Buried in the Backyard is examining the murder of Peggy King, a beloved librarian from Frankfort, Kentucky, who was killed protecting a teenage girl from her abusive boyfriend, Carlos Thurman.
On February 4, 1992, 50-year-old widower Peggy attended her country music dance club with a few friends and, after leaving the dance, was never seen alive again.
She was reported missing a couple of days later, and the cops went to search her home. They found no sign of a struggle at home, but they noted Peggy’s bed had not been slept in, and there were two bowls of ice cream on the kitchen table.
Six days later, the cops found her car abandoned in Frankfort. The police found blood in the vehicle and a hair that didn’t belong to Peggy.
On February 13, Peggy’s remains were found in a culvert in a wooded area to the south of Frankfort. She had suffered a blunt trauma to the head and had been shot in the neck with a .22 caliber firearm.
The cops learned that not long before the murder, Peggy had welcomed Katherine Stosberg into her home. Stosberg was the teenage daughter of friends of Peggy, and she was having problems with her boyfriend, Carlos Lee Thurman.
Peggy King helped teenage girl flee from boyfriend, Carlos Thurman
Stosberg had been trying to end her relationship with Thurman, but he would not leave her alone. Peggy had sheltered Stosberg at her home for a few days.
Watch the Latest on our YouTube ChannelStosberg decided to escape Thurman by fleeing to West Virginia to stay with a friend. Peggy saw the teenager off at the bus station.
A series of witness statements and tipoffs bolstered the investigation. The cops were alerted to two of Thurman’s friends, Desmond Bush and Sean Hunter. The hair in Peggy’s car belonged to Bush.
Witnesses reported seeing three men, Thurman, Bush, and Hunter, driving Peggy’s car around the Prince Hall Village Apartments complex in Frankfort. Thurman had already told the cops that he had spent the night of the murder at this complex with a woman who turned out to be Bush’s girlfriend.
The police concluded that Thurman had traveled to Peggy’s home, where he demanded to know Stosberg’s whereabouts. Peggy gave the killer a bowl of ice cream but refused to tell him where Stosberg went.
Carlos Thurman convicted of killing Peggy King
The investigators suspect Peggy offered or was coerced into giving Thurman a lift home, but he directed her to the woods where Bush and Hunter were waiting. The cops believe Thurman pulled the trigger on Peggy.
Thurman allegedly confessed to the murder to friends and a cellmate.
Thurman was convicted of first-degree murder and kidnapping and was sentenced to 109 years. Bush was convicted of second-degree manslaughter, robbery, and kidnapping and received 50 years. Hunter pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter and was sentenced to ten years.
Buried in the Backyard is re-airing on Friday at 8/7c on Oxygen.