Duels were common in America until the end of the Civil War. They were most common in the south where the slightest offense could result in a challenge with duelists following a “polite” code of honor.
alabama
Episode 92 Taunted by a Killer: The Murder of Shari Faye Smith and Debra May Helmick
In the summer of 1985, 17 year old Shari Faye Smith and 9 year old Debra May Helmick were kidnapped and murdered in neighboring South Carolina counties. Their killer taunted police and the Smith Family for weeks. In the end, a piece of evidence Shari Smith left behind, led police to her killer.
Episode 91 Viola Hyatt and the Alabama Torso Murders
In June 1959, the discovery of two dismembered torsos terrified residents in North Alabama. The unknown victims were dubbed Mr. X and Mr. Y until a tip led investigators to a farm where they met the woman behind one of Alabama’s grisliest crimes
Episode 83 Alabama’s Shocking Cesspool Murders
20 year old Herbert Hoover Gentry was the first deaf person in Alabama to be tried on a capital offense with an interpreter in the courtroom. Gentry was accused of killing his wife and her best friend after their bodies were discovered in a cesspool
Episode 74 The Sin City Murder of Albert Patterson
In 1954, Albert Patterson campaigned as a “man against crime”, vowing he would run the mob out of Phenix City Alabama if he won the race for Alabama Attorney General. Within days of winning, Patterson was assassinated in Phenix City, which had been labelled the “Wickedest City in America”.