On June 10, 1945, Niece Brown, 74 years old, was beaten with a beer bottle inside of her Summerfield home by a white, drunken, off-duty Selma police officer, George D. Booker. She succumbed to her injuries on June 12, 1945. On July 5, 1945, after a preliminary hearing, Officer Booker was held without bail and charged with murder. Booker was acquitted at trial by an all-white jury.