As chronicled in the April 14, 1836 issue of The North-Carolinian Standard, a tale with all the makings of a classic backwoods murder ballad.
John Murphey, alias John Sugg, of Raleigh NC was put on trial for the murder of Mary Sugg, the wife of his putative father. John, "quite a young man" was born in Raleigh and lived there until the age of 15, when his father married Mary Sugg. John "went to sea" and returned in 1832. Straightaway he bickered with his stepmother. One night in 1832, Mrs. Sugg was shot in her own house. John fled but was captured two years later in Mobile, AL. His own father served as witness for the state. However, the jury found him not guilty.
