155. Unsolved Murder of Prestonsburg Mayor George Archer- Pt. 2

Content Warning: This episode includes discussion of a murder scene and a suicide. Please use care deciding when or whether to listen.

We pick up moments after Mayor Dr. George P. Archer is found shot beside his car outside his clinic in Prestonsburg, KY (July 12, 1973). A witness reports a beige-on-green Buick LeSabre fleeing the scene—similar to the car driven by Judith Archer, the city clerk and executive director of the Housing Authority, married to Archer’s cousin William “Bill Tom” Archer. As rumors snowball (including an alleged affair), timelines shift, pressure mounts, and within eight days Judith dies by suicide—before any arrest is made. A grand jury later calls dozens of witnesses but issues no indictments, and the case cools. Fifty-plus years on, questions about conflicts of interest, missing records, and political entanglements still shadow Prestonsburg.

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