Showing Zora Hurston and the Strange Case of Ruby McCollum by C. Arthur Ellis, Jr.

Premiering as "The Shot Doctor" in Season 2 of A Crime to Remember on Discovery ID, this murder stole the headlines of every newspaper in 1952. It is the sordid tale of an African-American wife, Ruby McCollum, who murdered her white lover, Dr. Leroy Adams, on a hot August Sunday in 1952, and the ensuring trial where McCollum's testimony shook the foundations of the Segregationist South. The murder was a crime of passion, as Ruby McCollum burst through the "colored" entrance of Dr. Adams' office and shot him 4 times during a heated argument, shortly after he was elected to the Florida State Senate.

Rumors spread that the murder was over a doctor bill, yet the McCollums were wealthy operators of the illegal gambling operation known as "bolita," and were always known for paying their bills. It was only later that "outsiders" were to discover the true motive for the murder, and rip through the thin veneer of Southern civility to expose the sordid world of liquor, gambling, drugs, sex and illicit dealings between "whites" and "coloreds" that lay beneath the surface.

The ensuing high profile trial in Live Oak, Florida hit the headlines of all the major newspapers, and marked the first time that a woman of color was allowed to take the stand and witness against a white man who forced her to have his children.

Zora Hurston covered the trial for the Pittsburgh Courier, the newspaper with the largest circulation to African-Americans at that time.

Largely lost to history, this landmark trial was given new life when Dr. C. Arthur Ellis, Jr., who knew all of the characters in the story, published State of Florida vs. Ruby McCollum, an annotated copy of the trial transcript containing the testimony of Ruby McCollum. He then published Zora Hurston and the Strange Case of Ruby McCollum, a true-crime version of the story. Now, readers can enjoy the beauty of this color illustrated Kindle Fire edition, and download it free through the Kindle Matchbook program if they have previously purchased the print edition on Amazon. The color illustrations are displayed in thumbnails, which, if tapped 3 times, enlarge to fill the screen.