Perrie Simpson - The Crime

The Crime

The Reverend Jean Darter, a retired Baptist minister, was found dead in his Reidsville, North Carolina, home on the evening of August 28, 1984, by his daughter. Darter had been tied to a bedpost at the foot of his bed by a belt that was wrapped around his neck. Both of his arms had been slashed open, his head was bloated, and his face was covered with blood. There were numerous cuts and bruises on his head and his left cheek bore an imprint that matched the bottom of a broken Tab bottle lying on the bed. Blood and fragments of glass were in his eyes and a bloody razor blade lay near his right hand. Certain items were missing from the home.

Expert medical testimony showed that any of three major areas of trauma could have been life threatening but that Darter's death was due to ligature strangulation caused by the belt around his neck. His death had occurred over a period of five or six minutes or longer depending upon the amount of force used during the strangulation. Darter would have stopped breathing within three to five minutes after losing conciousness.