April Silvaggio joined The Journal in September 2006 as a staff writer. She has written about the Upstate for more than two decades, including presidential visits, the Susan Smith trial, a massive diesel fuel spill into the Reedy River, and the still unsolved murder of Alice Haynesworth Ryan.  She also served as a state media witnesses for the lethal injections of two state prisoners convicted of capital murder. Silvaggio began her newspaper career while still a college student, working part-time at The Kershaw News-Era and later at The Lancaster News. She spent 18 years working as a reporter for The Greenville News. A South Carolina native, Silvaggio holds a bachelor's degree in mass communications from Winthrop University, and completed her graduate work at the University of South Carolina in journalism. She lives in Mauldin with her husband, Paul, and their daughter, Emily. She can be reached at asilvaggio@communityjournals.com.