Deadly Secrets: The Lawson Family Murder

Fifty-seven shots in ninety seconds, five people dead, seven others wounded and it all happened inside a courtroom on a cold March day in 1912. Lives and fortunes were lost over what most believe was a senseless tragedy. The echoes of the gunfire have long since disappeared but the wounds left behind in the quaint little town of Hillsville, Virginia have continued to fester. The political drama that led up to the shooting has divided families for generations. Some say the shootout was self-defense, others murder. Many of the questions surrounding that day have yet to be answered. Fifty-Seven shots in ninety seconds. Who fired the first shot? See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy [https://art19.com/privacy] and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info [https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info].

On August 26, 1980, 14-year-old Ronda Blaylock disappeared shortly after leaving her high school. In the days to follow, her family and friends searched for her in the area of her hometown in Rural Hall, North Carolina, hoping to bring her home alive. Shockingly, Ronda’s partially clothed body was found three days later in a town called Pilot Mountain, with deputies saying she’d been raped and brutally stabbed to death. As an appalled community wrapped their minds around the vicious crime, detectives released information on a suspect. The killer, however, remained at large. More than three decades later, a group of seasoned detectives took over the case. Together, they re-examined old evidence, submitted new evidence and reinvented how the case was investigated. Nearly 40 years after her death, all roads led to a 62-year-old man, who was living mere miles away from the sheriffs office. This is Murder in Pilot Mountain: A 40-year Mystery. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy [https://art19.com/privacy] and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info [https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info].

Decades after Charlie Lawson killed his family, people are still drawn to the mystery. Local historians and collectors now search for anything related to the murders and it's lore that followed. Today people are flocking sixteen miles away from the crime scene to the former funeral home that prepared the Lawson family for burial. The building is now museum with odd occurrences that attract the curious and those interested in the paranormal. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy [https://art19.com/privacy] and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info [https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info].

After Charlie Lawson killed seven members of his family and then himself on Christmas Day, 1929 the story began to spread, making headlines around the country. The curious began to descend on the Lawson's tobacco farm and sightseers were known to steal pieces of the property as souvenirs. To control the crowds, and save the farm for the sole surviving son, the family opened it up as a tourist attraction. The gruesome story also made its way into the music world as a hit ballad record in 1930 helping fuel even more interest and lore to this murder mystery. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy [https://art19.com/privacy] and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info [https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info].

Why did a poor North Carolina tobacco farmer kill his wife, six of his kids and himself on Christmas Day, 1929? Despite 90 years of rumors and speculations some family members say they know what was on the heart and mind of Charlie Lawson. Thanks to some recently discovered interviews you'll hear the voices of people who were there that day and those who've kept family secrets for decades See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy [https://art19.com/privacy] and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info [https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info].