When I moved here from Philadelphia, life was SO different that we thought we’d died and gone to heaven. We hardly heard of any violent crime, for one thing.
Apparently, we just weren’t tuned in to the facts. Here are a few horrendous acts I’ve come to learn about, and if you want a smiley, you will too!
One of the most widely known murders took place in NC, and the trials were held in Statesville. Made famous across the nation by the Kingston Trio, poor boy, Tom Dooley, was hung for murder. I always thought it was a fictional account until I read about Tom Dula, and the carrying on that ended in murder in Wilkes Co. Some say he didn’t really do it, but was covering for another lover of his, a woman whose first name I share.
Another notorious murder spree has a Rockingham Co. connection. It was memorialized in the book, Bitter Blood. The events were as follows:
Susie Newsom and Tom Lynch divorced.
A couple members of Tom’s family were murdered a few years later.
Susie’s father agreed to testify in favor of Tom in a custody hearing.
Susie’s relatives were then murdered.
Susie was by then in a relationship with Fritz Klenner, self proclaimed doctor from Reidsville, who was into Hitler worship and supported the KKK.
Both became suspects. When police went to his Greensboro apartment, Klenner opened fire on them and ran to his SUV. There was a car chase, a machine gun burst wounding three at Friendly and New Garden, and an explosive charge detonated inside the SUV on Rt 150 in Summerfield, killing Fritz, Susie and her children. It was later found that the children had ingested cyanide and had been shot in the head.
In Eden, Ms. Doyle, the owner of Nan’s Hallmark store was robbed, kidnapped and murdered 2 miles out of Eden. She was not the first one kidnapped from Meadow Greens Shopping Center.
Then there is the Lawson Family Murders, which took place in Stokes Co.
Charles Lawson killed his wife and 5 children. Motive? The best speculation is that he had impregnated one of his daughters.
This murder is the subject of a ballad, and also the book White Christmas, Bloody Christmas.
Answer the following questions correctly to find the coordinates.
Enter the date (A) and the month (B) of the fatal car chase immortalized in Bitter Blood.
The last two digits of the year in which the Lawson murders took place are C F.
The numerical month of Ms. Doyle’s kidnapping was D.
Tom Dula was born in 18G5.
Tom and Susie Lynch divorced in 19HI. Use the earliest of the two dates that are in published sources.
AB CD.0CF 0DF GH.0AI
You can check your answers for this puzzle on GeoChecker.com.