Fact vs Fiction

False. Kimberly never lived a double life. To say someone was living a double life implies nobody close to them knew about it. Both families, the Poole’s (Brent’s) and the Summey’s (Kimberly’s) knew within a few months of her dancing that she was an exotic dancer part time. Both families were also aware of the club where she was dancing at. She would dance off / on part time over the next two years with them fully aware. Biker friends of her dad’s would, out of respect, avoid the club on the specific nights she was working. Most, if not all, of Kimberly & Brent’s friends also knew she was an exotic dancer. Eventually their neighbors in small town Mocksville, North Carolina were also aware well before the night of June 9, 1998. This false accusation was spread by the media to sensationalize and to sell their story.

False. Kimberly never slept with any customers while she was an exotic dancer. She was what’s referred to as a ‘clean’ dancer and she always wore her wedding ring while dancing. She did get propositioned on only a few occasions but this is normal in the exotic dancing profession. Many exotic dancers complain about customers who always ask for a little more, or ‘extras’. It would be safe to say that the vast majority of exotic dancers are clean dancers. It’s also safe to say that most dancers will get propositioned at least once in their career for extras. This type of customer behavior is so common that a popular community forum for exotic dancers even has topics where they share ideas and suggestions on how to handle these types of customers. This false rumor was spread to the media and by the Poole family to degrade Kimberly’s character and to degrade her part time (and perfectly legal) profession.

False. Kimberly never had any customers come over to her house while she was an exotic dancer. No exotic dancer, not even an ‘extras’ dancer, would ever risk their safety with an encounter at home with a customer, especially not with a two year old baby at home. There are bouncers and security at the club to ensure the safety of dancers, but not at home. This was a false rumor originally spread by her neighbors and then by the media. Kimberly and Brent were a young married couple new to the community in small town Mocksville, North Carolina. They had recently purchased their home in 1996. Their outgoing lifestyle and having friends and relatives over a lot was what these people, who were more conservative stay at home types, saw.

False. Kimberly never used drugs while she was an exotic dancer or otherwise. When the police executed a search warrant at their house, no drugs, no drug residue and no drug paraphernalia were found. The police searched their house top to bottom, their property both inside and out, their persons and their cars. This false rumor was initially started by other dancers at the club.

False. Kimberly never had a web page soliciting any kind of services. A TV program showed a web page purported to have been Kimberly’s. We tracked down the URL listed on that fake page using the internet archive Way Back Machine and that URL goes to a casino type gambling service selling casino chips and other casino items. We believe this fake web page was created by a slighted third party to publicly ‘out’ / embarrass Kimberly as an exotic dancer and to stain her character with false accusations. No exotic dancer would ever publicly post their real name, the club where they worked at under their real name and the city where they lived under their real name. Again, this was an attempt by someone unknown (we do have suspicions as to who) to publicly ‘out’ / embarrass Kimberly most likely for revenge.

False. Only two men called Brent at work, Danny Shrewsbury and Robert Cummings. Danny Shrewsbury was one of the sexual predators who took advantage of Kimberly. Once Kimberly broke that off, out of revenge he called to enlighten Brent of their affair. Danny Shrewsbury is now a convicted sex offender. Robert Cummings was an ex-boyfriend of Kimberly’s before she was married. It was Robert Cummings who was constantly calling and harassing Brent at work, for whatever reason, possibly out of jealousy or revenge because he knew about John Boyd Frazier and Kimberly refused his advances to also have an affair with him. This false rumor was spread by the media to sensationalize and to sell their story.

False. Kimberly never harmfully manipulated Brent. As with all marriages there is minor, harmless manipulation on both sides to get what each other wants. They had a strained marriage and were dealing with issues related to that. If anyone was harmfully manipulated into doing things they were not comfortable with it was Kimberly. It was Brent who suggested and encouraged her to start exotic dancing. It was Brent who suggested and encouraged his friends to visit the club and buy dances from his wife (friends who would later attempt to fondle / molest Kimberly hanging out with the couple outside of the club when Brent would leave the area). It was Brent who suggested and encouraged her to attempt to bring home another dancer for a threesome, and to get the details of any encounters with another dancer. It was Brent who suggested and encouraged her to attempt a ‘wife swap’ with another couple. These were Brent’s ideas, not Kimberly’s. This false accusation was spread by the Poole family and possibly by the same friends of Brent who attempted to molest his wife outside the club when he wasn’t around. This false accusation was spread by the Poole family because it was easier for the god-fearing Poole’s to place all the blame on Kimberly than to understand—least accept—the lifestyle and the choices their son had wanted and made. It’s a mentality akin to blaming the woman for being raped, and also akin to the biblical reference of Adam blaming Eve. Being devout members of their church, the Poole’s also feared for their own family’s reputation and standing within their close-knit and ultra religious community.

False. Kimberly moved out in the evening while Brent was at work. Understandably she moved out while he was working in order to avoid any conflict at home. If Brent had been working days then Kimberly would have moved out in the morning / afternoon. Her choice of time to move out was dictated by his work schedule and nothing more. The prosecution started this false rumor to tarnish Kimberly’s character as a nefarious schemer, in line with their false theory.

False. Kimberly did unpack. She was just not yet fully unpacked. It can take people up to a few months to fully unpack after the arduous process of moving. Now realize that Kimberly had moved up to 3 different times within a 2 week span. Just because she was not fully unpacked within a few days, or even a few weeks, is well within being normal and did not mean that she didn’t have plans to stay at the home with Brent. This false rumor was spread by the Poole family and prosecution to twist something normal and innocuous into something sinister.

False. Brent was very much excited to go to Myrtle Beach, couldn’t wait to go, as evidenced in an email/letter he wrote to Kimberly a few days before leaving. This is something new we found in her case files. This false rumor was spread by the Poole family and friends of Brent (possibly the same friends who attempted to molest Kimberly outside the club) when speaking with the Myrtle Beach police.

False. It was Brent’s idea to have relations outdoors on their anniversary trip. In an email/ letter to Kimberly a few days before their vacation to Myrtle Beach, Brent presents the idea that they should do something sexually exciting and have relations outdoors. Kimberly has always maintained that it was Brent’s idea to have relations outdoors on the beach that night. This email/letter is something new we found in her case files. This false accusation was spread by the Myrtle Beach police and by the prosecution in order to mislead the public and support their false theory.

False. Kimberly was very upset after the robbery and shooting. When beach patrol met her, Kimberly was in total shock, cupping her hands over her mouth after witnessing the horror of what happened only moments earlier. As noted in beach patrol officer Brown’s report: “She waved her hands -trying to get my attention- and then came up to my driver’s side window. The woman -complainant- appeared to be crying and extremely upset.” Once back at the police station Kimberly went to the bathroom to vomit multiple times throughout that night / early morning. The police present at the station noticed and made remarks to her about how often she needed to use the restroom to vomit. Besides needing to frequently vomit, Kimberly did cry and break down multiple times. In the immediate days following her husband’s death she would sink into a depression and subsequently lose over 15 pounds. Brent’s death would affect her emotionally and physically. This false rumor was spread by the Myrtle Beach police to mislead the public and to strengthen their own false narrative of casting Kimberly as a cold-hearted, emotionless woman who planned this and wanted her husband dead.

False. Kimberly was a suspect within 6 hours after the incident. After the robbery and shooting Kimberly was at the police station until 8am June 10th. At the police station Kimberly had 3 recorded interactions with the police- 2 police interviews and 1 police interrogation. Detective Altman, after speaking with the Poole family by phone and influenced by the Poole family’s suspicions, zeroed in on Kimberly. At 5:10am both he and Detective King started to interrogate Kimberly as a suspect. They pressured her psychologically and lied to her saying they knew John Boyd Frazier did it and that he was not at home, when in fact he checked out to be at home. The other option, that this was a legitimate crime that occurred in Myrtle Beach, or that it was someone other than John Boyd Frazier was not an option for them. It seems the police wanted to mislead the public in saying that Kimberly was not a suspect until some time later and after certain events in order to cover up the fact they did no real investigation, and that they targeted Kimberly solely on the misplaced anger and suspicion of her inlaws.

False. Kimberly was a suspect within 6 hours after the incident. The robbery and shooting occurred the night of June 9th. On June 13th Kimberly was arrested and on June 14th charged with Brent’s murder. Brent’s wallet was found on July 5th with not all the money still inside, 2 weeks after Kimberly had already been charged for his murder. This false rumor was spread by the Myrtle Beach police to the media in order to support their false theory. Other items stolen that were never recovered include roughly $70 that was not in the wallet, 4 rings and a watch. It seems the police wanted to mislead the public in saying that Kimberly was not a suspect until some time later and after certain events in order to cover up the fact they did no real investigation, and that they targeted Kimberly solely on the misplaced anger and suspicion of her inlaws.

False. Not all the money that he had in his wallet was found still to be in the wallet. All the large bills were missing, totaling roughly $70. The only money found to be still in the wallet were small bills roughly $8 or $9 (a $5 bill and a few $1 bills). Besides the missing $70, other items stolen that were never recovered include 4 rings and a watch.

False. Kimberly’s version of events did not change. On the night of the robbery and shooting she was interviewed twice and interrogated once (without proper Miranda warnings), for a total of three recorded interactions with the detectives. The first two interviews were by two different detectives, Detective Joyce and then Detective King, and her version of what happened never changed. About an hour after the second interview with Detective King, Detective Altman spoke by phone with the Poole family. The Poole family insisted that Kimberly was involved and that the assailant had to be the man she recently had an affair with (John Boyd Frazier). Detective Altman and Detective King then proceeded to interrogate Kimberly as a suspect by applying psychological pressures and by lying to her (Reid Technique), saying they knew she did it and planned it, that the police checked Frazier’s house in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and he wasn’t at home (he was), and that she could save herself. It should be noted that Miranda warnings at the start of this interrogation were never given. Even then, the night of the robbery and shooting, being interrogated as a suspect without Miranda warnings (unbeknownst to Kimberly what the detectives were trying to do), even then her version of events did not change. Kimberly had said that the assailant very well could have been John Boyd Frazier but that she was not certain, and that she didn’t think he’d be that stupid to do something like this. She never saw the assailants face (he wore an assault type tactical ski mask) in an event (robbery and shooting) that lasted less than a minute. This uncertainty was what the detectives went after and would not accept. A few days later when the police would interview her again they intentionally pressured her to say that the assailant was John Boyd Frazier.

False. A few months before she moved out in early May 1998, Kimberly had purchased a new diamond ring for herself. This was a half carat diamond ring. After she moved out, temporarily living at John Boyd Frazier’s residence, Kimberly wanted to raise funds to help in her search for a permanent place to live. John Frazier offered to sell that newly purchased half carat diamond ring for her. It was this ring that was in John’s possession and not her wedding ring. After Kimberly moved out of John Frazier’s residence she left that ring with him. On the night of the robbery and shooting, June 9th 1998, Kimberly did have her wedding ring stolen. This stolen wedding ring was a 1/3 carat diamond ring with a ‘feather’ in it (an inclusion). When detailing what all was stolen Kimberly specifically described this stolen diamond ring as having a ‘feather’ inclusion. This is in a transcribed recorded telephone conversation with detectives. A day or two after the robbery and shooting a friend had called telling her that John Frazier would like to talk to her. She told that friend that no, she did not want to speak with him but that she did want her diamond ring back- that recently purchased half carat diamond ring left with him weeks earlier. This was an entirely different diamond ring and not the diamond wedding ring stolen the night of June 9th 1998. That newly purchased half carat diamond ring (an entirely different diamond ring from the stolen wedding ring) is still in the possession of John Frazier’s family and has never been returned. This false rumor was spread by the police and prosecution to intentionally mislead the public and support their false theory.

False. It wouldn’t be until around 9pm that the babysitter would arrive and the babysitter could only stay until midnight. The babysitter got lost finding their hotel and arrived 15 minutes late that night. This was their anniversary night and of course Kimberly was excited and antsy to leave and spend some alone time with her husband. Not to mention the vast majority of Katie’s care came from her mom. Any parent of a two year old will attest to looking forward to when the child is put to bed for some alone time. This is normal.

False. Kimberly never celebrated at trial while the jury was out deliberating and made no phone calls. A TV program showed the prosecutor and assistant prosecutor saying that Kimberly was celebrating, making phone calls, and having a generally ‘festive’ atmosphere while the jury was out deliberating. The trial was held at the Horry County courthouse in South Carolina. Kimberly and her family are from the Winston-Salem area (Forsyth County) North Carolina. For 17 months before trial Kimberly was held, without bail, in the J Reuben Long Detention Center in South Carolina. It was difficult for her family to make the 4.5 hour one way (9 hour round trip) visits, and visitation at the J Reuben Long Detention Center was just 30 minutes. Her family and extended family found it very difficult to make a 9 hour round trip drive to visit with her for just 30 minutes. At trial was when her family could be there and show their support. And while the jury was out deliberating her family and extended family, having rarely been able to visit with her the past 17 months, used this time to visit and catch up with her. So naturally Kimberly was happy to finally be spending time visiting with her family. This false rumor was spread by the prosecution to portray Kimberly as a cold woman who didn’t care what happened to Brent, and oblivious to the seriousness of the crime for which she was on trial.