Laura was apparently a beautiful but frail woman, with brown or chestnut hair and large teeth with a natural space between her two front teeth. In most of the evidence and all of folklore she has been characterized as the innocent romantic.

Laura and her father apparently often had a clash of wills. Despite her father's dislike of Tom, she carried on an affair with him, sometimes in her father's house, sometimes with an open door. When he discovered that she was missing and had taken his mare, he said that he did not care where she was but wanted his mare returned. In fact, he even said he would kill her if he found her.

Based the clothes that Laura was wearing when she was found, she obviously grew up in poverty; the mare was the most prized possession the family owned. Despite her involvement with other men, she must have loved Tom, as she stole out quietly the morning of May 25 to elope with Tom. She wore two dresses: one "made of store-bought goods" and one made of checked homespun, onto which was pinned a fancy brooch. She wore a cape and carried a bundle of clothes with her, presumably to begin her new married life, and stole her father's mare, which she left unsaddled.

The time of Laura's death was never specifically determined. Dr. Carter narrowed the date of death to Friday, May 25, but it is unknown whether she was killed that morning or evening.

Sources:
West, John Foster. The Ballad of Tom Dula: The Documented Story Behind the Murder of Laura Foster and the Trials and Execution of Tom Dula. Durham, NC: Moore Publishing, 1970.
West, John Foster. Lift Up Your Head, Tom Dooley: The True Story of the Appalachian Murder That Inspired One of America's Most Popular Ballads. Asheboro, NC: Down Home Press, 1993.

Tom Dula - Ann Melton - Pauline Foster - James Melton
Dr. George N. Carter
Laura Foster - Colonel James M. Isbell - Zebulon B. Vance

The Story - Players - The Murder - Who Done It?