Beaten and Burned To Death The Murder of Una Versa Ponder Louisville, Kentucky September 1947

On September 12, 1947 the badly bruised, burned, and cut body of former Miss Louisville Una Versa Ponder was found by relatives and police. Neighbors hadn't seen the victim for days after one of them had noticed her talking to a man on her porch. Ponder's sister was alerted by a phone caller who said he was worried about Una. The Louisville coroner surmised that the victim's death was precipitated by a fall. A soda dispenser at a drug store, Una Ponder also sold magazines at a local hotel. The mysterious death intrigued me to write about because of its gruesomeness and unsolved nature.