Why did a poor North Carolina tobacco farmer kill his wife, six of his kids and himself on Christmas Day, 1929?

Christmas Day 1929

On Christmas day, 1929 a rural North Carolina tobacco farmer brutally murdered six of his children, his wife and then killed himself. The horrific crime made the front page of the New York Times. It inspired a hit record and would conjure up rumor and speculation for generations to come. Some say Charlie Lawson just snapped while others believe it may have been centered around a troubled heart. But as brutal and bizarre as the murders were, what followed the funeral has become the stuff of legend. The crime scene became a tourist attraction with bloody photographs being sold as souvenirs. Deadly Secrets, The Lawson Family Murder delves deep into the events ─ with recently discovered interviews from people who were there that day ─ in hopes of finding answers to this 90-year-old murder mystery.

History

Society & Culture

True crime

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.

Introducing 57 Shots in 90 Seconds: The Carroll County Courthouse Shootout

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.

Introducing Murder in Pilot Mountain: A 40 Year Mystery

Today people are flocking sixteen miles away from the crime scene to the former funeral home that prepared the Lawson family for burial.

The Hauntings

The curious began to descend on the Lawson's tobacco farm and sightseers were known to steal pieces of the property as souvenirs

Christmas Day 1929

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