The Felon File

A cold 1904 January in Mitchel County North Carolina, the body of a young man is found lying near the railroad tracks. Lying face first in or near a small creek, The young man shot three times in the head and five in the back.  

The county Coroner was summed and an inquest held. In 1900’s North Carolina many times the initial investigation of a death or homicide was completed by a coroner's jury. They would make the initial determination of foul play. If so the case would be sent to law-enforcement and the court system.  

The murder of 19 year old Mr. Shell from Tennessee with 124 dollars gold in just paid wages in his pocket, would turn into a shade of blue involving attempted jail breaks, planed lynchings and the Sheriff under cover of darkness removing the suspect from the county for safe keeping. Murder or self defense? Were the jail breaks and escapes necessary to protect an innocent man?   Was justice found at the end of the story? Listen and decide for yourself.