Murder – The UncommonWealth

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Commonwealth v. Witch

I I stumbled across a newspaper article in the September 18th issue of the Virginian Herald, dated September 13, 1822. Its title?I was confused. The…

Courtney ThompsonOctober 7, 2024

Archives Newspapers

Triple Murder Mystery in Prohibition-Era Hampton Roads

Author's Note: The spellings of names evolved over time. In order to be consistent, names were spelled as they appeared in government records.1 On Tuesday,…

Cara GriggsMay 2, 2022

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The Man Who Killed Richard Whichello: A Henrico County Legend

At the end of the 1962 John Ford classic The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, a reporter remarks, “When the legend becomes fact, print the…

Vince BrooksMay 22, 2019

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Mug Shot Monday: My Hometown Edition

Welcome to Mug Shot Monday! This is the latest entry in a series of posts highlighting inmate photographs in the records of the Virginia Penitentiary. John…

Roger ChristmanSeptember 24, 2018

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A Colonial Cover-up: Lunenburg County Records Reveal New Information

Has researcher and author Cynthia Mattson uncovered a sordid, centuries-old murder conspiracy and cover-up? There’s good reason to believe she has. Reverend William Kay was…

Mike BinghamAugust 1, 2018

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The Legacy of John Henry James

On 12 July 1898, an Albemarle County grand jury met to hear evidence against an African American man named John Henry James accused of assaulting…

Greg CrawfordJune 6, 2018

Archives Education & Programming

The Murder of John R. Moffett: Race, Politics, and Local Control

On the evening of 11 November 1892, attorney and Democratic Party operative John T. Clark shot and fatally wounded Reverend John R. Moffett on the…

Gregg KimballNovember 17, 2017

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Mug Shot Monday: John Henry Green, No. 44916

This is the latest entry in a series of posts highlighting inmate photographs in the records of the Virginia Penitentiary. John Henry Green, known as the…

Roger ChristmanNovember 14, 2016

Archives Digital Projects Education & Programming

Forsaken: The Digital Bibliography

In his debut novel, Forsaken, Ross Howell Jr. tells the story of an uneducated African American servant, Virginia Christian, who was tried for killing her white employer…

Roger ChristmanMarch 3, 2016

Archives Manuscripts & Special Collections

The Asylum Poisonings: Death, Politics, and “Low Cussedness” in Staunton

In 1883, the year when Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson solved the case of the Speckled Band, an equally baffling real-life killing drew another noted…

Bill BynumNovember 19, 2014

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Mug Shot Monday: Ernest Harper, No. 18903

This is the latest entry in a series of posts highlighting inmate photographs in the records of the Virginia Penitentiary. Ernest Harper, the subject of this…

Roger ChristmanSeptember 8, 2014

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The Jury’s Gut Feeling: Bedford County Coroner’s Inquisitions

A recent episode of BackStory With the American History Guys entitled “On The Take” addressed the topic of corruption in American politics and government. Host Brian Balogh interviewed…

Mary Dean CarterSeptember 3, 2014

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The Razor’s Edge: Using the Coroner’s Inquests in Elizabeth City County

Editor’s Note: Jerry Hunt is a graduate history intern from Virginia Commonwealth University and is working on processing and indexing Depression-era coroner’s inquisitions from Elizabeth…

Guest ContributorAugust 6, 2014

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Arsenic, Lies, and Bigamy

Cornbread and cabbage turned lethal for one Petersburg woman, but it was another woman’s need for some chicken feed that exposed the death as something…

Mary Dean CarterAugust 7, 2013

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Shoe Salesman Puts Foot in Mouth

In 1879, Charles C. Curtis was working at the retail store of Wingo, Ellett, and Crump at 1000 Main Street in Richmond. A customer, a…

Mary Dean CarterFebruary 27, 2013