FILE 250 / 17 November 2021 / 164 MIN / full

Shocking Backwoods Brutality

, West VirginiaListen

The town

N ↑Town centre (approximate places)
Static locations; no street basemap. Places and details. OpenFreeMap © OpenMapTiles Data from OpenStreetMap.

"We are going to , West Virginia"; it is in south-western West Virginia, "in Mingo County, which is named Bloody Mingo". about 0:04:56

History, in brief

Town note

The community was named after William Anderson , a pioneer settler.

about 0:06:52

1894

As of 1894 had two hotels, eight boarding houses, four restaurants, four groceries, four sawmills, and a school with two teachers and about a hundred students.

about 0:07:07

Town note

133 coal miners lived in at that point.

about 0:07:58

Town note

The community garnered a reputation for being completely lawless.

about 0:08:03
All 15 history facts

Town note

The community was named after William Anderson , a pioneer settler.

about 0:06:52

1894

As of 1894 had two hotels, eight boarding houses, four restaurants, four groceries, four sawmills, and a school with two teachers and about a hundred students.

about 0:07:07

Town note

133 coal miners lived in at that point.

about 0:07:58

Town note

The community garnered a reputation for being completely lawless.

about 0:08:03

Town note

A book called They'll Cut Off Your Project quoted old timers saying it was a common practice to have a killing once a month.

about 0:08:32

Town note

A black writer, Uncle Jim Markham, described how a coloured person could not ride through : they would stop the train, take him off and shoot him, and nobody would say a word.

about 0:08:51

1970

From 1970 to 1972 about 17 police and lawmen of different types were shot to death in this area, which stretches 15 miles up the creek.

about 0:09:28

1901

In 1901 robbers raided the whole community and dynamited a large safe; according to the Bluefield Daily Telegraph of November 23rd, 1901, citizens opened fire and about 40 shots were exchanged.

about 0:10:42

Town note

The burglars escaped on a hand car with jewellery; it was recovered about four miles from with blood spots all over it.

about 0:11:07

1892

The 3,327-foot tunnel south of town was built by Italian immigrants and opened for rail traffic in 1892; it has carried one lane of vehicular traffic since the mid-1900s.

about 0:12:09

Town note

Chinese emigrants were brought in to build part of the tunnel, and locals resented what they called the influx of foreign people.

about 0:12:55

Town note

Roving bands of angry locals waited at the tunnel entrances with guns and shot people; there are no official records, but estimates say hundreds were killed and rolled into the creek.

about 0:13:30

1898

In 1898 a fatal train wreck in the tunnel killed seven people.

about 0:13:59

1905

In 1905 a head-on collision between a fully loaded freight train and a work train with people on it killed three people.

about 0:14:44

2016

In 2016 Mingo County was described as one of the places in America most touched by opioids.

about 0:14:50

The figures, as told

Religious

28%

Biggest faith: Baptist, 11%

about 0:20:24

Who lives here

White 100%

Ethnicity can overlap race.

Crime / national average

Property crime
▼ about half

about 0:26:12

Violent crime
▼ about 25% under

about 0:26:25

Money

Median home value$61,500
Two-bedroom rent$700
Median household income$28,949
Cost of living75 out of a hundred

For sale

$59,000

Three-bedroom two-bath house, 2,520 square feet on six acres

about 0:22:39

For sale

$189,000

Three-bedroom one-bath house, 900 square feet on 77.7 acres near Ranger

about 0:23:15

For sale

$100,000

Five-bedroom two-bath house, 3,000 square feet on half an acre

about 0:23:56
All figures and comparisons, as told in 2021

Property crime

"about half"

Comparison: "national average". Direction: below.

As told in 2021 about 0:26:12

Violent crime

"about 25% under"

Comparison: "national average". Direction: below.

As told in 2021 about 0:26:25

Population

"1,196"

No direction stated.

As told in 2021 about 0:19:09

Population change

"down 38%"

Comparison: "since 2000". Direction: below.

As told in 2021 about 0:19:13

Median age

"about 38 and a half"

Direction: below.

As told in 2021 about 0:19:25

Married population

"64%"

Comparison: "normally 50-50". No direction stated.

As told in 2021 about 0:19:48

White population

"100%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2021 about 0:20:04

Unemployment rate

"almost 10%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2021 about 0:20:56

People making under $15,000 a year

"23%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2021 about 0:20:58

Median household income

"$28,949"

Comparison: "$57,000 and a half in the rest of the country". Direction: below.

As told in 2021 about 0:21:09

Religious population

"28%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2021 about 0:20:24

Cost of living index

"75 out of a hundred"

No direction stated.

As told in 2021 about 0:21:20

Housing index

"26.6 out of a hundred"

No direction stated.

As told in 2021 about 0:21:22

Median home cost

"$61,500"

No direction stated.

As told in 2021 about 0:21:26

Median home cost

"$291"

Comparison: "rest of the country". No direction stated.

As told in 2021 about 0:21:30

Two-bedroom rental

"$700"

Comparison: "very low". Direction: below.

As told in 2021 about 0:21:50

Three-bedroom two-bath house, 2,520 square feet on six acres

"$59,000"

No direction stated.

As told in 2021 about 0:22:39

Three-bedroom one-bath house, 900 square feet on 77.7 acres near Ranger

"$189,000"

No direction stated.

As told in 2021 about 0:23:15

Five-bedroom two-bath house, 3,000 square feet on half an acre

"$100,000"

No direction stated.

As told in 2021 about 0:23:56

The reviews

3.2 / 5 · average of 5

5 stars

“Beautiful nature and trail riding, friendly folks, the simple life and good cooking.”
about 0:16:07

4 stars

“Mingo County has always been the writer's home and the town can leave a big impact; everybody knows everybody, visitors learn how things are done, and the only downfall is how the town is treated; the writer wishes it were livelier and a home away from home.”
about 0:16:37

3 stars

“The area feels safe because there are no gangs, the police are around, and there is little crime other than drunk driving and not wearing a seat belt.”
about 0:18:09

3 stars

“Businesses are mainly gas stations and convenience stores, there is no variety, prices are not low, and shopping online is better.”
about 0:18:35

1 star

“Employment is almost zero; the coal mines are all there is and they are about to suffer because of the carbon tax, from a 2014 review.”
about 0:18:51

In West Virginia

Closest episodes

  1. When Stupid People KillRaccoon, Kentucky · 12 May 202248 km / 30 miShow on map
  2. Horror In The HillsHensley, West Virginia · 3 December 202261 km / 38 miShow on map
  3. Hitchhiking Was Never SafeDunbar, West Virginia · 28 March 201967 km / 42 miShow on map
  4. A Bloody MessNitro, West Virginia · 26 September 201868 km / 42 miShow on map
  5. The Missing Blood MysteryGrayson, Kentucky · 8 November 202284 km / 52 miShow on map

The story

Mingo County, nicknamed Bloody Mingo, was described in 2016 as one of the places in America most touched by opioids.

The five raped her. One of them fetched a two-by-four from a picnic table, a length of wood with nails sticking out of it, and they passed it around, taking turns. She was struck on the torso at least nineteen times, suffering three broken ribs, and then at least nine times on the head. Every bone in her skull was fractured, her upper and lower jaws were broken, and the force drove her brain forward hard enough to fracture her skull from the inside and cut her face. She was still alive. They strangled her with shoelaces, tied her hands behind her back, and dumped her in a pond at Messenger Hollow.

Her naked body was found in the shallow grave, wearing only socks, with one ear missing and a shoelace around her neck. The medical examiner gave the cause of death as multiple blunt force injuries to the head, torso and back, with ligature strangulation and drowning as contributory factors. A burned-out car found a couple of miles away was quickly linked to her. State police took over from the local force, and a two-by-four with nails in it was recovered at Messenger Hollow, along with some of her jewellery at the cemetery.

Justice Spike Maynard dissented, calling the facts among the most horrible he had read.

The bonus story moves to Sand Lick, an unincorporated community in Mercer County on Sandlick Creek, north of Bluefield, which has never been included in a census. Parsons announced that he wanted to buy a gun to shoot Terry Thomas, who he believed was sleeping with his ex-wife, Kathy. Mason's store in south-west Virginia did not have the small boot gun he wanted, so they went to Joe Dolin's home, where Parsons bought a .32-caliber pistol and shells for ninety dollars. Back at the Timberwolf they met Paul Kirk, Robert Kirk and Randy Thomas. Parsons talked Paul Kirk into driving him to Whitesville to buy his ex-wife a present: a stereo and four kitchen chairs. They bought the furniture, then spent the day drinking at Richard Jean Adkins's house from about noon until 7.30 in the evening. Then the five drove to Kathy Parsons's trailer at the Sandlick Trailer Park. She did not want the gifts. He showed her the gun and told her he was going to shoot Terry Thomas; she called him a chicken, and he shot her in the nose, later saying he did not think the gun was loaded. She died several days later.

He offered to show the deputy where the gun was hidden if the handcuffs came off and he got a cigarette, and the deputy let him walk back into the trailer, over his wife's body, lift the mattress and hand over the pistol.

The case

Murder of Wanda Lesher

Victims

Wanda Lesher (41). mother of children, last seen drinking at a local bar in ; raped, beaten, strangled and drowned

Accused and outcomes

As told in the episode, on 17 November 2021.

Accused

Accused

Accused

Accused

Accused

Outcome

Other people

Doug Sparks. drinking with Lesher, and at the bar; last saw the three leave together
Michael Thornsbury. judge in case, later sued by him
Michael Sparks. prosecuting attorney, later sued by
Jim Gilliam. investigator named in civil suit
Jane Doe. child protective services worker who wrote the 1987 report about the sister
Carlos Tomblin. with in the 1994 theft of a state police cruiser

The timeline

  1. 1974 infant brother Sammy dies, and his twin sister Tammy dies the next dayabout 0:45:41
  2. 1994 , 23, and Carlos Tomblin, 22, steal a state police cruiser while handcuffed and are rearrested in Logan Countyabout 0:48:21
  3. August 31st, 2002 Wanda Lesher, 41, goes to a local bar, where she meets , and Doug Sparksabout 0:49:30
  4. August 31st, 2002, night Lesher leaves the bar with and in her car, giving them a rideabout 0:51:39
  5. September 1st, 2002, early hours They drive up a mountain road to Canterbury Cemetery, where , and arrive in pickup (Canterbury Cemetery)about 0:52:23
  6. September 1st, 2002, early hours All five rape Lesher, then take turns beating her with a two-by-four taken from a picnic table (Canterbury Cemetery)about 0:56:44
  7. September 1st, 2002, early hours Still alive, she is dumped in a pond at Messenger Hollow and dragged out again when the water is too shallow (Pond at Messenger Hollow)about 0:59:16
  8. September 1st, 2002, early hours She is put in pickup, her car is burned, and she is buried in a shallow grave covered with sticks and branches (Messenger Hollow)about 1:00:34
  9. September 1st, 2002, early morning Wanda Lesher dies (Messenger Hollow)about 1:04:47

Murder of Kathy Parsons

Victims

Kathy Parsons. ex-wife, still living with him in the same trailer; shot in the nose and died several days later

Accused and outcomes

As told in the episode, on 17 November 2021.

Accused

Outcome

Other people

Howard McCormick. drinking with Parsons at the Timberwolf; heard him say he wanted a gun to shoot Terry Thomas
Paul Kirk. talked into driving Parsons to Whitesville and later to the trailer
Robert Kirk. Paul's brother, who was asleep in the truck
Randy Thomas. drinking with the group at the Timberwolf
Richard Jean Adkins. host of the house where the men drank from noon until 7:30 p.m.
Joe Dolin. sold Parsons the .32-caliber pistol and shells for $90
Terry Thomas. the man Parsons believed was having an affair with his ex-wife and set out to shoot
Deputy Sheriff Mark Parsons. first officer on the scene, who handcuffed Parsons and let him fetch the gun
Dr. Robert Martin. psychologist and director of the Shawnee Hills Mental Health Program, who testified Parsons's IQ was about 75

The timeline

  1. 1982 Parsons is hit on top of the head with a piece of coal in a fight, leaving him comatose for seven days and hospitalised for a monthabout 2:24:13
  2. November 1st, 1985, morning Parsons and Howard McCormick drink at the Timberwolf tavern near Sand Lick (Timberwolf)about 2:04:36
  3. November 1st, 1985, morning They drive to Mason's store in south-west Virginia so Parsons can buy a gun (Mason's store)about 2:05:25
  4. November 1st, 1985, morning Parsons tells McCormick he wants a gun to shoot Terry Thomas, who he believes is sleeping with his ex-wife (Mason's store)about 2:05:50
  5. November 1st, 1985, morning Joe Dolin sells Parsons a .32-caliber pistol and shells for $90 (Joe Dolin's home)about 2:07:47
  6. November 1st, 1985, morning Back at the Timberwolf they meet Paul Kirk, Robert Kirk and Randy Thomas (Timberwolf)about 2:08:45
  7. November 1st, 1985 Parsons talks Paul Kirk into driving him to Whitesville to buy a stereo and four kitchen chairs as a gift for his ex-wifeabout 2:09:23
  8. November 1st, 1985, midday They buy the stereo and chairs at a furniture storeabout 2:10:48
  9. November 1st, 1985, noon to 7:30 p.m. The men spend the day drinking at Richard Jean Adkins's house (Richard Jean Adkins's house)about 2:11:42
  10. November 1st, 1985, about 7:30 p.m. The five drive to Kathy Parsons's trailer, where Parsons offers her the gifts (Kathy Parsons's trailer)about 2:12:35
  11. November 1st, 1985, evening Parsons shows Kathy the gun and says he will shoot Terry Thomas; she calls him a chicken and he shoots her in the nose (Kathy Parsons's trailer)about 2:18:02
  12. several days later Kathy Parsons dies of the gunshot woundabout 2:18:21

Places and phrases

N ↑Town centre (approximate places)
Static locations; no street basemap. Places and details. OpenFreeMap © OpenMapTiles Data from OpenStreetMap.

Places in the story

Public places are marked on the map.

Heard in this episode