On the evening of May 2, 1915, Stella Kinney was severely beaten while traveling with her uncle, Robert S. Frasure, on a rural road near Olive Hill, Kentucky. The two were traveling to the home of her parents when the incident occurred. Frasure claimed they were attacked by robbers who assaulted him, stole money, and struck Kinney with a club (actually a hatchet). Kinney was taken to the home of her parents where she died shortly afterwards. She was seventeen years old. Following the autopsy, it was found that she was four months pregnant.

Frasure was arrested soon after her death and a series of six trials ensued between 1915 and 1918. It was believed he murdered Kinney to hide the shame and disgrace of impregnating her. There were two hung juries and three guilty verdicts with life imprisonment. The final appeal was decided in April of 1918.

Robert S. Frasure Murder Trials Collection consists of research materials acquired by Lydia Justice Edwards during the process of writing a series of articles on the murder trials titled "Beautyville: Murder in my Family" for the Eastern Kentucky Voice in 2016.

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Submissions from 2006

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Stella Kenney: A Little Problem in Evidence, Richard H. Underwood and Journal of Southern Legal History

Submissions from 2015

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Presentation Notes on What Happened to the People Who were involved in the Trials, Lydia Justice Edwards

Submissions from 2016

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75 Men from Madison County, Lydia Justice Edwards

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2016-01-29 Beautyville: Murder in my Family (Part 1), Lydia Justice Edwards and Eastern Kentucky Voice

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2016-02-05 Beautyville: Murder in my Family (Part 2), Lydia Justice Edwards and Eastern Kentucky Voice

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2016-02-19 Beautyville: Murder in my Family (Part 3a)), Lydia Justice Edwards and Eastern Kentucky Voice

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2016-02-19 Beautyville: Murder in my Family (Part 3b), Lydia Justice Edwards and Eastern Kentucky Voice

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2016-02-26 Beautyville: Murder in my Family (Part 4), Lydia Justice Edwards and Eastern Kentucky Voice

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2016-03-04 Beautyville: Murder in my Family (Part 5), Lydia Justice Edwards and Eastern Kentucky Voice

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2016-03-11 Beautyville: Murder in my Family (Part 6), Lydia Justice Edwards and Eastern Kentucky Voice

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2016-03-18 Beautyville: Murder in my Family (Part 7), Lydia Justice Edwards and Eastern Kentucky Voice

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2016-03-25 Beautyville: Murder in my Family (Part 8), Lydia Justice Edwards and Eastern Kentucky Voice

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2016-04-01 Beautyville: Murder in my Family (Part 9), Lydia Justice Edwards and Eastern Kentucky Voice

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2016-04-08 Beautyville: Murder in my Family (Part 10), Lydia Justice Edwards and Eastern Kentucky Voice

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2016-04-15 Beautyville: Murder in my Family (Part 11), Lydia Justice Edwards and Eastern Kentucky Voice

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2016-04-22 Beautyville: Murder in my Family (Part 12), Lydia Justice Edwards and Eastern Kentucky Voice

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2016-04-29 Beautyville: Murder in my Family (Part 13), Lydia Justice Edwards and Eastern Kentucky Voice

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2016-05-06 Beautyville: Murder in my Family (Part 14), Lydia Justice Edwards and Eastern Kentucky Voice

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2016-05-13 Beautyville: Murder in my Family (Part 15), Lydia Justice Edwards and Eastern Kentucky Voice

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2016-05-20 Beautyville: Murder in my Family (Part 16), Lydia Justice Edwards and Eastern Kentucky Voice

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2016-05-27 Beautyville: Murder in my Family (Part 17), Lydia Justice Edwards and Eastern Kentucky Voice

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2016-06-03 Beautyville: Murder in my Family (Part 18), Lydia Justice Edwards and Eastern Kentucky Voice

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2016-06-17 Beautyville: Murder in my Family (Part 19), Lydia Justice Edwards and Eastern Kentucky Voice

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2016-07-01 Beautyville: Murder in my Family (Part 20), Lydia Justice Edwards and Eastern Kentucky Voice

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2016-07-15 Beautyville: Murder in my Family (Part 21), Lydia Justice Edwards and Eastern Kentucky Voice

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2016-07-29 Beautyville: Murder in my Family (Part 22), Lydia Justice Edwards and Eastern Kentucky Voice

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2016-08-26 Beautyville: Murder in my Family (Part 23), Lydia Justice Edwards and Eastern Kentucky Voice

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2016-09-09 Beautyville: Murder in my Family (Part 24), Lydia Justice Edwards and Eastern Kentucky Voice

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2016-09-23 Beautyville: Murder in my Family (Part 25), Lydia Justice Edwards and Eastern Kentucky Voice

Submissions from 2017

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2017-12-10 Article on the 100th Anniversary of the Final Verdict, Lydia Justice Edwards