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 will encounter:
- A deadly workplace betrayal that continued even after the killer was sent to prison
- Two men accused of the same robbery-murder—but given very different outcomes
- A pair of fugitives who arrived in Pensacola after a murder in Georgia
- The mysterious death of Hank Killam and its intriguing connections to figures surrounding the JFK investigation
- A newlywed woman who claimed self-defense after shooting her husband
- The former Driftwood restaurant, where Judi Buenoano attempted to murder John Gentry with a car bomb
Some questions were answered in court. Others remain unsettled.
At each stop, consider the evidence, examine the motive, and decide whether justice was done.
You be the detective.
Thursday, August 13, 2026
6:00 p.m.
Begins at Bodacious Bookstore on Palafox Street
Approximately 60–70 minutes
Six-block walking route
Presented respectfully and without graphic detail.
Tickets: $25
Sweet Tea Murders
with Michael Earl Simmons
Former Homicide Detective • Police Historian • Storyteller
Not every stop is the place where a victim died. Some locations mark where a crime was planned, where suspects lived, where investigators found a vital clue, or where a mystery deepened. At every corner, Michael Earl will ask the same question:
The tour begins at Bodacious Bookstore, 110 E. Intendencia Street, at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, August 13, 2026. Guests should wear comfortable shoes and be prepared for an approximately one-hour walk through downtown Pensacola.
The streets may look familiar.
The stories hiding along them are anything but.
