Valerie Bauerlein

Oh, it absolutely was. I mean, I think one of the biggest surprises I had researching this book was that every crime that was eventually convicted of had some echo in the past. And that includes like violence against women or overtures of violence against women.

Oh, it absolutely was. I mean, I think one of the biggest surprises I had researching this book was that every crime that was eventually convicted of had some echo in the past. And that includes like violence against women or overtures of violence against women.

Oh, it absolutely was. I mean, I think one of the biggest surprises I had researching this book was that every crime that was eventually convicted of had some echo in the past. And that includes like violence against women or overtures of violence against women.

That includes insurance fraud, like by the side of the road, there was an act of insurance fraud that started the family dynasty, stealing from clients, drug trafficking. There were echoes in the past for every single crime we're talking about, even a boat wreck that caused really a traumatic injury. So that surprised me too. It wasn't just Ellick.

That includes insurance fraud, like by the side of the road, there was an act of insurance fraud that started the family dynasty, stealing from clients, drug trafficking. There were echoes in the past for every single crime we're talking about, even a boat wreck that caused really a traumatic injury. So that surprised me too. It wasn't just Ellick.

That includes insurance fraud, like by the side of the road, there was an act of insurance fraud that started the family dynasty, stealing from clients, drug trafficking. There were echoes in the past for every single crime we're talking about, even a boat wreck that caused really a traumatic injury. So that surprised me too. It wasn't just Ellick.

It was the history going back to 1920 of this family.

It was the history going back to 1920 of this family.

It was the history going back to 1920 of this family.

That's right. And I was in Hampton just last week. I actually was standing at the train tracks just south of Almeda, where the home place that Ellick went the night of the homicides. His great grandfather, Randolph Senior, was a very prominent man. I mean, every meal he ate was front page news. Like, where was he now?

That's right. And I was in Hampton just last week. I actually was standing at the train tracks just south of Almeda, where the home place that Ellick went the night of the homicides. His great grandfather, Randolph Senior, was a very prominent man. I mean, every meal he ate was front page news. Like, where was he now?

That's right. And I was in Hampton just last week. I actually was standing at the train tracks just south of Almeda, where the home place that Ellick went the night of the homicides. His great grandfather, Randolph Senior, was a very prominent man. I mean, every meal he ate was front page news. Like, where was he now?

He was the district attorney for four counties in the low country of South Carolina. He was very sick. He was 53 years old. He was dying. He was at the end of his life. He had kidney failure at a time when there was no cure, right? There was no dialysis. He was broke. He had been a big investor in a bank, and then the bank failed. And through the depression, he was just...

He was the district attorney for four counties in the low country of South Carolina. He was very sick. He was 53 years old. He was dying. He was at the end of his life. He had kidney failure at a time when there was no cure, right? There was no dialysis. He was broke. He had been a big investor in a bank, and then the bank failed. And through the depression, he was just...

He was the district attorney for four counties in the low country of South Carolina. He was very sick. He was 53 years old. He was dying. He was at the end of his life. He had kidney failure at a time when there was no cure, right? There was no dialysis. He was broke. He had been a big investor in a bank, and then the bank failed. And through the depression, he was just...

I found documents down at the courthouse in Hampton where he just would say, there's no chance I can ever pay these people back. So he was broke. He was dying. And he knew how to do one thing incredibly well, which was sue the railroad, which at that time in 1940 was one of the only entities worth suing.

I found documents down at the courthouse in Hampton where he just would say, there's no chance I can ever pay these people back. So he was broke. He was dying. And he knew how to do one thing incredibly well, which was sue the railroad, which at that time in 1940 was one of the only entities worth suing.

I found documents down at the courthouse in Hampton where he just would say, there's no chance I can ever pay these people back. So he was broke. He was dying. And he knew how to do one thing incredibly well, which was sue the railroad, which at that time in 1940 was one of the only entities worth suing.

So what happened was he was driving back from a poker game in Yemesee, a little town right on the Hampton County line. At one in the morning, hottest day of the summer, 90-some degrees, he stops short of his home and turns onto a deserted train tracks and is at the base of it.

So what happened was he was driving back from a poker game in Yemesee, a little town right on the Hampton County line. At one in the morning, hottest day of the summer, 90-some degrees, he stops short of his home and turns onto a deserted train tracks and is at the base of it.