Welcome to Sweet Tea Murders

An elderly Destin widow was found murdered in her bed. Months later, an attorney claimed the man suspected of killing her was helping law enforcement put other people in jail.  On the morning of January 5, 1977, two women arrived at a modest house at 804 Willow Street in Destin.  They had come to pick up their aunt for a trip to Pensacola.  Irma Bell was nearly eighty-six years old, but she had surrendered little of her… Read more: The Informant at 804 Willow Street 

A land shaped by timber, water, ambition, grit—and more than a few deadly secrets. Santa Rosa County has stories of its own. They were shaped by timber, railroads, river crossings, old hotels, family ambitions—and crimes that once unsettled quiet North Florida communities. On Friday, September 11, Sweet Tea Murders comes to Arcadia Mill for an evening rooted in the history and character of Santa Rosa County. Our first Arcadia Nights story features Charles Sudmall, a… Read more: Welcome to Rough-Cut Santa Rosa

Most people know Pensacola has plenty of history. But did you know one of the Old West’s most notorious gunmen was captured right here? John Wesley Hardin was wanted in Texas, accused of killing more than twenty men, and had spent years staying one step ahead of the law. He changed his name, built a new life, and tried to disappear. He chose Pensacola. That proved to be a mistake. On a summer afternoon in… Read more: Wanted in Texas; Captured in Pensacola. The Arrest of John Wesley Hardin

Old Palafox: Crime, Mystery and Justice A Sweet Tea Murders Historic Walking Tour The elegant streets of Old Palafox hold stories of betrayal, fugitives, suspicious deaths, disputed defenses—and justice that did not always arrive as expected. Join former homicide detective and police historian Michael Earl Simmons for a six-block walk through downtown Pensacola as he opens a collection of historical case files connected to Palafox Street and the surrounding downtown district. Along the way, you… Read more: Old Palafox – Crime, Mystery and Justice: A Sweet Tea Murders Walking Tour

In 1833, Pensacola was still a rough young frontier town—a place where disputes could turn deadly and justice could end at the gallows. Sixty-seven years later, in 1900, another man faced the hangman for a murder that had shocked the community. By then, Pensacola had changed considerably—but murder, fear and the demand for justice had not. Who were the condemned men? What crimes carried them to the gallows? And what did their final moments reveal… Read more: Two Murders. Two Unusual Hangings. Sixty-Seven Years Apart.