Murder at Asheville's Battery Park Hotel by Anne Chesky

Murder at Asheville's Battery Park Hotel by Anne Chesky

Did the phrase That's what I was wondering... solve a murder?

In the morning hours of July 16, 1936, Helen Clevenger's uncle discovered her bloodied body crumpled on the floor of her small room in Asheville's grand Battery Park Hotel. She had been shot through the chest. Buncombe County Sheriff Laurence Brown, up for reelection, desperately searched for the teenager's killer as the public clamored for answers. Though witnesses reported seeing a white man leave the scene, Brown's focus turned instead to the hotel's Black employees and on August 9 he arrested bell hop Martin Moore. After a frenzied four-day trial that captured the nation's attention, Moore was convicted of Helen's murder on August 22. Though Moore confessed to Sherriff Brown, doubt of his guilt lingers and many Southerners feared that justice had not, in fact, been served.

Author Anne Chesky Smith weaves together varying accounts of the murder and investigation to expose a complex and disturbing chapter in Asheville's history.

Smith, Anne Chesky: - Anne Chesky Smith is the director of the Swannanoa Valley Museum in Black Mountain. Heather South is the archivist at the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources (NCDCR) Western Regional Archives in Asheville. The authors have selected images from the extensive NCDCR Black Mountain College archival collections to illustrate the history of this unique learning community.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781467145602
Title	Murder at Asheville's Battery Park Hotel
Author	Anne Chesky Smith
Series	True Crime
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	History Press
Year published	2021-07-26
Number of pages	208
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.