Then suddenly the truth was revealed. Ragsdale lived in Tuscaloosa's upscale Highlands neighborhood, and to this date, no suspect has been identified in the case. Walt Cagle, rural philosopher who could tell weather, 1891-1938. They took about $19,000 in cash but were later arrested. According to journalist Lee Peacock, a mob of about 100 people lynched Kelley and Hipp after their capture. During a faculty meeting, Bishop stood up and began shooting those closest to her with a 9mm handgun - execution style. Richards associate, John Wylie, was eventually brought to trial for the murders of Emma and Irene. The Talladega Creeks, including Selocta, son of Chief Chinnabee, had chosen not to join the war against the settlers so Selocta devised a way to warn Gen. Andrew Jackson who was camped 30 miles north. George Wallace. ", (Grave of Allen Page by Melody via FindaGrave.com), The Ward Brothers, outlaws, Irvin (1828-1859), Stephen (1834-1859), The Ward brothers are buried in the Ward-Witherington Cemetery in Conecuh County. Richard Hawes and his wife Emma had a troubled marriage. All were convicted, and all but one sentenced to death, despite the lack of evidence and the fact that one of the women later recanted. Robert Sanderson, a Birmingham police officer who worked off-duty at the clinic as a security guard, and nurse Emily Lyons, approached the package. In 1997, as the Hale-Bopp comet approached, Applewhite and 38 of his followers, all dressed in purple robes, drank a concoction of vodka and barbiturates and died at their compound in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. Jimmy Files, confessed to killing JFK, 1942-? However, when May found out he was responsible for the death of her mother and sister, he knew he had to do something to keep her from telling. Other famous murders in Alabama include mass murders, including the 2009 Geneva County Massacre and the 1963 Baptist Church Bombing. ", (A portrait of Aaron Burr in 1802 by John Vanderlyn via Wikipedia Commons). Bart Thrasher was one of Alabamas most notorious outlaws, one who helped Bibb County earn the moniker Bloody Bibb at a time when it was an extension of the Wild West. Billy the Kid escaped from jail on April 18, 1881. Charles Henderson pardoned Wilson and he was released from jail. Only the testimony of James White. Some of the most famous Alabama murders over the years include the 2005 murder of Charles Newman, who was killed on Halloween night by Andrew Lackey, later named the Halloween Killer; the 1941 Gibson Family Murders; and the 2001 unsolved murder of Shannon Paulk. Many famous murders in Alabama made headlines over the years. ", (Albert Fuller is shown on the left looking at the spot where Patterson was killed in the AP Photo), Albert Fuller, assassin of Albert Patterson, 1919-1969. Click hereto read more. On February 28, 1890, Hawes was executed. Foster and Constable William Ikner in 1894. In June 1977, Maxwell's 16-year-old stepdaughter became the latest victim in the spree but no one had proved Maxwell's involvement. As authorities searched his car, they found his .38 caliber handgun. Willie Maxwell, the Alexander City man known as the Voodoo Preacher, claimed to be the"seventh son of the seventh son"and people seemed to die wherever he went. He and Starr, also a famous outlaw, may have been romantically involved. Only Fuller was convicted. (Source: ECJMartin1 via Wikimedia Commons), Sketoe's Hole is a legendary site where Methodist minister William "Bill" Sketoe Sr. was hanged during the Civil War. Wilson was convicted of murder. According to Tuskegee University the purpose of the "Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male" was to find proven treatments for the disease. Cherry was convicted in 2002 and died in Atmore Community Hospital, where he was transferred from Holman Prison, in 2004. (Photo of Ira Thompson from a 1928 edition of Collier's magazine entitled "The Whip Wins. According to the book "Politics, Society, and the Klan in Alabama, 1915-1949," he was among 36 suspected Klan members who were indicted for attacks on black and white residents in October 1927. OnlyInYourState may earn compensation through affiliate links in this article. You'll receive your first newsletter soon! Or, if youre a fan of the macabre, then you might want to learn more about the most notorious murders in Alabama, starting with the Hawes Murders. In 1896 Railroad Bill met his demise in front of Wards General Store in Atmore. "I know now how foolish, vain and wholly useless it is and must have been, and were I set at liberty this morning, I should hope to be dead by sunset, as all men must hereafter point at me as a murderer. Although she was never charged with the deaths of her husbands, she became known as the Black Widow of Hazel Green. Daniels was an Episcopal seminarian. Wyatt Tate of Monroe County was an outlaw who murdered Sheriff J.D. Richard intoxicated May and drowned her in East Lake. Do you agree, or would you have picked someone else? He was employed at Georgia-Pacific and often left his family alone at home while he worked. After the blast in Birmingham, Rudolph immediately drove to North Carolina where he hid in the backwoods for 5 years. VIOLA HYATT (Feb. 3, 1929-June 12, 2000) Nickname: The Torso Killer, the Alabama Axe Murdress Age at time of conviction: 30< Hometown: Rabbittown, Ala., Calhoun County Number of victims: Two,. Love Alabama? His ex-wife claimed he lit the fuse. Standing alone in the annals of illicit liquer-selling, was his scheme for disposing of mountain dew. Also, read about another Calhoun County "notorious" killer, Audrey Marie Hilley, here. The lake was drained and Irenes body was found approximately 30 feet from Emmas. In 2019, the Alabama murders rate was 12.9, according to state statistics, meaning that there are almost 13 homicides per 100,000 residents. However, the late Vincent Bugliosi, Charles Mansion prosecutor and author, calls Files the "Rodney Dangerfield of Kennedy assassins" in his book, "Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. As for notorious Alabama criminals, some of the most famous include Nancy Hazel Doss, also known as the Black Widow killer, who killed up to 11 family members; Bobby Frank Cherry, a Ku Klux Klan member who was convicted of four counts of murder after the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in 2002; and Joseph Dewey Akin, who was a doctor suspected of killing over 100 people during his 10-year career in medicine. Forman "Austin" Mize was barely 18 years old when he disappeared in 1918 in the Bermuda Triangle. Fifteen of these famous American crime houses deserve special mention, the crimes and criminals associated with them a timeless collection that won't ever be forgotten. Aileen Wuornos had a tragic childhood, having been abandoned by her mother and raised by her grandparents. 3 were female. But an angry mob took the four men and hung them from nearby trees. The late Alabama author Kathryn Tucker Windham wrote about Teel in her book, "Alabama: One Big Front Porch," saying Teel was born with a caul, a membrane over her face that many people believed meant the child had a sixth sense. On February 28, 1890, Richard Hawes was executed. Search the internet for James Earl Files + JFK and you'll find numerous interviews with a man who says he was the shooter on the "grassy knoll" in Dallas, who killed President Kennedy in 1963. 1868. In the late 1800s, Katherine Lackner gave up a respectable life to be with portly but rakish riverboat captain named William Simpson "Simp" McGhee. Why would he want to kill his family? (Source: Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain), Pat Garrett is known as the man who killed outlaw Billy the Kid. Like Emmas body, Irenes body was also weighted down with iron. The Chairman and Board are at Holman on death row. They were wrong. These Alabama unsolved murders and kidnappings date back to the 1970s, leaving their families little hope for current media attention. In May of 1992, Betty Wilson and her twin sister, Peggy Lowe, were arrested and tried for hiring James White to kill Betty's wealthy, well-known husband, Dr. Jack Wilson, an eye surgeon in Huntsville, Alabama. Alabama: The Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing (1963) Source: O'Halloran, Thomas J. The 6-foot, 2-inch man soon grew to more than 560 pounds, too large to handle his farm work. Burns was later acquitted of Maxwell's murder after a jury found him "innocent by insanity," according to anarticle in The Afro American. Kate died April 12, 1947, and is buried in Decatur City Cemetery. While frightening in its fervor, the collection is an example of folk art at its most primitive. In 1986, an 18-year-old white woman named Ronda Morrison was murdered in downtown Monroeville, Alabama. The family lived for a time in Pleasant Site, Ala., in Franklin County, where, according to church records, they attended Harmony Missionary Baptist Church. Of those, 126 were African American, 27 were Caucasian. (1970 photo shows Manson Family follower Patricia Krenwinkel/AP/File Photo). Austin Mize, disappeared in Bermuda Triangle, 1900-1918. Its been said that if you stop on the bridge in your car and turn your lights off, one of the two people will enter your vehicle leaving behind a wet spot in its wake. He was buried in the Old Fellows Cemetery in Las Cruces, New Mexico. One of the biggest unsolved murders in Alabama, which remains unsolved today and is featured in Unsolved Mysteries, is the missing person case of Sherry Lynn Marler, who disappeared in 1984. They found her floating face down. Her body was so mutilated that the woman who discovered ita mother on a walk with her young daughterthought she had stumbled upon a mannequin. In 1987, Hilley escaped from the prison after being given a 3-day pass to visit her new husband. Amy Bishop, a biology professor at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, shot and killed three faculty members and wounded three others on February 12, 2010. He was returned to Washington, D.C., and acquitted on Sept. 1. Price, who authorities believed was after Ethel's $3,000 life insurance policy, was eventually convicted and sentenced to life in prison. (Source: Mug shots of John, left, and Clarence), Anglin brothers, Alcatraz escapees: John, born 1930; Clarence, born 1931; deaths unknown. Marshall Herff Applewhite came to teach chorale students at the University of Alabama in 1961. Applewhite became leader of the Heavens Gate cult in the early 1970s and convinced a group of believers in Oregon to follow him into the Colorado desert in 1975 to await the arrival of a UFO that would take away the chosen ones. The case was an immediate sensation. In 2019, there were 39 murders in Montgomery County, Alabama. From 1927-1976 there were 153 executions. Peggy was acquitted, but Betty was convicted and sentenced to life in prison without parole. According to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund website, the men "were shot and killed while attempting to arrest a suspect for a fraud offenseThe suspect was eventually shot and killed after officers opened fire with more than 1,000 rounds. Bill eluded them, hijacking a train car in the process. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Alaska is no stranger to violent crime. According to the Hawes housekeeper, the weekend before Mays body was discovered, she saw Richard and May assist Emma with packing. During his last month in jail, he admitted to his brother and a guard that he paid John Wylie, an associate, to murder Emma and Irene. (Grave of James Foster in Perdue Hill Cemetery in Monroe County via Darryl Searcy/ FindaGrave.com). Reynolds opened fire and killed Colbert Sheriff Charles Gassaway, his brother, Deputy William Gassaway, Deputy Jesse Davis, Deputy James Payne, Deputy Pat A. Prout, Deputy Bob Wallace and Hugh Jones. The sect would become known as "Simsites." But he turned his life around and learned blacksmithing and silversmithing. Alabama has many different urban legends, ranging from the dark and sinister to the downtown creepy. According to the prosecution, Betty wanted the money, but not her husband. He was also Alabamas only first gentleman his wife Lurleen Wallace was governor from 1967-68. The victims are Robert Lee Brown, 26; Chelsea Marie Reed, 22; Justin Kaleb Reed,. On Thursdays, she cleared everyone from the house and welcomed her captain home from the Tennessee River. Krenwinkel was found guilty in 1971. These individuals are also known to have committed some of the most infamous Alabama murders. Coleman was indicted for the murder of Daniels; and acquitted by an all-white jury. Knowing this, you might find yourself wondering, Why is Alabamas crime rate so high?. Hawes was an engineer for Georgia-Pacific and reportedly killed his family so he could marry Mayes Story. Siebert died on April 22, 2008 in Holman Prison near Atmore of complications from cancer. He was shot in the back by an El Paso, Texas, lawman in 1895. After making restitution and serving a period of probation, he was pardoned by the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles in 1998. The Hawes murders occurred in December 1888 and resulted in lots of media attention for Birmingham. (Source: San Francisco Chronicle March, 1895). She was also accused of killing another niece, Shirley's older sister Polly. Even today, relatives of the Anglins claim to have evidence the brothers survived. It was the first time a pre-literate group created such a system. A man confessed to the crime in 1965, saying he had been drunk, but the jury didn't buy it and the trial ended in a hung jury. Reynolds was shot and killed the same day. The most famous murder in Alabama history is the 1988 Hawes murders, which took place in the city of Birmingham. On December 4, 1888, May's body was found in East Lake. (Source for photo of grave of Gassaway/TIW via FindaGrave.com), William Reynolds, mass murderer, ca. She then escaped and was listed as a fugitive. 1867-1902, William "Will" Reynolds shot nine people, killing seven, in the bloodiest day for law enforcement in Alabama's history. The creepiest place in Alabama is a haunted bridge known as Hells Gate Bridge. Visit Insider's homepage for more stories. He organized bands of 15 or 20 of these outlaws and obtained military supplies from the federal troops along the coast and made frequent and daring trips into the county to raid the farms and families." The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. George Corley Wallace Jr.was Alabamas only four-term governor, having served from 1963-67, 1971-79, and 1983-87. The violent crime rate in Montgomery, Alabama, remains statistically higher than the national violent crime rate in most categories. Rev. Injured were James Finney and Bob Patterson. His visits to the town of Boaz to purchase clothing and supplies always caused a stir among locals, who took it as a sign winter weather was approaching, according to a history provided by Lynn Burgess of the Boaz Library. He was an escaped convict that had been on the run for 4 years, before being captured. Audrey Elaine Reed Ferguson, 1978 Audrey Elaine Reed Ferguson went to a coin laundry near her home in Prichard on the night of September 5, 1978. After a small group was released from the Hayneville Jail, four people, two white clergymen and two young black women went to Varners Cash Store for soft drinks. Famous Murder Cases. ", Charles Kelley, birth unknown-1892; John Hipp, birth unknown-1892, On Dec. 17, 1892, two well-known outlaws gunned down local tax collector C.J. John S. Barker, who advised his congregation that making whiskey was legal as long as it was sold to "non-believers," that a husband and wife of different religious beliefs should separate, and that his followers must "donate" to the church, although in reality he sent thugs to their homes to collect money, according to the 1973 book "A History of Limestone County" by Robert Henry Walker. A Confederate veteran, Sims returned home to resume farming in the Womack Hill community of Choctaw County and founded his own church. The bombing resulted in the death of a spectator and wounded 111 others. 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