The Return of a Tragic Anniversary
Jun. 13th, 2016 01:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
eldritchhobbitIt's now been thirty-nine years since a terrible crime shocked my home state and especially my hometown. It hit very close to home for a variety of reasons, and continues to do so for a variety of others. I didn't want to let this anniversary pass without observing it.
On June 13, 1977, three young Girl Scouts (eight, nine, and ten years old) were found sexually assaulted and murdered outside of their tent at the Girl Scout property Camp Scott near Locust Grove, Oklahoma. The case was complicated by racial/ethnic tensions, because the victims were white and black, and the only official suspect, Gene Leroy Hart, was Cherokee. After a complicated and dramatic manhunt, Hart was tried but eventually found innocent. Since then, the case has remained unsolved, the fodder for local legends, suggestions of bizarre occult and ritual connections, and various conspiracy theories. The Girl Scout camp remains closed to this day. (Chilling photos of the abandoned site are posted here at AbandonedOK.) My past posts about the case can be found here.
The long-rumored movie supposedly designed to name an alternative murder suspect, Candles, is currently listed at IMDB as in pre-production for 2017 release, but I remain skeptical that it will happen. It's been listed as in pre-production for five years now, and each year the release date is updated. That said, a 2017 release does make sense, as it will be the fortieth anniversary of the tragedy.
I recently discovered that the best-known documentary on the Girl Scout murders, Someone Cry for the Children, is now available in six parts on YouTube. It's well worth watching. (Yes, that's Johnny Cash providing some of the narration for the film.) Part 1 is here.
On June 13, 1977, three young Girl Scouts (eight, nine, and ten years old) were found sexually assaulted and murdered outside of their tent at the Girl Scout property Camp Scott near Locust Grove, Oklahoma. The case was complicated by racial/ethnic tensions, because the victims were white and black, and the only official suspect, Gene Leroy Hart, was Cherokee. After a complicated and dramatic manhunt, Hart was tried but eventually found innocent. Since then, the case has remained unsolved, the fodder for local legends, suggestions of bizarre occult and ritual connections, and various conspiracy theories. The Girl Scout camp remains closed to this day. (Chilling photos of the abandoned site are posted here at AbandonedOK.) My past posts about the case can be found here.
The long-rumored movie supposedly designed to name an alternative murder suspect, Candles, is currently listed at IMDB as in pre-production for 2017 release, but I remain skeptical that it will happen. It's been listed as in pre-production for five years now, and each year the release date is updated. That said, a 2017 release does make sense, as it will be the fortieth anniversary of the tragedy.
I recently discovered that the best-known documentary on the Girl Scout murders, Someone Cry for the Children, is now available in six parts on YouTube. It's well worth watching. (Yes, that's Johnny Cash providing some of the narration for the film.) Part 1 is here.