Death to the Rescue: a Twisting Creek Mystery

For over a year the town of Twisting Creek, Kentucky has been obsessed with the enigmatic African immigrant accused of the brutal strangulation of a popular young Sunday School teacher. A self-described "ear-witness" describes overhearing an argument that ended with Lovemore Ngweyna shouting at Sarah Lester, "You're dead, woman." Sheriff Greer says, "Of course he's guilty. Do you think one man threatened to kill her, and lo and behold an hour later another man did?" The prosecution knows it's open-and-shut. "Women of any color don't like men of any color who strangle women--of any color." Thus does Assistant DA James Miller explain the prosecution's eagerness to seat African-American women on the jury. Miller adds, "At the time of the arrest, Lovemore was in possession of Sarah's missing jewelry." That adds up to premeditated murder, Miller says, and that means it's death for Lovemore.