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The Drowning Death of Brenda Anderson in South Carolina
On the afternoon of June 19, 1965, a little girl playing on the shore of Folly Beach, South Carolina came across the deceased body of a woman wearing a two-piece bathing suit. Because there were no personal belongings found on the beach, authorities began questioning nearby residents to see if anyone could identify the young woman. When 24-year-old John Paul Anderson, a Polaris Submarine crewman from Massachusetts, returned home from running errands early that evening, he was unable to locate his wife, 20-year-old Brenda Lee Minton Anderson, who lived with him on Folly Beach. That’s when neighbors told him about the woman who had been found on the beach and he was able…
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Book Review: Murder by Milkshake by Elizabeth Maria Naranjo
When I heard that author Elizabeth Maria Naranjo had begun writing a YA cozy mysteries, with Murder by Milkshake being the first in her series, I was so excited. As a teen, I was a huge fan of the Trixie Belden mystery series, as well as Francine Pascal’s Sweet Valley High books featuring the lives of twins Liz and Jessica Wakefield and their group of friends. In high school, I also delved into more adult mysteries with author Mary Higgins Clark. Naranjo gave an interview with WOW! Women on Writing when she launched her blog tour this week explaining how she got the idea to create a unique blend of genres she hadn’t…
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The 1995 Shooting at the University of North Carolina
On Jan. 26, 1995, around 2 p.m., twenty-six-year-old University of North Carolina law student Wendell Williamson walked down Henderson Street near campus in Chapel Hill, N.C., carrying a semi-automatic rifle and wearing a camouflage jacket. He opened fire, killing 42-year-old restaurant worker Ralph Walker near his apartment. He continued walking, shooting at bystanders. Twenty-year-old UNC student and lacrosse player Kevin Reichardt was riding his bicycle in front of the Phi Mu sorority house, and he was killed instantly when Williamson shot him. Williamson then shot at police officer Demetrise Stephenson, who was driving by in her police cruiser. Injured, she crashed her patrol car into a curb. Police officers on Henderson Street began…