| Sources |
- [S4] Knoxville News-Sentinel (Tennessee), 13 Dec 1999.
Charles Fred Hankins obituary
- [S87] Death Certificate.
Name: Mary Tabler Hankins
Event: Death
Event Date: 31 Mar 1951
Event Place: Knoxville, Knox, Tennessee
Gender: Female
Marital Status:
Race or Color:
Age: 27
Estimated Birth Year: 1924
Birth Date:
Birthplace:
Spouse:
Father: Jacob Tabler
Father's Birthplace:
Mother: Mallie Waller
Mother's Birthplace:
Occupation:
Street Address:
Residence:
Cemetery:
Burial Place:
Burial Date:
Informant:
Additional Relatives:
Digital Folder Number: 4181462
Image Number: 1069
Film Number: 2372447
Volume/Page/Certificate Number: cn51-08410
- [S4] Knoxville News-Sentinel (Tennessee), 5 Jun 2011.
Book details unsolved crime: Retired FBI agent sheds light on 1951 Harrill Hills killing
On a chilly afternoon in 1951, Mary Tabler Hankins, 27, was fatally shot inside her Harrill Hills home. She was barely alive when husband Fred Hankins returned home and found her. The case was never solved.
In the newly published book "Murder in Harrill Hills," retired FBI agent Bob Allen, 67, names a possible killer, reveals previously unpublished facts - and sticks up for a lawman he believes has been unfairly maligned for 50 years.
"This crime could have been solved," said Allen, a Sevier County native. "But so many things were done different then."
In 1951, Knoxville had not yet annexed the Fountain City area, so jurisdiction for the Hankins case fell to Knox County Sheriff C.W. "Buddy" Jones.
Initial police work was shoddy, even by standards of the day: No fingerprints were taken, and the crime scene was wide open for neighbors and reporters. The investigation became entangled in a series of interagency rivalries and political bickering. The unsolved case made Jones a one-term sheriff - and left him forever remembered by a cruel new nickname his political enemies hung on him: "Sleepless Jones."
That came about because Jones had vowed not to rest until the case was cracked. "Sleepless Jones" and the Hankins case became a staple of Knoxville lore.
"I think he has done a very good job with this," Dr. J.C. "Jim" Tumblin, a lifelong Fountain City resident and historian, said of Allen's book. "It is a top contribution to our local history."
The Hankins' brick house is on the Dogwood Trail at the corner of Forest Lane and Crestwood Road. The recently married couple had designed and built it, about six months before she was killed.
"It's a cute little house, and I hope Mary knows I'm taking good care of it," said current owner Katy Gabel, 48. Gabel said she did not know of the case when she bought the house. A neighbor informed her and showed her a tattered newspaper clipping.
Allen recently gave her a copy of his book.
"I always wished I had known more about her," Gabel said of Mary Hankins. "I thought this was fascinating. I like to think she might still be hovering around here."
Although Jones was ultimately responsible for the investigation and many of its errors, Allen believes the sheriff has gotten an unfair rap.
"He worked very hard on that case, with sincere efforts to solve it," Allen said. "Even after (he was voted out), he stayed interested in the case and was always available to help work on it if a new lead turned up."
"I think it is very unfortunate that (name) was stuck on him," Allen added.
The book cites a lot of circumstantial evidence pointing to longtime career burglar James William "Bill" Luallen as the killer. The crime likely began as a burglary that evolved into sexual assault and finally murder, Allen concludes.
Coyly, Luallen claimed that while he had stolen the murder weapon, a .32 Colt revolver, he had sold it before the killing. Without a confession or further evidence against Luallen, prosecutors declined to bring charges.
Weaving in and out of the story are several familiar Knoxville names: Cas Walker, Ray Jenkins and Hal Clement, among others. The book details how the bitter feud between politicos Walker and George Dempster undercut Jones' investigation.
Other characters include a self-described private detective who never revealed who was paying him; and an innocent man who was held and grilled for days - all because an angry, jilted girlfriend told authorities he was the killer.
Because Mary Hankins was shot in the back of the head, some suspected a hired killer. The book reveals a surprising link between a family member and the murder weapon, which had been found in a creek. Allen says it is just a startling coincidence.
"I almost quit when I learned that about the gun," Allen said, because he felt it unfairly suggested someone in the family might have been involved when all other evidence pointed to Luallen. No one in the Hankins or Tabler families were involved, he said.
Allen said he "fell into" writing at the suggestion of his brother-in-law Harold Wright. That led to a book about black baseball players who desegregated the 1953 Smokies. He then co-authored with Steve Watson "The Perrys Camp Murders," about a Sevier County case. Another suggestion by Wright led him to the Hankins case.
There was no surviving case file, and few other records. All of the main players were dead, so Allen tracked down many of their descendants and other relatives - and found one key source with personal ties to both the Hankins family and several of the investigators.
"I enjoy the writing, but I still enjoy the investigating," he said. "I like to do research that answers questions, and fills in holes that need filling."
The book is $10.95 and can be ordered online at http://www.murderinharrillhills.com. Copies can be ordered through Allen with $13.50 payable to R.S. Allen, P.O. Box 34016, Knoxville, TN 37930.
Jim Balloch may be reached at 865-342-6315.
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1923 - 1951 (27 years)
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