Bio

Fred H. Kornahrens III was born in 1949 in the United States. Before the murders, Kornahrens had been married to Patti Jo Avant. Their marriage ended before the crime. Kornahrens blamed the breakup of the marriage for his loss of control and for the events that led to the killings.

By February 1985, Patti was in a relationship with John Avant. John’s 10-year-old son, Jason Avant, was also present on the night of the murders. Patti’s father, Harry Wilkerson, lived in a nearby trailer next door.

Kornahrens went to Patti’s home armed with a handgun and a bayonet. The attack happened after Patti, John Avant, and Jason returned home from a night out. The crime quickly moved between Patti’s home, her father’s trailer, and the yard outside.

Murder Story

On the morning of February 9, 1985, Patti Jo Avant, her boyfriend John Avant, and John’s 10-year-old son, Jason Avant, returned home. Fred H. Kornahrens III was waiting outside. He was armed with a handgun and a bayonet. When Patti got out of the car, Kornahrens confronted her. He pointed the gun toward John Avant and threatened to kill him. When Patti called out to John, Kornahrens shot her in the chest. The wound did not kill her immediately.

Patti ran next door to the trailer where her father, Harry Wilkerson, lived. She called for help. Kornahrens followed her inside and fatally stabbed Wilkerson. Patti then ran back outside. Kornahrens chased her and stabbed her to death near the car. Around the same time, John Avant went inside to get a gun. When he came back out, he saw Kornahrens dragging Jason across the yard. Jason was later found dead with his hands and feet bound with packing tape.

John Avant ran to a neighbor’s trailer and called police. When officers arrived, the bodies were gone. Kornahrens was arrested the next day after an officer saw him walking near Wilkerson’s trailer.Two days after the murders, Kornahrens gave police a map showing where the bodies had been buried.  Patti, Harry Wilkerson, and Jason Avant were found in a common grave. Medical evidence showed that stabbing was the immediate cause of death for all three victims.

Kornahrens was indicted on June 10, 1985, for the three murders. His trial took place in November 1985. On November 16, 1985, he was convicted of all three murders. On November 18, 1985, the jury recommended death, and the judge sentenced him to death. The South Carolina Supreme Court affirmed his convictions and death sentences in 1986. The United States Supreme Court later denied review. His later state and federal appeals were also rejected.

Fred H. Kornahrens III was executed by lethal injection in South Carolina on July 19, 1996.