Signal Mountain murders
{{Short description|1988 killings in Tennessee, US}}
{{neutrality|date=October 2022}}
The Signal Mountain murders refers to a widely publicized case in 1988 involving the shootings of Richard Mason, Kenneth Griffith, and Earl Smock near Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Missing men
The three men had been riding the backwoods of Signal Mountain. The men were missing and being searched for by their relatives when they did not return home. The bodies were found off Big Fork Road near the community of Suck Creek by a resident while their all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) were found down an embankment on the side of Roberts Mill Road.
Suspect
The owners of the land were Frank Casteel and his wife, Susie. When Frank noticed more and more people intruding on his land he consulted a police officer who advised him to keep a logbook of everyone he witnessed. Multiple witness would later recall Frank making statements to them about his frustrations with trespassers, saying “he would kill if he had to.” The men were later found dead and Casteel was a prime suspect. A witness later reported seeing Susie washing blood out of the couples Jeep. Larry Sneed had taken possession of the logbook in 1988.
Conviction
Casteel was sentenced to life in prison. An appeal was made and eventually given an opportunity to overturn Casteel’s conviction in 2001.{{cite news|title=Appeals court overturns conviction in slayings|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=is4vAAAAIBAJ&sjid=yDsDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4481%2C2792127|publisher=Rome News-Tribune|date=April 7, 2001}} In 2003 Frank Casteel was found guilty again for the triple homicide and returned to prison.{{cite news|title=Casteel Again Found Guilty Of Signal Mountain Murders|url=http://www.chattanoogan.com/2003/5/7/36172/Casteel-Again-Found-Guilty-Of-Signal.aspx|publisher=The Chattanoogan|date=May 7, 2003}}
Death
Casteel died in prison in May 2019 at the age of 71.{{cite web |title="It is finally over": Frank Casteel, convicted of 1988 ATV murders, dies in prison |url=https://newschannel9.com/news/local/frank-casteel-convicted-of-1988-signal-mountain-murders-dies-in-prison |website=WTVC |date=May 31, 2019}}
In 2020, Casteel's son Franklin Trever Casteel authored a book on the subject.{{cite web |title = Statement of Facts: State v. Casteel |url=https://www.amazon.com/Statement-Facts-State-v-Casteel-ebook/dp/B085BX3P6D?ref=d6k_applink_bb_dls&dplnkId=ebdb379e-d8aa-4a4e-805a-14266816d97d |website=Amazon |date=April 14, 2020}}
Media depictions
- Unsolved Mysteries aired a segment regarding the murders in season 2 episode 13 which aired on January 3, 1990.
- A&E (TV channel) covered the murders in season 3, episode 10, of their City Confidential series. The title of the episode was "Dangerous Trespassing".{{cite web|title=Signal Mountain Murder Case Featured On A&E|url=http://www.chattanoogan.com/2001/7/28/11228/Signal-Mountain-Murder-Case-Featured.aspx |website=Chattanoogan.com |date=29 July 2001 }}
- Investigation Discovery portrayed the murders in the show "Bloodlands" on August 18, 2014. This was season 1 episode 3 titled "Signal Mountain Murders".