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On Thursday, November 12 at 10am, join us at OLLI Sunny Slope as we welcome author Matt Kessler, who will be his debut true crime novel, The Wiregrass: A Tale of Murder and Retribution in the Deep South. This is a free event. About Matt:
Matt Kessler is a writer from Alabama. He has reported justice, race, and equity stories in Mississippi for The Guardian, and environmental stories for The Atlantic. His radio work has been broadcast on Mississippi Public Broadcasting and Illinois Public Media. A fellow in the University of Southern California’s PhD in Creative Writing and Literature Program, he lives with his family in Birmingham.
The Wiregrass: A Tale of Murder and Retribution in the Deep South
In 1999, two white teenage girls, J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett, were found shot in the trunk of Beasley’s car on her 17th birthday. Months passed and the murder remained unsolved, with no clear motive for either death. Locals suspected a police coverup; Ozark’s police force had a reputation for dating high schoolers and had butchered the investigation in crucial ways, including destroying the crime scene during the course of the investigation.
Suspicion of the police rose to a fever pitch 15 years later with the release of leaked FBI documents. Soon after this came to light came the surprise arrest of Coley McCraney, a devout Black man in his mid-40s, in 2019. Many in the community, including Beasley’s father, harbor doubts that he was the killer, but McCraney was convicted of both murders in 2023 and sentenced to serve two life sentences.
This is a FREE event.
Event Address: Sunny Slope 1031 S College Street Auburn, AL
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Event venue
149 E. Magnolia Avenue, Suite A, Auburn, AL, United States, Alabama 36830
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