FILE 586 / 5 April 2025 / 71 MIN / express

Never Trust Your Cousin

Clanton, AlabamaListen

The town

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

We are going down south today to Clanton, Alabama... This is in Chilton County. about 0:03:10

History, in brief

Town note

The area that would become Clanton was first known as Goose Pond, and a neighbouring town was called Ranch.

about 0:04:30

1868

The town was founded in 1868 in Baker County, which is now Chilton County, just after the Civil War.

about 0:04:44

Town note

The town took its name from the South and North Alabama Railroad station.

about 0:04:51

Town note

During the Second World War there was a small German prisoner-of-war camp in Clanton.

about 0:05:05
All 5 history facts

Town note

The area that would become Clanton was first known as Goose Pond, and a neighbouring town was called Ranch.

about 0:04:30

1868

The town was founded in 1868 in Baker County, which is now Chilton County, just after the Civil War.

about 0:04:44

Town note

The town took its name from the South and North Alabama Railroad station.

about 0:04:51

Town note

During the Second World War there was a small German prisoner-of-war camp in Clanton.

about 0:05:05

1993

Peaches are the number one industry in the county, and in 1993 the city built a water tower shaped like a peach, which became a landmark.

about 0:05:14

The figures, as told

Money

Median home value$197,600
Median household income$48,051
All figures and comparisons, as told in 2025

Population of Clanton

"8,715"

No direction stated.

As told in 2025 about 0:03:48

Median household income

"$48,051"

Comparison: "over $20,000 less than the national average". Direction: above.

As told in 2025 about 0:04:04

Median home price

"$197,600"

Comparison: "pretty low". Direction: below.

As told in 2025 about 0:04:12

The reviews

4.0 / 5 · average of 3

5 stars

“A small-town feel where everyone knows everyone and everyone you meet is a lifelong friend.”
about 0:05:32

4 stars

“Purple prose about a town in the heart of a vast forest, nestled between winding rivers and rolling hills, with cobblestone streets, weathered brick buildings, a peach festival and a strong sense of community.”
about 0:05:46

3 stars

“A lifelong resident says it kind of sucks: there is nothing for teenagers, so you have to go to Prattville for a film or bowling; the restaurants are mostly bad, with San Marco's the worst and Wendy's close behind; the roads are bad except for 31 and 22.”
about 0:07:03

In Alabama

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The story

Episode 586 comes from Clanton, Alabama, a town of 8,715 in Chilton County about forty minutes from Montgomery. Peaches are the county's number one industry and a peach-shaped water tower built in 1993 is the local landmark. Median household income is $48,051, over $20,000 below the national average, and the median home price is $197,600.

Ann Marie later testified that Peggy left them with strangers in bars, where both children were sexually abused from the age of three or four.

Her first cousin and best friend was Tracy Lynn Brown, and the two women worked together at a health care company in Clanton. On 12 October 2010 the three collected the women's paycheques and ran Tracy's errands, including paying her electricity bill and looking at a car she wanted to buy.

Tracy lived in a trailer at the Martin Trailer Court off County Road 24, just north of the Autauga and Chilton county lines. On 13 October she did not come to work; her boss rang her landlord and deputies from the Chilton County Sheriff's Department went to check. They found her naked on the floor beside her bed, stabbed across the back with her throat cut many times, in a room full of blood. A neighbour called Richardson, who had been harassing her, had an alibi and was excluded by DNA.

He confirmed the errands, first denied having sex with Tracy, then admitted a threesome, and said the gun found at the trailer was his, brought over because she was being stalked. On 18 October he admitted lying about the sex but again denied killing her.

They planned to take a child molester, or someone at random from Walmart, and then decided to kill Tracy instead.

The case

Murder of Tracy Lynn Brown

Victims

Tracy Lynn Brown. Van first cousin and best friend; worked with her at a Clanton health care company; was starting an independent new chapter of her life

Accused and outcomes

As told in the episode, on 5 April 2025.

Accused

Accused

Outcome

Other people

Lieutenant Shane Lockhart. Chilton County Sheriff's Department detective and lead investigator
Richardson. Tracy's trailer-park neighbour who had been harassing her; cleared by an alibi and DNA
Jackie. Tracy's stepmother, who gave a victim impact statement
Teal Dick. Mitigation specialist who testified about malnutrition and brain development

The timeline

  1. August 28th, 1969 is bornabout 0:10:51
  2. 1969 or 1970 and his older sister Ann Marie are abandoned by their biological parents and adopted by Richard and Peggy about 0:11:17
  3. 1971 is bornabout 0:21:53
  4. about 1974 or 1975 , aged five or six, begins to be physically and sexually abusedabout 0:14:53
  5. about 1983 At fourteen begins an ongoing sexual relationship with a twenty-four-year-old woman, who becomes pregnantabout 0:18:05
  6. 1997 , then about twenty-eight, attempts suicideabout 0:20:46
  7. 2010 , aged forty-one, begins a serious relationship with Van about 0:21:39
  8. October 12th, 2010 , Van and Tracy Brown collect the women's paycheques at their workplace and spend the day running Tracy's errands (Clanton health care company)about 0:22:47
  9. October 12th, 2010, evening Back at Tracy's trailer, slaps Tracy as a pre-arranged signal and puts her in a chokehold (Tracy Brown's trailer)about 0:40:58
  10. October 12th, 2010, evening Tracy is forced to perform oral sex on at gunpoint, then raped while performing oral sex on (Tracy Brown's trailer)about 0:41:25
  11. October 12th, 2010, evening Tracy tries to escape through the back door and is dragged back by the hair (Tracy Brown's trailer)about 0:43:19
  12. October 12th, 2010, evening cuts Tracy's throat and stabs her in the back, killing her (Tracy Brown's trailer)about 0:43:44
  13. October 12th, 2010, night After showering at the trailer, and leave and have sex at houseabout 0:44:44
  14. October 13th, 2010 Tracy does not come to work; her boss contacts her landlordabout 0:24:23
  15. October 13th, 2010 Chilton County deputies find Tracy dead in her bedroom (Tracy Brown's trailer)about 0:25:37

Places and phrases

N ↑Public placePublic 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