Press & News
From the Press
Missing file from 1953 homicide probe surfaces, sheds new light on city’s darkest cold case
By Charleston Gazette Mail’s Rick Steelhammer
‘Murder on Staunton Road’ Sheds New Light on Charleston’s Chilliest Cold Case
By Charleston Gazette Mail’s Rick Steelhammer
Murder he wrote: WVU alumnus investigates Charleston Daily Mail cold case
By The DA WVU’s Independent Student Newspaper’s Tristan Moore
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Lives Intertwined
Murder, crime, fear, and dysfunction cascade through West Virginia’s Kanawha Valley in the decade of the 1950s. Charleston watches in fascination as members of the capital city’s elite social set find love and retribution in the most improbable scenarios. Bootleg liquor flows through the back end of town; prostitutes beckon from second-story windows. Illegal betting enriches a known number king,
Review
This new information is as fascinating as the book. Keep digging! Carter Taylor Seaton Let’s see what else turns up! —Richard Norcross Charlie you and Mitch make true journalists everywhere proud. The Flying A (the late WVU Journalism professor Paul Atkins) is smiling down on you. —Tony Hylton I still believe there is more to the story with Copenhaver taking
New Reviews
This new information is as fascinating as the book. Keep digging! —Carter Taylor Seaton Let’s see what else turns up! —Richard Norcross Charlie you and Mitch make true journalists everywhere proud. The Flying A (the late WVU Journalism professor Paul Atkins) is smiling down on you. —Tony Hylton I still believe there is more to the story
John Hash of Huntington emailed the following to me.
John Hash of Huntington emailed the following to me. His observations are very interesting and I thought our blog readers would enjoy his perspective regarding “Murder On Staunton Road”: Hey Charlie, So good to hear from you. I am pleased that you are interested in my theory regarding the murder of Juliet Staunton Clark. Your book took me back to
Read the Charleston Gazette-Mail story & Observations From The Authors
The Charleston Gazette-Mail, on Sunday, January 10, 2021, reported that we have uncovered a decades old report by polygraph expert Dr. Fred Inbau, and a subsequent letter by Charleston Police Chief Dallas Bias, regarding the 1953 murder of Juliet Staunton Clark. The conclusions reached in the documents are not our opinions, they are the opinions of Dr. Fred Inbau and
James E. Casto – New Book Explores Sensational Crime
As she had on so many mornings, on Aug. 21, 1953, Bessie Smith, long-time maid to Juliet Staunton Clark, the wealthy owner of the Charleston Daily Mail, took the bus to Clark’s home in Charleston’s elite South Hills neighborhood. But this particular morning would be tragically different. Arriving at Clark’s home, she found her employer dead, her battered body stretched
Murder On Staunton Road – sold out!
Reaction to Murder On Staunton Road has been overwhelming and the book has sold out! Gratified Mitch and I are, but we want readers to know that, on this site, under “Get The Book”, you can pre-order the second printing that will be available in January 2021. We hope those who wish to purchase the book can leave their email
How The Discussion Began
Even though I have lived in Charleston for over 40 years I was not familiar with the case of Juliet Clark’s murder, though I had heard some comments about it here and there. With the advent of the internet many years ago, my interest in criminology came to bear, and I stumbled across the case and several others of local
Why We Wrote Murder On Staunton Road
Folks have asked Mitch and me why we decided to write Murder On Staunton Road. The answer is multi-faceted. I first considered writing a book about the murder of Juliet Clark thirty plus years ago, in 1987, when chatting with then Kanawha County Sheriff Danny Jones. Danny’s parents had purchased Juliet Clark’s home following her tragic death. A young Danny
