The Ghost Who Named Her Killer

Hi, everyone. Before today's episode, we want to tell you about What the Fact. It's a new show from Conor Tomlinson, you know, from Netflix's Love on the Spectrum, and Carter Roy from Murder, True Crime Stories. Every week, they take three unbelievable true facts from history and tell you the full story behind them. Conor's infectious energy will make you realize history is the most fascinating thing on Earth. Follow What the Fact wherever you listen or subscribe on YouTube at What the Fact Pod. This is Crime House. Sabrina, let's kick things off just as we do every time before. We're going to play a game of Would You Rather. Okay. We are going to pick two shocking moments from today's story and see which seems like the lesser of two evils. Okay. And today, we are covering the story of Zona Heaster-Shue, also known as the Greenbrier Ghost. Which is honestly one of our all-time favorite cases. Yes. We have brought her up for like eight years. Truly eight years because we covered it very early days of Two Girls, My Ghost. But okay, here are the choices for today. If you were murdered and became a ghost, would you rather haunt your killer and get some revenge or haunt your loved one in her sleep to help solve the crime? Easy. I would haunt my murderer. I'm a vengeful little bitch. I watched the movie Seven Psychopaths, and I was like, yes, yes, I dream of the day. Well, I don't dream of the day that I have to. Yeah. You know, I took notes, and I would bring that into the spectral world with me and haunt that person. I want to do both, but I think I would haunt my loved one so that I could help solve the crime. And give them peace. And make the person who committed the act be punished. I guess that's true. And that's haunting them for the rest of their lives. They have to live with it. That's the fact that they killed me. And the world is miserable without me. Snap for that. Preach. But Zona heased her shoe. She decided to haunt her mother, Mary Jane. And together, they brought the man who killed her to justice. And in the end, Zona helped solve her own murder, and she got a little revenge in the process. Right. Both. Just like what you were saying. I'm sorry. unknown. If you're loving CrimeSav, please follow, rate, and review us wherever you listen. It helps us build this community, and we also just love hearing from you. You can also catch us on YouTube, where we include visuals that bring every case to life. Subscribe to CrimeHouse Plus on Apple Podcasts for ad-free early access. And if you can't get enough true crime, go search and follow CrimeHouse Daily, our team's twice-a-day show bringing you breaking cases, updates, and unbelievable stories from the world of crime that are happening right now. Today, we are talking about Zona Heaster-Shue. In 1897, Zona was found dead in her home at only 26 years old. A few days later, her mother, Mary Jane, claimed that she was visited by her daughter's spirit. The messages Zona passed on from the afterlife ended up solving her own murder. A warning before we begin. This episode contains descriptions of the events that have happened to Zona Heaster-Shue. We truly love this case, and we're going to spend a large chunk of this episode talking about Zona Heaster-Shue's ghost. But up front, we do want to acknowledge that while this is an extraordinary story, Zona's life was taken far too soon. She was killed at the age of only 26 with so much life ahead of her. Yeah, and despite her young age, the coroner believed that she died of heart disease. But Zona's mother, Mary Jane, did not believe that for a second. See, mommies. Mm-hmm. She believed her daughter was murdered. And after her daughter's death, her suspicions were confirmed by Zona herself. Okay, before we get into the dirty little details, let's talk about ghosts, why don't we? Because we love talking about ghosts. We do. Surprise, surprise. We have lots of thoughts, the biggest one being, we love them. Yeah, and we believe in them, and they are real. And if you don't believe, I have thoughts about you. But you know what? I'll keep going. I'll keep them to myself, and you keep your thought about a ghost not being real to yourself. Sabrina's going to fight you. When I'm a ghost, I will haunt you. Yeah. Well, we believe so much. I mean, we have to believe because we grew up in haunted homes. That's true. But beyond that, we believe so wholeheartedly in our ability to make contact when we do Passover that you and I have a secret code word as like our message to one another for when one of us passes before the other. We can't share it with anyone because then it won't be a secret. The ultimate dream. Okay. So whether or not you believe in the paranormal, we hope you do. The case of Zona Hester-Shue, or the Greenbrier ghost, is so fascinating. So either her ghost really did visit her mother, or it was nothing more than an excuse to get the prosecutor to take a look at the case. But one thing was for sure. Zona Hester-Shue was murdered. Just past noon on January 23, 1897, an 11-year-old errand boy named Andy Jones trudges up a lonely West Virginia hill, his boots crunching through the remnants of old snow. The winter light is thin, colorless, bleaching the limestone cliffs to a ghostly white. His breath fogs the air, curling into soft, fleeting clouds. He's tired after a long morning spent sweeping ashes and hauling soot for the town doctor. He's tired. He's exhausted, and he's so ready to go home. But he has one last errand before he can head home for lunch. Edward Shue, the blacksmith, had asked Andy to check on his wife, Zona, for him. He said that she had been feeling poor lately. And Andy knew that he could not argue with Edward. Despite Edward being new to town, Andy could tell that there was something cold about him, something that made Andy's stomach tighten. Edward Shue was strict. He was very controlling. But this was a job, and Andy kept his thoughts to himself. So Andy crosses town. He's walking to the Shue home, and he stops at the chicken coop and slips inside the small wooden building. It's quiet inside, and he checks under the hens, but there are no eggs today. He smiles. Maybe he'll get to go home earlier than he thought. So now he pops inside the house. The door creaks behind him as he pushes it open, and he calls out softly, Mrs. Shue? But there's no answer. He takes a few tentative steps, his eyes adjusting to the dim light. And that is when he sees her. Zona Heaster Shue is lying at the bottom of the stairs. Her body is perfectly straight, rigid. Her eyes are wide open, staring towards the ceiling. And Andy's breath catches before he rushes to Zona's side, reaching to help her. And that is when he feels her icy, clammy hands. And he pulls his back. He then turns. He runs out of the house, screaming for his mother, screaming for his mommy. He truly ran for his mother, whose name was Martha. And Martha is shocked to hear her son's story. So she takes her son, Andy's hand, basically leads him into town to go find Zona's husband, Edward Shue. And now Edward is new to the area and has only been married to Zona for three months. He arrived in Greenbrier, West Virginia in 1895, only a few months before their marriage, looking for work as a blacksmith. And as we alluded to earlier, Andy didn't really seem to like Edward. But as far as we know, there was no other reason to dislike him. Edward was a blacksmith, seemingly normal dude. Yeah, but if an 11-year-old boy is being like, that guy is weird and gives bad vibes and seems scary, let me go check on the chickens before I even have to enter this house. Like, that is. Totally. The answer. But he is also not telling anyone this, and it's also. Right, right. It's so easy to have and form an opinion after the fact. But at this time, he seems like a normal guy, so of course Martha wants to go to him. Martha and Andy go find Edward, and when they tell him what happened, Edward erupts in anger and heartbreak, and he sprints towards his house. Like, before Martha can even finish what she was saying, he sprints up the hill to his wife. Martha and Andy follow him, racing back to the Shue home, and they find Edward. Edward, tearfully cradling Zona's body in his arms. When Andy and Martha get there, Edward shouts at Andy to go get the town doctor, so Andy does, and he runs to find Dr. George Knapp, who has an office just a few hundred yards from the blacksmith. By the time the doctor shows up, it is too late to help. And to be clear, it seems like it was too late prior to this, that Zona had been dead and was likely dead when Andy discovered her body. Yes. And so, they're waiting for the doctor. And while waiting for the doctor, Edward does something strange. He decides to go to the hospital. to put his now lifeless wife in her Sunday best a long dress with a very high collar and then he adds a detail that depending on the record it is a little bit different some records say it was a thick scarf others say a bow but either way a long dress and then something tied around her neck and if this doesn't seem odd to you it should plus when Dr. Knapp does finally arrive to examine Zona's body Edward is basically all over Zona's body making it impossible for the doctor to do a full examination of her right and like at the time the doctor didn't think too much of it because he was like this is a grieving husband you know he's heartbroken he's distraught he can't let go of his wife despite taking the time to fully address her corpse which is weird yeah so Dr. Knapp was touched by the scene right he was like oh wow this poor man they'd only been married for a few months and now he's you know grieving his new wife like this is unimaginable this is terrible so when Edward keeps getting more emotional and more hysterical especially as Dr. Knapp is like reaching out trying to examine Zona's neck he doesn't think much of it he makes the examination really quick and then he's like I'll skedaddle there's so many things that are so sus about this but the most sus is that Dr. Knapp does see bruising around her neck but because Edward is basically like all over her and preventing him he's like ah whatever don't get a close look not my business and it's very frustrating because how could you see bruising and just be like oh whatever and yeah cause of death heart attack Dr. Knapp had been seeing Zona for a couple of weeks prior to this for her troubles that she'd been having so he figures that her death came from complications in his notes he wrote that Zona Heaster Shue died of and this is in quotes an everlasting faint which I had to look it up I want that to be my cause of death it is so it's whimsical it's like well okay so I was looking it up because I was like what does this even mean and how often was it used it is a term that does come up a little bit in literature specifically from 1820s to 1890s and it basically means dying from a faint that never ended which is very romantic way to speak about and write about death but it was also a term used for cardiac arrest or a blanket terminology for unknown cause of death but just in a more eloquent way yeah well it was the late 1800s I wrote a fancy way for doctors to say addy kay becky she died she's a woman this also leaned into feminine problems feminine issues which even today I feel like there's a lot of medical conditions that are just like oh that's women problems it's dismissed so that has existed for a long time but yes it is a very romantic victorian way to speak of death but in this story just saying that it was an everlasting faint is kind of lazy very because we read that in the town of Greenbrier they had a tradition for women women of the town to wash and dress the woman's body who has perished to prepare her for burial which is this really beautiful thing like all the women coming together to like send off one of their sisters basically but Edward refused to allow this he would not let anyone near her body no one could touch his wife he dressed her in that high necked outfit and he was like okay that's it let's bury her get her in the ground quick which I will say in his defense at this very moment they were new to town so I can see being like he was new to town she was not well no one got to see her she was new to town she was new to town she was new to town got to say because he was the husband but like I can imagine from his perspective coming in and being like this is a weird ritual I'm really overwhelmed by all of this this was like my new wife don't take her from me and like strip her down and wash her and like just don't like the emphasis here being and I think the reason no one was looking at this for a really long time is that they just thought Edward was a really heartbroken devastated husband right because they were newly wed still but we have the ability to tell the story now after that and I think that's a really important thing to be aware of and I think that's a really important thing to be aware of and I think the fact where all of these things added up are red flags yes in the moment there were bigger issues to deal with so no one put up too much of a fight about not being able to carry out this tradition in the town because someone needed to contact zona's family so far only a few townsfolk and her husband knew that she had passed away yeah so two of her friends dick watts and lewis stewart they volunteered to go visit the heasters and break the news they lived on the other side of the county about 15 miles away which at this time it was no easy trip so they went on horseback it took probably around like two to three hours to get to the heasters home just to deliver this news yeah and at that point it was nearly dusk and zona's father jacob is out of the house so it's just zona's mother mary jane and she welcomes these men inside familiar men her daughter's friends and she's excited to have them she's like oh my gosh boys what's going on dating anyone but that excitement it quickly is replaced by dread as she notices that these guys are so solemn they look just terrible so they break the news to mary jane and she is distraught yeah but she doesn't fall into a puddle of tears no her motherly instincts kick in and she immediately demands to see her daughter right away and the men are like you can't do that they're holding her back she's fighting it's too late it's too cold you can't see her right now but we promise you that in the morning we're going to the townspeople will gather we will bring zona to you in the morning so mary jane has to wait all night to see her daughter and this is just gutting right because it's also there's like so many different factors here where it's like you almost don't want to believe it and not being able to see her daughter's body she's probably like this can't be real and then too it's her daughter she's just right yeah as we will know like we don't know her perceptions of her daughter's we do but we do so she spends the night thinking of her daughter who and zona is her only daughter mary jane gave birth to zona in 1873 and she spends the night recalling the first cries like holding her newborn baby girl zona for the very first time she remembers looking her in the eyes and giving her the name elva zona heister zona was this like beautiful lively young girl one of eight children but mary jane's only daughter so the two of them had a very special bond and mary jane always pictured really big things for her daughter of course so how could she be dead it didn't feel right it didn't feel possible mary jane had just seen her daughter a mere three months ago for her wedding and she was perfectly healthy right she's young she just got married she's still in the same town like she's close to home it just feels safe yeah so she spends the entire night playing this over in her head wishing and praying that this is the end of her life and she's still in the same town like she's close to home it's all just a very bad dream but when morning comes zona's body arrives in a plain coffin and mary jane is forced to reckon with the reality that yes there before her is her precious daughter dead yeah and so the family holds awake at the house people bring food they gather around they share memories of zona and zona's husband edward stays right next to the coffin the entire time he's almost like standing guard it's very possessive and after hearing a visitor remark about the story he says i'm not going to go to the hospital i'm going to go to the hospital i'm going to this scarf that zona is wearing he insists oh it's her favorite she insisted that she'd be buried in this which is also weird because like why was zona saying when i die right she's 26 in this scarf they just got married why is the conversation about death yeah it wouldn't be although i have said bury me in my overalls to everyone so but you know it wasn't like a true pronouncement true or was it i don't know i think it was pretty real i would shoot you off into space in your overalls thank you very much thank you very much thank you very much thank you very much thank you very much thank but it gave me pause but mary jane does recall her very first impression of edward he had rolled into town around october of 1896 shortly after the previous blacksmith had passed away edward came into town he tells everyone he's 29 years old and that he is a blacksmith who's looking for work what perfect timing the blacksmith just died i do think he probably read about it or something i know i was just thinking like how odd like how do you get word of a job opening back then and you just float into a new town and you're like oh i'll just exist here and start my entire life with like no very little contact you can't just like instagram direct message your friends and facetime your family when you're homesick and like word of mouth takes a lot longer to travel anyway he found out about it he arrives into town and zona's father jacob had an axe that had gotten dull so he was like let's go see about this new blacksmith and see what he's uh able to do yeah strong boy big muscles and jacob brings his daughter zona so this is the first time zona ever lays eyes on edward and instantly there is a connection between the two of them and it changed the course of their lives forever when edward Edward finished with the axe, Zona took it back to her father, and she came back to the shop later on, just as he was about to close up. Very meet-cute sort of way to spark up some extra romance. And the two of them got to talking, and this kind of became a more commonplace thing for them. Zona would visit Edward at work, the two of them would spend hours talking as he worked, and time flew by as they got to know each other. Zona told him about her favorite flowers, the pine lilies that grow there in the spring. She promised to show Edward sometime. And soon, a passionate whirlwind romance blossomed, and Edward proposed to Zona just three weeks later. Which I don't think is uncommon back then. I feel like people move pretty quickly. Yeah, I definitely know some 80, 90-year-olds who have stories just like this. My own grandparents, they got together because my grandma had a crush on my grandpa. Oh. And pretended she didn't have a ride to the company holiday party and asked him for a ride. Smooth moves. She was a cougar, too. Two years older. Love, love her. I know. Judy. But okay, when Mary Jane, Zona's mother, heard of the proposal, she got worried. Like, her gut instinct was fear and worrisome. She wanted Zona to marry a local boy, someone from the community, someone that they had grown up with, someone that she knew. They know, they trust. They know the values of the family. And by this time now. Because Edward had been in town for, like, three weeks or so, there were some rumors spreading about him. One of them being that he had already been married two times, meaning that Zona would now be his third wife. Right. And he admitted himself that he had a son. And his son was not being raised by him, but by his grandparents. So Mary Jane, knowing all this, hearing the rumors, and just knowing a few of the things, bits and pieces that Edward did share, she did not approve. But there was no talking Zona out of it. She was super enlightened. She was super in love. And then three months later, her daughter is dead. Yeah. So Mary Jane blames Edward for taking her daughter away. And now at the funeral, she's even more resentful of him. She basically ignores him the entire time. Edward, though, is unbelievably polite to everybody in a way that Mary Jane is like, she's clocking this. She's like, that is a fake dude. Like, he's being so performative. This is not who he is at all. This is so strange. So at one point, Mary Jane actually finds his bed sheet in the coffin and tries to return it to him. But he won't take it. And he calls her mother and tells her to keep it. So like, ew, icky. My mother. Mother. He's trying to be loving. Yeah. It's performative. And it's so different from how he was before. So it's just so weird. So he's trying to commiserate with Mary. He's trying to connect with Mary Jane. But Mary Jane is like, I'm not having it. And here is where things get really, really spooky. Oh, they slowly get spooky. But okay. So the day after the burial, remember that sheet. That you just mentioned. Mary Jane brings it home. And she tries to wash it. But when she pulls it out of the laundry, somehow it's blood red. She tries to boil it. Tries to wash it a second time. This sheet never turns white again. Interesting. Spooky, if you will. Exactly. Paranormal. Supernatural. And even the townsfolk believe it's unnatural. Like that it's indicating a bad omen. Yeah. And pretty soon, Mary Jane is not. She's not the only one with second thoughts about Edward. Shout out to Maude Dawkins, who's one of Mary Jane's neighbor. I feel like she's the original, like, little crime sleuth. She decides to go travel to a nearby courthouse to get information on Edward. Hell yeah. She digs up. Also, like, the power of the women in this community anyway. Just like their burial practices. Like all the. Yeah. They're together in their girlhood. And so this makes sense. Don't fuck with mommies. Don't. Okay. So she. The Greenbrier mommies. That's who you all are today. So Maude digs up Edward's previous marriage license, and she finds a couple of major things. One, according to this marriage license, remember when Edward came to town and he told everyone he's 29 years old? No, no, no. According to this marriage license, he's 35. Which, why lie about your age? I know that's so bizarre. But there's something far worse that she finds. She finds out that Edward's previous wife, a woman named Lucy Tritt, died under mysterious circumstances. So now Maude is determined to learn more and find out about what happened and share everything she can find with Mary Jane. I feel like that's very much you and I. Yeah. I feel kindred spirits to Mary Jane and Maude. So they're like, okay, we've heard all these rumors about Edward. Let's get to the bottom of it. What's the truth? What's really going on? Was he really married two other times? They know that, yes, he was married at least once before to this woman, Lucy Tritt, who had died mysteriously. And then they find out Edward was, in fact, married to a woman named Lucy Tritt. He was married before that, too, to a woman named Esty. Unfortunately, it is hard to find out more on that marriage, but Edward allegedly abandoned Esty and their child a couple years after getting married. Then he married Lucy. So all of this information makes Mary Jane even more certain Edward had something to do with her daughter's death. And she and Maude stay up discussing theories. One theory is that apparently Edward was overheard flirting. with another woman days before Zona's death. Mary Jane is like, maybe this is just Maude gossiping. Who knows? And maybe Zona really did die of natural causes. Or maybe Mary Jane's instincts were right. Edward wasn't a good man. And there was foul play involved with her daughter's death. But how could she ever know for certain? That night, a visit from beyond the grave confirms Mary Jane's suspicion. It's late in January 1897, and the house is quiet. Except for Jacob Heaster's steady snore beside his wife. The sound usually gets on Mary Jane's nerves, but tonight, she welcomes it. It's a reminder that she isn't alone. For days now, sleep has not come. Mary Jane lies awake, beneath the tree. Underneath the quilt, whispering prayers into the darkness, asking for answers about her daughter Zona's death. Suddenly, a strange chill presses through the blanket, sending chills down Mary Jane's spine. She pulls the blanket tighter, but it does nothing to quell the chill. It feels heavy, deliberate, almost alive. That is when she hears scratching. It's coming from the foot of the bed, like wood dragging on wood. Her breath catches, and she listens even more closely now. The cold wind rolls through the room once more, even though every window throughout the house is latched tight. Her eyes scan the room, and that is what she sees in it. There, in the doorway, stands a shadowy figure. Soft, translucent. It's strange, but it's also familiar. And Mary Jane is in shock. She realizes, that she is not alone. She realizes that this figure standing before her is, unmistakably, Zona, her daughter. She's wearing the same blue dress that Mary Jane had stitched two winters before. Her skin glows pale, her eyes full of sorrow. Mary Jane's hand trembles as she reaches out for her daughter. But Zona doesn't speak. She stares, watching her mother, Mary Jane. And after what feels like many, many minutes, Zona's apparition does something Mary Jane doesn't like. And Mary Jane will never forget. Zona turns her head slowly. She keeps turning it. And turning it. All the way around. A full 360 rotation. And Mary Jane gasps. Zona's voice comes through then. Soft and hollow. And she says, He did it, Mama. Edward killed me. He broke my neck. And with that message, Zona disappears. Could you imagine? Mary Jane is left stunned and in this lingering cold. But now, she holds the truth. Seeing your deceased child's spirit appear is one thing. But then the action. A fully rotating. I don't care what paranormal you believe in. If you saw that, you'd be terrified. Right, it's very exorcism. Yes. But I also feel like. In a way, I'm glad Zona did that. Because then, it feels so extreme and so different from what, as a mother, you might think about. Like when dreaming about your daughter. That I feel like it's unmistakably a ghostly, a spectral visit from her daughter. And you can't just excuse it as you not liking your son-in-law, your daughter's dead. And you're having this dream. It had to have been a dream. And at first, Mary Jane does kind of think, like, maybe that was just a weird dream. Like, all of my fear is coming true, right? But this happens. Zona's. The spirit visits Mary Jane four nights in a row. Yeah. And every visit, she reveals more of the story. She tells Mary Jane about an argument that her and Edward had right before her death. It's not clear what the fight was about. But Zona says that Edward threw her clothes outside in the dead of winter to spite her. When she went to pick them up, he attacked her. And the tale is bloody. It's terrifying and traumatic. And at first, Mary Jane does keep it to herself. Kind of like, out of, one, will people even believe me? And what do I even do with this information? Right, you're just a grieving mother. Who, why? Yeah. Yeah. Why else would you come up with this? Who's going to believe me? That is exactly the question that Mary Jane was battling with for four days and four nights. But after the fourth night, she decides to tell someone. First, she shares her experiences with her neighbors, who unfortunately do exactly as she had thought. They reject it. They don't believe her. They basically write it off. She's a grieving mother. And then they tell her she's seeing things and that grief is getting to her. Oh, what a lovely message for someone who is grieving. Don't say that. That's rude. Now I'm in a fight with the neighbors. Mary Jane understands their skepticism, though. And she's like, OK, well, I grew up hearing ghost stories from my grandmother. I never really believed my grandmother when she told me these stories. But this one feels so real. So she's kind of like battling herself, too, being like, is it a ghost? Is it not? Like, what's happening to me? But she's like, no, this isn't just a vision. There was sound. There was sensation. I know I wasn't dreaming. She cannot put this out of her mind. And she's like, I have to get justice for my daughter, Zona. So she decides to go see the local prosecutor, John Alfred Preston. And she brings with her her brother-in-law. John listens politely, sympathetically. He nods his head along as Mary Jane tells of Zona's spirit visiting her and the fact that Edward murdered her. Right away, Mary Jane can see he's like the others, that he doesn't really believe her, that she's lying and maybe her mind is playing tricks on her. But I do appreciate this about John. He entertains it. He spends the day with Mary Jane as the day goes on. He's like, OK, well, now that you're saying a lot of these things, there is a lot that adds up that makes him feel a little suspicious, too. Mary Jane does admit that she never liked Edward and that she had basically spent all night praying, hoping that Zona would come to her and tell her the truth. But there is more than just this visitation that makes the case suspicious. Yeah. Like his previous wife, Lily, who died young and of mysterious circumstances. Right. And then there's also the way that Edward acted after Zona's death. So he prevented Dr. Knapp from examining the bruising. And he also stood in the way of the local tradition of stripping her down, washing her and dressing her again for her funeral. Then there was the bed sheet that came out blood red. And John is skeptical, but he decides, I'm going to look into this case more, if only to soothe Mary Jane's broken heart. Which I'm glad that he did. Or to cure his own curiosity a little bit. Right. And I'm so glad that he did. So he starts by visiting Dr. Knapp, the man who basically diagnosed or stated that Zona died of an everlasting faint. And he had recently actually altered that in his notes, changing it from an everlasting faint to heart disease. An educated guess, you know. But John knows Dr. Knapp well. He's the town doctor. Everyone respects his work. And he goes to Dr. Knapp. Expecting this to be the end of it. Putting everything to rest. But Dr. Knapp actually does say that in the initial examination of Zona, it was incomplete. He tells John this. So John's like, okay, well, what do we do? Why don't we complete the examination and dig up Zona's body to finally put this to bed? They set it up as soon as possible. But there's no Morgantown. So where do they set up this? Makeshift morgue? At the schoolhouse that's next to the church where Zona was buried. Yeah, so literally. Time for school, kids! It's like the school bell rings, all the kids go home, and then they're like, okay, head to the cemetery, dig up Zona's body. So it's February 22nd of 1897. This is now 31 days after Zona was buried. And three doctors perform an autopsy on Zona. When Edward heard about this, thank goodness he heard about it too late. So he couldn't prevent them. He couldn't prevent them from digging up her body. He runs over to the school, and he sits outside, basically right next to Mary Jane, as the doctors are inside doing their work. Mary Jane and Edward sit there, basically in silence, not speaking to one another. There's a sheriff there supervising them, basically ready to make an arrest. And this is a small town. People are catching word of this. Journalists show up, and they're pestering Edward and Mary Jane with questions. But Edward ignores them. And they're outside, right? Yeah, they're all outside. It's awkward. They're sitting on the steps, hating each other. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. They're not fuming or just anxious energy. They have no idea what is happening and what's being discovered. Yeah. But he does make a comment. He hardly talks to the journalists. But he does say one comment that is really suspicious. He says the police wouldn't be able to prove he was the killer if she was murdered. Okay. Why do you need to say that out loud if you're not the murderer? That's such a strange statement. Right. Who are you trying to convince? Yourself? Yourself. Well, whether he said that or not is up for debate. It could just be, like, a sensational thing that newspapers wrote to sell more papers. But if he did say it, yes. Very strange. But as they wait outside, the doctors examine Zona's body, and I can't even imagine the anxiety that her mom was feeling outside waiting for hours and hours. But it was hours. It took hours because even though Mary Jane was adamant that her daughter's neck was broken because Zona's spirit had told her so, doctors started by checking the contents of her stomach. So, not her neck. Maybe because Zona had been sick before her death, and they suspected Edward was poisoning her, but they didn't come up with anything definitive there. So next, they move up her body, they check out Zona's spine, and it doesn't take long for them to notice something. And finally, the doctors emerge from the school, and they announce to everyone who's waiting outside that Zona Heaster Shue's neck had, in fact, been broken. Between the first and second vertebrae, her ligaments had been torn, and her windpipe was crushed. This was, in fact, an act of murder. Most telling of all, there were clear fingerprints around Zona's neck. Yeah. So Edward is arrested. Thank goodness. Finally placed under arrest by the sheriff. Over a month later. Yep. But Edward seems unbothered. He says that they can't possibly prove that he's the one that did it. And on the ride to the county jail, he seemed almost cheerful, and he really believed that this circumstantial evidence wasn't enough to put him away, but this guy was about to get a rude awakening. Yeah, he was. Edward spends the next two months in jail while the prosecutor, John Preston, prepares for the trial, and also snaps for John Preston for, even if he was trying to appease a grieving mother, for doing all these extra steps. Because now, finally, someone will get the justice they deserve. At first, Edward's life is in danger. Edward is in good spirits while he's in jail. He makes friends with the other inmates. He likes to brag. Yeah. He's super cavalier. He intends to plead not guilty and essentially dares the prosecutor to prove that he could possibly be responsible. Which I guess, you know, to be fair, I understand why he was kind of taking that approach, because the state did have a pretty high bar to clear in a case like this. Because the death penalty was on the table, they also had to be really careful about their arguments and make them really airtight. And it was really hard to do. And it was really hard to do with circumstantial evidence and stuff like that, which is why early on, John decides not to mention Mary Jane's paranormal encounter in court. He was like, I don't want to put her on the stand or anyone on the stand and make it look ridiculous, right? Like, we got to give ourselves a chance. Yeah. Instead, he focuses on the autopsy results and the witness testimony about Edward's strange behavior after Zona's death. But then the rumor mill in Greenbrier starts churning, and while the tide has definitely turned in Mary Jane's direction. Not everyone is so convinced that Edward is actually guilty. One of her neighbors, Henry Gilmer, is not sure what to believe, and he doesn't dismiss Mary Jane's ghost story out of hand, but he does think something else might be going on. He tells a newspaper that Mary Jane might have broken Zona's neck herself at the wake to try and frame Edward, because she has always hated Edward. Yeah, but how? Edward was standing guard. He was like a little guard dog. Right. No one could get near her. Including her own mom. And then this same man, Henry Gilmer, also starts to share that he heard rumors that Zona was trying to get an abortion from Dr. Knapp before her death, and that the procedure went wrong, and the doctor covered it up, trying to make it look like Edward broke her neck. Conspiracies. Yeah. And also, in those conspiracies, the second one definitely seems unlikely. But the autopsy showed that Zona's internal organs were all in working order, so there was no evidence. There was no evidence of an abortion, botched or otherwise, but still, the town kind of. They didn't know what to think. They were, in my end, divided. Yeah. Which I'm like, that's crazy. You guys don't even know. Edwardie's new. Take Zona aside. I know. But, you know, they want it to be fair, and they don't want some person to be blamed if they didn't actually murder this woman. And so, it's waffling. Right. Especially when Mary Jane has shared with so many people about the paranormal experience, there is still this belief that she's mourning. Yeah. Yeah. But finally, on June 21st. June 23rd, 1897, five months after Zona's death, it's time for the big day. Edward's time in jail has weakened his confidence, and after being locked up for four months, he is more desperate now. One newspaper reported that he was even threatening suicide while he was in jail, but when he's in court, he puts on a brave face. His lawyers work overtime. They gather basically 120 people to the stand to attest to his good standing and his moral character. That's way too many people. Way too many people. And. Before the proceedings begin, they wish Edward good luck, because he's gonna need it. It's June 23rd, 1897. The courtroom is packed with West Virginians dressed in their finest clothes. The prosecutor, John Preston, gives a brief history of Edward Shue's life so far. Born in 1861, he was the fifth of nine children, and by many accounts, he was kind of the black sheep of the family. Though he was handsome and he could be charming in adulthood, he kind of always throughout his life had this mean streak. John paces back and forth, pausing for effect before continuing. Edward's first wife, a young woman named Esty, married him in 1885. He was 24. She was around 17. The two had a child together, but their relationship only lasted a couple of months. During that time, Edward beat Esty savagely. He abused her so often that a gang of local men actually stepped in as vigilantes. In the winter of 1886, they dragged Edward out to a frozen lake, broke through the ice, and threw him in while singing hymns. This was meant to sort of act as a baptism, to keep him on the straight and narrow, give him a second chance. But this baptism didn't work. John continues to tell the jury that only a year later, Edward was thrown in jail for stealing a horse from a man. He served two years and never saw his first wife again. After he got out, the 33-year-old married Lucy Tritt in 1894. They hadn't been together long when Edward climbed onto their roof to repair a chimney. And while he was working, he called out to his wife Lucy, asking for a glass of water. And when she came out to bring it to him, he said, What odd timing. But perhaps it was no accident. Even people of the town believed Edward dropped that brick himself, purposefully killing his second wife. Edward was chased out of the town and left to roam West Virginia looking for work as a blacksmith. Which is how he wound up in Greenbrier in 1895. And that is how he met Sona Heaster-Shue, the woman he is now accused of murdering. So because these events did happen so long ago, they are difficult to confirm. But we do know for a fact that Edward was married twice before. And yes, that his second wife, Lucy, did die in some kind of accident. But there are different variations of what actually happened. Regardless, no version paint Edward in a positive light. And he definitely did do time for stealing a horse, which was a serious mark against him because back then, a horse was like your lifeline. That's everything. It's your transportation. It's a way of making a living. It's your lifeline to the world. And one of Edward's neighbors put it this way. Any man who would steal a horse or a dog is automatically an S.O.B. I agree. I love this town. So after John Preston's account, Edward's lawyers, it's their turn. And they have their work cut out for them. Not only did they have to rehabilitate their client's reputation, but they also had to convey, convince the jury that someone else could have killed his wife. Because if it's not him, then who? They need to sow in reasonable doubt. Right. But up to this point in the trial, no one had even tried to identify another suspect in Zona's murder. There's just no reason to believe that anyone else was in the house prior to her death. So that only leaves one man, Edward. And I think also at this point, no police had ever investigated anyone else. They basically just arrested Edward. But there was one other person, who had been at the scene prior to the doctor arriving. 11-year-old Andy Jones. And he was called to testify on the first day of the trial to explain how he found Zona's body. And maybe because of his race, Edward was hoping that he would draw suspicion and that they could basically turn the court onto Andy. Oh, the 11-year-old child who ran screaming and crying for his mommy because he was so shocked at what he saw? Yeah. Let's look at him. And Edward trying to, like, turn the blame on him. And luckily, the jury buys Andy's testimony. He sticks to the facts and they don't turn on Andy. And granted, trying to blame Andy wasn't really much of a strategy to begin with. But without another viable suspect, Edward's lawyers had this uphill battle ahead. So they started calling in their character witnesses one by one. How many was it? 121? Just so long. Ridiculous. Yeah, the testimony, it dragged on for, I'm, like, going like this. Like, I had to sit through it. Yeah, it sounds horrible. It does sound horrible. But most of the questions were really basic ones. And the witnesses were asked, like, how they know Edward. And many neighbors described him as polite and reliable. But most commonly that he's a talented, hardworking blacksmith. That's all they have to say about him. Nothing personal. But then not everyone is on his side. The prosecution also has character witnesses, too, who describe Edward more along the lines of the way that John Preston characterized him in his statement. Lots of people calling him arrogant, cocky, and even inappropriate after Zona's death. Several claim they heard him say his life goal, Edward's life goal, was to bury seven wives in his lifetime. It's so disturbing. It's so weird. It's so disturbing. And this is actually the anecdote that's the inspiration for the book we referenced a ton for our research of this episode. The book is titled The Man Who Wanted Seven Wives, The Greenbrier Ghost, and the Famous Murder Mystery of 1897, written by a novelist and historian named Katie Letcher Lyle, who drew on interviews, court records, and newspaper accounts from this time to really bring the case to life. Do we know that his first wife didn't die? Has he said that he left her? We don't know. But if he said that he has a child who's being raised by grandparents, we don't know, unfortunately. It does seem like maybe this was number three for him instead of number two. Yeah. But according to this book, multiple people tell the jury that Edward repeated this joke so often, even before Zona was murdered, which means he was repeating it after Zona was murdered, too. Ugh. And it's hard to even say whether it was a joke at all, considering the fact that he did bury two or maybe three wives by the age of 35. And that part of the trial definitely gets a rise out of the jury, right? After boring hours of the same thing. Yeah. 120-plus people being like, he's a blacksmith. Okay, great. Thanks. Anything new? But ultimately, this is a short-lived moment of excitement. Because entire days are devoted to nonstop character witnesses. Eventually, the jury and the judge even starts to get so bored that they're like, this is miserable. Yeah. Convict him and move on. Right. And also, their minds are also elsewhere because this is a small town, so everyone kind of knows that Mary Jane was visited by Zona's ghost. And that's what they really want to hear. Right. Get to the juice of the trial. So finally, they, after days of character witnesses, they perk up because guess who's called to the stand? Mary Jane. But the prosecutor, John Preston, disappoints them once again because he does not mention the ghost a single time. Because again, they want to leave the paranormal out of it to really, truly nail Edward for the murder. Instead, he asks Mary to describe Edward's odd protective behavior at the wake. And she does mention the mysterious red bed sheet, but that's the only hint of paranormal she gives. Until it's the day. The defense is turned to cross-examine her. And they know Mary Jane's ghost story is inadmissible as evidence against them. Or they want to believe it. They want to. And so they're like, oh, we'll bring it up and make a mockery of her, right? Until it's the defense's turn to cross-examine her. So they know about Mary Jane's ghost story. They know that John Preston has not been bringing it up because he doesn't want this to be like a spectacle and to ruin any reputable information that Mary Jane has put forth. But if the judge will allow it, they're certainly going to try to talk about Mary Jane's spectral visit from her daughter. Yes. So they're expecting her to backpedal or to downplay her experience, probably like at the advisement of John Preston. And that's exactly what doesn't happen. Because they do not know Mary Jane Heaster at all. She doesn't hesitate. She doesn't downplay it. She looks at the jury and she informs them all about Zona's spirit. Yeah. And she tells the story. Well. And the defense tries everything they can do to undermine her tale. They ask for a question after a question. They are trying to trip her up, trying to make her change a detail of her story. They want to cast her as confused, this delusional old woman. But by the time she's finished speaking, the jury is totally spellbound. And once again, the defense's strategy totally backfired. In the end, they have one last shot. Edward Shue himself decides to testify. Boo. That's what I imagine the jury is doing. Or maybe the crowd. Maybe not the jury. The whole crowd. Everyone. Everyone. In their heads, everyone is saying boo. And according to, I guess, standard practice at the time, Edward is put on the stand last. And though he knows things aren't looking good for him, Edward is like, one thing I know about myself is I'm a smooth talker. I'm great at charming people. I've got that. So he's usually been able to talk his way out of trouble in the past. But today, his usual charm, or infamous charm, he calls it in his head, could not save him. He admits, to having spent time in jail for other crimes but he claims he loved zona he repeatedly denies evidence against him he but doesn't have evidence like against it he just is like well no that that's not true yeah it's okay then what yeah explain yourself where were you from the moment he was first arrested edward was adamant that all the prosecution had against him was circumstantial evidence which technically he was correct because there was no one who could place him at the crime scene it's 1897 there's not much forensic evidence but he didn't come off well in front of the jury on july 1st 1897 the jury deliberates for only about an hour before finding edward shu guilty of murder in the first degree 10 out of the 12 people on the jury wanted the death penalty but because in the end two of the people couldn't be swayed edward was sentenced to life in prison instead of the death penalty and he was hauled through town in chains making this the first and only known case in u.s legal history where the testimony of a ghost led to a murder conviction i mean how could you not love this story it is so cool we're not lawyers do you learn about this in law school i hope so i hope so but there is more to the story so basically edward is sent to prison but people are really really upset 10 out of 12 people on the jury wanted the death penalty yeah that probably reflects the community as well 1897 people are upset they felt cheated that he wasn't given the death penalty and what do you do in 1897 you gather a group of angry men with your pitchforks with your pitchforks your torches and you try to take justice into your own hands and that is exactly what happened 10 days after the trial on july 11th 1897 a group of around 30 angry men decided to take matters into their own hands they marched through town waving around revolvers torches and lengths of rope and the sheriff and deputy get word of this they run to the jail to protect edward the deputy gets him out of his cell before the mob arrives and when the crowd arrives they're furious they're like you guys are protecting this mfr this sob they're furious and now the sheriff is like facing 30 furious farmers with like rifles he makes the first move he draws his gun points it at the nearest member of the mob and he's like oh my god i'm but before he fires he recognizes one of the guys as his neighbors so he cannot bring himself to kill his friend so he holsters his weapon he gives a passionate speech to the crowd instead and he basically convinces the mob to disperse four people are indicted with the attempted lynching but no lives are lost edward shu ended up serving three years in prison but now he did not get out he died of pneumonia in 1900 good bye edward yeah he had an everlasting faint in jail i don't think he even deserves as beautiful as a death as that that's not for him that's for us that's for the girls that's for the mommies i know i love this story we first talked about it on two girls my ghost back in 2017 when we started the podcast like early early days and it blew our minds right and we think about it all the time because like this is what you hope and i feel like there's this is what you hope and i feel like there's this is what you hope and i feel like there's so many times where like there's these wild unsolved true crime cases or missing persons disappearances and people will often like look to psychics and try to get answers and it's like why can't the dead just come and tell us what happened why can't we get the answers this way and this is a case where where we did where we do right i mean there's a lot of reasons why some people don't believe in the paranormal but i think if i were a skeptic i think that would be an argument i would say is like well if ghosts are real why aren't they coming back from the dead and solving their murders all the time right we still believe in ghosts we just don't know the rules that they have to follow right and we don't know if like things are just great and it was zona herself that was like actually i need to take a beat because i've got i've got some business to take care of some biz yeah right some people might say that we'll never really know for sure whether mary jane really did see her daughter's ghosts but we absolutely believe she did and either way her story has lived on for generations she's now known as the greenbrier ghost she even has a plaque in greenbrier west virginia and edward shu's trial marked the first time a paranormal testimony was used as evidence in a court of law and the appearance of zona's spirit became local legend just like she did on the stand mary jane stuck to her story her entire life and not everyone in town believed her but her tale has lived on and it inspired several popular stage plays and books including a play called zona and a musical adaptation called the greenbrier ghost which i want to see but both of these had runs at the greenbrier valley theater showing how deeply this story is woven into the area's history there's also a book that we found very useful in researching this story called the man who wanted seven wives the greenbrier ghost and the famous murder mystery of 1897 by katie ledger lyle it's not hard to see why people are so interested in this case i mean we're obsessed with it and at the end of the day whether or not mary jane really did see her daughter's ghost mary jane's story got a guilty man locked up she was able to avenge her daughter and honor her memory yeah she did and despite some of the sensational press about the trial the truth is that there was clear evidence that zona was murdered right it wasn't just based on a ghost story which makes this a rare case where both scientific and paranormal evidence came together and because of that a murderer was brought to justice hell yeah mommies and that is the greenbrier ghost zona he's a shoe episode thank you so much for listening we loved this topic we are your hosts sabrina diana roga and corinne vienne join us next tuesday for another peek inside another crimes of the paranormal and if there are any cases that you would like us to cover please let us know in the comments here at crime house we want to thank each and every one of you for your support if you like what you heard today reach out on all social media at crime house don't forget to rate review and follow crimes of wherever you get your podcasts your feedback truly makes a difference bye mommies we love you bye mommies you looking for your next podcast check out what the fact it's a new show from connor tomlinson who you know from netflix's love on the spectrum alongside carter roy every week they take three unbelievable true facts from history and tell you the full story behind them follow what the fact wherever you listen or subscribe on youtube at what the fact pod