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Post by Angela on Aug 27, 2009 12:13:31 GMT -5
When my son recounted in the documentary about a bloody handprint he had seen on the wall at the top of the stairs in the Lawson home when we toured the house in 1979, it sent chills down my spine. I had heard a number of people talk about the blood all over the floor in the downstairs room, and of course I ad seen the picture of it, but never a bloody handprint. The only other time I;ve heard anyone mention that bloody handprint since then was last night when Hillary Hampton's daughter and I were talking. She told me how she remembered her mother Sadie Hampton talking about a bloody handprint at the top of the stairs in the Lawson home and that even though they had scrubbed and scrubbed the place some of the blood would not come up. It would get paler she said but would not come up altogether. Nancy went on to say that she had never been able to get those words about a bloody hand print on the wall out of her mind all these years later. A five year old boy also saw that bloody handprint 28 years ago and has never forgotten it. That image is etched forever in his mind and in the mind of a little girl who first heard about it 70 years ago. There are some things in this world that happen that I believe are NEVER meant to be forgotten. The horror of the murders of 7 innocent people committed by Charlie Lawson on Christmas Day, 1929 is one of those things. That bloody handprint should stand as a stark reminder for the rest of all time so that people never forget. At The Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. which I visited 2 years ago, there are four sayings that I saw in a lot of the rooms there regarding what happened and they are: 1. NEVER FORGET. 2. REMEMBER THE CHILDREN. 3. WE MUST BEAR WITNESS. 4. THE WORLD MUST KNOW. For me that applies to the Lawson murders as well. And that bloody handprint is a vital reminder. Maria
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Post by Angela on Aug 27, 2009 12:23:20 GMT -5
I'm glad to finally hear outside confirmation of the handprint this long after, so THANKS. I've had many doubts expressed to me about whether I really saw it (I was just young and open to the power of suggestion, that sort of thing) so to hear from someone who'd be in a position to know is very gratifying. I know what I saw, but one voice not not a chorus make and I've always felt that the blood's stubborn refusal to fade away was indicative of the story itself, so the more we can "show" it to people (and by show I mean describe with confirmations) the more they'll be unlikely to forget what happened inside that home so long ago. Matt32
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Post by Angela on Aug 27, 2009 12:26:57 GMT -5
I whole hearedly agree with those 4 sayings. The world cannot learn from their mistakes if it does not know about them. And Matt, I'm glad you got confirmation about the bloody handprint. It kind of goes along with the face Elijah Lawson and his son Claude saw in the upstairs window that day. Angel71242
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Post by Angela on Aug 27, 2009 12:30:06 GMT -5
I have to agree with you Maria, the Lawson family murders should never be forgotten. Anybody who thinks things like that don't happen and that when they do those things like that should be forgotten, are just plain out idiots. Sissy
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Post by Angela on Aug 27, 2009 12:48:38 GMT -5
For some reason I'm sad and angry all over again that the house was torn down and an important piece of history destroyed by a man deceitful enough not to disclose that the land he was selling to a fmily with a young daughter was infamous from the murders of 8 people, and that soon, their property would be over run by midnight curiosity seekers. I feel for those who bought the property, and I wish that NC real estate disclosure laws allowed them some amount of recourse against an unscrupulous seller, but I highly doubt it. If there was flood damage or asbestos, they'd have to disclose that, but the laws don't cover mass murder and unwelcome tourism that in a better world would be admitted to negatively affect property valuation. Matt32
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Post by Angela on Aug 27, 2009 12:51:16 GMT -5
I have to agree. This poor family should have been told ahead of time about what they were buying and what to expect because of it. Sissy
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Post by smpyrtle on Aug 27, 2009 17:12:57 GMT -5
Maria, thanks for posting this older thread.
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Post by Angela on Aug 31, 2009 6:11:41 GMT -5
When I read the book WC/BC back in 1990 the part about Claude Lawson seeing the face of the killer in the upstairs window looking out at him seriously frightened me. I was unable to sleep without a light on in my bedroom for a week. It's the same thing for me about the bloody hand print on the wall at the top of the stairs. I can see that hand print in my mind and it frightens me a lot. We've all assumed the hand print was made by Charlie Lawson. However, I have to ask...could it have been made by one of the children as he or she tried to run from their father? Or perhaps made by Dr. Bynum when he went upstairs to see if the killer was still up there? Dr. Bynum could have gotten blood on his hands as he knelt beside the bodies to examine them. Just a thought running through the hallways of my mind this morning. Anybody besides me hearing chatter in their hallways? Maria
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Post by debbie on Aug 31, 2009 8:31:27 GMT -5
I would imagine that the handprint could have belonged to any number of people. I still believe it was Charlie's. When I think about Dr. Bynum examining the bodies, I could invision him wiping his hands on a hankerchief instead of leaving blood on his hands. Charlie on the other hand, in a fit of frenzy certainly doesn't care what he gets blood on nor does he think of it. Besides, what would Dr. Bynum need to go upstairs for? All the bodies were downstairs and in the tobacco barn.
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Post by Angela on Aug 31, 2009 8:53:36 GMT -5
From my previous post: Or perhaps made by Dr. Bynum when he went upstairs to see if the killer was still up there? Maria
It's a well established fact that Dr. Bynum went upstairs to see if the killer was still up there. This was before anyone knew where Charlie was. Claude Lawson had seen Charlie in the upstairs window. The Sheriff refused to go up there so Dr. Bynum did.
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Post by angel71242 on Aug 31, 2009 10:06:18 GMT -5
I would have been shocked if Dr. Bynum had NOT gone upstairs! For one - someone said they saw a face in the upstairs window. That's one reason. And another - it was a crime scene - you have to check out the whole house. All the bodies were downstairs, but what if they had visitors when the murders occurred? There could have been a neighbor lying dead upstairs! Or a cousin or anybody.
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Post by Angela on Aug 31, 2009 10:26:39 GMT -5
We also have to remember that at that time the where abouts of not only Charlie was unknown, but Carrie and Maybell's where abouts were also unknown. Their bodies were in the tobacco barn but no one knew that at first.
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Post by sissy on Sept 1, 2009 7:52:57 GMT -5
Do we know if anyone else went up there with Dr. Bynum?
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Post by angel71242 on Sept 1, 2009 8:47:31 GMT -5
I bet several people went up there (after Dr. Bynum checked to make sure nothing was up there!) just to check it out. Human curiosity and all. I would have went up there. Plus it was a crime scene - gotta check everywhere for clues and all that!
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Post by Angela on Sept 1, 2009 9:20:01 GMT -5
That bloody hand print was a major major clue but nothing was ever done about it. Not even a photo was taken of it.
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