In the summer heat of Shreveport, Louisiana, shortly after midnight on June 16, 1960, a domestic dispute escalated into a tragic quadruple homicide. Among the victims was 18-year-old William James "Jim" Massey Jr., who was shot and killed in the small three-room cottage he shared with his family. The quiet of the summer evening was shattered by the violence that also claimed the lives of his father, William James Massey Sr., age 62, his mother, Ruby Preston Massey, age 48, and his sister,
Christine “Chris” Massey Fulghum, age 21.
The young Massey boy had already gone to bed and was asleep when the shootings occurred. The person responsible for the deaths was identified as Roy Winford Fulghum, the 31-year-old husband of Christine Massey Fulghum. Leading up to the murders, there had been a history of quarrels between Fulghum and his wife, as well as with his mother-in-law. Court records show that Fulghum had been placed under peace bonds on four separate occasions in the months before the killings, initiated by his wife and father-in-law.
Following the shootings, which took place between 12:30 and 1:00 a.m., law enforcement was called to the scene. Roy Winford Fulghum was arrested between 1:00 and 1:30 a.m. Later that morning, while in police custody, he provided statements to the coroner's office admitting to the commission of the crime. These confessions, made at approximately 4:00 a.m. and again at 11:15 a.m., along with a typed police statement at 6:30 a.m., would become key pieces of evidence in the subsequent legal proceedings.
Roy Winford Fulghum was tried for the murder of William Massey, Jr. During the trial, a picture of the young victim at the scene was presented as evidence. Though his legal counsel objected, arguing it was gruesome and intended to inflame the jury, the judge allowed it, noting that the body had not been moved before being sent to the hospital. Ultimately, Fulghum was convicted of the murder of his brother-in-law and sentenced to death. His appeals, which argued the inadmissibility of his confessions due to his emotional state, were denied by the Supreme Court of Louisiana, which upheld the conviction and sentence.
