Lexington Presbyterian Church

A Crime of Passion

Sunday afternoon in January 15, 1854 Charles Burks Christian ruthlessly stabbed and murdered cadet Thomas Blackburn. This horrendous crime was spurred on by the fact that the two men were involved in a love triangle with a beautiful local teenage girl by the name of Mary Evelyn Anderson.

Love drives people to do crazy things. .Some have even said that love is worth killing for. Such was the case one Sunday afternoon on January 15, 1854. A man in love with a woman who refused his affections committed murder in an effort to procure his lover's affections.

Law student Charles Burks Christian held an apparent attraction for local beauty Mary Evelyn Anderson. This sentiment was apparently unrequited, as Mary was instead involved with Thomas Blackburn. This awkward affair had already sparked many a dispute between the young men, but this lover's quarrel was soon to take a deadly turn.

It was on this Sunday afternoon that Charles Christian made his move. During a service happening in the Lexington Presbyterian Church, Charles approached approached Thomas and drew him outside under the pretense of having a "discussion" about their current predicament. Moments later, after a fatal assault from Charles, Thomas was on the ground bleeding death, and Charles was taken into custody still covered in the fresh blood of his unsuspecting victim.

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120 S Main St, Lexington, VA 24450