Frank Morris

Frank Morris, 51, the Black owner of a shoe repair shop in Ferriday that served both Black and white customers, was killed after two unidentified white men set fire to his shop in the early hours of December 10, 1964 while he slept in a back room. One of the men held Morris at gunpoint and forced him back inside as the fire spread. Morris escaped but suffered burns over 100% of his body and died four days later. He told the FBI his attackers were "two white friends," accompanied by a third man he did not see, but he was never able to identify them by name. The DOJ's file states that FBI informants in 1967 identified the attack as the work of the Silver Dollar Group, a secretive Klan cell formed in the Natchez–Ferriday area around 1964, and named four of its members — E.D. Morace, Tommie Lee Jones, Thor Lee Torgersen, and James Lee Scarborough — as responsible; all four denied involvement when interviewed, and the FBI found no independent evidence to corroborate the informants' accounts. No one was ever charged, and the DOJ closed the case without reaching a conclusion.

Ferriday, LA · Concordia County

• 1964: Case opens — victim reported missing or found.
• Documented milestones (renewed investigation, media coverage, family advocacy) to be added as sourced.
• Present: case remains unresolved. No named suspect has been convicted.

• Victim identity, age, and the December 10–14, 1964 timeline, per the DOJ's public case file.
• The DOJ's file names four Silver Dollar Group members identified by FBI informants; all four denied involvement, and the FBI could not independently corroborate the informants' accounts.

• No one was ever charged in the arson.
• The DOJ's file states it found no independent basis to confirm the informants' identification of the four named men.

• U.S. Department of Justice — Notice to Close File
• PBS FRONTLINE Un(re)solved — case summary
• Project Cold Case
• Murder Accountability Project
• NamUs