𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬

𝟬𝟮

Donald "Pee Wee Gaskins"

This is the story of a little known serial killer named Donald "Pee Wee"Gaskins. A man who could well have been not only the most prolific serial killer in South Carolina history, but quite possibly in the whole United States. Once his brutality was unleashed, he knew no boundaries, torturing, killing, cannibalizing victims, both male and female, young and old. All serial killers are monsters, but some go out of their way to be truly extra evil. As you will read, Gaskins was definitely one very evil man!! This story has many twists and turns. At times you may not believe all this was possible. It really happened!!!His daughters are still living in North and South Carolina.

Donald Henry Gaskins Jr. or "Pee Wee" Gaskins, as many knew him by, was born in Florence South Carolina March 13, 1933. There are some who will say that Gaskins grew up in a loving happy family, but there are many, including family members, who say that is not the case. Pee Wee's mother, Eulea Parrott was a poor girl who quit school at the age of 12 to help her family pick cotton and plant tobacco. She had sex with Mr. Gaskins, a wealthy, well- known neighbor of Eulea, who loved to gamble and drink. He paid Eulea $1 for sex several times a week. Donald was small for his age and immediately gained the nickname "Pee Wee". His early life was one of neglect and poverty living with his prostitute mother. When Pee Wee was only a year old he found a bottle of kerosene and he drank it causing him to have uncontrollable convulsions until he was 3 years old. Many of the men who his mother brought home treated the young boy with disdain, sometimes beating him for just being around. His mother did little to protect him from her lovers, and the boy was left alone to raise himself. When his mother did marry, his stepfather beat him and his four half-siblings regularly. The violence Pee Wee experienced at home soon followed him to school. It was hard growing up in poverty in the south in those days. He fought daily with the other boys and girls and was constantly punished by the teachers. When Pee Wee turned twelve he quit school and he went to work at a local garage. His abuse continued, getting beat when his work did not measure up to the owners standards. His hate for people,especially women grew and grew.

Donald was not without friends. At the garage he met two boys Danny Smith and Henry Marsh who were also Pee Wee's age and dropouts from school. It was not long before the boys were breaking into nearby homes and business and stealing anything not nailed down. They decided to call themselves the "The Trouble Trio." The name fit! The boys, being adolescents, started to explore sex and would often rape young boys threatening then with harm if they told. The boys also started hanging out with prostitutes who enjoyed the company of young boys. Donald actually became a good mechanic and started earning decent money. One day the boys found an old shack in the woods and used it as their hideout, all the while continuing to steal and rape. One story that is often told here is that the Trouble Trio got into very hot water at a local church for peeping in on the girls in the women's outhouse. They were given beatings from their parents but Pee Wee stated that he was not sad for what they did, but sad that they were caught. When Pee Wee was 15 he and the other two boys decided they were no longer interested in having sex with prostitutes and wanted to know what it was like to have sex with a virgin. To fulfill their curiosity, all three boys raped Henry's 13-year old sister, Julie, multiple times and in many different cruel ways. Julie immediately told her mother what the boys did to her. Julie's mother informed the other parents and the boys received intense physical beatings as punishment. Soon after the rape, Henry and Danny's families moved away and the group was split up. This experience was Pee Wee's first violent sex act and he described it as being a very fulfilling part of his life.

In 1948, Pee Wee made another friend named Walt at a Car Shop and they soon created a plan to break into homes and sell the stolen goods for profit. One day the two broke into a house thinking nobody was home. A 16-year old girl was home and attacked Pee Wee with a hatchet when she realized the two men were robbing her family. Pee Wee was able to get the hatchet away from the girl and Pee Wee hit her hard on the head with the hatchet causing her to become unconscious. Walt was able to get away from the robbery untouched but Pee Wee was charged with assault with a deadly weapon and intent to kill. During Pee Wee's trial it was the first time he learned that his name was really Donald Henry Gaskins and not Pee Wee. In 1950 Pee Wee was found guilty and was sent to The South Carolina Industrial School For Boys in Florence, South Carolina.
Reform school did not go well for Pee Wee. He was constantly beat and sodomized by the older boys there.