There were two more murders, 15 miles away.

When police arrived, they found the telephones and electricity lines.

We have a weird homicide.

A scene described by one investigator as reminiscent of a weird...

A cup of murder.

Some cases alter the course of history.

On August 31st, 1909, a woman was born who would find herself at the center

of a case shaped by race, class, and something called paramour rights. One that, when finally

talked about, would change the way some people viewed the power dynamic between black women

and white men. So if you like your coffee hot,

but your bones chilled, sit back and start your day with a morning cup of murder.

Ruby McCollum, born Ruby Jackson on August 31st, 1909 in Zuber, Florida, was the second of six

siblings born to Gertrude and William Jackson.

The Jackson children all attended local segregated schools, but when her parents noticed her

aptitude and intelligence, Ruby was sent to the Fessenden Academy Private School, where she excelled

in bookkeeping. In 1931, Ruby married Sam McCullum, and the pair moved to Nyack, New York,

as part of what was called the Great Migration. Together, the pair had three children,

Sam Jr., Sonia, and Kay. And in 1934, the family relocated to Fort Myers, Florida.

Now, around this point in time, Ruby's brother-in-law, Buck McCullum,

gained considerable wealth while managing a gambling business,

and Sam decided to go in on that success.

Reportedly, in the process, involving himself in illegal crimes like gambling and liquor sales, but managing

...