Graves County: Chapter 1 | Something Stinks

On August 1, 2000, the body of 18-year-old Jessica Currin was found outside of the middle school in Mayfield, KY. Jessica was a new mom and the daughter of a lieutenant with the fire department. Her case would go unsolved for years, until a local homemaker, a British journalist, and a few local girls came forward with a story that law enforcement would use to convict six people – including one man for life. It’s a good story: an ordinary woman helps solve a crime and bring justice to a small town. Maybe too good to be true.

Key figures in this chapter:

Jessica Currin (1981 - 2000): 18-year-old from Mayfield, KY. A new mom and the daughter of a lieutenant with the fire department. 

Susan Galbreath (1960 - 2018): Mayfield, KY homemaker originally from Chicago, IL. Received an “outstanding citizen” award from the Kentucky Attorney General’s office for her help in solving Jessica Currin’s murder.  

Tom Mangold: British investigative reporter who covered Jessica’s murder and helped Susan Galbreath with her citizen investigation. She helped find Victoria Caldwell. 

Victoria Caldwell: Mayfield, KY local who was 15 at the time of Jessica’s death and would end up being the state’s key witness in the trial of her accused killer. She was also convicted as an accomplice to the crime. 

Quincy Cross: A Tennessee man convicted of the kidnapping, rape, and murder of Jessica Currin in a 2008 capital murder trial. Currently serving life in prison without parole. He dated Tamara Caldwell.  

Tamara Caldwell: Mayfield, KY local convicted of manslaughter and abuse of a corpse. She took a plea after Quincy Cross’s 2008 trial. Served almost six years. She is Victoria Caldwell’s cousin.   

Darra Woolman: She leads the "Department of Collaborators" – a group of folks from all walks of life committed to helping people in prison and connecting them with resources. 

For photos and images from this chapter, visit Lava for Good

Graves County is hosted by Maggie Freleng, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and one of the hosts of Lava For Good’s Wrongful Conviction, and is executive produced by Gilbert King. 

New episodes of Bone Valley Season 3 | Graves County are available every Wednesday wherever you get your podcasts. To binge the entire season, ad-free, subscribe to Lava for Good+ on Apple Podcasts.

Graves County is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

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