I began my investigation by searching for newspaper reports from the time period. My first attempts were stymied by bad luck. The archive of newspapers in Haywood County for the years of 1927 to 1931, including the crucial year of 1928, were lost in a fire that destroyed the old Haywood County library. Other archives of local papers were either missing or damaged beyond use.
I made my way to the Jackson County library and hit the jackpot. The September 6, 1928 edition of the Jackson County Herald opens with the headline "SLAYERS OF GREEN STILL AT LARGE." The article goes in to significantly more detail about the events of August 31, and creates even more mystery. I'll attempt to condense and clarify this information as much as I can. I think the easiest way to do this is probably a simple timeline. I'll put my notes and comments in italics.
Friday, 31 August 1928: During a box dinner and play at the old Balsam School, Sheriff's Deputy Claud Green is shot seven times with two different guns. Only one eyewitness is noted in the reports, a 14 year old student from the school. His name is never mentioned again. The Jackson County Herald reports two shooters.
Thursday, 6 September 1928: Alney Mehaffey is arrested for the murder of Green. Mehaffey is a 24 year old escaped convict.
Tuesday, 11 September 1928: Ed Smathers is arrested for the murder of Green. Smathers is a 35 year old escaped convict1. He is asleep in a friends home when deputies Strike him in the head, knocking him to the ground2. He is taken to a local doctor for medical care before being imprisoned.
1Smathers was convicted in 1926 for manslaughter after claiming self-defense. He is sentenced to 5-7 years, but escapes after just six months.
2It is almost definite from reading the reports that a relative of Smathers turned him in for the reward. He is lured to a friends home with the pretext of meeting this relative and procuring some liquor. It is here that he is arrested after nodding off at the kitchen table.
16 October 1928: The trial of Edward Smathers begins. He stands accused of first degree murder. Smathers' defense team argues that his trial should be delayed until his accused accomplice, Alney Mehaffey is indicted. The prosecutors acknowledge that the case against Mehaffey is so weak that he will probably never be indicted unless new facts are brought up in the trial of Smathers3. The defense then argues that a fair trial in Jackson County is nearly impossible. To alleviate this concern, the judge orders that the jurors should be pulled from the eastern part of Haywood County4.
3I have yet to find any further mention of Mehaffey, either in the papers or online, other than a census record from 1940 and a few pages about his burial. If this is the same Mehaffey, he passed away in 1985.
4This is a distance of only 30 miles or so; the idea that the people in this area wouldn't have heard of the murder of a policeman seems ludicrous.
18 October 1928: A witness in the trial testifies that she heard Smathers confess to his wife his role in the death of Claud Smathers, and further implicates Alney Mehaffey in the death. She quotes Smathers as saying, "I shot Claud Green, but I had to do it." The character of the witness is called into question, and it is noted in court that she has repeatedly denied that Smathers ever made the admission that she is testifying to5.
Smathers has a comprehensive alibi; several people testify on his behalf as to his whereabouts on the night of the murder. School children that were present on the night of the shooting claim that they believe that Smathers was at the scene, but none of them will testify that it was definitely him.
5The story gets murky here. To paraphrase, the witness testifies that she overhears Smathers admitting to the murder to his wife. Smathers goes on to explain what happened, and that Deputy Green had attempted to search a man on the Balsam School grounds. She never names this man. A scuffle ensues, and another man fires at Deputy Green. At this point, the man involved in the scuffle opens fire as well. She ends her testimony by saying that she also overheard Smathers telling his wife that he didn't kill Green and that she should believe him no matter what she hears. This testimony is all over the place, and makes little sense. This could be chalked up to poor reporting by the newspaper, or it could simply be an untrustworthy witness. It's important to note, however, that this is one of the only witnesses that is mentioned by the paper.
25 October 1928: Smathers is convicted of second degree murder and sentenced to 20-25 years in prison. The jury is concerned that there are no eyewitnesses and that the case is entirely cicumstantial.
Beyond this date, I don't have a lot of solid information. There are two interesting tidbits, however. It is known that Smathers only served a short portion of his sentence before being released and moving west. This seems strange, considering that he had been convicted of murdering a police officer, and that he was an escaped convict when he was apprehended. This doesn't seem like the type of prisoner who gets an early release.
Secondly, there is a story within the Smathers family that seems to hint at a cover-up. According to the tale, Smathers sent a letter from the prison to his cousin George that said, "If you don't get me out of here, I'm coming with the truth." Was Smathers taking the fall for someone? According to this story, most locals understood that it was in fact George Smathers, and not Ed, who had murdered Deputy Green.
So what does this have to do with ghosts? If some theories are to be believed, a spirit may become stuck if there is some great unsettled tragedy or a wrong to be righted. Does Deputy Green still hang around because he feels that Smathers got off too easy, or is he still looking for the real killer?
The old balsam school did not exist until 1940. The actual; murder took place on down the RR tracks at the old Glen Parris house still standing today
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