‘Gone South’ investigates the mystery killing of a sex crimes prosecutor
Audacy’s C13Originals presents “Gone South,” a true crime podcast that centers on the question: who killed Margaret Coon? When 41-year-old Coon, a former Louisiana sex crimes prosecutor, was murdered in 1987, the mystery went unsolved for years and the truth remained hidden – but not ignored.
On this season of “Gone South,” host and journalist Jed Lipinski headed to St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, to investigate in the seemingly safe rural community outside New Orleans. Listeners learn this affluent Parish is filled with corruption and secrets. But was it possible that this darkness absorbed Coon, leading to her murder? At the time of her death, everyone was a suspect, and this case baffled law enforcement as leads ran cold.
On the night of her death, Coon took her dog with her on a jog around her neighborhood. The next day, Coon’s body was found on the side of the road with a stab wound in her back, wearing $100,000 worth of jewelry, and none was taken from her body. The community’s security guard said no outsiders entered the gated community that night. Police checked her condo. It was locked and nothing looked disturbed. Coon’s autopsy did not show signs of struggle or sexual assault.
We learn that Coon was a wealthy divorcée, well-known and admired by the community. By the second episode, listeners hear about Coon’s professional history as a trial lawyer in the 1970s, hired by the District Attorney’s office, prosecuting sex crimes and crimes against children.
In “Gone South,” Lipinski reexamines Coon’s case and uncovers new details on this grim murder that has haunted St. Tammany’s community for 34+ years. Lipinski delves into theories of Coon’s death, and tries to identify motives. Lipinski talked to old suspects and reviewed old leads. Lipinski will interview Coon’s inner circle, politicians, private investigators, Drug Enforcement Administration agents, and detectives from the case. We’ll also hear from crime victims from St. Tammany and the creator of 1980’s McGruff the Crime Dog.
Lipinski has been captivated by Coon’s case and said, “The number of strange twists and turns in the story make it a perfect fit for the true-crime podcast format.” Lipinski received accolades for his crime reporting in The Times-Picayune in New Orleans, and he formerly contributed to The New York Times.
Lipinski is an Emmy and Peabody Award-nominated producer and journalist who worked on Hulu’s Fyre Fraud, Netflix’s The Pharmacist, Paramount Network’s Rest in Power: The Trayvon Martin Story, and the Amazon/Audible series “Meltdown.”
To learn more about Margaret Coon’s murder and investigation, tune into new episodes of “Gone South,” posted weekly.
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