Episode 147 Helen Spence Arkansas Delta Folk Hero

Southern Mysteries Podcast

Shannon Ballard

True Crime, Society & Culture, History

4.8 • 918 Ratings

🗓️ 27 May 2024

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In 1931, 18 year old Helen Spence became a household name, and Arkansas folk hero, after she sought vengeance for the death of her father and stepmother. Over the next three years, the media followed Helen’s trial, imprisonment, second murder charge, prison escapes, and her murder at the age of 22. Want more Southern Mysteries? Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries Connect Website: southernmysteries.comFacebook: Southern Mysteries PodcastInstagram: @explorethesouthEmail: [email protected] Episode Sources Encyclopedia of Arkansas: Helen Spence (1912–1934) People’s River History Project: A Secret History of American River People Denise White Parkinson: Daughter of the White River: Depression-Era Treachery and Vengeance in the Arkansas Delta Only In Arkansas: River of Redemption: The Helen Spence Story The Daily World: Decisions of the Arkansas Supreme Court, January 13, 1930 The Shreveport Journal: Wounded Man is Thrown in River, April 24, 1930 Hope Star: Body of Timber Worker, Drowned in River, Found, June 5, 1930 The Columbus Ledger: Girl Kills Accused Slayer of Father in Courtroom, January 20,1931 The Barre Daily Times: Young Woman Didn’t Trust Jury with Trial, January 20, 1931 Sun Herald: Courtroom Slayer Gets Five Year Term, April 2, 1931 Reading Times: Arrest Trusty for Killing Girl Who Fled Prison, July 13, 1934 Daily News: Tragedy of Helen Spence Eaton, July 22, 1934 Hope Star: Martin Acquitted in Eaton Slaying, September 28, 1934 Arkansas Times: The river people, August 17, 2006 Fox 16 TV: River Justice: pardon sought for Delta folk hero Malvern Daily Record: Helen Spence: An Arkansas Folk Hero for the Ages, March 6, 2023 Episode Music Impromptu, Traveler and Unanswered Questions by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Transcript

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0:00.0	In the 1930s, community of River people lived along the lower white river in the Arkansas Delta.
0:16.0	Considered outcast by drylanders, River people had an agreed-upon way of life.
0:21.0	They shared what they had within the community and there was an
0:24.8	understanding anyone who stole from their neighbor or took a life would face
0:31.0	river justice. In 1931 would face River Justice.
0:33.0	In 1931, 18-year-old Helen Spence was featured on the front page of the New York Times.
0:40.0	She made national news after she sought vengeance for the death of her father and stepmother.
0:46.0	Helen, who was born on a houseboat on the White River, was quoted in a national paper explaining her way of life, saying,
0:55.0	down where I was raised in the White River Bottoms,
0:58.0	where we rarely saw the law,
1:00.0	we took care of such matters ourselves.
1:03.0	No one ever killed anyone unless there was a reason for it.
1:08.0	I was born to that kind of law and it seemed all right to me.
1:12.0	Over the next three years the media... and it seemed all right to me.
1:16.0	Over the next three years, the media followed Helen's trial, her imprisonment,
1:18.0	another murder charge,
1:20.0	prison escapes,
1:22.0	and the murder of Helen Spence at the age of 22.
1:26.8	Welcome to Southern Mysteries, exploring history and mysteries
1:31.2	of the American South.
1:33.0	I'm your host, Shannon Ballard.
1:36.0	This is the story of Arkansas Delta Folk Hero, Helen Spence.
	...

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