Southern Fried True Crime
by Erica Kelley
Erica Kelley is a native Tennessean exploring historical and contemporary true crime in the South. Southern charm is attempted but southern sass is bountiful. Join her as she shows you just how southern fried the justice system can be in the Deep South.
Episodes
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The Best of October Southern Fried: 2022, Ep167: The Murder of Fred Jablin
Today's episode is a "best of October" Southern Fried is from 2022, 167: The Murder of Fred Jablin Dr. Fred Jablin, a highly regarded professor of communication, was a dedicated husband to his wife, Piper Rountree. For years, he did everything in his power to make her happy, but nothing he did…
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The Disappearance & Murder of Emily Anderson - Part 1 of 2
The last time anyone saw 49-year-old Emily Anderson was December 29, 2005. As husband, Jerry Anderson was naturally the first suspect. But he seemed to be able to account for his time that day and he passed a polygraph. After an anonymous call, Emily’s body was discovered on January 7, 2006. As…
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Introducing Gone Cold – Texas True Crime
Texas is known for being tough on crime and those who commit it. Or at least the ones who get caught. There are tens of thousands of unsolved homicides in Texas and nearly as many open missing persons cases. Every week, Gone Cold Podcast—Texas true crime—presents in-depth accounts of unsolved...
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220: The Murder of Rhonda Oakley
On September 1, 2016, 52-year-old Rhonda Oakley was due home from a business trip. Only gone one night, she and her husband of less than three years had missed each other. The empty nester and single dad had been inseparable since they met. Rhonda had recently become a full time stepmom to...
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219: The Kidnapping of Carrie Lawson, Part 2
In the dark morning hours of September 11th 1991, in the small town of Jasper Alabama, a couple named Earl and Carrie Lawson were awoken by a fake emergency phone call that lured them out of the house. A masked man was waiting in their carport. Earl was bound with duct tape and the assailant…
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218: The Kidnapping of Carrie Lawson, Part 1
In the wee hours of September 11, 1991, Earl and Carrie Lawson were awoken by an urgent phone call from a woman claiming to be a nurse who said Earl’s father was hospitalized and might not make it through the night. The couple threw on clothes and rushed out the door, only to be stopped by a…
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217: The Murder of Charlotte Childs
In May of 1993, 18-year-old student Charlotte Childs was eagerly anticipating her high school graduation in Holly Hill, South Carolina. She was busy attending all sorts of pre-graduation celebrations in the lead-up to the big day, including a get-together for her fellow high school seniors the...
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216: The Wellnitz Family Murders
For nearly a decade, the Wellnitz family murders haunted the small town of Columbia, Kentucky. The tight knit community had no clue why these good people were mercilessly executed in their own home. They were known for their thriving veterinary clinic and their kind hearts. But someone had been...
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215: The Death of Annie Burkett Shell
Parents have to trust caregivers. It’s just a fact of life. Often we feel more comfortable with a family friend than a daycare. That’s what Tiffany and David Shell did for their daughter Annie. They trusted Brandi Giannunzio. She babysat their two youngest daughters. She was good with their…
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Listen Now: Happily Never After: Dan & Nancy
Nancy Brophy fills her novels with romantic betrayals and murder. It’s a far cry from her quiet life in the suburbs, where she and her chef husband, Dan, are living out their golden years. But when Dan is shot dead, Nancy finds herself at the center of a murder case that could be ripped from the...
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214: Erasing Laura Ackerson, Part 2
After Laura Ackerson lost full custody of her sons, she was heartbroken, but she sprang into action. Within 2 weeks, she got another hearing but she still only got weekends. She had to completely overhaul her life. Within a year, Laura found a great apartment and opened her own ad agency—not just…
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213: Erasing Laura Ackerson, Part 1
27-year-old Laura Jean Ackerson had a really tough start in life. The single mother of two worked hard to build her own small support system in Kinston, North Carolina. Her brother and best friend were the only people she really had. After Laura survived a whirlwind relationship with a…
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212: The Whitaker Family Slayings
In December of 2003, 23-year-old Bart Whitaker had just finished his finals and was about to graduate from college. That night, he went to dinner to celebrate with his parents, Tricia and Kent, and his younger brother Kevin. As they returned home and walked through their door, they were ambushed…
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211: Evil or Innocent Twins: Betty, Peggy & The Murder of Dr Jack Wilson
On May 22 1992, Betty Wilson frantically called 911 from her Huntsville, Alabama home. She found her husband, the esteemed Dr. Jack Wilson, in a pool of blood. Someone had bludgeoned and stabbed him to death. Initially, police had no suspects. Until an anonymous tip led them to a man named James...
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REMASTERED Ep66: Tex & Diane McIver: Accident or Murder?
Late on a Sunday night in September of 2016, Atlanta power couple, Tex and Diane McIver, were driving back into the city and got caught in Atlanta’s notorious traffic. Diane’s best friend was driving as Diane rode in the passenger seat and her husband, Tex, sat directly behind her. When they were...
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210: Update on the Tex McIver Case
Late on a Sunday night in September of 2016, Atlanta power couple, Tex and Diane McIver, were driving back into the city and got caught in Atlanta’s notorious traffic. Diane’s best friend was driving as Diane rode in the passenger seat and her husband, Tex, sat directly behind her. When they were...
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209: The Disgraced Hero & Fugitive: Mario Centobie
When Officer Keith Turner pulled over a car in Moody, Alabama on June 25, 1998, he thought it was a routine traffic stop. The 29-year-old husband and father had no idea that the men in the car were two escaped convicts, Mario Centobie and Jeremy Granberry. In the span of two days, the armed and...
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208: The Murder of Cherica Adams
In November of 1999, 24-year-old Cherica Adams was eight months pregnant when she and the father of her child, 25-year-old Carolina Panthers wide receiver Rae Carruth, went on a double date. They saw a late-night showing of a serial killer flick at the theater. As Rae led Cherica back home to her...
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Listen Now - Dr. Death: Bad Magic
When a charismatic young doctor announces revolutionary treatments for cancer and HIV, patients from around the world turn to him for their last chance. As medical experts praise Serhat Gumrukcu’s genius, the company he co-founded rockets in value to over half a billion dollars. But when a team…
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207: The Murder of Shadow McClaine
25-year-old Shadow McClaine was 39 days from retiring from the US Army. She’d begun her service in 2011 and, now, her contract was up. She was thrilled to go back home, enroll in college, and try her hand at a different career. In 2015, Shadow alleged that her ex-husband, an Army sergeant, had...
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206: The Murder of Dolly Rose Grigsby
In July of 1994, 42 year old Dolly Rose Grigsby was reported missing after visiting a shopping mall in Bluefield, West Virginia. Her husband, Dan Grigsby, did everything he could to try to find his missing wife and mother of their two children. The more time passed, it appeared what happened to...
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205: The Santa Claus Bank Robbery
In the lead-up to Christmas, 1927, the good citizens of Cisco, Texas, were looking forward to celebrating the holiday with their nearest and dearest. But a group of men who rolled into town on the morning of December 23 from Wichita Falls had different ideas. Led by an ex-con in a Santa Suit…
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204: The Kidnapped Heiress: Barbara Jane Mackle
20-year-old Barbara Jane Mackle was a Florida heiress whose life took a harrowing turn in December of 1968. She was kidnapped by two strangers who wanted $500,000 in ransom from her mega-rich father, land developer Robert F. Mackle. Until Robert could meet Barbara’s abductors’ demands, his only...
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203: The Hicks Babies
More than 200 babies, known as the “Hicks Babies,” were sold by Dr. Thomas Hicks from the back of the Hicks Community Clinic in McCaysville, Georgia during the 1950s and 1960s. Until his actions came to light, he was a respected and beloved doctor in McCaysville, known for helping everyone…often...
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202: The Fugitive Lee Barnett
In April of 1994, Lee Barnett picked up her 11-month-old daughter, Savanna, from her ex-husband Harris Todd’s house in Charleston, South Carolina. They were supposed to return at around six o’clock that evening. But they never showed up. Over the next 20 years, they’d travel the world together…
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201: The Murder of Carrie Daugherty
Everyone who frequented Barley’s Taproom & Pizzeria in Knoxville, Tennessee, knew bartender and waitress Carrie Daugherty. She was a friendly 24-year-old woman who had a quick wit and a sweet smile. But, on March 19, 2008, Carrie’s body was discovered on her own front lawn. She’d been brutally...
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200: The Murders of Jennifer Corbin & Dolly Hearn
27-year-old Dorothy “Dolly” Hearn and 33-year-old Jennifer Corbin never met—but the two women had a lot in common. Both were intelligent young women in Georgia who had their whole lives ahead of them, and both of them died under mysterious circumstances that were shockingly similar. When an...
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199: The Legs Murder Scandal
One of my most requested cases for Spooky Season: The Legs Murder Scandal On a rainy and cold January day in 1935, a rabbit hunter came across a sugar sack on a rural road in Laurel, Mississippi. He opened it up and found a pair of legs and part of a lower torso of a white female. On that same…
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198: Karla Faye Tucker
On June 12th of 1983, 27-year-old Jerry Lynn Dean and 32-year-old Deborah Ruth Thornton met at a pool party. Right away, their chemistry was apparent—even though their budding relationship was doomed from the start. Jerry had recently separated from his wife, and Deborah was still married....
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197: Memphis Serial Killer: George Howard Putt-part 2 of 2
In August and September of 1969, one man killed five people in the span of 29 days in Memphis, Tennessee. These violent crimes shook the city of Memphis to its very core. Lock sales skyrocketed. Families adopted large dogs. People refused to leave their house after sunset. It felt like no one was...
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196: The 1969 Memphis Serial Killer Known as the Cunning Sex Killer
From August 13th to September 11th of 1969, five innocent people died at the hands of a serial killer in Memphis, Tennessee. 58-year-old Roy Dumas and his wife, 47-year-old Bernalyn Dumas; 82-year-old Leila Jackson; 21-year-old Glenda Sue Harden; and 59-year-old Mary Christine Pickens. For 29…
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Listen Now—Agent of Betrayal: The Double Life of Robert Hanssen
Here’s a preview of a new podcast I think you’ll enjoy. Amid the nuclear threat of the Cold War, America's prized secrets were falling into the hands of its sworn enemy, the Kremlin. The FBI's hunt for the leak led to an astonishing discovery—the mole was one of its own, special agent Robert...
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Listen Now: 48 Hours
One of television's most popular true-crime series is now adapted for your ears with the “48 Hours” podcast. Every week, award-winning CBS News correspondents investigate the most intriguing crime and justice cases. Here’s a preview of a new “48 Hours” episode, “The Night of the Idaho Student...
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195: Serial Killer: Judi Buenoano
When 54-year-old Judi Beunoano was executed by the State of Florida on March 30th of 1998, she was widely known as Florida’s Black Widow. And that’s because, over the course of 12 years, Judi had made attempts on the lives of these four innocent men: James Edgar Goodyear, Bobby Joe Morris…
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194: The History of the Dixie Mafia
By the 1960s, organized crime gangs were well and truly already becoming a presence across the north of the United States, as underworld figures fought for sole control over highly lucrative gambling, illegal alcohol, and prostitution rings. Down south, things were done a slightly different way....
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*Remastered: 91: The Sherry Murders, The Dixie Mafia & Corruption in Biloxi
In 1987, a circuit court judge and his wife, a former city council woman, who wanted to be mayor, were murdered in their home in Biloxi, Mississippi. It was obviously a professional hit. Vincent Sherry was a former criminal defense attorney who had defended members of the Dixie Mafia. Now, he was...
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193: Police Corruption & The Murder of Kim Groves
Thursday, October 13th of 1994 was a big day for New Orleans. On one side of town, their new police superintendent, Richard Pennington, was being sworn into office. On the other side of town, a beloved mother of three was being murdered. This mother was 32-year-old Kim Marie Groves. As a result…
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192: Annalisa Netherly & the History of The Read House
In 1927, a young woman met a violent end in a Chattanooga hotel. Reports on how she came to her death are mixed, but the legend of her gruesome story persists almost 100 years later, and for good reason. The tragic young woman’s spirit is said, along with the ghosts of many others, some from the...
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128: The Belinda Temple Case, Part 2 - REMASTERED
After the brutal murder of Belinda Temple, an 8 month pregnant school teacher in 1999, the Harris County DA’s office took five years to finally charge her husband, David, with murder. They had an ace in the hole. They had star prosecutor Kelley Siegler. But David Temple’s family hired Dick...
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127: The Belinda Temple Case, Part 1 - REMASTERED
In January of 1999, 30 year old Belinda Temple, who was eight months pregnant, was found shot to death in her closet in Katy, Texas. Her husband, David Temple, was the obvious first suspect. But there wasn’t much evidence to connect him to the murder and he was seen on store cameras during the...
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191: Belinda Temple Case - UPDATE (episodes 127 & 128)
In January of 1999, 30 year old Belinda Temple, who was eight months pregnant, was found shot to death in her closet in Katy, Texas. Her husband, David Temple, was tried and convicted twice for the murder of his pregnant wife. But when the jury at his second trial in 2019 became deadlocked in the...
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Listen Now - Over My Dead Body: Gone Hunting
When Mike Williams vanishes on a hunting trip, the authorities suspect he was eaten by alligators but the true predators who took Mike may lurk much closer to home. The mystery of Mike’s disappearance might have faded from memory, if it wasn’t for one woman’s tireless crusade. From Wondery, comes…
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190: The Murder of Liz Sennett
In the spring of 1988, Liz and Charles Sennett were pillars of the Colbert County, Alabama, community. 45-year-old Liz was a mother, grandmother, and homemaker. Charles was a local pastor. They were beloved and respected. On March 18th, Charles discovered Liz's lifeless body in their home. It was…
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189: The Murder of Denise Lee
21-year-old Denise Amber Lee was a happily married stay-at-home mom when her life was abruptly snatched away from her. On January 17, 2008, she was abducted from her home. Her two young sons were left sleeping in a crib together. An hour later, Denise’s husband Nate returned home and immediately...
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188: The Murder of Margaret Abernathy
Monday, February 4, 1991 started out as a normal day. 40 year old Priscilla Matula was rushing out the door for work. She owned and operated a car dealership with her husband, Nick. It soon became one of those days…where everything seems to go wrong and irritation bubbles to the surface. And…
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187: Lindsey Lowe Case - UPDATE (episode 119)
This is a short bonus episode for July. It's about the controversial Lindsey Lowe case, so I hope you find it interesting. I had a defense attorney reach out and give me the judge's signed ruling early and also give me some inside baseball about the case. If you want to listen to the original...
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186: Behind Closed Doors: The Janae Carroll Case
In September of 2017, 30-year-old Janae Carroll was preparing to end her longterm relationship with her boyfriend—who was also her abuser. After years of suffering, Janae had gathered the strength and the courage to leave him. But when an argument about the breakup escalated to an all-out fight...
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Introducing Suspect: Five Shots in the Dark
Leon Benson spent 24 years in an Indiana state prison for the 1998 murder of a young man named Kasey Schoen. His conviction hinged on the testimony of two eyewitnesses – but what if their memories turned out to be wrong? And what if the people who knew what really happened had never been allowed…
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185: The Murder of Lindsey Lee
When 31-year-old Lindsey Lee didn’t show up for work bright and early one Tuesday morning, her coworkers at the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department were immediately worried. Their fears were confirmed when the deputy who performed a wellness check at Lindsey’s home discovered her body. At…
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184: The Poisoner Katie Stricklin
In 1971, Sundays in Savannah, Tennessee were for two things: church and family. That was especially true for the Stricklin family. One Sunday, 66-year-old Mollie and her husband, 81-year-old William, invited their son and his wife to their new home for a midday meal. Mollie made the food. Her...
About this show
Erica Kelley is a native Tennessean exploring historical and contemporary true crime in the South. Southern charm is attempted but southern sass is bountiful. Join her as she shows you just how southern fried the justice system can be in the Deep South.
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Erica Kelley
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