In 1929, one of the worst murders in Stokes County occurred when a tobacco farmer killed six of his seven children and himself.  Since then, the Lawson family murders have gained widespread attention with continuing questions about why Charlie Lawson committed the crime.  The event is the subject of the latest episode of the Durham-based podcast Criminal, hosted by Phoebe Judge.

Judge recalled the story of Charlie Lawson, saying he went down to the local town center in Stokes County with all his family, bought brand new clothes and had their photograph taken. Then two weeks later on Christmas Day, he shot six of his children, his wife and himself.

“It’s about as gruesome a thing as one can imagine,” Judge said. “He carried each of his children and lined them up next to each other as you might see at a funeral. He put stones over their eyes and then went into the woods and shot himself.”

The tragic story of Charlie Lawson gained national attention after the murder. Judge said throughout the early 20th century, gruesome murders like the one committed by Charlie Lawson became songs called “murder ballads.” Parents used the stories like this as cautionary tales to warn their children saying, “This could happen to you.”

“It was like Law & Order: SVU with a fiddle,” Judge said.