Local News

Murder mystery: Part 2 of the Creech deadly shooting of 1948

In 1948, the state executed Jimmy Creech in the gas chamber at Central Prison in Raleigh. Creech was from the Smithfield area and murdered his estranged wife. But today, there are many who believe Creech's execution was faked, that someone else lies in that marked grave in Johnston County. What happened and why? The theories involve money and power, along with iconic names such as Ava Gardner and Frank Sinatra. And those theories may not be as far-fetched as they might initially appear.