Murder in St. Augustine

Murder in St. Augustine
The Mysteriousd Death of Athalia Ponsell Lindsley

Elizabeth Randall

Did white Southern respectability politics allow a murderer to go free in 1970's Florida? The author makes a convincing case, bolstered by the convenient lapses and disappearances of documentation and evidence in the hands of the local sheriff's office and court.

Athalia Ponsell Lindsley was everything that was hated by the "respectable" demographics in the south at the time - independent, outspoken, and willing to go toe-to-toe with not just men, but white men in power from "good" families with a long local history. The likelihood that this is what led to her brutal murder by machete on her own doorstep is laid out in this book. The evidence is damning - paper trails of receipts, credit card statements, and even laundry marks tie the bloody evidence to Alan Stanford, county manager at the time. Neighbors and local gossip, as well as records of county commission meetings show the antagonism behind a man with at best questionable qualifications for his job, and the subsequent feud with as his neighbor tried to get him removed from his position. Despite what would appear to be rock solid evidence, a local church took up a collection for his expenses, and local papers portrayed the probable murderer as a respectable man unfairly framed by the police, even though all evidence points in exactly the opposite direction.

As a native small-town Floridian, I have no problem believing that a jury, especially at that time, would gladly excuse a murder by a local man from a "respectable" family, especially when the victim was an "uppity" outsider who dared to work for civil rights and challenge the white patriachy at the time. In fact, it is mentioned in the book that many people at the time felt that Athalia Lindsley "got what she deserved", and were willing to look the other way in the face of evidence, as long as the perpertator quietly removed himself from the area once released. Even more saddening and horrifying is the realization that such motives and privilege still allow crimes to go unpunished, if you are from the right family, social class, and have the finances and social connections to give you access to good lawyers.