EATONTON, Ga. — When Alvin Ridley’s wife was discovered dead in her home 30 years ago, residents of the small town of Ringgold, Georgia, naturally assumed the recluse, hoarder and odd figure murdered her.

Georgia Writers Museum’s upcoming Crime & Wine experience will feature McCracken Poston, the defense attorney who represented Ridley in the notorious “zenith man” murder trial.

Poston is the author of a new book entitled, “Zenith Man: Death, Love, and Redemption in a Georgia Courtroom.” This special event will be held on June 22 at 7p.m. (doors open at 6:30) at the Plaza Arts Center.

Tickets are $40 and can be purchased at Georgia Writers Museum (www.georgiawritersmuseum.org).

Call the museum to register and preorder a copy of Poston’s book.

Poston, an idealistic young defense attorney, still stinging from a failed congressional run, had already encountered the eccentric Ridley—dubbed “Zenith Man” for his work repairing televisions—but still took his case.

The court of public opinion would serve as judge and jury for Ridley, who created no shortage of bizarre problems for his lawyer. Belligerent, incomprehensible, secretive, he was a complete puzzle for his lawyer. Investigators would make assumptions about Alvin’s wife, Virginia, assuming the same biases that Ringgold townspeople held—that Alvin had been holding his wife captive for decades. The case seemed doomed to fail, until the diligent lawyer looked past the community’s biases, as well as his own, to reveal an astonishing truth.

“With the kinds of twists and turns that will make readers think it’s great fiction—except it all happened,” wrote Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Jon Meacham.

This legal thriller, filled with courtroom drama, is a fantastical true crime tale that was over two decades in the making. Set in the Appalachian foothill’s town of Ringgold, the story spotlights a small town of prying eyes and devastating gossip that would push two people with disabilities behind closed doors. The story will keep you on the edge of your seat right up to its surprise ending.

Poston is a practicing criminal defense attorney and former state legislator in the Georgia House of Representatives. He is a graduate of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and received his law degree from the University of Georgia. He gained national attention for his handling of several notable cases that were featured on CNN Presents, Dateline NBC, A&E’s American Justice, and Forensic Files. He lives in Ringgold. 

The Georgia Writers Museum is located at 109 S. Jefferson Avenue, Eatonton.