1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,440 Mountain State Mysteries contains adult content that may not be suitable for all audiences. 2 00:00:05,440 --> 00:00:24,120 Listener discretion is advised. I'm your host Mark and I'm Courtney and this is Mountain State Mysteries. 3 00:00:35,440 --> 00:00:54,720 Today we want to tell you about the second oldest case we've covered. A case that claimed the 4 00:00:54,720 --> 00:01:02,400 lives of four family members. A case that after 114 years people are still searching for answers 5 00:01:02,400 --> 00:01:14,160 of the Hood family massacre. George Washington Hood Sr. was in Caswell County, North Carolina, 6 00:01:14,160 --> 00:01:23,200 in 1892. He married first to Ivana Webb, daughter of Martin and Francis Webb. Ivana Webb Hood died 7 00:01:23,200 --> 00:01:30,480 in 1857. Her death record stated her cause of death was a hemorrhage of the womb. Where Ivana 8 00:01:30,480 --> 00:01:37,920 and George were married is unknown. However, they were in Raleigh County, Virginia, in 1857. 9 00:01:37,920 --> 00:01:45,520 When Ivana died, George Washington Hood Sr. enlisted in the 8th Virginia Infantry later 10 00:01:45,520 --> 00:01:51,840 to become the 7th West Virginia Calvary during the Civil War. After the war, he was approved to 11 00:01:51,840 --> 00:01:59,600 receive a pension for his service in the Federal Army. George Washington Hood Sr. later married. 12 00:01:59,600 --> 00:02:09,120 Armincha Bailey, daughter of Brooker Bailey and Sarah Stover on January 10, 1867 in Raleigh County. 13 00:02:09,120 --> 00:02:18,080 George and Sarah's children were Sarah Almeida Hood, Aletha Hood, Joel Hensford Hood, George 14 00:02:18,080 --> 00:02:26,880 Washington Jr., whose twin died at birth, Lucy May Hood, Royal J. Hood, Winfred Hezekah Hood. 15 00:02:26,880 --> 00:02:36,880 Armincha Bailey Hood was born about 1846, died February 14, 1894. She is buried in the Mount 16 00:02:36,880 --> 00:02:45,360 Tabor Cemetery located in Raleigh County. October 31, 1909, started as a normal day for the Hood 17 00:02:45,360 --> 00:02:51,840 family. In their home, four miles outside of Beckley in Mount Tabor, they made the most of 18 00:02:51,840 --> 00:02:58,080 the Sunday by attending church. The four younger members of the Hood family attended the evening 19 00:02:58,080 --> 00:03:04,800 service at the Mount Tabor Baptist Church. It was an exciting day for the family because 12-year-old 20 00:03:04,800 --> 00:03:12,960 Emma had been baptized that Sunday morning. Almeida, Emma, Winfred, and Roy attended the evening 21 00:03:12,960 --> 00:03:20,640 service, but their father decided to stay home. After the service, Almeida, Emma, and Roy went home. 22 00:03:20,640 --> 00:03:26,800 While Winfred and his friend Walter Harper decided to go to a neighbor's home where they had taken 23 00:03:26,800 --> 00:03:32,640 some young ladies. Winfred and Walter were stunned to find the house on fire when they got back home 24 00:03:32,640 --> 00:03:38,560 around 11 p.m. The kitchen was nearly consumed and the flames had reached the second story and the 25 00:03:38,560 --> 00:03:44,880 fire was beyond controlled. Walter and Winfred rushed to the front door and knocked it down, 26 00:03:44,880 --> 00:03:51,200 but the heat and flames were too intense that they were driven back after several attempts. Only a 27 00:03:51,200 --> 00:03:56,640 few minutes went by until the roof fell. The boys couldn't hear any cries from the house. 28 00:03:57,200 --> 00:04:02,320 As soon as the flames had died down on Monday morning, the search for the Hood family began. 29 00:04:02,320 --> 00:04:09,440 The four charred bodies were found in the debris. The legs and arms of all four bodies were burned 30 00:04:09,440 --> 00:04:17,520 off. The bodies of George Hood and Roy, their skulls, had fractures in them. The girls' bodies 31 00:04:17,520 --> 00:04:24,320 were found missing their arms and legs as well. They were also missing another part of their body. 32 00:04:24,320 --> 00:04:34,480 You're listening to Mountain State Mysteries. 33 00:04:42,720 --> 00:04:50,480 The heads of Almeida and Emma Hood were missing. Officials began to wonder why the flames burned 34 00:04:50,480 --> 00:04:56,640 hot enough to destroy the heads of the girls, but not the men. They also wondered about the 35 00:04:56,640 --> 00:05:02,320 fractures in the men's head. Could it have been from a gunshot? Why did they find an empty cartridge 36 00:05:02,320 --> 00:05:08,640 shell near where the father and son were laying? As Monday went on, a large crowd traveled to the 37 00:05:08,640 --> 00:05:15,200 site of the fire. One member of the crowd was prosecuting attorney Dunn, Squire, Pee Pee, 38 00:05:15,200 --> 00:05:20,000 Rael. So court, this kind of actually reminds me of Nellie and Ray's case where the people were coming 39 00:05:20,000 --> 00:05:26,160 from all over just to see the smoke and where the family was found dead. Right. The day after the 40 00:05:26,160 --> 00:05:31,520 murders, the Black Knight Country Club workers recalled their day was basically showing people 41 00:05:31,520 --> 00:05:38,240 to the spot the murders took place. Immediately afterwards, they implemented a coroner's jury. 42 00:05:38,240 --> 00:05:45,280 Dr. Schum, Snuffer, and Sampson were instructed to examine the bodies. Each doctor confirmed that 43 00:05:45,280 --> 00:05:51,120 all of the bodies were in such bad shape that it was impossible to determine whether the death was 44 00:05:51,120 --> 00:05:57,040 the result of the suffocation from the fire or in the Hood family had been murdered the night before. 45 00:06:00,160 --> 00:06:05,760 The coroner's inquests continued in Beckley on Tuesday morning. All three of the doctors 46 00:06:05,760 --> 00:06:12,160 were called on to testify concerning the examination of the bodies. Dr. Schnuffer said that the 47 00:06:12,160 --> 00:06:18,560 remains of Almeida, Emma, and Roy were found in the east wing of the house. George was found laying 48 00:06:19,200 --> 00:06:26,240 partially upon a bedside spring in the west end of the house. The doctor also stated that the 49 00:06:26,240 --> 00:06:33,600 skulls of two of the victims showed conclusively that there had been violence and that the death 50 00:06:33,600 --> 00:06:40,240 had not been caused by suffocation. Actually, small pieces of bone were found embedded in the 51 00:06:40,240 --> 00:06:46,400 brains and cavities of the head of Roy, which basically indicated a blow to the head. The jury 52 00:06:46,400 --> 00:06:54,800 returned with their verdict. We the jury find that the deaths of G.W. Hood Sr., Almeida Hood, 53 00:06:55,360 --> 00:07:02,560 Roy Hood, and Emma Hood were caused by burning or other violence. The remains of the Hood family 54 00:07:02,560 --> 00:07:09,440 were placed in two caskets and entered in at the Mount Tabor Cemetery on Monday afternoon. 55 00:07:16,320 --> 00:07:19,040 You're listening to Mountain State Mysteries. 56 00:07:19,040 --> 00:07:34,720 Immediately after the Hood family were laid to rest, officials started to find the murderer. 57 00:07:35,600 --> 00:07:41,200 The nearby communities were uneasy at the thought that there could be a cold-blooded killer just 58 00:07:41,200 --> 00:07:48,320 wondering about. The person's suspicion fell on was Mike Farrell, who had been interested in Almeida. 59 00:07:48,320 --> 00:07:54,880 The Sunday of the fire, Farrell had gone to the Hood family to visit her. However, he had been 60 00:07:54,880 --> 00:08:00,720 drinking and his actions were found to be offensive by her father. George had told Mike to leave. 61 00:08:01,280 --> 00:08:07,760 Farrell left but remarked that he would return later that night to escort Almeida to church. 62 00:08:08,880 --> 00:08:14,960 He didn't show, so the girls went alone. By Saturday, investigators were ready to make an 63 00:08:14,960 --> 00:08:22,080 arrest. They tracked Mike down, who worked on a five-man bridge carpenter crew for the Virginia 64 00:08:22,080 --> 00:08:27,520 Railway, taking no chances on missing any clues. You want to guess what they did, Court? 65 00:08:28,800 --> 00:08:36,160 Arrested Mike Farrell? They arrested the entire crew. Oh, shit! They had been living in a shanty car 66 00:08:36,160 --> 00:08:43,040 on the sidetrack near Herbertton, which is now Willis Branch near Pax, West Virginia. 67 00:08:43,040 --> 00:08:50,720 The crew included Mike Farrell, Nelson Thompson, Riley Durham, Ed Scruggs. Farrell, 68 00:08:50,720 --> 00:08:56,960 Lively and Thompson were transported to Bluefield, where they were given a sweating by the Baldwin 69 00:08:56,960 --> 00:09:02,960 Felts officer, James O'Connor. Durham and Scruggs were taken to the Beckley Jail. No matter the 70 00:09:02,960 --> 00:09:10,320 amount of intimidation, nothing shook their story and they all proved to have adequate alibis. 71 00:09:10,320 --> 00:09:16,320 The Raleigh County officials were determined to solve this case and ease the minds of the citizens. 72 00:09:16,320 --> 00:09:21,520 Two weeks after the murders, Raleigh County Court offered a thousand-dollar reward, 73 00:09:21,520 --> 00:09:33,440 which would be $33,420.55 in 2023 for the arrest of the murderer or murderers of the Hood family. 74 00:09:33,440 --> 00:09:40,080 Deputy Marshal Dan Cunningham was brought in to assist with the case. Not too long after joining, 75 00:09:40,080 --> 00:09:46,640 he uncovered a clue that seemed promising. He learned that a couple of days after the murder, 76 00:09:46,640 --> 00:09:54,000 Nick Keane had sent a suitcase full of his clothes from Harper to his wife in Beckley. 77 00:09:55,040 --> 00:10:01,680 He sent a clothes by the hack driver. He wrote, Keane told Hugh to tell his wife that she 78 00:10:01,680 --> 00:10:07,600 did not be excited because of the bloody condition of the clothing in his case. He instructed Hugh 79 00:10:07,600 --> 00:10:15,280 to tell her that the blood came off of the other fellow. The very next day, Keane was placed under 80 00:10:15,280 --> 00:10:24,000 arrest by Cunningham and George W. Williams and transported to Charleston. However, Keane would 81 00:10:24,000 --> 00:10:30,560 be able to prove that he was not in the Beckley area during the time of the murder and police 82 00:10:30,560 --> 00:10:38,560 were forced to release him. The next case might remind you of someone from Episode 9 in Season 1. 83 00:10:38,560 --> 00:10:45,440 The Greenberg Ghost? How is there a connection? Well, I'm glad you asked. A woman from Huntington 84 00:10:45,440 --> 00:10:51,440 named Miss Blake, who was famous for her ability to communicate with the dead, with no one being 85 00:10:51,440 --> 00:10:57,920 arrested yet, a friend of the Hood family visited Miss Blake and begged for her help. She agreed, 86 00:10:57,920 --> 00:11:05,520 and the visitor later reported that he had a chance to interview the shade of George Hood. 87 00:11:05,520 --> 00:11:12,160 The shade? Yeah, I guess he meant the apparition of George to me and this might shock you. I'm not 88 00:11:12,160 --> 00:11:17,520 talking about the interview with the shade. I'm taking the interview with the shade as a grain 89 00:11:17,520 --> 00:11:24,880 of salt. There's a lot of evidence that people back in the day would fake apparitions and stuff 90 00:11:24,880 --> 00:11:31,600 just to make people think they were actually talking to someone. But I'm not saying talking 91 00:11:31,600 --> 00:11:39,120 to George was fake, but I'm saying that the shade might definitely been fake. According to the witness, 92 00:11:39,120 --> 00:11:45,280 Hood explained that he and his three children were murdered before their bodies were burned. 93 00:11:45,920 --> 00:11:51,920 The two girls were strangled and their heads were chopped off and placed into a sack. After 94 00:11:51,920 --> 00:11:57,200 the heads were taken to the deepest ravine on the Hood property and buried in the sand. 95 00:11:57,200 --> 00:12:04,400 Roy had been shot and George was killed by a heavy blow to the head by the butt of a pistol. 96 00:12:04,400 --> 00:12:08,640 The house was ransacked. Courtney, do you want to guess what was taken? Was it jewelry, 97 00:12:09,360 --> 00:12:20,080 money, guns, clothing? I just, I don't know. Just $40. What the hell? Right. The ghost of George 98 00:12:20,080 --> 00:12:26,240 maintained that the crime was planned by white men but carried out by three African Americans in 99 00:12:26,240 --> 00:12:33,040 masks. Officials denied any faith in the communications amidst Blake. A search for the heads of the 100 00:12:33,040 --> 00:12:41,280 Hood girls took place, but it was unsuccessful. In April of 1910, West Virginia Governor William E 101 00:12:41,280 --> 00:12:53,360 Glasscock offered a $500 reward which would be around $16,710.27 in 2023 for any clues in the 102 00:12:53,360 --> 00:13:01,120 Hood case but no one came forward. Today, the only thing left with this case is a white marble 103 00:13:01,120 --> 00:13:09,120 pillar with the names of the Hood family and the words gone but not forgotten. If you have any 104 00:13:09,120 --> 00:13:19,040 information on the case of the Hood family, email us at Mount State Mysteries 304 at gmail.com. 105 00:13:21,280 --> 00:13:27,040 Courtney, do you have any final thoughts on this case? Oddly, this is one of the cases to where 106 00:13:27,040 --> 00:13:33,680 it's not as fumbled up as what a majority of our other cases have been. Right. I mean, 107 00:13:33,680 --> 00:13:42,160 even back in the day, I'm sure it went and taken a genius to figure out that somebody's head 108 00:13:43,120 --> 00:13:53,200 was severed off before the bodies were burned. I feel whoever done this was a sick individual 109 00:13:54,240 --> 00:14:02,720 and in reality, with everything that we know about this case, they just seem like really good 110 00:14:02,720 --> 00:14:11,040 people who none of this really deserved to happen to them. And you know, when you think about now 111 00:14:11,040 --> 00:14:18,720 compared to back then, I'm sure now we would have more information and you know, be able to see if 112 00:14:18,720 --> 00:14:25,680 there was any fingerprints on the bodies or anything of that nature. I mean, I just, I don't know. 113 00:14:25,680 --> 00:14:36,160 I don't know. It's sad. Actually, fingerprints, if like something is burned, it actually kind of like 114 00:14:37,360 --> 00:14:44,880 melts or like burns into the item to where like you get like a better fingerprint or like 115 00:14:44,880 --> 00:14:49,680 something like that. So Mark, do you have any final thoughts on this case? So I know that we 116 00:14:49,680 --> 00:14:54,480 both learned about this case at the same time. We actually learned about it from our friend 117 00:14:54,480 --> 00:15:00,000 Scott Whirly from Haunted Beckley. And like you kind of just blows my mind how like they 118 00:15:01,840 --> 00:15:05,520 really couldn't, they thought the heads were burned off. And to me, 119 00:15:07,600 --> 00:15:13,360 maybe they were on the property somewhere. Maybe they were buried somewhere else. I'm not sure. 120 00:15:14,800 --> 00:15:21,840 But definitely, I feel like if DNA was around, then something could have been 121 00:15:21,840 --> 00:15:28,720 found. They could have figured out who did it. I know I kind of discredited Ms. Blake, not saying 122 00:15:28,720 --> 00:15:37,600 she was fake. But I do believe if, because this was years after the Greenberg Ghost case, 123 00:15:38,960 --> 00:15:45,040 I want to know why they didn't believe her or the visitor to her. 124 00:15:45,040 --> 00:15:53,520 Because I mean, they believe Zona's mom. So it also makes you wonder too, how much was this 125 00:15:53,520 --> 00:15:59,680 case? Was it in the press? Oh yeah, it was definitely in the press because a lot of this came from 126 00:16:00,320 --> 00:16:05,680 whatever the newspaper was back then, the register, Harold, Raleigh register, whichever it was at the 127 00:16:05,680 --> 00:16:11,440 time, a lot of this information came from there. So I mean, it kind of makes you wonder like, 128 00:16:11,440 --> 00:16:20,880 could she have just seen it and then we're from there? You know? And I can say we visited the 129 00:16:20,880 --> 00:16:28,000 graveyard twice. The first time completely fine, nothing weird. The second time was definitely 130 00:16:28,000 --> 00:16:34,480 creepy. We actually went to both parts of the cemetery, which the other part closest to the 131 00:16:34,480 --> 00:16:44,160 church, very sketchy to get into, won't even lie. It's sketchy. But you can actually see 132 00:16:44,160 --> 00:16:52,000 pictures of their grave on our social media and on our blog. Next time on Mountain State Mysteries, 133 00:16:52,000 --> 00:16:58,080 we're going to tell you the story of Juliet Buffington Insulow. If you find yourself enjoying 134 00:16:58,080 --> 00:17:04,800 Mountain State Mysteries, take a second to follow, download, share, and rate it on your favorite podcasting 135 00:17:04,800 --> 00:17:12,320 service. It helps others find good true crime podcasts. Don't forget to follow us on Instagram, 136 00:17:12,320 --> 00:17:19,920 Facebook, TikTok, and wherever you listen to podcasts, all at Mountain State Mysteries. 137 00:17:19,920 --> 00:17:35,840 For the show notes, check out our website, MountainStateMystery Podcast.com.