It has been 54 years since a Newton man was shot and killed in his living quarters at Ralph’s Cleaners.
Thomas Mundy’s death remains unsolved. Mundy was 45 when he died in March, 1971.
An old photo of Thomas Mundy. Mundy was shot and killed in a back room of a Newton dry cleaners in 1971. The case remains unsolved.
Mundy’s granddaughter, 36-year-old Marie Baldwin, is seeking answers.
“It’s time to tell the truth. It’s time for somebody to come forward,†Baldwin said. “Somebody knows what happened. His children deserve closure. His grandchildren deserve closure. You stole that from all of us.â€
Mundy was an employee at Ralph’s Cleaners in Newton. Mundy was also a World War II veteran, according to an obituary published in the Hickory Daily Record. Baldwin said Mundy was 17 when he joined the U.S. Navy. Mundy lived in Louisiana for a while, had a family, then moved back to North Carolina, Baldwin said.
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Newton Police Chief Vidal Sipe said the police department’s records say Mundy was a night watchman at Ralph’s Cleaners, which was located at 26 East 22nd St. at the time. Mundy lived in a room in the back of the dry-cleaning shop, according to a Hickory Daily Record article from 1971.
Sipe said Mundy was found alive on March 14, 1971. Mundy died at a hospital after being transported from the scene. The Newton police records say Mundy was shot in the left temple area, Sipe said.
He was shot with a .22 caliber gun, according to his death certificate.
A Hickory Daily Record article said two bullet holes were found in the door of Mundy’s room. Sipe said he could not verify that information.
Baldwin said she feels that the Newton police didn’t take the case seriously in the 1970s because her grandfather was a Black man. Baldwin said she feels the current department is working hard to solve his case.
The U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division told Baldwin that Mundy’s death was not racially motivated, she said.
Baldwin’s mother, Felicia Little, 56, who lives in Greensboro, was 2 years old when Mundy died. Little was Mundy’s youngest child.
“Nobody talks about my grandfather. It’s like, everybody just keeps it hush hush,†Baldwin said. “It’s like, ‘OK, what happened to him?’ So, for my mother and for the rest of her siblings, no one has any closure.â€
Thomas Mundy
What she knew about her grandfather was that he was personable, religious and kind, Baldwin said. He was known for always dressing in nice clothes, she said.
“He could sing. He sang in a quartet, and he sang in a church choir,†Baldwin said. “The church in Louisiana that he attended actually has his name on the side of the church.â€
Baldwin has heard multiple stories about what possibly led to her grandfather’s death, she said. One detail Baldwin has heard repeatedly is that there may have been a woman involved, she said.
“That’s the frustrating part,†Baldwin said. “People are like, ‘That is something you’re just supposed to let go.’ That’s not something that you let go.â€
Sipe said Newton police continue to investigate the case. Anyone with information about Mundy’s death can call the Newton Police Department at 828-465-7430.
Baldwin said she knows it is likely that the person who killed Mundy is dead.
“I want to know who did it. To find answers,†Baldwin said. “To know who and why. At this point, so much time has passed that whoever did it is going to have to answer to God, and more than likely they may have already gone on to meet their maker.â€
