A man is serving 45 years for murder. He just confessed to killing another woman.
A man serving a 45-year sentence for the September 2024 killing of a South Carolina woman has confessed to killing a 19-year-old missing since 2020.
Tyler Wilkins, 23, confessed this year to killing Jorden Nebling, who was reported missing in October 2020, the Greenville County Sheriff's Office announced on April 15.
Prison authorities told the sheriff's office about Wilkins' confession, according to the the Greenville News, part of the Paste BN network. Wilkins later confessed to homicide investigators that he fatally stabbed Nebling, the sheriff’s office said.
Wilkins and Nebling were in an on-again-off-again relationship before her death, the sheriff's office told the Greenville News.
Nebling’s body has yet to be found, and investigators are still searching for her, the sheriff's office said. The office did not say when he would be charged, but he faces charges of murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime.
Wilkins previously pleaded guilty to the November 2022 killing of 22-year-old Clarissa Winchester, who he was in a relationship with and had become pregnant with his child, according to the 13th Circuit Solicitor's Office.
South Carolina woman was reported missing in 2020
Nebling was the first of Wilkins’ victims, authorities said. She was first reported missing on Oct. 10, 2020, the sheriff’s office said.
Investigators said she often spent time in Travelers Rest and Marietta, and had a tattoo on her left forearm that said “Live free”.
In March 2023, Greenville County Sheriff Hobart Lewis let members of the public know they'd be canvassing those areas looking for information on her whereabouts and passing out missing person fliers.
“We’ve got reason to believe we have a person of interest who is incarcerated,” he said at the time. “However, we have not found Jorden herself or her body.”
Man that confessed to killing Nebling is serving time for murder
After the killing of Nebling, Wilkins was in a romantic relationship with Winchester, according to the solicitor’s office.
On Dec. 2, 2021, Winchester went to Wilkins’ home with her father to get some of her belongings, the office said. As she tried to get her items, Wilkins shot in the direction of her and her father.
Winchester later got pregnant with Wilkins’ child, and on Nov. 9, 2022, nearly a year after the shooting incident, Wilkins beat Winchester to death inside a home they were both staying at, the office said.
Winchester’s father contacted deputies when he wasn’t able to reach her, the solicitor’s office said. When investigators questioned Wilkins, he said he didn’t know where she was. Her phone’s location at the time showed she was inside the home though.
When deputies secured a search warrant and searched the home, they found Winchester inside Wilkins’ bedroom, dead on the floor. Her baby was deceased on the bed, the solicitor’s office said.
Wilkins confined pregnant woman to home, killed her: Prosecutors
According to the sheriff’s office, Wilkins would not let Winchester leave the home and assaulted her. The office added that he “failed to seek medical attention for the recently born fetus” as well.
“Subsequent medical examination revealed that the baby did not have any apparent trauma and had never taken a breath,” the office wrote. “The autopsy of Clarissa Winchester revealed the cause of death to be blunt force trauma to the head and neck.”
Wilkins pleaded guilty on Sept. 26, 2024 to murder, assault and battery in the first degree, and pointing and presenting a firearm, per the solicitor’s office.
The sheriff’s office also said that two of Wilkins’ relatives were in the house at the time of the attack. The pair “failed to act, call 911, or provide any other assistance,” the office wrote in November 2022.
The man and woman were arrested and charged with misprision of a felony but later bonded out. The charges against the man and woman were eventually dismissed after prosecutors took into account Wilkins' guilty plea, and talking to the victim's family.
Regarding Wilkins’ recent confession to the killing of Nebling, Greenville County Sheriff Lewis said in a statement that his team showed a “relentless pursuit of justice.”
“While it won’t bring Jorden back or ease the never-ending heartache that her family and loved ones continue to endure, we hope this arrest offers a measure of closure in this horrific case,” he said. “I am very proud of the diligent, tireless work of our investigators and everyone involved.”
This story has been updated with new information.
Contributing: Terry Benjamin II, The Greenville News
Saleen Martin is a reporter on Paste BN's NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Email her at sdmartin@usatoday.com.