A quick note before you listen.

This serialized podcast includes references to a theory of death by suicide.

Please listen with care if this topic is sensitive for you.

May 1927, investigators stood by their claim.

Mary Cooper took her own life.

But within hours of her burial at Riverside Cemetery, that theory began to fall apart.

A blood-stained iron pipe, missing diamonds, a surprising autopsy, and a suspect who had

been living in Mary's home.

Welcome to Southern Mysteries, exploring Southern history and true crime.

I'm your host, Shannon Ballard.

This is part two of the Southern Mystery Serial, Mystery on Montfort Avenue.

Mary Cooper loved visiting her neighbors.

After her husband Arthur passed away, those visits became even more important to her.

She found comfort in connection, especially with

a family next door. Walter Adams was Mary's neighbor, tenant, and friend. He was also the city

editor of the Asheville Times. Mary stopped by to chat with his wife daily, sometimes more than once. The morning Mary's

body was discovered it was Mrs. Adams who called Walter at the Times to tell him the news.

Walter Adams, along with an investigative reporter, rushed to the Cooper home where they learned

authorities believed Mary Cooper had died

by suicide. But something didn't sit right. Later that afternoon, Walter returned to the lot

where her body had been found. As he searched through the weeds, he spotted something, a rusted iron pipe.

It was bloodstained, and clinging to the end were long gray hairs.

...