Years ago I read the book by the late William Kunstler about this fascinating murder, and he posited the theory that a local chapter of the Ku Klux Klan committed these homicides as self-righteous retribution for their very public immorality. I cannot credit this contention, although I do believe that one of the principals ( who had a snide personality and big mouth, a fatally big mouth) may have made mention of this group in the presence of the killer - which cost her and her illicit boyfriend their lives.

The trigger was a remark made in the courtroom by one of the lawyers concerning Willie Stevens, which, I believe, tied all the other elements together.

Apparently Eleanor Mills ( a common little floozy whose dull, sordid existence was enhanced only by the mawkish romance novels she consumed like marshmallow fluff) was wont to brandishing her affair with Edward Hall in Frances Hall's face and making nasty little digs about it, thus causing Mrs. Hall on one occasion to attempt to poison her at an afternoon tea at the rectory.

It was reported that the two lovers had devised a bizarre plan to flee to Japan (for no apparent reason other than they presumed it to be "romantic"), which apparently is what caused the final confrontation.

The witness to the murders, Jane Gibson (the so-called "Pig Woman") claimed to have seen five individuals that night on the country road - a "large woman" (believed to be Frances Hall), two men (one of whom was distinctive in appearance, which is important), and Reverend Hall and Mrs. Mills. The large woman was reported to have snarled: "Explain these letters!" Then, there was an altercation, at which point the other woman shrilled: "Oh, my! Oh, my!" (Apparently as Eleanor Mills' throat was being cut), then after the dust settled, Jane Gibson witnessed the large woman kneeling over the man's body and sobbing.

Of course, owing to the wealth and social position of Mrs. Hall (as well as to the general odiousness of her late husband's behaviour), the jury's judgement favoured the defendants - Mrs. Hall and her brothers. Jane Gibson, being of a significantly lower social status than the others was essentially scouted, and her credibility denied.

However, I am convinced that Jane Gibson was entirely correct, and that the killers were the Stevens brothers (Henry being the shooter, and Willie the knife-wielder) - but for a reason only tangentially related to the adulterous situation; they had a secret to hide which could have been, in that day and age, far more hazardous to their familial health.

The Stevenses originally were from South Carolina, I believe. Henry and Frances were normal mentally, but there was something very wrong with Willie. Since he was capable of comprehending science texts he was not retarded; however, his behavious was often very unseemly and juvenile (he was said to enjoy riding around on fire trucks wearing a fireman's hat) and he was apparently unemployable; my guess is that Willie Stevens was autistic.(He was also said to suffer from fits of epilepsy.)

One important fact to consider is that none of the Stevens children had any children of their own, although Henry and Frances were married; whether this had to do with Willie's peculiarities - or the probable family secret - is not certain. (Frances' mother made the uncharitable observation that "Frances was an elderly bride" because she married in her late thirties; this, however, would not necessarily have precluded her having children had she wanted any.)

I am inclined to believe that the catalyst which provoked the murders was something that the nasty, catty Mrs. Mills said (and which may have involved an allusion to the local Klan, with which Eleanor Mills would hav been more familiar than Frances Hall, since the Klan usually draws its membership from the working class, and Eleanor Mills' husband, Jimmy Mills, was the church janitor.) It was probably along these lines: "Well, Mrs. High-and-Mighty Hall, if the people in this town knew your little secret, you'd be finished - socially. They'd treat you with contempt; run you out of town; you could never associate with the 'nice people' again. And if you don't divorce your husband and let me have him, I'll tell - I'll tell all!" (She also may have made slighting reference to a characteristic of Willie's - which instigated an almost automatic, murderous response.)

The individual who slashed Mrs. Mills' throat had to have been Willie Stevens, the reason being that the knife wound was made in a northeast-to-southwest direction, which could only have been effected by a left-handed individual - and Willie Stevens was left-handed - for that time a fairly uncommon trait.

But here, I believe, is the real reason for these bloody, brutal murders. It was reported that after the murders were committed that a "coloured man" (i.e., a black man) was seen in the area. And at the trial, the prosecutor stated: "Willie Stevens resembles a coloured man, does he not?" - a remark which caused Willies Stevens to rise from his chair, sputtering and snarling with anger, blood in his eye, until his counsel calmed him down and made him resume his seat.

Now, Willie Stevens had rather kinky hair, dark skin, and features that were less Caucasoid than his siblings. Also, the family was from the South, and none of them had children. Leading to the ineluctable conclusion that the Stevens family, as is the case with more families than is realised, were of part-black ancestry - and it showed up most prominently in Willie.

The Stevens siblings were known for their devotion to each other, and apparently Willie was fiercely devoted to his sister, Frances. Obviously, when a threat was made by a little upstart like Eleanor Mills which could have harmed not only her, but the security of the rest of the family - Willie sprang into action. Not only did he slice her throat, but he removed both her voicebox and her tongue - symbolic actions because (1) Eleanor Mills was a favored choir singer (essentially an abomination, given her immoral misconduct with the church's minister), and (2) removing the tongue of this vicious woman would still her flapping tongue forever; it was a condign punishment for her transgressions, and would keep the embarrassing family secret forever safe.

Naturally, this is all conjecture on my part, but I think that it is a worthwhile supposition to consider. And, I believe, the Final Judgement Day (when all our sins and transgressions are revealed to everyone else) will likely prove my surmise to be the correct one.

Sincerely,

robscoe49@earthlink.net