| Stephen Stanko |
The Associated Press
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. - An ex-convict who co-wrote a book on prisons with two criminology professors was being sought Monday as a suspect in two killings and the rape of a teenager.
Police issued a nationwide alert for Stephen Stanko, 37, who was released from prison last year after serving 8 1/2 years of a 10-year sentence for kidnapping.
Georgetown County Police were seeking Stanko in the strangulation death of Laura Ling, a 43-year-old librarian with whom he shared a home. She was found dead Friday.
He is also accused of shooting 74-year-old Henry Lee Turner of Horry County, whose body was found Saturday. Stanko and Turner knew each other, but it was not clear what their relationship was, police spokesman Andy Christenson said.
Police were notified of Ling’s death early Friday morning when a teenager called 911 and said she had been sexually assaulted by Stanko.
Stanko co-wrote “Living in Prison: A History of the Correctional System With an Insider’s View” while in prison with the help of two professors.
One of the professors, Gordon A. Crews, told Florence television station WBTW he knew Stanko was having a hard time getting back into the real world.
“Nobody wants a convicted kidnapper working at Best Buy with them,” Crews, a criminal justice professor at Roger Williams University in Bristol, R.I.
“The last time I spoke to him, he was very, very depressed. He was on the verge of giving up,” Crews said. “He had stated he was not going back to prison because of the things he had been through.”
A week ago, Stanko was fired after working for a month as a salesman for Stucco Supply in Myrtle Beach. Jeff Kendall, the company’s general manager, described Stanko as a smooth talker who was upfront about his time in prison, but was unreliable and brought in few sales.
“He wanted to do everything,” Kendall said. “I was the one that gave him a chance. I said, ‘I’ll give you a chance, but from there, it’s up to you.’ ”
Investigators said Stanko is armed and dangerous. Police think Stanko took Turner’s black 1996 Mazda pickup truck; Ling’s car had been found in Turner’s driveway, authorities said.