Episode 382:

Under Underpants

The 1966 Lake Summit Triple Murders

Georgia

The “Boy” Edward Jones

Karen

Episode 382: Under Underpants

This week, Georgia and Karen cover the 1966 Lake Summit triple murders and the “Boy” Edward Jones.

The 1966 Lake Summit Triple Murders

The 1966 Lake Summit Triple Murders Notes:

Header Image Source: Photo by Ryan Searle on Unsplash

Other Images:

1. Vernon Shipman

2. Charles Glass

3. Louise Shumate

"When Charles Hill and Larry Shipman made the grisly discovery of the three bodies in a grassy clearing behind the Lake Summit dam, their first thought was to alert the law.
They drove back down the quarter-mile dirt trail to North Lake Summit Road to find a telephone. There were no cell phones, few houses. It would do no good to drive the half mile back to U.S. 176 near the “High Bridge” over Green River.

Few people lived on the winding mountain road, the main highway from Hendersonville to Spartanburg.
“My grandmother lived down the road, so we went there to make the phone call,” Hill said.
The quickest way from Hendersonville to the scene was down the mountain on U.S. 176. Though close to completion, Interstate 26 was not yet open for traffic. Four Seasons Boulevard did not exist.

“They sent Ray Allen down,” Hill said. “Ray Allen drove the ambulance. He worked for Jackson’s (funeral service). He drove a red ambulance. I don’t think they believed us at first.”

Within a few hours, the Henderson County Rescue Squad, Sheriff’s deputies, Hendersonville police officers, Highway Patrol troopers and others converged on the clearing.

From their first contact with the crime scene, inexperienced investigators made mistakes that made solving the case more difficult.

Officers tromped around the isolated spot in disbelief, touching evidence, picking up objects.
“It looked like a herd of buffalo walked all over the crime scene,” Hendersonville Police Chief Bill Powers said in an interview 40 years later. “I’m sure the stuff there could have assisted in the investigation.”

Procedures were nothing like those depicted on “CSI Miami.

“Law enforcement didn’t have the knowledge and training they have today,” said retired Buncombe County Sheriff’s Lt. Harold Crisp. “They didn’t preserve the crime scene.”

Law officers from Hendersonville, Henderson County, Buncombe County, the Highway Patrol and the SBI all showed up. Yet early on, no single agency took charge.

The location of the bodies made the murder a Sheriff’s Department case, but other agencies had a stake.
The city Police Department was investigating the missing person reports of Shipman and Glass.

The SBI, which eventually took over as the lead investigating agency, had superior technical tools and more advanced training.

The Buncombe County deputies and Highway Patrol troopers showed up if for no other reason than the magnitude of the crime.

Source: "A Gruesome Discovery" By Jennie Jones Giles (Henderson Heritage)

The “Boy” Edward Jones

The “Boy” Edward Jones Notes:

Other Images:

1. A cartoon depiction of Edward Jones

2. A cartoon featuring, from left to right, Edward Jones, Prince Albert, and Queen Victoria

"The story of a teenager who burgled Buckingham Palace and stole Queen Victoria's underwear sounds like it should be a work of fiction.

But Edward Jones's life was no fairytale and he was caught with the monarch's clothing down his trousers.

The story of possibly the original celebrity stalker has been fully chronicled for the first time.

Dr Jan Bondeson, a senior lecturer at Cardiff University, spent five years researching his subject.

He used newspaper reports from the era and the result is his book Queen Victoria & the Stalker.

Dr Bondeson, who lives in Newport, said: "Edward Jones was a very weird character and apart from Queen Victoria, he was never interested in women.

"He was a very solitary character but he was not schizophrenic or classed as mad, just odd.

"He was extremely ugly, with a wide mouth and low brow and he never washed, which is why people thought he was a chimney sweep."

Dr Bondeson said it was difficult to say how Jones's obsession started with Queen Victoria, who was monarch from 1837 to 1901, but the 14-year-old only ever targeted her when she was at Buckingham Palace.

"He gained access to the palace through unlocked doors or unshuttered windows on the ground floors - there was no royal security in those days," he said.

"He was caught three times and admitted being in there a fourth time but it was likely he was there many other times.

"He took the queen's underwear the first time, and the third time he stole food from the kitchen and twice he was caught sitting on the throne.

"He was caught with the queen's underwear stuffed down his trousers."

He was tried by the privy council in secret but, because it was not a felony, he could not be sent to prison for a long time.

"He was initially sentenced to three months as a rogue and vagabond but he kept stalking the Queen so the government decided to get rid of him...""

Source: “Story of Boy Jones who stole Queen Victoria's underwear” (BBC)

Episode 382:

Under Underpants

The 1966 Lake Summit Triple Murders

Georgia

The “Boy” Edward Jones

Karen

Episode 382: Under Underpants

The 1966 Lake Summit Triple Murders

The 1966 Lake Summit Triple Murders Notes:

The “Boy” Edward Jones

The “Boy” Edward Jones Notes:

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Karen's Episode Sources

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