Sally Snowden McKay and her cousin were murdered in Arkansas in 1996. Their daughter Martha forgave the convicted killer, gave him a job at her bed-and-breakfast, and he murdered her in 2020.
He murdered a woman from his victims’ family 23 years later.

Martha had the terrible idea of contacting the convicted killer, 17-year-old Travis Lewis, while he was behind bars. Martha decided to give the teenager a chance, mainly because, although he had pleaded guilty, he had never truly admitted to the crimes.
Lewis pointed to someone else as the killer. Martha’s unnecessary act of kindness would prove fatal. After coming to terms with her grief, Martha decided to reopen the property where her mother had been murdered. She transformed and renovated the grand mansion into a luxurious bed-and-breakfast and wedding venue, and the former crime scene became the elegant Snowden House.
Martha supported Lewis’s early release in 2018 and, discreetly, provided him with a job at Snowden House.
Lewis insisted that someone else was to blame, according to Crittenden County Sheriff Mike Allen.

Frank Byrd, an old friend of Martha’s, told her he didn’t think it was wise to befriend Lewis, but “she didn’t respond,” according to Byrd.
Martha was found stabbed and beaten to death at the top of the stairs on March 25, 2020, at the age of 63. Officers also found a cloth bag near Martha containing various valuables and a bloodstained kitchen knife.

Investigations revealed that her killer was Lewis. He had jumped from a second-floor window when the police arrived, running at full speed across the large garden and into the lake, where he subsequently drowned.
The body recovered from the lake was identified as Lewis’s. A toxicology report revealed the presence of a mixture of drugs in his system.

Crittenden County Chief Investigator Todd Grooms stated: “It was determined that his intention was to steal these items.” However, it was not determined whether his intention was to rob McKay’s home and she died in the process, or whether his intention was to murder McKay and he then decided to steal the items.

McKay’s sister, Katie Hutton, told People: “She lived life to the fullest” and “She loved her life.” Martha’s sister expressed her shock, saying, “We are all in a state of disbelief.”