A murder mystery solved by… a sweet potato? In 2011, a bizarre clue at a Massachusetts crime scene went cold for over a decade — until DNA in 2023 cracked the case. We trace the sweet potato’s journey from Indigenous fields to Southern kitchens, exploring sweet potato pie, its pumpkin cousin, and even forgotten carrot pie along the way. Flavor, history, and true crime collide in the strangest ways.
Sources & Further Reading
ABC News — “Sweet potato helps solve Massachusetts cold case murder”
Oxygen True Crime — “DNA on sweet potato silencer links man to Cape Cod cold case”
Newsweek — “Devarus Hampton and the sweet-potato smoking gun”
KPBS — “The Great Pie Debate: Pumpkin vs. Sweet Potato”
Smithsonian Magazine — “A Brief History of Sweet Potatoes and Their Cultural Roots”
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture — “Sweet Potato” entry (Charles Scribner’s Sons, 2003)