By Terry L. Hapney, Jr.
The Ironton Tribune

A local librarian and author will release her latest book — “Wicked Lawrence County” — on Saturday.
The book focuses on crimes committed in the county. Lori Shafer will have copies of her book for sale and will sign them beginning at 2 p.m. at the South Point branch of the Briggs Lawrence County Public Library.
The History Press published the book.
“I was pretty familiar with them as a librarian,” Shafer said. “They do a lot of local history books all over the country—focusing on communities.”
Shafer got in touch with the publishing company and presented her ideas, including information about the self-published books she had written in the past.
“They were interested in a true-crime book that has a list of different cases that have occurred in Lawrence County,” she said. “From there I began researching older crimes people don’t remember.”
Shafer compiled photos and information on different forms of local crimes. One of the cases was the Shafer murder.
“My last name is Shafer so it caught my eye,” she said. “I went back and looked up the articles.”
The newspaper coverage on that case was huge, according to Shafer. The case consisted of a husband, wife, children and mother-in-law. The couple was in the midst of a divorce stemming from a case of domestic violence.
“The wife and children left and went to live with her parents,” Shafer said. “On the way to court the husband lay in wait in the woods knowing the path that his mother-in-law, wife and children would take.”
The man shot them as they were in the carriage on their way to court. Shafer said they were near a house.
“All four of them tried to get to the house to safety,” she said. “The owner of the house was there.”
The husband shot his wife first. She had a baby in her arms.
“Somehow, even though she was shot multiple times she was able to save the baby,” Shafer said. “It was completely unharmed.”
The mother-in-law got close to the house before he shot her. No one died immediately. The boy almost got to safety on the porch. The homeowner attempted to stop the man from taking the boy.
“He threatened the house owner,” Shafer said. “He grabbed the son, dragged him over to the woods. They would hear shots later and find that he had killed the son. The wife passed away. The mother-in-law survived.”
There was a search to find the man.
“It took a while for them to round him up,” Shafer said. “He went into the hills and woods. When they got close he committed suicide.”
The baby survived and was completely unharmed.
“I don’t know how she kept from dropping the child or injuring the child in her attempt to escape,” Shafer said. “It all happened over a minor disturbance.”
There was a window broken in their home and the man blamed his son.
“It wasn’t his fault,” Shafer said. “The wife told him it wasn’t his fault. There had been a storm and something hit the window and broke it.”
The man attacked his wife over that. Finally, she said that was enough. She filed for divorce to get away from him.
“He knew he was going to lose the case,” Shafer said. “That is how it all started and ended.”
This is just one of the stories featured in Shafer’s new book.
The publishing company’s books are “well-known at CVS,” according to Shafer. They include history books on different topics.
“It’s a privilege to be able to cover Lawrence County history,” she said. “It’s fascinating. I often find it’s the strange things that get most people’s attention.”
Those interested in purchasing the book may also do so via Amazon or by contacting Shafer through Facebook.