There Are Numerous Historic Buildings In This Alabama City, Underneath Foley, Alabama Lies A Creepy Yet Amazing Tunnel, 9 Historic Photos That Show Us What It Was Like Living In Alabama In The Early 1900s, Few People Know The History Behind Waldo Covered Bridge, The Second Oldest In Alabama, Family-Owned Since The Early 1900s, Step Back In Time At Chris Famous Hotdogs In Alabama, The Story Behind The Murders That Happened At This Alabama Lake Is Truly Chilling, The One College In Alabama Where Youll Most Likely Have A Ghostly Encounter, This Abandoned Funeral Home In Alabama Will Chill You To The Bone, Aunt Jenny Johnston Bankhead National Forest. Let me know by emailingkkazek@al.com. The victims were identified as Jerome Maurice. However, the case, was dismissed in December. The violent crime rate in Montgomery, Alabama, remains statistically higher than the national violent crime rate in most categories. Cagle died of a heart attack in 1938 and was buried in a 3-foot-wide casket in Thrasher Cemetery. These murders resulted in a delay riot that quickly garnered media attention across the country. Cherry died in prison on November 18, 2004 at the age of 74. After WWII, Thompson opened a law practice in Luverne in Crenshaw County. ", (Source: Society for American Baseball Research), Edwin Alabama Pitts, pro baseball and football player, 1909-1941. In November 1880 Garrett was elected Lincoln County Sheriff. According to his entry on FindaGrave.com, he also used his office for personal gain. Why would he want to kill his family? Who did I choose for your county? Also, read about another Calhoun County "notorious" killer, Audrey Marie Hilley, here, National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund website. Engineer Richard Hawes, his wife, and two children were brutally murdered in an event that baffled people for years. Blackwood sentenced Wilson to life in prison. "Hieroglyphics" Author:. 1866. 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. By this time, even Lamar County residents were turning against Rube. According to a Journal of American History description of the book "Alabama's Outlaw Sheriff Stephen S. Renfroe," his two years as Sumter County sheriff were "followed by six years of bizarre activities as a fugitive from justice before being lynched in July 1886. . John McEwen was born and died in Coosa County, and in between was a well-known businessman. On February 28, 1890, Richard was executed, and people were paying up to $200 a ticket to watch. Gene Leroy Hart, a Cherokee, was arrested 10 months later at the home of a Cherokee medicine man and later tried in early 1979 for the murders, but was acquitted. Residents believed it to be folly that Pitts was building such a huge mansion when he already owned two other mansions, Rurill Hill and Kings. Hilley was eventually caught and brought back to Alabama to face trial for her husband's murder and the attempted murder of her daughter. On January 15, 1947, 22-year-old Elizabeth Short was found dead in residential Los Angeles. They took about $19,000 in cash but were later arrested. Read more here. You'll receive your first newsletter soon! Sequoyah, who lived in later life in DeKalb County, is known for inventing a syllabary in 1821, making it possible for the Cherokee to read and write. Visit Insider's homepage for more stories. He was captured a few days later and killed by Murdoch M. Fountain, who was named sheriff. Aileen Wuornos had a tragic childhood, having been abandoned by her mother and raised by her grandparents. After University of Alabama basketball player Darius Miles was charged with murder in the death of a 23-year-old mother and removed from the team, the victim's loved ones say she was shot and . So, to answer how many homicides in Alabama 2019 by looking at the state of Alabamas Uniform Crime Report (UCR), there were 430 homicides in 2019 alone. Wilson was convicted of murder. Lithographers: Lehman and Duval (George Lehman; Peter S. Duval), Sequoya, creator of Cherokee alphabet, c. 1770-1843. ", Marvin Franklin Hubbard, battle of Alcatraz, 1912-1946. But he turned his life around and learned blacksmithing and silversmithing. He was an escaped convict that had been on the run for 4 years, before being captured. It had been weighted down with iron. What was strange about this situation is that while many people believed Richard and Emma were married, others claim Richard was divorced and traveled to Columbus, Mississippi to remarry. 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. ", George Washington Gayle, threatened to assassinate Lincoln, 1807-1875. Then, while . Get more stories delivered right to your email. The creepiest place in Alabama is a haunted bridge known as Hells Gate Bridge. Bill eluded them, hijacking a train car in the process. On February 28, 1890, Hawes was executed. Some serial killers are known for killing children, like David Meirhofer in Montana. Miller called the Legislature into session to pass amendments to collect state income tax and inheritance tax, as well as budget controls. This incident initiated a manhunt after the railroad detectives gathered a posse and began tracking the man they were now calling Railroad Bill. Sheats and many in Winston County opposed secession and declared the county neutral during the war. Kelsey Turner, 28, entered an Alford plea in the case which means she still insists she's innocent but agrees a conviction is highly . Alabama has many different urban legends, ranging from the dark and sinister to the downtown creepy. She enjoys discovering new places and currently calls North Alabama home. Finally, on Christmas day, the sherifftook Sims and his followers into custody. He broke out of the jail later in the year and was referred to in the Mountain Eagle newspaper as "a bad egg." Bishop didn't have a permit to carry a concealed weapon, and she was in total denial after the event. Lewis Thornton Powell was born in Randolph County on April 22, 1844, to George Cader Powell, a Baptist minister, and Patience Caroline Powell. All nine were innocent it just took eight decades for Alabama to admit it. The Murder of Kate Ragsdale Ragsdale, a 73-year-old retired Librarian, was found brutally murdered in her home February 24, 2013. He and his brother, the notorious Jack, were mortally wounded by a party of officers Tuesday morning near Paine's saw mill, in Hale County." The case. (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. Rumors swirled that Maxwell, known to perform voodoo rituals, had killed five members of his family. ALASKA: The Coulthurst family murders in Craig. Read on to find out the true story behind the Hawes murders. Finding the most notorious person from each of Alabamas 67 counties was no easy task. The Greek Revival mansion was designed by architect B. F. Parsons, who also designed the Perry County Courthouse in Marion. The Rev. (Carter's gravesite via Iris Plowman/FindaGrave.com), Jefferson Davis Carter, merchant and outlaw killer, 1860-1920. But an angry mob took the four men and hung them from nearby trees. $15.95. Hal was a slave of Col. Alex Hollinger, who was born in 1793 in Mobile. McEwen's rock store was also known as an Indian museum and drew visitors from miles around. The tale was repeated in Kathryn Tucker Windham's "13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey. When he was hanged, his executioners dug a hole beneath his dangling feet to accommodate his height. He was assigned to round up troops for the Confederacy, but, according to accounts, became a violent man. George Washington Gayle, born in South Carolina in 1807, was an attorney who served in the Alabama Legislature, chaired the House Ways and Means Committee and was appointed U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama. Here's some of America's most notorious female criminals: 1. Click hereto read more. He was employed at Georgia-Pacific and often left his family alone at home while he worked. Famous Murder Cases. She was riding with her husband, H.C. Price Jr., when the lights on their car suddenly stopped working and it careened over an embankment. She was known as The Giggling Granny and the Lonely Hearts Killer. According to the book"Escape from Alcatraz"by J. Campbell Bruce, Hubbard ended up at Alcatraz Island in 1944, after kidnapping a Chattanooga police officer and stealing his Tommy gun, escaping from a county jail and taking part in a riot at the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary. On October 27, 1961, 19-year-old Betty Gail Brown was found in her car in front of Transylvania College's Old Morrison building, strangled to death with her own bra . In 1867,Gayle received a full pardon from Andrew Johnson. She eventually became an alcoholic and May, the oldest sister, had to start caring for Irene and their younger brother, Willie. Rumors attributed other slayings to this violence-prone man who in 1867 had fled another county after killing his brother-in-law. Robert Bentley's ongoing scandal was summed up in the March 7, 2017, Washington Post:"Alabama lawmakers who have beenexploring ways to impeach the state's embattled governor were divided on moving forward with the investigation after a meeting Tuesday. Burr suffered a stroke in 1834 and died in 1836. Peggy was acquitted, but Betty was convicted and sentenced to life in prison without parole. Some currently unsolved Alabama murders, better known as Alabama cold cases, as posted on the Attorney Generals website, include the 2011 murder of Sherri Terese Smith, the 2007 murder of Kimberly Compton Whitton and the kidnapping of her daughter, Haleigh Culwell Whitton, the 2001 murder of Shannon Nicole Paulk, and the 1999 murder of Gennice Shoma Thrash, among many others. As Lackey tried driving himself to the hospital, he had to make a stop. He left his law office at 9 p.m. and was walking near the Elite Caf when an assailant shot him three times. Nearly 20 years after the murders of Tracie Hawlett and J.B. Beasley, law enforcement was able to link Coley McCraney to their murders using DNA evidence collected at the crime scene. He would also later play for the Philadelphia Eagles football team. He also passed a state bank holiday in March 1933, eight days before Franklin D. Roosevelt declared a national bank holiday as his greatest achievement. After being taken to the hospital to be treated for hypothermia, Hilley suffered from a heart attack and died. Phillip H. Pitts was a wealthy planter in Uniontown, Ala., known as the builder of a mansion called Pitts' Folly. Mathis, who had become known as the Voodoo Mayor after signing a proclamation proclaiming National Voodoo Week and allegedly sprinkling "voodoo powder" around City Hall, was impeached for pardoned more than 100 traffic offenders, including 27 charged with driving under the influence. . According to an article in the Vernon Courier,"Jim Morrison, the noted Bibb County desperado, has at last been run to death. it was little wonder that the runaway slaves were not found" Eventually white settlers attacked and were "stunned to find the cabin and a stockade of cypress logs." They tied her up and left her in the hallway, she said. This was the question on everyones minds. She died in 2004 at the age of 97and was buried with much fanfare in New Ebenezer Cemetery in Coffee County. He made it to Jackson, who gathered 1,200 infantry and 800 cavalry and marched toward Talledega, saving the town. On December 4, 1888, May's body was found in East Lake. Famous Alabama Murders 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. Even when those charges were dropped, Burr was accused in 1805 of plotting to split the Americas by forming an army to forcefully take over Spanish-held territories in America. The monument was inscribed: Erected by Pink Parker in honor of John Wilkes Booth for killing Old Abe Lincoln. After town officials refused his gift, Pink placed the marker in the yard of his Madison S.y. He was buried in the Old Fellows Cemetery in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Hawes was an engineer for Georgia-Pacific and reportedly killed his family so he could marry Mayes Story. ", Railroad Bill, legendary outlaw, ca. (Photos: Garden by Greg Richter of AL.com/Rice by stuthehistoryguy via FindaGrave.com), W.C. Rice, religious folk artist, 1931-2004, William Carlton Rice was a legend in Alabama and was posthumously featured in Time magazine for his Cross Garden. The legend is printed on a historical marker outside the courthouse, which replaced the previous facility after a fire in 1876: "A freedman, Henry Wells, was accused of burning the second [courthouse] on Nov. 16, 1876. At some point he moved to Alabama. When federal appeals Judge Robert Vance opened the small brown parcel in the kitchen of his suburban Alabama home on December 16, 1989, it exploded, killing him instantly and . He didnt want May murdered. ", William Anderson Bell Tree Smith, moonshiner, 1869-1908, Notorious moonshiner Bell Tree Smith was killed in front of a church filled with people in Centre, Ala., in 1908. These murders resulted in a deadly riot and "The Magic City" soon gained national media attention. According to journalist Lee Peacock, a mob of about 100 people lynched Kelley and Hipp after their capture. The violent crime rate in Alabama has decreased from 5.2 incidents per 1,000 in 2020, to 5.1 per 1,000 in 2021. Ragsdale lived in Tuscaloosa's upscale Highlands neighborhood, and to this date, no suspect has been identified in the case. By the time he donated his collection to the Alabama Department of Archives and History in 1937, he'd amassed more than 50,000 native artifacts from surrounding counties, including jewels from a long-dead Indian princess, according to a 1928 Associated Press article published in thePrescott, AZ, Evening Courier. Do the Hawes murders remind you of any murders that have taken place in recent years? (Source: Chicago Tribune, September, 1988). The homicide rate in Alabama, as of 2017, was 12.9, meaning that there are almost 13 homicides per 100,000 individuals living in Alabama. Sadly, murders in Alabama by year seem to rise, with no end in sight, especially in certain areas. His ex-wife claimed he lit the fuse. You'll receive your first newsletter soon! Burrow escaped but as he ran through town, Carter spotted him and opened fire. These categories include assault, murder, rape, and robbery. Ira Bowman Thompson was a distinguished Alabama attorney and politician who served in World Wars I and II. What is the most famous murder in Alabama history? Guy Hunt, born in Holly Pond in Cullman County, was the states first Republican governor since the Reconstruction era. (Source for photo of grave of Gassaway/TIW via FindaGrave.com), William Reynolds, mass murderer, ca. Richard Hawes, family annihilator, 1857-1890. Following the 1890 death of Rube Burrow, Alabamas previous King of the Outlaws, Thrasher stepped into the spotlight as the states most vicious and wanted outlaw, committing a streak of robberies and murders that made news across the nation. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (each updated 1/26/2023). 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