A Murder In Virginia

Recounts the events surrounding the dramatic post-Civil War trial of a young African American sawmill hand who was accused of ax murdering a white woman on her Virginia farmyard and who implicated three other women in the crime.

The true story of Elizabeth Haysom and Jens Soering, convicted of the double murder of her parents, Derek and Nancy Haysom.

Tells the story of a sensational 1791 Virginia murder case, and explores Revolutionary America's debates over justice, criminal punishment, and equality before the law.

*** A NEW YORK TIMES "100 Notable Books of 2020" *** A stunning, complex narrative about the fractured legacy of a decades-old double murder in rural West Virginia—and the writer determined to put the pieces back together. In the early evening of June 25, 1980 in Pocahontas County, West Virginia, two middle-class outsiders named Vicki Durian, 26, and Nancy Santomero, 19, were murdered in an isolated clearing. They were hitchhiking to a festival known as the Rainbow Gathering but never arrived. For thirteen years, no one was prosecuted for the “Rainbow Murders” though deep suspicion was cast on a succession of local residents in the community, depicted as poor, dangerous, and backward. In 1993, a local farmer was convicted, only to be released when a known serial killer and diagnosed schizophrenic named Joseph Paul Franklin claimed responsibility. As time passed, the truth seemed to slip away, and the investigation itself inflicted its own traumas—-turning neighbor against neighbor and confirming the fears of violence outsiders have done to this region for centuries. In The Third Rainbow Girl, Emma Copley Eisenberg uses the Rainbow Murders case as a starting point for a thought-provoking tale of an Appalachian community bound by the false stories that have been told about. Weaving in experiences from her own years spent living in Pocahontas County, she follows the threads of this crime through the complex history of Appalachia, revealing how this mysterious murder has loomed over all those affected for generations, shaping their fears, fates, and desires. Beautifully written and brutally honest, The Third Rainbow Girl presents a searing and wide-ranging portrait of America—divided by gender and class, and haunted by its own violence.

This compelling book reveals fascinating truth about a crime involving a teenage lesbian love triangle that exploded when two girls dragged their roommate into a wooded area and beat and stabbed her to death in Richmond, Virginia, in July 1997.Chew covered the story for "Out" magazine. 8 pages of photos.

"In his fascinating account of crime in Virginia, John F. Jebb explores the evidence, motives, and colorful personalities that captured the public's imagination during the course of the state's criminal trials. Presenting the crimes in context, the author blends Virginia law and history in an engaging and superbly written work> --Fred Shackelford, author of Judges Say the Darndest Things Includes . . . The controversial rape case of the Martinsville Seven The first murder in America to be convicted on DNA evidence The UVA honors students accused of murder The last-minute reprieve of Earl Washington Jr. based on DNA findings The Virginia Tech shootings AUTHOR: John F. Jebb is a graduate of the University of Virginia and participated in the New Castle County (Delaware) Citizens Police Academy. He teaches English at the University of Delaware and with J. K. Van Dover authored the book Isn't Justice Always Unfair?: The Detective in Southern Literature.