UIDENTIFIED: May 19, 1957 Kinston, North Carolina

 On May 19, 1957, a skull would be found in the lowlands area of the Neuse River just outside of Kinston, North Carolina. There is little information in this case. 

SOURCES: 

NamUs

UNIDENTIFIED: Winter 1766 Barbecue, North Carolina Stranger

 In the winter of 1766, the body of a man was found frozen to death on the steps of the Barbecue Presbyterian Church in Barbeque, North Carolina. He was never identified so he was buried in the cemetery.

SOURCES:

Find A Grave

UNIDENTIFIED: August 25, 1923 Raleigh, North Carolina John Doe

On August 25, 1923, the body of a man was found in a wooded area in Raleigh, North Carolina. It was believed that he had been dead for around a month before he was found. His cause of death is either unknown or unstated. 

John Doe was a black male about 45-years-old. 

SOURCES:

Find a Grave

Unidentified Wiki

MONSTERS: Kit Swamp Monster

 

On Thursday, August 18, 1875, Asa Grundy thought it was going to be a normal day in Kits Swamp, North Carolina. His five-year-old daughter was playing with a neighbor child in a corn crib while he was stripping fodder in the field. Then he heard the children screaming, the dogs barking, and his wife screaming. Asa stopped what he was doing and ran towards the edge of the cornfield where all the screaming was coming from. 

In front of him stood a monster that was carrying the children with one in each paw. The monster was heading towards the woods. When Asa appeared it surprised the monster making him pause for a second.

The father did what he thought fit as with all his strength he swung towards the monster. With a solid hit on the forehead, the monster fell to the ground and dropped both children. Before Asa could capture the thing it suddenly got up and ran into the woods with no trace of it being found.

Asa said that the beast had the face of a wanderoo, the body of a baboon and the arms and legs of a human. He claims that for the last few weeks a strange being had been preying upon poultry, garden vegetables and green corn in an alarming amount. 

The inhabitants of  Kits Swamp was now on edge as they kept an eye on the beast who was possibly after their children. Two particular residents were keeping a real close eye for the monster. The story goes that Eli Sparrow and Frank Hanson kept their eyes out for it determined to get it when they spot it.

The monster was lurking on the outside of a small clearing owned by Maria Harkley.  At this time Maria and her two young children were picking blackberries. The three men were sitting on a pine tree log watching as the Monster started approaching the young Maria's young boy who was 50 yards away from his mother. 

When the intruder was spotted the three men hid behind the log and kept an eye on the monster. They wanted to see what it was up to. The boy was now within range for the men to shoot if the monster came towards him. The men did not automatically shoot as they wanted to see the monsters intention, because they wanted to get it alive. But it became apparent that the monster wanted to kidnap the boy.  

When the monster came 10 feet of the boy and seemed to want to lunge at him they shot him towards his lower half. The monster fell, but the before the men could get to him it ran into the woods. It outran its hunters, but the blood trail helped them find it.

They pursued the monster for two hours before happening upon chaparral that was too thick to go through. They then saw an opening and Story volunteered to go through. It was small and dark for Story. He had eventually run into a plank that he had to remove and it let the light come in. This was when he made eye contact with the monster. 

The others followed after him. The monster seemed to have felt scared and trapped. It tried to defend itself sprung at Story and during the struggle, his gun went off. Which caused the creature to lose its life.

The three men brought it to town and many people had awwed at the monster. The skin of the monster was sent to Baltimore to be stuffed and put into an exhibit. It is unknown if it was really stuffed.

I only happened upon these articles and could not find out more about it. The story had to of been somewhat big at the time as a newspaper from London had an article about it. It is not known how much truth there is to the story.

If this story has any truth of this. Then it would mean that  Kits Swamp North Carolina had a Bigfoot-like creature terrorizing the town, and they had caught it. 

SOURCES:

Newbern Weekly Journal of Commerce August 21, 1875

Newbern Weekly Journal of Commerce September 11, 1875

The Times October 1, 1875

UNIDENTIFIED: May 11, 1923 Southern Pines, North Carolina Stranger

 On May 11, 1923, a man was found shot to death near the corner of New Hampshire Ave and Leak St.in Southern Pines, North Carolina. He had been shot to death with a pistol either on the 10th or the 11th. There is little information in this case. I'm not sure if anyone was arrested for the murder only information is from the Find a Grave. 

John Doe is a black male. 

SOURCES:

Find a Grave

UNIDENTIFIED: January 19, 1941 Charlotte, North Carolina Unknown Newborn Girl

On Jan. 19, 1941, the body of a newborn was found abandoned in the woods in Charlotte, North Carolina. The baby girl had died from exposure recently. 

She was a newborn African American female.

SOURCES:

Find a Grave

 

Unsolved Murder of Jonathan Alonzo Anthony

 On November 17, 1953 neighbors of 75-year-old Jonathan Anthony went to check up on him as they had not seen him for two days. They went to his home Burnetts Chapel Rd in Greensboro, North Carolina. He had been bound, severely beaten, and gagged. He was beaten before he was bound and had been suffocated with a torn bed sheet. A blood-stained trowel was found on a shelf on the back porch.

SOURCES:

Rocky Mount Telegram November 19, 1953

The Herald-Sun November 19, 1953

The News and Observer November 19, 1953

The Durham Sun December 11, 1953

Murder of Baker Tilley

 On October 21, 1871, 31-year-old Pompey Lyon stabbed  Baker Tilley in Orange County, North Carolina. The motive for the murder was a fracas at a husking bee. Pompey would be executed on December 15, 1871.

SOURCES:

Legal Executions in North Carolina and South Carolina pg 18

Tri-Weekly Era November 7, 1871

The Wilmington Morning Star December December 23, 1871

UNIDENTIFIED: September 6, 1932 Pelham, North Carolina John Doe

 On September 6, 1932, a young man was killed in a railway accident in Pelham, North Carolina. He would be buried at the Oak Hill Cemetary in Danville, Virginia. There is little information in this case. 

SOURCES:

Find a Grave

Unidentified WIki

Murder of Florence Sutton

 On August 2, 1891, 10-year-old Florence Sutton was home with her mother in Lake Creek Township, Carolina. His mother would send Florence to a neighbor to get a gallon of cider. James Johnson would visit their home. 

Florence would come across John on the road and he would attack her. He would sexually assault the girl and strangled her to death. She would be reported missing that night. A search would be done for Florence and James, knowing they wouldn't find her, joined the search. 

James was suspected (I couldn't find a reason why) so he was being carefully watched. He would quickly bury Florence in the woods. He would place the young girl face down in her grave. He buried her in such a shallow grave her foot stuck out.

On August 4th John would flee. He would be soon caught in Parkersburg about 10 miles from where Florence was murdered. A Mr. Parker saw John pass his place. He recognized him as being a wanted man and pursued and caught him. John would first deny that it was him and then he would confess that it was and allegedly confessed to the crime and indicated that Florence's father Albert and another man Lawson Bryant was involved. 

There were talks of lynching him in Parkersburg, but it did not happen. He would be handed over to Balden and placed under a strong guard. It was found and believed that Albert and Lawson were not involved in the murder, so John was the only one put to trial.

James would plea guilty and was sentenced to death. He would be executed on December 11, 1891, in Elizabethtown.

SOURCES:

Legal Executions in North Carolina and South Carolina pg 38

Wilmington Morning Star August 4, 1891

The Wilmington Morning Star August 5, 1891

Fayetteville Weekly Observer August 6, 1891

The Ashville Weekly Citizen August 13, 1891

Greensboro North State August 13, 1891

The Weekly Star August 14, 1891

The Roxboro Courier November 12, 1891

Murder of Samuel "Sam" Martin

 In the Spring of 1872, 20-year-old Sam Martin was murdered by 42-year-old York Lattimore (Lattimer) and 24-year-old Jerry Thompson in Rutherford County, North Carolina. It's unstated how Sam had been killed, but the motive for it was because of the rivalry for a white whore. All three men were intimate with her.

On April 18th the two had escaped jail with two other prisoners. They would be caught and tried for the murder. The two would be found guilty and executed on November 8, 1872.

SOURCES:

Legal Executions in North Carolina and South Carolina page 19

The New Berne Times April 19, 1872

Tri-Weekly Era May 9, 1872

Carolina Watchman October 10, 1872

Tri-Weekly Era November 18, 1872

INFANTICIDE: Dovey Davidson

 On April 1, 1872, in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina 1-year-old Dovey Davidson was buried alive by her father 30-year-old Nathaniel Caldwell. Nathaniel was a married man and had an unwanted baby with a 16-year-old Ann Eliza Davidson. Nathaniel would be hanged for the murder on August 23, 1872.

SOURCES:

Legal Executions in North Carolina and South Carolina page 19

Murder of John Bare and Ed Long

In February of 1894, there was to be a wedding in Alleghany County, North Carolina. At the end of the ceremony, a Virginian named Daniel Slaughter would talk to an old man. The old man would slap him in good fun and ask Daniel "if he was much a man". This would anger Daniel and he would curse at the old man. 

He would be told to leave and he did, but he returned a few minutes later. His return was not a peaceful welcoming. The old man and several of his friends were angry with Daniel and argued. There was an attempt to calm the crown, but it would not happen.

He would lunge at John Bare stabbing him in the heart killing him. When John initially fell to the ground Daniel went to stab him again, but the bride would prevent him by grabbing his hand. Her arms and hand were cut from the knife. Daniel would flee and Ed Long would try to stop him but would be stabbed also (possibly disemboweled). He would be caught 2 miles away. He claimed that people in the crowd were hitting his face.

He would be sent to a Sparta jail. There were talks of him being lynched. On the night of Feb. 23rd Daniel was taken from the jail and lynched on Laural Branch Spring Rd near Sparta. In the process of the lynch mob taking Daniel from the jail two were shot one of which was Alexander Rose. There were around 20 lynchers 15 of which were from Ashe County.

The day of the murder is unknown many of the articles stated that it was on the 18-20, but the earliest article I found was on the 17th. It's never mentioned whose wedding it was even though the bride was also injured at the wedding. It doesn't state Daniel's or his victim's relations to the wedding. I didn't exactly understand why Daniel got mad or why he was asked: "if he was much a man." It's likely that further information on the crime wasn't done in newspapers was due to Daniel being lynched soon after the murder. 

SOURCES:

Richmond Dispatch Feb 17, 1894

The Spokesman-Review Feb 22, 1894

People's Voice Feb 23 1894

The Staunton Spector Feb 28, 1894

The Union Republic March 1, 1894

The Western Senteniel Marhc 1, 1894

The Yadkin Valley News March 8, 1894

Murder of Milly Ludwick (Campbell)

 On June 4, 1867, in Rowan County, North Carolina 21-year-old Rufus F. Ludwick (Ludwig) killed his bride of 11 days 19-year-old Milly (Campbell). He had shot her through the head, slit her throat, and weighed her body down in a creek.

On June 27, 1868, Rufus would hang in Salisbury. 

 I could only find two sources on this murder, the other one was behind a paywall, and could not read the article.

SOURCES:

Legal Executions in North Carolina and South Carolina Page 15

Disappearance of Rufus "James" Williams

April 1, 1955, 27-year-old Rufus "James" Williams was working at the Old Fort Finishing plant in Marion, North Carolina. He went to work as usual, but either began feeling ill or forgot something and left. He was allegedly last seen walking along the railroad tracks in Old Fort. There were searches for James, but nothing was found. 

His stepdaughter recalled that he had been having high blood pressure problems in the days before his disappearance. This may be one of the reasons he wasn't feeling well that day. He may have suffered from a medical issue on the day of his disappearance. 

James's race was not stated. He was between 5'3" and 5'8" and between 120 lbs to 160 lbs. He had sandy-colored hair. 

SOURCES:

NamUs

McDowell News

End of Watch: Murder of William Cole

On November 22, 1879, a warrant was out for Tom Leach an African American man who's brother Peter Leach was convicted of murder. Deputy Sherrif William Cole had gotten the warrant and spotted Tom with another one of his brothers Ben while walking down the street in Robeson County, North Carolina.

The young Sherrif Deputy Cole then came out with his Henry rifle and the warrant in hand. He went to talk to Tom with intent to arrest. When he confronted the two Tom asked William to read out his warrant. Tom then pulled a gun out of his sleeve and shot William in the forehead.

William fell onto the ground and Tom pointed the gun at Williams' chest saying "Damn you, take that." Then he shot him again in the chest before taking the victims Henry Rifle and fleeing to South Carolina.

I could not find any articles that stated whether or not they found and prosecuted Tom Leach for the crime.

SOURCES:
Officer Down Memorial Page
The Raleigh News
The Chapel Hill Ledger

Murder of Laura Foster

This murder ballad isn't much about the victim, but the possible murderer. It's about Thomas Dula (Tom Dooley) who was hung for the murder of Laura Foster.

Thomas Dula (his last name pronounced Dooley) grew up in Wilkes County, North Carolina. As they grew up he and Ann became intimate. Before his 18th birthday, he joined the Confederate army. Ann had married around 3 years before Tom left to a James Melton. It was unknown if the relationship was still going.

Thomas then started to date Laura Foster a cousin of Ann's. I0t's rumored he was actually dating 3 of the Foster cousins including Ann. It's believed that Ann was possibly still in love with Tom and may have been jealous of her cousins.

In the last week of May of 1866, Laura had disappeared with her father's horse. Her father stated that he did not care if his daughter returned, but he wanted his horse. Probably believing at the time she had run away.

Rumors began to stir that Laura had been murdered and hidden. Her cousin Pauline admitted to where Laura's body was and that Ann and Tom had killed the young woman. The next day the horse returned alone without Laura. Search parties were sent out but the young 22/23-year-old wasn't found, but a bloodied rope had been.

It's never known what had happened that evening, but Laura was seen riding the horse next to Tom. She told a friend that they were eloping and Laura was pregnant at the time. Tom tried to run but was found by the posse that brought him back which involved Grayson (who some wrongly assume was a love interest of Laura's.) Tom had made it to Trade, Tennesse before being found.

Tom professed innocence, but after the arrest of him and Ann, he was found guilty from circumstantial evidence. Former North Carolina Governor Zebulon Vance defended Tom pro bono. It's believed he possibly did this because of him believing in Tom's innocence or because he was a Confederate Veteran. There were rumors of a former connection between the two that were found to be false.

 He was executed by hanging. The night before his hanging Tom wrote a confession that made it seem like Ann had nothing to do with Laura's murder. He did state at his execution "Gentlemen you see this hand? I didn't harm a single hair on the girl's head."

He was acquitted in 2001 from the crime. It's unknown what happened that night Laura died or even if Tom and Ann were involved and if they were what was the motive? Ann's jealousy? Some claim Laura was killed because she had a venereal disease. Tom and Laura's unborn baby? No one is for sure.

SOURCES:
Find A Grave
Murderpedia
Legal Executions in North Carolina and South Carolina page 14
Wilmington Daily Dispatch
Wilmington Daily Dispatch
Statesville Record and Landmark
Statesville Record and Landmark
The Fayetteville News

Murder of Naomi Wise

Many don't realize that many Murder Ballads are based on actual murders. The Ballad of Omie Wise is based on the murder of a young woman in Randolph County, North Carolina.

Naomi was born in 1789 and was orphaned. When she was a child she was taken in by the family of William Adams. She had to earn her stay by working in the home for the family. Regardless the family treated her great and as if she was a part of the family.

She had grown up to become a dark-haired beauty. Soon enough a young man became infatuated with 18/19-year-old Naomi. His name was Johnathan Lewis and he was seemingly a nice man from a prominent family in the area.

It was believed that the two soon fell in love, but there were some complications.

Because he was from a prominent family his family was against the two being in a relationship. His mother wanted him to marry a girl from another prominent family in the area. The one she had in mind was young Hettie Elliot.

It was believed that Johnathan didn't love Hettie like he did Naomi. He seemed to have more love for that Hettie's money, status, and family connections. Not for who she was. He wanted to appease his parents and planned to marry Hettie.

Naomi believed that he was being forced to marry another. That he didn't want it as much as she did. This may have been true, but it was a more appealing lifestyle than to be with Naomi.

In 1808 Johnathan promised Naomi that they would instead run away with each other. Naomi may have been pregnant at the time and believed that they were going to raise a family together. He told her that he was going to defy his family's wishes and instead be happy with her.

Which was far from the truth.

The night they planned to run away Naomi felt uneasy after she arrived. She thought it was strange they were going to get married at night. They were supposed to go to Asheboro to get married, but instead, he leads her to the river.

Naomi afraid told him they were going the wrong way. He admitted to her his plans. He knew he couldn't bear to not have Naomi as a wife and it would be painful seeing her. He didn't want anything to ruin the intended marriage with Hettie.

Naomi begged him not to kill her. He struggled as he held her down in the river. He eventually pulled her dress over her head and drowned her.

A local woman had heard Naomi's screams and had her boys go and check it out. Johnathan was gone by the time they got to the river, and the boys didn't see Naomi in the water. The next day a search party was conducted. She was found in the water with bruises on her neck.

Johnathan was arrested for the crime, but not prosecuted. There wasn't enough evidence to definitively say it was him who killed her. He didn't marry Hettie and was free for many years. He ended up getting really ill and returned to his father's home to die.

It's said he made a deathbed confession to his father that he did, in fact, kill her. It's the only assumption that Johnathan Lewis killed Naomi. Most of what had happened that night had been theorized.

Naomi's tragic death will always be remembered through the song.

SOURCES:
https://archive.org/stream/storyofnaomiwise00rota/storyofnaomiwise00rota_djvu.txt
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/15846775/naomi-wise
https://web.archive.org/web/20051027223818/http://www.itpi.dpi.state.nc.us/counties/Randol/Randlph/nwise.html
http://www.murderbygaslight.com/2009/09/naomi-wise_05.html

Orren Mercer killed his Illegitimate son

Orren Mercer and his unnamed wife were both former slaves. The two would have two young children, but unfortunately, she would die. This resulted in Orren to look for love. He started to pay considerable attention to a woman named Lizzie Taylor. She was also a widower and lived in the neighboring plantation in Edgecomb County, North Carolina. The two would soon become intimate and Orren was virtually regarded by neighbors.

Lizzie would then become pregnant. This was when 45-year-old Orren stopped seeing her as often. Even though she claimed the baby was his, he claimed that it wasn't. She would then give birth to a beautiful baby boy. He denied the baby as his and she brought him to court for child support. This was when he created a solution to his problem.

On April 15, 1872, Lizzie started her day and went to work. Nellie, Lizzie's 12-year-old daughter, would stay home with her 5-month-old little brother.  Soon after her mother left she cleaned up the home and fed her younger brother. This was when Orren arrived at the home.  

When he walked in he had a coat over his head to disguise himself. This scared the young girl. This is the conversation that went between the two. He asked a series of questions. The little girl confirmed she didn't know who he was and it was just her, her brother and mother that lived there. He then asked if the baby was asleep and if he could drink water. She stated he was asleep and couldn't drink water as he was too little for that. He then asked if he could hold the baby and she said yes.

Nellie kept an eye on the man not trusting him. He then picked up the boy and stared him in the eyes. This moved his disguise and she realized the man was Orren. Orren then turned his back to the girl while still holding the baby. He then took a black vile out and fed it to the baby. He then placed the now crying baby back on the bed.

He then threatened the girl that it wouldn't be good for her if she told anyone he'd been there. He then left the two children alone. The baby was wailing and crying in agony. in a matter of moments, the baby's cheeks became blackened and his tongue stuck out and was also black. This frightened the girl and she ran to her mother for help.

On the way back to the home they came across Dr. Mercer (not related) and told him of the baby. When they arrived he examined the baby and was unable to help him. He died in the next few hours. By that time his scalp and skin had begun to fall off. It was found that he was killed with lye (caustic potash).

Soon after a warrant for Orren's arrest was done. He was then arrested and was found guilty at trial. He was supposed to hang on June 14. He had an appeal go to the Supreme Court, but he was still found guilty and sentenced to death.

He made a statement along the lines that Lizzie was constantly trying to get him to marry her. That he tried to be with other women, but she scared them off. He said that Nellie lied and did not see him kill her little brother. That he had nothing to do with the boy's death and wasn't at the home at the time. He said that the murderer was possibly a man named Redding Stanton who Orren claimed people told him that he said: "I have got him as I want him". Orren said he had no idea why Redding would have a grudge against him and convinced the young girl to lie about her brother's death.

When Orren realized he was going to be hung. He decided to try to starve himself to death first. He was unable to starve himself to death. He did become very weak before his execution. He still declared he was innocent of the crime on Jan 16, 1872.

On Jan 16. He was hung. His neck did not break and it took a few minutes for him to die. He was then decalred dead 25 minutes later.

SOURCES:
Legal Executions In North Carolina and South Carolina: A Comprehensive Registry, 1866-1962 by Daniel Allen Hearn
The New Berne Times May 26, 1872
The Tarabourogh Southerner December 12, 1872
The Tarabourogh Southerner December 5, 1872
New York Daily Herald Jan 19, 1873

Murder of Sam Townsend

The families of Sam Townsend and Peter Leach who was close to 30-years-old  lived together in a house in Lumberton, North Carolina. The two suspected that the other was cheating with their wives. They did not show any signs of hostility to each other till the night of Jan 6, 1879.

There was a neighborhood party involving others of the African American Community that night at their house everyone seemed to have been enjoying themselves. That is until Sam and Peter began to fight. Words were exchanged between the two. Sam left the home and Peter followed behind with his gun. 

"Do you mean it?" was shouted by Peter before he pulled his gun on Sam. He then shot Sam in the thigh near the groin. Sam was taken to a physician for the injury, but they couldn't do anything but stall his death. He died three days later. 

It took around four weeks to arrest Peter. Even though it was said he wasn't doing anything to avoid. Peter was arrested on Feb. 1, 1879, at the Irvine Oxendine in the bar room.

On September 11, 1879, Peter's wife 21-year-old Olive came and brought him a Ginger molasses cake. The next day Peter ate a large portion of the cake and he shared with fellow prisoners. He was found frothing from the mouth and in pain others who ate the cake also got sick. It had turned out his wife had poisoned the cake. This left him paralyzed and hardly able to speak.

On September 24, 1880, Peter was set to hang. He was able to speak by this day and claimed to repent his sins and was not scared because of his trust in the Mercy of God. He was still paralyzed and was hung in a chair. His neck did not break and it took 11 minutes to die.

Peter was not the only one to have killed someone in his family. One brother Tom murdered a Sherrif Deputy and another brother unnamed in articles had also killed someone. The unnamed brother was also hung for his crime and I couldn't find if Tom had been caught. 

SOURCES:

The Wilmington Sun

The Kansas Daily Tribune 

The Great Bend Register

The Daily Review