Reporter Cracks Serial Killer Cold Case After Receiving a Tip Based on His Democracy Now! Interview

Late last month, 77yearold Felix Vail was sentenced to life in prison for killing his first wife, Mary Horton Vail, who died on a fishing trip in 1962 with Vail. Eleven years after Mary died, Felix’s new wife, Sharon Hensley, mysteriously disappeared. Then, 11 years later, in 1984, Felix’s new wife, Annette Craver Vail, disappeared. She was just 17 years old. Sharon and Annette were never heard from again. All three women were last seen with Felix Vail, but Felix was never charged in any of the cases. But that changed after the Mississippi ClarionLedger ran a multipart series reexamining the deaths and disappearances. The lead reporter on the series was the prizewinning investigative reporter Jerry Mitchell, who has appeared on Democracy Now! multiple times over the years. Shortly after his DN! interview in 2010, he received a call from a woman named Mary Rose who heard the interview. She wanted his help in investigating the death of her daughter, Annette Craver Vail, the 17yearold wife of Felix Vail who disappeared in 1984. Mitchell soon began investigating the case, and six years later it is no longer a cold case. For more, we speak with Jerry Mitchell and Mary Rose, Annette Craver Vail’s mother.

Democracy Now! is an independent global news hour that airs weekdays on nearly 1,400 TV and radio stations Monday through Friday. Watch our livestream 89AM ET

Please consider supporting independent media by making a donation to Democracy Now! today

FOLLOW DEMOCRACY NOW! ONLINE:

Daily Email

Stitcher Radio