Murdering Mary

*** Warning: This story depicts gruesome details of murder. ***

The judge read aloud, “The jury finds the defendant not guilty.” A loud groan rose from the crowd. The judge slammed his gavel and demanded order as chaos began to break out. The guards escorted several people from the courtroom, as other guards rushed in to help bring order.

Mary was swiftly escorted out the back entrance of the courtroom and down the hall to a holding room – and the judge followed. Three guards stood surrounding the jury with weapons at the ready while the courtroom was being cleared. Local reporters stood in the hallway waiting for the opportunity to interview anyone and everyone, but both the prosecuting attorney and the defense attorney got first crack.

The defense attorney found the verdict to be correct. He didn’t feel there was enough evidence to support the ‘beyond all reasonable doubt’ aspect – and the jury clearly agreed.

The prosecuting attorney showed considerable concern for the verdict. “This is a small community that’s been shaken to its core. I don’t know how they’ll recover from such an event.” He continued, “I’m taking no questions but will offer the following. The community is divided on this, including the jury. Half believed Mary was not capable of such a gruesome act – the other half believed she had to have done it because there wasn’t any other explanation, and they couldn’t come to terms with the killer still roaming their streets.”

Mary had been accused of murdering her husband last Halloween and in the backyard of their home. As the story goes, someone had approached him with a hunting knife and from behind. They then lunged the knife through the left side of his back and through his heart rendering him incapable of recourse. What happened next was what had the community in disbelief.

His throat had been cut deeply and from ear to ear, leaving him almost decapitated. There was some debate over which wound occurred first, but it didn’t much matter as one occurred in quick succession to the other.

If that weren’t enough, the killer had carved the face of a pumpkin on the victim’s face. The killer meant to kill and to send some message, and that was what the community feared the most.

There were many interviews that followed to somehow establish what may have happened and if there were any witnesses or anyone who may have heard or observed anything unusual. Very little information was ever established, and no murder weapon was ever found.

Mary was home at the presumed time of death, but she had no alibi, making her defense difficult. However, she was a model citizen and had no prior criminal record. She had never been considered violent, no mental illness, and never had a negative encounter with anyone in the community. Her and her husband attended church most every Sunday and were upstanding people, as described by many in the neighborhood.

Eventually, Mary returned to the neighborhood and her home. She was met with some support but also with ill will. There was one neighbor who made it a point to make sure Mary never felt comfortable. Her name was Sarah and she lived down the street some ten houses or so. But what made Mary most uncomfortable was knowing her husband had an affair with Sarah. Sarah was not aware that Mary knew, and Mary knew it.

Sarah was the person who had started calling Mary “murdering Mary.” Yelling it whenever the opportunity presented itself. It never sat well with the rest of the people in the neighborhood, but Mary always turned the other cheek.

Over time, the harassment increased to the point the other neighbors repeatedly filed police reports. In fact, the man who lived across the street from Sarah had eventually confronted her and asked her to stop. Sarah grew even more agitated and belligerent.

It was some three months later that Sarah was observed placing a sign in Mary’s front yard that was hand-painted “Murdering Mary’s House.” As a result, the police had visited Sarah and at one point had detained her, but that didn’t deter her. She became a neighborhood nuisance.

That Halloween – and apparently after Mary had had enough – Mary placed some carved pumpkins on her front porch each with an evil and disturbing face. One pumpkin had been propped with a knife. The neighbors had reported their concerns that Sarah and Mary had gone too far, but Mary left everyone believing that she had placed them there intentionally. The neighbors didn’t know what – or whom – to believe.

The neighbors became more concerned as Halloween was only a few days away and Mary and Sarah had seemingly raised the bar. At that point, no one knew for sure what might happen and if Mary had finally reached the end of her rope.

Saturday was Halloween and that’s when things got ugly. Trick-or-treating had just ended and there was a certain stillness in the air. All the neighborhood was on edge and the police were regularly patrolling their street, but that didn’t ease the tension. In fact, some argued that the tension grew.

The police had just passed Mary’s house when they noticed the lights flickering at Sarah’s house. They slowly approached and exited their vehicle at the street. As the officers approached the front porch, the lights went out – all the lights. It was almost as if the flickering lights were intended to draw the police.

A quick search of the house revealed nothing but as the police officers ventured into the back yard, they discovered a gruesome sight. It was Sarah, she’d been killed. Not just killed, killed like Mary’s husband. Within minutes, the street was swarmed with police and news reporters.

There was much confusion, fear, and want for answers.

The immediate suspect was Mary. The neighbors were shouting for answers and eventually some were shouting “murdering Mary, murdering Mary.” The Sheriff did his best to subdue the crowd, but they began to move down the street and towards Mary’s house. By that time, the neighboring town’s police force had arrived and were doing their level best to help control the crowd.

That’s when the lights at Mary’s house began to flicker, which got the attention of the crowd and silenced them.

The Sheriff and a number of police officers began to slowly make their way toward Mary’s house. The news reporters rushed ahead, and the crowd of people slowly followed the Sheriff’s group.

The news crews had their lights and cameras focused on the front of Mary’s house. The Sheriff was trying to keep them at bay, but it was a futile effort. If nothing else, the lights assisted the police.

The Sheriff motioned for everyone to stop. He was about twenty feet from Mary’s porch. The crowd stopped – there was dead silence. The Sheriff yelled out, “Who’s there? Who’s on the porch?”

There was no response.

It looked as if someone was sitting by the door wearing a carved pumpkin over their head. The Sheriff begged, “Who’s there? Where’s Mary?”

There was no response.

Whomever was seated on the porch slowly raised their right arm. In their hand was a large knife – resembling a hunting knife. The Sheriff – once again – begged for compliance. “Put down the knife,” he yelled, “put down the knife.”

With all the lights, cameras, and everyone watching, the seated person slid their right arm across and in front of their neck and to the left – and pulled the knife across their neck causing their head to drop backwards and against the house. Immediately blood spouted and poured down the person’s chest. It was truly a gruesome sight.

The Sheriff raced forward and secured the person’s right arm and took hold of the knife. He slid the body from the chair and to the floor. He’d become covered in blood. He knew immediately there was nothing to be done – it was too gruesome and deadly a wound.

By then the crowd had gathered closely, including the news crews. The Sheriff reached down and carefully removed the pumpkin.

The Sheriff yelled out, “My god, it’s Mary.”

The crowd began to murmur, and some had turned and looked in other directions.

The Sheriff removed his jacket and placed it over Mary, but it just soaked up the blood and added to the gruesomeness of the scene. Several police, including the Sheriff, then entered and secured the house. There was nothing else they were going to do that night.

Shortly after, an ambulance and the coroner had arrived, and Mary’s body was placed in a body bag and loaded into the ambulance. As the ambulance and coroner drove away, the crowd had begun to disperse and huddled into smaller groups. There was a lot of chatter. Some were crying and some were in a state of shock and disbelief.

The following day, at the first sign of daylight, the Sheriff and a few police officers returned to the scene and entered the house. They were seeking clues to what may have happened and how all the events tied together.

They didn’t find anything substantial and most everything in the house seemed in order. The officers turned and exited the house through the kitchen and out the back door. That’s when the Sheriff noticed a light flashing on the answering machine. He let the other officers continue off the back porch as he stood staring at the red flashing light and the number “1” on the machine.

While the other officers talked just off the porch, the Sheriff contemplated pressing the play button. He slowly extended his hand and placed his finger on the button. Time seemed to stand still. He rubbed his face with his other hand, closed his eyes, and pressed the button.

It was Mary’s voice. At that moment, the other police officers had gathered by the back door – peering in and listening through the screen.

“We’ve spent a lifetime living in this town, contributing to the community, and building our lives together. It’s sad that was all stolen from us by a few. It is true that my husband had an affair with Sarah, but so did several other men in this god-forsaken town. My husband was a good man that got caught up in Sarah’s rhetoric but deserved what he got. Sarah is a whore and deserves everything coming to her. The Sheriff is also a good man, but what he deserves rests with the community. Oh, and I only killed one person.”