Last week was a whirlwind of traveling, first to Mendenhall, Mississippi, for an afternoon with Mississippi Authors at the library there…thank you Rhoda Benton for inviting me! From there I drove to Natchez (about 2 hours) and walked downtown, looking for places to hide bodies. 🙂 The above photo is taken at the park across the street from my hotel room. And then I drove back to Jackson where I brainstormed with three other authors. So now I have characters and a plot! Thank you, Janet Ferguson, Pam Hillman, and Stephehia McGee!
The photo to the left is from the Visit Natchez Facebook page of the grounds of Fort Rosalie, which is probably where the first murder will take place.
Natchez is a beautiful old town, probably the second oldest in Mississippi. I didn’t have nearly enough time, so I’ll be returning to Natchez soon and will have more photos!
Now onto last week’s Mystery Question. It’s 1965 and a doctor finds his wife dead, ostensibly of a heart attack. He convinces a colleague to sign off on the thirty-something woman’s death certificate as death due to coronary thrombosis after the husband indicated his wife had chest pains the previous day. Fast forward forty-one days and the husband collects the insurance money and then marries a wealthy socialite. His marriage upsets his lover and she blew the whistle on him, claiming he not only killed his wife but her husband as well–who also supposedly died of a heart attack. The following statements are all true except one. Can you guess which is the one I made up? And can you guess the outcome of the trial?
- After an exhumation of both bodies, the medical examiner can find nothing wrong with the wife’s body, other than a tiny hypodermic puncture mark.
- The lover’s husband shows no signs of a heart attack, instead shows signs of strangulation.
- The husband hires F. Lee Bailey, a famous defense attorney, and the attorney gets him acquitted on the murder charges of the lover’s husband, citing the lack of bruising around the throat.
- F. Lee Bailey successfully argued that both deaths were due to natural causes and the whole episode had been a figment of the lover’s malicious imagination to get back at the accused because he’d spurned her.
- The prosecution argued that as an anesthesiologist, the husband had access to succinylcholine chloride and he knew the drug degrades to other chemicals in the body and is undetectable.
And the one I made up is…#4. F. Lee Bailey wasn’t able to convince a jury that the wife’s death was due to a heart attack, not after the medical examiner testified he found an excessive amount of succinic acid in the wife’s brain, proof she’d received an injection of succinylcholine chloride sometime before her death. Police also discovered before her death, the husband had obtained a considerable amount of succinylcholine chloride from a colleague. One more perfect crime bit the dust. And congrats to all who guessed #4.
Now onto this week’s Mystery Question: This week I’m posting four crimes that have been solved. Of course, I’ve made up one of them. Can you guess which one?
- Two brothers were sentenced to the same minimum security prison and were assigned to the same wing. One week before their early release for good behavior, they got into a fight over a pair of shoes and had to serve their full time.
- A prison escapee is done in by his mother’s obituary when U.S. Marshalls noticed the name of her only son listed and his location.
- A woman arrested for possession of cocaine claims she knew nothing about the drug found in her purse. “It’s a windy day,” she said. “It must have flown through the window and into my purse.”
- A father was arrested, not for putting his gun in his son’s backpack, but because instead of reporting it to the police and having them retrieve the gun, he retrieved it himself.
Okay, Super Sleuths, which crime did I make up? Leave your answers in the comments and I’ll enter you in a drawing for a book from my library.
[tweet_box design=”default” float=”none”]More stupid criminal stories! Which one did I make up? Leave a comment for #bookgiveaway![/tweet_box]
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Comments 46
They all sound far fetch making them probable in this crazy world Lol . I’m going to pick #1 as the false answer. Your trip sounds fantastic, with great views and company :).
Author
Jessica, it was a wonderful trip and I’m already planning the next one, maybe in May. 🙂
That’s awesome, I hope the winds are in your favor:)!
Author
🙂
I want to say #3, but if she was snorting the stuff, that’s probably exactly what she’d say, so I’m going to guess it’s #4 because if the dad retrieved the gun, how’d the police ever find out about it?
Author
Hi Sandra…it might depend on where the dad was when he retrieved it…thanks for stopping by!
I’m going with number 2 because US Marshalls are so busy they might not have enough time to read the obits.
Author
Oh, I didn’t think about that, Priscilla…we’ll see next week if that was the case. 😉
I’m going to guess #4. I’m just picking one!
I’m looking forward to reading my first Patricia Bradley book!
Author
Thank you, Melissa, and welcome to my blog! We’ll see next week what answer I made up. 😉
Ha! That’s funny Sandra!
This is hard, they all sound far-fetched. I’ve read one of these recently in the news. I figure it’s #1 or #4 and since I doubt you’d choose #4 twice, I’ll go w/ #1–a flying leap.
Author
Hmmm, Delores. Are you sure I wouldn’t choose the same number twice? 😉 Thanks for stopping by. Hope you’re dug out by now.
I’m thinking #3 is ridiculous, but someone on cocaine might just make such a statement. #4 is a bit confusing and sounds fabricated.
Author
Hi Suzanne! So glad you’re having trouble deciding. lol Thanks for stopping by.
I wiil pick#1 just because it seems more far-fetched than the others.
Love the photos. This next book will be great!
Author
Hi Paula and thanks for the encouragement! I am working on characters this week and plot…
#4? They all sound…..incredulous.
Author
Mindy, it never ceases to amaze me at how stupid crooks can be. It amazes me that any of these would be true! Thanks for stopping by.
I’m guessing #3. Thanks for sharing these beautiful photos! 🙂
Author
Hi Caryl! My trip was so rushed, I didn’t get to take as many pictures as I needed which is one reason I need to go back soon. Thanks for stopping by!
I’m going to guess #4.
Author
Beth, so you think it’s #4? Well, we’ll see next week! Thanks for stopping by!
#3
Author
Hmmm. I think this is the first pick for #3, MS Barb. We’ll see next week…
Love the photos and know I will love your next book (s)! I think I’ll say #4.
Author
Thanks, Jackie. Once I know my plot, I may come back and ask you all for titles. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
My guess is #1 is false. They all sound so crazy that I kinda believe all of them!!!
Author
Hi Tori! Oh, yeah they all do sound crazy. lol. Thanks for stopping by!
Gracious, Pat! They keep getting harder. I am guessing #1.
Author
So glad you think so, Gloria! We’ll see if you guessed correctly next week!
I blew it last week. Looking back, I must have had a mental lapse and overlooked one word: successfully. Bailey did use that argument but it was unsuccessful in the wife’s case. I think I’m reverting back to simply making wild guesses like I started out doing. I think I got as many right that way as I have when I tried to research the crime. Plus it will be as much fun with a lot less time spent. With that said, I am choosing 1 this time. Another one sounds like it was truly made up but it’s so ridiculous that it’s probably true.
Author
Love it, Edward. You’re another one who might want to try writing…thanks for stopping by!
I’m going to say # 4. It doesn’t even sound like the police knew the gun was in the son’s backpack.
Author
Hi Beverly. Hmmm. We’ll see next week if it’s true or not. Thanks for stopping by!
I am going to guess #1. I think I have heard something like #3 on my favorite TV show “Live PD” when someone was trying to explain drugs found on them. By the way, I read “Life on the Porcelain Edge” on your recommendation. Love it! Thanks for the recommendation.
Author
I’m so glad you enjoyed Life on the Porcelain Edge! And we’ll see if you got the correct answer Tuesday!
Okay, the sad thing is…they all sound possible to me. I’m going to go with #2.
I am going to go with #1. As usual, it is hard to believe people would do any of these things, but I would hope that shoes would not be the downfall of men about to get out of prison!
#4
I will go with #2 although they are all funny! Thanks for showing your pictures! Such a pretty place!
Author
Faith, Natchez is BEAUTIFUL! I’m going back in May and can’t wait! Thanks for stopping by.
Photos are beautiful…Thanks for sharing! My guess is #2.
Author
Thanks, Pam. We’ll see if #2 is the correct incorrect answer Tuesday. 🙂
Okay I’m going to say #1 this week knowing I am probably wrong! All of these could be true 🙂
I read Pam Hillman’s book “The Promise of Breeze Hill” and have an ARC of “The Road to Magnolia Glen” that I will be starting this weekend. They are about the Natchez Trace and I’m wondering if that came up in conversation when you ladies met to brain storm. The pictures you posted here gives me an idea of what the area looks like, how fun! Also, I love the picture of the bridge and steamwheeler boat, reminds me of my hometown in Illinois. We have a casino boat that is a steamwheeler…I love the looks of them. We even took one on a dinner cruise one night; music and good food!
Author
Yes, Pam’s Natchez Trace books came up, Trixi, but we brainstormed a new series for her, one that I’m looking forward to reading. And the steamboat in the photo is the American Queen–it’s the boat I plan to set my cozy on. 🙂