Carlton Michael Gary, also commonly referred to as, “The Columbus Stocking Strangler”, was a serial killer that terrorized the Wynnton neighborhoods in Columbus, Georgia. Gary was involved in or responsible for the death of 5 elderly women in New York and would be arrested but would escape prison and return to Columbus. He would then go onto to terrorize the Wynnton Area in Columbus Georgia between 1977 and 1978 in resulting in the murder of 9 elderly women. Gary fled from Columbus and was arrested in South Carolina for armed robbery in 1983 but would escape again. Gary was caught a year later with new evidence being brought to light leading to his conviction of the crimes in 1986 and finally executed in 2018 after multiple attempts to appeal. There is much controversy surrounding Carlton Gary’s trial and execution with many books being written about the trial.

William Rawlings, author of the book The Columbus Stocking Strangler, was born, raised and still lives on the family farm in Sandersville, Georgia. He was educated at Emory University, earned his Doctorate in Medicine and a master’s degree in Epidemiology from Tulane University. He practiced medicine with his father in Sandersville. He has received numerous awards and accolades over the years, including an honorary Doctor of Science degree from Mercer University in 2011. The 2022 book about the stocking strangler is a non-fiction true crime account of the infamous strangler who terrorized Columbus in the late 1970s. Rawlings said “that is a saga that spans early half a century…”