Episode 190 The Murder of Ella Barham

In 1912, 18-year-old Ella Barham left her family’s farm near Pleasant Ridge, Arkansas, on an ordinary errand and never came home. Her brutal murder shocked Boone County and led authorities to a neighbor accused of killing her after years of rejected romantic interest. More than a century later, Ella Barham’s murder remains one of Arkansas’ darkest and most troubling true crime stories. Join the Community on Patreon: Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries 🎧 Explore More Southern Mysteries Visit SouthernMysteries.com for more episodes and source lists. 📱 Follow on Social Media: Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Instagram: @southernmysteriesEmail: southernmysteriespodcast@gmail.com Episode Sources Gould, Nita. Remembering Ella: A 1912 Murder and Mystery in the Arkansas Ozarks. Butler Center Books / University of Arkansas Press, 2018. (rememberingella.com) Barham, Ella (Murder of) - Encyclopedia of Arkansas Gould, Nita, ed. The 1913 Trial of Odus Davidson: The Official Witness Testimony. Companion volume to Remembering Ella. Encyclopedia of Arkansas — 'Barham, Ella (Murder of)' (encyclopediaofarkansas.net) Encyclopedia of Arkansas — 'Davidson, Odus' (encyclopediaofarkansas.net) Find a Grave — Ella Lillian Ethel Barham (memorial ) Find a Grave — Odus Davidson (memorial ) Arkansas Democrat-Gazette — 'The verdict: Guilty of murder' (review of Remembering Ella by Tom Dillard, December 9, 2018) AY Magazine — 'Murder Mystery: In Memoriam: Ella Barham' (aymag.com) Case file: State v. Davidson, No. 183 (Ark. Cir. Ct. 1913). Boone County Circuit Clerk's Office, Boone County Courthouse, Harrison, Arkansas. Case file: Davidson v. State, 108 Ark. 158, S.W. 1103 (1913). University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law / Pulaski County Law Library, Little Rock, Arkansas. Boone County Court Record Book L, County Clerk's Office, Boone County Courthouse, Harrison, Arkansas. Lead Hill, Arkansas newspaper, November 22, 1912 — first published account of the murder (via Chronicling America, Library of Congress, loc.gov) Batesville Daily Guard — editorial on circumstantial evidence and the Davidson verdict Shiloh Museum of Ozark History — 'Scenes of Boone County' (shilohmuseum.org) Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.

You can listen to Episode 190 The Murder of Ella Barham online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Episode 190 The Murder of Ella Barham is an episode from Southern Mysteries Podcast by Shannon Ballard.

This episode is 22:52 long.

This episode was published on May 11, 2026.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from Southern Mysteries Podcast when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.