Trail Off Tuesdays: The Ghost in the Courtroom

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A mother's desperate prayer for answers leads to one of the most extraordinary criminal cases in American history. When young Zona Heaster Shue was found dead at the bottom of her staircase in rural West Virginia in 1897, her new husband Erasmus "Trout" Shue quickly attributed it to a fainting spell. The local doctor, intimidated by Trout's excessive grief and strange behavior, performed only a cursory examination before declaring the death from natural causes. But Zona's mother, Mary Jane Heaster, never trusted her daughter's husband. 

Today, visitors to Greenbrier County can still visit Zona's grave – a silent testament to a mother's love, determination, and perhaps, a daughter's spirit that wouldn't rest until justice was served. Have you ever experienced something that defied rational explanation? Let us know in the reviews or share this episode with someone who appreciates how truth can sometimes be stranger than fiction.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:14):
Welcome back to Trail of Tuesdays, the curious corner
of Clue Trail, where we followthe weirdest footnotes in
history.
Where we follow the weirdestfootnotes in history.
If it's strange, surprising orstraight-up unbelievable, you'll
find it here.

(00:35):
Today's tale takes us back to1897, and it involves a murder,
a courtroom and a verydetermined mother.
But the real twist the starwitness was a ghost.
This is the story of theGreenbrier Ghost, the only time

(00:57):
in US history a spirit was saidto have helped solve the murder.
Our story begins in rural WestVirginia.

(01:17):
A young woman named Zona HesterShue had recently married a
blacksmith named Erasmus Xu.
He was also nicknamed Trout.
They've only been married a fewmonths when one winter day Zona

(01:37):
was found dead at the bottom ofa staircase.
Her husband claimed she hadfainted, hit her head and died.
Just like that.
The local doctor was called in.
But as soon as he got there,trout made such a scene, crying
and refusing to let anyone nearher, that the doctor could

(01:58):
barely examine her body.
And just like that, zona wasdeclared dead of natural causes.
She fainted and died.
Case closed.
Except a mother's instinct israrely wrong and Zona's mother

(02:20):
wasn't buying it.
Wasn't buying it, mary JaneHester.
Zona's mom never liked Trout.
She said she had a bad feelingabout him from the start, and
this suspicious death onlyfueled her mistrust of him.
After her daughter's funeral,all she could do was to pray for

(02:45):
a sign, any sign at all,anything to tell her what really
happened to her daughter.
And then it came Over thecourse of four nights, mary Jane
claimed Zona's spirit appearedto her.

(03:07):
Jane claimed Zona's spiritappeared to her.
The ghost told her in detailthat Trout had murdered her,
broken her neck in a fit of rage.
She even described how he'dbeen abusive and told her
exactly how he did it.
Mary Jane went straight to thecounty prosecutor.
Now, to his credit, he didn'tjust laugh her out of the office

(03:30):
.
He also had his own suspicionand ordered for Zona's body to
be exhumed.
And guess what?
The second autopsy revealedZona's neck had been cleanly
broken, her windpipe crushed andher vertebrae dislocated.

(03:51):
This was in no way a faintingaccident.
This was a violent death.
Trout was immediately arrestedand put on trial for murder, and
during that trial Mary Janetook the stand.
She told the jury exactly whather daughter's ghost had told.

(04:23):
But Mary Jane was calm,composed and absolutely
unwavering in her story.
And although the ghost'stestimony wasn't officially
admissible.
It clearly left an impression.
Trout was found guilty ofmurder and sentenced to life in
prison.
He died a few years laterduring a flu epidemic.

(04:46):
But the real legacy of the case.
It's now officially recorded inlegal history as the only time
a ghost was credited withhelping convict a killer.
Today you can visit Zona's Gragrave in Greenbrier County, west
Virginia.

(05:06):
So the next time someone laughsoff a ghost story, remind them
that one helped solve a murderin Greenbrier.

(05:28):
Thanks for drifting off themain trail with me today.
We'll be back next Tuesday withanother weird but true tale on
Trail of Tuesdays.
If you're loving this curiousdetour, let us know with a
rating or review or just bysharing it with a friend, and if

(05:49):
you've got a strange case youthink belongs on this trail, you
know where to find us.
Until next time, thank you.