FILE 521 / 22 August 2024 / 166 MIN / full

Attack Of The Death Twins

Cosby, TennesseeListen

The town

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

We're going all the way to Tennessee today... this is in eastern Tennessee, kind of right up against the Smoky Mountains next to the North Carolina border, Cosby, Tennessee. He later says it is in Cock County, C-O-C-K-E. about 0:04:19

History, in brief

Town note

One theory is that the town was named after Jonathan Cosby, an early trapper and distiller in the area.

about 0:05:56

Town note

Another theory is that the creek and valley were named after Dr. James Cosby, a Revolutionary War veteran and a friend of John Sevier.

about 0:06:16

1838

The name appears as early as 1838 in writings; it seems to have been founded as Cosby Creek and later became Cosby.

about 0:06:37
All 11 history facts

Town note

One theory is that the town was named after Jonathan Cosby, an early trapper and distiller in the area.

about 0:05:56

Town note

Another theory is that the creek and valley were named after Dr. James Cosby, a Revolutionary War veteran and a friend of John Sevier.

about 0:06:16

1838

The name appears as early as 1838 in writings; it seems to have been founded as Cosby Creek and later became Cosby.

about 0:06:37

1900

By 1900 most residents were farmers or lumber mill workers, supplementing their incomes with ginseng and moonshine.

about 0:06:49

Town note

In the first half of the twentieth century Cosby was known to East Tennesseans as the moonshine capital of the world.

about 0:07:06

Town note

The explosion of moonshining led to the beginnings of NASCAR.

about 0:07:34

Town note

Illegal distillers warned of approaching law enforcement by setting off dynamite, and locals would follow revenue agents' cars in a long tailgate.

about 0:07:47

Town note

A local account describes a still in full operation on a Sunday in sight of Caton's Grove Church.

about 0:08:53

Town note

Rival moonshining families fought each other over the market, like a moonshine mafia, until liquor became legal and dry counties turned wet.

about 0:09:06

Town note

Cosby is still known as a moonshine mecca today.

about 0:09:23

The figures, as told

Who lives here

White 98.8% · Black 0.2% · Asian 0.2%

Ethnicity can overlap race.

Crime / national average

Property crime
▲ about double

about 0:20:02

Murder, rape, robbery and assault
▼ just below

about 0:20:22

Money

Median home value$223,700
Two-bedroom rentabout $740
Median household income$45,192

For sale

1,246 square feet, opening bid $1

Two-bedroom, three-bath house at auction

about 0:14:18
All figures and comparisons, as told in 2024

Property crime

"about double"

Comparison: "national average". Direction: above.

As told in 2024 about 0:20:02

Murder, rape, robbery and assault

"just below"

Comparison: "national average". Direction: below.

As told in 2024 about 0:20:22

Female residents

"over 52%"

Direction: above.

As told in 2024 about 0:12:03

Median age

"53.9"

No direction stated.

As told in 2024 about 0:12:05

Residents aged 21 to 24

"0%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2024 about 0:12:17

White residents

"98.8%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2024 about 0:12:23

Native American residents

"1%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2024 about 0:12:23

Black residents

"0.2%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2024 about 0:12:23

Asian residents

"0.2%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2024 about 0:12:23

Residents earning $75,000 to $100,000

"almost 25%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2024 about 0:12:43

Residents earning over $150,000

"none"

No direction stated.

As told in 2024 about 0:12:45

Median household income

"$45,192"

Comparison: "national average of almost $70,000". No direction stated.

As told in 2024 about 0:12:59

Median home cost

"$223,700"

Comparison: "lower than the national average". Direction: below.

As told in 2024 about 0:13:11

Two-bedroom rental

"about $740"

Comparison: "way lower than the national average". Direction: below.

As told in 2024 about 0:13:41

Two-bedroom, three-bath house at auction

"1,246 square feet, opening bid $1"

No direction stated.

As told in 2024 about 0:14:18

RV listed as zero bed, zero bath

"3,484 square feet, $84,000 plus $84 a month HOA fee"

No direction stated.

As told in 2024 about 0:15:51

Seven-bedroom, eight-bath house on 22.74 acres

"$2,775,000"

No direction stated.

As told in 2024 about 0:16:38

The reviews

3.0 / 5 · average of 3

4 stars

“The town has its issues but the positives far outweigh the negatives: year-round colour, artistic one-of-a-kind views and a cosy small-town feeling, with no expensive attractions or tacky overpriced shopping centres like nearby Pigeon Forge; real people live here with real problems.”
about 0:09:40

3 stars

“A rural East Tennessee county that has not grown as much as nearby counties, centred on Newport; living there is like a country song, everyone knows each other, a mix of locals and transplants, families and retirees; activities are outdoors, halfway between Knoxville and Asheville, dining is mostly fast food and most people drive 30 to 60 minutes to work; drug and nonviolent crime are prevalent.”
about 0:10:32

2 stars

“Little access to public workout facilities and fitness is not a big concern to people in the area.”
about 0:11:24

In Tennessee

Closest episodes

  1. Two Shot Glasses Of Blood, PleasePigeon Forge, Tennessee · 30 July 202029 km / 18 miShow on map
  2. Evil Deeds & Ouija WritingsBaileyton, Tennessee · 23 March 202469 km / 43 miShow on map
  3. Two Murders, Two MurderersMaynardville, Tennessee · 12 July 201771 km / 44 miShow on map
  4. My Daddybrother Did ItClayton, Georgia · 12 October 2023103 km / 64 miShow on map
  5. Dirty Desires In The BackwoodsTellico Plains, Tennessee · 3 March 2022106 km / 66 miShow on map

The story

The family moved from Michigan to Cleveland, Tennessee, in the early 1970s, and the twins grew up in a comfortable middle-class home but disliked each other from the start, fighting so often that teachers had to pull them apart at school. They dated for about a year and married in 1982.

In 1991 the family moved to Camp Wright Acres, a commercial campground at Highway 321 near the Sevier County line in Cosby, which Aaron's parents, Harry and Cleta Smith, had bought. Aaron managed the campground and was ordained as a minister, running a small church on the site. She often refused to hand the children over for his every-other-weekend visits.

Nobody reported any of it. Strange told her they did not do that there and warned her to be careful who she talked to.

A week or so before the custody hearing a man calling himself Carl Sanders telephoned the Gatlinburg post office from a pay phone in Bismarck, North Dakota, and said an express package containing drugs, addressed to Aaron Smith, was on its way; he gave the tracking number. The package arrived, addressed to Aaron at the Earthquake Museum International, 653 Parkway, Gatlinburg, where he took tickets for the ride. The return address was S. Jones, Peachtree Circle, Atlanta, Georgia, which did not exist; the package had actually been mailed from the Martin Luther King post office in Miami. Postal inspector Russell Fallis posed as a carrier, had Aaron sign for it, watched him open it, and then task force agents swarmed him. Inside were two small bags of cocaine-based powder and a note reading, to Aaron Smith, next time the price goes up.

On July 15, 1997, the custody hearing went ahead and Aaron was granted custody of Brittany and Joshua. They drove through the night to Miami, where they stayed at the Driftwood Motel.

On July 23, 1997, Harry Smith left his home at Camp Wright Acres around 4:20 pm and returned at six to find a shoe on the low rock wall by the walkway and Aaron lying on the walkway, covered in blood and not moving. Harry ran inside to call 911 and found the house ransacked, every drawer pulled out, an air vent cover removed and his .357 Magnum, three watches and other jewellery gone. The chief detective of the Cocke County Sheriff's Department, Robert Caldwell, called in the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. A neighbour, Vernon Brown, had heard three gunshots between 4:30 and 5 pm and seen a white sedan leave the campground in a hurry. The autopsy found three gunshot wounds, two from behind and one from the front, with a single head wound the only immediately lethal one. Investigators found the gun, a spent bullet, bloodstains, a pair of handcuffs on a chair and no usable fingerprints apart from Aaron's.

After a few days she called her aunt and uncle in Michigan, who drove the children back to Tennessee. LaShawn Taylor, Alex's girlfriend in Miami, described the couple's secretive behaviour, and a pawnbroker identified Alex as the man who had pawned a pocket watch, a gold Noah's Ark bracelet, two rings and a Nikon camera, items he collected again on August 7.

While in custody he muttered that the bitches had set him up and that someone was going to die over it. He later admitted going to Tennessee but claimed he only meant to scare Aaron; a plane ticket and the car's mileage contradicted him.

The case

Murder of Aaron Smith

Victims

Aaron Smith. born in 1960 in Cleveland, Tennessee; managed the Camp Wright Acres campground, was an ordained minister and worked at the Earthquake Museum in Gatlinburg

Accused and outcomes

As told in the episode, on 22 August 2024.

Accused

Accused

Accused

Outcome

Other people

Harry Smith. Aaron's father, who owned the campground with his wife and found the body
Cleta May Smith. Aaron's mother, who identified the stolen jewellery
Brittany Smith. Aaron and daughter, the star witness at all three trials
Joshua Smith. Aaron and son, who has Down syndrome
Martin Giovi. Debbie's boyfriend in Astoria, Queens, who refused her requests to kill Aaron and later testified
LaShawn Taylor. Alex girlfriend in Miami, who testified about Debbie and the jewellery
Sharon Jarvis. in-home daycare provider who heard threaten to kill Aaron
Melanie Hurst. co-worker at the dental office
Kristen Latham. co-worker at the dental office
Sandra Strange. manager of Tanfastic Tanning Salon, who said asked if she knew anyone who could do a job
Judy Laws. another cellmate, who saw Jarnigan going through papers
Robert Caldwell. chief detective with the Cocke County Sheriff's Department
Russell Fallis. US postal inspector who delivered the drug package
Al Schmutzer. district attorney who prosecuted the case

The timeline

  1. 1960 Aaron Smith is born in Cleveland, Tennesseeabout 0:26:28
  2. 1962 and are born, fraternal twin sistersabout 0:21:01
  3. early 1970s The family moves to Cleveland, Tennesseeabout 0:21:54
  4. 1981 meets Aaron Smith while working at a video rental storeabout 0:24:43
  5. 1982 Aaron and marryabout 0:27:29
  6. late 1982 or early 1983 The twins' mother dies unexpectedly of a heart attackabout 0:27:37
  7. 1983 Debbie moves to New York and lives in Queensabout 0:28:22
  8. 1987 Daughter Brittany is bornabout 0:30:29
  9. 1989 Son Joshua is born with Down syndromeabout 0:30:43
  10. 1991 Aaron and move with the children to Camp Wright Acres (Camp Wright Acres)about 0:31:13
  11. 1995 The marriage breaks down; both file for divorce and a custody battle beginsabout 0:34:02
  12. 1996 tells daycare provider Sharon Jarvis three times she would kill Aaron rather than lose the childrenabout 0:40:44
  13. May 1997 begins visiting Tanfastic Tanning Salon and asks Sandra Strange if she knew anyone who could do a job (Tanfastic Tanning Salon)about 0:47:47
  14. July 1997 A package containing cocaine is mailed to Aaron from the Martin Luther King post office in Miami; it carries Debbie fingerprints (Martin Luther King post office)about 0:56:17
  15. July 15, 1997 At the custody hearing Aaron is granted custody of Brittany and Joshuaabout 1:00:52
  16. July 17, 1997 collects her pay cheque, leaves with the children and her father, and drives through the night to Miamiabout 1:02:22
  17. July 1997 In Miami, meets Debbie, Alex and two men named George behind the Golden Nugget (Golden Nugget)about 1:16:43
  18. July 21, 1997 rents a white 1996 Buick Regal from Alamo Rentals in Miami (Alamo Rentals)about 1:21:31
  19. July 21 to 23, 1997 Debbie, Alex and the Georges take new car and are gone for three days (Driftwood Motel)about 1:17:43
  20. July 23, 1997 Harry Smith leaves home about 4:20 pm and returns at 6 pm to find Aaron shot on the walkway and the house ransacked (Smith house)about 1:03:25

Places and phrases

N ↑Public placeTown 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