‘Sick-minded’ serial killer who preyed on elderly women will spend life in prison

SPARTANBURG, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - Investigators from multiple agencies held a press conference on Wednesday morning to release new details in the investigation into a serial killer who preyed on women in North and South Carolina.

Daniel Printz pleaded guilty in federal court on Tuesday to kidnapping and killing 80-year-old Edna Suttles, a Greenville County, SC woman who was the focus of a missing persons search in 2021.

Printz was sentenced to life in prison and ordered to pay $35.7K in restitution.

As part of the plea agreement, Printz admitted to killing three other women: Nancy Rego, her mother Dolores Sellers, and Leigh Goodman, all from North Carolina.

“He is a serial killer. I’ll make no mistake about it,” said Greenville County Sheriff Hobart Lewis. “He was a sick-minded individual, dangerous individual. He preyed on the elderly. He preyed on females. So we’re glad we got him.”

During his sentencing, Printz briefly addressed the judge and the family members of his victims, saying he was sorry and asked for forgiveness although admitting his apology cannot undo what he has done.

Edna Suttles

Edna Suttles, 80, was reported missing from Greenville County in August 2021. She was a grandmother of six and great-grandmother of 12. She was the owner of A-1 Bail Bonding, making her the first woman bail bondsman in South Carolina.

Federal investigators became involved in the search for Suttles and a federal search warrant unsealed in March shows detectives found surveillance video of suspect Daniel Printz getting into her Jeep at the Food Lion in Travelers Rest on the day she went missing.

The warrant said Suttles’ belongings including a purse and her Jeep keys were found hidden in a bee box on Printz’s property on Kiser Road in Rutherford County. In the bee box, investigators say they also found rope, zip ties and rubber gloves.

In May, her body was found in a wooded area off of Harris Holly Springs Road in Rutherfordton, NC.

According to a new federal criminal complaint that was unsealed on Tuesday, federal agents say Printz has a prior conviction for kidnapping in Michigan and is a person of interest in other the disappearances of other elderly women.

Investigators say they identified Printz through his Food Lion frequent shopper card.

According to the court documents, when investigators initially questioned Printz about Suttles, he told them he was a handyman and considered Suttles a friend but denied involvement in her disappearance.

In October 2021, a cadaver dog was brought to Printz’s property and alerted to a strong scent of human decomposition on a vehicle panel from Suttles’ car and Printz’s wife’s car, which they say he used in kidnapping Suttles.

At Printz’s home, investigators say they found pill bottles for cyclobenzaprine, tramadol and lorazepam that were prescribed to 66-year-old Nancy Rego, a woman missing out of Charlotte. A yogurt container found in the bee box with Suttles’ belongings that was bought at the Travelers Rest Food Lion on the day she disappeared tested positive for these drugs, according to federal investigators,

Printz was captured on surveillance video moving Suttles, who was motionless, to his wife’s vehicle outside the Food Lion in Travelers Rest and wiping down Suttles’ Jeep, according to the court documents.

Federal investigators say that after kidnapping and drugging Suttles, Printz zip-tied her and suffocated her with a bag.

When Printz was questioned again in October, he told investigators he wanted to come clean about his “sins” and would relay details to a defense attorney about the deaths of five different people.

Nancy Rego & Dolores Sellers

Dolores Sellers died at home in 2017 at 88 years old. She lived in Charlotte but was born in Loris, SC.

“She had two children and was a wonderful mother,” said Justin Holloway, assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of South Carolina. “She was beautiful, she loved to sing and reminded family and friends of Elizabeth Taylor.”

Investigators say they later determined Sellers was killed by a lethal dose of prescription medication administered by Printz.

Sellers’ daughter, Nancy Rego, is also a victim of Printz. She was a massage therapist who lived in Charlotte near her mother.

“She will be remembered mostly for her laughs, for her love and her spirit full of life,” Holloway said. “That infectious laugh is what her family members will so fondly remember.”

Printz shot Rego to death in 2018.

According to the court records, Printz was listed as having power of attorney for Rego’s bank account, which continued to receive Social Security deposits and had transactions almost every day after her disappearance.

All daily transactions on Rego’s bank account stopped after Printz was arrested, according to the FBI.

Rego’s family has received emails from someone claiming to be her since she disappeared, but the person always declined to meet or speak with the family.

Leigh Goodman

Leigh Goodman, a mother of four and an occupational therapist, died in 2018 at 61 years old.

“Lee’s love for the beach was surpassed by her love for her children,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Holloway. “She never had it easy, but she didn’t let life’s hardships get in her way.”

Holloway said Goodman died within days of meeting Printz.

Printz’s Past

A person who used to be in a relationship with Printz told FOX Carolina’s sister station WBTV, “I was never surprised. Of course I was shocked that someone, you know, could do such a thing. But it didn’t surprise me in the end.”

The person from Printz’s past said he had previously killed a neighbor’s dog.

“He would just love to show off. He would just progress from one thing to the next,” the person told WBTV. “He does not need to be out.”

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