Human remains identified in Berkeley County may have been victim of serial killer

BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD) – Human remains that were discovered in 1977 were recently identified through Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office cold case investigators.

The remains were found on October 4, 1977, by a worker who was clearing brush on Sawgrass Avenue in Goose Creek, according to the sheriff’s office.

Sheriff Duane Lewis explained that at the time, the Berkeley County Coroner collected the scattered remains and sent them to the Medical University of South Carolina to be examined.

Those remains were returned to the sheriff’s office in June 2020 and transferred to the University of North Texas for Human Identification Forensic Anthropology for further analysis.

While there, they were able to determine the victim was likely an African American female of medium build, between the ages of 30 to 60, and 5’4” to 5’6” in height.

Berkeley County’s investigators sent the remains to the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office and a facial reconstruction was created.

“During the investigation, it was determined the victim was murdered by serial killer Samuel “Sam” Little. Prior to his death in 2020, convicted murderer Little was interviewed extensively and confessed to a killing he committed in the Charleston area in the 1970s,” the sheriff’s office explained.

Detectives reviewed audio and video recordings from Little’s confessions. It was discovered that Little told detectives he murdered an unidentified female by strangulation after meeting her at a nightclub in North Charleston.

Little provided an additional detailed description of the geographic location where he drove the victim and where the homicide occurred, the sheriff’s office said.

Additional information was given to detectives earlier this year from the FBI Investigative Genetic Genealogy Team of someone who possibly had family ties to the victim.

After an interview, they were able to fill in missing information regarding the case and positively identify the victim as Leola Etta Bryant, who was 51 at the time of her death.

“During the interview, it was revealed the victim went missing in March 1974. She was last seen at the Midway Bar on Reynold’s Avenue, the same location Little stated he met the victim prior to killing her,” the sheriff’s office said.

The victim was reported missing at the time to the North Charleston Police Department.