Dula had a second lover, Anne Melton. It was her comments that
led to the discovery of Foster's body; Melton was acquitted in a
separate trial based on his word. Many believed that Melton was
the real killer and that Dula admitted guilt to protect her.
This assumption was based on stories at the time that Melton was
jealous of Dula's upcoming marriage to Foster, and that she had
murdered Foster to eliminate her as a rival for Dula's
affections. Thanks to the efforts of newspapers such as The New
York Times, and to the fact that former North Carolina governor
Zebulon Vance represented Dula pro bono, Dula's murder trial and
subsequent hanging were given widespread national publicity for
the time. Further adding to the Dula legend was the fact that a
local poet, Thomas C. Land, wrote a popular song about Dula's
tragedy after the hanging. A man named "Grayson," mentioned in
the song as pivotal in Dula's downfall, has sometimes been
characterized as a romantic rival of Dula's or a vengeful
sheriff who captured him