True Crime Stories

This is one of those crimes that just seems especially senseless and while we can argue today that domestic issues are not taken as seriously as they should by law enforcement that in the 1980's it was worse. I have blogged about several cases that involved domestic issues in which no matter what the abused (overwhelmingly, although not exclusively women) person tried to do to prevent a tragedy they had been unsuccessful. Now, I will say that nothing in my research necessarily indicated that the adult victim in this case, Angela Clay, had sought help through legal means, that does not necessarily mean law enforcement were not aware or had a duty. Also to be fair I have posted cases before from this era in which I have stated that at least for a time period when it came to domestic violence the laws almost went too far, giving the alleged abused person, more power than they should have as not all cases are always as they seem. It appears today in 2020 we have backed of...

I am surprised that I have never blogged this case as it is one of the first stories I remember seeing when I started watching shows and reading things that involved true crimes decades ago. That being said the part I remembered the most was the fact that the perpetrators had apparently not found all the money they were expecting to find in the home and instead the money was found more than two decades later hidden in the wall of the home. David “Stringbean” Akeman was a man well known in the country music community. At the time of his murder in 1973 he was a regular on the popular television series “Hee Haw” but he had been around for decades. He had obtained his name because while he was an accomplished musician, known for his “old fashioned” style of banjo picking, he was also a comedian. He began going on stage dressed in a long night shirt with a pair of shorts that were held by a belt just above his knees. This made it appear that he had an especially lo...

This is one of those cases in which you have to wonder if someone looked a little deeper, or got there a little faster if lives would not have been saved. A 911 call was made while the murders of a mother and her two teenage boys were happening, by one of the victims. When officers arrived at the scene just five minutes later and did not get an answer when they knocked on the door they determined that it was a “false call” and left the area. Now, either Oscar Franklin Smith was still inside or he had already left, leaving the back door to the home open. This means when the officers arrived they could have possibly caught a killer or at the very least found the back door open which should have caused further investigating. In August of 1985 Oscar “Frank” Smith married Judy Robirds Burnett. Judy had two sons, Chad and Jason from a previous marriage. Frank also had two children from his first marriage who were now living with his parents. The couple settled down in Nashv...