The Dixie Mafia & the Vincent & Margaret Sherry Murders: Power, Prison Scams, and Murder on the Mississippi Gulf Coast

Wanda Holloway- The Pom Pom Mom

In January of 1991, a bizarre story out of Channelview, Texas, became a national obsession. Wanda Holloway, a mother from a blue-collar town east of Houston, was accused of trying to hire a hitman to kill the mother of her daughter’s junior high cheerleading rival. But behind the “Pom-Pom Mom” headline was a deeper story about ambition, motherhood, resentment, small-town status, family dysfunction, and the danger of living through your children. In this episode of The Southern Blueprint, we trace Wanda’s life from her upbringing in Channelview, her fixation on her daughter Shanna’s cheerleading dreams, the rivalry with Verna and Amber Heath, the recorded conversations with Terry Harper, the trial, the overturned conviction, and the aftermath that followed. If you enjoy the show and want to support The Southern Blueprint, join us inside The Hidden Pine Lodge on Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/c/TheHiddenPineLodge] for bonus content, Discord access, book club discussions, bird club posts, extra research, and deeper conversations about the stories we cover.

Anne Bonny: Pirate Queen, Pirate Legend

For more exclusive content, bonus episodes, book club discussions, access to our Discord community, The Aviary Bird Club, and behind-the-scenes Southern Blueprint content, join The Hidden Pine Lodge on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/c/TheHiddenPineLodge [https://www.patreon.com/c/TheHiddenPineLodge] Anne Bonny is one of the most famous pirates in history, but she may also be one of the most mysterious. Born in Ireland and raised in colonial South Carolina, Anne Bonny defied nearly every expectation placed upon women in the early 1700s. Drawn into the dangerous world of Caribbean piracy, she left her husband, joined forces with the infamous Calico Jack Rackham, sailed alongside fellow female pirate Mary Read, and became one of the most feared women of the Golden Age of Piracy. In this episode of the Southern Blueprint Podcast, we separate documented history from pirate legend as we explore Anne Bonny's remarkable life. From her childhood in Charleston and the bustling ports of the Atlantic world to Nassau's pirate stronghold, daring raids in the Caribbean, her capture by pirate hunters, and the dramatic trial that sentenced her to death, we follow Anne's story from beginning to end. We also examine the enduring mysteries surrounding her life, including her relationship with Mary Read, the theories surrounding her disappearance after receiving a stay of execution, and the recently discovered Jamaican death record that may finally reveal what happened to one of history's most legendary pirates. Was Anne Bonny truly the ruthless pirate described in eighteenth-century accounts? Did she escape the gallows and return to the Carolinas? Join us as we explore the history, legends, treasure theories, and unanswered questions surrounding Anne Bonny, the Pirate Queen Legend.

The Dixie Mafia & the Vincent & Margaret Sherry Murders: Power, Prison Scams, and Murder on the Mississippi Gulf Coast

On September 14, 1987, Circuit Court Judge Vincent Sherry and his wife, Biloxi city councilwoman Margaret Sherry, were found murdered inside their home on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. At first, the case seemed to point in several directions: local politics, city corruption, organized crime, revenge, or someone from Judge Sherry’s legal past. Margaret had been an outspoken critic of corruption in Biloxi and had told people she was working to expose what was happening inside the city. Vincent, meanwhile, had once practiced criminal defense law and had crossed paths with people connected to the Gulf Coast underworld. But as investigators dug deeper, the case moved away from the obvious and into something stranger: a lonely-hearts scam being run from inside Angola Prison, money moving through a Biloxi law office, and a loose network of criminals often associated with what became known as the Dixie Mafia. In this episode of The Southern Blueprint Podcast, we look at the murders of Vincent and Margaret Sherry, the rise of Kirksey McCord Nix’s prison-based scam operation, the role of Pete Halat, LaRa Sharpe, Mike Gillich, John Ransom, Thomas Leslie Holcomb, and the years-long fight by the Sherry family to uncover the truth. This episode also explores what the Dixie Mafia actually was — not a traditional Mafia family with a formal hierarchy, but a loose Southern criminal network built on favors, fear, corruption, money, silence, and violence. For background and reference, this episode draws in part from Mississippi Mud: Southern Justice and the Dixie Mafia by Edward Humes, along with court records, reporting, and public case summaries. To support the show and for additional episode material, photos, notes, and deeper dives, join The Hidden Pine Lodge [https://www.patreon.com/c/TheHiddenPineLodge], our Patreon community.

Rae Carruth: A Murder Plot, a 911 Call, and a Trunk in Tennessee

On November of 1999, a 24-year-old woman named Cherica Adams made a 911 call from a dark road in Charlotte, North Carolina. She had been shot four times. She was eight months pregnant. And before the call ended, she told police exactly who was responsible. That name was Rae Carruth — a first-round NFL draft pick for the Carolina Panthers. In this episode, we take a step back and look at the full picture — how it all came together, how it fell apart, and what happened in the years that followed. This is one of the most infamous true crime cases in North Carolina history — and one of the darkest moments connected to the NFL. The Hidden Pine Lodge If you want to support the podcast and be part of something a little more hands-on, check out The Hidden Pine Lodge over on Patreon. https://www.patreon.com/c/TheHiddenPineLodge [https://www.patreon.com/c/TheHiddenPineLodge] It’s a growing community built around the same things you hear on the show — hiking, fly fishing, gardening, books, and just getting out and doing something with a little more purpose behind it. You’ll also get access to our private Discord, where we’ve got a book club, bird club, and a place to actually connect with people who are into the same things. It’s $4 a month, and it helps keep the podcast going while building something bigger around it.

The Zack Bowen & Addie Hall Case: Murder in the French Quarter

In October 2006, one of the most disturbing crimes in New Orleans history unfolded in the heart of the French Quarter. Zack Bowen, an Iraq War veteran, and Addie Hall were known throughout the Quarter’s late-night bar scene. Friends described them as inseparable, passionate, and chaotic—two people drawn together by the intensity of post-Katrina New Orleans. But behind the music, the drinking, and the romantic mythology that surrounded them, their relationship was spiraling toward violence. On the night of October 4, 2006, inside a small apartment above a Voodoo shop on North Rampart Street, Zack Bowen strangled Addie Hall to death. What followed shocked even seasoned investigators. In the days after the murder, Bowen dismembered her body, left a written confession inside the apartment, and spray-painted messages across the walls. Twelve days later, after a drug-fueled spiral through the French Quarter, Bowen walked to the roof of the Omni Royal Orleans Hotel and jumped to his death. In this episode of The Southern Blueprint Podcast, we examine the full story behind the Zack Bowen and Addie Hall case—from their first meeting in the Quarter’s bar scene, to the chaos of Hurricane Katrina, to the disturbing confession that revealed what happened inside that apartment. This episode explores the timeline, the investigation, the myths surrounding the case, and the lasting impact the tragedy had on the people who survived it. Topics covered include: * The relationship between Zack Bowen and Addie Hall * Life in the French Quarter after Hurricane Katrina * The events leading up to the October 2006 murder * Bowen’s confession and the crime scene investigation * The suicide at the Omni Royal Orleans Hotel * The aftermath for their families and children If you enjoy deep-dive Southern true crime stories, be sure to subscribe to The Southern Blueprint Podcast and join our Patreon: The Hidden Pine Lodge [https://www.patreon.com/c/TheHiddenPineLodge] for more stories from the history, culture, and darker corners of the South. It's a great way to support the work and the show!