A city overrun by corruption, violence, and the Dixie Mafia. A narcotics cop on the way to cracking the biggest case of his life. A man sent to South Carolina’s Death Row. A community on the verge of finally facing its dark and bloody past.  Â
If you’ve just learned about this podcast because of the recent news reports and want to know the whole story beginning to end, you’ll want to start with Episode 1: January 31, 1975. If you just want to hear the latest development, read our most recent news update: SLED report reveals investigation into Murder, etc. discoveries
Murder, etc. trailer
Spend two minutes inside 1975 Greenville, SC. Meet two innocent men gunned down in their own garage. Meet a man sent to South Carolina's Death Row. Meet a gang of notorious criminals and corrupt cops. And then, begin with Episode 1.
1. January 31, 1975
Vera Looper looked out her window on the warmest January day of her lifetime and saw something that scared her. Within 24 hours, her husband and son were dead. Police said it was random robbery gone bad, but four decades later, Vera Looper's family thinks differently. And so does the man condemned to death.
2. Finding Frank Looper
The warning shots weren't enough to scare the county's top drug cop. The next shots scared a community for another four decades. Frank Looper's family looks back at a compassionate hunter and the warnings he ignored in a fight against organized crime.
3. Ghost Bridge
Greenville, South Carolina has earned its ghosts. They've haunted every place from the mountains to downtown. Now, it's time to reckon with them, the warning shots, the Dixie Mafia hitmen, and eyewitnesses that seem to just disappear.
4. Motherless Child
South Carolina planned to kill Charles Wakefield. If the state had succeeded in doing so, no one would have ever heard the man say he was innocent. Wakefield managed to live, and now he is telling his story.
5. Bub
If you're looking for the fine line between right and wrong, don't bother looking in Greenville, South Carolina. That line disappeared a long time ago, and no one has seen it since. Speaking of which, it's time for you to meet Bub.
6. Unexpected Company
In the South, you never know who might come calling. Some days, it's a pleasure, a friend with a gift, or an old love. On the worst days, it's the last unexpected guest you'll ever greet.
7. Southern railroad
What does one-time prosecutor Billy Wilkins know that everyone else doesn't? Where was Charles Wakefield, Jr. on January 31st? It's time to get some answers.
8. A Bunch of amateurs
Organized crime is a problem yankees have. There's never been organized crime in the American South...right?
9. Saint Christopher
Most people agree, Jim Christopher was a pro at cracking cases. But did that make him a good cop? You might be surprised what some people think.
10. Good Ol' Boys
Master bank robber Foster Sellers knew his own destiny, but he did not know how it would change Greenville, South Carolina and the people who lived there.
11. Love & Hate
Fast Eddie was one of the most notorious southern gangsters of all time, and now, he's ready to tell some of what he knows about his life, the Looper murders, and the Dixie Mafia.
12. Dare me to come
Many people have tried to re-write the history of what really happened in 1970's Greenville, SC. It's a lot harder to do that when somebody recorded that history as it happened...and held onto the tapes.
13. The other word on the street
Police and prosecutors have always said the "word on the street" was that Charles Wakefield, Jr. murdered the Loopers. Police never mentioned, there was another word on the street. Police built an elaborate case against a man, and then had to dismantle it.
14. Spotters
It took more than one person to investigate the Looper murders in 1975, and it's going to take even more in 2019. Learn who is helping to find the truth and the answers to some important questions.
15. The difference between a & the
Charles Wakefield, Jr. would like to say he is 100% innocent.
He is not.
16. Behind the wall
Charles Wakefield, Jr. survived Death Row and ended up...in hell.
17. greenville, we have a problem
Today, it's #yeahTHATgreenville. In 1975, it was the murder capital of South Carolina and the domain of one of the country's most controversial sheriffs. And the first homicide victim of that year...we still don't know who he is.
18. the road to six mile
There may be no one alive today who knows more about the southern criminal underworld of the 1970s. Now, Fast Eddie Williamson is telling his story to Murder, etc. from inside federal prison.
19. True Believer
In the months before he died, Frank Looper developed a protege, one who carried on his legacy for decades, and today is telling what he knows.
20. Dead End Country Road
After decades of silence, law enforcement officers who knew and loved Frank Looper begin to talk about a hit man they believe might be responsible for the Looper murders.
21. Greenville's Summer Sons
After years of corruption and organized crime in Greenville, SC, the network begins to unravel, and innocent bystanders suffer the worst. With friends like these, it's amazing the gangsters lasted so long.
22. Miss Mae
She was one of Greenville, SC's most beloved citizens. She sent Charles Wakefield to Death Row. Her son says she lied.
23. The Closer
If you had nothing to lose, would you help kill a man? This is Wyatt Earp Harper...a nightmare on two feet.
24. Peerless
Legally, a jury of peers only has to be citizens from the place you live, but if you lived in Greenville County in 1975, those peers might have never seen your neighborhood.
25. Playing by the Rules
How did prosecutors convict Charles Wakefield, Jr.? They played by the rules...just, not the rules you know.
26. 2020 Hindsight
A new closing argument for 2020.
27. Amazing Grace
The season finale of Murder, etc. chronicles Charles Wakefield, Jr.'s 35-year effort to get out of prison and the time afterward as he tries to prove his innocence.
Live episodesÂ
& special reports:
Murder, Etc. Live #3:
Leonard Brown, Jr.
Leonard Brown, Jr. and Brad Willis take a deep dive into three mysteries that have become deeply personal to both men.
Murder, Etc. Live #2:
Frank Eppes
A candid discussion with Frank Eppes, the son of the trial judge in the Charles Wakefield, Jr. case
Murder, Etc. Live #1:
Mr. X
The Murder, etc. team works from the 2020 quarantine to solve another 1975 case.
Bonus Episode:
Captain Courageous & The Blizzard of '78
The family of the man who represented Charles Wakefield, Jr. explains the struggle they faced in their personal lives as the Wakefield trial began.
Bonus Episode:
Brad Willis Live at Endeavor
Listen to Brad Willis speak live at Greenville's Endeavor co-working community
Special Report:
Found & Lost
State police, FBI to investigate Greenville Police Department and the Looper murder evidence that police now admit has disappeared.
Special Report:
Gone
After the discovery of potential new evidence in the Looper murders case, a startling report of what's happening inside the Greenville Police Department.
Special Report:
Cutting the Lock
Current Greenville Police Chief drops bombshell revelation of new evidence that could implicate a lawman in the murders of Rufus and Frank Looper.
Special Report:
October Surprise
Murder, etc. finds potentially important evidence in the Looper murders, and sources say there is more evidence almost nobody knows exists.
Bonus Episode:
Behind the Scenes with brad Willis
Murder, etc. Producer Brad Willis speaks at a live event in Greenville, SC about the challenges of a first-time podcaster and producing the first 20 episodes of the show.
Bonus Episode:
Danny Jones
In Episode 19: True Believer, Danny Jones explained how he came to know Frank Looper. In this extended cut of the interview, he goes deeper into the impact Looper had on his life.
amateurs only episode:
My Kingdom for a Zippy Mart
Sign up for Amateurs ETC at the $10 or higher level and go along with producer Brad Willis and Andy Ethridge as they retrace Frank Walker and Country's Small's escape route from Paris Mountain.
amateurs only episode:
Dr. Max Courson
Sign up for Amateurs ETC at the $10 or higher level and get access to hear Dr. Max Courson talk about Foster Sellers' early life and introduction to crime.
amateurs only episode:
Happy Days
Sign up for Amateurs ETC at the $10 or higher level and get access to hear Frank Looper's family talk about the happier days they remember before the Looper murders.
amateurs only episode:
They're not always the good guys
Sign up for Amateurs ETC at the $10 or higher level and get access to more of Larry Smith's stories in the Amateurs Only episode "They're Not Always the Good Guys."
amateurs only episode:
he's coming to kill me
Sign up for Amateurs ETC at the $10 or higher level and get access to more of the Leonard Brown Tapes and his stories in the Amateurs Only episode "He's Coming to Kill Me."
Bonus: Andy ethridge interview
Meet the man who turned a railroad furlough into a two-decade obsession with finding the truth.
Bonus: homeplace
Frank Looper's aunt and cousin take you back to the old Looper homeplace and a time before it was a landmark for tragedy.
