Archival: In The Name of Love a Texas Tragedy True Story based on Ralph Hand & Olivia Browning True Crime Murder Case
In the Name of Love: A Texas Tragedy is a 1995 film based on the Ralph Hand III-Olivia Browning cotton field murder case of 1989. We told you in 2009 that the filmmakers changed the names and the true location. The real crime took place in Glendora, Mississippi, not Texas. The real victim was blonde, instead of red-haired. In the movie, he was the grandson of an oil tycoon. In the real case, the family made their fortune in farming. The movie was advertised as “inspired by actual events.”
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| The real events were a bit different |
Ralph and Olivia’s relationship was troubled from the start. In fact, Ralph’s dad begged him not to date her. He ignored his father’s advice and continued a torrid affair with her. The couple eventually married.
Ralph was a paraplegic…and some thought he was being taken advantage of by a woman who was too beautiful for him and who didn’t love him. Many said Olivia wasn’t nice or kind to him. However, Olivia didn’t deserve what happened to her in the end.
I guess you could say Ralph’s emotions got the best of him. He loaded up and ended the beauty. After that, records show Ralph lit a fire and sped away in his hand-operated car. They found him in a ditch. He was alive but at the end of the road—so to speak. He pleaded with cops to end the misery.
Was it a crime of passion or just a troubled and disturbing relationship? Prosecutors believed it could have been financially motivated since Olivia's gold Gucci watch and clip-on earrings were found in his pocket.
He later told police, “Women will make you do funny things.” Ralph Hand was released from prison in 2000. He died at age 45 of a heart attack in 2004. He is buried in Oakridge Cemetery in Clarksdale.
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| Olivia Browning's charred remains were found still simmering in an empty field |
Credit:
People
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