Casey Sepp

And these cases went before juries. And, you know, the matter at hand was not only whether the policy was applicable or enforceable, but also to some extent whether some of these double indemnity clause applied and just how much money the reverend was going to get. Because as far as the insurance companies were concerned, he deserved zero dollars.

And these cases went before juries. And, you know, the matter at hand was not only whether the policy was applicable or enforceable, but also to some extent whether some of these double indemnity clause applied and just how much money the reverend was going to get. Because as far as the insurance companies were concerned, he deserved zero dollars.

And as far as the reverend was concerned, he was owed, you know, double the face value of any of them. And so he succeeded most of the time in getting at least half of the face value of the policies. And That happened death after death, and a lot of people around Lake Martin were not only apprehensive of the Reverend Maxwell, they were apprehensive of his lawyer.

And as far as the reverend was concerned, he was owed, you know, double the face value of any of them. And so he succeeded most of the time in getting at least half of the face value of the policies. And That happened death after death, and a lot of people around Lake Martin were not only apprehensive of the Reverend Maxwell, they were apprehensive of his lawyer.

And so lucrative was the business of representing the Reverend Maxwell that when Tom Radney built a new law office, folks around Lake Martin called it the Maxwell House. And he was really one of Tom Radney's most notorious clients.

And so lucrative was the business of representing the Reverend Maxwell that when Tom Radney built a new law office, folks around Lake Martin called it the Maxwell House. And he was really one of Tom Radney's most notorious clients.

And for a long time, Tom insisted on the Reverend's innocence. And as far as the legal system was concerned, he was owed all of this insurance money. And it didn't matter that there was this pattern of death that followed him or this kind of profitable side to all of these deaths. But, you know, Tom was just doing his job as a lawyer and

And for a long time, Tom insisted on the Reverend's innocence. And as far as the legal system was concerned, he was owed all of this insurance money. And it didn't matter that there was this pattern of death that followed him or this kind of profitable side to all of these deaths. But, you know, Tom was just doing his job as a lawyer and

He represented anyone, so why wouldn't he have represented the Reverend Maxwell? And, you know, while we were talking about it, he would say, you know, of course, a lot of African Americans were denied the kind of legal representation they deserved.

He represented anyone, so why wouldn't he have represented the Reverend Maxwell? And, you know, while we were talking about it, he would say, you know, of course, a lot of African Americans were denied the kind of legal representation they deserved.

What the police thought when they arrived at the scene was that she had maybe been changing a tire. The lug nuts were removed and the wheel was off the axle and Shirley Ann was under the weight of the car. And, you know, once again, that was very quickly disproved by their investigation. It had just been staged that way.

What the police thought when they arrived at the scene was that she had maybe been changing a tire. The lug nuts were removed and the wheel was off the axle and Shirley Ann was under the weight of the car. And, you know, once again, that was very quickly disproved by their investigation. It had just been staged that way.

And then actually she had been, the coroner's finding was that she had been strangled to death that day in June. And And once again, after their initial investigation, the police thought the Reverend was the most likely suspect. This was a tremendously difficult time for the folks around Lake Martin. It wasn't just that Shirley Ann Ellington was 16, which was obviously a scandal in its own right.

And then actually she had been, the coroner's finding was that she had been strangled to death that day in June. And And once again, after their initial investigation, the police thought the Reverend was the most likely suspect. This was a tremendously difficult time for the folks around Lake Martin. It wasn't just that Shirley Ann Ellington was 16, which was obviously a scandal in its own right.

It was, of course, the fact that, you know, here again was another one of the reverend's relatives found dead under very similarly suspicious circumstances. And there was real terror and fear. And again, I think that inevitably when you look back at crimes like this,

It was, of course, the fact that, you know, here again was another one of the reverend's relatives found dead under very similarly suspicious circumstances. And there was real terror and fear. And again, I think that inevitably when you look back at crimes like this,

You know, there's a kind of elegance in hindsight that makes things seem obvious, but for the people who lived in this part of Alabama, you know, this started in 1970 and here by the summer of 77, it just seemed like things were accelerating and it seemed more and more like there was nothing the police could do.

You know, there's a kind of elegance in hindsight that makes things seem obvious, but for the people who lived in this part of Alabama, you know, this started in 1970 and here by the summer of 77, it just seemed like things were accelerating and it seemed more and more like there was nothing the police could do.

300 people were gathered into that funeral home and they were already on edge and they were already afraid. And they were all on top of the kind of straightforward earthly rumors about murder and methodology. There was this heightened fear around the kind of supernatural stories people told about the reverend and others.

300 people were gathered into that funeral home and they were already on edge and they were already afraid. And they were all on top of the kind of straightforward earthly rumors about murder and methodology. There was this heightened fear around the kind of supernatural stories people told about the reverend and others.