David Adam Pate, 24, led his friend into the woods where he killed him and left his body to be found by children. Pates had his tongue surgically split and has a host of frightening tattoos, including 974 on his throat — the ninth, seventh and fourth letters of the alphabet, which represents Insane Gangster Disciple — and the word Satan above one eye.
Ricky W. James, 33, was allegedly killed by Pate in mid-October 2013 and his decomposed body was found by children in some woods in Lancaster, S.C.
“Our deepest condolences go out to the family of Mr. James. We are thankful that we were able to solve this case so quickly,” Lancaster County Sheriff Barry Faile said in a statement to the media.
“Our investigators did a great job putting this case together. We suspected Pate almost immediately but had to wait on lab results to prove it.
“We are thankful he is in jail where he belongs.”
