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Accident? Suicide? Or Murder? The question of "Z" Smith Reynolds' death is still not answered to this day more than ninety years later. The wealthy heir of the RJ Reynolds Tobacco fortune was shot on his sleeping porch after hosting his friend's 21st birthday party at his estate. The initial ruling was suicide. However, ballistic evidence cast suspicion on that theory, and two people were charged with his murder. The inquest sparked more questions than it answered.
Intro and Outro Music: Courthouse Blues, Clara Smith Vol. 3 (1925) Public Domain
Narrator: Curtis Hildreth
Suicide Hotline: In the US - dial 988 - 24 hours
Hopeline Crisis Intervention - 877-235-4525
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._J._Reynolds
https://reynolda.org/
https://reynolda.org/about/history-timeline/
https://youtu.be/Mta1Cba0ToI?si=SHci78ur1jLwbAb7 (Youtube video)
https://reynolda.org/museum/exhibitions/smith-and-libby/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._J._Reynolds_Tobacco_Company
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katharine_Smith_Reynolds
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winston-Salem,_North_Carolina
https://www.newspapers.com/image/651207970/?terms=smith%20reynolds&match=1
https://www.newspapers.com/image/932321497/?terms=reynolds%20smith&match=1
https://www.newspapers.com/image/651286296/
www.hardtimesandtruecrimes.com buymeacoffee.com/hardtimesTC
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