Maisie Carlene Gray was 57 and had been working about three weeks at a Majik Mart convenience store in Attalla, Alabama, when she was abducted on the night of December 10, 1984. A man identified as Michael Eugene Thompson entered the store with a .22 caliber pistol, forced her to empty the register, then drove her away and forced her into a remote well in Blount County. Thompson shot at her until he ran out of ammunition, left to obtain more bullets, returned with his girlfriend Shirley Franklin who held a torch, and fired additional shots into the well.

Franklin’s husband later contacted police; her admissions led investigators to the well where Gray’s body was found. Thompson gave full confessions, but at trial sought to retract them and shift blame to Franklin; the jury rejected that defense. Thompson was convicted of abduction and murder and sentenced to death.

Readers who knew Maisie or have information relevant to the case are asked to come forward.