In the early morning hours of June 28, 1972, a devastating fire tore through an apartment building in High Point, North Carolina, claiming the lives of a mother and her two young daughters. The victims were 50-year-old Josephine Hogan, a mother of four, and her children, 14-year-old Karen Elaine Hogan and 10-year-old Linda Ann Hogan. They were found in their second-floor apartment, having succumbed to the smoke that filled their home.
Josephine Brandon Hogan was married to Isaac Davis
Hogan, and together they had two sons, Michael and Ronald, in addition to their two daughters. The family's life was irrevocably shattered by the events of that summer night. The fire, which broke out around 3:00 a.m., was quickly determined by fire and police officials to have been deliberately set. Investigators found that a lighter fluid was used as an accelerant, confirming the blaze was an act of arson.
Suspicion soon fell upon a neighbor who lived across the hall from the Hogans, 23-year-old Nollie Lee Martin, who also went by the alias James "Jimmy" Martin. Firefighters noted that Martin was fully dressed when they arrived, despite his claim of being awakened by screams and smoke. He had also sustained burns in the fire and was taken to High Point Memorial Hospital for treatment. It was during his hospital stay that the case against him solidified.
Investigators discovered a jacket in Martin's apartment that contained two bottles smelling of lighter fluid. While still in the hospital, Martin was arrested on July 5, 1972, and charged with three counts of first-degree murder and one count of arson. During questioning, he confessed to setting the fire. The motive was reportedly a domestic dispute; he was angry with his wife, who had expressed her intention to leave him.
In January 1973, Martin's trial was set to begin. However, midway through a pre-trial hearing, he accepted a plea deal. He pleaded guilty to three reduced counts of second-degree murder. This plea bargain allowed him to escape a potential death sentence. For the arson that killed three people, Nollie Lee Martin was sentenced to just 18 to 30 years in prison. In a turn of events that would later prove tragic, he was paroled after serving only four and a half years, partially due to prison overcrowding.
After his release on April 13, 1977, Martin relocated to Delray Beach, Florida. Just a few months later, on June 25, 1977, he and a cousin kidnapped, robbed, and murdered 19-year-old Patricia Greenfield, a college student working at a convenience store. This brutal crime led to a massive investigation and Martin's eventual capture. This time, the justice system would not be so lenient. Convicted of first-degree murder, kidnapping, robbery, and forcible sexual battery, Martin was sentenced to death. On May 12, 1992, Nollie Lee Martin, the man responsible for at least four deaths, was executed in Florida's electric chair.
