In May 2006, a Clemson University student was found murdered in her apartment in Central, South Carolina, by the name of Tiffany Souers, who was just 20 years old at that time. The search to find the killer would take a few weeks, but on June 5, 2006, 35-year-old Jerry Buck Inman was identified as a suspect in the case.
Inman is a lifelong criminal who had recently been released from prison after serving a lengthy sentence in 2005. Jerry Buck Inman also had a long history of violent behavior issues and severe mental illness. It is stated that he had tried to commit suicide seven times, and one time, he reportedly swallowed barbed wire to end his life.
Inman drifted around the southeast in search of young women. He was very identifiable by his tattoos, which included several skull tattoos and an image of a bat on his neck. In 2005, he arrived in Tennessee after serving 16 years in a Florida prison for sex offenses. Inman had listed a home in Dandridge, Tennessee, as his residence, which belonged to his parents and sister, on a sex offender registry in Florida and North Carolina.
Jerry Buck Inman found work in the construction business, working with Shular Contracting Inc., but was terminated when he failed to report to work. Some have reported that Inman found work in construction in the Clemson area. In contrast, others say that he just preyed upon college campuses and decided to land in the Upstate by happenstance.
Inman didn’t know his next victim or the others that he had viciously attacked and assaulted in the past. The predator found the young civil engineering student by driving around in her off-campus apartment complex. He would later attack Souers, raping and killing the young woman with a bikini top. She was found with her wrists and ankles bound inside the apartment,
During the two-week hunt to locate the killer, another man was arrested for the crime, but was let go. It wouldn’t be until June 5, 2006, that Jerry Buck Inman would become a suspect. On June 6, Inman was arrested almost three hours away in Danridge, Tennessee. When approached, he acted surprised that the case had received as much attention. He appeared unaware that authorities were looking for him, and even said something along the lines, “If I had known I was wanted for murder, I wouldn’t be here.”
After Souers was killed, Inman tried to use her Atm card on two different occasions, while his face was covered around 3:36 a.m., but authorities were not able to identify him.
When Jerry Buck Inman was handcuffed for the crime, he was asked, “Why did he do it?” In which he replied, “Because I’m a sick animal!” Inman was returned to South Carolina to face the charges of murder, rape, and kidnapping.
He currently sits on death row at the Broad River Correctional facility. On August 22, 2023, he was found in possession of a weapon while incarcerated.
Written By: John G. Clark Jr.