July 17, 1966. Hendersonville, North Carolina. A pair of close friends, 43-year old Vernon Shipman and 36-year old Charles Glass, both go missing and Vernon’s abandoned car is soon found on a dirt road near his residence. Five days later, Vernon and Charles’ bodies are discovered in an isolated area alongside the body of a 61-year old Asheville resident named Louise Davis Shumate and all three victims have been bludgeoned to death. Even though Louise does not appear to have any known connection to Vernon or Charles, multiple witnesses report having seen all three of them inside Vernon’s car with an unidentified man prior to their deaths. Decades later, some investigators express their belief that a deceased criminal named Edward Thompson committed the murders, but there is no conclusive evidence to implicate him. Since Vernon and Charles were both gay men, could the murders have been a hate crime? If not, what was the actual motive and how did Louise become mixed up in the whole situation? On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we explore one of the most bizarre unsolved triple homicides you’ll ever hear about.

If you have any information about this case, please contact the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office at (828) 697-4596.

Additional Reading:

https://hendersonheritage.com/unsolved-triple-murder/

https://www.goupstate.com/story/news/2016/07/18/1966-triple-murder-still-sends-shock-waves-through-hendersonville/4570754007/

https://www.boldlife.com/wild-life/

https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Vernon_Shipman,_Charles_Glass,_and_Louise_Shumate

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“The Trail Went Cold” is going to be appearing on podcast row at “Crimecon” in Nashville on May 31-June 2, 2024 and “Crimecon UK” in London on September 21-22, 2024. To get a 10 % discount on the purchase of tickets to either event, please use our specialized promo code, “COLD24”, by visiting Crimecon.com or Crimecon.co.uk.

“The Trail Went Cold” will be appearing at the True Crime Podcast Festival, taking place at the Denver Marriott Westminster in Colorado on July 12-14, 2024. To get a 15 % discount on tickets, please use our specialized promo code, “TRAIL”, by visiting https://truecrimepodcastfestival.com.

The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.

All music is composed by Vince Nitro.