The Felon File

Crime and punishment in the Appalachian Mountains.  On Oct. 2, 1905, A man was hung at Marshall NC the County seat of Madison County.  Most of us history nuts in the Western NC area are familiar with the Hanging of Peter Smith.   Growing up in Madison Co. I had heard the stories and have seen the photographs of Smith standing on the gallows in Marshall out side of the Jail in  ...

Five Four Two and the Blue episode - 13 – 1901  murder of a sleeping family.   On the night of September 21st, 1909, a knock on a cabin door and a neighborly welcome turned to murder.  The family knew the visitor and quite naturally opened their home to him. By nine o’clock, all six family members were asleep. Using a pistol, a knife, and a hatchet the visitor is said to have slain...

Episode -12- Big Al Capone in the Appalachians Big Al in the Appalachians.    Did the famous gangster "Scarface" Al Capone keep an apartment and hide out in Johnson City Tnn?  And was the Mob involved with the death of a whole family in N.C. on Christmas Day,  all because of something the father saw in Johnson City?

Episode -11 The Murder of 17 year old Muriel Baldridge  in 1947 The Podcast starts with a brief musical ballad telling the story of a  tragic event from the Appalachian Mountains.  The Ballad written in 1949, the recording made in 1977. The Ballad tell the story of the tragic Murder of Muriel Baldridge, the 17-year old high school cheerleader who was found beaten to death under a br...

Five Four Two and the Blue episode - 10 -gambling in the Mountains Scheduled for April 27, 2019 at 7:00 PM Illegal gambling in the Mountains.  Cases from 1901, 1955 and 1977.A look at the differences of how the Evil of Gambling and "Gambling Dens" was handled.  In 1901 the NC state Legislature  passed a new Anti-Gambling Law.  The previsions of the new law were put into strict...

 Episode - 9. Witchcraft Trials in Tenn,, Ghostly evidence and Court testimony in West Virginia Episode 9.   Three Shades of Blue stories, for Five Four Two and the Blue.   Three stories of Law enforcement, and the court system.  Two Witchcraft Trials in Tenn. and A Shade of Blue story of, Ghostly evidence and Court testimony in West Virginia.  

Episode -8- Murder and attempted Murder on the Appalachian Trail The  shade of blue in this podcast on five for two and the blue. Puts us in the great outdoors along the Appalachian Trail. For those of you who don’t know The Appalachian National Scenic Trail , generally known as the Appalachian Trai l or simply the A.T. , is a marked hiking trail in the Eastern United States extending between...

        Episode -7 The Ghost Town incident of 1992  In this shades of blue story for Five Four Two and the Blue, it does not start in the mountains of Western North Carolina but the start of the ending does.           It’s a story of the capture of a real bad guy, James Neil Tucker. Our story begins in a make...

Episode -6 The Miller Manhunt Many in the Appalachian Mountains are familiar with the murder and killing rampage that occurred in 1906 Asheville North Carolina. The Gunman, Will Harris’s manhunt and killing related to his shooting of several individuals both white and  African American. Even today you can see the scars his stray bullets had made on the Vance Monument downtown, Asheville tour...

Shortly before midnight Tuesday November 10, 1964, masks, guns and other disguises were collected by four young men.  The burglary and robbery tools placed in a burlap bag, hidden under the hood of a pick-up truck just in case they were stopped by police at some point.    The robbery team consisting of a 23, 27, 19, and a 16 year old, drove to the farm of Charlie Lunsford. The four...

Episode- 4- Five dead in ten Minutes, Asheville NC 1906  A discussion about the Asheville North Carolina   of 1906.  The 5 homicides that occurred in a 10 minute span rampage, the investigation and man hunt reported as far away as New York City .     The murder Will Harris is quoted as saying before shot by an avenging public.   "I come from hell,…. from Charlotte , …...

Episode- 3- Montford Avenue Murder / The Trial On the morning of May 10- 1927, a maid walking to work discovered the body of a women in a ravine on Montford Avenue. This begun one of the most sensational crimes, investigations and trials in that time period.  The Investigation and trial had impact through out Buncombe County and the City of Asheville at that time. Allegations of a cover-up, i...

Episode 2 Asheville N.C. Montford Ave. Murder. On the morning of May 10- 1927, a maid walking to work discovered the body of a women in a ravine on Montford Avenue. This begun one of the most sensational crimes, investigations and trials in that time period. The infamous case was followed by 1000 in the media of the day. The court house from the trial of the accused, the crime scene and other loca...

The five four two and the Blue Podcast. .. Discussions of law enforcement history. issues and incidents in the Appalachian Mountains. Hosted by Scott Lunsford, retired police detective sergeant. Author and researcher.  Some quick local history to gain some perspective of the area.     For more information Go to SCOTTLUNSFORDAUTHOR.COM Here you will find a link to the podca...

The felon file podcast. Real crime anytime.