In 1942, the state of Louisiana executed a woman in the electric chair for the first and only time in its history. She was young, beautiful, and utterly devoted to the man she loved, a Texas outlaw. Toni Jo Henry was willing to do anything to free him from prison which led her down a dark path…the cold-blooded killing of an innocent man. Toni Jo claimed her accomplice pulled the trigger. He said she did. Was Toni Jo Henry a ruthless killer, or a woman trapped by her tragic past and her devotion to the wrong man?

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Episode Sources

• The Times: Former Shreveport Girl to Face jury for Lake Charles Slaying, March 24, 1940
• The News Star: Toni Jo Henry is denied new trial, May 25, 1942
• The Atlanta Journal: Woman Slayer, Awaiting death in chair, wisecracks over fate, August 4, 1942
• The Town Talk: High Court denies stay of execution for Toni Jo Henry, November 4, 1942
• Shreveport Journal: Toni Jo Henry Executed, November 28, 1942
• Del Rio News Herald: Kin of Toni Jo Henry Claim body for burial, November 30, 1942
• The DeQuincy News: Burks to follow Toni Jo to chair, High Court rules, December 4, 1942
• Greenville News: Trip of Death Ends as Burks electrocuted, March 24, 1943
• State v. Henry, 196 La. 217, 198 So. 910 (La. 1940)
• M. Watt Espy Papers: Documentation for the execution of Harold Burks, Toni Henry, 1943-03-23
• Harold Burks executed on 1943-03-23 in Louisiana (LA); Toni Henry executed on 1942-11-28 in Louisiana (LA)
• Find A Grave: Joseph Prince “Joe” Calloway
• Find A Grave: Claude David “Cowboy” Henry
• Find A Grave: Toni Jo Henry/Annie Beatrice McQuiston
• Nola Mae Ross: Crimes of the Past in South Louisiana, 2004

Episode Music

Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.

A cool September afternoon on a trail in Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Three friends are chatting as they hike. And then… in minutes, one of them disappears. No sound. No clue. Just… gone. Polly Melton’s disappearance has left investigators and amateur sleuths searching for answers for over four decades

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Episode Sources

• National Park Service: Cold Cases, Thelma Pauline "Polly" Melton
• NamUs: #MP14284, Thelma Pauline Melton
• Asheville Citizen-Times: Dogs Are Unable to Find Lost Hiker, September 28, 1981
• The Knoxville Sentinel News: Search for Hiker Eases: Rangers feel woman no longer in park, October 1, 1981
• Winston Salem Journal: Search for hiker continues, October 1, 1981
• The Charlotte Observer: Female Hiker, 58, still missing in Smokie, October 1, 1981
• Asheville Citizen-Times: Organized Search ends for missing woman, October 6, 1981
• The Charlotte Observer: Terror is when a loved one vanishes in the mountains, November 20, 1981
• Asheville Times: Disappearance Still A Mystery, December 24, 1981
• The Charlotte Observer: Mystery not solved but ending, July 3, 1991
• Find A Grave: Pauline “Polly” McAllister Melton
• 10 News: Appalachian Unsolved: Polly Melton Missing in the Smokies, December 8, 2017
• Investigating Agency: Tennessee Bureau of Investigation 615-744-4000

Episode Music

Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.

Explore the surprising family ties that connected Abraham Lincoln to the Confederacy. While Lincoln fought to preserve the Union, his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, had siblings who sided with the South—raising suspicions about her loyalty. Discover how these family divisions reflected the greater turmoil of a nation at war and uncover the personal struggles of the Todds and the political challenges they created for President Lincoln during the Civil War.

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Episode Sources

• Berry, Stephen. House of Abraham: Lincoln and the Todds, a Family Divided by War. Houghton Mifflin, 2007.
• Susannah J. Ural (2/26/2025) The War In Their Words: I Do Not Think of Peace. HistoryNet Retrieved from https://www.historynet.com/war-words-not-peace/.
• Gaton, K.B. (2010). Family Divided: The Todd Sisters Living in Selma During The American Civil War.University of Georgia.
• "Find a Grave", database, Find a Grave (http://www.findagrave.com : accessed 3 February 2025), memorial page for Nathaniel Henry Rhodes Dawson (1829-189)
• "Find a Grave", database, Find a Grave (http://www.findagrave.com : accessed 3 February 2025), memorial page for Elodie Breck Todd Dawson (1840-1877)
• "Find a Grave", database, Find a Grave (http://www.findagrave.com : accessed 3 February 2025), memorial page for Martha Todd White (1833-1868)
• Life in Civil War America. National Park Service, Civil War Service. Retrieved from https://npshistory.com/publications/civil_war_series/4/sec1.htm
• Scots in the American Civil War. James and Alexander Campbell: Brother against Brother at Secessionville. Retrieved from https://www.acwscots.co.uk/campbell.htm
• Feinauer, J.J. (4/20/2015) Brother against brother: The legacy of divided families during the civil war. Daily American. Retrieved from https://www.dailyamerican.com/story/lifestyle/family/2015/04/10/brother-against-brother-the-legacy-of-divided-families-during-the-civil-wa/116323338/

Episode Music

Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.

On a sunny May morning in 1947, a doctor from San Antonio ambushed Willard York and his family near New Braunfels, Texas. The doctor's plan to kill the entire family failed when 13-year-old Ann York escaped. Investigators found that both the shooter and Mr. York faced financial troubles, raising questions about whether the attack stemmed from revenge or a mental breakdown, as the doctor claimed he could not remember the incident.

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Episode Sources

• Fort Worth Star-Telegram: San Antonio Broker’s Hearing Here April 17, April 11, 1947
• Shamokin News-Dispatch: Girl Identifies Texas Physician as Slayer of Four, May 25,1947
• Valley Morning Star: Arraignment of Dr. Ross In Killing of W. York Postponed. May 27, 1947
• Corpus Christi Caller-Times: SEC Drops Action Against Broker Willard H. York, June 24, 1947
• The Tribune: Venue Change Given in York Murder Trial, September 13, 1947
• Corsicana Daily Sun: Girl Survivor of Shooting Says Dr. Ross Slayer of 4, October 16, 1947
• Fort Worth Star-Telegram: State Rests Its Case at Ross Trial, October 17, 1947
• Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Ross ‘Scared’ Her, Patient Tells Court, October 18, 1947
• The Tyler Courier-Times: Ross’ Claim Money Taken is Revealed, Oct 19, 1947
• Corsicana Semi-Weekly Light: Other Doctors Tell Jury Ross “Insane” on Shooting Date, Oct 21, 1947
• Lubbock Morning Avalanche: Ross is Given Death Penalty for Slaying, October 24, 1947
• The Salem News: Rule Doctor in Murder is Insane, June 17, 1949
• The Brownsville Herald: Court Affirms Damages to York Family, June 19, 1950
• Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Doctor Denied Writ of Error, October 5, 1950
• Lubbock Morning Avalanche: Board Allows Death Sentence to Stand for Dr. Lloyd Ross, August 7, 1957
• Case Text: Ross v. York, 233 S.W.2d 347 (Tex. Civ. App. 1950)
• Daily News: JUSTICE STORY: Betrayal at the hands of Dr. Death, March 21, 2020
• History.com: SEC: Securities and Exchange Commission
• FindAGrave.com: Dr. Lloyd I. Ross
• FindAGrave.com: Gertrude Ann York

Episode Music

Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.

One of the strangest cases in all their years of police work. Those were the words of seasoned detectives in Louisville, Kentucky, who worked on the Torture House case. A century ago, this case made national headlines when Richard Heaton was murdered by William Gates, who had been kidnapped and held in a home on 34th Street in Louisville.

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Episode Sources

• New York Times: Shackled to Bed, Man Gets Free Kills Captor, March 9, 1924
• New York Times: Slayer of Heaton Cleare; Coroner's Jury Finds Killing Justifiable to Escape Mutilation, March 15,1924
• Paducah News-Democrat: Gates freed of murder charge, March 16, 1924
• Florence Morning News: Gates admit visit with Heaton to Lake City, March 16,1924
• The Winchester Sun: Gates arrested after freedom on new warrant, March 17, 1924
• The Owensboro Messenger: Gates is held on fugitive charge, March 18, 1924
• The Frankfort State Journal: Gates Tells of Trips to Texas and South, April 9, 1924
• The Louisiana Herald: Lake City Expecting William Gates, April 24, 1924
• The Lousiville Courier-Journal: Gates Bares Torture Plot Details; Hidden Pistol Saved Victim From Heaton;, March 10, 1924
• The Louisville Courier-Journal: Frank Cordell on Trial, April 9, 1924
• Historical Crime Detective: The Torture House 1924
• FindAGrave.com: Richard Hartwell Heaton
• FindAGrave.com: Mary Leahy Wiesen Heaton

Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.

Over 80 years ago, a coal mining town in Tennessee was rocked by the murders of two wealthy sisters and their 16-year-old houseworker. Who had the motive to kill the sisters, and why would someone harm the teenager who worked for them? In 2001, a former police chief claimed to have solved the case and named several suspects, but it remains shrouded in mystery.

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Episode Sources

• The Commercial Appeal: Mystery Surrounds Tennessee Murders, Feb 6, 1940
• Knoxville Sentinel-Times: Hint Murder Tale Not Yet Told, Feb 7, 1940
• Knoxville Sentinel-Times: Oliver Springs Divided Over Theories of Sisters’ Slayings, Feb 8, 1940
• The Knoxville Journal: Sheriff Offers Slaying Case Reward, Feb 8, 1940
• The Knoxville Journal: Jurors reject Murder-Suicide Theory, Feb 14, 1940
• The Knoxville Journal: Slain Sisters Cousin was Mysteriously Killed, Feb 18, 1940
• Oliver Springs Historical Society: Historical Timeline of Oliver Springs
• Oliver Springs Historical Society Newsletter: The Richards Sisters Murders
• The Tennessean: Clearing of suspect deepens 60 year old mystery, January 27, 2001
• Seattle PI: The cousin did it, investigator says, November 15, 2001
• WBIR 10 News: Appalachian Unsolved: Murder in the mansion, May 22, 2023

Episode Music

Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.

On Christmas Day in 1929, the community of Germanton, North Carolina, was forever changed by the tragic murders of seven members of the Lawson family. One fact remains indisputable: Charlie Lawson was responsible for the deaths of his family. However, the question that has lingered for nearly a century is: why did he commit such a heinous act?

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Episode Sources

• Greensboro Daily News: Stokes Farmer Murders Family, Dec 26, 1929
• Greensboro Daily News: Victims to be Buried in Single Grave, Dec 27, 1929
• Statesville Record and Landmark: Only One Member of Family of 9 Left, Dec 30, 1929
• The Sentinel: No Report on Brain of Charlie Lawson, Jan 7, 1930
• Statesville Record: Commercializing the Lawson Home, Feb 3, 1930
• PlanetSlade: So hard to die: Murder of the Lawson Family
• Murderpedia: Charles Davis Lawson
• CLEWS: Christmas Murders and the Lawson Family Massacre, December 2006
• M. Bruce Jones with Trudy Smith: White Christmas, Bloody Christmas, 1990.
• Trudy Smith: The Meaning of Our Tears

Episode Music

Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.