Charlotte

Murder, Mystery and Mayhem

David Aaron Moore

• Publisher: The History Press
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN: 9781596294905
• eBook ISBN: 9781614234920
• Subtopic: North American History

"Explores more of the seedy underside of the city that the tourist books don't tell you about . . . from a 13-year-old church arsonist to a lynching" ( Lost Charlotte).
 
Today's Charlotte is a fast-growing and well-respected city. But the Charlotte of yesteryear is rife with tales of the macabre, tragic and simply unexplainable.
 
Prepare to be surprised and unnerved as the dark side of Charlotte is brought to life by native and longtime writer David Aaron Moore. Learn about Nellie Freeman, who nearly decapitated her husband with a straight razor in 1926. Discover how the ghosts of Camp Green infantrymen, the doughboys of World War I, still scream in the Southern night. Read about the seventy-one passengers who lost their lives as Eastern Airlines Flight 212 fell to the earth one foggy night in 1974. Come along and experience the grisly past of the City of Churches.
 
Includes photos!

BIBLIOGRAPHY

THE SAGA OF BENNY MACK

Charlotte Observer. “Boxer Faces Trial Today; Negro Later,” February 26, 1929.

———. “Ex-Pug Is Charged In Bank Robbery,” April 1, 1961.

———. “Mack Sentence Is Made Limit After Cursing,” February 28, 1929.

———. “Price Declares First Shot Hit Moore In Back,” February 27, 1929.

Danville Bee. “Ex-Boxer Held In Marion, N.C. Bank Robbery,” April 1, 1961.

———. “Mack Trial For Slaying Begins Today,” February 26, 1929.

Fresno Bee. “Ex-Pugs Play Thugs,” January 7, 1962.

Landmark. “Benny Mack Says He Was Railroaded,” March 4, 1929.

———. “Judge Stack Scores Prize Fighting,” February 28, 1929.

Oakland Tribune. “Prizefighter Sought By Federal Agents,” October 17, 1933.

Robesonian. “Judge Stack Preaches Lay Sermon In Sentencing Killer Benny Mack,” March 4, 1929.

RAZOR GIRL

Charlotte Observer. “Defense To Claim Razor Slayer Has Mind Of 6-Year-Old Child,” July 13, 1926.

———. “Jury Acquits Nellie Freeman,” July 22, 1926.

———. “Razor Slayer Is Arraigned,” July 13, 1926.

Creative Loafing. “Razor Girl: A Halloween Tale From Another Time,” October 25, 2006.

THE MAUSOLEUM MURDER

Burlington Daily Times. “Rites Slated For Victim Of Murder,” September 22, 1959.

Charlotte News. “Ex-Convict Hunted In Slaying,” September 23, 1959.

———. “Grim Discovery Made Lasting Mark On Boy,” September 21,

1959.

———. “Police Hold Hot Suspect In Death Of Aged Widow,” September 22, 1959.

———. “Probing Of Murder Continues,” September 26, 1959.

———. “Victim Is Found In Tomb,” September 21, 1959.

Charlotte Observer. “Charlotte Winos Vanish From Usual Haunts,” September 24, 1959.

———. “City Police Free Suspect In Murder,” September 24, 1959.

———. “Coroner Says She Was Raped,” September 22, 1959.

———. “Man Crouched Near Bench Where Widow Sat,” September 24, 1959.

———. “Officer Says ‘Everybody Is A Suspect,’” September 25, 1959.

———. “Police Press Hunt For Widow Killer,” September 22, 1959.

———. “Slain Widow’s Body Found In Mausoleum,” September 21, 1959.

United States Court of Appeals. Elmer Davis Jr. v. State of North Carolina. United States Court of Appeals Fourth Circuit Transcript, April 28, 1966.

———. Elmer Davis Jr. v. State of North Carolina. United States Court of Appeals Fourth Circuit Transcript, December 8, 1964.

———. Elmer Davis Jr. v. State of North Carolina. United States Court of Appeals Fourth Circuit Transcript, June 7, 1962.

FRANKLIN FREEMAN: WHO KILLED RERE?

Charlotte Observer. “Chief Punishes At Least Three In Fracas,” June 21, 2002.

———. “Reckless Lifestyle, Unsolved Death,” June 30, 2002.

———. “Slain Man Got Apology Over Tussle With Officer,” June 14, 2002.

———. “Transvestite Found Shot To Death Near Uptown,” June 9, 2002.

Creative Loafing. “Franklin Freeman Autopsy Revealed,” October 16, 2002.

———. “Franklin Freeman Won’t Go Away,” July 17, 2002.

THE SOCIETY SLAYER

Associated Press. “Negro Condemned By Mixed Jury,” September 5, 1949.

Charlotte Observer. “Former Butler Says Struggle Over Gun Cause Of Fatal Shot,” August 3, 1949.

———. “Police Seek Killer In Anderson Slaying Case,” August 2, 1949.

Chester Times. “Former Butler Admits Murder of Socialite,” August 2, 1949.

Daily Times-News. “Gas Snuffs Out Lives Of Three Convicts,” December 9, 1949.

Landmark. “Medlin Formally Indicted In Killing,” August 9, 1949.

———. “Negro Says He Took Gun From Mrs. Anderson,” August 4, 1949.

Statesville Daily Record. “Ex-Butler Arrested In Anderson Murder,” August 2, 1949.

———. “Medlin Accuses Wife In Killing,” August 8, 1949.

———. “Slayer’s Wife Will Be Jailed,” August 3, 1949.

———. “Two Murderers, Burglar Gassed,” December 9, 1949.

SOLVED AFTER FORTY YEARS: THE STARNES CASE

Charlotte Observer. “I Thought I’d Take His Newspaper To Him,” May 23, 1963.

———. “Man And Wife Found Slain At Their Home,” May 23, 1963.

DID THE MILLIONAIRE KILL HIS MISTRESS?

Charlotte News. “251 Bruises Counted On Victim’s Body,” July 5, 1961.

———. “Cutter Renews Building Battle,” June 16, 1962.

———. “Millionaire Faces Hearing In Widow’s Death,” July 5, 1961.

———. “Family, Friends Shocked At Mrs. Nycum’s Death,” July 5, 1961.

Charlotte Observer. “George King Cutter Found Dead At Home,” January 7, 1965.

———. “Falling Boulder Hits Car, Kills Insurer’s Wife,” January 28, 1975.

Greensboro Daily News. “Charlotte Builder George Cutter Slated To Go On Trial Monday In Slaying Woman,” September 10, 1961.

Mecklenburg Times. “Cutter Faces Trial For Life In September,” August 3, 1961.

———. “Cutter’s Case Will Be Given To Grand Jury,” July 27, 1961.

———. “Cutter’s Trial Scheduled For September 11,” August 31, 1961.

———. “Downs To Ask Special Venue In Cutter Case,” August 10, 1961.

———. “George Cutter A Good Inmate,” August 31, 196...

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• The Saga of Benny Mack
• Razor Girl
• The Mausoleum Murder
• Franklin Freeman: Who Killed ReRe?
• The Society Slayer
• Solved After Forty Years: The Starnes Case
• Did the Millionaire Kill His Mistress?
• Outlaws Motorcycle Massacre
• Camp Greene
• Mercy: The Haunted Hospital?
• Palmer Fire School: When Walls Speak
• Ball O’ Fire
• The Crash of Eastern Airlines Flight 212
• The Guthery Goes Up in Flames
• Love’s Pass
• The Charlotte Lounge Fires
• The Second Ward Trolley Disaster
• Civil Rights Bombings: Hatred Explodes
• When a Lynch Mob Ruled Charlotte
• Bibliography
• About the Author