In this episode, we share one of the strangest cases in Ozarks history – the mysterious murder (or was it?) of Connie Franklin. In 1929, a drifter named Connie Franklin arrived in Stone County, Arkansas, only to seemingly meet a violent end. But when a man claiming to be Connie reappeared, the case took a bizarre twist. Was Connie really murdered, or was the whole story a case of mistaken identity? With rumors of murder, deception, and a shocking trial, this tale is full of twists and turns you won’t believe. Tune in as we unravel the mystery of Connie Franklin.
#ozarks #arkansas #history #podcast #truecrime #stonecounty #stonecountyarkansas #mountainview #saintjames #mystery #bizarre
Sources
Wikipedia Contributors. “Murder of Connie Franklin.” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Connie_Franklin
Fletcher, Chenout. "Four Cleared of Slaying Franklin," *Arkansas Gazette*, December 20, 1929
Allen, Deane. "Man at Batesville Identified as Franklin," *Arkansas Democrat*, December 8, 1929
Blevins, Brooks. Ghost of the Ozarks: Murder and Memory in the Upland South. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2012.
Olsson, Carl. “Startling Franklin Case Development Predicted,” *Arkansas Democrat, December 15, 1929
“Connie Franklin Reported Living,” Arkansas Gazette, December 5, 1929
Teske, Steven. Unvarnished Arkansas: The Naked Truth about Nine Famous Arkansans. Little Rock: Butler Center Books, 2012.
“Five Indicted as Climax to Murder Probe,” Arkansas Democrat, November 24, 1929
Lyon College Professor. "Lyon College Professor Researches Mysterious Stone County 'Murder'." Arkansas Democrat, March 3, 2008.
“From Baxter Bulletin Files.” Baxter County History 7 (1981)
“Connie Franklin: The Man who Testified at the Trial for His Own Murder” AKA The Arkansas Ghost Trial. Mystifyingly Missing, True Crime & Thought-provoking Events, Aug 21, 2023. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mystifyingly-missing-true-crime-thought-provoking-events/id1587173256?i=1000625222272.
- Encyclopedia of Arkansas. "Connie Franklin." https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/connie-franklin-5929/.
- Strange Company Blog. "The Arkansas Ghost Trial." http://strangeco.blogspot.com/2014/06/the-arkansas-ghost-trial.html.
- Ancestry.com.
- Findagrave.com.
