For most, Halloween night means ghosts and goblins, tricks and treats. But for Myrtle Morgan, Halloween 1953 brought a real-life horror no one has ever been able to explain.
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Sources
Inspiration: Reddit post by TheBonesofAutumn - https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/1kfq5vw/on_october_31_1953_60yearold_myrtle_morgan_was/
FindaGrave.com - Myrtle Samples Morgan
AP. (1953, November 1). Chattanooga woman slain by intruder. The Knoxville News-Sentinel.
Corliss, A. (1953, November 1). Woman slain in her home; fiend hunted. Chattanooga Daily Times.
Corliss, A. (1953, November 2). Wound is mystery. Chattanooga Daily Times.
Pennington, C. (1953, November 4). Neighbor jailed, questioned in slaying of Mrs. Morgan. Chattanooga Daily Times.
Corliss, A. (1953, November 8). Police put on the spot. Chattanooga Daily Times.
Staff. (1953, November 12). Murder suspect absolved, freed. Chattanooga Daily Times.
UP. (1953, December 26). Chattanooga has epidemic of attacks. The Durham Sun.
When a handsome young college student is found brutally murdered in his apartment, no one could imagine who could have done it. And when they found out who done it... no one could believe it.
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Sources
Unsolved Mysteries Wiki
Slagle v State – Court of Criminal Appeals of AL – 1992
William Slagle – Wikipedia
Crime Historian: The Debate Coach & His Student
FindaGrave – Rex Bartely Copeland
Copeland v Samford University – 1996
Copeland Award for Top First Round At-Large Team – National Debate Tournament
Cullen, S., & Wilstach, N. (1989, October 11). Brother seeks Slagle’s frozen assets. The Birmingham News.
Ross, J.D. (1990, December 4). Grisly video marks day one. Birmingham Post-Herald.
Patterson, N. (1990, December 7). Coroner supports Slagle defense. Birmingham Post-Herald.
Ray,L.A., & Faulk, K. (1989, October 8). Slagle’s behavior baffles authorities and his friends alike. The Birmingham News.
Wilstach, N. (1989, October 7). Copeland’s killing eyed by TV show. The Birmingham News.
Wilstach,N. (1990, December 4). Shelby coroner tells Slagle trial of blood at murder scene. The Birmingham News.
Wilstach, N., & Archibald, J. (1989, October 3). Prof’s letter confesses to slaying. The Birmingham News.
Dean, C.J., & Faulk, K. (1989, September 26). SU debater may have been slain in error. The Birmingham News.
Wilstach, N. (1990, December 50. Slagle talked about slaying, hair stylist says. The Birmingham News.
Wilstach, N. (1990, December 5). Slagle’s letters claim slaying was self-defense. The Birmingham News.
Joynt, S. (1989, October 3). Samford professor hunted in slaying. Birmingham Post-Herald.
AP. (1991, March 9). Debate coach gets life for killingstudent. The Asheville Times.
Jacksonville, Alabama is a sleepy little college town located in the foothills of the Appalachian mountains. Bad things don't happen in this kind of town, so when two young women go missing (Linda Faye Croft in 1970 and Rebecca "Becky" Howell in 1982), it turns the campus community upside down.
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The Zodiac Killer had couples in California scared to go out together for risk of being attacked. In the late 70s, that fear spread to New York (Son of Sam), Atlanta (Atlanta Lover's Lane Murders), and… Jacksonville, Alabama.
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Go check out these podcasts:
Sources
- The Anniston Star
- The Chanticleer
- Sparks v. State of Alabama (1979)
- Blackwell, B. (2017). Instead of 'suicide by cop,' Sparks finds life in Christ. The Baptist Message.
- The Alabama Baptist: https://thealabamabaptist.org/sparks-retires-from-full-time-pastoral-work/
- FindaGrave - Jackie Nance
- FindaGrave - Donna Madelyne Tucker
The It's Murder, Y'all take on a Christmas classic--the 1929 Lawson Family Massacre.
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Send us an email: itsmurderyall@gmail.com
Sources
- Smith, T.J. (2016). The meaning of our tears: The true story of the Lawson family murders of Christmas Day 1929.
- Taylor, T. (2018). Suffer the children: American horrors, homicides & hauntings (Dead men do tell tales).
- Murderpedia: Charles Davis Lawson
In December 1989, a string of deadly mail bombings sent shockwaves through the legal community, claiming the lives of a federal judge (Judge Robert Smith Vance) and a civil rights attorney (Robert E. Robinson), and sending federal investigators on a hunt for one of the pettiest men to ever live.
In this episode, we also discuss: The Machine (secret society at The University of Alabama), astrology (or “the dark arts of Chinese New Year animals”), Governor Memaw (Kay Ivey), and Rob’s opinion on the size of peppers and onions in food ("not gobbed on there").
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Sources:
- Winne, M. (1995). Priority mail: The investigation and trial of a mail bomber obsessed with destroying our justice system.
- Forensic Files. (1998, October 29). Deadly Delivery (Season 3, Episode 5) [can be found on YouTube]
- Robert Smith Vance. (2024). In Encyclopedia of Alabama. Retrieved from https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/vance-robert-smith/
- United States of America v. Walter Leroy Moody, Jr. (11th Cir. 1992)
- United States v. Moody, 763 F. Supp. 589 (M.D. Ga. 1991)
- Faulk, K. (2018, April 19). Walter Leroy Moody executed for 1989 bombing that killed Judge Robert Vance. https://www.al.com/news/birmingham/2018/04/execution_of_alabamas_oldest_d.html
- Wikipedia: Robert Smith Vance
- Wikipedia: Robert E. Robinson
- Wikipedia: Walter Moody
Can you ever really know anybody? Jamie Hahn, and her husband, Nation, thought they knew their best friend, Jonathan Broyhill, until his true colors came out... and things got bloody.
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Visit our [work-in-progress] website: itsmurderyall.com
Sources
- YouTube Channel - Law&Crime Network
- State of NC v. Jonathan Wayne Broyhill (2017)
- Hahn, N. (2018, August 21). Life in a fishbowl. Medium.
- WRAL News - https://www.wral.com/news/local/asset_gallery/14465644/ - Jamie's Obituary - https://www.dukesharleyfuneralhome.com/obituary/2073308
In this episode, we cover the story of Ronald Clark O'Bryan and the urban legend that inspired his crime.
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The folks of Pulaski County, Kentucky are shocked when the primary election for Sheriff ends in a cold-blooded murder. Who would want to kill the 4-time sheriff Sam Catron?
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This episode discusses the Shiloh Baptist Church Stampede in Birmingham, Alabama, where one misheard word led to the death of over 100 people.
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A body is discovered on an Outer Banks beach just hours before Hurricane Emily forces an evacuation, leaving behind a mystery that wouldn’t be unraveled until years later—thanks to a fancy new system called CODIS.
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This episode discusses the 1987 Ole Miss Chi Omega Walk-a-thon Disaster, which resulted in the death of 5 beautiful young women who had their whole lives ahead of them.
Please go read this article: https://www.oprah.com/relationships/women-of-chi-omega-accident-paige-williams/all
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In this episode, we dive into the mysterious disappearances of not one, but two women named Pamela—Pamela Ray in 1992 and Pamela Biggers in 2008—both vanishing from the sunny shores of Panama City Beach, Florida.
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This episode discusses the 1983 Benton Fireworks Disaster in Benton, TN, that killed 11 people.
WARNING: If you don’t like gruesome/gory details, here is a time stamp for which part to skip: 5:35 – 10:38.
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Sources
Bass, B., & Jefferson, J. (2009). Beyond the Body Farm: A legendary bone detective explores murders, mysteries, and revolution in forensic science. HarperCollins.
Staff. (1983, May 27). 9 people killed in blast at Polk fireworks plant. The Knoxville News-Sentinel.
Press Services. (1983, May 28). Bomb-like blast levels illegal fireworks plant. The Commercial Appeal.
Woods, J. (1983, May 28). Sheriff says evidence from blast indicates some criminal intent. The Memphis Press-Scimitar.
Staff, Wire Reports. (1983, May 30). Charges filed in fireworks blast deaths. The Tennessean.
Staff and Wire Reports. (1983, May 31). Fireworks plant owner termed uncooperative. The Tennessean.
Staff and Wire Reports. (1983, June 3). Polk man charged in fireworks seizure. The Tennessean.
AP. (1983, June 28). Witness: Owner of illegal factor ‘paying in cash’. Bristol Herald Courier.
O’Brien, J. (1983, July 3). Agents track big shots behind fireworks trade. Chicago Tribune.
George, D. (1985, August 28). Illegal fireworks plant blast deaths spur 20 indictments. The Tennessean.
AP. (1986, June 21). Lone survivor testifies in trial for 1983 fireworks plant blast. The Tennessean.
Stafford, G. (1997, June 6). ET was site of another fatal fireworks blast 14 years ago. The Knoxville News-Sentinel.
Speaks, D.A. (2019). Historic disasters of East Tennessee. The History Press.
UPI. (1983, June 27). An employee of an illegal fireworks that blew… UPI Archives.
Wikipedia – Benton Fireworks Disaster
Haberman, M. (1986, June 19). Fireworks factor owner cites beginning. The Tennessean.
United States of America v. Weigelt, Bramblett, and Schroeder. 825 F.2nd 412 (6th Cir. 1987)
O'Brien, John (July 4, 1986). "Trials Muffling Thunder Of 4th". Chicago Tribune.
Woods, Jeff (May 27, 1983). "An unlicensed fireworks factory exploded on a farm today". United Press International.
Two girls, two Spring Break trips, two murders, 13 years apart.
WARNING: This episode could be called Side-Track City (i.e., it is very chatty/tangent-y). It has everything: true crime, barking wiener dogs, aggressive sneezes, the story of St. Patrick’s Day 2007.
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Please make sure you've listened to Part 1 (Ep 36) first!
Brent and Renee Poole venture out for a late-night walk on the beach to celebrate their anniversary. Unfortunately, only one of them would leave that beach alive.
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Please subscribe, rate, review, tell a friend, tell ya mama!!
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Brent and Renee Poole venture out for a late-night walk on the beach to celebrate their anniversary. Unfortunately, only one of them would leave that beach alive.
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And visit our website: itsmurderyall.com
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Gatlinburg, Tennessee, is a mountain resort town known for the beauty of the surrounding Great Smoky Mountains. In the 1980s, however, brutal murders at two local hotels--The Rocky Top Village Inn and the Holiday Inn--would change the area forever and introduce some infamous Gatlinburg ghost stories.
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18-year-olds Melissa Chilton and Tiffany Campbell were young, beautiful girls with their whole lives ahead of them until the wrong person walked into the Exotic Tan for Men.
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Tom Steeples has been charged with the murders of Ronnie Bingham, Robb Phillips, and Kelli Phillips. Could he also be the missing link to a cold case from 1992?
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And check out our website (it's a work in progress): itsmurderyall.com
Sources
Cannon, A. (1994, June 8). Victim’s fiancé asks to see pic. The Daily News-Journal.
Cannon, A. (1994, June 11). Victim’s fiancé can’t see lineup. The Daily News-Journal.