Gatlinburg, Tennessee, is a mountain resort town known for the beauty of the surrounding Great Smoky Mountains. In the 1980s, however, brutal murders at two local hotels--The Rocky Top Village Inn and the Holiday Inn--would change the area forever and introduce some infamous Gatlinburg ghost stories.

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Sources

• State of Tennessee v. Joseph Charles DeModica (1990)
• State of Tennessee v. Edward Leroy Haris (1992)
• Waxman, L. (1988, August 30). Slaying suspect ‘ready, willing’ to participate, prosecutor says. The Tennessean.
• Guinn, S. (1988, September 1). Woman clarifies murder role. Johnson City Press.
• Guinn, S. (1988, September 2). Life term sentence in deaths. Johnson City Press.
• Alapo, L. (2005, June 3). Man convicted in 1986 motel murders released. The Knoxville News-Sentinel.
• Fowler, B. (2015, September 24). Cellmate indicted in ‘Tattoo Eddie’ slashing death. The Knoxville News-Sentinel.
• Coleman, L. (2015, March 12). Gatlinburg inn killer dies in prison stabbing. The Knoxville News-Sentinel.
• Kauffman, B. (1988, August 31). Inmate says defendant admitted being ‘lookout’ as 2 murdered. The Knoxville News-Sentinel.
• Thomas, L.R. (1987, December 13). One of 4 linked to resort slaying still at large. The Knoxville News-Sentinel.
• Thomas, L.R. (1988, March 19). Woman says she’ll wed slaying suspect. The Knoxville News-Sentinel.
• Thomas, L.R. (1987, December 18). Sevier suspect says arrest a surprise. The Knoxville News-Sentinel.
• Veal, K.F. (1986, September 15). 2 Gatlinburg workers slain. The Knoxville News-Sentinel.
• Thomas, L.R. (1988, May 14). ‘Tattoo Eddie’ gets death. The Knoxville News-Sentinel.
• Dockery, B. (1998, November 23). Defendant in Rocky Top slaying gets life plus 40 years. The Knoxville News-Sentinel.
• Shafer, S. (1980, July 31). 2 girls strangled during trip to Smokies ‘had zest for life.’ The Courier-Journal.
• Sybil McLain-Topel (2017). https://www.facebook.com/artsouthnow/posts/this-is-what-happened-monday-convicted-killer-hughes-up-for-parole-for-1980-teen/1663184380657799/
• City Confidential – S2E19 – Smoky Mountain
• Findagrave – Melissa Yvonne “Missie” Suttles Hill
• Findagrave – Troy Dale Valentine
• https://gatlinburghaunts.com/rocky-top-village-inn/
• https://www.smokyvistas.com/a-brief-history-of-gatlinburg/

18-year-olds Melissa Chilton and Tiffany Campbell were young, beautiful girls with their whole lives ahead of them until the wrong person walked into the Exotic Tan for Men.

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Sources

• Highland, D. (1996, February 23). Two teen-age employees of tanning salon slain. The Tennessean.
• Moore, L.A. (1996, February 24). Youth, hope die on the wild side. The Tennessean.
• Moore, L.A. (1996, February 27). Police say slain dancers possibly knew assailant. The Tennessean.
• CrimeStoppers. (1997, July 9). Exotic Tan slayings clues worth $1,000. The Tennessean.
• Campos, A. (2002, March 29). Man held in spree was Jesuit coach. The Sacramento Bee.
• Wilson, W. (2002, April 19). Guilty plea in robberies. The Sacramento Bee.
• Ritter, F. (2006, February 21). Mom will pay for info in her slain daughter’s ‘cold case.’ The Tennessean.
• Hass, B. (2013, February 23). Ex-football star charged in cold case. The Knoxville News-Sentinel.
• Barchenger, S. (2015, August 28). After 19 years, mothers will face suspect in daughters’ slayings. The Tennessean.
• Barchenger, S. (2016, July 11). Judge denies lower bond in tanning bed slayings case. The Tennessean.
• Barchenger, S. (2017, March 16). Man charged in 1996 deaths argues for case’s dismissal. The Tennessean.
• Tamburin, A. (2017, November 30). Suspect in 1996 tanning bed killings will be released on bond. The Tennessean.
• Artnfield, M. (2018). Monster City: Murder, music, and mayhem in Nashville’s dark age. Little A.
• Snopes – Tanning Bed Death. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/brown-betty/
• The Kentucky Bordello Murders - https://unsolved.com/gallery/candy-belt-gloria-ross/

Tom Steeples has been charged with the murders of Ronnie Bingham, Robb Phillips, and Kelli Phillips. Could he also be the missing link to a cold case from 1992?

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Sources

• Callow, J. (1992, October 26). MTSU coed murdered in Georgia. The Daily News-Journal.
• Nociti, J. (1992, October 27). Woman beaten to death. Stewart-Houston Times.
• Loupe, D. (1992, October 29). Town shocked by coed’s slaying here. The Atlanta Journal.
• Cannon, A. (1992, December 20). Career, personal life crashes with beating. The Daily News-Journal.
• Cannon, A. (1993, January 17). Scholarships honor slain student. The Daily News-Journal.
• Cannon, A. (1994, February 27). Murder reward $10,000. The Daily News-Journal.
• Cannon, A. (1994, April 28). TV show gets response on student murder. The Daily News-Journal.

• Schmitt, B., & Thomas, S. (1994, May 29). Steeples’ past reveals evidence of troubled life. The Tennessean.

• Cannon, A. (1994, June 8). Victim’s fiancé asks to see pic. The Daily News-Journal.

  Cannon, A. (1994, June 11). Victim’s fiancé can’t see lineup. The Daily News-Journal.

• Tran, T., & Sidime, A. (1994, August 12). Police trace downfall of a killer ego. The Tennessean.
• Hobbs, B. (1994, August 20). Steeples died of cocaine overdose. The Tennessean.
• Cannon, A. (1997, April 26). Ex-student killed in S. Africa wreck. The Daily News-Journal.
• Alligood, L. (2002, November 17). Mt. Juliet office called front for massive scam. The Tennessean.
• Miller, M. (2003, January 24). The Rabi and Steeples fraud show. Law.com.
• State of Tennessee v. Tillie Ruth Steeples
• Heather Uffelman Obituary
• Unsolved Mysteries – Tom Johnson - https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Tom_Johnson

• FindaGrave.com - Jeremy Andrew Rolfs
• FindaGrave.com - Heather Roxanne Uffelman
• SEC Complaint: https://www.sec.gov/litigation/complaints/comp17835.htm

A popular bar owner is found dead in his burned-down bar. Months later, a young couple moved from California to pursue their dreams in Nashville but met foul play on their first night. Could a man the couple met at a bar be the connection between both of these cases?

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And check out our website (it's a work in progress): itsmurderyall.com

Sources

• Artnfield, M. (2018). Monster city: Murder, music, and mayhem in Nashville's dark age. Little A.
• Deadly Recall - S1 Ep 4 - Closing Time
• Dead of Night - S1 Ep 7 - I Die to Pieces
• FindaGrave.com - Ronald Edward "Ducas" Bingham
• Tran, T. (1993, October 18). Body found after suspicious fire. The Tennessean.
• Cornell, T. (1993, October 23). Arson, murder believed to be debt cover-up. The Tennessean.
• FindaGrave.com - Robert William "Robbie" Phillips
• FindaGrave.com - Kelli Jean Gifford Phillips
• Hicks, D. (1994, March 11). Police close in on suspect in homicides. North Country Times.
• Schmitt, B., & Thomas, S. (1994, May 29). Steeples' past reveals evidence of troubled life. The Tennessean.
• Thomas, S. (1994, June 5). Seeking truth to insanity: Mother left with questions. The Tennessean.
• Loggins, K. (1994, August 12). TV tipped woman to flee Steeples' room. The Tennessean.
• Leanna Shoulders - The Cinemaholic - The Cinemaholic - https://thecinemaholic.com/leanna-shoulders-murder-where-are-emmanuel-edwards-and-jason-clark-now/

• Cornell, T. (1993, April 4). Motel's plan originally included bulletproof glass. The Tennessean.
• Thien, M. (1993, April 6). 4 youths held in slaying. The Tennessean.
• State v. Fernandez - January 14, 1998 - https://casetext.com/case/state-v-fernandez-65

In 1999, George Strait and Alan Jackson released their song, "Murder on Music Row." While the song reflected a critique of mainstream country music, the opening lyrics (Nobody saw him running from Sixteenth Avenue. They never found the fingerprint or the weapon that was used...) were an eerie reminder of the real murder on Music Row--the 1989 unsolved murder of Kevin Hughes. Join us as we discuss who it was running away from Sixteenth Avenue.

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And check out our website (it's a work-in-progress): itsmurderyall.com

Sources

• Cold Case Files - The Hitmaker
• CourtTV – A Hit With a Bullet
• Unsolved Mysteries - https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Kevin_Hughes
• Artnfield, M. (2018). Monster city: Murder, music, and mayhem in Nashville's dark age. Little A.
• Richard Frank D'Antonio v. State of Tennessee (2012)
• Wissner, S., Goldsmith, T., & Oermann, R.K. (1989, April 9). Chart fraud hinted in Music Row slaying. The Tennessean.
• Patterson, J. (2003, November 24). Witnesses cite despite over ‘Cash Box’ chart. The Tennessean.

• Simbeck, R. (2002, August 8). With a bullet. Nashville Scene. https://www.nashvillescene.com/news/with-a-bullet/article_13e59932-25b7-5c66-bcf0- 0502031c8e9d.html
• ABC News. (2006, January 6). The dark side of Nashville's music business.
• Wikipedia - Cashbox (magazine)

In this episode, we discuss the case that robbed country music of its innocence.

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And check out our website (still working on getting it updated): itsmurderyall.com

Sources

• Hagood, T. (2023). Stringbean: The life and murder of a country music legend. University of Illinois Press.
• Hall, D. (1974, October 30). Opry star recounts discovery of bodies. The Tennessean.
• Hall, D. (1974, October 31). Others involved in Akeman case? The Tennessean.
• Hall, D. (1974, November 2). Told she begged, Brown kin says. The Tennessean.
• Hall, D. (1974, November 3). Browns guilty, get 99-year terms. The Tennessean.
• Lewis, D. (1974, November 5). John Brown discusses slayings. The Tennessean.
• Paulson, D. (2019, August 26). How the Grand Ole Opry put country music (and Nashville) on the map. The Tennessean.
• Benitez-Eves, T. (2022, December 1). 5 country artists who were banned from the Grand Ole Opry. American Songwriter. https://americansongwriter.com/5-country-artists-who-were-banned-from-the-grand-ole-opry/
• Brown, L. (2022, December 29). Looking back at the rushed 1997 closure of Opryland USA. Nashville Scene. https://www.nashvillescene.com/news/coverstory/looking-back-at-the-rushed-1997-closure-of-opryland-usa/article_5cad5fc4-8215-11ed-a845-1f29bb40b636.html
• Taylor, T. (2023, August 12). David ‘Stringbean’ Akeman: The curious assassination of a country banjo player. Far Out. https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/david-stringbean-akeman-the-curious-assassination-of-a-country-banjo-player/
• Cooper, P. (2023, November 10). How the 1973 Tennessee murder of David ‘Stringbean’ Akeman brought fear to Nashville. The Tennessean.
• Paul, S. (2023, November 10). 50 years ago: Opry legend Stringbean Akeman is murdered. Savingcountrymusic.com.

This week's case takes us back over 70 years to discuss a case that involves a love triangle (or maybe a love hexagon?), some questionable life choices, and a heaping spoonful of backwoods "justice."

Episode Correction: I misspoke about when Judge Andrews retired--it was October 30, not April 30!!

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And check out our website (currently trying to get it updated): itsmurderyall.com

Sources

• Shout out to Crime Junkie, Bubba Shot the Podcast, and Bobby Russell (RIP).
• Haralson County Historical Society - https://www.haralsoncountyhistory.com/
• Wikipedia - M. Neil Andrews - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M._Neil_Andrews
• Wikipedia - William Boyd Sloan - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Boyd_Sloan

In this edition of our Black & Missing series, we discuss the disappearances of Ebonee Spears (Wilmington), Priti "Ashley" Porter (Gastonia), and Samatha Baremore (Winston-Salem), and also give a brief history lesson on the Wilmington Massacre of 1898.

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We now have a website: itsmurderyall.com

Sources

The Wilmington Massacre

• Wikipedia – Wilmington, NC
• Wikipedia – Wilmington Massacre
• The Equal Justice Initiative - ⁠https://eji.org/news/wilmington-massacre-of-1898/⁠
• NPR - ⁠https://www.npr.org/2021/11/10/1053562371/1898-wilmington-coup-massacre⁠

Ebonee Spears

• The Vanished Podcast. (2019, June 24). Ep. 181 Ebonee Spears.
• The Charley Project – Ebonee Shanetta Spears
• Reid, K. (2024, February 24). Mother determined to find missing North Carolina woman Ebonee Spears, eight years after her mysterious disappearance. NBCNews. ⁠https://www.nbcnews.com/dateline/cold-case-spotlight/mother-determined-find-missing-north-carolina-woman-ebonee-spears-eigh-rcna140327⁠
• NIH: ⁠https://www.niams.nih.gov/health-topics/lupus#:~:text=Lupus%20occurs%20when%20the%20immune,circulating%20blood%20cells%2C%20and%20brain⁠

Priti "Ashley" Porter

• The Charley Project - Priti Ashley Porter
• Lawson, A. (2017, April 27). 8 years, no answers for missing woman. Gaston Gazette.

Samatha Baremore

• The Charley Project - Samatha Elizabeth Baremore
• Wilson, P. (2006, June 8). A mother’s instincts: ‘She’s no longer here.’ Winston-Salem Journal.