In the summer of 1960 in Monroe, Louisiana, a dispute over unpaid wages culminated in a tragic loss of life for Albert Pitts, an African-American man. On the morning of July 13, Pitts, his brother David, and their co-workers Marshall Johns, Earnest McFarland, and Willie Charlie Gibson went to the home of their white employer, Zennie William Fuller, to collect the money they were owed for their work cleaning septic tanks.
An argument had reportedly taken place the day before between
Fuller's son, William Herbert Fuller, and one of the workers regarding the outstanding wages, resulting in the worker being struck with a shovel. The tension from the previous day's encounter spilled over into the morning of July 13th. Fuller, armed with a shotgun, opened fire on his employees. Albert Pitts, his brother David, and Marshall Johns were killed instantly at the scene.
According to a witness, after the initial barrage of gunfire from Zennie Fuller, his son, William, used a pistol to 'finish off' any of the men who were still alive. Earnest McFarland was critically wounded and succumbed to his injuries in the hospital the following day. Willie Gibson was the sole survivor of the shooting.
In the immediate aftermath, Zennie Fuller was taken into custody on an 'open charge' but was later released on bond and was never indicted for the murders. Fuller claimed he acted in self-defense, a narrative that was initially supported by a coerced statement from the survivor and the alleged placement of knives in the hands of the victims. In the years that followed, Zennie Fuller became a Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan. Both Zennie Fuller and his son William are now deceased.
The case was revisited in the fall of 2008 by the FBI as part of the Department of Justice's 'Cold Case' initiative and the 'Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act.' However, because both suspects were deceased, the case was officially closed in 2010.
