Monday, November 21, 2022

The Murder of Kathy Bonney on This Day in History

 


This Day in History: On November 21, 1987, 19-year-old Kathy Bonney was killed by her father Tom in Camden County, North Carolina. The case gained media attention not only due to the brutal manner in which the killing had been carried out, but also because Tom Bonney pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity on the grounds that he had dissociative identity disorder and that an evil personality state was in control at the time of the killing. The book Deadly Whispers by Ted Schwarz, a television movie of the same name and an episode of Swamp Murders are based on the case. 

On November 21, 1987, some time after 7 p.m., Tom Bonney left the family home with his daughter Kathy, ostensibly to look at a truck which was for sale. Kathy's sister Susan saw Tom and Kathy in the car at a nearby 7-Eleven store and driving away soon after. Bonney drove across the North Carolina state border; he would later state that the killing had taken place in North Carolina. According to his defense attorneys, an argument between father and daughter over her lover ensued, in which Kathy swore at her father and reached for a gun he carried in his vehicle, which went off. Her comments caused him to have a flashback to his childhood, and a personality referred to as “Demian” took control of him. Tom Bonney shot his daughter 27 times and dumped her body alongside the Dismal Swamp Canal.

After about two hours Tom Bonney returned home alone and asked if anyone knew where Kathy was. Susan went out to the 7-Eleven store to look for Kathy; Tom Bonney did not participate in the search.

A jury found Tom Bonney guilty of first-degree murder on November 25, 1988, after a seven-week trial, and sentenced him to death on November 30.

Bonney appealed the verdict, and the North Carolina Supreme Court voided the death sentence on June 12, 1991, although the murder conviction was upheld.

Bonney was eventually sentenced to life in prison by Camden County Superior Court on October 16, 2007.

This book, "The Impersonality of the Holy Spirit by John Marsom" is available on Amazon for only 99 cents. See a local listing for it here; Buy The Absurdity of the Trinity on Amazon for only 99 cents by clicking here - see a local listing for this here

No comments:

Post a Comment