On a tragic day in August of 1973, the life of one-year-old Kimberly Nail, a White female from Roanoke, Virginia, was cut devastatingly short. On August 26th, she was found deceased, a victim of gun violence that also claimed the lives of her mother and three older siblings in what was one of the largest mass killings in the city's history at the time.
The grim discovery was made in their Northwest Roanoke home.
Kimberly perished alongside her mother, Sharol Juanita Crotts Nail, who was 29, and her siblings: Charles Nail Jr., age 10; Michael Eugene Nail, age 8; and Pamela Charlene Nail, age 5. The entire family had been shot to death.
Investigations into the horrific event concluded that the perpetrator was the children's own father, Charles M. Nail. After killing his wife and four children, he then took his own life. The case was ultimately determined to be a murder-suicide, an unimaginable act of violence that brought a shocking and sorrowful end to an entire family. Due to the nature of the resolution, there were no further arrests or suspects sought in connection with the deaths of Kimberly and her family.
