On a cold day in January of 1980, the quiet community of Mars Hill, Alabama, was rocked by a brutal crime that would leave a lasting scar on the small, rural area. On January 3rd, Verlin Roberts returned to the century-old farmhouse she shared with her siblings to discover a horrific scene. Inside, she found her 64-year-old sister, Floy I. V. Roberts, and her sister, Mae Bell Roberts, age 77, shot to death on the floor. Another brother, James Columbus “Lum” Roberts, 79, who was bedridden with cancer, had also been shot and killed in his bed. A fourth sibling, Walter Mack Roberts, 72, was found clinging to life with multiple gunshot wounds; he would succumb to his injuries a few days later.
The initial investigation into what became known as 'The Mars Hill Murders' pointed towards robbery as a possible motive. A trunk, rumored to contain a significant amount of cash, was missing from the home. However, the stolen trunk was discovered by hunters nearly three years later, containing only some old suits. The brutal nature of the crime, with victims discovered in various rooms of the house, suggested a level of violence that went beyond a simple theft. The fact that Mae Bell was found with a thimble still on her finger suggested the attack was sudden and unexpected.
In the years that followed, the case grew cold, though it never faded from the memory of the local community. Whispers and theories circulated, pointing fingers at various individuals. According to the county sheriff at the time, two men, Roy Harris and Carlton DeMoss, were believed to have intimate knowledge of the crime. However, neither was ever charged in connection with the murders. The case took another dark turn when Harris was found dead with a bullet in his skull in December 1984.
A significant break in the investigation came in 1986 when a sawed-off shotgun and a. 38 caliber pistol, determined by ballistics to be the murder weapons, were recovered. The guns were traced to the Hiett family. Despite this discovery, no one was ever charged with the murders. Jerry Hiett was convicted of perjury for lying to a grand jury about the case and was sentenced to two life terms, though he was a free man in later years. To this day, the brutal slayings of Floy Roberts and her siblings remain one of Alabama's most infamous unsolved crimes, a chilling tale of violence that shattered a family and continues to haunt the community of Mars Hill.
