Town file
Stab, Kentucky
Stab, Kentucky (Pulaski County, Kentucky) is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 739, "Murder From The Shadows" (1 October 2026). Sheriff Samuel Wilson Catron, known throughout Pulaski County as Sheriff Sam, was shot dead at 7.15 on the evening of April 13th, 2002, as he loaded two cakes into his car outside the annual spring fish fry at the Shopville-Stab Volunteer Fire Department in south-eastern Kentucky.
- Town
- Stab
- County
- Pulaski County
- State
- Kentucky
- Country
- USA
- Episodes
- 739
- Approximate location
- 37.151, -84.437
Episode 739 / 1 October 2026 / 189 min / full
Murder From The Shadows
"We're going to Stab, Kentucky; this is in Palasky County, south-eastern Kentucky" about 0:06:06
The case: Murder of Sheriff Sam Catron (April 13, 2002); Shooting of Chief Harold Catron (April 10, 1957). Read the case file.
The figures, as told in 2026
- Median age
- about 40.5
- Median household income
- $39,923 a year
- Median home value
- $153,100
- Two-bedroom rent
- $750
- Cost of living
- 78
- Religious
- 59.6%
- Property crime
- ▲ almost double
- Violent crime
- ▼ two and a half times
History, in brief
- Stab's post office was established in 1922. about 0:08:54
- The Stab post office was discontinued in 1994. about 0:08:58
- Stab was named simply because the postal authorities wanted a short, four-letter name, after the first choice was rejected as too long. about 0:09:17
- Stab is the site of a karst window known as Short Creek, where a spring emerges and the water disappears into a sinkhole. about 0:10:24
- Somerset was first settled in 1798. about 0:12:40
- Somerset was named after Somerset County, New Jersey, where many of its settlers came from. about 0:12:43
- Somerset's Summer Nights cruise marked its 25th anniversary on June 28th, 2025 by jumping a replica Dukes of Hazzard car over Fountain Square before 35,000 spectators. about 0:12:56
The reviews read out
5 stars
"It truly feels like home, with a friendly community and small-town atmosphere; the reviewer would like more activities for teenagers."about 0:14:18
3 stars
"An all-right sized town with everything you need and friendly people; Lake Cumberland is a big attraction, but there are few opportunities for single young people."about 0:14:59
1 star
"Moving away and coming back was the biggest mistake of the reviewer's life; Lifepoint owns almost all the medical offices and there is no culture, only chicken and Dollar General."about 0:15:36
1 star
"The worst place the reviewer has lived: strange people knocking on doors, drugs, dangerous elderly drivers and rude customer service."about 0:16:20
2 stars
"Nothing special that year; a teenage main band with awful lyrics and hardly any alcohol despite paying for a drinking wristband."about 0:24:12
Nearest Small Town Murder towns
- Whitley City, Kentucky30 miles
- Maynardville, Tennessee72 miles
- Monterey, Tennessee83 miles
- Gainesboro, Tennessee86 miles
- Elizabethtown, Kentucky88 miles
- Fleming-Neon, Kentucky95 miles
Everything here is as told in the episode, on the date it went out; figures and places may have changed since. Endings are covered: open an episode and use the spoiler switch to read them.