Pulitzer-winning reporter Sally Kestin and I collaborated on this quintessential shoe-leather story that required us to dig some 35 years in the past to uncover a powerful charity leader’s hidden sex crime conviction. We methodically tracked down Bill Murdock’s victim – combing through yearbooks, talking to classmates, tracking down retired teachers – and helped her tell her story for the first time. We also dug into Murdock’s claims of awards which we discovered were bogus or exaggerated. From tip to publication, this story took six weeks.
Impact:
Days after our story published, Murdock announced his retirement from the charity
University of North Carolina Ashville rescinded Murdock’s honorary degree
A school media center named after Murdock changed its name