Across the River: Murder at Accomac

On Decoration Day 1881, the tranquil morning silence at Coyle's Ferry was shattered by the sound of gunshots, and in an instant Emily Myers lay dead at the hand of John Coyle, Jr. Although his guilt was never in question, he claimed he was in love with Emily and was driven insane by her continual rejections. Coyle's subsequent murder trials and multiple appeals became local headlines, and the public outcry surrounding the use of the "insanity dodge" was immediate and intense. The setting of...