He was a killer, a folk hero, and the most dangerous man in the Carolinas. Discover the wild true story of Lewis Redmond, the Moonshine King who defied the federal government, survived a hail of bullets, and became a 19th-century legend.

In this episode, we explore the life of Lewis Redmond, the notorious "Moonshine King of the Carolinas." More than just an outlaw, Redmond was a product of the Reconstruction Era—a time of federal taxes, illicit economies, and violent conflict in the Blue Ridge Mountains. We follow his story from a daring escape through the snow in his socks to a shootout that landed him on the front page of the New York Times.

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In April 1975, a disheveled hiker walked off the Appalachian Trail in Tennessee and walked straight into a sheriff's department to confess to a murder no one knew had happened. The authorities thought he was a kook looking for a warm jail cell. They were wrong.

In this episode, we explore the strange, haunting case of Paul Wallace Bigley and Janice Kay Balza—a crime that raises unsettling questions about memory, violence, and the darkness that can hide inside an unassuming hiker.

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In this episode, we're joined by author Lane Dyer to discuss his novel, The Tragic Tale of Crick Davis: Ashe County Axe Murder. Set in the remote mountains of North Carolina in 1903, the book is based on the true story of Christopher Columbus Davis, a farmer who committed a brutal, seemingly senseless axe murder that shocked the nation.

Lane shares the incredible journey of researching a 120-year-old cold case, from finding obscure historical records and navigating conflicting newspaper accounts to connecting with the victims' descendants and the perpetrator.

We explore the challenges of balancing historical fact with creative fiction, the surprising turns of Crick Davis's life, and the motives behind this tragic event that still captures the imagination today.

Lane Dyer is a retired public servant and the author of 13 books, including novels and regional histories. He grew up in the Wilkes and Ashe County area of North Carolina, where most of his writing is set.

The Tragic Tale of Crick Davis: Ashe County Axe Murder on Amazon

Find everything: all episodes, articles, and videos at: https://blueridgetruecrime.com/

Direct Links:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Blue Ridge True Crime Substack⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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