What really happened on the night of Friday, May 25, 1866 in the quiet Happy Valley? Who really killed Laura Foster? Because so many folk tales have been spun about the story, no one will know. But this section will give you a chance to preview some of the characters and the "facts" in the case and vote for the murderer yourself. After you've watched "The Legend of Tom Dula" and read through the cast of suspects and looked at some of the more unknown facts or stories (because no one knows which anymore), you can take a vote for who you believe murdered Laura Foster? Tom alone? Tom and an accomplice? Or is Tom completely innocent? You decide.

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?