As with any true crime, publicity yields more information. An update to Murder in Rural Hill is in the works with additional history, photos and plot twists that surfaced after the 2016 publication. Soon to be published "The Tragedy of Janie Sharp - The Mystery Continues: Murder in Rural Hill" expands the story by including more background, details and a possible eyewitness to the crime.
This two-year drama began on a county road near Rural Hill, Mississippi in 1910 with the brutal murder of an attractive young woman ready to start her adult life. It was about to culminate in a packed, sweltering courtroom in the small town of Winona; a courtroom where the fate of another young person was to be decided – freedom or death at the end of a noose.
Through these two years, a whole county was divided. Feelings ran high and even families were torn between their support of the victim’s family and the belief in the guilt or innocence of a young man named Swinton Permenter.
Through these two years, a whole county was divided. Feelings ran high and even families were torn between their support of the victim’s family and the belief in the guilt or innocence of a young man named Swinton Permenter.