Southern Fried True Crime

On New Year’s day of 2012, 38 year old Shelby Wilkie went missing. She left behind her three month old daughter. Shelby had been planning to leave her abusive husband. Michael Wilkie eventually admitted to burning Shelby’s body, though he insisted he didn’t kill her. He claimed that she committed suicide due to post partum depression. But the blood evidence in their home told a very different story.

Sources :https://www.southernfriedtruecrime.com/45-the-murder-of-shelby-wilkie

US National Domestic Violence Hotline: 800-799-7233
UK Domestic Abuse Hotline: 0808 2000 247
Australia Rape & Domestic Violence Hotline: 800-737-732
Canada: http://thelifelinecanada.ca./help/call/

Episode suggested by Teresa Haynes

Written, hosted, produced by Erica Kelley
Researched by Erica Kelley
Original Graphic Art by Coley Horner
Original Music by Rob Harrison-Gamma Radio

Merch | Donate | In the Media:
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@southfriedtruth (Twitter) @southernfriedtruecrime (Insta)

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From 1994 to 2008, a serial predator terrorized the Greater Nashville area. The Wooded Rapist moved like a ghost, through rainy nights, under the cover of trees, assaulting at least fourteen women before he was finally brought to justice.

Sources: https://www.southernfriedtruecrime.com/44-the-wooded-rapist-robert-jason-burdick

Written, hosted, produced by Erica Kelley
Researched by Erica Kelley
Original Graphic Art by Coley Horner
Original Music by Rob Harrison-Gamma Radio

Merch | Donate | In the Media:
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@southfriedtruth (Twitter) @southernfriedtruecrime (Insta)

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In 2003, a domestic violence case ended in a hostage stand-off at a Bi-Lo grocery store in Greenville, South Carolina. A young mother lost her life and a cognitively impaired young man was sentenced to death.

US National Domestic Violence Hotline: 800-799-7233
UK Domestic Abuse Hotline: 0808 2000 247
Australia Rape & Domestic Violence Hotline: 800-737-732
Canada: http://thelifelinecanada.ca./help/call/

Sources: https://www.southernfriedtruecrime.com/43-hostage-stand-off

Episode Suggested by Ashley Reece

Written, hosted, produced by Erica Kelley
Researched by Erica Kelley
Original Graphic Art by Coley Horner
Original Music by Rob Harrison-Gamma Radio

Merch | Donate | In the Media:
https://southernfriedtruecrime.com

@southfriedtruth (Twitter) @southernfriedtruecrime (Insta)

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In the year 2000, Tracy Fortson was the first female deputy at the Oglethorpe County Sheriff’s Department in Georgia. She filed a sexual harassment claim against the department and then her boyfriend went missing. His body was found, Tracy was charged, but to this day she says she was framed.

Sources: https://www.southernfriedtruecrime.com/42-the-deputy-the-body-builder

Suggested Reading: M. William Phelps: Targeted: A Deputy, Her Love Affairs, A Brutal Murder

Written, hosted, produced by Erica Kelley
Researched by Erica Kelley
Original Graphic Art by Coley Horner
Original Music by Rob Harrison-Gamma Radio

Merch | Donate | In the Media:
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@southfriedtruth (Twitter) @southernfriedtruecrime (Insta)

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Just before Christmas of 1985, a Corpus Christi couple was brutally slain with a hatchet and knife as they slept in their home. A local policeman was charged with the murders. The DA dropped the charges almost two years later due to lack of evidence, though it was a very strong circumstantial case. 34 years later and no other persons of interest have been investigated. #justice4Gillette

If you have any information about this tragic case, please contact the Corpus Christi police department at 361-886-2600.

Sources: https://www.southernfriedtruecrime.com/41-gary-stephanie-gillette

Thank you to Erica and Vincent from gone cold podcast for their generous collaboration with me on this case. If you haven’t checked out their show, please go right now and download the Gillette episodes. They covered this case in long form, with extensive interviews from many people involved.

And a very special thank you to Shea, Kristie and Candace, the daughters of Gary Gillette and stepdaughters of Stephanie Gillette, for trusting me in telling their story.

Written, hosted, produced by Erica Kelley
Researched by Erica Kelley
Original Graphic Art by Coley Horner
Original Music by Rob Harrison of Gamma Radio

Merch | Donate | In the Media:
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@southfriedtruth (Twitter) @southernfriedtruecrime (Insta)

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Known as the “Bitter Blood Murders,” in 1985, first cousins and lovers, Susie Newsom Lynch and Fritz Klenner led police and SBI on a chase that ended in an explosion that killed them and Susie’s two young sons. It was the culmination of a bloody feud that had already left five dead, decimating two prominent families in a Southern Gothic tragedy of Shakespearean proportions.

Sources: https://www.southernfriedtruecrime.com/40-the-bitter-blood-murders

This case was first reported in a series of articles by journalist Jerry Bledsoe, who then researched the families for three years before releasing his #1 New York Times best-selling opus, Bitter Blood: A True Story of Southern Family Pride, Madness, and Multiple Murder

This incredible true crime classic is still in print to this day, as well as available on kindle.

Case suggested by Bridgett Jochum

Written, hosted, produced by Erica Kelley
Researched by Erica Kelley
Original Graphic Art by Coley Horner
Original Music by Rob Harrison-Gamma Radio

Merch | Donate | In the Media:
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@southfriedtruth (Twitter) @southernfriedtruecrime (Insta)

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In a tiny town in Tennessee, a young couple are brutally shot, execution style in their home. Their infant son was still cradled in his dead mother’s arms. Initially police were baffled by the crime, until they uncovered a web of lies and manipulation so bizarre it would catapult the small town into the national spotlight.

Sources: https://www.southernfriedtruecrime.com/39-catfishing-in-mountain-city-tn

Case suggested by Linda Morgan

Suggested Reading: Too Pretty to Live: The Catfishing Murders of East Tennessee by James Brooks

Written, hosted, produced by Erica Kelley
Researched by Erica Kelley
Original Graphic Art by Coley Horner
Original Music by Rob Harrison-Gamma Radio

Merch | Donate | In the Media:
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@southfriedtruth (Twitter) @southernfriedtruecrime (Insta)

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In 1999, a dedicated rookie police officer on the luxury island of Bald Head, North Carolina, is shot in the back of the head while on duty. Emergency officials destroyed the crime scene and all evidence and the DA quickly closed the case, ruling it a suicide. Her family sued in civil court to get the ruling changed to homicide and the case is still open to this day.

Sources: https://www.southernfriedtruecrime.com/38-officer-davina-buff-jones

Suggested Reading: Out With Three: The Murder and Betrayal of Bald Head Island Police Officer Davina Buff Jones

Case suggested by Allie R.

Written, hosted, produced by Erica Kelley
Researched by Erica Kelley
Original Graphic Art by Coley Horner
Original Music by Rob Harrison-Gamma Radio

Merch | Donate | In the Media:
https://southernfriedtruecrime.com

@southfriedtruth (Twitter) @southernfriedtruecrime (Insta)

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A young mother goes on a personal journey and leaves her deadbeat husband. He couldn’t let that happen. And the press disgustingly blamed her for it.

US National Domestic Violence Hotline: 800-799-7233
UK Domestic Abuse Hotline: 0808 2000 247
Australia Rape & Domestic Violence Hotline: 800-737-732
Canada: http://thelifelinecanada.ca./help/call/

Sources: https://www.southernfriedtruecrime.com/37-heather-palumbo-jones

Special thanks to suggested by Lindsey Murphy-Thomas for suggesting this case.

Written, hosted, produced by Erica Kelley
Researched by Erica Kelley
Original Graphic Art by Coley Horner
Original Music by Rob Harrison-Gamma Radio

Merch | Donate | In the Media:
https://southernfriedtruecrime.com

@southfriedtruth (Twitter) @southernfriedtruecrime (Insta)

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Cyntoia Brown was granted clemency by Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam today. To hear Cyntoia's story, check out episode 9 #freeCyntoiaBrown: A Minor Facing Life in Prison.

Sources for the original episode on Cyntoia's case and today's update:
https://www.southernfriedtruecrime.com/9-free-cyntoia-brown

Written, hosted, produced by Erica Kelley
Researched by Erica Kelley
Original Graphic Art by Coley Horner
Original Music by Rob Harrison-Gamma Radio

Merch | Donate | In the Media:
https://southernfriedtruecrime.com

@southfriedtruth (Twitter) @southernfriedtruecrime (Insta)

https://www.facebook.com/southernfriedtruecrime

https://www.youtube.com/southernfriedtruecrime