THE ATHENS MURDERS
OF 1987
In 1987, five people including a retired couple and three women were murdered in a violent spree of violence committed by a young man. Classic City Crime is currently releasing weekly episodes telling the full story all these years later with the people who lived the fear and worked the case.
PART 1: THE SUTTONS
Drs. Glenn and Rachel Sutton were two prominent Athenians living a quiet life of retirement in their Oglethorpe Avenue home when they were senselessly murdered. Who were the Suttons and what did their lives entail before their death? Listen to Part 1:
PART 2: What Really Happened on Oglethorpe Avenue?
In Part 1, we examined who the Suttons were. In Part 2, we examine what really happened inside that yellow brick home the Suttons once occupied. We speak with two investigators on the case who help us better understand how the early investigation was taking shape…and we foreshadow the terrible events still left to come.
LISTEN IN and then be sure to listen to Part 3!
Part 3: The Women of Carr’s Hill
In 1987, Ann Orr Morris and her husband Kenneth lived on a large family estate on Carr’s Hill in Athens, Georgia. The large property also housed Ann’s silversmithing and jewelry making shop, as well as another home.
In this second home on the property lived Ann’s sister, Sally and her daughter Helen. In Part 3, we learn about these women and their remarkable lives…and how they tragically came to be a part of this Classic City Crime story.
In Part 4, learn what happened to the women on that fateful day in August of 1987.
In Part 5, host Cameron Jay discusses the arrest and questioning of Clinton Bankston for ‘The Athens Murders of 1987’. The 15-turned-16 year old young teen was facing the possibility of being sentenced to death when defense Attorney Ed Tolley challenged the death sentence in a case that would ultimately change the law in the state of Georgia- sparing Bankston’s life. We discuss the complexities of the case as we revisit Bankston’s own words and try to find out why this crime happened and if it could have been prevented?
In Part 6 of The Athens Murders of 1987, host Cameron Jay and Psychologist Dr. Debra Cowart Steckler discuss her assessment of Clinton Bankston, the young teen arrested and charged with five counts of capital murder. She answers some important questions: What could have possibly been going on in Bankston's mind? How did all of that end in murder? And, perhaps she has some insight into the age-old question: Does she think this could have been prevented?
All of this and more as we continue to discuss this tragic piece of Athens history and prepare to hear the full reading of the Bankston police interview transcript.
In Part 7, listeners get to hear a recorded reading of the transcript of Clinton Bankston's interview with police after being found in possession of the stolen car and after being charged with five counts of murder. The parts of the detectives and 16-year old Bankston are read by listeners by you. The transcript is read to help listeners better contextualize all we've learned over the last 8 weeks and will leave the listener to ultimately decide what they think went wrong in 1987.
Final Thoughts with Cameron Jay
In "Final Thoughts", host Cameron Jay wraps up "The Athens Murders of 1987" by sharing with you a few of his own takeaways from this journey. He also shares with listeners how they can help honor the lives of Drs. Rachel and Glenn Sutton. Sally and Helen Nathanson, and Ann Orr Morris.
All Caught Up? Consider Listening to Season 1: The Tara Baker Story
The first season ever produced by Classic City Crime, the 2001 unsolved murder of Tara Louise Baker is a case that will forever be with us. Over a year’s time, host Cameron Jay worked with the Baker family to find new answers in the case— uncovering new details, obtaining new information for the family, and ultimately asking for the community’s help in answering the question: Who Killed Tara Louise Baker?
