Episode 188 The Murder of Louise Beattie

Southern Mysteries Podcast

Shannon Ballard

True Crime, Society & Culture, History

4.8 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 13 April 2026

⏱️ 28 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In July 1911, Louise Beattie was found mortally wounded after a late-night drive outside Richmond, Virginia, and her husband insisted a stranger had stepped from the darkness and fired the fatal shot. But the story he told began to crack almost as soon as investigators looked more closely at the road, the evidence, and the life he had been hiding. What followed was a murder case filled with scandal, deception, and testimony that gripped the nation. In this episode, Southern Mysteries examines the death of Louise Beattie and the trial that turned a Virginia killing into one of the most infamous crimes of its time. Join the Community on Patreon: Want more Southern Mysteries? You can 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 🎧 Explore More Southern Mysteries Visit SouthernMysteries.com for more episodes and source lists. 📱 Follow on Social Media: Facebook: Southern Mysteries PodcastInstagram: @southernmysteriesEmail: southernmysteriespodcast@gmail.com Episode Sources Style Weekly Richmond — 'Finding Beulah' (styleweekly.com) Virginia Chronicle Digital Newspaper Archive — The News Leader, September 7, 1911 (virginiachronicle.com) San Francisco Call — August 29, 1911 — Paul Beattie testimony (California Digital Newspaper Collection, cdnc.ucr.edu) Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection — Rocky Mountain News, September 9, 1911 Pottsville Republican — November 24, 1911 — Beattie confession and execution (newspapers.com) Old Songs — Henry Clay Beattie folk ballad, Kelly Harrell 1927 recording (lizlyle.lofgrens.org) Find a Grave — Henry Clay Beattie Jr. (memorial #11571632), Louise Wellford Owen Beattie (#11571649), Henry Clay Beattie Sr. (#11571129) WikiTree — Henry Clay (Beattie) Owen — Wellford Beattie name change record William & Mary Law School Digital Repository — A Full and Complete History of the Great Beattie Murder Case (scholarship.law.wm.edu) Trotti, Michael Ayers. The Body in the Reservoir: Murder and Sensationalism in the South (University of North Carolina Press, 2014) Grossman, Mark. The Trunk Dripped Blood: Five Sensational Murder Cases of the Early 20th Century (Exposit Books, 2018) A Full and Complete History of the Beattie Case, Most Highly Sensational Tragedy of the Century (Phoenix Publishing Co., 1911) — Harvard CURIOSity Digital Collections and WorldCat Virginia Museum of History & Culture — Richmond automobile culture and Kline Kar history, 1911 (virginiahistory.org) Venture Richmond / Wikipedia — Manchester neighborhood history and 1910 consolidation with Richmond Chesterfield Historical Society of Virginia — Russ Lescault, board member, quoted in Style Weekly Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, I'm Shannon Ballard, the host of Southern Mysteries. Before we get started, I want to say
0:06.4	thank you to listeners who support this show on Patreon. This is an independent show, and I handle
0:12.9	the research, writing, recording, and production myself. I'm a staff of one. Your support helps
0:19.5	cover the real world cost of making the show.
0:23.5	I want to say a special welcome and thanks to new patrons, Brandon Horton of Centerton, Arkansas,
0:29.8	Blake Hendricks of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina,
0:33.1	Christine Mori of Hamilton, New Jersey, Lori Vortride, of Winsville, Missouri, Rocky Grigg of Fort Worth, Texas,
0:41.5	Gil Oren of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and to Sondra Winter, Sous, B.L. Darren, Susan Young,
0:50.3	and Milo St. John, who are supporting from mysterious locations, thank you so much.
0:57.5	If you like to join them on Patreon, you'll get access to the first three seasons of Southern
1:02.8	Mysteries, which are only available there. They sound very different. This show was so different
1:08.9	when it began in 2017, but fans asked to hear those
1:13.3	episodes. Someday I hope to re-record them, but as they are now, you can hear them on Patreon.
1:19.7	Plus, there's ad-free listening, and when you support as a much obliged member, you get
1:24.6	exclusive stories through my monthly patron podcast, Audacious.
1:29.0	The show dives into some of the most mysterious crimes and scandals in American history.
1:34.8	You can learn all about how to support the show and join now at patreon.com slash
1:40.3	Southern Mysteries or search for Southern Mysteries podcast if you already have the Patreon
1:45.8	app.
1:50.2	On the night of July 18, 1911, Henry Beattie Jr. drove his automobile back to his family's home in South Richmond,
2:03.2	Virginia. His wife's body was in his car. Louise Beattie had been shot in the head. Henry told his
2:11.1	family, and then the police, that a tall bearded stranger had stepped from the roadside on Midlothian Turnpike, argued with
	...

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