Margaret Smalley

…The story of her shocking murder made front page news as people wondered who could have wanted Theora dead and why. Thankfully, there were plenty of leads for the police to chase down. After seeing Theora's photo in the newspaper, a local landlady named Margaret Smalley came forward. She said she recognized the murder victim, but she knew her as Theora Howa…

…But Mrs. Smalley knew Theora Hicks by a different name, Theora Howard. She believed Theora was the wife of James Howard, a local salt salesman. Detectives honed in on the name. They knew if they could find this James Howard, it might bring them one step closer to identifying Theora's killer.…

…The woman was agitated and asked the man to drive around in circles. She seemed to be looking for someone who never appeared. But the most important witness to speak with detectives was Margaret Smalley, the landlady at their boarding house where Theora and James rented a room. Mrs. Smalley told police she had recognized Theora's photo in the local papers,…