Southern Mysteries Podcast

In July 1911, Louise Beattie was found mortally wounded after a late-night drive outside Richmond, Virginia, and her husband insisted a stranger had stepped from the darkness and fired the fatal shot. But the story he told began to crack almost as soon as investigators looked more closely at the road, the evidence, and the life he had been hiding. What followed was a murder case filled with scandal, deception, and testimony that gripped the nation. In this episode, Southern Mysteries examines the death of Louise Beattie and the trial that turned a Virginia killing into one of the most infamous crimes of its time. Join the Community on Patreon: Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries 🎧 Explore More Southern Mysteries Visit SouthernMysteries.com for more episodes and source lists. 📱 Follow on Social Media: Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Instagram: @southernmysteries Email: [email protected]  Episode Sources Style Weekly Richmond — 'Finding Beulah' (styleweekly.com) Virginia Chronicle Digital Newspaper Archive — The News Leader, September 7, 1911 (virginiachronicle.com) San Francisco Call — August 29, 1911 — Paul Beattie testimony (California Digital Newspaper Collection, cdnc.ucr.edu) Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection — Rocky Mountain News, September 9, 1911 Pottsville Republican — November 24, 1911 — Beattie confession and execution (newspapers.com) Old Songs — Henry Clay Beattie folk ballad, Kelly Harrell 1927 recording (lizlyle.lofgrens.org) Find a Grave — Henry Clay Beattie Jr. (memorial #11571632), Louise Wellford Owen Beattie (#11571649), Henry Clay Beattie Sr. (#11571129) WikiTree — Henry Clay (Beattie) Owen — Wellford Beattie name change record William & Mary Law School Digital Repository — A Full and Complete History of the Great Beattie Murder Case (scholarship.law.wm.edu) Trotti, Michael Ayers. The Body in the Reservoir: Murder and Sensationalism in the South (University of North Carolina Press, 2014) Grossman, Mark. The Trunk Dripped Blood: Five Sensational Murder Cases of the Early 20th Century (Exposit Books, 2018) A Full and Complete History of the Beattie Case, Most Highly Sensational Tragedy of the Century (Phoenix Publishing Co., 1911) — Harvard CURIOSity Digital Collections and WorldCat Virginia Museum of History & Culture — Richmond automobile culture and Kline Kar history, 1911 (virginiahistory.org) Venture Richmond / Wikipedia — Manchester neighborhood history and 1910 consolidation with Richmond Chesterfield Historical Society of Virginia — Russ Lescault, board member, quoted in Style Weekly Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.

On a quiet night in October 1973, two men fishing along the Pascagoula River in Mississippi walked into the sheriff’s office with a story that would follow them for the rest of their lives. Charles Hickson and Calvin Parker claimed they were taken aboard a strange craft and examined by beings they could not explain. This episode of Southern Mysteries, explores the Pascagoula Incident, the fear and fallout that shaped both men’s lives, and why this Mississippi case still raises questions more than 50 years later. Join the Community on Patreon: Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries 🎧 Explore More Southern Mysteries Visit SouthernMysteries.com for more episodes and source lists. 📱 Follow on Social Media: Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Instagram: @southernmysteries Email: [email protected]  Episode Sources Reuters. “Mississippi man who said he was abducted by aliens dies.” Sept. 13, 2011. https://www.reuters.com/article/world/uk/mississippi-man-who-said-he-was-abducted-by-aliens-dies-idUSTRE78C66R/ WLOX. “Calvin Parker, who claimed he was abducted by aliens in Pascagoula in 1973, has died.” Sept. 2, 2023. https://www.wlox.com/2023/09/02/calvin-parker-who-claimed-he-was-abducted-by-aliens-pascagoula-1973-has-died/ WLOX. “Coast Life: Alleged Pascagoula River Alien Abduction 50-years later.” Oct. 16, 2023. https://www.wlox.com/2023/10/17/coast-life-alleged-pascagoula-river-alien-abduction-50-years-later/ Country Roads Magazine. Alexandra Kennon Shahin, “The Pascagoula Abduction.” Sept.21, 2021 https://countryroadsmagazine.com/art-and-culture/people-places/the-pascagoula-abduction/ Office of the Director of National Intelligence. “2022 Annual Report on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena.” Jan. 12, 2023. https://www.dni.gov/index.php/newsroom/reports-publications/reports-publications-2023/3667-2022-annual-report-on-unidentified-aerial-phenomena Office of the Director of National Intelligence. “ODNI Releases Annual Report on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena.” Jan. 12, 2023. https://www.dni.gov/index.php/newsroom/press-releases/press-releases-2023/3668-odni-releases-annual-report-on-unidentified-aerial-phenomena Office of the Director of National Intelligence. “2022 Annual Report on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena” (PDF). https://www.dni.gov/files/ODNI/documents/assessments/Unclassified-2022-Annual-Report-UAP.pdf U.S. Department of Defense. “Department of Defense Releases the Annual Report on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena.” Nov. 14, 2024. https://www.war.gov/News/Releases/Release/article/3964824/department-of-defense-releases-the-annual-report-on-unidentified-anomalous-phen/ Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.  

In February 1975, nine-year-old Marcia Trimble vanished while delivering Girl Scout cookies in Nashville’s Green Hills neighborhood, shattering the sense of safety surrounding one of the city’s most affluent communities. Her disappearance and murder became one of Tennessee’s most haunting cold cases, marked by suspicion, unanswered questions, and a mystery that lingered for decades. Join the Community on Patreon: Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries 🎧 Explore More Southern Mysteries Visit SouthernMysteries.com for more episodes and source lists. 📱 Follow on Social Media: Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast TikTok @southernmysteries Instagram: @southernmysteries Email: [email protected]  Episode Sources The Tennessean archival reporting on the disappearance, search, and investigation of Marcia Trimble (1975–2009): https://www.tennessean.com/ Nashville Banner historical coverage via Nashville Public Library Digital Collections: https://digital.library.nashville.org/ (digital.library.nashville.org in Bing) Metro Nashville Police Department public statements and case summaries related to the Trimble investigation: https://www.nashville.gov/departments/police (nashville.gov in Bing) Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals opinion in State of Tennessee v. Jerome Sydney Barrett (2009): https://www.tncourts.gov/ Davidson County Criminal Court filings and docket information for Barrett’s prosecution: https://sci.ccc.nashville.gov/ (sci.ccc.nashville.gov in Bing) Vanderbilt University archives documenting the murder of Sarah Des Prez and Barrett’s connection: https://www.library.vanderbilt.edu/speccol/ Belmont University reporting and campus safety archives referencing the February 1975 assault linked to Barrett: https://www.belmont.edu/ A&E Cold Case Files episode “The Girl Scout Murder” (Marcia Trimble case): https://www.aetv.com/shows/cold-case-files (aetv.com in Bing) Nashville Scene long‑form reporting on the Trimble case and the Womack investigation: https://www.nashvillescene.com/ Interviews with Jeffrey Womack published across multiple decades, including retrospective reporting by The Tennessean: https://www.tennessean.com/ Nashville Public Library Metro Archives: Belle Meade and Green Hills neighborhood development history, maps, and planning documents: https://library.nashville.org/research/metro-archives (library.nashville.org in Bing) U.S. Census Bureau demographic data for Nashville and Davidson County (1960–1980): Historical accounts of Belle Meade’s origins and incorporation as an independent city: https://www.citybellemeade.org/ Reporting on the 1979 grand jury indictment of Jeffrey Womack via The Tennessean archives: https://www.tennessean.com/ Coverage of the 2008–2009 DNA breakthroughs and Barrett’s prosecution from The Tennessean and AP News: https://apnews.com/ Academic research on investigative tunnel vision and wrongful suspicion in 1970s policing (National Criminal Justice Reference Service): https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs Oral histories and interviews with Nashville residents who participated in the 1975 search efforts (Nashville Public Library Oral History Collections): https://library.nashville.org/research/oral-history (library.nashville.org in Bing) Contemporary reporting on changes in Tennessee missing‑child protocols influenced by the Trimble case (TBI & state legislative archives): https://www.tn.gov/tbi Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.

A storm‑tossed blockade‑runner, a satchel of Confederate gold, and a woman whose secrets shaped the early days of the Civil War—this episode uncovers the life of famed spy Rose O’Neal Greenhow. From Washington parlors to prison cells to the dark waters off Fort Fisher, her story reveals the hidden world of Southern espionage and the final choice that bound her to the cause she refused to abandon. Join the Community on Patreon: Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries 🎧 Explore More Southern Mysteries Visit SouthernMysteries.com for more episodes and source lists. 📱 Follow on Social Media: Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast TikTok @southernmysteries Instagram: @southernmysteries Email: [email protected]  Episode Sources Greenhow, Rose O’Neal. My Imprisonment and the First Year of Abolition Rule at Washington. London: Richard Bentley, 1863. Pinkerton, Allan. The Spy of the Rebellion: Being a True History of the Spy System of the United States Army During the Late Rebellion. New York: G.W. Carleton & Co., 1883. Boyd, Belle. Belle Boyd in Camp and Prison. New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1865. Van Lew, Elizabeth. Papers and correspondence, 1860–1870. Library of Virginia, Richmond. Davis, Jefferson. The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government. New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1881. U.S. War Department. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1880–1901. National Archives and Records Administration. “Old Capitol Prison Records,” Record Group 393. Blanton, DeAnne. “Women Soldiers, Spies, and Patriots of the Civil War.” National Archives, 1993. Leonard, Elizabeth D. All the Daring of the Soldier: Women of the Civil War Armies. New York: W.W. Norton, 1999. Wheeler, Richard. Voices of 1861. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1961. Clinton, Catherine. Southern Women in the Civil War. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. McPherson, James M. Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988. Browning, Robert M. From Cape Charles to Cape Fear: The North Atlantic Blockading Squadron During the Civil War. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1993. Fonvielle, Chris E. The Wilmington Campaign: Last Rays of Departing Hope. Campbell, CA: Savas Publishing, 1997. “Wilmington Daily Journal,” October 1864. Coverage of the wreck of the Condor and the death of Rose O’Neal Greenhow. “Richmond Enquirer,” 1861–1862. Reports on the arrest and imprisonment of Rose O’Neal Greenhow. “The New York Times,” August–September 1861. Coverage of Greenhow’s arrest and Pinkerton’s investigation. Library of Congress. “Civil War Glass Negatives and Related Prints,” Prints and Photographs Division. National Park Service. “First Battle of Manassas: Intelligence and Espionage,” Manassas National Battlefield Park. Sutherland, Daniel E. A Savage Conflict: The Decisive Role of Guerrillas in the American Civil War. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2009. Fishel, Edwin C. The Secret War for the Union: The Untold Story of Military Intelligence in the Civil War. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1996. Bakeless, John. Spies of the Confederacy. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott, 1970. Horan, James D. Confederate Agent: A True Story of the Civil War. New York: Crown Publishers, 1954. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies, Series I, Vol. 10. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1900. North Carolina Office of Archives and History. “Fort Fisher and the Blockade Runners,” Raleigh, NC. Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.

In 1970, Thomas Gilmore became the first Black sheriff in rural Greene County, Alabama. He refused to carry a gun. How did a man of peace earn the trust to enforce the law in a place shaped by deep racial divides? And why does his story remain largely unknown? Join the Community on Patreon: Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries 🎧 Explore More Southern Mysteries Visit SouthernMysteries.com for more episodes and source lists. 📱 Follow on Social Media: Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast TikTok @southernmysteries Instagram: @southernmysteries Email: [email protected]  Episode Sources Richard Bailey — Neither Carpetbaggers Nor Scalawags: Black Officeholders During the Reconstruction of Alabama, 1867–1878. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1572687 Eric Foner — Freedom’s Lawmakers: A Directory of Black Officeholders During Reconstruction . https://uncpress.org/book/9780807858863/freedoms-lawmakers/ Alabama Department of Archives & History — Reconstruction‑era election record. https://archives.alabama.gov Greene County Historical Society. https://www.greenecountyhistoricalsociety.org University of Alabama — Black Belt Heritage Collections. https://guides.lib.ua.edu/blackbelt Birmingham Civil Rights Institute — Oral Histories. https://www.bcri.org/oral-history-project U.S. Department of Justice — Voting Rights Act historical materials. https://www.justice.gov/crt/voting-rights-act-1965 Frye Gaillard — Cradle of Freedom: Alabama and the Movement That Changed America . https://ugapress.org/book/9780820324722/cradle-of-freedom Marshall Frady — The Southerner . https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1358422 Southern Christian Leadership Conference Archives. https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/southern-christian-leadership-conference-sclc Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) Digital Gateway. https://snccdigital.org Birmingham News (historical archives). https://www.newspapers.com/paper/the-birmingham-news/268/ Tuscaloosa News (historical archives). https://www.newspapers.com/paper/the-tuscaloosa-news/2681/ Equal Justice Initiative — Historical reports on policing in Alabama. https://eji.org/reports/ Douglas A. Blackmon — Slavery by Another Name. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/18327/slavery-by-another-name-by-douglas-a-blackmon/ Isabel Wilkerson — The Warmth of Other Suns. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/19076/the-warmth-of-other-suns-by-isabel-wilkerson/ This Man Stands Alone (film about Thomas Gilmore). https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0250463/ Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.

In June 1948, 21-year-old Mary Virginia Carpenter left Texarkana for college in Denton, Texas. She was last seen after a taxi dropped her near Brackenridge Hall at Texas State College for Women. The letter she promised her mother never came, and neither did Virginia. More than 70 years later, her disappearance remains one of Denton’s quiet, enduring mysteries. Join the Community on Patreon: Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries 🎧 Explore More Southern Mysteries Visit SouthernMysteries.com for more episodes and source lists. 📱 Follow on Social Media: Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast TikTok @southernmysteries Instagram: @southernmysteries Email: [email protected]  Episode Sources Denton Record‑Chronicle. Coverage of the disappearance of Virginia Carpenter. https://dentonrc.com Texarkana Gazette. Reporting on the Carpenter case and related community response. https://www.texarkanagazette.com Texas Woman’s University Libraries, Special Collections. Historical information on TSCW campus life and 1940s dorm policies. https://twu.edu/library/special-collections/ (twu.edu in Bing) Texas Rangers Hall of Fame and Museum. Background on Ranger Lewis C. Rigler and investigative practices. https://www.texasranger.org The Charley Project. “Mary Virginia Carpenter.” https://charleyproject.org/case/mary-virginia-carpenter (charleyproject.org) The Doe Network. Case File 1198DFTX. https://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1198dftx.html (doenetwork.org in Bing) Unsolved Mysteries Wiki. “Virginia Carpenter.” https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Virginia_Carpenter  Texas Monthly. “The Phantom Killer.” https://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/the-phantom-killer/  FBI Vault. Archival documents related to mid‑20th‑century missing persons investigations. https://vault.fbi.gov Newspapers.com. Digitized historical newspapers used for timeline verification. https://www.newspapers.com Ancestry.com. U.S. Census and public records consulted for background verification. https://www.ancestry.com Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.

Off the coast of South Carolina, on Edisto Island, a mausoleum at the back of an old churchyard has become the center of one of the state’s most persistent ghost stories. The name “Legare” is carved over the entrance, and for generations people have whispered that a young woman named Julia was buried alive inside. This episode follows the legend to the historical record and asks what we can really know about the woman whose name turned a family tomb into one of South Carolina’s most talked-about hauntings. Join the Community on Patreon: Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries 🎧 Explore More Southern Mysteries Visit SouthernMysteries.com for more episodes and source lists. 📱 Follow on Social Media: Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast TikTok @southernmysteries Instagram: @southernmysteries Email: [email protected]  Episode Sources "Tomb of Julia Legare." South Carolina Picture Project. https://www.scpictureproject.org/charleston-county/tomb-of-julia-legare.html "The Legend of Julia Legare." Edisto Beach. https://edistobeach.com/the-legend-of-julia-legare/ "Presbyterian Church on Edisto Island." South Carolina Picture Project. https://www.scpictureproject.org/charleston-county/edisto-island-presbyterian.html Jaime Rubio. "The True Legend of Julia Legare – Fact vs Fiction." Dreaming Casually, Aug. 7, 2014. https://dreamingcasuallypoetry.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-true-legend-of-julia-legare-fact-vs.html "Julia Georgiana Seabrook Legare (1829–1852)." Find a Grave memorial 65651815. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/65651815/julia-georgiana-legare "Hugh Swinton Legare (1847–1854)." Find a Grave memorial 65655039. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/65655039/hugh-swinton-legare "Presbyterian Church on Edisto Island Cemetery." RootsWeb transcription https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~cemphoto/history/sc/charleston/edisto/scehmedtall.html "Julia Georgianna (Seabrook) Legaré (1829–1852)." WikiTree profile Seabrook-911. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Seabrook-911 "Julia Georgiana Seabrook (1829–1852)." FamilySearch. https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/M4KR-51C/julia-georgiana-seabrook-1829-1852 "William Seabrook (1773–1836)." FamilySearch. https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/LKLK-T93/william-seabrook-1773-1836 "Robert Chisholm Seabrook (1821–1852)." FamilySearch. https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/MZJY-FBZ/robert-chisholm-seabrook-1821-1852 "Seabrook Plantation – Edisto Island – Charleston County." .https://south-carolina-plantations.com/charleston/seabrook.html "Cassina Point Plantation." South Carolina Picture Project. https://www.scpictureproject.org/charleston-county/cassina-point-plantation-2.html Historic Houses of South Carolina. J. H. Easterby et al. (PDF). https://archive.org/download/historichousesof00leid/historichousesof00leid.pdf "The South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine, Vol. XVII." (PDF). https://www.carolana.com/SC/eBooks/SCHGM/The_South_Carolina_Historical_and_Genealogical_Magazine_Volume_XVII.pdf "James Hopkinson Papers, 1847–1921." ArchiveGrid / WorldCat summary. https://researchworks.oclc.org/archivegrid/archiveComponent/41963032 "Slaves of James Hopkinson (1810–1875), South Carolina." https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:Slaves_of_James_Hopkinson_%281810_-_1875%29%2C_South_Carolina "1865 List of Abandoned Plantations, Edisto Island, South Carolina." https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:1865_List_of_Abandoned_Plantations_Edisto_Island%2C_South_Carolina "Records of the Assistant Commissioner for the State of South Carolina, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands – Berwick Legare, Edisto Island." Smithsonian NMAAHC Freedmen’s Bureau Digital Records. https://nmaahc.si.edu/freedmens-bureau/record/fbs-1662423774659-1662426204172-3 "Lowcountry Ghost Stories." South Carolina Lowcountry Tourism. https://southcarolinalowcountry.com/lowcountry-ghost-stories/ "Old Churchyard Cemetery" brochure, Parish Church of St. Helena, Beaufort (PDF). https://irp-cdn.multiscreensite.com/09fbc323/files/uploaded/Churchyard%20Brochure-website.pdf "Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor." National Park Service. https://www.nps.gov/places/gullah-geechee-cultural-heritage-corridor.htm "Port Royal Experiment." South Carolina Lowcountry Tourism. https://southcarolinalowcountry.com/beaufort-the-port-royal-experiment/ "Emancipation Day: The Freed People of Port Royal." South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium.https://www.scseagrant.org/emancipation-day-the-freed-people-of-port-royal/ Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.

In the summer of 1924, a railroad worker was found dead near tracks in Little Rock. Weeks later, his wife was found dead in another state. What followed was a series of headlines that pointed to one woman—Winona Spriggs. Her name would appear again and again over the next fifty years, linked to crime, escape, and murder. This is the story of a family broken, and of the woman who never stopped running. Join the Community on Patreon Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries 🎧 Explore More Southern Mysteries Visit SouthernMysteries.com for more episodes and source lists. 📱 Follow on Social Media: Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Instagram: @southernmysteries Email: [email protected]  Episode Sources Arkansas Gazette (Little Rock, AR), 1924–1974 Arkansas Democrat (Little Rock, AR), 1924–1954 The Daily Oklahoman (Oklahoma City, OK), 1924–1954 Tulsa Tribune (Tulsa, OK), 1924–1948 Miami News-Record (Miami, OK), August 1946 The Salinas Californian (Salinas, CA), 1953–1954 The San Bernardino Sun (San Bernardino, CA), October–November 1974 The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, WA), March 16, 1954 Associated Press (AP) wire reports, 1924–1954 Pulaski County Circuit Court records (Arkansas) Oklahoma criminal investigation records (Miami, OK) California Superior Court records (Salinas, CA), 1954 Arkansas State Penitentiary records and parole files Oklahoma Department of Corrections records California Department of Corrections records U.S. Census records (1910, 1920, 1930, 1940) Marriage and divorce records for Winona Spriggs / Winona Green / Winnie Ola Freeman Death records for J.R. Green, Lena Green, Robert Sheldon Wilkinson, Harold Jonassen, and Winnie Ola Freeman Library of Congress, Chronicling America newspaper archive Newspapers.com archival database Ancestry.com historical records Unknown Misandry blog: “Winnie Ola Freeman (Winona Green): The Cat Woman” (2014) Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.

In December 1968, Barbara Jane Mackle was kidnapped from a motel room outside Atlanta, Georgia. The circumstances surrounding her abduction were so strange, investigators could barely make sense of them. The search for twenty year old Barbara Jane Mackle became a race against time that gripped her family and drew national attention.  Join the Community on Patreon: Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries 🎧 Explore More Southern Mysteries Visit SouthernMysteries.com for more episodes and source lists. 📱 Follow on Social Media: Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast TikTok @southernmysteries Instagram: @southernmysteries Email: [email protected]  Episode Sources Miller, Gene. 83 Hours Till Dawn. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1971. “FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives: Ruth Eisemann-Schier, 1969.” Federal Bureau of Investigation, Ten Most Wanted Program Archives. “Kidnapped Heiress Rescued from Buried Box.” The Miami Herald, December 21, 1968. “Barbara Mackle Found Alive.” The Atlanta Constitution, December 21, 1968. “Agents Seize Suspect in Mackle Kidnapping.” The Miami Herald, December 21–23, 1968. “Man Held in Heiress Kidnap Case.” The New York Times, December 22, 1968. “Girl in Box Case.” Los Angeles Times, December 22, 1968. “Suspect Caught in Marsh After Days on the Run.” Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale), December 1968. “Woman on FBI List Seized in Oklahoma.” The Oklahoman, February 8, 1969. United States v. Gary Steven Krist, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, 1969. United States v. Ruth Eisemann-Schier, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, 1969. FBI, Supplemental Case Report: Kidnapping of Barbara Jane Mackle, December 1968 (declassified portions). Jordan, C.D. “Account of the Mackle Kidnapping Rescue.” Interview, FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, 1970. Associated Press. “Heiress Found Alive in Buried Box; Ransom Paid.” December 21, 1968. United Press International. “Search Intensifies for Kidnappers After Ransom Drop Fails.” December 1968. “Krist Granted Medical License Despite Record.” The Indianapolis News, July 23, 1985. U.S. Department of Justice. “South Florida Man Sentenced in Cocaine Trafficking Case.” DOJ Press Release, 2006. “Eisemann-Schier Paroled and Deported.” The Miami Herald, 1973. Emory Wheel (Emory University). “Student Kidnapped from Decatur Motel.” December 18–22, 1968 coverage. “The Mackle Kidnapping Revisited.” People Magazine (retrospective feature), 1998. “Buried Alive: The 1968 Abduction of Barbara Mackle.” CNN.com, Crime Retrospective Series, 2003. “83 Hours in the Earth.” CBS News Sunday Morning, archival retrospective segment. Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.

In 1877, a young woman arrived in Jefferson, Texas, wearing diamonds and traveling with a man who claimed to be her husband. Days later, her body was found in the woods, and her name was unknown. She became known as Diamond Bessie, and her death led to one of the most sensational murder trials in Texas history. This episode of Southern Mysteries explores her life, the circumstances of her murder, the trials of Abe Rothschild, and the legacy of a woman the town refused to forget. Join the Community on Patreon: Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries 🎧 Explore More Southern Mysteries Visit SouthernMysteries.com for more episodes and source lists. 📱 Follow on Social Media: Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast TikTok @southernmysteries Instagram: @southernmysteries Email: [email protected]  Episode Sources Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) entry on "Diamond Bessie" Handbook of Texas Online Library of Congress Newspaper Archives “East Texas in the 1800s: Jefferson and the Murder of Diamond Bessie,” Jefferson Historical Society Oakwood Cemetery, Jefferson Texas burial records University of North Texas Portal to Texas History The Diamond Bessie Murder Trial – Jefferson Playhouse historical archives “The Jefferson Murders” — archived article from The Dallas Morning News East Texas Tales by Bob Bowman Chronicling America – Historical newspaper records (Library of Congress) Marshall, Texas Capitol Hotel registration archives (via local historical society) “Diamond Bessie Reenactment Keeps History Alive” — Texas Highways Ancestry records and obituaries (Watertown, NY) for Annie Stone / Bessie Moore Archives of the Rothschild family business in Cincinnati (local historical collections) Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.

In 1905, eight-year-old Kenneth Beasley, the son of North Carolina State Senator Samuel Beasley, walked out of his one-room schoolhouse in Poplar Branch, Currituck County—and vanished. What followed was one of the most haunting and controversial cases in North Carolina history. A bitter feud between two respected families, a trial built on circumstantial evidence, and a man’s death that left more questions than answers. Over a century later, the disappearance of the senator’s son remains unsolved. In this episode of Southern Mysteries, explore the loss, suspicion, and silence that still echo through the story of Kenneth Beasley—a mystery that has never let go of the Carolina coast. Join the Community on Patreon: Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries 🎧 Explore More Southern Mysteries Visit SouthernMysteries.com for more episodes and source lists. 📱 Follow on Social Media: Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast TikTok @southernmysteries Instagram: @southernmysteries Email: [email protected]  Episode Sources State v. Harrison, 146 N.C. 540 (1907) – Official North Carolina Supreme Court opinion detailing the 1907 conviction of Joshua T. Harrison for the kidnapping of Kenneth Beasley; includes procedural history, evidence summary, and court rulings. The News and Observer (Raleigh, N.C.), February 1905 – Original newspaper publication of the anonymous letter alleging a man seen with a crying boy in a buggy near Barco on the day Kenneth Beasley disappeared.  The Elizabeth City Economist (Elizabeth City, N.C.), March 1907 – Contemporary reporting on the Pasquotank County trial of Joshua Harrison; includes witness testimony summaries and public reaction to the guilty verdict.  The Norfolk Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Va.), September 1907 – Coverage of Joshua Harrison’s suicide at the Gladstone Hotel following the Supreme Court’s decision; includes mention of the suicide note claiming innocence.  The Richmond Times-Dispatch (Richmond, Va.), September 19, 1907 – Regional coverage of Harrison’s death and aftermath, quoting Senator Beasley’s reaction that Harrison “took his secret to the grave.” The Atlanta Georgian, September 1907 – Additional newspaper reporting on Harrison’s suicide, reprinting statements from North Carolina officials regarding the case outcome. Currituck County, North Carolina GenWeb Archives – Miscellaneous Newspaper Articles – Digitized transcriptions of early 20th-century reports on the Beasley case, including disappearance coverage, Harrison’s indictment, and excerpts from the Supreme Court opinion. Beach Glass Books – The Senator’s Son: The Shocking Disappearance of Kenneth Beasley, and the Trials of Joshua Harrison by Charles Oldham (2018) – Modern historical investigation into the case; draws from court records, newspaper archives, and local oral history. Most Notorious Podcast – Interview with Charles Oldham (December 7, 2023) – Discussion of the Beasley disappearance and Harrison’s trial; includes historical context on Currituck County politics and the culture of the early 1900s. Strange Company Blog – “Where is Kenneth Beasley?” (January 6, 2020) – Summary of the case using verified newspaper accounts; cites the News and Observer letter and the 1907 court proceedings. Find a Grave – Senator Samuel Mordecai Beasley (1863–1910) – Burial information and biographical details confirming Beasley’s death in Norfolk, Virginia. Find a Grave – Joshua Thomas Harrison (1839–1907) – Burial and genealogical data, confirming Harrison’s identity, family connections, and date of death. Currituck County Historical Society Records – Local archival notes and oral tradition references to the Beasley disappearance; confirm the location of Poplar Branch schoolhouse and family properties. North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources – State Archives, Raleigh – Holding references for Beasley and Harrison court and legislative documents, including the 1906–1907 Currituck Superior Court docket entries. U.S. Census Records, Currituck County (1900 & 1910) – Verification of Beasley and Harrison family members, occupations, and ages. Elmwood Cemetery Records (Norfolk, Virginia) – Burial registry confirming interment of Senator Samuel M. Beasley, 1910. Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.

Across the South, the word witch has been used to explain what people fear and cannot control. For generations, healers, midwives, conjurers and root workers carried knowledge their communities needed, yet often faced suspicion when tragedy struck. In this episode of Southern Mysteries, we explore the real lives and southern legends behind those branded as witches. From colonial courts to mountain cabins and coastal swamps, these stories reveal how the line between healing and haunting has always been thin and how fear can turn ordinary people into figures of folklore. Join the Community on Patreon: Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries 🎧 Explore More Southern Mysteries Visit SouthernMysteries.com for more episodes and source lists. 📱 Follow on Social Media: Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast TikTok @southernmysteries Instagram: @southernmysteries Email: [email protected]  Episode Sources Anderson, Jeffery E. Conjure in African American Society. Louisiana State University Press, 2005. American Folklife Center, Library of Congress — regional oral history collections on conjure, hoodoo, and midwifery. Anniston Hot Blast and Birmingham Age-Herald (Alabama newspapers), 1880s witchcraft coverage. Deep South Magazine. “Julia ‘Aunt Julie’ Brown: Debunking Her Voodoo Priestess Mythos.” Encyclopedia of Louisiana. “Marie Laveau.” Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities. Encyclopedia Virginia. “Sherwood, Grace (ca. 1660–1740).” Federal Writers’ Project. South Carolina Slave Narratives. Library of Congress, 1938. Ferry Plantation House Museum archives, Virginia Beach, Virginia. Fett, Sharla M. Working Cures: Healing, Health, and Power on Southern Slave Plantations. University of North Carolina Press, 2002. Foxfire 2: Houses and Appalachian Traditions. Edited by Eliot Wigginton. Anchor Books, 1973. Historic New Orleans Collection. “Julia Brown: Hoodoo, Hurricanes, and a Storm-Swamped Ruddock.” L’Observateur (St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana). “Voodoo Queen and Forces Unseen.” Library of Virginia. “The Case of Grace Sherwood, 1706.” Princess Anne County Court Records. Louisiana State Museum archives, St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, New Orleans, Louisiana. Long, Carolyn Morrow. A New Orleans Voudou Priestess: The Legend and Reality of Marie Laveau. University Press of Florida, 2006. Martha Ward. Voodoo Queen: The Spirited Lives of Marie Laveau. University Press of Mississippi, 2004. McTeer, J.E. Fifty Years as a Low Country Witch Doctor. University of South Carolina Press, 1971. Mental Floss. “The Legend and Truth of the Voodoo Priestess Who Haunts a Louisiana Swamp.” Milnes, Gerald. Signs, Cures, and Witchery: German Appalachian Folklore. University of Tennessee Press, 2007. National Park Service. “Marie Laveau’s Tomb – St. Louis Cemetery No. 1.” Norton, Mary Beth. In the Devil’s Snare: The Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1692. Vintage Books, 2003. Princess Anne County Order Book, 1695–1709. Virginia State Library microfilm collection. Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. “Granny Women: Healers of the Southern Appalachians.” South Carolina Encyclopedia. “Dr. Buzzard.” South Magazine. “Lowcountry Root Doctors.” The State (Columbia, South Carolina). “In the mid-20th century, even the county sheriff was a witch doctor.” Swannanoa Valley Museum. “Mary Stepp Burnette Hayden: Midwife and Healer of Western North Carolina.” The St. John the Baptist Pioneer, October 1915, hurricane coverage. The Times-Picayune (New Orleans), October 1–3, 1915, storm and casualty reports; obituary, June 17, 1881. Virginia Memory, Library of Virginia. “Good Witch or Bad Witch? The Grace Sherwood Trial and Pardon.” Ward, Martha. Voodoo Queen: The Spirited Lives of Marie Laveau. University Press of Mississippi, 2004. Western Carolina University Digital Humanities Project. “Midwives and the Medicalization of Birth in Appalachia.” Wikipedia (used for verification of geography and storm data): “Frenier, Louisiana” and “1915 New Orleans Hurricane.” Wigginton, Eliot, ed. Foxfire 2: Houses and Appalachian Traditions. Anchor Books, 1973. Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.

In 1872, the quiet Georgia town of Surrency became the center of one of America’s strangest mysteries. Inside the home of Allen Powell Surrency, glass shattered, clocks ran backward, and furniture moved without a hand touching it. The events drew scientists, skeptics, and spiritualists, including one from Salem, Massachusetts. Was it a hoax, hysteria, or something that defied explanation? In this episode of Southern Mysteries, uncover the story of the Surrency family and the haunting that shook a town, blurred the line between faith and fear, and became one of the most documented poltergeist cases in U.S. history. Join the Community on Patreon: Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries 🎧 Explore More Southern Mysteries Visit SouthernMysteries.com for more episodes and source lists. 📱 Follow on Social Media: Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast TikTok @southernmysteries Instagram: @southernmysteries Email: [email protected]  Episode Sources The Savannah Morning News (Oct–Dec 1872) – Coverage of the Surrency disturbances The Atlanta Constitution (Nov 1872–Jan 1873) – Reports on the “Surrency Mystery” The Augusta Chronicle (Oct 1872) – Editorial accounts of the Surrency haunting The New York Times (Dec 4 1872) – “Spiritual Manifestations in Georgia” The Albany Patriot – Reprinted witness letters and commentary, 1872 The Philadelphia Inquirer (1872–1873) – Syndicated reports on the haunting Harper’s Weekly (1873) – “Poltergeists and the Marvels of Surrency” John W. Truesdell, The Bottom Facts Concerning the Science of Spiritualism (1873) The Boston Globe (1872–1873) – Reports on Charles H. Foster Georgia Historical Quarterly Vol. 47 (1963) – “The Surrency Ghost: A Georgia Poltergeist Reexamined” The Georgia Encyclopedia – Entry on Surrency, Appling County Alan Brown, Haunted Georgia: Ghosts and Strange Phenomena of the Peach State (2008) Charles Elliott, Strange Tales of the South: Haunted Houses and Ghost Legends (1974) Dennis William Hauck, Haunted Places: The National Directory (2002) Jim Miles, Haunted South Georgia (2017) J. Michael Norman, Spirits of the Southeast (2010) Rosemary Ellen Guiley, The Encyclopedia of Ghosts and Spirits, 3rd Ed. (2007) Tiya Miles, Phantoms of the Past: The American South and the Supernatural (2021) Alan Gauld & A.D. Cornell, Psychical Research and the Poltergeist (1979) Michael Norman & Beth Scott, Haunted America (1988) Nancy Roberts, Haunted Houses: Tales from the American South (1972) Jim Miles, Haunted Georgia: Ghosts and Legends of the Peach State (2010) Randy Russell & Janet Barnett, Spirits of the South: Ghost Stories of Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi (2000) Alan Dundes, Dictionary of American Folklore (1993) William G. Roll, The Poltergeist Phenomenon (2012) Nancy Roberts, Haunted Houses: Where Ghosts Still Roam (1979) Kathryn Tucker Windham, Southern Spirits: Tales of the Supernatural from the Deep South (1983) Ann Braude, The American Spiritualist Movement, 1848–1920 (2001) Muriel V. Murphree, Mysteries and Legends of Georgia (2009) Georgia Public Broadcasting (2021) – “The Surrency Poltergeist: Georgia’s Most Documented Haunting” Georgia Archives – Appling County records and land grants, Allen P. Surrency estate (1870s–1880s) U.S. Census Records – Appling County, Georgia (1870–1880) Library of Congress Chronicling America – Digitized newspaper archives, 1872–1873 Frank Podmore, The Poltergeist in History (1896) American Hauntings Podcast, Season 4, Episode 14 – “The Surrency Ghost” Beast of Bladenboro – “The Surrency Haunting: Georgia’s Most Infamous Poltergeist” Otherworldly Oracle – “The Surrency Ghosts: True Terrifying Tales of Haunted Georgia” PANICd.com – “ParaPedia: The Surrency Family Poltergeist” US Ghost Adventures – “The Poltergeist of Phelps Mansion” Paranormal Research Society of New England – “Phelps Mansion” American Hauntings Ink – “The Stratford Poltergeist” Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.

Across the South, battlefields and forts still bear the weight of the wars fought upon them. In this episode of Southern Mysteries, explore the haunting history of places like Shiloh, Franklin, Vicksburg, and Fort Morgan. From phantom soldiers and restless spirits to the families forever changed by the fighting, these are the stories where Southern history and haunting meet, and where the echoes of war still move through the land. Join the Community on Patreon: Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries 🎧 Explore More Southern Mysteries Visit SouthernMysteries.com for more episodes and source lists. 📱 Follow on Social Media: Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Instagram: @southernmysteries Email: [email protected]  Episode Sources U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs – Bivouac of the Dead poem and history Emerging Civil War – “Bivouacs of the Dead” and its legacy on battlefields Wikipedia – Theodore O’Hara biography and authorship of Bivouac of the Dead National Park Service – Shiloh National Military Park history and visitor resources American Battlefield Trust – Battle of Shiloh Overview National Park Service – Battle of Stones River history and maps Murfreesboro Historical Association – Legends of the Headless Horseman of Stones River Find a Grave / Military Memorials – Lt. Col. Julius Peter Garesché burial and biographical record National Park Service – Battle of Franklin: Carter House and Lotz House history Battle of Franklin Trust – Carnton Plantation and the McGavock Confederate Cemetery Tennessee Encyclopedia – Carrie McGavock, “Widow of the South” American Battlefield Trust – Battle of Franklin Overview National Park Service – Vicksburg National Military Park history National Park Service – The Shirley House and the Siege of Vicksburg Library of Congress – Civil War Diaries: Emma Balfour of Vicksburg American Battlefield Trust – Battle of Vicksburg Summary Encyclopedia of Alabama – Fort Morgan: History and Civil War significance Alabama Historical Commission – Fort Morgan Historic Site visitor and preservation info Legends of America – Ghosts of Fort Morgan, Alabama Alabama News Center – Fort Morgan’s haunted reputation and legends National Park Service – Fort Monroe National Monument history Encyclopedia Virginia – Fort Monroe during the Civil War and the “Contraband Decision” Fort Monroe Authority – Historic resources and preservation efforts American Battlefield Trust – Fort Monroe overview and historical context Virginia Department of Historic Resources – Fort Monroe National Historic Landmark documentation Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.

Across the South, asylums were built with the promise of healing — but inside their walls, countless lives were marked by fear, neglect, and cruelty. In this episode of Southern Mysteries, explore the haunting history of institutions like Broughton Hospital, Cherry Hospital, Central State, and Bryce. From mysterious deaths and forced sterilizations to the tragedy of the Eller twins and the lifetime confinement of Junius Wilson, these are the real horrors that gave rise to Southern asylum ghost stories — and the suffering that still echoes through their halls. Join the Community on Patreon: Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries 🎧 Explore More Southern Mysteries Visit SouthernMysteries.com for more episodes and source lists. 📱 Follow on Social Media: Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast TikTok @southernmysteries Instagram: @southernmysteries Email: [email protected]  Episode Sources Associated Press coverage, April 1962 — “Twin Sisters Die Together in Asylum.” Winston-Salem Journal, April 1962 (coverage of coroner Dr. John C. Reece’s statements). Morganton News Herald, April 1971 coverage of Dr. Paul Douglas Boyles and Betty Cheek Yarborough. Associated Press regional wire, April 14–15, 1971. Find a Grave – Betty Jo Eller & Bobbie Jean Eller memorials. Southern Spirit Guide: “Ill Defined and Unknown Cause of Morbidity and Mortality.” Asheville Terrors: “Broughton Hospital.” Schoen, Johanna. Choice and Coercion: Birth Control, Sterilization, and Abortion in Public Health and Welfare. University of North Carolina Press, 2005. Segrest, Mab. Administrations of Lunacy: Racism and the Haunting of American Psychiatry at the Milledgeville Asylum. New Press, 2020. Pennsylvania Hospital Archives – Dr. Thomas Story Kirkbride papers. Grob, Gerald N. The Mad Among Us: A History of the Care of America’s Mentally Ill. Harvard University Press, 1994. Yanni, Carla. The Architecture of Madness: Insane Asylums in the United States. University of Minnesota Press, 2007. “Central State Hospital Cemetery Restoration Project.” Georgia Department of Behavioral Health & Developmental Disabilities. Atlanta Journal-Constitution archival coverage on Central State Hospital. The Crimson White (University of Alabama student paper): “The Hidden History Behind Bryce Hospital” (2023). “Bryce Uncovered: A Look at the Asylum’s Short-Lived Newspaper” (2017). Wyatt v. Stickney, 325 F. Supp. 781 (M.D. Ala. 1971). Alabama Department of Mental Health archives. HauntedPlaces.org – “Bryce Hospital.” Ghost Hunts USA – “Bryce Hospital.” Ghost City Tours – “Central State Hospital.” US Ghost Adventures – “Central State Hospital.” UNC–Chapel Hill Southern Oral History Program — Junius Wilson case archives. News & Observer (Raleigh) coverage of Junius Wilson’s release and life, 1990s–2000s. Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.

In 1891, fear and anger in New Orleans boiled over after the murder of Police Chief David Hennessy. Within months, eleven Italian immigrants were dead, their lives taken by a mob in one of the darkest and most violent moments in American history. In this episode of Southern Mysteries, we revisit the events that led to the tragedy 💌 Join the Community on Patreon: Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries 🎧 Explore More Southern Mysteries Visit SouthernMysteries.com for more episodes and source lists. 📱 Follow on Social Media: Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast TikTok @southernmysteries Instagram: @southernmysteries Email: [email protected]  Episode Sources New Orleans Public Library – Records of the Board of Police Commissioners, 1890–1891 (detailing Hennessy’s murder, police leadership changes, and subsequent arrests). Library of Congress – Historic photographs of New Orleans docks and immigrant labor, 1891. Smithsonian Magazine – “New Orleans Apologizes for 1891 Lynching of Italian Americans” (April 2019). History.com – “The Grisly Story of America’s Largest Lynching” (2019). American Italian Cultural Center, New Orleans – Archival material on Italian immigration and the 2019 mayoral apology. New Orleans Times-Democrat, October 1890–March 1891 coverage (contemporary reporting on Hennessy’s murder, the trial, and the mob attack). United States Department of State – Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, 1891 (diplomatic correspondence with Italy following the lynchings). Reimagining Migration – “The Lynching of Italian Immigrants” (educational resource on anti-immigrant violence). Order Sons & Daughters of Italy in America (OSDIA) – The 1891 New Orleans Project (materials on commemoration and memorial efforts). John V. Baiamonte Jr. – “The Mafia and the 1891 New Orleans Lynching: The Question of Criminal Conspiracy” (Louisiana History: The Journal of the Louisiana Historical Association, Vol. 21, No. 3, 1980). Italian Sons and Daughters of America – “Our Darkest Hour: Anarchy, a Lynch Mob and 11 Souls Lost.” All That’s Interesting – “The Tragic Story of the 1891 New Orleans’ Lynchings of Italians.” Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.

In June 1955, Judge Curtis Chillingworth and his wife Marjorie vanished from their Manalapan, Florida, beach cottage. There were haunting clues, but no bodies were ever found. Their disappearance exposed corruption in Florida’s courts and led to the downfall of a fellow judge. Curtis was known for integrity, Marjorie for her quiet strength — together, they became the heart of one of Florida’s most infamous true crime cases. Their story, and its unexpected ties to the legend of Trapper Nelson, remains one of Florida’s most haunting mysteries. 💌 Join the Community on Patreon: Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries 🎧 Explore More Southern Mysteries Visit SouthernMysteries.com for more episodes and source lists. 📱 Follow on Social Media: Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast TikTok @southernmysteries Instagram: @southernmysteries Email: [email protected]  Episode Sources Palm Beach Bar Association. Memorial Resolution for Judge Curtis E. Chillingworth. (1965) palmbeachbar.org Florida Memory. Justice Curtis E. Chillingworth Temporary Appointment Bio. floridamemory.com The Charley Project. Curtis Eugene Chillingworth Case File. charleyproject.org The Charley Project. Marjorie McKinley Chillingworth Case File. charleyproject.org Crime + Investigation UK. Judge Joe Peel and the Chillingworth Murders. crimeandinvestigation.co.uk The Coastal Star. Manalapan 60 Years On: Chillingworth Murders Still Shocking. thecoastalstar.com Mental Floss. What Happened to Judge Curtis Chillingworth? mentalfloss.com Town of Manalapan. History of Incorporation and Harold S. Vanderbilt. manalapan.org Wikipedia. Curtis Chillingworth. wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtis_Chillingworth Unlikely Friends — A municipal publication from Jupiter, FL, describing the unlikely friendship between Judge Curtis Chillingworth and Vincent “Trapper” Nelson.https://www.jupiter.fl.us/DocumentCenter/View/301/Judge-Chillingworth-Murder Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.

In February 1922, a road crew in rural Copiah County, Mississippi, stumbled upon a horrifying scene—a woman’s charred remains hidden in a ravine known as Dark Hollow. For two days, her identity was a mystery. When a child's discovery of a burned key ring offered a name, the investigation quickly escalated into one of Mississippi’s most shocking murder cases of the 1920s. This episode of Southern Mysteries unravels the tragic life and violent death of Ada Drury Converse. From a difficult upbringing and early motherhood to a string of marriages and financial success, Ada's life was marked by struggle—and, ultimately, betrayal. 💌 Join the Community on Patreon: Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries 🎧 Explore More Southern Mysteries Visit SouthernMysteries.com for more episodes and source lists. 📱 Follow on Social Media: Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast TikTok @southernmysteries Instagram: @southernmysteries Email: [email protected]  Episode Sources Feb 20, 1922 – Selma Woman Killed by Husband, Uncle Charges. The Selma Times-Journal, Page 1 – Newspapers.com Feb 23, 1922 – Sons of Mrs. Ada Drury Converse Held on Questioning of Death. The Montgomery Advertiser, Page 3 – Newspapers.com Feb 23, 1922 – Converse Held in Houston in Copiah Murder. Jackson Daily News, Page 1 – Newspapers.com Feb 26, 1922 – Mrs. Converse Wrote to Son Since Arrest. The Selma Times-Journal, Page 1 – Newspapers.com Mar 01, 1922 –  Sheriff Confident Milton Drury Killed His Mother. The Selma Times-Journal, Page 1 – Newspapers.com May 13, 1922 – Milton Drury Please Guilty to Murder of Mother. The Montgomery Advertiser, Page 1 – Newspapers.com May 19, 1922 – Drury Says Pleaded Guilty to Avoid Hangman’s Noose The Winona Times, Page 1 – Newspapers.com Sep 15, 1933 – Infamous Copiah Murderer Once Again at Liberty. Clarion-Ledger, Page 1 – Newspapers.com Sep 20, 1933 – Normal People Won’t Waste Sympathy on this Convict. Clarion-Ledger, Page 6 – Newspapers.com Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.  

In 1957, Arkansas attorney Maud Crawford vanished from her home in Camden without a trace. Her disappearance became one of the state’s most enduring mysteries. This episode of Southern Mysteries examines Maud Crawford’s life, the corruption she uncovered, and the investigation that revealed what may have led to her disappearance. 💌 Join the Community on Patreon: Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries 🎧 Explore More Southern Mysteries Visit SouthernMysteries.com for more episodes and source lists. 📱 Follow on Social Media: Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast TikTok @southernmysteries Instagram: @southernmysteries Email: [email protected]  Episode Sources Maud Robinson Crawford – Encyclopedia of Arkansas Clyde Falwell Crawford (1894–1969) – Find a Grave Memorial Maud Robinson Crawford (1891-1957) - Find a Grave Memorial Maud R. Crawford (1891–1957) – Arkansas Women's Hall of Fame Maud Robinson Crawford – The Charley Project Cold Case, Southwest Arkansas: A Look at Two Unsolved Cases in the Region – [Arkansas True Crime Blog or Archive Source] “The Disappearance of Maud Crawford” – YouTube Small Town’s Biggest Secret: Author Says Arkansas Woman’s 1957 Disappearance Is Full of Corruption – KLRT FOX16 The Disappearance of Maud Crawford. Beth Brickell. https://www.amazon.com/Disappearance-Maud-Crawford-Beth-Brickell/dp/1628909587 Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.

In the spring of 1955, the quiet community of Warren County, Tennessee was shattered by the brutal murders of the Bratcher family. Henry Bratcher, his wife Vassie, their young daughter Lily May, and toddler granddaughter Charlotte Ann were found dead on their family farm outside McMinnville. As the investigation unfolded, it became clear the killer was not a stranger. The case would become one of the most haunting crimes in Tennessee history. In this episode of Southern Mysteries, we explore the lives of the Bratcher family, the events that led to their deaths, and how their loss changed a community forever. 💌 Join the Community on Patreon: Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries 🎧 Explore More Southern Mysteries Visit SouthernMysteries.com for more episodes and source lists. 📱 Follow on Social Media: Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast TikTok @southernmysteries Instagram: @southernmysteries Email: [email protected]  Episode Sources Four Found Slain in Warren. The Nashville Tennessean, March 28, 1955. 4 Found Slain in Warren; Murder Suspect is Jailed. Chattanooga Daily Times, March 28, 1955. Young Tennessee Farmer Confesses Brutal Slayings. Bristol Herald Courier, March 29, 1955. Warren July Called in Death. The Nashville Tennessean. March 30, 1955.  Gibbs Indicted in Warren Deaths. The Nashville Banner. April 2, 1955. Slayer of Four is Ordered to Asylum for Observation. Chattanooga Times, April 2, 1955. Trial on May 10 for Billy Gibbs. Chattanooga Times, May 3, 1955. Gibbs Blames Four Slayings on Drinking. Nashville Banner, May 25, 1955.  Billy Gibbs Dies in Electric Chair, Confessed Slayer of 4 in Warren. Chattanooga Times, May 7, 1957 Find A Grave. Henry Bratcher. Retrieved from https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/33581745/henry-bratcher Find A Grave. Vassie Fields Bratcher. Retrieved from https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/33581724/vassie-bratcher Find A Grave. Lily May Bratcher. Retrieved from https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/33581700/lily_may-bratcher  Find a Grave. Billy Thomas Gibbs. Retrieved from https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/136592059/billy_thomas-gibbs Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.

In spring 1894, a courtroom became the stage for a scandal that gripped the nation. Kentucky Congressman William Breckinridge faced a lawsuit from Madeline Pollard, who claimed he promised to marry her after nearly ten years together, then broke that promise. The trial exposed a hidden affair, secret meetings, and disputed truths between a rising politician and a woman left behind. The scandal captivated newspapers, packed courtrooms, and reshaped public opinion about one of the South’s most prominent figures. 💌 Join the Community on Patreon: Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries 🎧 Explore More Southern Mysteries Visit SouthernMysteries.com for more episodes and source lists. 📱 Follow on Social Media: Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast TikTok @southernmysteries Instagram: @southernmysteries Email: [email protected]  Episode Sources “Sex, Scandal, and Suffrage in the Gilded Age.” The Historian: A Journal of History, vol. 42, no. 2, Feb. 1980, pp. 225-243. Lexington, Fayette. The Celebrated Case of Col. W. C. P. Breckinridge and Madeline Pollard. Chicago: Current Events Publishing, 1894. Ross, Shelley. Fall from Grace: Sex, Scandal, and Corruption in American Politics from 1702 to the Present. New York: Ballantine Books, 1988. “William Breckinridge Breach of Promise Trial, 1894.” Encyclopedia.com,  “Madeline Pollard and the Gilded Age’s #MeToo Moment.” Wednesdays Women, “The Fall of Louise of Breckinridge.” StrangeCo, 13 Apr. 2017, Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.

In 1948, Robert Mallard, a Black World War II veteran, was murdered by a white mob in Toombs County, Georgia. His wife, Amy Mallard, witnessed the attack—and instead of arresting the killers, authorities charged her with his murder. Set in the heart of the Jim Crow South, this episode of Southern Mysteries explores the deeply rooted racism that allowed a lynching to go unpunished while a grieving widow was put on trial. Learn how Amy Mallard found the courage to speak out, and how the national outrage that followed became part of the growing civil rights movement.  💌 Join the Community on Patreon: Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries 🎧 Explore More Southern Mysteries Visit SouthernMysteries.com for more episodes and source lists. 📱 Follow on Social Media: Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast TikTok @southernmysteries Instagram: @southernmysteries Email: [email protected]  Episode Sources The Mallard Murder Case – New Georgia Encyclopedia Amy Mallard Photo – New Georgia Encyclopedia “Just Another Killing” – TIME Archive (1948) Original TIME Magazine Report (1948) Strange Fruit and Spanish Moss – Blog post on Robert Mallard (2016) The Atlanta Constitution – Nov. 29, 1948 The Macon News – Dec. 2, 1948 The Atlanta Constitution – Dec. 10, 1948 The Macon News – Dec. 11, 1948 The Atlanta Journal – Dec. 11, 1948 The Macon News – Dec. 13, 1948 The Atlanta Constitution – Dec. 14, 1948 The Macon News – Dec. 15, 1948 The Atlanta Constitution – Jan. 12, 1949 The Macon News – Jan. 12, 1949 The Atlanta Constitution – Jan. 13, 1949 The Atlanta Journal – Jan. 13, 1949 The Atlanta Constitution – Jan. 14, 1949 The Atlanta Constitution – Jan. 15, 1949 The Atlanta Constitution – Jan. 15, 1949 (cont’d) The Atlanta Constitution – Jan. 16, 1949 The Atlanta Constitution – Jan. 17, 1949 The Atlanta Journal – Jan. 17, 1949 The Atlanta Constitution – Jan. 18, 1949 The Atlanta Constitution – Jan. 19, 1949 Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.

In the 1920s, a Virginia horse named Lady Wonder stunned the public with her supposed psychic powers - spelling out answers, solving crimes, even picking presidents. Was she a telepathic marvel, as Dr. J.B. Rhine believed? Or a clever illusion, as magician John Scarne claimed? Discover the story behind the horse that made America believe. 💌 Join the Community on Patreon: Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries 🎧 Explore More Southern Mysteries Visit SouthernMysteries.com for more episodes and source lists. 📱 Follow on Social Media: Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast TikTok @southernmysteries Instagram: @southernmysteries Email: [email protected]  Episode Sources “Meet Lady Wonder, the Psychic Horse Who Appeared Twice in LIFE.” LIFE Magazine retrospective. Life.com “Lady Wonder: The Psychic Horse.” Strange Company Blog by Undine, May 2016. strangeco.blogspot.com Newspaper Archives via Newspapers.com: Roanoke Times, March 1957 – Obituary and public reaction to Lady’s death; The Knoxville News-Sentinel, 1952 – Reports on Lady’s police involvement; Richmond Times-Dispatch, 1948 – Coverage on Lady’s election predictions; Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), feature on John Scarne’s skepticism. Find a Grave Memorial – Claudia Fonda  findagrave.com The Story of Beautiful Jim Key by David Hoffman (public domain archive)  Internet Archive Jim Key Digital Archive – Missouri State Library Missouri Digital Heritage State Symbols – Missouri Wonder Dog and Related Animal Curiosities sos.mo.gov Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.

In the winter of 1926, the quiet town of Farwell, Texas was shaken by the discovery of nine bodies buried beneath a home. The man responsible, George Hassell, had already taken lives in another state and wasn’t finished confessing. What followed was a case so disturbing it blurred the lines between serial killer, mass murderer, and family annihilator. In this episode of Southern Mysteries, we explore the chilling crimes of George Jefferson Hassell, one of the South’s most unsettling killers. Want more Southern Mysteries?  Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries Connect Website: southernmysteries.com Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Instagram: @southernmysteries Email: [email protected]  Episode Sources Roth, Mitchell P. Man with the Killer Smile: The Life and Crimes of a Serial Mass Murderer. University of North Texas Press, 2023. Available on Amazon Roth, Mitchell P. Interview. PBS: The Bookmark, November 9, 2023. Watch the Interview “Texas Farmer Dying After 9 Bodies Found.” The Decatur Daily, December 24, 1926. View Article “Hassell, Leaving Death Cell, Advises Women Read Writings of Paul.” The Austin American, April 7, 1927. View Article Hassell v. State, 107 Tex. Crim. 541, 298 S.W. 293 (Tex. Crim. App. 1927). Read Case Summary “Hasell Electrocuted Early Friday at Huntsville.” The Huntsville Times, February 10, 1928. View Article “George J. Hassell’s Murderous Ways.” Texas Genealogy Trails. Read Article “Death House Slayings Gain Attention.” Whittier Daily News, August 30, 2017. Read Article Find a Grave Memorials: George Jefferson Hassell Susan Frances “Susie” Ferguson Hassell Thomas Virgil Hassell Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.

In the final episode of Mystery on Montford Avenue, we explore the fallout from the case and how this mystery faded into the shadows of Asheville’s past. 🎧 All four episodes are now available. You can binge the entire series today. 🔍 Full source list available at southernmysteries.com ◼️ Music: Out of the Mines and Devouring the Whole, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina 💛 Join Southern Mysteries on Patreon for access to Ad-free Episodes, the show archive and bonus content. “Much Obliged" tier members access more including the patron exclusive podcast Audacious: patreon.com/southernmysteries 🕯️ Follow Southern Mysteries Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Instagram: southernmysteries 🎤 Southern Mysteries Podcast returns to our regular, bimonthly release of new episodes on Monday, June 9. Make sure you follow the show where you're listening so you never miss a new episode.  

In the summer of 1927, Anna Montague stood trial for the death of Mary Cooper. As testimony unfolds, shocking evidence and conflicting accounts raise new questions. Was the case against Anna Montague as solid as it seemed? 🎧 All four episodes are now available. You can binge the entire series today. 🔍 Full source list available at southernmysteries.com ◼️ Music: Out of the Mines and Devouring the Whole, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina 💛 Join Southern Mysteries on Patreon for access to Ad-free Episodes, the show archive and bonus content. “Much Obliged" tier members access more including the patron exclusive podcast Audacious: patreon.com/southernmysteries 🕯️ Follow Southern Mysteries Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Instagram: southernmysteries  

Hours after Mary Cooper was buried in Riverside Cemetery, her case took a shocking turn. As investigators reexamine their theory, suspicion turns toward the people who lived inside Mary’s home. Listen as the investigation deepens and a quiet Asheville neighborhood is pulled into the mystery. 🎧 All four episodes are now available. You can binge the entire series today. 🔍 Full source list available at southernmysteries.com ◼️ Music: Out of the Mines and Devouring the Whole, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina 💛 Join Southern Mysteries on Patreon for access to Ad-free Episodes, the show archive and bonus content. “Much Obliged" tier members access more including the patron exclusive podcast Audacious: patreon.com/southernmysteries 🕯️ Follow Southern Mysteries Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Instagram: southernmysteries  

In May 1927, the quiet Asheville, North Carolina neighborhood of Montford was rocked by a shocking discovery. Mary Cooper—a respected widow known for her kindness and community spirit—was found dead in a vacant lot near her home. Investigators made a quick determination, but not everyone agreed with their conclusion. In this first episode of Mystery on Montford Avenue, we explore the life of Mary Cooper, the atmosphere of 1920s Asheville, and the troubling details that began to surface after her death. What really happened on Montford Avenue that spring night? 🎧 All four episodes are now available. You can binge the entire series today. 🔍 Full source list available at southernmysteries.com ◼️ Music: Out of the Mines and Devouring the Whole, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina 💛 Join Southern Mysteries on Patreon for access to Ad-free Episodes, the show archive and bonus content. “Much Obliged" tier members access more including the patron exclusive podcast Audacious: patreon.com/southernmysteries 🕯️ Follow Southern Mysteries Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Instagram: southernmysteries

The American circus promised wonder and spectacle—but behind the big top was a hidden world of danger, tragedy, and loss. In this episode, we explore the dark history of the circus, from deadly train wrecks and animal attacks to the mysterious death of aerialist Eva Clark. Discover the true stories of Clyde Beatty’s near-fatal encounter with lions and tigers, the public executions of elephants Mary and Black Diamond, and how their legacies changed the circus forever. Want more Southern Mysteries?  Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries Connect Website: southernmysteries.com Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Instagram: @southernmysteries Email: [email protected]  Episode Sources "Elephant Parade Erwin 2018." Elephant Parade. https://www.elephantparade.com/parades/erwin-2018 "From the Circus Train Wreck to the Man o’ War: History of the Railroad in Columbus (Part 3 of 3)." Historic Columbus. https://www.historiccolumbus.com/post/from-the-circus-train-wreck-to-the-man-o-war-history-of-the-railroad-in-columbus-part-3-of-3 "Mary the Elephant Hanging: 100 Years Later." WBIR-TV Knoxville. https://www.wbir.com/article/news/local/mary-the-elephant-hanging-100-years-later/51-ee92f081-718d-4da6-bb6d-8be8dbe2b8b6 The Tennessean, via Newspapers.com. Image of article on Black Diamond the elephant. https://www.newspapers.com/image/385756327/?match=1&terms=black%20diamond%20elephant The Daily Times (Maryville, Tennessee), via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/898209095/ "Clyde Beatty." Circuses and Sideshows. https://www.circusesandsideshows.com/owners/clydebeatty.html "Elephant Hotel Historical Marker." Explore PA History. https://explorepahistory.com/hmarker.php?markerId=1-A-1DB Wikipedia contributors. Various entries on Mary the Elephant, Black Diamond, and circus history. Wikipedia. https://www.wikipedia.org "Execution of Mary the Elephant." WHSV-TV. https://www.whsv.com Aine Norris. Circus history articles. AineNorris.info. https://www.ainenorris.info Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina  

In 1942, the state of Louisiana executed a woman in the electric chair for the first and only time in its history. She was young, beautiful, and utterly devoted to the man she loved, a Texas outlaw. Toni Jo Henry was willing to do anything to free him from prison which led her down a dark path…the cold-blooded killing of an innocent man. Toni Jo claimed her accomplice pulled the trigger. He said she did. Was Toni Jo Henry a ruthless killer, or a woman trapped by her tragic past and her devotion to the wrong man?  Want more Southern Mysteries?  Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries Connect Website: southernmysteries.com Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Instagram: @southernmysteries Email: [email protected] Episode Sources The Times: Former Shreveport Girl to Face jury for Lake Charles Slaying, March 24, 1940 The News Star: Toni Jo Henry is denied new trial, May 25, 1942 The Atlanta Journal: Woman Slayer, Awaiting death in chair, wisecracks over fate, August 4, 1942 The Town Talk: High Court denies stay of execution for Toni Jo Henry, November 4, 1942 Shreveport Journal: Toni Jo Henry Executed, November 28, 1942 Del Rio News Herald: Kin of Toni Jo Henry Claim body for burial, November 30, 1942 The DeQuincy News: Burks to follow Toni Jo to chair, High Court rules, December 4, 1942 Greenville News: Trip of Death Ends as Burks electrocuted, March 24, 1943 State v. Henry, 196 La. 217, 198 So. 910 (La. 1940) M. Watt Espy Papers: Documentation for the execution of Harold Burks, Toni Henry, 1943-03-23 Harold Burks executed on 1943-03-23 in Louisiana (LA); Toni Henry executed on 1942-11-28 in Louisiana (LA) Find A Grave: Joseph Prince “Joe” Calloway Find A Grave: Claude David “Cowboy” Henry Find A Grave: Toni Jo Henry/Annie Beatrice McQuiston Nola Mae Ross: Crimes of the Past in South Louisiana, 2004 Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.

A cool September afternoon on a trail in Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Three friends are chatting as they hike. And then… in minutes, one of them disappears. No sound. No clue. Just… gone. Polly Melton’s disappearance has left investigators and amateur sleuths searching for answers for over four decades Want more Southern Mysteries?  Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries Connect Website: southernmysteries.com Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Instagram: @southernmysteries Email: [email protected]  Episode Sources National Park Service: Cold Cases, Thelma Pauline "Polly" Melton NamUs: #MP14284, Thelma Pauline Melton Asheville Citizen-Times: Dogs Are Unable to Find Lost Hiker, September 28, 1981 The Knoxville Sentinel News: Search for Hiker Eases: Rangers feel woman no longer in park, October 1, 1981 Winston Salem Journal: Search for hiker continues, October 1, 1981 The Charlotte Observer: Female Hiker, 58, still missing in Smokie, October 1, 1981 Asheville Citizen-Times: Organized Search ends for missing woman, October 6, 1981 The Charlotte Observer: Terror is when a loved one vanishes in the mountains, November 20, 1981 Asheville Times: Disappearance Still A Mystery, December 24, 1981 The Charlotte Observer: Mystery not solved but ending, July 3, 1991 Find A Grave: Pauline “Polly” McAllister Melton 10 News: Appalachian Unsolved: Polly Melton Missing in the Smokies, December 8, 2017 Investigating Agency: Tennessee Bureau of Investigation 615-744-4000 Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.  

The Carver Murder Trial of 1930 drew national attention for its brutality and mystery. Ruth Carver, her two-year-old son Lee, and family employee Ben Whitehead were all found dead in their Florida home. Ruth’s husband, William Carver, claimed he killed Whitehead in defense of his family, but shifting testimony and new evidence led to multiple murder trials. Nearly a century later, the true story remains a haunting mystery. Want more Southern Mysteries?  Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries Connect Website: southernmysteries.com Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Instagram: @southernmysteries Email: [email protected]  Episode Sources Carver v. State, 101 Fla. 1421, 134 So. 62 (Fla. 1931) Criminal Genealogy. (2020, November). William Raymond Carver Murder. Retrieved from Criminal Genealogy Blog The Orlando Sentinel. (1930, April 4). 1st Degree Murder Warrant for Carver. Retrieved from Newspapers.com The Orlando Sentinel. (1930, April 5). More About Wife. Retrieved from Newspapers.com The Orlando Sentinel. (1930, April 6). Cleared by Grand Jury but Being Appealed. Retrieved from Newspapers.com The Orlando Sentinel. (1930, April 7). Life Insurance Policy. Retrieved from Newspapers.com The Orlando Sentinel. (1930, April 15). Defense Obtains 30 Day Delay in Case. Retrieved from Newspapers.com The Orlando Sentinel. (1930, May 12). Carver Placed on Trial - Court Packed. Retrieved from Newspapers.com The Orlando Evening Star. (1930, May 14). Jury Tours Crime Scene. Retrieved from Newspapers.com The Orlando Sentinel. (1930, May 18). Defense Fights for Carver’s Life…He Testifies at Trial. Retrieved from Newspapers.com The Orlando Sentinel. (1930, May 19). Hatchet Shown in Court. Retrieved from Newspapers.com The Orlando Sentinel. (1930, May 21). Found Guilty - Motive Was $1000 Life Insurance Policy. Retrieved from Newspapers.com The Orlando Sentinel. (1930, May 24). Carver Asks for 2nd Trial. Retrieved from Newspapers.com The Orlando Sentinel. (1930, June). Last Chance Plea for New Trial (Details of Juror Who Was in Carver Home on Afternoon of Murders!) Retrieved from Newspapers.com Find A Grave. Frances Louise Van Midde. Retrieved from Find A Grave Find A Grave. Lee Townsend Carver. Retrieved from Find A Grave Find A Grave. Ruth Emilie Carver. Retrieved from Find A Grave Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.  

Explore the surprising family ties that connected Abraham Lincoln to the Confederacy. While Lincoln fought to preserve the Union, his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, had siblings who sided with the South—raising suspicions about her loyalty. Discover how these family divisions reflected the greater turmoil of a nation at war and uncover the personal struggles of the Todds and the political challenges they created for President Lincoln during the Civil War. Want more Southern Mysteries?  Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries Connect Website: southernmysteries.com Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Instagram: @southernmysteries Email: [email protected]  Episode Sources Berry, Stephen. House of Abraham: Lincoln and the Todds, a Family Divided by War. Houghton Mifflin, 2007. Susannah J. Ural (2/26/2025) The War In Their Words: I Do Not Think of Peace. HistoryNet Retrieved from https://www.historynet.com/war-words-not-peace/. Gaton, K.B. (2010). Family Divided: The Todd Sisters Living in Selma During The American Civil War.University of Georgia. "Find a Grave", database, Find a Grave (http://www.findagrave.com : accessed 3 February 2025), memorial page for Nathaniel Henry Rhodes Dawson (1829-189) "Find a Grave", database, Find a Grave (http://www.findagrave.com : accessed 3 February 2025), memorial page for Elodie Breck Todd Dawson (1840-1877) "Find a Grave", database, Find a Grave (http://www.findagrave.com : accessed 3 February 2025), memorial page for Martha Todd White (1833-1868) Life in Civil War America. National Park Service, Civil War Service. Retrieved from https://npshistory.com/publications/civil_war_series/4/sec1.htm  Scots in the American Civil War. James and Alexander Campbell: Brother against Brother at Secessionville. Retrieved from https://www.acwscots.co.uk/campbell.htm Feinauer, J.J. (4/20/2015) Brother against brother: The legacy of divided families during the civil war. Daily American. Retrieved from https://www.dailyamerican.com/story/lifestyle/family/2015/04/10/brother-against-brother-the-legacy-of-divided-families-during-the-civil-wa/116323338/ Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.

On a sunny May morning in 1947, a doctor from San Antonio ambushed Willard York and his family near New Braunfels, Texas. The doctor's plan to kill the entire family failed when 13-year-old Ann York escaped. Investigators found that both the shooter and Mr. York faced financial troubles, raising questions about whether the attack stemmed from revenge or a mental breakdown, as the doctor claimed he could not remember the incident. Want more Southern Mysteries?  Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries Connect Website: southernmysteries.com Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Instagram: @southernmysteries Email: [email protected]  Episode Sources Fort Worth Star-Telegram: San Antonio Broker’s Hearing Here April 17, April 11, 1947 Shamokin News-Dispatch: Girl Identifies Texas Physician as Slayer of Four, May 25,1947 Valley Morning Star: Arraignment of Dr. Ross In Killing of W. York Postponed. May 27, 1947 Corpus Christi Caller-Times: SEC Drops Action Against Broker Willard H. York, June 24, 1947 The Tribune: Venue Change Given in York Murder Trial, September 13, 1947 Corsicana Daily Sun: Girl Survivor of Shooting Says Dr. Ross Slayer of 4, October 16, 1947 Fort Worth Star-Telegram: State Rests Its Case at Ross Trial, October 17, 1947 Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Ross ‘Scared’ Her, Patient Tells Court, October 18, 1947 The Tyler Courier-Times: Ross’ Claim Money Taken is Revealed, Oct 19, 1947 Corsicana Semi-Weekly Light: Other Doctors Tell Jury Ross “Insane” on Shooting Date, Oct 21, 1947 Lubbock Morning Avalanche: Ross is Given Death Penalty for Slaying, October 24, 1947 The Salem News: Rule Doctor in Murder is Insane, June 17, 1949 The Brownsville Herald: Court Affirms Damages to York Family, June 19, 1950 Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Doctor Denied Writ of Error, October 5, 1950 Lubbock Morning Avalanche: Board Allows Death Sentence to Stand for Dr. Lloyd Ross, August 7, 1957 Case Text: Ross v. York, 233 S.W.2d 347 (Tex. Civ. App. 1950) Daily News: JUSTICE STORY: Betrayal at the hands of Dr. Death, March 21, 2020 History.com: SEC: Securities and Exchange Commission FindAGrave.com: Dr. Lloyd I. Ross FindAGrave.com: Gertrude Ann York Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.

One of the strangest cases in all their years of police work. Those were the words of seasoned detectives in Louisville, Kentucky, who worked on the Torture House case. A century ago, this case made national headlines when Richard Heaton was murdered by William Gates, who had been kidnapped and held in a home on 34th Street in Louisville. Want more Southern Mysteries?  Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries Connect Website: southernmysteries.com Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Instagram: @southernmysteries Email: [email protected]  Episode Sources New York Times: Shackled to Bed, Man Gets Free Kills Captor, March 9, 1924 New York Times: Slayer of Heaton Cleare; Coroner's Jury Finds Killing Justifiable to Escape Mutilation, March 15,1924 Paducah News-Democrat: Gates freed of murder charge, March 16, 1924 Florence Morning News: Gates admit visit with Heaton to Lake City, March 16,1924 The Winchester Sun: Gates arrested after freedom on new warrant, March 17, 1924 The Owensboro Messenger: Gates is held on fugitive charge, March 18, 1924 The Frankfort State Journal: Gates Tells of Trips to Texas and South, April 9, 1924 The Louisiana Herald: Lake City Expecting William Gates, April 24, 1924 The Lousiville Courier-Journal: Gates Bares Torture Plot Details; Hidden Pistol Saved Victim From Heaton;, March 10, 1924 The Louisville Courier-Journal: Frank Cordell on Trial, April 9, 1924 Historical Crime Detective: The Torture House 1924 FindAGrave.com: Richard Hartwell Heaton FindAGrave.com: Mary Leahy Wiesen Heaton Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.

Over 80 years ago, a coal mining town in Tennessee was rocked by the murders of two wealthy sisters and their 16-year-old houseworker. Who had the motive to kill the sisters, and why would someone harm the teenager who worked for them? In 2001, a former police chief claimed to have solved the case and named several suspects, but it remains shrouded in mystery. Want more Southern Mysteries?  Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime, and more when you patronize the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries Connect Website: southernmysteries.com Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Instagram: @southernmysteries Email: [email protected]  Episode Sources The Commercial Appeal: Mystery Surrounds Tennessee Murders, Feb 6, 1940 Knoxville Sentinel-Times: Hint Murder Tale Not Yet Told, Feb 7, 1940 Knoxville Sentinel-Times: Oliver Springs Divided Over Theories of Sisters’ Slayings, Feb 8, 1940  The Knoxville Journal: Sheriff Offers Slaying Case Reward, Feb 8, 1940 The Knoxville Journal: Jurors reject Murder-Suicide Theory, Feb 14, 1940 The Knoxville Journal: Slain Sisters Cousin was Mysteriously Killed, Feb 18, 1940 Oliver Springs Historical Society: Historical Timeline of Oliver Springs Oliver Springs Historical Society Newsletter: The Richards Sisters Murders The Tennessean: Clearing of suspect deepens 60 year old mystery, January 27, 2001 Seattle PI: The cousin did it, investigator says, November 15, 2001 WBIR 10 News: Appalachian Unsolved: Murder in the mansion, May 22, 2023 Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.

On Christmas Day in 1929, the community of Germanton, North Carolina, was forever changed by the tragic murders of seven members of the Lawson family. One fact remains indisputable: Charlie Lawson was responsible for the deaths of his family. However, the question that has lingered for nearly a century is: why did he commit such a heinous act? Want more Southern Mysteries?  Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries Connect Website: southernmysteries.com Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Instagram: @southernmysteries Email: [email protected]  Episode Sources Greensboro Daily News: Stokes Farmer Murders Family, Dec 26, 1929 Greensboro Daily News: Victims to be Buried in Single Grave, Dec 27, 1929 Statesville Record and Landmark: Only One Member of Family of 9 Left, Dec 30, 1929 The Sentinel: No Report on Brain of Charlie Lawson, Jan 7, 1930 Statesville Record: Commercializing the Lawson Home, Feb 3, 1930 PlanetSlade: So hard to die: Murder of the Lawson Family Murderpedia: Charles Davis Lawson CLEWS: Christmas Murders and the Lawson Family Massacre, December 2006 M. Bruce Jones with Trudy Smith: White Christmas, Bloody Christmas, 1990. Trudy Smith: The Meaning of Our Tears Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.

Meet Kinnie Wagner, a lesser known outlaw of the 1920s. Folk songs were written about him in the 1920s and he gained legendary status by escaping jail several times…even escaping the electric chair in Tennessee. Want more Southern Mysteries?  Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries Connect Website: southernmysteries.com Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Instagram: @southernmysteries Email: [email protected]  Episode Sources Scott County Historical Society: Kinnie Wagner, Scott County's Notorious Outlaw Murderpedia: William Kenneth “Kinnie” Wagner The Paris News: Bad Man of 15 Years Has Escaped Again, November 1, 1940  The Tennessean: Cowboy Desperado Defiant Under Death Sentence, May 15, 1925 Nebraska Daily News-Press: Tune Up That Guitar, Wagner’s Outlawing Again, November 29, 1940. Kingsport News: Kinnie Wagner Died in Prison, March 10, 1958. Kingsport Times: Thousands Flock to funeral Home to See Kinnie Wagner, March 12, 1958  The Jackson Clarion-Ledger: The Story of Kinnie Wagner, 7 part series. April 6-12, 1958 Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.

On a sweltering day in August 1925, Mary Vickery vanished from Coxton, Kentucky. Several months later, her remains were found in an abandoned mine located just outside the town. A local taxi driver was apprehended, tried, and sentenced to life in prison for the teenager's murder. In the spring of 1927, a young woman appeared in Harlan County with information that could clear his name. Want more Southern Mysteries?  Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries Connect Website: southernmysteries.com Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Instagram: @southernmysteries Email: [email protected]  Episode Sources The Lexington Herald: Coxton Child Still Missing, August 30, 1925 The Harlan Daily Enterprise: Vickery Girl Still Missing, September 18, 1925 The Harlan Daily Enterprise: Dabney Caught: Now in Jail, March 5, 1926 The Harlan Daily Enterprise: Dabney Given Life for Slaying of Vickery Girl, April 2, 1926 The Atlanta Constitution: When Justice Triumphed, September 4, 1932. Kidnapping, Murder and Mayhem: “She Rose from the Dead”, September 10, 2020. The Messenger: Marie Jackson fails to know Mary Vickery, March 22, 1927 The Park City Daily News: A Woman Scorned, March 22, 1927 The Lexington Herald: Senate Bill Asks $5,000 to Repay Harlan Man for Erroneous Imprisonment, February 15, 1928 The Voice: An Act of Revenge, August 17, 1935 National Register of Exonerations: Condy Dabney Edwin Borchard: Convicting the Innocent: Errors of Criminal Justice (1932) FindaGrave: Condy Ulysses Dabney, 1895-1966  Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.

Anna Hauptrief was the first known female serial killer in Texas. Her 1924 case was known as one of the most sensational and unexplainable in Texas court history.  Want more Southern Mysteries?  Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries Connect Website: southernmysteries.com Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Instagram: @southernmysteries Email: [email protected]  Episode Sources The Houston Post: Suspect Mother of Poisoning Five. July 24, 1924.  The Houston Post: Bodies Taken From Graves. July 31, 1924. Belleville Daily Advocate: Woman Held for Death of Five Persons. September 9, 1924. The Houston Post: Hauptreif, Although Crippled, By Wife’s Poison, Loves Her. October 14, 1924. The Austin American: Anna Hauptreif Hangs Herself in Jail. November 1, 1924 The Waco News: Mrs. Hauptreif’s Burial Place is Changed By Her Father’s Demand. November 3, 1924.  The Austin American: Hauptreif Goes to Grave. November 3, 1924.  Unknown Gender History: Annie Hauptreif, Texas Black Widow Serial Killer – August 11, 2011. FindAGrave.com: William Louis Hauptreif San Marcos Daily Record: A San Marcos Serial Killer. October 31, 2019.  Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.

The Koreshan State Historic Site in Estero, Florida is one of the most peculiar historic sites in the American South. This state park showcases the life of Dr. Cyrus Teed, the founder of Koreshanity. Those who joined this religious and scientific movement sought immortality through celibacy and believed the entire universe existed within a giant, hollow sphere. The Koreshan Unity has been dubbed “one of the most bizarre” communal utopian societies organized in the 19th century. They were forced to relocate several times until they found a permanent home in the swamplands of southwest Florida. Want more Southern Mysteries?  Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries Connect Website: southernmysteries.com Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Instagram: @southernmysteries Email: [email protected]  Recommended Reading The Allure of Immortality: An American Cult, a Florida Swamp, and a Renegade Prophet by Lyn Millner Waco: David Koresh, the Branch Davidians, and A Legacy of Rage by Jeff Guinn  Episode Sources WGCU Gulf Coast Life: The connection between Cyrus Teed and the Koreshans and David Koresh and the Branch Davidians. March 14, 2023. The Koreshnans: Archives of former holdings of the Koreshan State Historic Site. Florida State Parks: Koreshan State Historic Site World Religious and Spirituality Project: Koreshans by Lyn Millner WGCU: Florida History: Koreshan Unity: A Quest for Utopia | Untold Stories | Florida History US Department of the Interior: Preserving America’s Utopian Dream, 2001. “Dr. Cyrus Teed and the Koreshan Unity Movement” by Catherine Anthony Ohnemus. Florida Rambler: Koreshan State Park is Florida’s strangest historic site. August 3, 2024. Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.  

In May 1904, the residents of Yazoo City, Mississippi witnessed a devastating fire that destroyed half of their town. This fire was believed to be the result of a curse spoken by a woman known as the Witch of Yazoo, just before her death two decades earlier. Willie Morris, a writer and native of Mississippi, shared the legend in his book, "Good Old Boy." Following his passing in 1999, he was buried in Glenwood Cemetery in Yazoo City, 13 paces due south of the Witch of Yazoo's grave. Many mysteries surround this tale: Was the witch a historical figure, a character inspired by a resident, or a legend passed down through generations? Who rests beneath the marker commemorating one of the South's most famous witches? Want more Southern Mysteries?  Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries Connect Website: southernmysteries.com Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Instagram: @southernmysteries Email: [email protected]  Episode Sources The Times-Democrat: Mississippi Matters, Yazoo City Fire. May 27, 1904 Jackson Daily-News: Committees are active today for the Yazoo City Fire Sufferers. May 27, 1904.  The Yazoo Herald: Chained Grave Holds Jealous Wife, Says Longtime Yazoo City Resident. July 5, 1978. Yazoo Herald: Letters to The Editor, Vay McGraw. November 23, 1991.  Yazoo Herald: It’s Time To Bury The Witch of Yazoo for Good. April 4, 1998  Yazoo Herald: Letters to the Editor, Willie Morris, April 11, 1998.  The Clarion-Ledger: Willie Morris to be buried near witches grave. August 5, 1999. The Delta Statement: Into the Fire, March 2, 2022. Yazoo County Convention and Visitors Bureau: Witch of Yazoo Clarion Ledger: The Witch of Yazoo still haunts the town she burned. October 28, 2014. National Park Service: Nehemiah “Skip” James, October 2017. McElreath, Leisa & Lindsley, Ashley. (2018). 1904 DESTRUCTION OF YAZOO CITY: A CASE STUDY OF COMMUNITY RESILANCE. 10.13140/RG.2.2.13079.68002. City of Yazoo: The History of Yazoo City,  Visit Yazoo: 10 Can’t Miss Spots Independent Order of Oddfellows: History of American Odd Fellows Yazoo Herald: Vay Gregory McGraw. May 9, 2023. The ParaInvestigator YouTube: According to Local Legend: The Mystery of the Yazoo Witch. January 5, 2024 Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.

State Solicitor George Bailes described the murder of Faye New as the most heinous crime ever committed in Jefferson County, Alabama. Faye New's story is shrouded in mystery and sorrow. She was a lively young woman, renowned for her warm smile and compassionate nature. In 1934, tragedy struck when she disappeared after agreeing to accompany a young man for a car ride on a summer evening. Search parties were organized, and the next day, Faye's lifeless body was discovered in a ditch at the edge of a cornfield. For months, local newspapers extensively covered every aspect of this murder mystery. Was it a crime of passion committed by a young man who professed his love for her? Or did the man who offered her a ride bring an end to a promising young life? Want more Southern Mysteries?  Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries Connect Website: southernmysteries.com Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Instagram: @southernmysteries Email: [email protected]  Episode Sources Encyclopedia Alabama: Irondale, Alabama BhamWiki: Woodlawn Findagrave: Faye News Findagrave: Ashley Cain Findagrave: Dorsie New Findagrave: Lonnie New The Birmingham News: Woodlawn High Senior Faye New. February 9, 1930 The Birmingham Post-Herald: Co Ed Missing; 2 Men Quizzed. August 22, 1934.  The Birmingham News: Girl Found Dead. August 22, 1934. The Birmingham Age-Herald: Taylor is Jailed in Co-ed Death. August 23, 1934 The Birmingham News: Police, Solicitor, Increase Activity in Taylor’s Case. August 25, 1934. The Birmingham News: Special Jury Probes Murder of Faye New. August 27, 1934. The Birmingham Post-Herald: Co Ed Death Jury Indicts Taylor. August 28, 1934. The Birmingham News: 34 to be Called in Taylor Trial. August 28, 1934. The Birmingham News: Jury is selected with hearing of witnesses next. September 4, 1934 The Birmingham News: Cain is calm as lawyer charges him with killing. September 6, 1934 The Birmingham News: Harold Taylor Gives His Version of Fatal Ride with Faye New. September 7, 1934. The Birmingham News: Taylor Repeats Denial of Guilt. September 7, 1934. The Birmingham News: Taylor’s Fate Now in Jury’s Hands.September 8, 1934 The Birmingham News: Faye New’s Death is still a baffling puzzle to police. September 10, 1934 The Birmingham News: Mother of Slain Faye New Weeps. September 10, 1934. The Atlanta Constitution: Taylor is Cleared of Attack Charge. September 11, 1934 The Birmingham Post: Detectives Back on Co-Ed Murder. September 12, 1934 The Birmingham Post-Herald: Taylor, Freed, Is Happy at Home. September 10, 1934. The Birmingham Post: Harold Taylor Fined as Drunk. June 12, 1935 The Birmingham Post: Father and Son Will Face Peace Warrants. October 23, 1935. The Birmingham Post: Charges dropped against father and son. November 2, 1935 The Birmingham News: Faye New’s Diary Is Buried with Slain Co-ed. August 25, 1936. The Birmingham Post: Faye New Father Succombs. December 31, 1936. The Birmingham Post: Faye New Slaying, Six Years Old, Still Unsolved. August 19, 1940. Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.

In this episode of Southern Mysteries, host Shannon Ballard delves into the perplexing case of David Glenn Lewis, a well-respected lawyer from Amarillo, Texas, who vanished under mysterious circumstances in January 1993. Despite being a beloved family man and community leader, David's disappearance left his family and law enforcement with more questions than answers. David's body was found 1,600 miles away in Washington State, identified only years later through the use of Google by a determined detective. The discovery solved one mystery but deepened another: how did David end up in Washington, and what led to his tragic death by a hit-and-run driver? Want more Southern Mysteries?  Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries Connect Website: southernmysteries.com Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Instagram: @southernmysteries Email: [email protected]  Episode Sources Fort Worth Telegram Star: Amarillo Police Are Stumped in Search for Missing Lawyer. June 27, 1993.  Juneau Empire: Experts say that Roberts may indeed have amnesia. July, 17, 1997 NBC News: Google used to identify long-lost victim. October 8, 2004.  The Crime Wire: The Strange Disappearance and Death of David Glenn Lewis. June 23, 2024 Seattle Post-Intelligence Reporter: 1993 hit-run victim is finally identified. October 9, 2004 NPR Morning Edition: For Man With Amnesia, Love Repeats Itself. December 13, 2012 Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.

The death of Mary Ravenel remains one of Charleston’s most baffling mysteries. The 64 year old widow was found slumped on the sidewalk near her home on November 1, 1933. People stopped to help and transported Mary to the hospital. She complained of unbearable pain but doctors were unable to determine the source of her injuries and Mary died. Investigators struggled to answer the question of how Mary Ravenel died? Was it accidental? Or cold blooded murder? Want more Southern Mysteries?  Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries Connect Website: southernmysteries.com Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Instagram: @explorethesouth Email: [email protected]  Episode Sources South Carolina Bandits, Bushwackers, Outlaws, Crooks, Devils, Ghosts and other assorted characters By Carole Marsh South Carolina Killers: Crimes of Passion by Mark Jones Charleston Historical Exhibits and Information: The Mysterious Death of Mary Ravenel, 1933 South Carolina Encyclopedia: Ravenel, St. Julien SC Picture Project: Palmer Home Charleston Raconteurs: William Ravenel House The Asheville Times: Bullet Pierced Body of Woman Found in Street, November 2, 1933 Greensboro Record: Strange Death of Charleston Woman Is Veiled in Mystery, November 3, 1933 The Charlotte Observer: Stray Bullet Kills Woman, November 3, 1933 The State: Mrs. Ravenel Told Hospital ‘A Man Hit Me’, November 3, 1933 Florence Morning News: Woman’s Death Still Mystery, November 4, 1933 The Gazette: Mrs. Ravenel’s Slayer Never Apprehended, October 4, 1936 The State: Ravenel Death Still Unsolved, April 5, 1938 The Columbia Record: Charlotte Storm Kills 30, September 29, 1938 Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.

In 1931, 18 year old Helen Spence became a household name, and Arkansas folk hero, after she sought vengeance for the death of her father and stepmother. Over the next three years, the media followed Helen’s trial, imprisonment, second murder charge, prison escapes, and her murder at the age of 22.  Want more Southern Mysteries?  Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries Connect Website: southernmysteries.com Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Instagram: @explorethesouth Email: [email protected]  Episode Sources Encyclopedia of Arkansas: Helen Spence (1912–1934) People’s River History Project: A Secret History of American River People  Denise White Parkinson: Daughter of the White River: Depression-Era Treachery and Vengeance in the Arkansas Delta Only In Arkansas: River of Redemption: The Helen Spence Story The Daily World: Decisions of the Arkansas Supreme Court, January 13, 1930 The Shreveport Journal: Wounded Man is Thrown in River, April 24, 1930  Hope Star: Body of Timber Worker, Drowned in River, Found, June 5, 1930 The Columbus Ledger: Girl Kills Accused Slayer of Father in Courtroom, January 20,1931 The Barre Daily Times: Young Woman Didn’t Trust Jury with Trial, January 20, 1931 Sun Herald: Courtroom Slayer Gets Five Year Term, April 2, 1931 Reading Times: Arrest Trusty for Killing Girl Who Fled Prison, July 13, 1934 Daily News: Tragedy of Helen Spence Eaton, July 22, 1934 Hope Star: Martin Acquitted in Eaton Slaying, September 28, 1934 Arkansas Times: The river people, August 17, 2006 Fox 16 TV: River Justice: pardon sought for Delta folk hero Malvern Daily Record: Helen Spence: An Arkansas Folk Hero for the Ages, March 6, 2023 Episode Music Impromptu, Traveler and Unanswered Questions by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/  

Dr. Jacob Herman Feist was one of Nashville’s most eligible bachelors when he was accused of murder following the disappearance of his lover, Mrs. Mangrum. Was one of the city’s most prominent citizens one of its earliest known serial killers or a womanizer who was destroyed by accusations and gossip?  Want more Southern Mysteries?  Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries Connect Website: southernmysteries.com Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Instagram: @explorethesouth Email: [email protected]  Episode Sources The Tennessean Sadie Goldstein Obituary, May 11, 1903 The Tennessean Dr. Feist’s Denial, May 16, 1903 Grundy News Sadie Goldstein, May 21, 1903 Feist Court Case J. Herman Feist vs. The State Knoxville Sentinel Saw Dr. Feist Embrace Woman, January 29, 1907 The Journal and Tribune Morbid Crowd Fed Salacious Morsels, Jan 30, 1907 The Tennessean May Not Go On Witness Stand, Jan 31, 1907 Nashville Banner Dr. Feist Witnesses Last Scene of the Trial with no Visible Emotion, Feb 16, 1907 Nashville Banner Defense Asks for Adjournment, March 26, 1907 The Tennessean Treatment of Dr. J. H. Feist  The Tennessean The Feist Case, April 4, 1978 The Baldwin Times Dr. Feist Dies at Tensaw Home, October 23, 1952 Genealogy Trails Davidson County J. Herman Feist Bio Notorious Nashville Scoundrels, Rogues and Outlaws, By Brian Allison Find a Grave Dr. Jacob Herman Feist (1873-1952) Episode Music Impromptu and Unanswered Questions by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

On May 4, 1931, William and Mamie Wagner were murdered at their home in northwest  Mississippi. The Jackson Clarion-Ledger called the murders of one of the most prominent couples in the area, “the most brutal tragedy that has ever happened in this section of Mississippi”. Want more Southern Mysteries?  Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries Connect Website: southernmysteries.com Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Instagram: @shannonballard_ Email: [email protected]  Episode Sources The Commercial Appeal Mass Meeting on Charges Relative to Death of Rev H.P. Gibbs, May 6, 1899 State Historical Society Archives Anti-Lynching Bill, 1921 The Greenwood Commonwealth Water Valley Merchant and Wife Slain, May 5, 1931 Biloxi Sun Herald Sheriff Gets Confession in Wagner Crime, May 6, 1931 The Clarion-Ledger Atrocities in Northern Part of State Bringing Intense Police Efforts, May 7, 1931 The Clarion-Ledger Murder Victims Are Laid to Rest, May 8, 1931 The Clarion-Ledger Verdict Carries Dealth Penalty For Whitaker in Wagner Slayings, June 12, 1931 North Mississippi Herald The Infamous History of Water Valley, May 14, 2008 North Mississippi Herald Century Old Jail Is Piece Of History, April 6, 2011 Hill Country History Water Valley (1858) Ancestry.com William Buford Wagner, Jr. Water Valley Chamber of Commerce Attractions - Carnival Info Episode Music Impromptu and Unanswered Questions by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

The Nelms Sisters Mystery is one of the most sensational mysteries of the early 20th century, that most people have never heard of. In the summer of 1914, Eloise Nelms was in love with an attorney she planned to marry. Her sister Beatrice questioned the attorney’s motives and wanted proof that he had her sister's best interest at heart. The sisters took a train from Atlanta, headed to Texas to meet the attorney. They were never seen alive again.  Want more Southern Mysteries?  Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries Connect Website: southernmysteries.com Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Instagram: @shannonballard_ Email: [email protected]  Episode Sources An Old Coot’s Essays About An Earlier Georgia and Other Topics by Eddie Rollins Forgotten Stories: The World’s Worst Divorce Attorney Atlanta West End: Historic West End The Atlanta Constitution: Death Claims Him, March 1, 1911 Oakland Tribune: Mystery of Two Sisters Deepens, July 10, 1914 Charlotte Daily Observer: Search for Women Makes No Progress, July 11, 1914 Tampa Journal: Atlanta Quivers with Excitement in Letter Puzzle, July 12, 1914 The Atlanta Journal: Mother, Heartbroken, Tells of Power Innes Had Over Daughter, July 12, 1914  San Francisco Examiner: Mrs. Nelms Bares Daughters Tragic Love, July 13, 1914 The Atlanta Journal: Womans Clubs Urged to Aid Nelms Search, July 13,1914 The Atlanta Journal: Evidence Sought to Hold Innes, July 16, 1914 The Eugene Guard: Former US District Attorney Arrested in Eugene, August 19, 1914 The Atlanta Journal: Strange Letters to Aid in Solving Nelms Mystery Case, August 21, 1914 The Macon Telegraph: Bones Found in Connect with Nelms Mystery Are Positively Identified As Human, September 9, 1914 The Americus Times Daily Recorder: Speculation Made in Case of INnes and wife, April 4, 1916 The Atlanta Constitution: Finger of Death Inscribes ‘Finis’ on Final Chapter of Nelms Case, April 1, 1936 Episode Music Northern Lights by Chris Hauge.  Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. Deep Haze by Kevin McLeod. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. Source: http://incompetech.com  

The Battle of Blair Mountain, in the summer of 1921, was one of the largest civil uprisings in American History. Violent attacks on Appalachian miners and their families, dangerous working conditions and a forced debt system in company towns contributed to the largest and bloodiest armed uprising since the Civil War. Want more Southern Mysteries?  Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries Connect Website: southernmysteries.com Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Instagram: @shannonballard_ Email: [email protected]  Episode Sources The Road to Blair Mountain by Charles Keeney On Dark and Bloody Ground by Anne Lawrence National Park Service: Introduction to the West Virginia Mine Wars Smithsonian Magazine: What Made the Battle of Blair Mountain the Largest Labor Uprising in American History Zinn Education Project: The Devil Is Here in These Hills ReImagine Appalachia: The Battle of Blair Mountain West Virginia Archives & History United Mine Workers of America: Standing United, Living Divided: Black coal miners and their fight for justice West Virginia Mine Wars Museum JSTOR Daily: Rednecks: A Brief History.  Episode Music Out of the Mines by Ross Gentry. Used with permission of artist. Resolution by Kevin McLeod. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. Source: http://incompetech.com

The disappearance of 67 year old Ruth Dorsey has perplexed her family, friends and Lee County, Alabama law enforcement for half a century. In the summer of 1974 investigators launched what would become one of the most extensive searches to date in the east central part of the state. Ruth’s disappearance remains one of Alabama’s most baffling mysteries. Want more Southern Mysteries?  Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries Connect Website: southernmysteries.com Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Instagram: @shannonballard_ Email: [email protected]  Episode Sources The Charley Project: Ruth Purcell Murphree Dorsey Encyclopedia of Alabama: Opelika Opelika-Auburn News: Dorsey Family Needs Closure After 30 Years, April 16, 2006 Opelika-Auburn News: Only Spooky May Know What Happened, Aug 17, 1975 Opelika-Auburn News: Ruth Dorsey Still Missing After Seven Years, Aug 16, 1981 Opelika-Auburn News: E.S. (Pete) Dorsey, Lee Cattleman Dies at Home, June 22, 1965 Opelika-Auburn News: Opelika Missing After Car Found, Aug 19, 1974 Opelika-Auburn News: Helicopter Used to Search Area for Mrs. Dorsey, Aug 27, 1974  Opelika-Auburn News: Aerial Search for Proves Fruitless In Search for Missing Opelikan Opelika-Auburn News: Ruth Dorsey’s Disappearance, Aug 21, 1977 Opelika-Auburn News: After 3 Month Search, Dorsey Case Unsolved, Dec 3, 1974 Opelika-Auburn News: Reward Up to $1400, Aug. 30, 1974 RootsWeb: Dorsey Ancestry Episode Music Not Forgotten by Dan Lebowitz. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license.

The New Orleans Trunk Murders are a long forgotten dark chapter in the city's history. The gruesome discovery of two dismembered bodies in the French Quarter in October 1927 was one of the most violent crimes reported in the city in the 1920s. Want more Southern Mysteries?  Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries Connect Website: southernmysteries.com Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Instagram: @shannonballard_ Email: [email protected]  Episode Sources The Historical New Orleans Collection: Amid Roaring Twenties New Orleans, a brutal French Quarter murder shocked the city Bayou Justice: New Orleans’ infamous trunk murders revisited Atlas Obscura: The Trunk Murders and ‘Sausage Ghost’ of 1920s New Orleans Southern Spirit Guide: A Block of Death and Dismemberment – New Orleans French Quarter Mangement District: History of French Quarter Vieux Carré Digital Survey: 715 Ursulines St. Find A Grave: Henry Moity Find A Grave: Joseph Moity Find A Grave: Theresa Alfano Moity The Evergreen Courant: Henry Moity Captured Orlando Evening Star: How Jealousy Turned a Devoted Husband into a Demon Daily Advertiser: Be Careful in Marrying,Is Advice in Story Written by Woman Found Slain at N.O. Episode Music Dark Times and Long Note Two by Kevin MacLeod  Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. Source: http://incompetech.com

William and Ellen Craft escaped slavery in Macon, Georgia by traveling to Philadelphia in 1848. Ellen, the light skinned daughter of her mixed race mother and their enslaver, posed as a young white male planter and William posed as her slave.Their daring escape made international headlines and the Crafts became two of the most famous emancipated people in American history. Want more Southern Mysteries?  Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries Connect Website: southernmysteries.com Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Instagram: @shannonballard_ Email: [email protected]  Episode Sources Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom: Or, the Escape of William and Ellen Craft from Slavery (Dover Thrift Editions: Black History)  Time Magazine: The Remarkable True Story of the Couple Who Posed as Master and Slave to Escape Bondage Smithsonian Magazine: The Great Escape From Slavery of Ellen and William Craft National Park Service: "A Desperate Leap for Liberty": The Escape of William and Ellen Craft History: The Daring Disguise that Helped One Enslaved Couple Escape to Freedom Georgia Women of Achievement: Ellen Smith Craft BBC: Ellen and William Craft: Blue plaque for abolitionists who fled slavery Episode Music Traveller by Kevin MacLeod  Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. Source: http://incompetech.com

Betty Gail Brown was a sophomore at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky when she was murdered on campus in 1961.Betty Gail’s murder has haunted Central Kentucky for six decades.  Who killed Betty Gail and why? The case remains unsolved despite the police file noting the case was closed due to an arrest.   Want more Southern Mysteries?  Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries   Connect Website: southernmysteries.com Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Instagram: @shannonballard_ Email: [email protected]    Episode Sources Recommended Read: Who Killed Betty Gail Brown?: Murder, Mistrial, and Mystery by Robert G. Lawson.  Daily News August 1966: The Coed Parked with Death Find A Grave: Betty Gail Brown (1942-1961) Indianapolis Star October 1961: Co-Ed Slain on Kentucky Campus Lexington Herald-Leader January 1965: Man held in West says he killed Miss Brown Lexington Herald-Leader December 1984: Police still seeking answers to unsolved murder Lexington Herald-Leader November 2017: Inside the Police File of City’s Most Notorious Slaying that has gone unsolved for 56 years The Rambler: Kentucky Cold Case: Who killed Betty Gail Brown? The Rambler: Cold Case Heats Up: Police Department Reopens Transy Student’s Murder Case Vice: The Bizarre Unsolved Murder of Harry Dean Stanton's Niece   Episode Music Surrender by Dan Lebowitz. Licensed under Creative Commons

On September 4, 1904, Fannie McCue was found dead in a bathtub at the McCue home in Charlottesville, Virginia. Within months a man was arrested, convicted of murder and executed. Doubts linger over his guilt and some believe his execution was staged. What happened in the McCue home the night Fannie was killed? Want more Southern Mysteries?  Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries Connect Website: southernmysteries.com Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Twitter: @southernpod_ Instagram: @shannonballard_ Email: [email protected]    Episode Sources The McCue Murder: The complete story of the crime and the famous trial of the ex-mayor of Charlottesville, Virginia. Lindsay, James H. (1862-1933). https://xtf.lib.virginia.edu/xtf/view?docId=2007_01/uvaBook/tei/b000449357.xml;brand=default; History of the McCue Case: Full Particulars of the Crime, Inquest, Trial and Conviction with Argument of Counsel by Evan Ragland Chesterman, Joseph Francis Geisinger https://books.google.com/books?id=T3NIdLR8VF4C&pg=PA3#v=onepage&q&f=false Murder trial of J. Samuel McCue. Cvillepedia. Retrieved January 13, 2024. The Case of the “Not-So-Common” Comyn Hall. Albemarle + Charlottesville History. Retrieved January 12, 2024 Charlottesville. Cvillepedia. Retrieved January 12, 2024 McCue Believes He Will Be Free. The Greenville News. December 22, 1904. Retrieved January 12, 2024. J Samuel McCue Dies on Gallows. The Roanoke Times, February 11, 1905. Retrieved January 15, 2024 Episode Music Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use. Evening Fall Piani by Kevin MacLeod Licensed under Creative Commons.

The Great Gaines Case remains the longest civil litigation in US History. The nearly six decade long court battle involved a wealthy Louisiana politician and merchant’s vast fortune, a hidden marriage and child and property in the heart of New Orleans business district.  Want more Southern Mysteries?  Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries Connect Website: southernmysteries.com Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Twitter: @southernpod_ Instagram: @shannonballard_ Email: [email protected]  Episode Sources The New Orleans woman who fought the longest court battle in US history, The Historic New Orleans Collection. (Viewed November 2023) https://www.hnoc.org/publications/first-draft/new-orleans-woman-who-fought-longest-court-battle-us-history Notorious Woman: The Celebrated Case of Myra Clark Gaines by Elizabeth Urban Alexander https://lsupress.org/9780807130247/ Myra Clark Gaines: The Longest-Running Civil Lawsuit in America. Law Library of Louisiana (Viewed November 2023) https://lasc.libguides.com/c.php?g=560377&p=3854854 Gaines v. Relf, 53 U.S. 472 (1851). Justia US Supreme Court (Viewed November 2023) https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/53/472/ The Gaines Case Settled; Some of the Claims to be at Once Paid by the Administrator, New York Times, July 27, 1892 A man in shadow: the life of Daniel Clark, Tulane University Digital Library. (Viewed November 2023). https://digitallibrary.tulane.edu/islandora/object/tulane%3A27489 Episode Music Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use. Meditation Impromptu One by Kevin MacLeod Licensed under Creative Commons.

One of the biggest news stories in October 1934 was the kidnapping of Alice Speed Stoll from her home in Louisville, Kentucky. Seven days later she was set free but her kidnapper remained on the run. Who kidnapped Alice and why? Want more Southern Mysteries? Support this independent podcast on Patreon. Learn more and join today at patreon.com/southernmysteries   Episode Sources Money for Mrs. Stoll Is Ready Authorities Refuse to Reveal ‘Definite Leads’. Healdsburg Tribune, Number 290, 11 October 1934. (Viewed April 2020)   Robinson v. United States, 144 F.2d 392 (6th Cir. 1944). US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit - 144 F.2d 392 (6th Cir. 1944), July 31, 1944 (Viewed April 2020) The bizarre story of a kidnapped Louisville heiress held captive in Indianapolis, IndyStar.com. (Viewed April 2020) Video out takes with family spokesperson, University of South Carolina Libraries Digital Collections. (Viewed April 2020) Robinson, Stoll, Kidnapper, Caught, The Indianapolis times. October 17, 1934 (Viewed April 2020) Joyful After Kidnap Acquittal, Healdsburg Tribune, October 24, 1935. (Viewed April 2020) Episode Music Alone with My Thoughts by Esther Abrami. Licensed under Creative Commons   

David Stringbean Akeman was one of the biggest stars on the Grand Ole Opry throughout the 1950s. The accomplished banjo player rose to national fame thanks to his appearances on the country variety show Hee Haw. In November 1973, Stringbean and his wife Estelle were  murdered at their cabin just outside Nashville. Their deaths forever changed Music City. Want more Southern Mysteries?  Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries Connect Website: southernmysteries.com Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Twitter: @southernpod_ Instagram: @shannonballard_ Email: [email protected]  Episode Sources Stringbean: The Life and Murder of a Country Music Legend by Taylor Hagood. University Press of MS (May 2023). https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p087110 Birthplace of Country Music Museum. (2023, May 16). BCM Museum Speaker Sessions - Stringbean: The Life & Murder with Taylor Hagood. Youtube.  (https://youtu.be/xYGB3f1ZRM0?si=XKRfNATk4xo9rbv4).  Nashville Bar Association. (2019, June 6). The Stringbean Murders: Death in Baker Holler | Part 1.Youtube. (https://youtu.be/8-lAR_lHeG0?si=TtXFat3yJ4GQAC6h).  Nashville Bar Association. (2019, June 6). The Stringbean Murders: Death in Baker Holler | Part 2.Youtube. (https://youtu.be/QK9JVZdm1_M?si=nqaQTf-HNAohFC1_).  Bluegrass Baseball: Barnstorming Band and Ball Club, Society for American Baseball Research. (Viewed November 1, 2023) Stringnbean Akeman and Wife are Slain, The Advocate-Messenger, November 12, 1973. (Viewed November 4, 2023) Killers Missed $5700, The Tennessean, November 12, 1973.(Viewed November 2, 2023) End of Innocence, The Tennessean, November 10, 2013. (Viewed November 2, 2023) A Tribute to Stringbean, The Fort Worth Telegram Star, November 13, 1973. (Viewed November 3, 2023) 'Stringbean' Akeman's killer gets parole,Tennessean,Oct 14, 2014. (Viewed Nov 1, 2023) Episode Music Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use. Castleshire by Chris Haugen. Licensed under Creative Commons.

The death of Daisy Keeton is one of Mississippi’s most horrifying murder mysteries. In January Daisy Keeton disappeared. Days later mutilated remains were discovered near an isolated road in Jones County. The investigation led police to Daisy’s daughter who was arrested and quickly dubbed Mississippi's Lizzie Borden. Want more Southern Mysteries?  Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries Connect Website: southernmysteries.com Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Twitter: @southernpod_ Instagram: @shannonballard_ Email: [email protected]  Episode Sources The Legs Murder Scandal by Hunter Cole. University Press of Mississippi (August 9, 2010). https://a.co/d/9VahppU Daisy McKinstry Keeton, FindaGrave.com. (Viewed October 9, 2023) Keeton Faces Trial on Assault Charge, Jackson Daily News, August 1, 1922. (Viewed October 8, 2023) Earl Keeton Found Guilty of Assault, The Newton Record, August 3, 1922. (Viewed October 8, 2023) Keeton vs. State of Mississippi. Casetext. (Viewed October 9, 2023) Alibi Witnesses Introduced, The Leader Call, May 31, 1935. (Viewed October 9, 2023). Question Girl in Kidnapping Story, The Columbus Telegram, January 26, 1935. (Viewed October 10, 2023) Link Murder To Kidnapping, Colusa Sun-Herald, January 26, 1935. (Viewed October 10, 2023) Woman Charged with Murder of Own Mother, The Birmingham News, January 28, 1935. (Viewed October 10, 2023) Woman’s Story Stirs Murder Mystery Quiz, Oakland Tribune, January 28, 1935. (Viewed October 10, 2023) State Marshalls Witnesses at Trial Today, The Leader Call, March 4, 1935. (Viewed October 10, 2023) On Trial for Mother’s Murder, Quad City Times, March 8, 1935. (Viewed October 10, 1935) Large Bank Account Cited in Murder Case, The Miami Herald, March 10, 1935. (Viewed October 9, 2023) Verdict Guilty! Girl Sentenced to Life Imprisonment, The Leader Call, March 12, 1935. (Viewed October 10, 2023) The Pretty Murderess Who Was Too Modest, The Miami News, April 21, 1935. (Viewed October 10, 2023) Ouida Keeton Testifies for State Tuesday, The Leader Call, May 28, 1935. (Viewed October 10, 2023) Sentence Set Aside in Legs Murder Case, The Danville Bee, March 10, 1936. (Viewed October 10, 2023) Legs Murder Retrial Looms, The Ledger Star, March 10, 1936. (Viewed October 10, 2023) Episode Music Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use. Leoforos Alexandras by Dan Bodan. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Savannah is Georgia’s first city and one of America’s most haunted. If you visit Savannah’s historic district and stroll the city squares, at some point, you are walking on the dead. Victims of war, yellow fever epidemics, fires, murder and enslavement who died during turbulent times in the city. Savannah is a city that lives upon the dead and some continue to make their presence known.   Want more Southern Mysteries?  Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries   Connect Website: southernmysteries.com Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Twitter: @southernpod_ Instagram: @shannonballard_ Email: [email protected]    Episode Sources “432 Abercorn Street: Haunted Mansion Or Just a Rumor Mill?”, The Savannah First-Timer’s Guide. (Viewed October 3, 2023) “Savannah Child Killed by Marble Table Top”, The Atlanta Constitution, December 3, 1933. (Viewed October 2, 2023) “Man Is Injured in 14-Ft Fall”, The Macon Telegraph, December 13, 1933. (Viewed October 2, 2023) “Grand Jury to Probe Wesley Espy’s Death”, The Atlanta Constitution, January 31, 1934. (Viewed October 2, 2023) “Carl Espy Sr”, Abbeville Herald, February 15, 1951. (Viewed October 2, 2023) “Why is Savannah one of America’s Most Haunted Cities?“, Savannah.com. (Viewed October 2, 2023) “New report takes a fresh look at Savannah's role in the history of American slavery”, GPB.org, October 25, 2022. (Viewed October 10, 2023) “Beneath the Surface”, Savannah Magazine, May 15, 2017. (Viewed October 9, 2023) “Why was Nathanael Greene's skeleton kept in a bank vault?”, The Augusta Chronicle, August 1, 2022. (Viewed October 9, 2023) “Haunted Crime Scenes: Savannah's 'Most Haunted' House”, True Crime Library, 2007. (Viewed October 3, 2023) “Died in the West”, The Atlanta Constitution, February 16, 1896. (Viewed October 7, 2023). Episode Music Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use. Dark Times by Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Demopolis, a small town in West Central Alabama, is the home to many a tale of ghosts and the unexplained, including at Bluff Hall. There is a dark history associated with the grand old home, including a funeral service for four members of the Smith family. The Demopolis Times called the discovery of their bodies in November 1934 “the most shocking tragedy that has happened in the city of Demopolis. Want more Southern Mysteries?  Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries Connect Website: southernmysteries.com Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Twitter: @southernpod_ Instagram: @shannonballard_ Email: [email protected]  Episode Sources “Tales of Ghosts Haunt Demopolis Landmarks River”, The Demopolis Times, Nov 1, 2019. (Viewed September 3, 2023)  “They Just Weren’t The Kind of People for That”, Crime Reads, February 3, 2023. (Viewed September 4, 2023). “Shocking Tragedy Here Sunday Stirs Community”, The Demopolis Times, November 29, 1934. (Viewed September 3,2023). “Alkire-Smith”, The Demopolis Times, October 11, 1933. (Viewed September 4, 2023). “Verdict Found at Demopolis”, Our Southern Home, December 5, 1934. (Viewed September 5, 2023). “Bluff Hall”, Encyclopedia of Alabama. (Viewed September 2, 2023). “Murder and Suicide Seen in Demopolis Tragedy”, The Selma Times Journal, November 26, 1934. (Viewed September 2, 2023). Episode Music Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use. Peace of Mind and Long Note Two by Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under Creative Commons.  

On December 11, 1926 a small town bank near Austin, Texas was robbed at gunpoint by a 21 year old college student Rebecca Bradley. She wasn’t the typical bank robber of the 1920s. What secrets drove this “girl next door” to armed robbery and arson? Want more Southern Mysteries?  Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries   Connect Website: southernmysteries.com Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Twitter: @southernpod_ Instagram: @shannonballard_ Email: [email protected]    Episode Sources “Drop Co-Ed Bandit Charge as Rebecca Becomes Mother”, El Paso Herald-Post, October 25, 1933. (Viewed on August 23, 2023). “The End of an Unusual Case”, Wichita Falls Times, October 27, 1933. (Viewed on August 23, 2023). “Amarillo Attorney Tells of Marriage to Bandit Suspect”, Ft. Worth Telegram Star, December 14, 1926. (Viewed on August 28, 2023). “Rebecca Bradley Girl Bandit”, ScandalsandSweets.com.(Viewed on August 21, 2023). “Texas Girl Bandit Accused of Arson”,The New York Times, December 12, 1026.(Viewed on August 20, 2023). Episode Music Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use. Dixie Outlandish and Castleshire by Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under Creative Commons

Meet sisters Caroline Martin, Virginia Wardlaw and Mary Snead. They left a long trail of devastation and death of family members from Kentucky to Tennessee and Virginia on to New Jersey where they were implicated in the mysterious death of a young family member.  Want more Southern Mysteries?  Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries Connect Website: southernmysteries.com Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Twitter: @southernpod_ Instagram: @shannonballard_ Email: [email protected]  Episode Sources “Soule Sisters Series”, Daily News Journal, Sunday, October 2009. Accessed March 2, 2028. https://rutherfordtnhistory.org/rutherford-county-hosted-three-wicked-witches/ “Three Sisters in Black: The Bizarre True Case of the Bathtub Tragedy” by Norman Zierold. Accessed March 1, 2018. https://books.google.com/books?id=wqdLDwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false “Ghosts of past still frighten New River Valley”, Collegiate Times, October 31, 2006. Accessed March 10, 2018.  https://www.collegiatetimes.com/lifestyle/ghosts-of-past-still-frighten-new-river-valley/article_0b71ec43-ff02-5af4-a83e-8016c081891a.html “Sister Act: The Bizarre Drowning of Ocey Snead”, The Lineup, July 19, 2018. Accessed August 1, 2023. https://the-line-up.com/the-bizarre-drowning-of-ocey-snead Episode Music Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use. Colorless Aura by Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Otto Wood was a self–proclaimed one armed-bandit from North Carolina. He made a name for himself as a bootlegger who loved stealing from the rich. Being sent to jail only heightened his fame. He escaped prison so many times he was nicknamed the Hillbilly Houdini.   Want more Southern Mysteries?  Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries   Connect Website: southernmysteries.com Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Twitter: @southernpod_ Instagram: @shannonballard_ Email: [email protected]    Episode Sources ‘They started popping bullets’: Eyewitness recalls the day Otto Wood died. Salisbury Post. January 2015. Accessed August 1, 2023. https://www.salisburypost.com/2015/07/30/they-started-popping-bullets-eyewitness-recalls-the-day-otto-wood-died/   Wood, Otto.  Life history of Otto Wood: inmate, State Prison. Raleigh, N.C.: 1926.    Otto Wood: North Carolina’s One Man Crime Wave. Old Hat Records. Accessed August 3, 2023. http://www.oldhatrecords.com/ResearchOttoWood.html   The not too well-known desperado. Accessed August 3, 2023. http://kronsell.net/woodenglish.htm    McKenzie, T. (2021). Otto Wood, the Bandit: The Freighthopping Thief, Bootlegger, and Convicted Murderer behind the Appalachian Ballads. University of North Carolina Press. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5149/9781469665672_mckenzie   Episode Music The Colonel by Zachariah Hickman. Licensed under Creative Commons; Otto Wood: The Bandit by The Carolina Buddies, Columbia Phonograph Recordings, 1931. Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use.

In June 1964, the Ku Klux Klan conspired with law enforcement in Neshoba County, Mississippi to kidnap and murder three young civil rights workers. James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner were murdered in an effort to preserve segregation in the state and deter further civil rights activism. Despite dozens of indictments and a few trials, was justice served? What role did the state of Mississippi play in their murders? Want more Southern Mysteries?  Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries   Connect Website: southernmysteries.com Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Twitter: @southernpod_ Instagram: @shannonballard_ Email: [email protected]    Episode Sources Mississippi Department of Archives and History. “Sovereignty Commission Online website”. (Viewed on July 29, 2023). Mississippi Encyclopedia. “Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission”. (Viewed on July 29, 2023). African American History. Cozzens, Lisa. "Brown v. Board of Education." (Viewed on July 29, 2023). Wisconsin Historical Society Freedom Summer Digital Collection. “Edward Hollander recordings [sound recording], 1963-1964; Audio 369A; WIHVH2870-A.” (Viewed on July 28, 2023) Jackson Free Press. “FBI Celebrates Civil-Rights Heroes”. (Viewed on July 30,2023)  Famous Trials. “Mississippi Burning Trial Chronology.” (Viewed on August 1, 2023) King Encyclopedia.”Freedom Summer.” (Viewed on August 1, 2023) Jewish Women's Archive. "Rita Schwerner." (Viewed on August 2, 2023) . Neshoba Democrat. “Mt. Zion to hold annual memorial”. (Viewed on July 31, 2023) Pacifica Radio Archives, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. “Memorial service for James Chaney.” 1964-08-28. (Viewed July 28, 2023). . History.com. “Freeom Summer.” (Viewed July 27, 2023). Porter, Dawn. “Spies of Mississippi.” (Viewed July 29, 2023). Episode Music Spirit of Fire by Jesse Gallager. Licensed under Creative Commons; Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use

This 2020 episode is one of the most popular in the Southern Mysteries archive. It tells the story of Elizabeth Dale. Between the 1830s and 1850s, she was married and widowed, six times. Each husband died following a mysterious illness. When Elizabeth’s neighbor accused her of murdering her husbands, he learned that questioning Elizabeth could cost you your life. Want more Southern Mysteries?  Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries Connect Website: southernmysteries.com Instagram: @shannonballard_ Email: [email protected] Episode Sources Elizabeth High-Brown-Routt: Hazel Green's First Serial Killer, Memories of Madison County. Elizabeth Evans Dale. Huntsville History Collection Federal Writers Project (2013). The WPA Guide to Alabama: The Camellia State. Retrieved from http://books.google.com "Attempt to Convict Based On The Testimony Of A Monomaniac". Nashville Daily Patriot. [volume], January 22, 1856, Image 2 "Dead Husbands Tell No Tales". Okay, Listen Here. 27 October 2010 "Elizabeth Routt: Did She Murder Her Six Husbands Or Was She a Victim of Misfortune?" Huntsville Times. 26 February 1976 Carrington, Virgil. True Tales of Old Madison County, (1992). Johnson Historical Publications Episode Music Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use. Plantation by Audionautix. Licensed under Creative Commons. One Mile East of Hazel Green by Shane Adkins, from performance at Von Braun Center, Huntsville Alabama on June 7th, 2014 as part of Jim Parker's Songwriter Series  

In 1959 Osprey, Florida was shaken by the murder of the Walker Family, just days before Christmas. The quadruple murder remains unsolved. Some investigators believe there’s a connection between the murder of the Walkers in Florida…and the Clutter Family Murder in Holcomb, Kansas.    Want more Southern Mysteries?  Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries Connect Website: southernmysteries.com Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Twitter: @southernpod_ Instagram: @shannonballard_ Email: [email protected]  Episode Sources Walker Murder Investigative Report from Florida Sherrif’s Bureau. Accessed June 1, 2023. https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/525057/walker-2.pdf The suspects: A litany of names and clues. Herald-Tribune. Accessed June 8, 2023 https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/2005/12/19/the-suspects-a-litany-of-names-and-clues/28452224007/ Years Later, Sarasota Murders Tied to ‘In Cold Blood’ Case. Accessed June 8, 2023. https://www.theledger.com/story/news/2013/05/18/years-later-sarasota-murders-tied/8122891007/ Unsolved Mysteries: The Walker Family Murders. Accessed June 8, 2023. https://truecrimedetective.co.uk/in-cold-blood-ii-the-walker-family-murders-d16969e7dac4 Resurrecting the “Mummy murder’ case. Accessed June 8, 2023. https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1994/03/23/resurrecting-the-mummy-murder-case/ Clutter Family Murders. Accessed. Accessed June 9, 2023. https://www.gcpolice.org/about-gcpd/history/famous-cases/clutter-family-murders No DNA link between Walker murders, ‘In Cold Blood’ killers https://web.archive.org/web/20151126101903/http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20130813/ARTICLE/130819868 Walker investigation shows parts of ‘In Cold Blood’ don’t add up. Accessed June 9, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20130128075855/http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20121209/ARTICLE/121209622?p=2&tc=pg Did the Clutter Murderers Kill Again? Accessed June 10, 2023. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887323951904578292491087476234 Episode Music Emotional Alone by Purple Planet Music. Licensed under Creative Commons; Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use

The murder of Solomon P. Sharp by Jereboam Beauchamp is known as The Kentucky Tragedy. It’s a complicated story of seduction, politics, love and execution.  Want more Southern Mysteries?  Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries Connect Website: southernmysteries.com Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Twitter: @southernpod_ Instagram: @shannonballard_ Email: [email protected]    Episode Sources Southern Literary Messenger. Encyclopedia of Virginia. Accessed May 30, 2023. https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/southern-literary-messenger/ The confession of Jereboam Beauchamp "(written by himself) who was executed at Frankfort, Ky., for the murder of Col. Solomon P. Sharp, a member of the legislature, and late attorney-general of Ky. To which is added some poetical pieces written by Mrs. Ann Beauchamp, who voluntarily put a period to her existence on the day of the execution of her husband, and was buried in the same grave with him. Accessed May 30, 2023. https://digital.library.cornell.edu/catalog/sat1109 The Kentucky Tragedy in American Literature: From Thomas Holley Chivers to Robert Warren. Jack Edward Surrency, University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Accessed May 30, 2023. ttps://trace.tennessee.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5389&context=utk_graddiss Jereboam O. Beauchamp. Murderpedia. Accessed May 29, 2023. https://murderpedia.org/male.B/b/beauchamp-jereboam.htm Episode Music I Am A Man Who Will Fight For Your Honor by Chris Zabriske and No. 7 Alone with My Thought by Esther Abrami. Licensed under Creative Commons; Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use

The story of Joe Ball has been a part of Texas lore since the 1930s. He’s known to have killed two people but investigators believed he may have killed up to 20. Were nearly a dozen victims fed to Joe’s pet alligators?   Want more Southern Mysteries?  Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries   Connect Website: southernmysteries.com Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Twitter: @southernpod_ Instagram: @shannonballard_ Email: [email protected]    Episode Sources Joe Ball: The Butcher of Elmendorf. Accessed May 1, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20070916033830/http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/history/joe_ball/index.html Two Barmaids, Five Alligators, and the Butcher of Elmendorf. Accessed May 4, 2023. https://www.texasmonthly.com/true-crime/butcher-of-elmendorf-alligators/ Joseph D. Ball Accessed May 1, 2023. http://murderpedia.org/male.B/b/ball-joseph.htm   Episode Music Lost Cowboy by Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under Creative Commons; Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use

In 1944, George Stinney Jr. was wrongfully convicted of murder and executed by the state of South Carolina. The 14 year old was the youngest person to be executed in 20th century America. Want more Southern Mysteries?  Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries Connect Website: southernmysteries.com Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Twitter: @southernpod_ Instagram: @shannonballard_ Email: [email protected]  Episode Sources Court Acknowledges Wrongful Execution of 14-Year Old George Stinney, Accessed March 30, 2023. https://eji.org/news/george-stinney-exonerated/ State v. Stinney, Brief of Amicus Curiae, Accessed April 10, 2023. Justice is Done: George Stinney Jr.’s 70 Year Old Conviction is Vacated, April 10, 2023.  https://lawlibrarybarrister.wordpress.com/2014/12/17/justice-is-done-george-stinney-jr-s-70-year-old-conviction-is-vacated/ New details emerge about an alternate suspect in Alcolu girls’ murders. Accessed April 11, 2023. https://www.postandcourier.com/news/special_reports/new-details-emerge-about-an-alternate-suspect-in-alcolu-girls-murders/article_2b2069f0-2933-11e8-9997-7b67df562df5.html Episode Music Dark Times by Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under Creative Commons; Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use

A sensational tale of obsession, murder and a secret lover were front page news in the summer of 1922. At the center of it all was Walburga Oesterreich, more commonly known as Dolly. Detectives worked for over a decade to solve the mystery of the murder of her husband, Fred. A scorned lover revealed the answers and Dolly's secrets shocked the country.     Want more Southern Mysteries?  Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries   Connect Website: southernmysteries.com Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Twitter: @southernpod_ Instagram: @shannonballard_ Email: [email protected]    Episode Sources The Story Of Dolly Oesterreich – The Woman Who Kept Her Secret Lover In The Attic For Years. Accessed Dec 12, 2022 https://allthatsinteresting.com/dolly-oesterreich The Murderous Lover Who Lived In A Silver Lake Attic. A True Story. Accessed Dec 29,2022. https://laist.com/news/la-history/hidden-history-of-la-the-murderous-lover-who-lived-in-a-silver-lake-attic The Legend of Milwaukee’s Most Infamous Love Triangle. Accessed December 30, 2022. https://www.milwaukeemag.com/the-legend-of-milwaukees-most-infamous-love-triangle/   Music It's the Talk of the Town. Public Domain. 78rpm Collection (1920s 1930s Popular Music) Part JH11

Easter marked the 60th anniversary of the disappearance of 22 year old Hannah Jane Rowell. Her estranged husband believed Jane abandoned the family to leave Baton Rouge, Louisiana and try to make it in Hollywood. Her distraught and protective brother vowed there was foul play.    Want more Southern Mysteries?  Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries   Connect Website: southernmysteries.com Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Twitter: @southernpod_ Instagram: @shannonballard_ Email: [email protected]    Episode Sources Jane Clement Missing Since 1963. The Hammond Star, Bayou Justice. Accessed February 25, 2020. https://www.hammondstar.com/news/jane-clement-missing-since-1963/article_317d206e-c244-53a3-a061-6b13a44b0413.html Dental Chart of Missing Woman Studied. The Daily Iberian. December 10, 1963. https://www.newspapers.com/image/849587767/ Jane Rowell Clement. Doe Network. Accessed March 13, 2023. https://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1373dfla.html Jane Clement Rowell. The Charley Project. Accessed March 13, 2023. https://charleyproject.org/case/jane-rowell-clement Jane Clement missing since 1963. Bayou Justice. Accessed March 28, 2023. https://bayoujustice.com/2023/03/jane-clement-missing-since-1963-2/ Jane Rowell buried in concrete tomb. Bayou Justice. Accessed March 28, 2023. https://bayoujustice.com/2023/03/jane-rowell-buried-in-concrete-tomb/   Episode Music Not Alone by Lee Rosevere. Licensed under Creative Commons; Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use

In 1920 Lena Clarke made history when she became the first woman to be named postmaster of West Palm Beach, Florida. Within a year, she gained notoriety as “the murdering postmistress when she stood trial for killing her lover to cover up an embezzlement scheme.   Want more Southern Mysteries?  Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries   Connect   Website: southernmysteries.com Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Twitter: @southernpod_ Instagram: @shannonballard_ Email: [email protected]    Episode Sources   Florida history: The story of West Palm Beach’s murderous postmistress. The Palm Beach Post. Accessed January 30, 2023. https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/news/2022/01/09/lena-clarke-mysterious-murderous-postmistress-west-palm-beach/9084494002/   Going Postal, 1920s Style – The Strange Case of Lena Clarke. Palm Beach Past. Accessed January 29, 2023. https://palmbeachpast.org/2021/07/going-postal-1920s-style-the-strange-case-of-lena-clarke/   The Murdering Postal Woman, Lena Clarke, 1921. Historical Crime Detective. Accessed February 2, 2023. https://www.historicalcrimedetective.com/the-murdering-postal-woman-lena-clarke-1921/   Lena Marietta Thankful Clarke. Find A Grave. Accessed February 3, 2023. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/23950611/lena-marietta_thankful-clarke   Theft of $32,000 Solved by Lena Clarke but Murder of Miltimore is still a mystery. The Orlando Sentinel. Accessed February 3, 2023. https://www.newspapers.com/image/313585521/?terms=lena%20clarke&match=1   The Life of Lena Clarke In Her Own Pen. The Miami Herald. Accessed February 3, 2023. https://www.newspapers.com/image/616088404/?terms=lena%20clarke&match=1   Lena Clarke Murder Trial. The MIami Herald. Accessed February 3, 2023. https://www.newspapers.com/image/616088368/?terms=lena%20clarke&match=1   Postmistress Called Insane Freed of Murder. The New York Daily News. Accessed February 3, 2023. https://www.newspapers.com/image/410910479/?terms=lena%20clarke&match=1   Episode Music St. Francis by by Josh Lippi & The Overtimers. Licensed under Creative Commons; Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use

There are lesser known stories of enslaved men and women who fought for their freedom in court. Elizabeth Key was at the center of one of the most important colonial court cases involving slavery. Henrietta Wood made history when she sued the man who kidnapped and enslaved her. Want more Southern Mysteries?  Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries Connect Website: southernmysteries.com Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Twitter: @southernpod_ Instagram: @shannonballard_ Email: [email protected]    Episode Sources Elizabeth Key. Women in History. Accessed January 10,2023 Elizabeth Key. Library of Virginia. Accessed January 13, 2023 Elizabeth Key and Her History-Changing Lawsuit. ThoughtCo. Accessed January 14, 2023 The Case of Elizabeth Key, 1655/1656 Northumberland County Record Books, 1652-1658, fols. 66-67, 85; 1658-1660, fol. 28; Northumberland County Order Book, 1652-1665, fols. 40, 46, 49. University of Chicago Taunya Lovell Banks, "Dangerous Woman: Elizabeth Key's Freedom Suit - Subjecthood and Racialized Identity in Seventeenth Century Colonial Virginia", 41 Akron Law Review 799 (2008), Digital Commons Law, University of Maryland.  Sweet Taste of Liberty Open Source Notebook. Caleb McDaniel. Accessed January 14, 2023 In 1870, Henrietta Wood Sued for Reparations—and Won. Smithsonian Magazine. Accessed February 1, 2023   Episode Music Magic Forest by Sir Cubworth Licensed under a Creative Commons; Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use

In the 1930s Harry Powers used several aliases to correspond with lonely women he promised to marry. In 1931 five bodies were discovered on his Quiet Dell, West Virginia farm that was dubbed The Murder Farm.    Want more Southern Mysteries?  Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries   Connect   Website: southernmysteries.com Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Twitter: @southernpod_ Instagram: @shannonballard_ Email: [email protected]    Episode Sources   Harry F. Powers. Murderpedia. Accessed January 4, 2023. https://murderpedia.org/male.P/p/powers-harry.htm   Hanging the Bluebeard of Quiet Dell. Appalachian History. Accessed January 7, 2023. https://www.appalachianhistory.net/2014/03/grisly-anniversary-hanging-bluebeard-quiet-dell.html   The Bluebeard of Quiet Dell, Clarksburg Serial Killer. West Virginia Gazette. Accessed January 7, 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20120324101310/http://www.wvgazette.com/mediafiles/document/2009/03/17/Bluebeard_I090317193022.pdf   Harry Powers' Murder Farm. Morbid Tourism. Accessed February 1, 2023. https://www.morbidtourism.com/locations/id/606a1c2bc892bc9da3b0864a   Episode Music Lost by Kevin MacLeod, Licensed under a Creative Commons License; Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use

On a cold December day in 1909, eight year old Alma Kellner walked five blocks from her parents home in Louisville, Kentucky to St. John’s Church. She promised her mother she would return home after mass but Alma never returned. The circumstances surrounding her disappearance remain shrouded in mystery   Want more Southern Mysteries?  Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries   Connect Website: southernmysteries.com Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Twitter: @southernpod_ Instagram: @shannonballard_ Email: [email protected]    Episode Sources Alma Katherine Kellner. Find A Grave. Accessed January 4, 2023. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/95108249/alma-katherine-kellner   Reward of $500 Offered. Lexington Herald-Leader. December 10, 1909. Accessed Newspapers.com December 20, 2022 Alma Kellner’s Body Is Found. Los Angeles Herald. May 31, 1910. Accessed Newspapers.com December 20, 2022   Triumphed. New York Daily News. July 28, 1935. Accessed Newspapers.com December 20, 2022 Louisville’s Church Fiend Becomes Martyr in France. The Louisville Courier-Journal. November 29, 1936. Accessed Newspapers.com December 20, 2022   Killer Priest— Crimes, Trial And Execution Of Hans Schmidt, Mark Gado ( 2006). Accessed January 10, 2023. https://archive.org/details/KillerPriest--CrimesTrialAndExecutionOfHansSchmidtMarkGado2006   Episode Music Argonne by Zachariah Hickman and Sense of Loss by Purple Planet Music. Licensed under a Creative Commons License; Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use

In November 2012, the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles pardoned three black men who had been wrongly convicted of assaulting two white women in 1931. They were the last of nine young men associated with the case to have their convictions officially cleared from the record. Their arrest and the trials that followed served as a catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement.   Want more Southern Mysteries?  Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive and immediately access exclusive content when you become a patron of the show.  Join now at patreon.com/southernmysteries   Connect Website: southernmysteries.com Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Twitter: @southernpod_ Instagram: @shannonballard_ Email: [email protected]    Episode Sources Scottsboro Trials. Accessed December 14, 2022.    “Scottsboro Boys” Trials (1931-1937). Famous Trials by Douglas O. Linder. Accessed December 10, 2022.    Without Fear or Favor: Judge James Edwin Horton and the Trial of the “Scottsboro Boys” By Douglas O. Linder. Accessed December 10, 2022    The Saga Of The Scottsboro Boys. Accessed January 2, 2023.    The Scottsboro Trials: A Legal Lynching. Accessed January 2, 2023.    The Scottsboro Boys: Injustice in Alabama. Accessed December 15, 2022.    Episode Music No 7 Alone with My Thoughts by Esther Abrami. Licensed under a Creative Commons License Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use

The 1965 disappearance of Mary Little remains one of Georgia’s most mysterious missing person cases. On October 14, 1965 Mary spent the day working, socializing with friends and shopping. Mary Little never made it home.    Want more Southern Mysteries?  Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive and immediately access exclusive content when you become a patron of the show.  Join now at patreon.com/southernmysteries Connect Website: southernmysteries.com Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Twitter: @southernpod_ Instagram: @shannonballard_ Email: [email protected]    Episode Sources The Strange Disappearance of Mary Little. Historic Horrors. October 2022 The Mary Shotwell Little Case. The Southern Voice. Mary Shotwell Little. The Charley Project The Case of the Missing Bride. Buckhead.com  What Happened to Mary? The Disappearance of Mary Shotwell Little, Woman's College Alumna. The University of North Carolina at Greensboro   Episode Music Autumn Sunset by Kevin MacLeod. Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under a Creative Commons License Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use

It’s been 90 years since Mamie Thurman was brutally murdered in Logan County, West Virginia. While investigating the murder of the wife of a local police man, authorities learned Mamie had been leading a double life.  Want more Southern Mysteries?  Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive and immediately access exclusive content when you become a patron of the show.  Join now at patreon.com/southernmysteries Connect Website: southernmysteries.com Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Twitter: @southernpod_ Instagram: @shannonballard_ Email: [email protected]    Episode Sources Mamie’s Husband Didn’t Wait Long to Remarry. Coal Valley News. October 23, 2019 WV: The 1932 Murder of Mamie Thurman. Thoughts and Ponderances. March 10, 2020 The Secret Life and Brutal Death of Mamie Thurman. F. Keith Davis   Episode Music Evening Fall Harp. Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under a Creative Commons.Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use

The Bell Witch legend is one of the most recognized examples of the unexplained in Southern American lore. How did the legend take hold of and define a small town in Tennessee?   Want more Southern Mysteries?  Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive and immediately access exclusive content when you become a patron of the show.  Join now at patreon.com/southernmysteries Connect Website: southernmysteries.com Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Twitter: @southernpod_ Instagram: @explorethesouth Email: [email protected]  Episode Sources Bell Witch lore spins dark tale, but could science explain it all?. The Tennessean. October 28, 2021 Tennessee Myths and Legends. Tennessee State Library and Archives.  The Year of the Witch. Tennessee Historical Society. October 13, 2017 John William Bell. Findagrave.  The Mark of the Bell Witch (Documentary). Seth Breedlove, Small Town Monsters. 2020 Historian, descendant recount Bell Witch legend. Associated Press. November 4, 2018 Episode Music Industrial Music Box. Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under a Creative Commons. Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use  

Southern Mysteries is on hiatus. I’m taking a much needed break from researching murders and mysteries this summer. I’ll be back with new episodes in time to celebrate the 5th anniversary of the show this fall.   If you’re a patron of Southern Mysteries, you’ll still hear the Patreon exclusive episodes, The Lesser Knowns, each month. If you don’t already support the show you can check out patreon.com/southernmysteries to catch up on the show archive and hear Patron exclusive episodes like the one I’m sharing today.  Before we say goodbye for the summer, this is the story of a cold blooded killer who became the last woman to die by electrocution in Alabama….Rhonda Belle Martin   Episode Sources Rhonda Belle Martin. Murderpedia. A Plot Full of Poison. LIFE. 26 March, 1956 The Penalty Is Death: U. S. Newspaper Coverage of Women's Executions by Martin Shipman. University of Missouri Press. Governor Holds Murderess' Fate. Montgomery Advertiser. 10 October 1957 Grisly Momma. The Malefactors Register.    Music   Emotional and Alone. Purple Planet Music. Licensed Under Creative Commons  

The Shelton Laurel Massacre in January 1863 is a striking example of divided loyalists and complicated battle lines in North Carolina during the Civil War.    Want more Southern Mysteries?  Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive and immediately access exclusive content when you become a patron of the show.  Join now at patreon.com/southernmysteries   Connect Website: southernmysteries.com Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Twitter: @southernpod_ Instagram: @explorethesouth Email: [email protected]    Episode Sources The Massacre Men. Scalawag. July 27, 2017 Atrocity at Shelton Laurel. Our State. April 29, 2012 Blood in the Valley: The Shelton Laurel Massacre’s Haunting Legacy. Mountain Xpress Asheville History and Writing about the Massacre. Vicki Lane Tales of Appalachia  The Shelton Laurel Massacre, Madison County, NC,Winter of 1863. Shelton Family History Blog   Episode Music Leoforos Alexandras by Dan Bodan.  Licensed under a Creative Commons. Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use

In the summer of 1976 two bodies were discovered in rural Sumter County, South Carolina. Their identities remained a mystery for nearly 45 years   Want more Southern Mysteries?  Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive and immediately access exclusive content when you become a patron of the show.  Join now at patreon.com/southernmysteries   Connect   Website: southernmysteries.com Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Twitter: @southernpod_ Instagram: @explorethesouth Email: [email protected]    Episode Sources   Sumter Couple Mystery Website dedicated to the case  Killer Remains Nameless. January 2021. Sumter County Does. The Doe Network Sumter County murder victims laid to rest. The Index Journal. August 15, 1977   Episode Music Long Note One by Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Source: http://incompetech.com   Sense of Loss courtesy of Purple Planet Music.  https://www.purple-planet.com/ Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use

Some of the oldest true crime cases in America are racial terror lynchings. To understand the history of lynching in the American South you have to know what led to the acceptance of racial terror and the brave people who led anti lynching campaigns in an effort to end the violence and save lives.    Want more Southern Mysteries?  Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive and immediately access exclusive content when you become a patron of the show.  Join now at patreon.com/southernmysteries   Connect Website: southernmysteries.com Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Twitter: @southernpod_ Instagram: @explorethesouth Email: [email protected]    Episode Sources Hanging Bridge: Racial Violence and America's Civil Rights Century by Jason Morgan Ward. Oxford University Press The Cross and the Lynching Tree (James Hal Cone and Bill Moyers). The Journal.  Emmett Till Antilynching Act. Public Law No: 117-107 (03/29/2022). This bill makes lynching a federal hate crime offense. This Bridge in Mississippi Has Hosted Decades of Racial Violence. Vice. April 27, 2016 What happens when we forget? Facing South. May 7, 2018 Thirty Years of Lynching in the United States 1889-1918. NAACP Report on Lynching  Equal Justice Initiative, Lynching in America: Confronting the Legacy of Racial Terror (3d Ed., 2017). How one Civil Rights activist posed as a white man in order to investigate lynchings. Fresh Air, NPR. March 30, 2022   Episode Music “One” courtesy of Ross Gentry. Special thanks to Headway Recordings, in Asheville, North Carolina. Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use

The Hillsville Massacre has been described as one of the most bizarre incidents in Virginia criminal and legal history. Floyd Allen, the patriarch of the Allen clan, known for feuding, moonshining and violence, was executed after he stood trial for triggering the 1912 courthouse massacre. But the question remains…who shot first?   Want more Southern Mysteries?  Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive and immediately access exclusive content when you become a patron of the show.  Join now at patreon.com/southernmysteries   Connect Website: southernmysteries.com Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Twitter: @southernpod_ Instagram: @explorethesouth Email: [email protected]    Episode Sources Gunfight in courthouse after guilty verdict left 5 dead, 7 wounded. New York Daily News. July 4, 2021 Floyd Allen (1856–1913). Encyclopedia of Virginia.  Courthouse Tragedy. The Carroll County Historical and Society Museum The Hillsville Massacre. The Roanoker. November 1982 Floyd Allen. Murderpedia   Episode Music Loneliest Road in America by Jesse Gallager  Licensed under Creative Commons Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use

Emil and Kelly Mitchell, known as the King and Queen of the Gypsies, have long been a part of Meridian, Mississippi lore but their story is complicated and often misunderstood    Want more Southern Mysteries?  Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive and immediately access exclusive content when you become a patron of the show.  Join now at patreon.com/southernmysteries   Connect Website: southernmysteries.com Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Twitter: @southernpod_ Instagram: @explorethesouth Email: [email protected]    Episode Sources Queen of the Gypsies Dead. Our Southern Home. February 10, 1915 The Rose Hill Company of Players. Facebook Queen Kelly Mitchell: A Slice of Meridian’s History. The Meridian Star. December 26, 2007 Historical tales abound within Rose Hill Cemetery. Today in Mississippi  Fortune telling ordinance challenged. The Meridian Star. February 13, 2011 Meridian, Mississippi, the Queen City. The Meridian Star. October 28, 2011 Why Being 'Gypped' Hurts The Roma More Than It Hurts You. Code Switch NPR. December 30, 2013 Roma Culture: Customs, Traditions & Beliefs. Live Science. November 26, 2018 Meridian’s Royal Past. Mississippi FolkLife. February 4, 2019   Episode Music Alone with my Thoughts by Esther Abrami  Licensed under Creative Commons Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use

In the late 1880s Bob Sims declared himself a prophet with more than 100 followers in his Choctaw County Alabama cult. His belief that no man could establish laws over him led to a bloody chapter in Alabama history Want more Southern Mysteries?  Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive and immediately access exclusive content when you become a patron of the show.  Join now at patreon.com/southernmysteries Connect Website: southernmysteries.com Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Twitter: @southernpod_ Instagram: @explorethesouth Email: [email protected]    Episode Sources Sims War Siege. Choctaw County Geological Society Robert Bruce Sims. Find A Grave. The Sims War Connection. Rebellion Leader Robert Bruce Sims. Campbell Family History Bad Literature. Bob Sims Paper ‘The Veil is Rent’. The Standard Gauge. September 10, 1891 Robert Sims, Thomas and Young Savage. Strange Fruit and Spanish Moss. December 26, 2014 A Southern Terror: Arrest of the Bloody Bob Sims and His Bad Gang. The Pittsburgh Press. December 27, 1891 Stars Fell on Alabama by Carl Carmer. University of Alabama Press (1985)   Episode Music Argonne by Zachariah Hickman Licensed under Creative Commons Bring Me Your Sorrows by Dan Lebowitz. Licensed under Creative Commons Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use

Pearl Corens disappeared on February 13, 1945. Over the next two weeks mysterious notes perplexed police as they searched for the missing war department employee. Then came a shocking discovery on the Virginia side of the Potomac River.   Want more Southern Mysteries?  Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive and immediately access exclusive content when you become a patron of the show.  Join now at patreon.com/southernmysteries   Connect   Website: southernmysteries.com Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Twitter: @southernpod_ Instagram: @explorethesouth Email: [email protected]    Episode Sources Justice and the Case of the Corpseless Head. New York Daily News. March 24, 1946 Judge is Grim in Weird Case. The Spokesman-Review. May 29, 1945. Wife’s Head Found; Husband Held. The New York Daily News. March 1, 1945 Corens Offers Alibi for Bloodstains in Bethesda Home. The Evening Star. May 25, 1945 Rice, C. (2018). 45 Murderers: A Collection of True Crime Stories. United States: MysteriousPress.com/Open Road.   Episode Music Falling Rain by Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Source: http://incompetech.com   Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use

In April 1969, Marie Arrington became the second woman ever placed on the FBI’s most wanted list. One year earlier she was sentenced to 20 years in prison for manslaughter. While awaiting appeal and out on bond she was arrested for the murder of a legal secretary. Then came a trial, Marie’s escape and the FBI’s years long pursuit of one of their most wanted     Want more Southern Mysteries?  Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive and immediately access exclusive content when you become a patron of the show.  Join now at patreon.com/southernmysteries   Connect Website: southernmysteries.com Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Twitter: @southernpod_ Instagram: @explorethesouth Email: [email protected]    Episode Resources Mrs. Vivian June Ritter. The Tampa Tribune. April 30,1968 Letter Linked in Killing of Secretary Erased. The Orlando Sentinel. September 18, 1968 State Traces Hourly Steps by Mrs. Ritter. The Tampa Tribune. December 4,1968 Arrington v. State. Supreme Court of Florida. April 1, 1970 Wanted Persons Marie Dean Arrington. The Sheriff's Star. December 1969 Marie Dean Arrington. The Tampa Tribune. March 18, 1973 Is This The Place They Call Hell? The Palm Beach Post. March 18, 1973 Son Remains in Shadow of Mother’s Revenge. Orlando Sentinel. June 27, 1998  Marie Arrington 1960s Leesburg Killer. South Florida Sun Sentinel. July 1, 2014 30 days of mean marie. Lake & Sumter Style. July 2014   Episode Music Sense of Loss and Lazy Days by Purple Planet Music. purple-planetmusic.com Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use

Kenneth Neu loved two things: music and himself. He was a talented singer and dreamed of becoming a star with his name in newspapers and his voice on the radio. Neu would get his wish in the 1930s when people from New York City to New Orleans heard his name on radio reports and saw his name and photos printed in newspapers. The headlines featured news that he had confessed to two murders.   Want more Southern Mysteries?  Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive and immediately access exclusive content when you become a patron of the show.  Join now at patreon.com/southernmysteries   Connect Website: southernmysteries.com Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Twitter: @southernpod_ Instagram: @explorethesouth Email: [email protected]    Episode Resources Theater Manager Found Murdered. The Wilmington Morning News. September 11, 1933 Slayer of Two Held By Lack of Car Tag. The Gaffney Ledger. September 23, 1933 Crooner Held for Murder Pens Poems in Jail Cell. The Shreveport Times. September 23, 1933 Neu’s Defense at N.O. is Insanity. The Alexandria Town Talk. December 13, 1933 State Demands Death for Penalty for Slayer. The Monroe-Star News. December 15, 1933 Night Club Singer Goes to N.O. Gallows Today. The Shreveport Times February 1, 1935 Girl Pays for Neu’s Funeral. The Alexandria Town Talk. February 2, 1935 State v. Neu, 180 La. 545, 157 So. 105 (La. 1934). Casetext Singer Kept Singing All the Way to the Gallows. The Ottawa Citizen. October 25, 1980 Fit as a fiddle and ready to hang: depression-era crooner was the ‘singing slayer’. Medium. December 1, 2018 Is Gay Panic Still An Excuse For Murder In The Courtroom? Oxygen True Crime. August 20, 2019   Episode Music Loneliest Road in America by Jesse Gallagher Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Slow Hammers by Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Source: http://incompetech.com Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use