On June 18, 1866, the body of Laura Foster was found in a shallow grave in Wilkes County. She had been stabbed in the chest and reportedly was pregnant at the time of her death.
Foster had last been seen on May 25 riding a horse down Stony Fork Road. Tom Dula, who had liaisons with both Foster and Ann Melton, was charged with her murder. Dula, a Confederate veteran, was returned to North Carolina from Tennessee, where he had fled.
Melton and Dula were brought to trial for murder during the fall term of Wilkes County court, but a change of venue moved the trial to Iredell County. Dula was convicted but Melton was found not guilty. The North Carolina Supreme Court overturned Dula’s conviction and he was tried again in January 1868 only to be convicted a second time. This time the verdict was sustained by the Supreme Court.
Dula was hanged in May 1868 in Statesville. The subject of mountain folk ballads sung even before his execution, Dula and Foster were immortalized in the best-selling “ Tom Dooley,” recorded by the Kingston Trio in 1958.
Other related resources:
- More on ballads and ballaldists in North Carolina from NCpedia