The Reluctant Famulus Introduction: A True Grisly Tale I know the following lier find and the new, to has nothing to do with me, one, I had a slightly either Science Fiction or SF different view of Calhoun fandom but it might be of County. I would never have some small interest to a few suspected such a thing readers and another remind- could ever happen there but er—as if anyone needs a then when I think back to reminder—of what kind of the piece I did in a previous a world we live in and the issue of TRF about some evil humans do. lynchings in Calhoun Coun- If I remember correctly, ty I shouldn't have been sur- in the past I've mentioned prised. having been born in Alabama, Specifically, I was Now, if those who were actually reading this born in my Grandfather and Grandmother's house haven't impatiently skipped ahead, here is the in the country near Piedmont, in Calhoun County, item, a brief news article. where my parents were living at the time. Over “Viola Hyatt told them she killed and mutilat- the years since my wife and I retired, we've taken ed two brothers living on her father's farm, then trips to Calhoun County, partly for sentimental rea- hauled the bodies up to 50 miles away before sons but mostly for genealogical research. Sadly, dumping them. the house in which I was born is no longer there. The plump, 30-year-old resident of White It was demolished a few years ago. I did, however Plains, Ala., a small community in northeast Cal- manage to take a photo of the house on one of our houn county, was questioned for about six hours earliest trips when we visited my father's older Thursday night before began to tell the story, offi- brother and his wife and they took us on a short cers added. sightseeing trip which included showing us my Waller L. Allen, chief investigator for the grandparent's house. and one they said once was State Department of Public Safely, said two war- my great-grandfather and great-grandmother's. rants were issued charging Miss Hyatt with mur- From what I've seen of Calhoun County it's a nice der. Sheriff Roy Snead of Calhoun County said it place and probably typical of such areas all over will be up to a grand jury to fix the degree of mur- the country. Visiting there has brought back some der. fond memories of visiting my grandmother Floyd Mann, state public safety director, said Sadler. four things contributed to the motive in the brutal By now, if any of you are still reading this, slayings three weeks ago. you're probably wondering where this is leading. He listed them as physical abuse to her by the To something possibly interesting—I hope. A men, physical abuse to her father, ”drinking good while back I was randomly searching the habits“ of the men which irritated the family, and Internet for unusual items which might be of inter- argument over the use of a car. est, to me at least, and came across something that Authorities identified the victims as Emmett really fit the bill. I downloaded a copy, read it Harper, 48, and Lee Harper, 55. through, and then put it away and nearly forgot it. Both lived in a box-type house trailer near the Until, this time, I deliberately went searching unpainted frame farm house where Miss Hyatt again with the item I'd saved in mind. I got a hit, lived with her elderly father and stepmother, Mr. which, for once wasn't one of a billion (or whatev- and Mrs. H. D. Hyatt. er) closely related hits. After having reread the ear The bodies were found June 28 and 29 in rural 1 areas near Gadsden, Ala. Their faces were blasted doned house in Gadsden on June 28, 1959. A sec- beyond recognition by a shotgun charge and their ond torso was found 10 miles away in adjoining arms, and legs were hacked off and missing. St. Clair County, the following day. Word quickly The first body was found in Etowah County spread about the grisly discoveries, and officers beside an abandoned shack just off U.S. 11. The frantically searched for clues that would lead them second was found the next day some 10 miles fur- to a killer. While following up on every promising ther south along the highway. It too was dumped lead they came across, they were no closer to beside an empty house. uncovering the truth behind the bodies. It began to Police said one body was 38 miles from the look like a killer would go free. Finally, after two Hyatt house and the other house.” End news arti- weeks had passed, officers got the break they'd cle. been waiting for. It's interesting to note that, oddly, when I Acting on an anonymous tip, Alabama State Googled “Axe murderess Viola Hyatt”, the only Troopers Harry Sims and Herman Chapman trav- news article that came up was the one above. It's eled to the Rabbittown residence of Lee and also interesting that the newspaper was The Morn- Emmett Harper. Lee Harper's coworkers at Bynum ing Herald in Harry Warner, Jr.'s revealed he had not shown up for hometown of Hagerstown, MD work and expressed concern over his [“Sister Tells Of Slaying 2 Broth- whereabouts. ers,” syndicated (AP), The Morning The Harpers lived in a makeshift Herald (Hagerstown, Md.), Jul. 18, trailer on the land of Martin Hyatt of 1959, p. 1] White Plains. Hyatt and his daughter I also searched America's Newspa- Viola, 30years-old at the time, lived pers without finding any news arti- in a house near the trailer. Officers cles but I did locate two obituaries, questioned them about the missing one in the Anniston Star and one in men and were told the two had gone The Jacksonville News, both are Cal- to visit relatives in Dozier. Investiga- houn County newspapers. Both obitu- tions revealed this to be untrue, and aries were published in June 2000 officers became suspicious of the pair. and had brief details of Viola Hyatt's On Friday, July 17, investigators took crime which pretty much repeat the preceding the Hyatts to the police station for questioning. news story. Considering how lengthy this introduc- Finally, around 2 a.m., Viola Hyatt confessed to tion has become I've reprinted only the latter obitu- the gruesome slayings. ary which has a bit more information Hyatt told investigators she shot the men in the The Jacksonville News, (AL) Wednesday, face with a double barreled shotgun as they stood June 21, 2000 in the doorway of their home. According to her Deceased Name: Viola Hyatt: Convicted confession, she then dismembered the bodies with murderer dies quietly a double bladed ax. Hyatt placed the body parts in One of Calhoun County's most infamous resi- her car and drove through three different counties, dents died recently. Convicted ax murderer Viola tossing them out the window as she went. Hyatt was laid to rest in a private ceremony last Hyatt told investigators she killed the men Friday. Oddly enough, for a woman whose life because they sexually abused her, abused her elder- raised quite a stir around these parts in the late ly father and argued over her use of Harper's car. 50's, Hyatt's passing was rather unceremonious. In Following her confession, Hyatt took officers fact, her family has been extremely tightlipped con- back over the trail of her crime spree. She pointed cerning her death. Hyatt's cause of death, as well out where she had tossed body parts, helping inves- as her actual time and date of death, have tigators recover more parts. remained a mystery, as her family refuses to com- Hyatt spent five months at Bryce Hospital ment. inTuscaloosa, while doctors evaluated her mental According to reports, a human torso, clad only state. In the end, she was determined sane and com- in undershorts, was discovered next to an aban petent and ordered to stand trial for the murders. 2 Hyatt pleaded guilty to the crimes, but served only to ask for his permission. Even though this is a rel- 10 years of a life sentence. atively small and minor publication I'd rather not She lived the remainder of her life in Jack- risk getting into trouble about publishing it with- sonville, spurning all requests for interviews. Hang- out proper permission. Besides, it's six-pages long ing out at the senior recreation center, Hyatt and weighing in at almost 4,000 words and some- became the center's top Scrabble player. It was- thing few will feel like reading. I Googled Elton claimed she was unbeatable. Camp and found a couple of sites with his writings While questions arose in her later years con- which includes his piece on Viola Hyatt, titled The cerning her actual guilt or innocence of the crime, Scattering. For anyone who might be tempted or if Hyatt took the answer to those questions to the anyone feels brave enough—or foolish grave with her, dying without much talk of the enough—they can read it at either of the follow- crime following her release from the state peniten- ing: Elton Camp at Writers-Network (http://www. tiary. writers-network.com/ members/ EltonCamp) and Viola Hyatt Copyright, 2000, The Jacksonville on Scribd.com. He may even have a page on Face- News, Consolidated Publishing Co.