Sherry LaNell Higgins was found dead inside her Wilson home on January 20, 1987. She was twenty-five years old.
To say Sherry’s death is odd would be an understatement. Not much can be found online about her, and despite trying everything we could think of, we haven’t yet found a verifiable picture of Sherry. What can be found online, comes from the Carter County Sheriff’s website, and it’s not exactly accurate.
On the morning of January 20th, Sherry was found completely naked inside her home. Her body showed signs of incredible trauma. She had multiple contusions to her face, multiple scratches and contusions to her right and left forearms, as well as contusions on her abdominal area. The medical examiner would note in his report that some of the contusions on her forearms and face were similar to injuries seen in cold exposure and hypothermic injuries. However, despite the Sheriff’s department website stating that Sherry died of hypothermia- the medical examiner declared that she died of amitriptyline overdose, with multiple external trauma as a contributing factor. Amitriptyline is a prescription medication used to treat depression, some types of nerve pain, and to prevent migraines.
While her manner of death via the medical examiner remains as Unknown, Sherry’s death was investigated as a homicide.According to the Sheriff’s website, Sherry’s husband was arrested at one point, but later released. Another odd statement made on the Sheriff’s site is that Sherry’s body had been completely shaven, the direct quote is “every inch of her body had been shaven”. Having read the autopsy, I don’t think this is actually true. Per comments made by her daughter on other web entries for Sherry, she definitely still had hair- even her eyebrows. The autopsy makes no mention of her body being shaven at all.
What happened to Sherry remains a mystery, what I do know is that she left behind at least one child who misses her mother more than anything. She left behind a husband and a whole family. What happened to Sherry deserves an answer.
If you have any information regarding the murder of Sherry LaNell Higgins, please contact the Carter County Sheriff’s Office at 580-223-6014.