgins, who approached Corpsewood on December 12, 1982 in their red 1970 Javelin with murder and robbery in mind.  Already high on “toot-a-loo,” an extremely potent mixture of paint thinner, glue, and alcohol, the two men along with their companions arrived, and apparently at first suggested to Scudder that they be let into the house.  Scudder was apparently unwilling to do this, so it was suggested by someone that they go to the “pink” room.  When they arrived there Brock suggested that they all needed plastic bags to sniff the glue mixture and get high.  Scudder slipped down the ladder from the pink room, and returned with 4 plastic baggies and some home-made wine.  A few minutes later Brock suggested that they needed some more toot-a-loo, and went down the ladder.  When he returned with a 22 rifle Scudder said “bang, bang.”  It was at this point that Brock and West turned violent.  Brock pulled a hunting knife and put it to Scudder’s throat.  “What game do you want to play?” said Scudder, still apparently not believing the men were serious.  “I’ll play your game.”  Brock and West then cut up one of the pink sheets and tied Scudder up, and began to demand money.  Wells and his girlfriend became frightened at this point and wanted to leave, but West also threatened them.  “Tony, you don’t need this on you!”  begged Wells. (Summerville News, December 1992) West would not listen, and went back to threatening Scudder.

Brock then took the 22 rifle, and went down the ladder of the chicken house, and to the back of the manor.  Odom, who was apparently unaware of what was happening turned toward the door when he heard Brock’s approach, and was promptly shot in the head by Brock, through the door.  Brock then went into the house and shot the two huge Mastiffs.  Brock and West then brought the bound and gagged Scudder into the house past his dying companion and into the living room, where they asked the grieving professor one final time where his money was.  Telling them once again that there was no money on the premises, Scudder moaned his final words:  “I brought this on myself.”   West then shot Scudder in the head.  “Now tell me by God I don’t have the guts to kill somebody,” exclaimed West to Brock and the horrified Wells and Hudgins. (Summerville News, Dec. 1992)

Brock and West then ransacked the house taking several items such as a jeweled dagger, a silver candelabra, and some coins and silverware.  Gary McConnell who was sheriff at that time, said these items were valued at about $25,000. dollars, although West and Brock probably got much less for them.  Brock and West and their companions then took Scudders jeep, and drove away from the death house.

With the realization of what they had just done dawning on them, West and Brock took their two companions to West’s sisters house, all the time threatening them not to tell what they had witnessed.  Hudgins could not contain herself, and told West’s sister while she was taking Hudgins home to get some belongings so that she could stay at her house, as Wells put it, “until things cooled off.”  Both West’s sister and Wells again warned Hudgins not to tell anyone what she had seen.  In the meantime, West and Brock had taken off through Alabama in Scudder’s jeep, apparently heading for Mexico.

Realizing that they would probably be reported, and that Scudder’s distinctive jeep, with pentagrams on the sides would be easily recognized, they stopped at a rest stop in Mississippi where West summarily executed Lt. Kirby Phelps in order to get his car.  They then wandered aimlessly across Texas, finally parting ways with each other after an argument at a topless bar in Austin.

In the meantime, Ms. Hudgins had called Sheriff Gary McConnell, and told him what had happened.  The authorities had already discovered the slaughter at Corpsewood because a friend of Scudder and Odoms had noticed some bullet holes in the mansion when he had come to tell them of the death of a mutual friend.  Lt. Phelp’s body had also been discovered in Mississippi by a Civil War relic hunter.  Dr. Scudder’s jeep along with the box of 22 shells that West and Brock had taken, was discovered about ten miles from the scene of this crime.

Knowing that his unexplainable crime spree was over, West came back to Chattanooga Tennessee and turned himself in to Officer Gene Haas.  Because of a mix-up in identifying West’s name, he was almost let go.  However, a call to Chattooga County yielded a very definite yes to the question of whether or not Tony West was a wanted man.  Kenneth Avery Brock hitchhiked back to Georgia, and called his mother from a phone booth off of I-75.  The phone call was traced by police from Brock’s Mother’s phone, and Brock was arrested on the spot.  Both criminals were returned to Summerville to stand trial for the murder’s of Scudder and Odom.

Kenneth Avery Brock confessed at least twice to the murders of Scudder and Odom on the ride back to Summerville from Cobb County, even though he had been read his rights several times by authorities.  He subsequently pled guilty, and was sentenced to three consecutive life terms in prison by Judge Joseph Loggins.  Although first admitting over five times to police that he was guilty of murder, West recanted his confessions, and pled not guilty to the murders.  His trial took place in March of 1983, and although his defense attorneys Ben Ballenger, and Skip Patty tried to contend that West’s and Brock’s murderous rampage was caused by being under the influence of LSD administered to them  by Scudder, he was convicted of murder, and was sentence to die in the State’s electric chair.  This death sentence was later overturned, and West’s sentence was commuted to life in prison.

No one can ever be sure what was in the mind’s of these two young men on December 12, 1982.  Was it drug induced rage that caused the spree, or as prosecutor Ralph Van Pelt stated, just plain old robbery and murder, which was sensationalized by the media due to the unorthodox nature of the victims?  Did Dr. Scudder predict his own death in a supposed self portrait found at Corpsewood depicting a bound and gagged man with a wound to the head?  Was it as West now claims that Dr. Scudder’s soul went into him (West) causing him to do these awful things because Scudder wanted to die so that he could be re-incarnated? (Summerville News, Dec. 1992)  Did Scudder plan to make the Corpsewood Manor a haven for Satanists and subversives?  Was he second in command in the United States to Anton LeVay, the purported head of the Satanist movement in this country?

There is enough written material about this murder to fill many, many volumes with speculation, superstition and innuendo.  The basic facts however, seem to point to plain murder and robbery for which the guilty parties are now behind bars, hopefully for life.

The ghost like remains of Corpsewood are now overtaken by trees, weeds and vines to the point that it would be difficult to know that the castle was ever there.  But although nature is fast reclaiming this spot, I would not want to be there at night…especially on any December 12!