The true story of the long-unsolved killing of a celebrity in northern Florida: “A page-turner.” —First Coast Living The murder of Athalia Ponsell Lindsley, a former model and television hostess who was once engaged to Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., is still notorious more than four decades after it occurred. The only eyewitness said a man attacked Lindsley with a machete in broad daylight on the front steps of her mansion. Gossip swirled that neighbor Frances Bemis knew who killed Lindsley and would notify authorities—and then Bemis was later murdered on her nightly walk. Police arrested only one suspect for Lindsley’s murder, which remains unsolved to this day. Here, Elizabeth Randall replaces the rumors with research, and draws from over one thousand pages of depositions, records, official county documentation, and interviews to reveal the story behind this shocking crime. Includes photos

The murder of Athalia Ponsell Lindsley is notorious more than four decades after it occurred. The only eyewitness said a man attacked Lindsley with a machete in broad daylight on the front steps of her white mansion. Gossip swirled that neighbor Frances Bemis knew who killed Lindsley and would notify authorities. Bemis was later murdered on her nightly walk. Police arrested only one suspect for Lindsley's murder, which remains unsolved to this day. Author Elizabeth Randall puts the rumors to rest through research culled from over one thousand pages of depositions, records, official county documentation and interviews.

This book is a true story of a ghastly murder in the nation's oldest city in January of 1974. The victim was a former New York City model who in earlier years had moved in the highest social circles, which included the Kennedy family of Massachusetts. The murder investigation and subsequent trial involved many people from the highest echelons of St. Augustine and St. Johns County.

When Pedro Menéndez de Avilés founded St. Augustine in 1565, his New World survival kit included gambling, liquor and ladies for hire. For the next four hundred years, these three industries were vital in keeping the city financially afloat. With the cooperation of law enforcement and politicians, St. Augustine's madams, bootleggers and high-rollers created a veritable Riviera where tourists, especially the wealthy, could indulge in almost every vice and still bring the family along for a wholesome vacation picking oranges and gawking at alligators. Join historian Ann Colby's tour of spots not on the standard tourist map to discover hidden-in-plain-sight bordellos, speakeasies, casinos and the occasional opium den.

Photojournalists Bob and Liz Randall spent two years exploring Florida's ancient and enchanting Ocklawaha River. Their journey provides an inside look at the rich recreational resources of the river, its wildlife and the people, past and present, who contributed to its history and welfare. Along the way, they met artists, environmentalists, captains, law enforcement officials, conservationists, filmmakers, historians and local descendants whose lives are inextricably intertwined with the prehistoric river. From its subterranean and aquatic past to the Seminole Indian Wars, the steamboat era and political struggles, many voices are integral to the river's survival and to one of the longest environmental conflicts in Florida history.

The notorious true crime story of a sex party that ended in double murder in the woods of Chattanooga County, Georgia. On December 12th, 1982, Tony West and Avery Brock made a visit to Corpsewood Manor under the pretense of a celebration. Then they brutally murdered their hosts. Dr. Charles Scudder had been a professor of pharmacology at Chicago’s Loyola University before he and his boyfriend Joey Odom moved to Georgia and built their own home in the Chattahoochee National Forest. Scudder had absconded with twelve thousand doses of LSD and had a very particular vision for their “castle in the woods.” It included a “pleasure chamber,” and rumors of Satanism swirled around the two men. Scudder even claimed to have summoned a demon to protect the estate. But when Scudder and Odom welcomed West and Brock into their strange abode, they had no idea the men were armed and dangerous. When the evening of kinky fun turned to a scene of gruesome slaughter, the murders set the stage for a sensational trial that engulfed the sleepy Southern town of Trion in shocking revelations and lurid speculations.

Tales from four northeastern Florida counties that are dominated by the wispy trails of strange female spirits known as ghostly "Women in White." They stand and stare, float, appear in mirrors, and can be seen in many varied locations. These apparitions guard the many secrets in northeast Florida...secrets told in the coded language of ghost lore. Who is the wet spirit woman at Princess Place Preserve? Is a Woman in White still looking for someone to haunt at the Old Clay County Jail? Who is the woman wringing her hands at Old St. Luke's Hospital? What apparition haunts the Casa Marina Hotel by running the halls at night? Who is the ghostly woman walking back and forth on the second floor of the Homestead Restaurant? To see such a spirit, one only need look beneath the surface of northeast Florida's beauty...or turn the pages of this tome. -- back cover.

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 On January 23, 1974, it was a Wednesday under the astrological sign of Aquarius. Richard Nixon was president, and he enhanced oil production in the United States by giving tax breaks to American oil companies. The national headlines were full of news about Watergate, the energy crisis, and space exploration. #2 On January 23, 1974, in St. Augustine, Florida, the barometric pressure was 30. 18, with a relative humidity of 70 percent. It was foggy that morning and cool, but by 6:00 p. m. , the temperature was a perfect seventy-two degrees. The sun wouldn’t set until 6:55 p. since Florida skipped daylight savings time that year. #3 James Lindsley, Athalia’s husband, arrived at his house on Lew Street a few minutes before 6 p. m. He and Athalia had trouble selling her house on Marine Street. They had planned to sell it in the spring. #4 On January 23, 1974, residents of St. Augustine, Florida, were shocked to find a woman’s body lying in the street. She had been badly butchered. Her head was almost cut off.

Anyone who has ever traveled to Florida immediately assumes they've got the state figured out. It usually involves the common tropes we see splashed across news and social media: Disney, Miami, alligators, heat, retirees and weird people. As a result, very few people try to dig any deeper. This book explores the darkest parts of Florida's past. These stories, told out in sequential order and broken down by theme, contain everything that has come to make up the Sunshine State: from the surprising, to the weird, to the horrifying, and, in some cases, inspiring. Topics covered include Florida in the Age of Exploration, pirates, Spanish colonialism, the Seminole Wars, slavery and race relations during the Civil War, Prohibition, segregation, disco and drugs, serial killers, economic ruin, urbanism, and Florida in the age of DeSantis.

It is no wonder the ancient city of St. Augustine is steeped in secrets. St. Johns, the oldest continuously occupied county in America celebrated its 450th birthday on September 4, 2015. More like a European enclave than an urban landscape, it is a place of cannon fire, street parties, historical reenactments, concerts, and more. From admiring replicas of fine art at Ripley’s Believe or Not, to hunting haunts in restaurants and museums, to eating ice cream from a recipe originated by World War II bombardiers, St. Augustine has it all from beaches, gourmet dining, festivals, and attractions. A young and vibrant business community coexists with a rich history from the Spanish conquistadors, the British aristocracy, antebellum Americans, and Civil Rights leaders. There are stories behind the forts, old Spanish houses, a slave market, civil rights landmarks, museums, hotels, art galleries, a college that was once a luxury hotel, and more. These places all have secrets to tell and, since it’s St. Augustine, one or two ghost stories as well. Once you come to St. Augustine, you keep coming back. St. Augustine is one place, despite its status as the oldest city, whose secrets never get old.