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The 1950s were called the “Happy Days”. The war was over. The economy was booming. The American Dream was in full swing.
In 1957 it was estimated that one baby was being born every second. The Lone Ranger was a hit TV show. Little boys acted out their mythical western adventures on stick horses.
But the dream became a nightmare for two brothers in Texas. Their murders at the hand of their knife-wielding mother shocked the nation.
This is the story of how Annie Williams was supposed to spend the rest of her life in prison for dismembering her boys.
But contrary to what her sentencing jury was told, Williams was set free on parole. She then jumped parole and disappeared for sixteen years until fugitive hunter Louis Fawcett got on her trail.
This is the 57-year long account of a mother who murdered her sons with malice.
Until now, the tragedy of her two sons has been long forgotten.
A pair of large ornate pink granite headstones mark their graves at the Oak Park Cemetery located in Alvin, Texas.
8-year old Conrad S. Williams. 9-year Calvin H. Williams were laid to rest side by side.
In 1955, the shocked and grief-stricken community took up a collection to bury the murdered brothers.
Years later, green mold grows on Calvin’s headstone. Vandals have tipped over Conrad’s headstone. It lies flat on the ground.
Piles of scattered brown leaves and broken tree limbs cover the boy’s graves.
Few remember the terrible end to their short lives that made front-page headlines across the world.
But veteran Texas lawman Louis Fawcett, the fugitive hunter who always got his man or woman, says it is the one case out of hundreds that will never fade from his memory.
This woman was my grandfather’s sister. She was disowned by him and no one spoke about her. I learned about her through my mother and only started researching her after his passing. My mother remembers playing with her cousins and then never seeing them again – only to learn about what happened to them years later.