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Chris Anderson Memorial Scholarship Fund Articles |
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Chris Anderson was stabbed to death more than three years ago as he tried to break up a fight between two youths. He was only 20 years old, but he left a legacy that his friends and relatives are trying to preserve through the Waccamaw boat landing that bears his name, an annual hunting expedition and a college scholarship. Though he was young, Chris left a big impact on the community. ‘He was a well-thought-of young man, very popular,’ said Craig Campbell, a family friend. One of Chris' favorite sayings was: ‘You have to stand for something, or you will fall for anything.’ Chris, who was from North Myrtle Beach, was the son of James Anderson, a retired detective with the Horry County Police Department. Like his father, Chris was an avid sportsman, hunter and fisherman. He was a member of Ducks Unlimited and the Long Bay Hunting Club, and was a certified diver. Chris had been an enthusiastic participant in an annual Thanksgiving camping trip on the Waccamaw River with his father's friends and their sons since he was 5 years old. Campbell remembers those times well. ‘He was with the younger outfit, and we were the old guys. After the hunt, we'd have a cook-out, and Chris would be right there with all the boys who loved the outdoors,’ Campbell said. Campbell, a game warden with the S.C. Department of Natural Resources, watched Chris grow up. Even after Chris finished high school, Campbell saw him often because Chris spent so much time hunting and fishing. Campbell's favorite memory of Chris comes from an earlier time. ‘His father and I were football coaches for the City of Myrtle Beach, the PeeWee League,’ Campbell said. ‘Chris and my son Josh played on that team, and we coached them. They were younger, 9 and 10 maybe. The fondest memory I have is watching those two little guys play football. They won the championship one year.’ Tragic death Chris was stabbed in September 1996 at a popular gathering place for teens under the U.S. 17 bridge in Little River. His father, James Anderson, said his son was at the boat landing spending time with friends. ‘There was a group that always gathered up there on Friday and Saturday night,’ Anderson said. ‘One of the kids hollered for help, and Chris took off running to him. A guy jumped him and started stabbing him.’ Chris died on the operating table the next morning while a surgical team worked to try to save his life. His assailant is serving a prison sentence of 11 years, 6 months. Last year, S.C. legislators passed legislation to help keep Chris Anderson's memory alive along his cherished Waccamaw River. State Sen. Dick Elliott, D-NMB, who is an old friend of the Anderson family, sponsored the bill for a new boat landing. ‘It was really a shock to us,’ James Anderson said. ‘When they started building that landing, our friends in the community got the idea to name it after Chris because he loved the river so.’ The new Waccamaw River boat landing was officially designated the Chris Anderson Memorial Landing at Highway 9 in Bill 355, which passed Jan. 19, 1999. Chris Anderson also is remembered with an annual hunting expedition. Held each year on the Saturday before Thanksgiving, the annual dove hunt has been a successful fund-raiser for the Chris Anderson Memorial Scholarship Fund. Last year's hunt was at the farm of Larry and Wanda Saunders on Bear Bluff Road in Conway. ‘The participation has been great,’ Campbell said. ‘We've had over 100 hunters, and people come just to support the fund. We have raffles and auctions, as well.’ Each year, a North Myrtle Beach High School student is selected to receive the scholarship. Selection is based on academic status and financial need. The decision is made by the fund's board of directors, which consists of Peggy Anderson (Chris' mother), Gordon Harris, Tony Sexton, Linda Fowler (Chris' aunt), Jennifer Beronja, and Campbell, the fund's president. The scholarship fund has a balance of about $52,000. The board's long-term
goal is to have enough money so that the fund is self-supporting. Source: The Sun News, Thursday, February 10, 2000
Rather than face the possibility of life imprisonment for murder, William Cecil Floyd pleaded guilty Thursday to voluntary manslaughter in the death of Christopher Anderson. Floyd received more than an 11- year prison sentence for stabbing to death the son of a former police officer. Floyd, 23, pleaded guilty to stabbing to death the 20-year-old Anderson on Sept. 29, 1996, during a confrontation at a popular teen-age hangout under the U.S. 17 bridge on Morgan Avenue in Little River. His trial began Tuesday. ‘I've got to put my emotions aside and make a decision that is fair and just,’ Circuit Court Judge James Lockemy said before the sentencing. ‘No matter what I do I can't bring back Anderson. No one can forget that. And the law can't forget it. You [Floyd] had a knife you shouldn't have had. The result of your actions resulted in [Anderson's] death.’ The victim's family and friends wept in court Thursday. They embraced after the sentencing. ‘Chris [Anderson] stood for honor, respect and loyalty,’ a teary-eyed Crystal Anderson said, the victim's sister. ‘My brother could still be alive and make this world a better place.’ The 11-year, six-month sentence was less than the prosecution's recommendation of 12 years. The defense pushed for a sentence closer to seven years. The change in plea came after key police testimony said Floyd denied being at
the crime scene the night of Anderson's death. Police testimony also said Floyd
burned his bloodied clothing after the incident. The police testimony dealt
blows to the defense's claim that Floyd was acting in self-defense. Source: The Sun News, 29 June 1998
A 23-year-old North Myrtle Beach man faced his first day of trial Tuesday on charges of murdering a former police officer's son. Defendant William Cecil Floyd is charged with murder in the Sept. 29, 1996, stabbing of 20-year-old Christopher Anderson, son of retired Horry County police Detective James Anderson. Floyd could be sentenced to a maximum of 30 years. The stabbing grew out of a fight between two groups of young men under the U.S. 17 bridge on Morgan Avenue in Little River, a popular teen-age hangout, according to police... ‘It was inexplicable, irresponsible and not necessary for Anderson to die.’ In an emotional testimony, Rocky Permenter, a longtime friend of Anderson,
recounted the night of the deadly stabbing. ‘I thought at first that [Floyd]
was just punching him. I didn't see the knife. Then I saw the blood,’ the
prosecution's first witness Permenter said. Source: The Sun News
It is known simply as ‘under the bridge.’ A place of freedom where area teen-agers have hung out, partied and bonded for the last 20 years. But early Sunday morning the popular Little River hangout beneath the U.S. 17 high-rise bridge was changed forever. Christopher Anderson, 20, of North Myrtle Beach was stabbed to death there after he tried to intervene and help a 16-year-old who was assaulted. The 1:30 a.m. incident has left many, including the teens who call the spot under the bridge theirs, trying to make sense of the tragedy. ‘Everybody is talking about Chris getting killed,’ said a 17-year-old, who didn't want his name used because his parents told him to stay away from under the bridge because of the stabbing. ‘All I know is it didn't have to happen. We just come down here to hang. We've never had trouble before this.’ Horry County Detective Allen Large said this is the first such incident to occur at the spot off Morgan Avenue. ‘On the weekends the kids go there to play music and sit around in their pickup trucks,’ Large said. ‘It is fairly safe up until now and it has got parents worried and there is some tension.’ Paul Prevatte, a father of two who was at the boat landing under the bridge Monday, said he used to come to the same area when he was growing up, but he didn't remember any problems. ‘After the ball games the kids came here and they still do,’ Prevatte said. ‘Kids have to always have a place to come and let loose. It was just a place for fun when I was growing up.’ Anderson was well-known in the area because he attended and graduated from North Myrtle Beach High School, Large said. His father, James Anderson, is a detective with the county police. Large said police have a suspect, a man in his early 20s, in custody, but no charges have been brought against him. ‘A bunch of people around 20 to 30 (years old) were gathered under the
bridge and to be fair and get at the truth we are still investigating and trying
to lay it all out,’ Large said. He said charges may be filed today in the
case. Source: The Sun News, Tuesday, October 1, 1996
A 22-year-old North Myrtle Beach man was charged Tuesday with voluntary manslaughter in a stabbing that killed a North Myrtle Beach man Sunday morning, police said. William Cecil Floyd Jr... is being held in J. Reuben Long Detention Center, awaiting a bond hearing. He is charged in the death of Christopher Anderson. Anderson was stabbed under the U.S. 17 bridge of Morgan Avenue in Little River. Floyd, a construction worker, was arrested at his home, said Horry County Detective Allen Large. ‘That's all the charges we are going to have at this time,’ Large said.
‘We're still conducting the investigation and talking to witnesses who are
coming forward.’ Anderson, 20, was stabbed to death about 1:30 a.m. after he
tried to help a teen-ager who was assaulted. Anderson was a North Myrtle Beach
High School graduate and the son of James Anderson, a detective for the Horry
County Police Department. Source: The Sun News, Wednesday, October 2, 1996
Christopher Anderson was 20 when he was stabbed to death in September at a popular hangout a stone's throw north of the city line. A 16-year-old friend of Anderson's had been assaulted. So, in the wee hours of that weekend morning, Anderson came to the boy's aid and lost his life for it... The hangout where Anderson was killed is one of those places North Myrtle Beach teen-agers and young adults have gone to for years. It's known, even to parents, as simply ‘under the bridge.’ Especially on Friday and Saturday nights, friends meet at what's technically a boat landing in Little River under the U.S. 17 bridge spanning the Intracoastal Waterway. It was deserted Thursday afternoon, a desolate setting for a spray-painted memorial: ‘WE LOVE U CHRIS We'll miss you!’ A red heart was in the place of ‘love.’ Spray-painted on a nearby column was a plea to give peace a chance... Little River is unincorporated, which is why the Horry County Police Department is handling the investigation of the stabbing incident. Police have arrested 22-year-old William Cecil Floyd Jr., a North Myrtle Beach construction worker. Floyd, charged with voluntary manslaughter, is out of jail on $55,000 bond. ‘I think it's got some real good points,’ Causey said of the ordinance. But, he said, it doesn't necessarily target the general age group that is more of a concern: 17- to 21-year-olds. Tilghman has noted a juvenile curfew would be more a preventive measure. It
was a 16-year-old, after all, that Anderson -- son of a detective with the
county police -- was defending. How would it hurt if something like that could
be prevented from happening again, this time within city limits?... Source: The Sun News, Sunday, November 17, 1996
A 23-year-old North Myrtle Beach man was indicted on a charge of murder Thursday in the September 1996 stabbing death of a former police officer's son. William Cecil Floyd Jr... was among several people indicted Thursday by the Horry County grand jury. In the indictment, Floyd is charged in the Sept. 29, 1996, stabbing death of 20-year-old Christopher Anderson, also of North Myrtle Beach. The incident took place under the U.S. 17 bridge on Morgan Avenue in Little River, a popular teen-age hangout, according to police... Source: The Sun News, Friday, November 14, 1997
A judge ruled Wednesday that the case of a 22-year-old North Myrtle Beach man charged in September's stabbing of a police detective's son will go before the Horry County grand jury. William Cecil Floyd Jr. has been charged with voluntary manslaughter in the Sept. 29 death of Christopher Anderson, who was the son of an Horry County police detective. At a preliminary hearing Wednesday, Magistrate Rebecca Lovelace found probable cause for Floyd's arrest and ordered it sent to the grand jury, which meets again next month. Floyd did not attend Wednesday's hearing, but was represented by his attorney, John DelGado. His parents, his brother and other family members attended the hearing, as well as Anderson's parents and his sister. None of the family members spoke at the hearing. The stabbing took place under the U.S. 17 bridge on Morgan Avenue in Little River, a popular place where kids hang out and listen to music, according to Horry County police Detective Allen Large. Large testified the stabbing grew out of a fight between two groups of young men, and was witnessed by at least a dozen people. Many of the witnesses have given different accounts of what happened. A member of one of the groups, who also is a friend of Anderson, had been jumped by members of another group of boys that included Floyd, the detective said. When Anderson heard about the fight that night, he apparently went to the hangout... ‘There are discrepancies on who actually threw the first punch and what type of altercation it was,’ Large testified... When asked by DelGado what the motivation was for the fight, Large said Floyd had been in trouble before, and that he has bragged about being in the ‘Crips.’ ‘He stated he went under the bridge to watch a fight,’ Large testified. Source: The Sun News, Thursday, January 16, 1997
A man was stabbed to death early Sunday morning after a fight broke out at a popular Little River hangout. Christopher Anderson, 20, of North Myrtle Beach, died in the operating room at Columbia Grand Strand Regional Medical Center as a result of his injuries. The incident occurred at 1:30 a.m. on Morgan Drive in Little River, underneath a bridge, which is a popular spot for young people in the area to hang out, said Detective Allen Large of the Horry County Police Department. Large said the incident started when a 16-year-old was assaulted. Anderson was one of two friends who came to the minor's aid... ‘This is a tragedy,’ Large said. Source: The Sun News, Monday, September 30, 1996
North Myrtle Beach--Christopher ‘Chris’ Joseph Anderson, 20, of Valley Road, died Sunday, Sept. 29, 1996, at Columbia Grand Strand Regional Medical Center. He was born in Horry County, a son of James and Peggy. He was a graduate of North Myrtle Beach High School and was a member of the Long Bay Hunting Club. He was employed by the Marine Service Center in Little River. Survivors include his parents of North Myrtle Beach; a sister, Crystal Anderson of North Myrtle Beach; a half sister, Ashlei Anderson of North Myrtle Beach; a maternal grandmother, Doris Hardee of Myrtle Beach; and paternal grandmother, Ada of Little River. Source: The Sun News, Monday, September 30, 1996 |
Chris
Anderson is not forgotten by friends, family