Marie Lawson, a 12-year-old girl from Germanton, North Carolina, was tragically murdered on December 25, 1929. The incident, known as the Lawson family massacre, involved the brutal killing of Marie and six other family members by her father, Charles Davis Lawson. The family, consisting of Charles, his wife Fannie, and their children Arthur , Marie , Carrie , Maybell , James , Raymond , and Mary Lou , were well-known in their community. Charles Lawson, a tobacco farmer, had recently taken his family into town to buy new clothes and have a family portrait taken, an unusual occurrence for a working-class rural family of that era.
On the afternoon of December 25, Charles Lawson first shot his daughters Carrie and Maybell as they were setting out to visit their uncle and aunt. He waited for them by the tobacco barn, shot them with a 12-gauge shotgun, and then bludgeoned them to ensure they were dead. He placed their bodies in the tobacco barn. Lawson then returned to the house and shot his wife Fannie, who was on the porch. Marie, who was inside, screamed, and the two small boys, James and Raymond, attempted to find a hiding place. Lawson shot Marie and then found and killed the two boys. Lastly, he killed the baby, Mary Lou, who was thought to have been bludgeoned to death. After committing the murders, Lawson went into the nearby woods and shot himself. The only survivor was his eldest son, Arthur, whom Lawson had sent on an errand just before committing the crime.
The bodies of the family members were found with their arms crossed and rocks under their heads. The gunshot signaling Lawson's own suicide was heard by many people who had already learned of the murders and gathered at the property. The motive behind the massacre remains unclear, but it was speculated posthumously that Lawson had impregnated his eldest daughter, Marie. The tragic event shocked the local community and the entire nation, leaving a lasting impact on those who heard about it.
