United States of True Crime: Alabama

Summary

United States of True Crime is an anthology series devoted to the most disturbing cases in each of the 50 states. This book focuses on ten of the most chilling crimes in Alabama history.

True crime junkies may recognize some of the highly publicized cases, but lesser-known, equally unsettling crimes are also included.

Cases in this book:

Audrey Marie Hilley: Black widow who murdered her husband then attempted to poison her daughter. She evaded capture by posing as her fictional twin sister.

Daniel Lee Siebert: Spree killer that butchered his girlfriend, her two sons, and his friends.

Michael McLendon: To date, McLendon’s massacre in 2019 was the bloodiest in the state of Alabama. He murdered his friends, family, and even his family dogs.

Richard Hawes: A family annihilator in 1888 whose crimes sparked a statewide riot.

Sixteenth Street Church Bombings: Racially motivated attack by KKK members that left four young Black girls dead

Amy Bishop: Harvard educated professor who became infamous after she went on a shooting rampage that left three coworkers dead. However, the attack was not her first time killing.

Joseph Dewey Akin: Code blue junkie nurse who was convicted of intentionally overdosing a patient in his care and is suspected in the deaths of seventeen former patients.

Thomas Whisenhant: Murderer with a pattern of desecrating the bodies of his victims.

Scottsboro Boys: One of the most notorious court cases of the 20th century where two white women falsely accused nine Black boys of rape.

Gerald Patrick Lewis: Serial killer whose heinous crimes include slaying a woman who was eight months pregnant and removing the fetus from her body.