by Ralph Barnes
Citizens Voice & Times
March 6, 1997
The Kentucky River, from early on, has been the dumping ground of choice for
local murderers. The customary tranquility of the stream has been routinely
defiled by a multitude of mutilated victims, cast up by the river. If on some
fog shrouded night, the ghostly apparitions of those murdered and dumped into
the river should arise from their watery tomb, the ghoulish specter would be
worthy of a Stephen King horror novel.
One of the more infamous of the river murders occurred on Christmas Eve in
1930. On February 1, 1931, Carrice Richardson and Clarence Floyd were on the
Kentucky River near Calloway’s Crossing when they spotted the body of a woman
floating in the water. Coroner Ferrell Lewis and his brother Tom retrieved the
corpse and had it examined by three local doctors. The autopsy revealed that
the victim had not drowned but had been killed from a blow to the head with a
sharp obstacle. The doctors also concluded that the cadaver had been in the
water for several weeks. The corpse proved to be the remains of Vina Townsend,
wife of Ambrose "Durb" Townsend. The Townsends lived on Stevens
Avenue adjacent to the railroad. Two other women and a boy also were living in
the house with the couple. Lizzy Arvin, Durb Townsend’s sister, and her five-years-old
son were members of the household. The other adult resident of the house was
Alfa Barrett, a woman in her late twenties. Durb and Alpha had been convicted
of adultery the previous year and were still having an affair at the time of
the murder. According to the paper, the household had a reputation for being a
disorderly place. Testimony at the hearing established that Townsend was given
to brutish behavior and often abused his wife.
For some unfathomable reason, all three adults in the household were charged
with the murder of Vina Townsend. The trial was held on April 14, 1931. Judge
S. H. Rice was assigned by the courts to represent the defendants. John Walker
prosecuted the case. Coroner Lewis testified that Vina was wearing three
dresses, two pair of hose and an overcoat when she was taken from the river.
The prosecution pulled a major surprise by calling Lizzy Arvin’s son to
testify. The small boy told of seeing Durb Townsend strike Vina the lethal
blow. He also stated that Durb and Alfa carried her lifeless body out of the
house and placed it on the railroad. The defense was unable to discredit the
young witness and his testimony had a riveting effect on the jury. The
Commonwealth finished the prosecution of the case in less than three hours.
S. H. Rice called only one inconsequential witness and finished the defense
portion of the case in about an hour. Judge Rice was an amiable fellow and was
popular with the local folks because of his wit, charm and gracious manners. Poor
backward Lizzy Arvin was terrified of the proceedings and could not testify in
her own defense. The jury deliberated only an hour before reaching a verdict.
In spite of compelling evidence to the contrary, the jury found all three
defendants equally guilty and all were given life sentences for manslaughter.
Tellingly, the haste with which the trial was conducted was an indication of
the relative worth allocated to the defendants by society.
While being transported to prison, Durb Townsend confessed to the crime but put
most of the blame on Alfa Barrett. According to him, Alfa was jealous of Vina
and started a fight with her that resulted in Vina’s death. He acknowledged
that he had sided with Alfa and that the victim’s fatal head injury occurred
when she was thrown down during the struggle. When Alfa was confronted with
Townsend’s accusations, she said that he was lying and that he and Vina had
quarreled because he wanted her to go on a date with a male client and she
resisted. According to Alfa, Durb took Vina outside and came back without her
and she never reappeared until her body was found in the river. What really
happened can only be conjectured. The account given by the boy probably is the
closest to the truth.
What seems obvious is that all three women were victimized by Townsend. The
testimony implied that he coerced his wife, sister and mistress into
"dating" the numerous men who visited the house. The Estill Herald
ran a posed photograph of Alfa Barrett and Lizzy Arvin taken shortly before
they were carted off to prison. That grainy old photograph graphically captures
the grim realities of their miserable lives. The subjects stare blankly into
the camera as if perplexed by the unaccustomed attention. The haunting picture
exposes the emotional scars born of a slavish existence, as the threadbare
clothing betrays the poverty that bound them to their wretchedness.
The ill-fated pair paid a dear price for the public’s fleeting fascination with
them. The only crime proven against Lizzy Arvin was that she sold some of the
murder victim’s tattered clothing for a few cents. In the hard realities of the
Great Depression, poor Lizzy probably reasoned that, since Vina no longer
needed the garments, it was OK to sell them and buy the necessities that she
and her son so desperately needed. Even Lizzy’s son was required to give his
pound of flesh for the sins of his mother, as he was carted off to a state
orphanage.
A few months after the trial the Court of Appeals found that the defense was
not properly conducted and overturned the convictions of Alfa and Lizzy and all
charges against them were dismissed. The momentary celebrities quickly slipped
back into the dismal obscurity from which they briefly emerged. Lizzy Arvin and
her son fell through the cracks and simply disappeared. Alfa Barrett, her
thirty-three-years-old body wracked by disease, died within three years of the
trial. Her passing, like her life, was little noted by the world. Alfa’s death
certificate contains only the scantiest of data and the spaces for her birth
date and the name of her parents were left blank. There is a scribbled note on
the form that reassuringly explains that although no doctor had visited during
her long illness, medicine had been sent to her. Durb Townsend remained in
prison and was still there as late as 1938. He died in 1975 while living in
another county.
With the hasty conclusion of the trial, the sordid affair was quickly expunged
from the collective memory of the local citizenry. They could relax once more
in the comforting knowledge that all was well in "River City". That
illusion would be shattered soon by more brutal murders. But that is another
story.
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