In 1912, 18-year-old Ella Barham left her family’s farm near Pleasant Ridge, Arkansas, on an ordinary errand and never came home. Her brutal murder shocked Boone County and led authorities to a neighbor accused of killing her after years of rejected romantic interest. More than a century later, Ella Barham’s murder remains one of Arkansas’ darkest and most troubling true crime stories.
💌 Join the Community on Patreon
Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries
Episode Sources
- Gould, Nita. Remembering Ella: A 1912 Murder and Mystery in the Arkansas Ozarks. Butler Center Books / University of Arkansas Press, 2018. (rememberingella.com)
- Barham, Ella (Murder of) – Encyclopedia of Arkansas
- Gould, Nita, ed. The 1913 Trial of Odus Davidson: The Official Witness Testimony. Companion volume to Remembering Ella.
- Encyclopedia of Arkansas — ‘Barham, Ella (Murder of)’ (encyclopediaofarkansas.net)
- Encyclopedia of Arkansas — ‘Davidson, Odus’ (encyclopediaofarkansas.net)
- Find a Grave — Ella Lillian Ethel Barham (memorial #40832262)
- Find a Grave — Odus Davidson (memorial #31134642)
- Arkansas Democrat-Gazette — ‘The verdict: Guilty of murder’ (review of Remembering Ella by Tom Dillard, December 9, 2018)
- AY Magazine — ‘Murder Mystery: In Memoriam: Ella Barham’ (aymag.com)
- Case file: State v. Davidson, No. 183 (Ark. Cir. Ct. 1913). Boone County Circuit Clerk’s Office, Boone County Courthouse, Harrison, Arkansas.
- Case file: Davidson v. State, 108 Ark. 158, S.W. 1103 (1913). University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law / Pulaski County Law Library, Little Rock, Arkansas.
- Boone County Court Record Book L, County Clerk’s Office, Boone County Courthouse, Harrison, Arkansas.
- Lead Hill, Arkansas newspaper, November 22, 1912 — first published account of the murder (via Chronicling America, Library of Congress, loc.gov)
- Batesville Daily Guard — editorial on circumstantial evidence and the Davidson verdict
- Shiloh Museum of Ozark History — ‘Scenes of Boone County’ (shilohmuseum.org)
Episode Music
Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.