Robert G. Lawson
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780813174624
- eISBN:
- 9780813174655
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813174624.001.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Legal History
Betty Gail Brown was nineteen years old in 1961. A second-year student at Transylvania University. On the evening of October 26, 1961, she drove to campus to study with friends for an exam. Around ...
More
Betty Gail Brown was nineteen years old in 1961. A second-year student at Transylvania University. On the evening of October 26, 1961, she drove to campus to study with friends for an exam. Around midnight, she left the campus, but at some point she returned and parked her car in a driveway near the center of campus. By 3:00 a.m., she was the victim of one of the most sensational killings ever to occur in the Bluegrass. She was found dead in her car, strangled by her own brassiere. Kentuckians from across the state became engrossed in the proceedings, as lead after lead went nowhere. Four years later, the police investigation had stalled.In 1965, a drifter named Alex Arnold confessed to the killing while in jail on other charges in Oregon. Arnold was brought to Lexington and put on trial, where he entered a plea of not guilty. Robert Lawson was a young attorney at a local firm when a senior member asked him to help defend Arnold. In Who Killed Betty Gail Brown?, Lawson meticulously details the police search and Arnold’s trial. Since 1965, new leads have come and gone, and Betty Gail Brown’s murder remains unsolved. A written transcription of the court’s proceedings does not exist, and thus Lawson, drawing upon police and court records, newspaper articles, and his own notes, provides an invaluable record of an important piece of local history about one of Kentucky’s most famous cold cases.Less
Betty Gail Brown was nineteen years old in 1961. A second-year student at Transylvania University. On the evening of October 26, 1961, she drove to campus to study with friends for an exam. Around midnight, she left the campus, but at some point she returned and parked her car in a driveway near the center of campus. By 3:00 a.m., she was the victim of one of the most sensational killings ever to occur in the Bluegrass. She was found dead in her car, strangled by her own brassiere. Kentuckians from across the state became engrossed in the proceedings, as lead after lead went nowhere. Four years later, the police investigation had stalled.In 1965, a drifter named Alex Arnold confessed to the killing while in jail on other charges in Oregon. Arnold was brought to Lexington and put on trial, where he entered a plea of not guilty. Robert Lawson was a young attorney at a local firm when a senior member asked him to help defend Arnold. In Who Killed Betty Gail Brown?, Lawson meticulously details the police search and Arnold’s trial. Since 1965, new leads have come and gone, and Betty Gail Brown’s murder remains unsolved. A written transcription of the court’s proceedings does not exist, and thus Lawson, drawing upon police and court records, newspaper articles, and his own notes, provides an invaluable record of an important piece of local history about one of Kentucky’s most famous cold cases.
Robert G. Lawson
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780813174624
- eISBN:
- 9780813174655
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813174624.003.0003
- Subject:
- Law, Legal History
Investigators invested much time and energy tracking downhundreds of speculative tips and leads trying to find Betty Gail Brown’s murderer. They workedalmost around the clock for days and weeks after ...
More
Investigators invested much time and energy tracking downhundreds of speculative tips and leads trying to find Betty Gail Brown’s murderer. They workedalmost around the clock for days and weeks after the killing,struggled to separate promising tips and leads from unfoundedrumors and speculative beliefs, and at the end of their efforts andstruggles found themselves almost totally baffled by what theystill faced: a horrific murder, no real suspects, no evidence of motive,no clues as to identity of the killer, and a rapidly darkeningroad in front of them.This chapter looks at various people of interest during the course of the investigation, including a former cafeteria worker at Transylvania, a medical technician at St. Joseph’s hospital, and students.Less
Investigators invested much time and energy tracking downhundreds of speculative tips and leads trying to find Betty Gail Brown’s murderer. They workedalmost around the clock for days and weeks after the killing,struggled to separate promising tips and leads from unfoundedrumors and speculative beliefs, and at the end of their efforts andstruggles found themselves almost totally baffled by what theystill faced: a horrific murder, no real suspects, no evidence of motive,no clues as to identity of the killer, and a rapidly darkeningroad in front of them.This chapter looks at various people of interest during the course of the investigation, including a former cafeteria worker at Transylvania, a medical technician at St. Joseph’s hospital, and students.
Robert G. Lawson
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780813174624
- eISBN:
- 9780813174655
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813174624.003.0002
- Subject:
- Law, Legal History
This chapter examines the investigation of Betty Gail Brown’s murder. It details the crime scene investigators found the night Betty Gail was located, as well as the autopsy performed to determine ...
More
This chapter examines the investigation of Betty Gail Brown’s murder. It details the crime scene investigators found the night Betty Gail was located, as well as the autopsy performed to determine cause of death. Within a few hours of the murder, the police department mobilized close to twenty detectives and other officers to work around the clock looking for witnesses and evidence of the crime. The usual reluctance to release information to the media and the public did not prevail, and the police release of information about the Brown murder was truly extraordinary. Two days after the police discovered Betty Gail’s body and after her photograph had appeared in local newspapers, a waitress at a restaurant regularly frequented by Transylvania students contacted police authorities to report she had information that might be important to their investigation. She told investigators that she had seen the murder victim in the restaurant where she worked at some point in time between midnight and 1 o’clock on the night of the killing. Unfortunately, after many attempts, the waitress could not identify the victim’s companion on the night of the murder, and the early lead provided by the waitress turned into a dead end.Less
This chapter examines the investigation of Betty Gail Brown’s murder. It details the crime scene investigators found the night Betty Gail was located, as well as the autopsy performed to determine cause of death. Within a few hours of the murder, the police department mobilized close to twenty detectives and other officers to work around the clock looking for witnesses and evidence of the crime. The usual reluctance to release information to the media and the public did not prevail, and the police release of information about the Brown murder was truly extraordinary. Two days after the police discovered Betty Gail’s body and after her photograph had appeared in local newspapers, a waitress at a restaurant regularly frequented by Transylvania students contacted police authorities to report she had information that might be important to their investigation. She told investigators that she had seen the murder victim in the restaurant where she worked at some point in time between midnight and 1 o’clock on the night of the killing. Unfortunately, after many attempts, the waitress could not identify the victim’s companion on the night of the murder, and the early lead provided by the waitress turned into a dead end.
Robert G. Lawson
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780813174624
- eISBN:
- 9780813174655
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813174624.003.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Legal History
This chapter gives background information on the murder of Betty Gail Brown, a smart, studious student who attended Transylvania College in 1961. On October 26, 1961, Betty Gail went to study with ...
More
This chapter gives background information on the murder of Betty Gail Brown, a smart, studious student who attended Transylvania College in 1961. On October 26, 1961, Betty Gail went to study with friends on campus. Close to midnight, she got into her Simca and prepared to leave once they were finished, but never made it home. It wasn’t until her parents alerted the authorities that she was found just after 3 a.m., strangled to death by a brassiere.Less
This chapter gives background information on the murder of Betty Gail Brown, a smart, studious student who attended Transylvania College in 1961. On October 26, 1961, Betty Gail went to study with friends on campus. Close to midnight, she got into her Simca and prepared to leave once they were finished, but never made it home. It wasn’t until her parents alerted the authorities that she was found just after 3 a.m., strangled to death by a brassiere.
