Snake Eyes: Murder in A Southern Town

Snake Eyes: Murder in A Southern Town
ISBN-10
1633887774
ISBN-13
9781633887770
Series
Snake Eyes
Category
True Crime
Pages
259
Language
English
Published
2022-05-15
Publisher
Rowman & Littlefield
Author
Bitty Martin

Description

By 1966, Hot Springs, Arkansas wasn’t your typical sleepy little Southern town. Once a favorite destination for mobsters like Al Capone and Lucky Luciano, illegal activities continued to lure out-of-state gamblers, flim-flam men, and high rollers to its racetracks, clubs, and bordellos. Still, the town was shaken to its core after a girl was found dead on a nearby ranch. The ranch owner claimed it was an accident. Then the rancher was found to be the killer of another woman – his fourth wife. The story begins when 13-year-old Cathie Ward was found dead after horseback riding at Blacksnake Ranch on the outskirts of Hot Springs, Arkansas. Frank Davis, the owner of the ranch, tells authorities Cathie’s death is an accident. He claims her foot caught in a stirrup and she was dragged to her death despite his pursuit of the runaway horse. People who know the 42-year-old skilled horseman don’t believe his story, and soon rumors of her rape and murder begin swirling around town. The rumors reach a crescendo after Davis viciously guns down his fourth wife and mother-in-law in broad daylight outside of a laundromat. Davis is arrested and charged with first-degree murder. Soon after, Hot Springs authorities re-open the investigation into Cathie Ward’s death. Snake Eyes is the first book to examine this decades-old murder and cover-up, and the only in-depth account of the man who would become the town’s most notorious villain. Featuring personal interviews, crime scene records, court documents, and Davis’ own prison files, author and lifelong Hot Springs resident Bitty Martin reveals the true story for the first time.

Other editions

Similar books

  • The Enforcer: A Life Fighting Crime
    By Graeme Pearson

    We arrived to find the shop owner had three trusted staff who had worked with him for a number of years. The four staff dispensed loans from behind a ...

  • Silent Death: The Killing of Julie Ramage
    By Karen Kissane

    At 12.10 pm, Juliedropped by Warren's office and said, 'I didn't have any breakfast and I'm ... Warren wason the phone;she said briefly, 'No worries.

  • Goat Castle: A True Story of Murder, Race, and the Gothic South
    By Karen L. Cox

    There, Charles became the rector of St. James Church in Port Gibson, a small town about halfway between Natchez and Vicksburg. Why he left after serving Christ Church for nearly three decades is a mystery, though his marriage to a ...

  • Texas Lawmen, 1835-1899: The Good and the Bad
    By Clifford R. Caldwell, Ron DeLord

    A 04 - Cherry Wesley 34-W: 18 11, D. 19 - Christian, James Ineligible 22, D, 14 - Clark. Alvin A. On File 21, A, 13 - Clark. David Ineligible 26. A 12 - Clark. William A. 59–E: 25 19, D, 16 - Clendennen, Robert Ned 45–W: 24 09, D 09 ll.

  • Poisoned Vows
    By Clifford L. Linedecker

    There was no sign in the house of the $10,000 Clark had withdrawn from the credit union the previous day or of his billfold with the $500 to $600 pocket money he usually carried around with him. Two rings he wore were still on his ...

  • Smooth Operator: The True Story of Seductive Serial Killer Glen Rogers
    By Clifford L. Linedecker

    Rogers spent the night at the Clark County Detention Center, and was released the next afternoon. ... The white 1979 Mercury was owned by Russell E. Wright of Hamilton and still carried the Ohio license tags when the officers spotted it ...

  • Monster
    By Allan Hall

    Including exclusive photographs and previously unseen evidence, this is a truly heart-stopping record of one of the most elaborate and disturbing cases of abuse in modern times.

  • Missy's Murder: Passion, Betrayal, and Murder in Southern California
    By Karen Kingsbury

    Three years later, a surprise witness exposed the murderers as Missy’s two best friends—one of whom was Karen. New York Times–bestselling author Karen Kingsbury delivers a story full of twists, turns, betrayals, and confessions.

  • Deep Deception: The relentless investigation to bring George Gibney, Derry O’Rourke, Ger Doyle and other abusers to justice
    By Justine McCarthy

    Linda Jones of Howard House, a child abuse therapy centre in north London, has described organised networks as working 'in cells, like terrorist cells. No paedophile who is linked knows of more than one other, so they'll use a child, ...

  • Buckinghamshire Murders
    By Dr Jonathan Oates

    Hatto had earlier worked for Mr Plummer of Gray's, near Henley. The farmhouse was a modern brick building and was located on the site of the ancient Abbey Farm, having been rebuilt for John Pocock (now deceased) some years previously.