wilkes

Does anyone know if Ginny has contact with any of her relatives, or did the murders sever her ties to the rest of her family? Does the family think she was involved as well as Troy? She must not be too afraid of him or anyone else involved- it was easy enough to track her down in Seattle and find her listed phone number. I've come to believe that she was involved in the whole situation, from planning the murders to the execution, and on to the inheritance. Women can be just as devious and cold as men- she had already defied her parents by marrying him, so she may be the same caliber as he is.

There was little technology available in 1972. An electric typewriter was an advanced office tool. Most camera's were the old box brownie. The instamatic was just coming into general use. DNA testing was mostly a concept. Maybe there were some camera's in some big cities, but certainly not in homes, or schools. If you wanted to call someone, you had to find a payphone that was working and drop a coin in it. Finger printing was a big thing. Not all police departments had people trained to do them and the major data base for them was the military and a few police files. Fax and computers in those days were big and heavy pieces of equiptment and were not connected with much more than the corporate headquarters for the company. Home phones were rotary dial with a choice of a cheaper party line or a private line that cost quite a bit more per month. Wilkes Community College was barely in existence. They were holding classes most anywhere with four walls and a door. Appalachian was an older college and had some buildings but was considered

a teacher's college in those days, not a university. Most people were kind and honest and tried to

help each other. Not that crimes have not existed since the beginning of time, but in smaller area's

you were still pretty safe to hop in the car with anyone and not get killed. Not that drinking wasn't

happening in Boone, but a very popular phrase there in those days was "meet me in....Blowing Rock"..

Wow, I've not lived in Wilkes since 1991 and I had not heard about these murders before. Of course, I was very young (I don't remember the exact date it stated the murders happened, but I think I would have been 10 or 12).



Such a horrible thing. I can't imagine not making it my mission to find out who murdered my parents and brother. I'm sure I would be obsessed with solving it! So, I find it strange that the daughter hasn't done more, I guess.

i actually don't think everything the law knew was in that article. there was a good reason why the durhams did not like troy. what do you think he was into that the durhams did not like? how many people has been killed over drugs? its amazing that all the records has ben distroyed on a murder case that was never solved. something is wrong with that picture. its also amazing that troy had just got home a few min before the call. the time inbetween him being at library and getting home is when all this took place it would seem. i wonder if there was camaras at the library. if you notice there was nothing much said about troy being a suspect. i can tell you this , most all the durham family thought it was troy that had something to do with it.

Yep, and here's where we run out of information. Any further knowledge would have to come from someone that was involved in the investigation, since it was pre-internet.

Like I said earlier, surprised no one has ever written a book about it.

Braves-I wondered about that when I read in an earlier post where someone said that their parents, I believe it was, went to the house that night and talked about how they would never forget the horrible scene. What were neighbors doing tracking through a murder scene? So when/why did the son-in-law and daughter become suspects? That's all l really remember hearing about this crime. That is was the daughter and her husband who did it for the money. From what I could find on GoogleNews (thanks again for the link there), Hall stopped talking to police after the night of the murders. That makes him look suspect, but there surely was more evidence pointing to him besides his being uncooperative and unpopular with his in-laws.

I always found it strange that if Hall did receive a phone call from Virginia, why he or Cecil Small didn't immediately call the police requesting they meet them at the Durham home. More interesting, if she was able to get a call out for help, why call a son-in-law that she didn't care for and not the police or a

neighbor. 911, of course, was not in existence in those days, but a live telephone operator was usually

pretty quick to answer.

Hall was never arrested as far as I now.

I also heard that when this occurred, Watauga/Boone law enforcment were very unprepared for anything of this magnitude, and they really compromised the crime scene due to lack of experience.

I guess if this happpened nowadays, the son-in-law and daughter would be immedidately quarantined and questioned for hours, and every inch of their home would be searched. They probaly would find some wet clothes?

Thanks Braves. Interesting, and confusing, because l had figured Hall was arrested.

There were actually 4 suspects charged

http://news.google.com/news...&hl=en

It turned out ot be bogus, one suspect had falsley fingered 3 of his "colleagues" in hopes of getting a lighter sentence for something unrelated. This happened in the months following the murders, and there was appaerntly an incredible amount of pressure on LEO to solve this crime. As there well should have been. So they were grasping for anything, except the right thing.

But it is frustrating that all the info related to this crime is not collected into one easy to access sourcce. Surprised there has never been a book written about it. I guess Boone in 1972 was far off the beaten path. And I guess if this had occurred a few years later, the internet would have much more info available.

I'd like to know that too. Arrests are public record. I am surprised the names were not mentioned in the article.

Oh, ok. So this is not really a whodunit case. It's a 'gottaproveit' case. Which brings me back to an earlier question. Who were the 3 that were arrested, then released for lack of evidence? Isn't that a matter of public record? If not, PM me. I'm curious.

I think Dexter would know how to handle this...

http://www.sho.com/site/dexter/about.do

I agree- actually charging and convicting someone would likely require one of the guilty to turn on the other(s), and be willing to talk for immunity or a reduced sentence. And they've been quiet for a long time...

I think Braves hit it square on the head.

I assume this is what happens when the urgency to solve a crime is high, and the range of possible sloutions is not that large. They ultimately do solve the crime, and know who is gulty. But for whatever reason, they can't find enough evidence to prove guilt on those that they know are resonsible, so they wak free.

Is that the case here?

Also, there must be some kind of potenrial legal liabilty associated with saying something like, "we know who did it", "we just can't prove it". That would appear to be what Rufus Edmiston and Charlie Whitman wanted to say, but they did not.

Troy has a brother, Ray, that has stuck closer to him than his shadow. Ray reportedly lives near Troy in Lawrenceville- maybe they are so close because they share a deadly secret that could send both of them to prison. Ray lived in Wilkes when these murders occurred. On another note, the fact that there was no sign of forced entry is not so significant. In Watauga County in 1972, few people locked their doors until they went to bed. Also, people opened their doors any time there was a knock, never expecting danger. The Durhams would have admitted their son-in-law, his brother, or a friend of theirs (or anyone else, for that matter) without question at night in a blizzard, expecting them to need help. As for the alleged phone call, why would Virginia call a son-in-law that she didn't trust when her family was in danger? How about calling the operator for the police? If Troy and Ginny thought there was trouble at her parents' home, why go out in a snowstorm? Why didn't THEY call for help? (Troy alledged that when he answered the phone Virginia said that some people had Bobby in the back room, then the line went dead.)

Yes, Cecil Small died before the story related to him and Oswald was publsihed. There is a link ot that story earlier in this thread.

Is Cecil Small deceased?

just a little bump!