1972 Murder of Blind Homemaker Heads to Trial

Rochester, New York - Tommie Cray was 9 years old in 1947 when his father, a single parent with three sons, brought home a new companion who was raising three boys of her own. Annie Mae had a sweet Southern drawl and an easy laugh, and an emotional bond took hold right away.”She brought everybody’s spirit up, she was so lovable and friendly,” reminisced Cray, now 72. After a 38-year hiatus, twice-convicted sexual predator Willie James Kimble (Pictured), 78, is headed to trial on March 3 on charges of bludgeoning to death Cray’s stepmother at her home on Oct. 29, 1972 - the week before Richard Nixon was re-elected president. Her death would be one of the nation’s oldest cold-case murders to be solved by DNA. More…