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Mary Lynn Witherspoon lived in South Carolina and was stalked for over two decades by her ex-boyfriend's son, Tennent Brown the fourth. Many people warned Mary Lynn over the years that she should get a restraining order, but she didn't want to get Tennent in trouble. Tennent began breaking into Mary Lynn's home and stealing her clothes. Things had finally gone too far and the police were notified. Tennent was charged with 3rd degree burglary and Mary Lynn was signed up for the victim notification program. She wasn't notified on the day Tennent was released and she was murdered. Tennent now goes by Katheryn and has requested to have gender-affirming plastic surgery.
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Mary Lynn Witherspoon lived in South Carolina and was stalked for over two decades by her ex-boyfriend's son, Tennent Brown the fourth. Many people warned Mary Lynn over the years that she should get a restraining order, but she didn't want to get Tennent in trouble. Tennent began breaking into Mary Lynn's home and stealing her clothes. Things had finally gone too far and the police were notified. Tennent was charged with 3rd degree burglary and Mary Lynn was signed up for the victim notification program. She wasn't notified on the day Tennent was released and she was murdered. Tennent now goes by Katheryn and has requested to have gender-affirming plastic surgery.
BACKGROUND
Mary Lynn Witherspoon was born in 1950 and she was a French teach at Charlestowne Academy. She was described as bright, giving, patient, understanding and well-liked. In 1981 she met a man named Edmonds Tennent Brown the third, who was an attorney. Edmonds had a son who was around 10 years old at the time, Tennent Brown the 4th. Growing up, Tennent never had friends and he wasn't able to relate to children, but craved attention from adults. He was very jealous of the attention that his father gave to Mary Lynn and he became very isolated. Mary Lynn and Edmonds eventually broke up, but unfortunately, she continued to have interaction with the son, Tennent.
STALKING
Tennent's behavior was odd and he began dropping by Mary Lynn's home without calling and would often wait outside for her to get home from work. Tennent obsessively stalked Mary Lynn for over two decades. In April of 2003, Tennent was waiting in Mary Lynn's backyard and she saw him when she returned home and discovered that items were missing from her laundry room. She didn't report the incident to the police, but she did tell some family members. They urged her to press charges and get a restraining order. Mary Lynn decided to go to a gun shop to get some advice. They gave her pepper spray to put by her bed and had her install a security system.
Tennent broke into the home again and stole clothes from Mary Lynn's laundry room. She was finally scared and decided to give a statement to police on July 10th, 2003. Tennent was charged with 3rd degree burglary and Mary signed up for the victim notification program. This way, she would be contacted if Tennent was transferred or let out.
MURDER
On November 14th, 2003, Tennent broke into Mary Lynn's home as she was getting ready for work. He raped her, strangled her and left her body in the bathtub. When Mary Lynn didn't show up for her French class and hadn't contacted a substitute teacher, the school contacted her family and they called the police to report her missing. The police went to the home and found everything in massive disarray. Clothes were everywhere, eggs had been prepared and were sitting in the kitchen, spindles on the staircase were broken, and they found Mary Lynn had been murdered.
Police knew that it was Tennent since he had just been released. They figured he would show back up at Mary Lynn's home, so a police detective stayed inside to wait. Tennent did show up wearing Mary Lynn's pants and undergarments. They did a search of his car and found a VERY detailed letter with hundreds of pages that he wrote while he was in prison and apparently, he was allowed to leave with it and no one checked to see what it was. Tennent practiced Mary Lynn's signature hundreds of times, wrote about his plan to murder her and to refinance her house. On his to-do list: Get a stun gun, take care of MLW and put her on ice.
THE PLAN
The day after the murder, a victim notification letter showed up to Mary Lynn's home, but it said Tennent was being transferred, not released. He had been dropped off at a mental facility, but never reported to his counseling session and went missing. On the day of Mary Lynn's funeral, a Fed Ex package arrived to her home that had a wig, that matched her hair color, makeup and foam breasts. Tennent used her credit card for the purchase and was planning on becoming her and taking over her life. He had her car keys, house keys and already changed his driver's license address to Mary Lynn's home.
In 2004, Tennent plead guilty to Mary Lynn's murder and was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Tennent now goes by Katheryn and claims the emotional distraction of suppressing his gender identity in court put him in a state that is similar to PMS and caused him to confess to a crime he didn't commit. He has requested that the South Carolina Department of Corrections provide him with gender-affirming plastic surgery. He says, “If I had not been such an emotional basket case, I would have plead not guilty and taken my chances with a jury trial.”
The claim is that his lawyer insisted he hide his gender identity issues in court. He says, “If I had been able to dress the way that I would have felt more confident, I would have been dressed in a cream-colored Chanel skirt-suit with a pair of 4.5 inch spike heel Jimmy Choos and make-up.” He says, “I truly believe my outward appearance does not match or correspond with my inner self, but as a female I would be complete and a productive member of society because I would actually be comfortable in my own skin.”
South Carolina law prohibits the use of state funds for gender-affirming procedures. If an inmate was actually taking the hormones prior to incarceration, the state will continue to provide the use of the drugs.
In 2005, South Carolina introduced a law called Mary Lynn's Law because the victim notification program failed her. If someone signs up for this program, they must receive a phone call immediately if someone is being transferred or let out. They are not able to leave a voicemail and must speak to the person on the phone. If they are not able to get through right away, an officer will be dispatched to the person's home or work to make face to face contact. This is Mary Lynn's legacy.
Resources:
Mary Lynn Witherspoon
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Lynn_Witherspoon
Transgender South Carolina inmate serving life sentence for raping, killing French teacher seeks tax payer-funded sex change
https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/transgender-s-inmate-seeks-sex-change-article-1.2606911
Man Who Stalked, Raped, Killed Female Teacher Seeks Sex Change
Mary Lynn Witherspoon
https://www.chillingcrimes.com/blogs/news/mary-lynn-witherspoon
