Southern True Crime Episodes

In 1914, Lowe Daniels lived in the Uwharrie forest. He made his living making and selling whiskey. One day he came home from a trip and out of nowhere, shot his wife, his wife's seventeen year old sister, his seventeen year old sister and a sixteen year old neighbor boy. After he'd finished his killing spree, Lowe took his banjo off the wall, sat by the fire, picked his banjo and sang until the sheriff came to arrest him. Music by Isaiah Hildreth Sources: findagrave.com newspapers.com Ricky All...

In 1966 a father in Georgia died suddenly from an apparent heart attack. He was just 39 years old. Just seven months later his 13-year-old son became sick suddenly and passed away within a short time. Mysterious deaths continued until people became suspicious of the true cause of so many deaths in one family. Narrator: Curtis Hildreth Intro and Outro Music: Isaiah Hildreth Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janie_Lou_Gibbs https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/60588446/janie-lou-gibbs https:...

During a snowstorm in early 1972, a Boone, NC family is shockingly murdered in their own home. At first, it appears to be a robbery gone bad, but upon further inspection, that theory does not seem to add up. It was a crime that went unsolved for fifty years. Narrator: Curtis Hildreth Intro and Outro Music: Isaiah Hildreth Episode Sponsor: The Table - Asheboro, NC Sources: Pickens, Cathy -True Crime Stories of Western North Carolina. The History Press, Charleston, SC. 2022 https://www.newspaper...

On the night of November 20, 1901, Nell Cropsey vanished from her family's home in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. Thirty-seven days later her body was found floating in the Pasquotank River. There was only ever one real suspect but did authorities get it right? Sources: Music by: Isaiah Hildreth Male Narrator: Curtis Hildreth newspapers.com Ella Maude: The Story of an Unsolved Crime By Nicholas Nicastro Nell Cropsey and Jim Wilcox: The Chill of Destiny By William Dunstan T...

When a house fire in Pleasant Garden, NC is determined to have been started by arson, and a resident is found inside dead from a gunshot, the sheriff's department has its work cut out for it. Friends, family, and fellow church members of Patricia Blakely Kimble begin to point fingers and demand answers. None can believe that anyone would want to hurt the devout Christian woman who was kind to all and had no enemies. So who could have done this and why? Narrator: Tim Gwyn Intro and Outro Music: ...

In 1877, 47 year old Thurza Bowman died a violent death. An autopsy revealed she had been poisoned by strychnine. Suspicion would immediately fall on her husband. After many conflicting testimonies and two trials, Thomas Bowman was sentenced to hang in Asheboro, North Carolina in 1879. Did Thurza Bowman get justice or was her husband wrongfully convicted? Episode researched by Ricky Allred and Darlene Hildreth Episode written by Ricky Allred and Darlene Hildreth Music written and performed by I...

Naomi (Omie) Wise was an orphan girl. She fell in love with a young gentleman named Johnathan Lewis. Naomi found out she was pregnant. When she told Lewis, he told her to meet him that night so they could run away and get married. Her beaten, bruised body was found in Deep River the next morning. Male Narrator: Curtis Hildreth Music: Naomi Wise (Omie Wise) by Donna Hughes Sources: Naomi Wise by Donna Hughes https://youtu.be/BQLYzHnwYQk Bob Dylan's version of Omie Wise https://youtu.be/y8Vbs4Hj...

In 1910, a mob of angry Floridians gathered at Smallwood store in Chokoloskee. They gunned down their neighbor, a plantation owner named Edgar Watson. He was a suspected and feared serial killer. Want to support us? Go to hardtimesandtruecrimes.com and buy us a coffee Narrator: Curtis Hildreth Music By: Isaiah Hildreth Sharecropper and Son By Sherry White https://youtu.be/LlfLN8tR6q0 Sources https://www.coastalbreezenews.com/opinion/columnists/the-story-of-edgar-j-watson-the-infamous-busines...

In the summer of 1967, on a small island off the coast of NC a young intern at the outdoor drama, The Lost Colony, vanished. Nineteen year old Brenda Holland's body was found five days later in the Albemarle Sound. The suspect list is long but the evidence is lacking, and no arrest is ever made. The case remains unsolved to this day. Send us a text Support the show hardtimesandtruecrimes.com buymeacoffee.com/hardtimesTC

One morning in May 1866, just before daybreak Laura Foster quietly left her home with a bundle of clothes and her father's horse. She was going to rendezvous with her beau, Tom Dooley. Rumor had it they were going to run off and get married. However, Tom did not run off and Laura never returned home. When her body was found in a shallow grave, someone was bound to hang for her murder. The question is whether the right person was hung or was someone else guilty as well? Send us a text Support th...

An Appalachian, snake handling preacher named Glenn Summerford tried to murder his wife using a rattlesnake as his weapon. Or did he? Music: "Hard Times" By Isaiah Hildreth Male Narrator : Curtis Hildreth Sources: Salvation on Sand Mountain by Glenn Covington Alabama Snake Documentary https://youtu.be/nnnvicF9emU https://youtu.be/7OcoUyXiuU0https://www.mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/928/snake-handling https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snake_handling_in_Christianity newspapers.com findagrave.com...

In Bibb county Georgia on August 6, 1887 a prominent farmer, Captain Richard Woolfolk and eight members of his family were axed to death as they lay sleeping. The Woolfolk murders would be known as the bloodiest mass murder in Georgia history. The oldest son and only survivor of the horrendous attack was the main suspect. There's an unbelievable twist at the end that leaves everyone wondering if an innocent man was punished for the crimes. Episode music written and performed by Isaiah Hildreth ...

Velma Barfield had America torn between justice and mercy. Was she a repentant murderer or an unrelenting master-manipulator? Send us a text Support the show hardtimesandtruecrimes.com buymeacoffee.com/hardtimesTC

Velma Barfield was a beloved mother, grandmother and Sunday school teacher. She was also a master manipulator and serial killer. Send us a text Support the show hardtimesandtruecrimes.com buymeacoffee.com/hardtimesTC

An elderly couple is murdered in their home in a small town in North Carolina. Who would've believed that a man who played Santa in the town's Christmas parade would end up being the main suspect? Send us a text Support the show hardtimesandtruecrimes.com buymeacoffee.com/hardtimesTC

A podcast featuring stories of lawlessness and hard times throughout history. Send us a text Support the show hardtimesandtruecrimes.com buymeacoffee.com/hardtimesTC