Author name: Michael Earl Simmons

A look at the final chapter

Sweet Tea Murders The little girl’s body floated silently on the cold water. It was the morning of December 4, 1888, and Birmingham was still a young city—rough around the

Before the executioner pulled the switch, she asked for a chocolate ice cream. It was a simple request. Ordinary, even…Yet there was nothing ordinary about the woman making it. By

The party at the Swanky Driftwood Restaurant was winding down on the evening of June 25, 1983. At approximately 10:30 PM, John Gentry left the gathering and made the short

By Michael Earl Simmons, Southern Crime Historian Like a wet blanket, the humid summer heat settled heavily over Pensacola in June of 1916. The city was growing. Two years ago,

Last night, on May 28, 2026, the historic Voices of Pensacola Multicultural Center transformed into a portal to the darker corners of Florida Panhandle history. The sold-out Sweet Tea Murders

“SWEET TEA MURDERS LIVE” SELLS OUT HISTORIC PENSACOLA JAIL EVENT THURSDAY NIGHT PENSACOLA, FL — The latest “Sweet Tea Murders LIVE” experience, presented by former Pensacola Police Sergeant and Southern

There are names in local history that survive because of what was proven. And then there are names that survive because of what people believed. In late nineteenth-century Santa Rosa

“See that man?” my granddaddy said to me, pointing to the church usher. “Yessir,” I replied. “That’s Ray Wilson, the High Sheriff,” he said. I looked at the man in

Judy Buenoano was usually a quiet, soft-spoken woman. She was polite…as long as she got her way. In the early 1980s, I was a correctional officer, working at the Escambia