Athalia Ponsell Lindsley (July 25, 1917 – January 23, 1974) was an American model, Broadway dancer, political activist and television personality on the show '' Winner Take All''. Lindsley was murdered on the front steps of her home in

St. Augustine, Florida St. Augustine ( ; ) is a city in and the county seat of St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Located 40 miles (64 km) south of downtown Jacksonville, the city is on the Atlantic coast of northeastern Florida. Founded in 1565 by Spani ...

. Neighbor Alan Griffin Stanford Jr., with whom she had ongoing feud at the time, was initially charged with her murder, but was ultimately acquitted after trial. Her murder remains officially unsolved.

Early life

Lindsley was born to a wealthy family in

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in Lucas County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the western end of Lake Erie along the Maumee River. Toledo is the List of cities in Ohio, fourth-most populous city in Ohio and List of United Sta ...

and was raised on the Isle of Pines, an island possession of

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

in the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere, located south of the Gulf of Mexico and southwest of the Sargasso Sea. It is bounded by the Greater Antilles to the north from Cuba ...

. She spent 20 years in New York as a model, chorus line dancer and hostess on Bud Collyer's television game show '' Winner Take All''. She had dated Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., elder brother of President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

. There were rumors of an engagement between them, but Kennedy died while on active duty during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. She made an unsuccessful bid for state senator and had plans to run for a seat on the St. Johns County,

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

Commission. She married a former mayor of St. Augustine, James "Jinx" Lindsley, a successful real estate agent, four months prior to her murder. Despite being newly married, they resided in different homes; she lived at 124 Marine Street on the Matanzas River, while he alternatively used the historic Lindsley House at 214 St. George Street and another on Lew Boulevard on Anastasia Island.

Death

Lindsley had been in an ongoing feud with Alan Griffin Stanford Jr., her neighbor at 126 Marine Street. One of the concerns was the six stray dogs she took in that barked incessantly. In a transcript of an October 1973 county meeting, one of the commissioners had remarked, "I am aware you are a neighbor of the Stanfords and that y'all have had neighbor problems," to which Lindsley answered, "That's true. (But) my life has been threatened. You mention personal things. He threatened my life." Between 5:30 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. on January 23, 1974, Lindsley was attacked on the front steps of her home at 124 Marine Street by a white middle-aged male wearing a white dress shirt and dark dress pants. According to medical examiner Dr. Arthur Schwartz, who performed the autopsy, she was struck nine times with a

machete A machete (; ) is a broad blade used either as an agricultural implement similar to an axe, or in combat like a long-bladed knife. The blade is typically long and usually under thick. In the Spanish language, the word is possibly a dimin ...

on her hand, arm and in the head. One of her fingers was severed and she was nearly decapitated. The only thing missing from her house was a pet blue jay, whose cage was found smashed. Toward the end of the attack, an 18-year-old neighbor, Locke McCormick, heard the sounds of a commotion and went outside to look. He allegedly shouted to his mother that "Mr. Stanford is hitting Mrs. Ponsell." After the perpetrator left, the McCormicks went next door and saw Lindsley lying in a pool of blood on her porch and called the police. Stanford was indicted, pled innocent and was brought to trial; after two hours of jury deliberation, he was acquitted. Critics accused the police of botching the investigation and tainting evidence.

In media

In 1998 ''Bloody Sunset in St. Augustine,'' a work of fiction intermixed with facts from the case, was locally published by Jim Mast and Nancy Powell, friends of Lindsley. In 2000, the cable channel A&E aired an hour-long documentary on the case in its '' City Confidential'' series titled ''St. Augustine: The Socialite and the Politician''. In April 2019 the case was covered on the popular online true crime show ''

BuzzFeed Unsolved ''BuzzFeed Unsolved'' (also known as simply ''Unsolved'') is a documentary entertainment web series created by Ryan Bergara for BuzzFeed that ran from February 4, 2016, to November 19, 2021. It first appeared on the YouTube YouTube i ...

''.

Second attack

On November 3, 1974, Lindsley's friend and neighbor Frances Bemis went out for her evening walk and never returned. Her body was found the next day in a vacant lot on the corner of Bridge and Marine streets with her skull crushed. Having been a professional newspaper writer, amongst other professions, she may have been gathering material for a book on Lindsley's murder; she had alluded to having certain information. Her murder, like Lindsley's, was never solved.

References

External links