Author name: Michael Earl Simmons

Was this a forgotten crime… or an early newspaper nightmare? While digging through old newspapers, I came across one of the most disturbing stories I have ever seen in print. […]

The Times and Crimes of Herbert Goddard There is a particular kind of danger that does not kick in the door. It smiles. It speaks well. It knows theater words,

Leave your thoughts in the comments!

There are roads in the Florida Panhandle that remember things. They remember wagon wheels and mule hooves, Model T tires humming over white sand, and the sound of men talking

Sweet Tea Murders: Old Pensacola Murder Walk Captain Martin Villar was stabbed to death on the Pensacola waterfront in 1882. But that was only the beginning. Before it was over,

Old Pensacola had everything a good drama needs: Respectable people.Bad decisions.Public embarrassment.And somebody saying, “Well, this escalated.” That brings us to the McGowan affair — one of those downtown stories

Sweet Tea Murders: Old Pensacola Murder WalkCrimes Around the Plaza Hi. My name is Michael Earl Simmons. I am a retired sergeant with the Pensacola Police Department, and part of

On Thursday, July 9 at 6:00 PM, I’ll be leading the first Sweet Tea Murders Walking Tour around Plaza Ferdinand — where we’ll stroll through downtown Pensacola and revisit five

Yesterday’s mystery photo placed me at the corner of Coyle and Garden Streets, in the heart of old Pensacola. At first glance, it may look like just another downtown corner—traffic

There I am — rocking chair, straw fedora, round glasses, summer blazer, and a mason jar of sweet tea — sitting in the middle of a Pensacola street like I