In 1896, the body of 22-year-old Pearl Bryan was found in a frozen Kentucky field—
pregnant, murdered, and beheaded.
Her killers, Scott Jackson and Alonzo Walling, were educated, well-dressed medical students.
Her missing head was never found.
This episode uncovers Pearl’s final days, the lies that lured her into danger, the forensic trail that exposed her killers, and the explosive double execution that shocked America. We examine the rumors of satanic rituals, the courtroom chaos, and the haunting legends that still cling to the Ohio River valley.
More than a murder, this is a case about control, cruelty, and the one question history still can’t answer:
Where is Pearl Bryan’s head?
This is Deadly Truths: Kentucky Bloodlines.
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Deadly Truths is created for educational, historical, and documentary purposes.
The violence described in this episode reflects the documented brutality of the real case.
Nothing is dramatized for entertainment beyond the historical record.
Listener discretion is advised due to graphic historical content.
Primary Sources
Court Records of Commonwealth vs. Scott Jackson & Alonzo Walling (1896–1897)
Hamilton County Coroner’s Reports (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Kentucky State Archives – Fort Thomas Investigation Papers
Contemporary newspaper coverage from:
Cincinnati Enquirer
Louisville Courier-Journal
Indianapolis News
New York World
Witness testimony from the Newport Jail interrogations
Letters between Pearl Bryan and Scott Jackson (entered into trial evidence)
Secondary Sources / Research
Hensley, Mary. The Pearl Bryan Murder Case.
Kentucky Historical Society – “The Headless Mystery of Pearl Bryan”
Talbott, Tim. Kentucky Gruesome Crimes & Trials.
Morehead State University Special Collections
Ohio River Valley Folklore Archives – Pearl Bryan legends & oral histories
Newport History Museum – Execution Records of Jackson & Walling
