This strange case occurred over a century ago in the United States.
How could a young and healthy person suddenly pass away, falling into a “eternal sleep”?
This question kept a woman named Mary Jane Heaster, from Greenbrier County, West Virginia, awake during the winter nights of 1897 after her daughter, Zona, died in January of that year.
At that time, Mary kept dreaming of her daughter. Zona appeared by her bedside, wanting to climb up, according to Mary. Zona’s body was very cold, and she tried to tell her mother: “The heart attack did not take my life; I was murdered.”
This case is recorded as a rare instance resolved thanks to the dreams of the victim’s family.
An unverified photo claimed to be of Zona and Edward.
The truth is that in October 1896, Zona, then 23 years old, met a blacksmith named Edward Shue, who was 37, while running errands in town. A few weeks later, the couple married despite Mary’s objections. They built their life in a house near the smithy.
Three months later, on January 23, 1897, Zona was found unmoving at the foot of the stairs by a neighbor boy named Andy Jones.
Andy then rushed to the smithy to inform Edward while the boy’s mother called Dr. George Knapp. When the doctor arrived, Zona had been laid on the bed and dressed in a high-necked gown prepared for the funeral.
Meanwhile, rumors began to circulate locally. People whispered that Zona had born an illegitimate child while Edward had been married twice before. In his first marriage, Edward had a child named Girta and divorced in 1889. His second wife, Lucy, died under mysterious circumstances. Many said Lucy had been pregnant and slipped while walking on a snow-covered road. However, others claimed that she had been struck on the head with a brick or poisoned to death.
As for Mary, she had never liked this son-in-law. She said that Zona visited her in her dreams, where she confessed that her mother’s instincts about Edward had always been correct. He was the one who had killed her.
Zona visited her mother for four consecutive nights, and Mary stated that this helped resolve the discord between them.
In the dreams, Zona revealed that on the day she died, Edward had a fit of rage at her for not eating meat at dinner. Afterward, Zona was beaten by her husband and had her neck broken.
The next morning, Mary woke up and immediately went to see prosecutor John Alfred Preston, who agreed to take the case. John spoke with Dr. George, who admitted he had not thoroughly examined Zona’s body. He provided additional information that there was a bruise on the young woman’s neck at the time of her death.
At the same time, townsfolk informed the prosecutor about Edward’s strange behavior at his wife’s funeral. He did not allow anyone near the coffin, and either he or someone else had placed a pillow under Zona’s head.
In light of all this information, John requested to exhume Zona’s body and conduct a clear, thorough autopsy. The results showed that Zona’s neck was broken, dislocated between the first and second vertebrae. Zona’s trachea was crushed, indicating she had been suffocated.
Following this, Edward was arrested, and a trial lasted eight days. On the sixth day, Edward defended himself but to no avail. He rambled and blamed others for wanting to harm him.
The jury deliberated for over an hour and returned a verdict convicting Edward with a sentence of life imprisonment. He was sent to the state prison in Moundville.
Today, a historical site has been established along Route 60 to remind travelers on this winding mountain road of a case solved by the very “ghost” of the deceased victim.
