Download or read book Bluegrass written by William Van Meter and published by Free Press. This book was released on 2018-01-02 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A shocking investigation into a true crime that tore a town apart—the violent murder of a young coed in Kentucky, the innocent boy who was jailed for the crime, and a small Southern community filled with haunting, unforgettable characters. Katie Autry was a foster child from a tiny village in Kentucky; a little awkward, but always with the biggest smile on her high school cheerleading squad. In September 2002, she matriculated as a freshman at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, majoring in the dental program. She worked days at the smoothie shop, nights at the local strip club, and fell in love with a football player who wouldn’t date her. On the morning of May 4, 2003, Katie Autry was raped, stabbed, sprayed with hairspray, and set on fire in her own dormitory room. In telling the true story of this shocking crime, William Van Meter describes the devastation of not one but three families. Two young men are jailed for the crime: DNA evidence places Stephen Soules, an unemployed, mixed-race high school dropout, at the scene; and Lucas Goodrum, a twenty-one-year-old pot dealer with an ex-wife, a girlfriend still in high school, and a history of domestic abuse, is held by an ever-changing confession. The friends of the suspects and the foster and birth families of the victim form complex and warring social nets that are cast across town. And a small southern community, populated by eccentrics of every socioeconomic class, from dirt-poor to millionaire, responds to the horror. With the keen eye of a talented young journalist returning to his southern roots, Van Meter paints a vivid portrait of the town, the characters who fill it, and the simmering class conflicts that made an injustice like this not only possible, but inevitable. Like Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, Bluegrass is redolent with atmosphere, dark tension, and lush landscapes.

Download or read book Who Killed Betty Gail Brown written by Robert G. Lawson and published by University Press of Kentucky. This book was released on 2017-11-24 with total page 142 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On October 26, 1961, after an evening of studying with friends on the campus of Transylvania University, nineteen-year-old student Betty Gail Brown got into her car around midnight—presumably headed for home. But she would never arrive. Three hours later, Brown was found dead in a driveway near the center of campus, strangled to death with her own brassiere. Kentuckians from across the state became engrossed in the proceedings as lead after lead went nowhere. Four years later, the police investigation completely stalled. In 1965, a drifter named Alex Arnold Jr. confessed to the killing while in jail on other charges in Oregon. Arnold was brought to Lexington, indicted for the murder of Betty Gail Brown, and put on trial, where he entered a plea of not guilty. Robert G. Lawson was a young attorney at a local firm when a senior member asked him to help defend Arnold, and he offers a meticulous record of the case in Who Killed Betty Gail Brown? During the trial, the courtroom was packed daily, but witnesses failed to produce any concrete evidence. Arnold was an alcoholic whose memory was unreliable, and his confused, inconsistent answers to questions about the night of the homicide did not add up. Since the trial, new leads have come and gone, but Betty Gail Brown's murder remains unsolved. A written transcript of the court proceedings does not exist; and thus Lawson, drawing upon police and court records, newspaper articles, personal files, and his own notes, provides an invaluable record of one of Kentucky's most famous cold cases.

Download or read book Kentucky Murders written by Larry Parrott and published by Createspace Independent Pub. This book was released on 2014-12-25 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This small Kentucky town was peaceful, even boring, until the first murder shakes its foundation.Kate Jenkins works as a waitress in the local diner. She despises her boring life and her abusive ex-boyfriend, Tommy, who still can't accept that she is no longer his property. She longs to escape her small town prison.Then one day a handsome stranger named Zack shows up at the diner and everything changes. It doesn't take long for Zack and Kate to fall in love. It also doesn't take long for Tommy to notice. He will do anything to get Kate back, no matter what the cost – even murder. Who will have to die before Kate and Zack can be together?Six years pass. The town heals and begins to forget. Then late one night, the cycle begins again when a mother and father are murdered in their bed, and their little girl narrowly escapes.No suspects or motive, the small town rookie sheriff struggles with the case. FBI Agent Tina Simpson arrives in town to assist with the investigation. But, she soon finds herself in a shootout with the killers, desperate to finish the job by kidnapping the little girl. How many more will die this time?They finally make some progress on the case. Just when they think the case might be solved, the sheriff and his wife find themselves faced with a parent's worst nightmare…

Download or read book Murder on Youngers Creek Road written by Gary P. West and published by Acclaim Press. This book was released on 2020-03-20 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On January 13, 1975, the enterprising community of Elizabethtown, Kentucky (a few miles from Fort Knox and the gold vault) was rocked with the news that one of their own, Peggy Rhodes--beloved housewife, mother, and grandmother--was killed when a bomb exploded in the family barn. An hour south along I-65 lies Bowling Green, a city known for small town values, a burgeoning industrial complex, the expanding Western Kentucky University campus, and as "Home of the Corvette". However, the city was also just one generation removed from earning the nickname "Little Chicago," a regional hotbed for car thefts, bootlegging, gambling, prostitution--and worse still--bombings and horrific murders. Murder on Youngers Creek Road is the true story of a murder-for-hire gone wrong that involves a well-known automobile dealer, two hit men hired to kill him, and a pair of high-profile business partners. The product of more than two years of research and interviews and writing, this book details one of the most complex murders of the decade and how it brought together two Kentucky towns in an unflattering way. It is a "tale of two cities" mired in the muck of greed, violence and murder, and of local efforts to bring the guilty parties to justice. In the end, both the innocent and the guilty would lose their lives. In the beginning investigators were baffled. Why would anyone want to kill a 57-year-old woman, who by all appearances did her part in community activities, loved her family and enjoyed her time playing bridge with friends? Two weeks into the New Year of 1975, a horrific explosion ripped through the body of Peggy Rhodes and her pet horse, Tony. Who could possibly have wanted her dead? On a cold dark January night, a sudden blast interrupted the stillness of freshly fallen snow and with it, the lives of several Kentucky families were changed forever....

Download or read book Murder on the Ohio Belle written by Stuart W. Sanders and published by University Press of Kentucky. This book was released on 2020-03-17 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In March 1856, a dead body washed onto the shore of the Mississippi River. Nothing out of the ordinary. In those days, people fished corpses from the river with alarming frequency. But this body, with its arms and legs tied to a chair, struck an especially eerie chord. The body belonged to a man who had been a passenger on the luxurious steamboat known as the Ohio Belle, and he was the son of a southern planter. Who had bound and pitched this wealthy man into the river? Why? As reports of the killing spread, one newspaper shuddered, "The details are truly awful and well calculated to cause a thrill of horror." Drawing on eyewitness accounts, Murder on the Ohio Belle uncovers the mysterious circumstances behind the bloodshed. A northern vessel captured by secessionists, sailing the border between slave and free states at the edge of the frontier, the Ohio Belle navigated the confluence of nineteenth-century America's greatest tensions. Stuart W. Sanders dives into the history of this remarkable steamer—a story of double murders, secret identities, and hasty getaways—and reveals the bloody roots of antebellum honor culture, classism, and vigilante justice.

Download or read book The 1980 Gray Murders written by Steve A. Reeves and published by Totalrecall Publications. This book was released on 2012-09 with total page 152 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The 1980 Gray Murders It was a black December night in 1980. Trooper Earl Nicholson sped to the scene of a reported automobile accident. Arriving at the scene, Nicholson expected to see mangled steel and broken glass. Instead, he was met with the sight of a young woman dressed in pajamas - and a small, shirtless, boy - laying under a tree in the front yard of the house facing the street. Scanning the bodies with his flashlight beam, it was evident to the state trooper that the victims had died from multiple stab wounds. Leading away from the stiffening corpses were two frozen trails of blood - one in the direction of the front door, the other in the direction of the railroad crossing down the road. Nicholson radioed for back-up and cautiously made his way toward the house. A List of Characters Henrietta Thomas - murdered by her son, Riddle C. Thomas, Junior. Howard Sisk - 14-year old relative murdered by Riddle C. Thomas, Junior. Charlotte Haynes - Howard's mother. Seriously injured when Riddle C. Thomas, Junior attacked her with a butcher knife. Riddle C. Thomas, Junior - Known as "Junior" by family and friends. 20-year old who went on a murderous rampage in his mother's house on a cold December night in 1980. Earl Nicholson - Kentucky State Trooper who was the first law enforcement officer to arrive at the scene of the murders. An Interview with Steve A. Reeves: Q: When did you know you wanted to be a writer? A: When I was working on my undergraduate degree at Cumberland College. Q: Where do your ideas come from? A: From real life events that are action packed and potentially dangerous. Q: What do you think makes a good story? A: Always leave the reader wanting to turn the page. Q: Which of your characters would you most like to invite to dinner, and why? A: I'd invite any of the crew members from Squawk 7500. And I'd like to sit down with Charlotte Haynes from The 1980 Gray Murders. Q: Which of your characters would you least want to dine with? A: I wouldn't want to have dinner with the dirt bag who attempted to hijack my plane in Squawk 7500. Q: Did you have any mentors who helped you along the way? A: I'm eternally grateful for the assistance and guidance provided by Bruce Moran. Q: Where did the idea for (Book Title) come from? A: From the date of the actual crime and its location. Q: Why did you want to write about (Your Subject)? A: . There were so many unanswered Q: s. I wanted to see if I could find the answers. I found some, others will never be known. Q: Was it difficult to write this style of book? A: Very difficult. The deeper I got into the writing, the more I began to empathize with the victims. Q: What other (articles, books etc) that you have written have been published? A: My other book: Squawk 7500 It is about an airline pilot's dilemma when an unruly passenger takes the stewardess hostage. Wait until you read the ending. Q: What's your next project? A: I am working on a short story adventure series for TotalRecall Publications. Contact them if you have a manuscript as they are looking for good stories. Q: If you could do anything, what would you do? A: Ride a bull for the full 8 seconds. Q: How did you come up with the idea for this book? A: I'd always been intrigued by the mysteries surrounding this crime. I grew up in the area and actually new some of the people involved in the story. Q: If you could give any advice to beginning writers, what would it be? A: Don't give up. Don't ever give up.

Download or read book Precious Blood written by Sam Adams and published by Pinnacle Books . This book was released on 2007-04-01 with total page 301 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recounts the true story of how ex-con Jerome Boggs, who was addicted to killing, brutally murdered a young man and his son for nothing more than some cash and drugs.

Download or read book A Dark and Bloody Ground written by Darcy O'Brien and published by Open Road Media. This book was released on 2014-07-01 with total page 335 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An Edgar Award–winning author’s true crime account of a grisly string of killings in Kentucky—and the shocking spectacle of greed that followed. Kentucky never deserved its Indian appellation “A Dark and Bloody Ground” more than when a small-town physician, seventy-seven-year-old Roscoe Acker, called in an emergency on a sweltering evening in August 1985. Acker’s own life hung in the balance, but it was already too late for his college-age daughter, Tammy, savagely stabbed eleven times and pinned by a kitchen knife to her bedroom floor. Three men had breached Dr. Acker’s alarm and security systems and made off with the fortune he had stashed away over his lifetime. The killers—part of a three-man, two-woman gang of the sort not seen since the Barkers—stopped counting the moldy bills when they reached $1.9 million. The cash came in handy soon after when they were caught and needed to lure Kentucky’s most flamboyant lawyer, the celebrated and corrupt Lester Burns, into representing them. Full of colorful characters and desperate deeds, A Dark and Bloody Ground is a “first-rate” true crime chronicle from the author of Murder in Little Egypt (Kirkus Reviews). “An arresting look into the troubled psyches of these criminals and into the depressed Kentucky economy that became fertile territory for narcotics dealers, theft rings and bootleggers.” —Publishers Weekly “The smell of wet, coal-laden earth, white lightning, and cocaine-driven sweat arises from these marvelously atmospheric—and compelling—pages.” —Kirkus Reviews “A fascinating portrait of the mountain way of life and thought that forged the lives of these criminals.” —Library Journal

Download or read book Kentucky Bloodbath written by Kevin Sullivan and published by WildBlue Press. This book was released on 2015-05-29 with total page 112 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The author of The Bundy Murders and Unnatural Causes shares ten strange but true tales of homicide from the state of Kentucky. From the author of Vampire: The Richard Chase Murders comes an excursion into the weird and the bizarre. Learn about a medieval-esque murder in a small-town museum. Meet a jilted boyfriend who decides that his former girlfriend needs to die on her twenty-first birthday. There’s also the demented son who returns home to live with his mother and stepfather; one night in their beautiful mansion overlooking the Ohio River, he slaughters them. Each case is sure to keep true crime fans on the edge of their seats . . . Praise for Kentucky Bloodbath “A well-written book of grime that every true crime reader must have on their shelves or reading device. Compelling and captivating.” —RJ Parker, bestselling author of Escaped Killer

Download or read book Bitter Blood written by Jerry Bledsoe and published by Diversion Books. This book was released on 2014-05-18 with total page 747 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The “riveting” #1 New York Times bestseller: A true story of three wealthy families and the unbreakable ties of blood (Kirkus Reviews). The first bodies found were those of a feisty millionaire widow and her daughter in their posh Louisville, Kentucky, home. Months later, another wealthy widow and her prominent son and daughter-in-law were found savagely slain in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Mystified police first suspected a professional in the bizarre gangland-style killings that shattered the quiet tranquility of two well-to-do southern communities. But soon a suspicion grew that turned their focus to family. The Sharps. The Newsoms. The Lynches. The only link between the three families was a beautiful, aristocratic young mother named Susie Sharp Newsom Lynch. Could this former child “princess” and fraternity sweetheart have committed such barbarous crimes? And what about her gun-loving first cousin and lover, Fritz Klenner, son of a nationally renowned doctor? In this tale of three families connected by marriage and murder, of obsessive love and bitter custody battles, Jerry Bledsoe recounts the shocking events that ultimately took nine lives, building to a truly horrifying climax that will leave you stunned. “Recreates . . . one of the most shocking crimes of recent years.” —Publishers Weekly “Absorbing suspense.” —Chicago Tribune “Astonishing . . . Brilliantly chronicled.” —Detroit Free Press “An engrossing southern gothic sure to delight fans of the true-crime genre. Bledsoe maintains the suspense with a sure hand.” —The Charlotte Observer

Download or read book Bad Blood written by Richard M. Levine and published by Signet Book. This book was released on 1983-11 with total page 358 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book More Than Blood Reveals written by Becky Kelley and published by Acclaim Press, Incorporated. This book was released on 2020-03 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In December 1965, Edgar Harper and his daughter, Mrs. Ella Givens, were kidnapped from the Harper home in Logan County, Kentucky -- their bodies found the following March close to the abandoned Martin Cemetery. In More Than Blood Reveals, the authors explore this murder through the eyes of the fictional Clack sisters, using newspaper reports, FBI case files and interviews to weave a tale of murder and intrigue based on real life events. More Than Blood Reveals presents all the evidence to this murder mystery -- still unsolved after five decades -- and the authors conclude with their thoughts about what really happened on that cold December night.

Download or read book Murder in Old Kentucky written by Keven McQueen and published by Indiana University Press. This book was released on 2021-07-20 with total page 215 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Kentucky—land of bluegrass, horse racing, bourbon, and . . . murder. In Murder in Old Kentucky: True Crime Stories from the Bluegrass, Keven McQueen recounts dark and disturbing tales from the pages of Kentucky history, including the 1825 murder of Col. Solomon Sharp—a sordid affair that inspired Edgar Allan Poe and Robert Penn Warren—and the 1881 Ashland Tragedy, a heartbreaking murder of three innocent teenagers. This revised and expanded edition includes the story of a family terrorized by an arsonist who massacred eleven of their members and burned the property of even more, the tale of a husband and wife found shot in each other's arms with a life-sized photo of another man between them, and many more deaths that made headlines. Meticulously researched and written with McQueen's trademark humor, Murder in Old Kentucky will captivate any fan of true crime or Kentucky history.

Download or read book Sole Survivor written by Holly Dunn and published by Diversion Books. This book was released on 2017-11-07 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A memoir of hope, healing, and survival, sure to resonate with fans of Jaycee Dugard’s A Stolen Life and Elizabeth Smart’s My Story. On August 28, 1997, just as she was starting her junior year at the University of Kentucky, Holly Dunn and her boyfriend, Chris Maier, were walking along railroad tracks on their way home from a party when they were attacked by notorious serial killer Angel Maturino Reséndiz, aka The Railroad Killer. After her boyfriend is beaten to death in front of her, Holly is stabbed, raped, and left for dead. In this memoir of survival and healing from a horrific true crime, Holly recounts how she lived through the vicious assault, helped bring her assailant to justice, and ultimately found meaning and purpose through service to victims of sexual assault and other violent crimes. She has worked as a motivational speaker and activist and founded Holly's House, a safe and nurturing space in her hometown of Evansville, Indiana.

Download or read book The Kentucky Cannibal written by Ryan Green and published by . This book was released on 2020-05-24 with total page 148 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1850, following a divorce and a number of encounters with the law, Boone Helm headed 'Out West' to chase the Californian Gold Rush with his cousin. When his cousin pulled out at the last minute, Helm was incensed, and brutally stabbed him to death. Helm was detained in an asylum for the mentally disturbed but managed to escape. Helm continued his journey west with renewed vigour, where he opportunistically killed and consumed the flesh of adversaries and travelling companions, earning him the nickname 'The Kentucky Cannibal'. After several brutal months in the wilderness, he finally made it California. At a time where violence was the law of the land, Helm's savage set of skills could finally be recognised and rewarded. The Kentucky Cannibal is a riveting account of Boone Helm and his bloody exploits across the Wild West. Ryan Green's entrancing narrative draws the reader into the real-live horror experienced by the victims and has all the elements of a classic thriller. CAUTION: This book contains descriptive accounts of abuse and violence. If you are especially sensitive to this material, it might be advisable not to read any further

Download or read book Saving Noah Love Murder and Kentucky Politics written by William F. Carman and published by Acclaim Press. This book was released on 2021-04-15 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1932, Sheriff Noah Tipton of Rockcastle County, Kentucky, was shot and killed on the streets of Mount Vernon. Although arrested and convicted, the killer was soon pardoned by Governor Ruby Lafoon in what can only be described as partisan politics. In an act of loyalty to their slain sheriff, Noah's wife Lillie Tipton was named his successor just four days after his death, becoming one of the first female sheriffs in the Commonwealth. Researched and written by Tipton's great-grandson, Saving Noah describes the murder, the subsequent trial, and the political dealings that let a killer go free, plus the enduring love of friends and family in small town America.

Download or read book Quilt City Murders written by Bruce Leonard and published by Touchpoint Press. This book was released on 2022-02-04 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Quilter Hadley Carroll thinks her life can't get any worse after being demoted from reporter to newspaper courier and having her fiancé, Matt Ackerman, dump her without explanation. But then, while chucking a sack of newspapers into the Ohio River in Paducah, Kentucky--known as Quilt City--she finds Matt's body snagged under the transient dock. Despite grieving the loss of Matt, Hadley perseveres, strengthened by her troubled upbringing and aided by her weekly quilting group determined to solve the murders."