Southern Fried True Crime

In 2012, in Lafayette, Louisiana, a beautiful girl named Mickey Shunick vanished while riding her bicycle home from a friend’s house. The search for her, led by her fierce sister Charlie, was incredible. And the investigation would reveal just how fierce Mickey herself was. Written, hosted and produced by Erica Kelley Original Graphic Art by Coley Horner Original Music by Rob Harrison of Gamma Rad...

In February of 2010, a woman named Sheila Trott in Indialantic, Florida claimed she had a dream. Or maybe it was a vision. She saw her friend Kelly dead. She saw her at a beach. She said she thought she hurt Kelly. Kelly happened to be dating her estranged husband, the former mayor of Indialantic, Dan Trott. Written, hosted and produced by Erica Kelley Original Graphic Art by Coley Horner Original...

In 1967, The Sinclair family in Auburn, Alabama had been stalked for over a year. A college kid named Edward Seibold had briefly dated the oldest daughter, Cathey. When she rejected him, he became fixated on her widowed mother, 44 year old Juanita. His obsession with these women would turn into a murderous rage. Edward Seibold’s crimes shocked and traumatized the small city of Auburn. Over fifty y...

In 1990, a 57 year old preacher’s wife and grandmother named Blanche Taylor Moore, went on trial for murdering her first husband. She was caught while trying to poison her current husband. An investigation into deaths in Blanche’s life would reveal a sinister woman. A good christian grandmother with a penchant for poisoning people who annoyed her. Written, hosted and produced by Erica Kelley Origi...

In 1999, a gay man named Billy Jack Gaither was brutally murdered in the small town of Sylacauga, Alabama. He wasn’t completely closeted, his siblings and friends knew, but his deeply religious parents did not. He was a friendly man who often gave rides to drunk patrons from his favorite local bar. He had made friends with a man who took advantage of his generosity. But he had no idea just how evi...

In 1994, North Carolina detectives began investigating a former police officer named L.C. Underwood. He was connected to two murders, that at first, didn’t seem to have any connection. The investigative team, led by Detective Sergeant Paula May, would go on an odyssey, uncovering the dark secrets of this dangerous, abusive man. This is part 1 of a 2 part series. Written, hosted and produced by Eri...

In 1994, North Carolina detectives began investigating a former police officer named L.C. Underwood. He was connected to two murders, that at first, didn’t seem to have any connection. The investigative team, led by Detective Sergeant Paula May, would go on an odyssey, uncovering the dark secrets of this dangerous, abusive man. This is part 1 of a 2 part series. Written, hosted and produced by Eri...

In this first episode, we tell the story of Margaret Sweeney, the first case of fetal abduction on record. We also discuss statistics and other information about fetal abductions as an introduction to this series. Subscribe to Fetal Abduction wherever you listen to podcasts to hear new episodes. Fetal Abduction is hosted and edited by me, Erica Kelley. It’s written by Jessica Ann, and researched b...

In 2006, a man named Abraham Shakespeare won Florida’s $31 Million Dollar Lottery. Poor and illiterate, Abraham took the lump sum pay out without any financial advisors helping him. First he took care of his family and friends. Then he started helping strangers. Soon, he was so harassed by his community asking him for money, he isolated himself. And was he no match for a grifter named Dee Dee Moor...

In 2008, a wealthy Nashville housewife and mother was spiraling with addiction. An injury had gotten her hooked on pain pills, and she was drinking too much. Her marriage was failing. She was spinning out of control and was arrested a few times for ugly incidents with her estranged husband. Sadly, her three young children usually witnessed these outbursts. But no one could have predicted what she...

A fetal abduction is a crime where a newborn is cut from their mother's womb. These crude c-sections are particularly gruesome and often end in the death of the mother, the baby or both. From the team at Haley Gray Research, this new series will explore cases of fetal abduction in America. From the highly publicized cases to the little known and every case in between. Join me, your host, Erica Kel...

In 1926, a woman named Georgia Tann began running the Memphis branch of the Tennessee Children’s Home Society. Soon, Georgia began selling babies and children on the black market, often out of state. And as demand for children grew, she began kidnapping infants and even older children. While she is dubiously credited with normalizing adoption at a time that it was stigmatized, her real legacy is c...

In 1988, 41 year old mother, Peggy Carr, suddenly became very ill with mysterious symptoms. After she was hospitalized, doctors could not determine what was causing her so much pain and paralyzing the formerly healthy woman. They suspected poison and brought in the police. Soon, her son and step-son fell ill, with the same symptoms, as Peggy slipped into a coma and then died. Investigators zeroed...

In 1991, a high school senior named Crystal Faye Todd didn’t make it home for curfew. Her mother was frantic by 3:30am, calling 911. They told her not to worry, Crystal would turn up. By 8:00am, she called back and this time an officer came out filed a missing persons report. Just over an hour later, the report would be canceled when Crystal’s mutilated body was found by two hunters. Her murder sh...

In Clear Lake, Texas, in the fall of 2002, two beautiful girls decided to befriend an outcast. Christine Paolilla suffered from Alopecia, a condition where most, if not all our hair falls out. She was lonely, and often wore garish makeup and Halloween wigs. Rachael and Tiffany helped her buy new, more flattering wigs and showed her how to properly apply makeup. But they were a year ahead of her, g...

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 putting criminals away. Margaret Sherry was a fiery republican in a public slap fight with the current...

The town of Skidmore, Missouri is famous for the life and death of the town bully, Ken Rex McElroy. The tiny town of 500 people, grew even smaller as years passed. And locals began to think there was a curse because of the vigilante justice they had used to stop Ken Rex’s two decade reign of terror. But twenty years later, a disappearance and two gruesome homicides were all connected to one Skidmo...

In 1998, a beloved educator and wife of the interim mayor of Lanett, Alabama, was found brutally murdered in her home. Charlotte and Barry Waites were pillars of their community. Her murder shook the small town for years. It took eight years, and a different District Attorney to bring charges against the man who cruelly took the life of a mother, wife, sister, educator and friend to everyone in th...

In 2010, an elite student and gifted athlete at the University of Virginia became the face of domestic abuse on college campuses. Yeardley Love played lacrosse, and so did her boyfriend, George Huguely V. The culture of lacrosse, with exceptionally close relationships between both teams, as well as the culture of drinking on college campuses, may have caused Yeardley’s friends and teammates to not...

In the summer of 1969, 12 year old Tina Andrews slipped out of the house to go meet up with some friends. As they walked home, they were offered a ride by two men. The other two girls made it home that night, but Tina did not. There were two trials in McComb, Mississippi trying to bring Tina’s murderer to justice. Tina’s social standing in the community, a poor white girl, affected the investigati...

In 1985, another narcissistic family annihilator struck in Columbus, Georgia. Ann Johnson Curry was over eight months pregnant when she and her two children were brutally murdered. It would take almost 25 years to bring the monster who killed them to justice. Written, hosted and produced by Erica Kelley Researched by Haley Gray Additional Research by Erica Kelley Edited by Chaes Gray Suggested by...

In honor of Black History Month, I wanted to tell another story of a wrongful conviction. But this one is even worse. It’s not a mis-identification, it is the straight up racist framing of an innocent man. And because Monroe County, Alabama officials were so determined to frame Walter McMillian, the real murderer of Ronda Morrison will probably never be brought to justice. Written, hosted and prod...

Stacey Morgan Schoeck had been married four times before she met her fifth husband, Richard Schoeck. This time, she didn’t want a divorce. Happy Valentine’s Day Sources: https://www.southernfriedtruecrime.com/84-the-valentines-day-black-widow-stacey-schoeck Written, hosted and produced by Erica Kelley Researched by Haley Gray Edited by Chaes Gray Suggested by Suzanne Link Original Graphic Art by C...

To start off Black History Month, I wanted to highlight an extremely moving and important case of the wrongful conviction of a black man. The rape of Jennifer Thompson was horrific. But police procedures at the time, in 1984, caused her to accuse the wrong man. When he was finally exonerated by DNA, Jennifer didn’t just apologize. She and Ronald Cotton became close friends and Jennifer became an a...

In 2002, a teen aged married couple, Adam and Samantha Chrismer, 17 and 16 years old, were brutally murdered in Johnson City, Tennessee. The man convicted of their murders, Howard Hawk Willis, has been called a serial killer. I agree. His first wife, Nancy Debra Winegar Barr Willis, went missing December 23rd 1986. His stepfather was found dead just days after the married couple. Why? Why did Adam...