![]() ![]() ![]() It is possible he had a grudge against Mason, but whatever it was, on that night he finally snapped and made good on the dozens of threats he had made over the past few months. The threats were prevalent but there is no evidence that police were ever called or ever got involved. Killingsworth testified that the defendant “said he would kill if he had to.” Killingsworth remembered the defendant following that statement by saying that “somebody is going to get hurt.” After being asked if the defendant had made any statements regarding trespassers, Mr. Finally, they both remembered the defendant telling them that they “were playing a dangerous game,” and Mr. The defendant laid the shotgun inside the window of the truck and cocked it. Two other witnesses testified to a chilling encounter: He was “going to make believers” out of the individuals that were irritating him. That he had been having problems with trespassers, and that if the problems did not abate, the defendant would have to start shooting people. asked if the defendant had been having problems with trespassers, the defendant replied “not as long as I have this” while holding his shotgun. One week prior to the murders, a neighbor who had heard Casteel had been forcing people off the property reported: “people like you driving trucks I generally don’t have a problem with, but people riding them goddam four-wheelers, I’ll shoot one of them bastards if I have to.” Craig that day and told him and his friend that he would allow them to swim if they picked up trash while they were there. The defendant, who was carrying a rifle, calmly approached Mr. Steve Craig, a witness at trial testified: While it's unclear what this log would accomplish legally, it's pretty clear the officer didn't advise Casteel to angrily confront swimmers, which he did, forcing them to write down their names, numbers, license plate numbers, etc in his log book. Multiple witnesses would later testify at trial that this was one of the things that set Casteel off.įor some reason a police officer had previously told Casteel to keep a log of all the people crossing his property when Casteel had made an official complaint. It is just a sad fact of life that areas like this accumulate a lot of trash. The previous owner of the property had allowed people to come and go as they chose. Frank had been spending a good amount of time camping on his property and confronting trespassers. That would be the last time they were seen alive.Īround that same time Frank Casteel and his wife Suzie left to camp on their property for their anniversary, according to a neighbor. On the afternoon of July 9, 1988, Richard Mason, 49, Griffith, 22, and Smock, 23, decided to set out on four wheelers for the blue hole. Kenneth Griffith and Earl Smock were on leave from the Air Force and visiting Griffith's in-laws in Tennessee. It would be years before Casteel was finally arrested and when he was finally brought down it would be for a very stupid decision both he and his wife made. It seems one July night in 1988 he reached a breaking point and ended the lives of three innocent men who just wanted to go swimming. Frank Casteel had been menacing trespassers as he called them for months. The blue hole was on private property but the previous owner had allowed free access leading people to believe the trail was public. I don't know if Frank Casteel knew what he was getting into when he bought property around a popular local swimming hole on Signal Mountain, TN known as the Blue Hole. ![]()
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