The Laurel Creek Murders

Moonshine Murder in the Dark Corner

Mountain folk have a code all their own. In the winter of 1924, deep inside South Carolina’s infamous “Dark Corner,” a prohibition agent and a volunteer constable closed in on a moonshine still at the foot of Hogback Mountain. What happened next would leave one man dead, two families shattered, and a mountain code put to the test in a courtroom. This is the story of betrayal, loyalty, and a father and son sentenced to die. Companion Substack Article [https://blueridgetruecrime.substack.com/p/a-moonshine-murder-in-the-dark-corner] * A full timeline of the crime, trial, and appeals * Sources and documents * Images Find everything: all episodes, articles, and videos at: https://blueridgetruecrime.com/ [https://blueridgetruecrime.com/] Direct Links: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Blue Ridge True Crime Substack⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://blueridgetruecrime.substack.com/]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.youtube.com/@BlueRidgeTrueCrime-op7qe] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Blue Ridge True Crime YouTube Channel⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.youtube.com/@BlueRidgeTrueCrime-op7qe]

Death in Briar Bottom: A 1972 Shooting in Yancey County

In 1972, 25 young people camped in the North Carolina mountains on their way to see The Rolling Stones. Sheriff Kermit Banks and six deputies arrived with shotguns. Within minutes, 20-year-old Stanley Aultman was dead. No officer was ever charged. Historian Tim Silver joins us to break down the evidence, the cover-up, and why this forgotten case still matters. YouTube Video: Death in Briar Bottom [https://youtu.be/0AA3r-63RZQ?si=wGatiDCKeZwomw48] Death in Briar Bottom: The True Story of Hippies, Mountain Lawmen, and the Search for Justice in the Early 1970s by Timothy Silver [https://www.amazon.com/Death-Briar-Bottom-Hippies-Mountain/dp/B0DNNRRVRB] Find everything: all episodes, articles, and videos at: https://blueridgetruecrime.com/ [https://blueridgetruecrime.com/] Direct Links: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Blue Ridge True Crime Substack⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://blueridgetruecrime.substack.com/]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.youtube.com/@BlueRidgeTrueCrime-op7qe] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Blue Ridge True Crime YouTube Channel⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.youtube.com/@BlueRidgeTrueCrime-op7qe]

The Appalachian Trail Double Murder in Virginia

In May 2008, two lifelong friends, Scott Johnston and Sean Farmer, headed into the woods of Giles County, Virginia, for a simple fishing trip. They met a friendly stranger named “Ricky” and shared dinner by a campfire. But within hours, they were fighting for their lives, bleeding from gunshot wounds, and navigating a dark mountain road with one man steering from the passenger seat and the other working the pedals. This wasn’t the killer’s first time on the trail. Nearly three decades earlier, the same man committed the first documented double homicide on the Appalachian Trail, murdering two hikers from Maine. In this episode, we unpack both crimes, discuss the bizarre handwritten note that broke the case, and ride along on the frantic escape down Brushy Mountain. Check out the companion Substack article for this episode. Click Here [https://blueridgetruecrime.substack.com/p/the-appalachian-trail-double-murder?r=fddb7] Find everything: all episodes, articles, and videos at: https://blueridgetruecrime.com/ [https://blueridgetruecrime.com/] Direct Links: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Blue Ridge True Crime Substack⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://blueridgetruecrime.substack.com/]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.youtube.com/@BlueRidgeTrueCrime-op7qe] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Blue Ridge True Crime YouTube Channel⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.youtube.com/@BlueRidgeTrueCrime-op7qe]

The Laurel Creek Murders

In September 1909, six members of the Meadows family, including three young children, were murdered with an axe and a gun in their remote Virginia log cabin, which was then set on fire. Forty days later and eighty miles away, four members of the Hood family were killed in nearly identical fashion near Beckley, West Virginia. Was Howard Little, a convicted murderer with a questionable pardon, responsible for the Laurel Creek killings? Or did a drifting serial killer known as the "Man from the Train" strike twice and then disappear? In this episode, we examine the fragmentary newspaper accounts, the role of the Baldwin-Felts Detective Agency, the trial of Howard Little, and an eerie coincidence of gravestones. Links Robert Baker’s Laurel Creek Murders Page [https://www.oocities.org/rmbaker66/jstsmrdr.html] Betty Justus Grave [https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/240825835/elizabeth_betsy_justus] George Hood Grave [https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/64274136/george_washington-hood] Explore More Content ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Blue Ridge True Crime Substack⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://blueridgetruecrime.substack.com/]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.youtube.com/@BlueRidgeTrueCrime-op7qe] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Blue Ridge True Crime YouTube Channel⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.youtube.com/@BlueRidgeTrueCrime-op7qe]

The Dead Man at Low Gap Shelter

In May 1974, 17-year-old Margaret Harritt set out on the Appalachian Trail with a friend, hoping for an adventure. Days later, she found herself tied to a tree, watching a stranger named Ralph decide her fate. This episode traces the harrowing story of a hike that turned into a nightmare, and the investigation that finally brought a killer to justice. Podcast Sources "The Stranger in the Shelter" by Earl Swift, Outside Magazine, November 5, 2018 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Blue Ridge True Crime Sources & Links⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://blueridgetruecrime.com/category/sources-links/] Explore More Content ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Blue Ridge True Crime Substack⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://blueridgetruecrime.substack.com/]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.youtube.com/@BlueRidgeTrueCrime-op7qe] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Blue Ridge True Crime YouTube Channel⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.youtube.com/@BlueRidgeTrueCrime-op7qe]