In the winter of 1945, a war plant worker from Little Rock, AR, named E. C. Adams, set out for his job but never arrived. His sudden disappearance on February 1st of that year sparked concern, which tragically turned to grief when his body was discovered hours later in Dallas County, just outside of Fordyce. An examination revealed that he had been killed by a single gunshot wound to the head.
The investigation into the death of E. C. Adams soon uncovered a sinister connection to another local tragedy. On the very same day that Adams went missing, a 30-year-old truck driver named Doyle Mulherin also vanished while on a delivery route for a meatpacking company in Little Rock. A week later, Mulherin's body was found near the Bayou Meto Bridge, and investigators determined that he too had been shot in the head. Ballistic analysis confirmed that the same. 38 caliber pistol was used in both slayings, linking the two men's fates.
The perpetrator of these violent acts was identified as James Waybern Hall. Hall encountered his victims while hitchhiking in and around the Little Rock area. In the period between January and February of 1945, Hall was responsible for the deaths of three men, including Adams and Mulherin. His murderous activities came to an end, leading to his eventual accountability for the string of killings that had instilled fear in the community.
