Hi, I'm Holly and I'm Haley. Welcome to Mountain Mysteries, Tales from Appalachia. I'm with my knee. Oh, okay.
Oh, that's nice. My neck is so great. I'm so great. I gotta stand up.
I'm so bad. I feel like I need the chiropractor to go... Oh, well, everyone on the right side of the body is cracked with the other side that's creamed up. I think I need chiropractor travel stick, huh?
Oh my god, chiropractor travel is a dream. I know. You can kind of like... Did he pop your back back that time?
No, but I need him to. Just witnessed him. I witnessed it. It was something really special.
It's all scary at the first time. I can see that. Oh, every time he does it, I'm kind of scared that it will be the last. And you will be in a wheelchair.
And I'll be paralyzed or dead. Yeah. He will have killed me. Well, please, intro brother.
Yeah, someone out with a good crack. Or on a good crack. Oh, damn. That could make it to Patreon.
And rock. Are we? Yeah, we're good. Welcome back everybody.
We were in significant physical pain. Yes, we are. We were just talking about it and I said my neck is so stiff and hurt so freaking bad. My hip totally cramped up and I had to stand and the entire right side of my body cracked.
Yeah, we were making noises. It was a lot. This is what old age sounds like. Yeah.
You're welcome. A lot of pop and crackin. Yeah. A lot of that stuff.
A lot of it. Yeah, it was a real journey we went on. It was meaningful. It felt special to me.
We were doing this together. We were popping and clicking together. Yeah. It's so sweet.
I know my fingers are cracking. I'm talking about my brother is not a chiropractor. No, he's not. At all.
In the slightest. He wore the Chick-fil-A. Makes some very solid money at the Chick-fil-A. And it's his pleasure to serve.
It is. Actually, I got to have lunch with him today. That's wonderful. Yeah, that was nice.
Did he get it? He did not. Did you get a discount? No, I did not.
I didn't pull the Hey, I'm Travis's sister card. I would pull the Hey, I'm Travis's sister's co-host. 100%. No, I had texted him because I was headed to down to run some errands before I came out here.
And I was like, Hey, I'm going to stop by the Chick-fil-A. Yeah. It's a legend. He's like, Oh, I'm about to go and break.
It's like, Oh, great. So it just happened that our timing lined up. So I was able to lunch together. So that was very nice.
It's sweet. I had the classic chicken sandwich. That is good. With some pickles.
I had some extra pickles. I love pickles. I cut extra pickles. I put a little Chick-fil-A sauce on there.
It was really great. Great. Do you remember that special date you and I had at the Chick-fil-A? Yes, I do.
When the car broke down. Your car broke down. I was stuck in a hole. It was pretty much a hole.
She was. And she said, How far are you away from this hole approximately? She knew exactly what it was. I knew where she was.
I was like, I don't know. I could probably be there in like 15 minutes. Can you please come pick me up? Holy crap.
My car broke down. So we ended up getting the car to the dealership. We did. We were in that.
Yes. I turned the car off and by the time Holly got there and I was able, it did start. And I was able just on a prayer to get it to the dealership to get it checked out. Was that the border that he saw?
That was the Nissan Rogue. That was the Nissan Rogue. It was the Nissan Rogue transmission. Yeah.
It was a white Nissan Rogue. I remember. So we took it to the dealership and then while we were waiting on some diagnostics, Hailey was like, Why don't we go hang out? And so we went to the Chick-fil-A and we had a nice little date there.
And then I drove you to your daddy. You did. Yeah. Because my first call was to my father and I was like, Oh my God, what am I doing?
Like a typical, you know, 20 something year old girl. Now I've been through two transmissions and I know exactly what it is. I tell you what, it was so funny because Hailey, so in me knowing Hailey, I've known Hailey for almost six years. Yeah.
Hailey's gone through three cars. And actually it was three cars and knowing her for three years at that point. So anyway, her first was the Rogue that I've been in. And that was the one where the transmission went in the hole.
We were in the hole. Then she bought a Ford Escape. I did. I love that car.
And everybody, Oh, I'm going to get hate for this. But found on Road Dead is often what I stand for. Oh, no, it was accurate. Yeah.
But I know I love that car. That was my favorite car I've ever had was up for it. Is somebody else told me fix or repair daily? Yeah.
Yeah, another. I really loved it. The transmission also went out in the house. And so then Hailey showed up in Honda.
I did. I finally bit the bullet and bought. I had said I would never buy a new car because the depreciation and all of that is so bad. But I was like, you know what, I've been burned twice now by used cars.
I'm buying a new car with a warranty. Yes. So I went to the dealership and I now have a ridiculous car payment that I pay every month. But the peace of mind of me not having to pay $5,000 to replace a transmission.
Yes. And it's life changing. 100%. So now I just, you know, and everything covered.
Sands breaks. Just whacked the microphone. Have you had to get your breaks done? I have not.
They were squeaking at one point, but it was just because it was cold because I made my brother check my breaks because. Did he know how to change them? Could he change my breaks? Yes.
Let's set that up. He just recently changed his breaks. Let's set that up. He's very good at it.
He's changed my not on this car because I have to do things certain way to keep the warranty intact. He's changed the rotors on one of my car. Okay. And the breaks.
He's whatever I need to pay for. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So that's a thing.
But yeah. So now I have the, I have a Honda HRV. Yeah. And I love it.
I love the color of it. It's purple. It's beautiful. It's actually a midnight amethyst.
Oh. Oh. I think that would be my stripper name. I like it.
Midnight amethyst. I like it. I like that a lot. Yeah.
That's the color. And it just so happened that it was the only one on the lot that was available. I was working from home at the time and I remember this company doesn't exist anymore. So I don't care.
I mean, the company does, but my department doesn't. Well, I didn't know that. When I left that job. It did.
It was a common thing for me. It blew up and burned it around. So I had told that job that I, I think I took a half day or something. And I'd already been to the dentist like eight times at that job because I hated it.
So I just constantly had dental appointments. You know, you know, so I hopped on it like whenever, like an hour before I needed to go. I was like, you know, I just really am not feeling well. I'm going to lock off.
Sorry. I'm going to go buy a car. And I went off and I called my dad and I was like, all right, let's rock and roll. And I took that forward straight to the dealership and I was like, it's fine.
It was not fine. I'm pretty much. I'm pretty much. I'm like, well, they're going to run, you know, they're going to go check it out and do all things.
But I gave me some money for it. Yeah. So, but I didn't want to like swindle a person. They do it to you.
I mean, like, I didn't want to sell it to like a person. Oh, yeah. But giving it to a dealership for them to deal with. I don't know about that at all.
I was like, y'all buy it. Anyway, yeah, I've had to. I actually in knowing him, I've only had two cars in a year. Yeah.
So yeah, but I've only had four cars in the last 20. I've been driving for 25 years. Well, yeah. And I've all been 10.
Wow. I've had four cars. I've had four in 25 years. Four in 10 years.
And actually, so the first one was a four. That was just because I was a first car too. Yeah. But when I was 18, I got a Toyota and then drove that thing for 15 years.
It had the same battery. Wow. And one day the car just, you know, I was like, oh, what's happening? Oh, it needs a new battery.
So I took it to like, you know, the as you do, the auto zone. And so I brought it to him and he says, this is from the Toyota factory. And I said, yes. And he said, your car is a 2001.
And I said, yes. And he said, it's 2016. And I said, yes. And he said, this is an original battery from the Toyota factory in 2001.
And I said, yes. And he said, this is unheard of. Whose battery last 15 years? And I was like, Toyota.
Toyota, okay. Yeah. And he was like, wow. And he called all the guys over to the bread.
Look at this. This is from the factory. Like all of them were very impressed. I just need a battery.
I was like, I mean, you can keep it. Do you want to hang on to it? Like, does it mean a lot to you? You can have it.
So anyway, but then I bought a RAV4 and I, nothing had been wrote. Like when I got rid of my Toyota's, I just wanted, I needed like more space or something like that. It wasn't because anything was wrong with them. And somebody is still driving my 2001 Toyota.
Seriously. Wow. Probably it's probably got 300,000 miles on an hour. No, I just apparently have really bad luck with cars.
Not now. Not now. But when in doubt, I will drive that. That original Ford though, that Ford Escort.
It still goes. It's still runs. Because the older Ford's are better. It does have to be bungee corded.
You have to bungee cord the brake to the steering wheel. You park it. So you put it in part because for some reason the brake pedal doesn't come all the way up. When you park it, so the brake lights stay on.
And we've tried to fix it a million times and it just never works. It's appropriate for somebody who drinks all the wine. So the brake light come on and kill the battery. So I had to just carry around like a jump box.
And would just jump the car off every time. So I replaced the battery a lot. And then we finally realized what it was. And it was fixed a couple times.
And sometimes the air condition goes out. But it's fine. So now there's a bungee cord and it's attached to the brake. So when you drive it, you have to take the bungee cord off the brake and off the steering wheel and put it in the passenger seat and you can drive the car.
And then when you park, you have to then reattach the bungee cord to the brake. Bungee cord around the steering wheel and hook it back down to the brake. So it keeps the brake pedal up. Are you like sliding or coasting a little bit while you're trying to do this?
No, you can like stop the car and put it in the car. The problem isn't that the brake won't go down. It won't pop all the way back up. So then it's just, yeah, not enough to affect driving.
I don't know. Anyway, so it's a bungee cord car. But we still have it. And it's a car that you drive when your vehicle breaks down.
And there's no other old trustee. It's old trustee. Well, that was magical. You're taking me on that ride.
You're welcome. But can you just imagine pulling in the Walmart parking lot and having to punch your car? I can't. But I mean, I can't.
It wasn't been there. It was really classy. Or it's the Aldi to pick up your Aldi wine. That's right.
And you get bungee cord. You do. And then people are looking at you and you're like, hey, I don't buy the box stuff. Right.
Well, the thing is I have offered that car to many a friend who's been in car trouble before, whose car is like not run. They needed a loaner vehicle or something. They didn't want to pay rent a car. And I was like, listen, the bungee cord car is always available to you.
No one has ever taken me up on the offer of the bungee cord. It's a two-door Ford Escort. 99. I could have driven it.
Runs like a dream. Yeah, it's great. It's amazing. That it's that big but a little bit about it.
Not on wood, but I don't think I need it because I drive a Toyota. So let's go. I got a Honda now. It's great.
It's like we're good. Alrighty. We're going to talk about not one, not two, but a triple murder. Ooh.
Yeah, I know. Well, that brought it down. Sorry. It's okay.
So we're going back to July of 1966. The number one song was, Wild Thing. I know that one. Do do do.
By the trowels. I do actually know that one. Make not hot. They say the number one movie was Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf.
Starring of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. I do not understand. In the news, NASA completed their work on Project Gemini after 10 manned launches. So Gemini was the test, the astronauts, basically to test the astronauts' endurance, like how long they could go on these flight missions.
You know, all that fun stuff. Did they like, you know, the stuff that they had to eat in space, all that fun stuff. Yeah. And it also assisted with like the take-off and the reentry, like, snafus they had had in the past.
So it was successful. Today we are going to Hendersonville, North Carolina. Hendersonville lies to the south of Asheville and is only about 30 minutes from the South Carolina line. I have been there.
We went to the Apple Festival. We did. The Apple Festival. That was fun.
And actually, I went there recently. I went to Henderson County because that's where I went to the Flat Rock Church. Oh yeah. So that was pretty cool.
Yeah, you do. Yeah. It is Friday, July 22, 1966, when two men are taking an evening stroll around Lake Summit. Lake Summit is in Henderson County around the Zirconia area.
As they approach a grassy area, they see a mannequin. Now- It's never a mannequin. Well, hold please, because this wasn't uncommon apparently. What?
So you see, this area of North Lake Summit Road, which was a dirt road kind of off the beaten path, was where people used to go and illegally dump their garbage. Have people just dumped a mannequins left to row? Well, people would dump things like beer bottles, tree limbs, brush, couches, old rugs, mannequins, a crap. Okay.
People would just dump crap. Okay. So fun fact. I looked it up.
This air hit now includes multi-million dollar homes. Wow. So where we used to dump our garbage? Oh, look, Nancy, it's where we used to throw our mannequins out.
Listen. Let's build a home here. Sometimes I get it because getting rid of rugs is hard. Yes.
I had a rug that got some water on it. I remember the rod. And it smelled really bad. Basically, what do we get to?
It's like you have two options. You either overpass that thing, or you just take it and jump over and overpass, or you take that sucker to one of the Goodwill bins, or like the Goodwill places where they have the dump, like not a dumpster, but kind of looks like a dumpster, where you can just throw your shit in and drive away real fast. Yeah. And I was like, you do that.
That's your only option because then they have a way to throw it away because you can't throw it away. I know. The trash won't take it. Yeah.
It's too big. What do you do with it? So I know. And I didn't want to put it over and overpass because I was terrified.
What if I hurt someone? You know, like, you know, ring us down. Exactly. That's not good.
So, and it was a five by eight. It wasn't like it was massive. So I took it to the good. I rolled it up and it smelled so bad in my car.
I was going to throw up. But I took it to the local Goodwill and I thought, okay, good. No one's out here. I can just put it in the bin and run away.
Like, Hey, Lise, he just didn't the woman comes out. She goes, Hey there. What you got today? And I was like, Oh, and she's like, Oh, cool.
That's great. If you want to put it right there and I was like, get out of it right there. And so I put it right there and before she could like start undoing it, she was like, is there anything wrong with it? I was like, no, I don't think so much just about going great.
Thanks. Bye. And I ran away. Yeah.
You have to. I had to. And I was like, I hope she doesn't get my license plate. I mean, I didn't do anything wrong.
It's like that was actually probably the best thing you could have done because they have the means to dispose of it. Yeah. Whereas we as regular people do not. Exactly.
Our other option was the overpass. That feels strong. When it got water on it. It did.
And I had Haley come in my garage and I was like, do you think an animal has passed in here? Like we could not. I couldn't figure out if it was like, if water had gotten on the run. It was the run.
What's the wrong? What happened? But it was really cool. Got us steps.
So, you know, the mannequins, the mannequins are the mannequins appear to be posed drawing even more attention by the two men. I mean, again, you kind of think if like teens are out there, you know, there's there's garbage and stuff. Maybe they're being silly. As they came closer, much like Haley said, they realized these were not mannequins.
These were human beings. These individuals appeared to be deceased and placed in a crude semicircle. Two of the individuals had clothing and appeared to be male while one was semi-nude and appeared to be female. The two men quickly ran to a phone booth to call the police.
Could you imagine like, holy crap. When the Hendersonville police department arrived on the scene, they were greeted by a ghastly sight. One of the deceased males had an 18 inch long piece of scrap iron resting on his neck. The other male had a pair of crutches that were laid across his chest in a cross-crucific pattern.
Yeah. The lone female had a whiskey bottle tilted up against her neck. So strange. The police were shocked at the clearly staged scene in front of them.
They were able to find a change purse, prescription glasses, and some other items, all later identified as belonging to the victims. But who were the victims? They were soon identified as Vernon Shipman, a well-known person in the community. Vernon was 43 years old and worked for the North Carolina Employment Security Commission.
He also owned a music shop in town with his friend Charles Glass. It was called Tebow Music Shop. It was on Main Street. A friend described Vernon as quiet and easy going.
He was a man who loved to cook and entertain at dinner parties. Vernon was described as dependable, hardworking, and a skilled employee. He was very close with his family, which had very deep roots in Henderson County, stretching back to the 1790s. Wow.
Yeah. So let's talk about the other victim here. Okay. His name was Charles.
Charles Glass was 36 years old and he was known for his love of music. Vernon and Charles met in the early 50s and together they had opened a cafe but decided, yeah, maybe that's not our thing. Let's open a music shop. So they did.
Charles managed the record store and customers of the music shop were called Charles being outgoing, friendly, chatty, and open to anybody who came into the store, including those who were African American. Because this was the time where it wasn't always inclusive. Well, this was. Vernon Charles were very close friends.
In fact, they were lovers. Oh, yeah. Okay. You see, Vernon and Charles were openly gay in a town that was less than accepting.
Right. Yeah. That's that's tough. Yeah.
So nasty rumors about the two men kind of ran rampant in town, but they just sort of, you know, let go of that bill powers the police chief in Henderson County in 1966 made a statement, saying quote, we had a report of Vernon and Charles being missing prior to the bodies being found. Both being homosexuals, we thought they were probably off party in someplace end quote. What would you have thought the same of a heterosexual couple? Right.
But they were also off party. Oh, they are off partying. I'm sorry. They own a business that requires them to be there.
They have a job. I don't think they're just off partying. These are grown men in their 30s. That doesn't make a lot of sense.
Makes zero sense. Yeah. Lynn Blackwell, an employee of the music shop told the press, quote, after the murders, we kept hearing about all these closet homosexuals. But before the murders, the only people anyone knew who were gay were Charles and Vernon, and quote, why is that important?
I don't think they're a tip of this murder. And I think this creates this kind of like, oh, this happens, you know, of course this happened to them because they were gay. Of course, Vernon and Charles didn't hide the fact that they were gay and that they were a couple, which to me is a very brave thing to do in 1966 in a small town. Vernon and Charles were also well connected with the underground gay community of Hendersonville and Asheville.
Charles was friends with many wealthy and well-known men in the area who were trying to maintain a low profile about their sexual preferences, which in that time period makes a lot of sense. Charles loved blues and rock music. He even, I love this, he even wall-papered his bathroom with Nat King Cole album covers. That is awesome.
That is so cool. Charles was a performer in his own right, opening for the likes of Esther Phillips. He recorded his own albums while living in Baltimore in the 1940s and recorded at least two records with Vernon in the WHKP studio in the 1950s. That's super cool.
One of those songs had an eerie vibe to it, especially seeing what happened to him. Charles wrote Screamin' and Dyin, a song about a man who kills his cheating lover. Wow. Yeah, that's a lot.
This song was released nationwide and written up in Cashbox Magazine, which can be likened to Billboard Magazine today. So a big deal. The article described the song as up and coming with hit potential. Charles also loved his role parties at his home, which would attract over a hundred guests at a time.
That's cool. I know, so that's awesome. Charles liked to frequent nightclubs, so I don't know if that's where it's at that. Maybe it's a party rumor.
It could be. It could be. And at one of them, he actually broke his leg right below the knee. So the crutches found at the scene laid across his chest, belonged to him.
Crutches. Yeah. He had been on crutches for several weeks following the break. Charles had an intense interest in Asian culture, naming his Wildwood Road home Hong Kong Hill.
He collected Asian art objects and enjoyed Asian music. He had a gong on his front porch and he frequently rang it. And his friends would say he would go on a turban and sit by the creek and chant. Okay.
That's a lot. That's a lot. That's a lot to unpack. There's more.
Okay. Voodoo was also an interest, a detail that helps bond rumors that the murders were probably part of a voodoo ritual, but investigators never really pursued that angle. Charles did publish a booklet entitled, quote, Tails of Voodoo and Black Magic, end quote. Under the pen name, Charles Laver, the French word for glass.
Interesting. In the booklet, the main character, Mama Tebe, tells how to work magic. So he was very diverse in the things like he was interested in the things that he likes. A friend of Charles stated, quote, Charles liked to monkey around with voodoo, but it wasn't serious.
He used to mix an elixir and sell it to Black people in town. He put mineral oil in it and other homemade stuff. He sold it in Black tabloid magazines. Yeah.
He also said he sold voodoo curses. People would pay him for voodoo curses against other people end quote. I should say, I kind of appreciate that. I mean, we're like, I'll be verge of like appropriation.
Yeah. But I mean, but I think it's the idea of like, I'm really angry at someone. I'm going to buy a curse. Cody wanted on the troll at the end of the road who makes me use a riddle every time I want to get by.
Yeah. What's her name? Haley? No, it's me.
That's it. So apparently Charles would take a regano time and crunch them up, put them in a sack, tie it up, and sell it out the back door of the tempo music as charms and hexes. That's that's a little like, this sounds like the guy that you're just they're like, oh man, that's just Charles. It's Charles.
It's just Charles. They're like Charles out there selling his herbs out of the back of the music store. Yeah. So when you think like, Hey, the music store is a front four, right?
It's usually things like gambling or drugs or now this is for hexes Asian massages, you know, secret massages, special massages. No, some, some herbs and herbs. And herbs, yeah. I mean, that's kind of one of those you're like, it's just, I mean, it's just Charles.
It's just Charles. We know how it is. Yeah. What's happening in the store with it.
Exactly. I love a regano, by the way. Delicious. You mix it with a little olive oil, put it with bread.
Sounds great. Delicious. We should go to Olive Garden soon. Yeah.
It's been a while. It's been a minute. Yeah. Anyway, the other victim, Louise.
So let's talk about her. Yeah. Louise lived and worked in Asheville and had some relatives in Hendersonville, but lived 30 minutes away. So she didn't really see them much.
Right. Louise was described as private, quiet, and hard to get to know. I imagine if she's private and quiet. She had no telephone.
She had no photographs in her home or any kind of letters or anything in her apartment, but she carried a camera around and took tons of pictures. Okay. That's all right. Sure.
Something that's odd to note is that Louise lived in the Raven's Croft Apartments, not far from downtown Asheville, but had a secret post office box in Horseshoe. And Horseshoe is a small community in like Western Henderson County. Like this would have taken her probably 45 minutes to get to the secret teal box in a county she didn't live in. Do they have horses in Horseshoe?
I don't know. I would assume so if it's called Horseshoe. I mean I would also assume so. I think so.
I don't know. I don't know. We should go there. I would love to.
Especially if they're horses. Do you ride? I do. Oh.
Well then let's do it. It's called the Moer. What if we get there in there and it's like this town's called Horseshoe? We are here.
We're at the horses. We actually don't have any horses. Exactly. Got it.
Great. We got rid of those in the 1800s. I don't know. So apparently her PO box wasn't the only thing that Louise was secretive about.
She always lied about her age. She told folks that she was 54 when she was really 61 and she even lied about it on her driver's license. She said she's and I don't know how you go away with that because you have to show a birth certificate. You know you can't just say oh actually.
Right. So she said that she was born in 1911 but she was truly born in 1904. So I would like to get seven years younger. And why on earth?
I could do that. I'm 33 baby. I'm 19. Good.
At least you're old enough to be on this podcast. It's not weird. Yeah. Not weird.
So she even kept her age a secret. Yeah. That's weird. People at the Horseshoe post office thought that she was like 45.
Yeah. Like when they were at you and they were like oh yeah we saw her at the time. We thought she was 45. Her colleagues at the factory said that she looked like she was 15 years younger than she actually was.
So clearly she was keeping herself up. Yeah. Some people describe Louise as a quote woman of contradictions end quote. In many ways she was fearless but also paranoid.
She insisted on a special parking spot under a large light at her workplace. The Taylor Instrument Company. I guess it's not around anymore. And if cars were following her too close she'd pull over and let them pass.
I don't I don't totally disagree. Yeah I would too. She'd also pick up strangers. Why exactly.
Like you go to all those precautions and then if you have strangers. She'd pick up strangers who was having car trouble and enjoyed long drives on the western North Carolina backgrounds with strangers or I don't know if that's just in general or with the strangers. Like you know what I saw that your Ford crapped out again. Why don't you give in my car.
Just hop on me. I mean I did that to Haley. She went to the Chick-fil-A. It was great.
Nobody died. Not that day. Not that day. No.
It was good. It was good. It was fun. Early in the investigation it was speculated that she was at the wrong place at the wrong time because they couldn't figure out how these individuals would have known each other.
Like they're not really connected so it doesn't make a lot of sense. Investigators found no evidence that really put Louise in the area besides her Pio box. That's odd. So I have to look it up because I'm not really familiar with Henderson County.
Apparently Horseshoe is about like 15 minutes from where the music shop would have been. So I mean I don't think it's unheard of that she could like go downtown and maybe she was. Maybe she went into the music shop. So maybe that's why she was there.
I don't know. While corners were conducting autopsies investigators were searching the crime scene but the case was hindered slightly by the ocholine crowd of onlookers. Of course it was. Yeah.
Those in the community came out in droves to watch the police coming through the scene trying to collect evidence taking photographs and those who lived in Henderson County were pretty stunned by the crime and they feared that maybe there was a serial killer on the loose. So they started locking their doors. While police were tracking down leads and taking into interviews the corner was able to complete his autopsies on Vernon Charles and Louise. The corners report found that all three died from fractured skulls due to heavy blows to the head.
Puncture wounds 17 to 21 of them were found all over Charles and Vernon's bodies. It is believed the wounds occurred prior to their deaths but did not contribute to it. No rape kits and semen analysis or DNA testing were available back in 1966. The police chief at the time didn't feel that Louise had been raped though she was found semi-nude and get this.
A portion of an automobile bumper jack had been inserted into her vagina. Oh no. I don't understand how you don't see that sexual assault. Right.
That is not that's not okay. Oh I don't think she'd been raped. Um rape is any kind of penetration. Yeah that's she.
Yeah that's not um I don't think that was there intentionally. Yeah no. No. So either.
So and I don't know if this was done postmortem or premortem. Right. Working backward from the crime scene investigators starting piecing together where the victims had been in the days leading up to the murders. There have been several sightings of a white over blue 1962 Ford Fairlane that Vernon owned.
Right. He was seen with glass you know which is Charles in the front seat. The last time he was seen alive was Sunday July 17th. So on that day Charles called a friend and an employee mid-morning and asked him hey do you want to go have lunch?
The friend said hey I'm sorry I can't do it I have other plans so they didn't worry about that. Right. Harley Shipman who was Vernon's father told investigators that he had eaten a late breakfast with his son that morning. Vernon actually still lived at home with his mom and dad.
The family resided at 1021 Maple Street. Apparently Vernon's dad stated that the last time he saw his son was around 2 p.m. that day and that was it. A friend reported that Charles was also home around 2 p.m.
talking on the phone with Vernon. Johnny Pistolas owner of Johnny's restaurant on US highway 25 in Mountain Home. I don't know what that is. Uh reported that the pair ate a meal and had both been drinking sometime between 2 30 and 3 30 p.m.
So Vernon and Charles were together having lunch. Gotcha. Then they stopped to visit with friends at Almond's antique shop on Asheville highway. Louise was seen leaving her apartment around 4 30 that afternoon.
So timeline wise we've got them eating a late lunch between 2 30 and 3 30 in Henderson County. Meanwhile Louise up into that point up until about 4 30 is in her apartment in Asheville by herself and is seen leaving. So they're not connecting yet at any point here. Vernon and Charles had made dinner plans that night with a mutual friend Robert Amston.
Robert was in town visiting and he was staying at the local Echo Mountain Inn. Vernon promised to come by and pick him up so that they could go to dinner. 5 30 came and went. There was no sign of Vernon.
Okay so it's at this piece where and at this time some time in this like hour span we've got Louise leaving her house at 4 30 and then by 5 30 Vernon and Charles don't come to pick up their friend. So in this span of an hour her driving to Henderson County, which would take her I don't know what 30 minutes maybe I guess 35 I don't really know. Traffic is very different than it used to be. They would have to meet up in some way to be at the same place at the same time.
Very strange. Around 6 p.m. Ronnie Hollyfield the manager of a local paper saw Vernon driving along Evans Road. Evans Road was a one laying road that was all dirt.