Since the only contemporaneous accounts of the events that occurred in the Perry’s Camp murders in September 1949 that still exist are newspaper accounts, the following time line was gleaned primarily, though not exclusively, from accounts reported by the two daily Knoxville newspapers, The Knoxville Journal and The Knoxville News-Sentinel. Most of the details came from statements made by police authorities, largely by Sevier County Sheriff J. Roy Whaley and Cocke County Sheriff Charles Fisher. Many of the details were taken from the testimony of Sheriff Whaley, the only witness to testify in the Perry case at trial prior to the defendants changing their pleas.

The trial of Claude Robertson, Hermie Lee Jones, and Basil Buford Jones was covered for The News-Sentinel by 29-year-old Carson Brewer, in his fifth year with the paper at that time. Brewer would write another 35 years for The News-Sentinel, author several books about the Great Smoky Mountains, and establish himself as a noted conservationist. His accounts of the trial, in particular, the testimony of Sheriff Whaley were detailed and concise and contained a number of direct quotes from all involved in the trial. For these reasons Brewer’s accounts of the trial were used exclusively in ferreting out the details from Whaley’s testimony. Some of the details of the searches of the Jones’ property in Washington County were found in the Kingsport Times which were not found in The News-Sentinel or in any other sources.

Monday, September 19th
10:45 p. m.

Claude Robertson and Hermie Lee Jones with Basil Jones driving Hermie Lee’s Plymouth sedan pull into Perry’s Camp after having parked Robertson’s car, a borrowed car, off the road a mile or so down Highway 71 toward Pigeon Forge. Claude and Hermie slip out of the car and Basil drives on past. The restaurant is dark but the door is open. They tip-toe quietly into the kitchen where a light is on, and someone is moving around. They surprise Charlie Perry, gain control of him, and are able to wrestle him into a chair, and are trying to tie his hands behind him with the cord they brought with them.

While struggling with Perry in an effort to totally restrain him, Josie hears the commotion downstairs and started down the steps when she realized what was happening. She turned and started running back up the steps in an effort to reach a loaded shotgun (or more likely a loaded pistol she kept under her pillow) …