True Crime
My maternal grandfather was murdered on February 25th, 1949. He owned a package store in Greensboro, NC. He was robbed of $38 and then gunned down.
Given the timeframe, I never knew him. I was never given the opportunity. Like he was robbed of $38, I was robbed of knowing the first man my mother ever loved. I heard stories from my mom, her sisters and brothers and the nieces old enough to have known him about what kind of man he was. And he was a kind and generous man, soft spoken and gentle.
$38.
Below are some of the newspaper clippings I’ve found on the trial of the two men who murdered him. There’s more to come.
I said not that long ago that I’d never write another true crime after Unholy Covenant. My reasoning? How can the families of the victim ever move on when there’s books and docuseries and interviews bringing up the loss of their mother, father, sister, brother, wife, husband, child, and it goes on and on.
I’ve given the whole obsession with true crime a lot of thought and come to realize some things: Yes, I will probably write another true crime as long as the story feels right. And by that I mean, like with Unholy Covenant, as long as I can write it in a way that honors the victim rather than exploiting a tragedy, I will.
Radiant in her white satin wedding gown, Patricia Blakley was living a dream come true. At last, she was marrying the man she loved, Ted Kimble—a fellow Christian and son of a local preacher. But little did she realize her new husband had a dark side. Shock waves rocked the small, North Carolina town of Pleasant Garden when Patricia’s charred body was discovered inside the Kimble’s burned-out home. Soon family and friends learned an even worse truth—Patricia had died from a bullet wound to the head. Now, in Unholy Covenant, North Carolina journalist Lynn Chandler-Willis uncovers the story behind the crime. Taking readers from the crime scene to the courtroom, she delivers a passionate account of a crime that forever changed the lives of many in the small North Carolina community.