The Trail Went Cold – Episode 234 – The Durham Family Murders

The Trail Went Cold

February 3, 1972. Boone, North Carolina. 51-year old Bryce Durham, his 44-year old wife Virginia, and their 18-year old son Bobby Joe are found strangled to death and drowned inside their bathroom after an apparent home invasion. Months later, four suspects with a history of burglary are arrested for their alleged roles in the murders, but the charges against them are eventually dropped due to lack of evidence. Suspicion falls upon the Durhams’ son-in-law, Troy Hall, who claims that he received a frantic phone call from Virginia while the murders were taking place, but some investigators do not believe his story. Was Troy responsible for the crime? If not, then who was and what could their motive have been? On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we explore the puzzling story of the Durham family murders.

Additional Reading:

https://www.wataugademocrat.com/news/investigation-of-durham-family-s-slaying-continues/article_e16a2616-a983-11e4-9e07-bbfdbdd91c44.html

https://journalnow.com/40-year-old-unsolved-triple-murder-still-haunts-law-enforcement/article_3f04e50f-a3a2-5aed-9dfb-c0118871ac34.html

“North Carolina Murder & Mayhem” by Rick Jackson

“Haunted Watauga, North Carolina” by Tim Bullard

“The Murder Room” by Michael Capuzzo

“Detective Magazine” (October 1972)

http://www.kenrahn.com/JFK/The_critics/Whitmey/Small.html

https://horrorhistory.net/2020/02/03/unsolved-family-of-three-killed-in-home-their-heads-submerged-in-their-bathtub/

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“The Trail Went Cold” is going to be appearing on podcast row at “Crimecon UK” at the Leonardo Royal Hotel & Spa in London on September 25-26, 2021. To get a 10 % discount on the purchase of tickets to the event, please use our specialized promo code, “COLD21”, by visiting https://www.crimecon.co.uk.

“The Trail Went Cold” is now doing a weekly livestream show on GetVokl every Thursday from 7:00-8:00 PM ET as part of their “True Crime Thursday” line-up. For more information, please visit their website.

The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.

All music is composed by Vince Nitro.