Friend says S.C. teen slaying suspect spent day 4-wheeling
COLUMBIA, S.C.—A teen accused of killing his family spent the hours after the slayings riding four-wheelers with a friend and buying steaks for dinner, the friend said Tuesday.
Nathan Dickson, who is accused of shooting his father, stepmother, stepsister and brother on Saturday morning, was arrested that evening outside friend Brantley Creel's home.
They spent a lot of time together the week before the shooting and took rifles to a shooting range for target practice Friday night, Creel said.
"I can't believe he did it. In my heart, I don't want to believe he did it," Creel said. "Half of my heart doesn't think he did it. But half of my heart has to follow the evidence."
Creel, 19, said Dickson seemed normal Saturday and the two had fun all day. Dickson did tell him once he had a bad feeling about something, but Creel said he figured his friend was worried about running out of gas for the four-wheelers.
Later Saturday, the two went to get supplies for a cookout when authorities arrived at the home of Creel's grandmother. They told her and her husband that four members of Dickson's family had been killed and that Dickson didn't know police were looking for him, Sybil Philyaw said.
Her husband called their grandson's cell phone, telling him to come home because it was about to rain and the four-wheelers needed to be cleaned and put away. When they returned, Dickson was arrested, she said.
"I thought my heart was going to stop beating," said Philyaw, who saw the arrest.
Creel said he will stand behind his friend even if he did kill his family because he is a good guy who would help anyone in a pinch.
"Even if he's guilty, he's still going to need someone to support him," Creel said. "He's been a real good friend to me."
Authorities have not offered a motive for the killings, and would not confirm Creel's and Philyaw's accounts Tuesday.
Public defender Andy Potter said he has spoken with Dickson but declined further comment. No bond hearing has been set for Dickson, who remains jailed and could face the death penalty.
Neighbors say Dickson, 19, who had worked a series of fast food jobs, had recently moved back into his family's Easley home after a breakup with his live-in girlfriend.
Philyaw said Creel met Dickson at a career center used by local school districts and that he had been hanging around her home in Belton -- about 20 miles from Easley, a Greenville suburb in the northern part of the state -- more often in recent weeks.
On Tuesday, the neighbor who discovered Dickson's wounded father in the front yard of his home said she had trouble reconciling the charges with the once-common sight of Dickson playing outside with the younger brother he is accused of shooting multiple times.
"You'd always see them tossing a ball, shooting hoops, things like that," said Shelia Dilelio, who lived down the block.
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