In the late 1800s, Katherine Lackner gave up a respectable life to be with portly but rakish riverboat captain named William Simpson "Simp" McGhee. Here Is The Most Remote, Isolated Spot In Alabama And Its Positively Breathtaking, The Secret Garden In Alabama Youre Guaranteed To Love, This Alabama Cafe Is A Must Visit For Anyone Visiting The Gulf Coast, Theres Nothing Better Than Alabamas Natural Lazy River On A Summers Day, This Alabama River Is So Much More Than Just A Body Of Water, This Secluded Beach Area In Alabama Will Take You A Million Miles Away From It All, 8 Alabama Restaurants Right On The River That Youre Guaranteed To Love, Here Are 7 Islands In Alabama That Are An Absolute Must Visit, FindAGrave.com/added by: graveyarddisciple. His ex-wife claimed he lit the fuse. While frightening in its fervor, the collection is an example of folk art at its most primitive. In 2016, there were around 30 murders in Montgomery, Alabama, alone. Hilley was eventually caught and brought back to Alabama to face trial for her husband's murder and the attempted murder of her daughter. Born in Rockford in Coosa County, Teel, a devout Christian, later moved to Millerville in Clay County and developed a reputation for helping people find misplaced objects or wayward livestock. Henry Wells, legendary prisoner, unknown birth-1876, The legend of the face etched in the Pickens County Courthouse window has been repeated for decades and appears in Kathryn Tucker Windham's beloved book "13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey." Middleton reportedly fled to Briartown in Indian Territory where he lived with Belle Starr and her gang. When the rumors began to swirl about her numerous dead husbands, Elizabeth left for Mississippi and was never heard from again. Standing alone in the annals of illicit liquer-selling, was his scheme for disposing of mountain dew. Barker died Feb. 17, 1934, and is buried in western Limestone County in the Barker family cemetery. When I created this list, I tried to stick with more historical figures when dealing with violent crimes, to prevent highlighting any recent tragedies. 1795-ca. In recent news, there was a rise in the reward for the 1991 murder of Elizabeth Spence, who is one of the many unsolved murders Montgomery, Alabama. ", (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. Read more here. The Wilson's marriage was troubled. Sadly, murders in Alabama by year seem to rise, with no end in sight, especially in certain areas. 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. Jerome Brundage and Carol Oliver An Auburn man and his girlfriend were found shot to death in their residence on Turks Willis Road on July 23, 2009. The ultimate reason why he murdered all three was because in order to remarry, he had to dispose of his wife and children first. The victims are Robert Lee Brown, 26; Chelsea Marie Reed, 22; Justin Kaleb Reed,. In May 2002, Bobby Frank Cherry was convicted of four counts of murder and sentenced to life in prison for his involvement in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, which killed four African-American girls. Lackey then stabbed Newman more than 70 times. The "garden" was a collection of folk art crosses and signs on his Prattville property that admonished passersby "Hell is Hot Hot Hot," "Jesus Saves" and "Repent." Alabamas murders rate is the second highest in the United States, just behind Louisiana, whose homicide rate is 14.4 homicides per 100,000 residents. Audrey Marie Hilley was an American murderer who was found guilty for poisoning her husband, Frank Hilley, with arsenic. Mr. McMillian was an unlikely suspect. One legend claims "he burned the Fayette County Courthouse in 1866, to delay the trial over his debt situation involving his father's will." (A photo of John Samuel Barker contributed by TheRestorationMovement.com), Rev. Do the Hawes murders remind you of any murders that have taken place in recent years? 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. The victims were identified as Jerome Maurice. 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. The cause of its sinking is still listed as "unknown." Studies show the state ranking at or near the top in the nation for the . In 1872, Clark, who terrorized helpless citizens during the Civil War, confessed to at least nineteen murders, including a child, and was hanged with two companions , (Carlotta Roddey from her book cover and Philip Roddey by Ronald Deavy via FindaGrave.com), Philip Dale Roddey, beloved general accused of scandal, 1826-1897, The accolades for Confederate brigadier general Philip Roddey are many and overshadow a questionable part of his life. She enjoys discovering new places and currently calls North Alabama home. She had also been poisoning her daughter, Carol, with large doses of arsenic after taking out a life insurance policy on her. Emma's bruised and beaten body was soon discovered in the lake at Lake View Park, weighted down with iron. Thank you! By this time, even Lamar County residents were turning against Rube. 1868. into the stories you've heard before, and encounter many others you haven't, in ways that actually help. Mountain Tom Clark, outlaw, birth unknown-1872, Tom Clark, one of the most feared men in North Alabama in his day, is buried beneath Tennessee Street near Florence City Cemetery in Lauderdale County. Marshall Herff Applewhite came to teach chorale students at the University of Alabama in 1961. These Alabama unsolved murders and kidnappings date back to the 1970s, leaving their families little hope for current media attention. 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. Burr suffered a stroke in 1834 and died in 1836. A $25,000 reward is still being offered for information leading to an arrest and conviction. On December 4, 1888, two boaters, John Keith and Ben Culbalson, discovered the body of a young white female in East Lake. Lewis signed up to fight for the Confederacy at age 17. Hal Hollinger, slave and freedom fighter, unknown birth-death in early-1800s. Time Magazine wrote: "William C. Rice, who died in 2004, built this 'garden' as a testament to his salvation by Christ in the late 1970s. The outlaw named John Harrison Middleton was born in Tishomingo County, Miss., and died in Le Flore County, Oklahoma. Yvonne Coley, a 28-year-old prostitute, was discovered hidden under a hedge on the edge of Cocks Moor Woods Golf Course at Warstock Lane, Kings Heath. ", 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. Robert Bentley (R) to find out if heconducted an affair using state resources. More than 200,000 unsolved cases have gone cold since 1980, and murder clearance rates continue to drop. He would eventually meet John Wilkes Booth and be assigned to take part in the conspiracy to assassinate President Lincoln, Vice President Andrew Johnson and Secretary of State William H. Seward. Legends often say that he was hanged on trumped-up charges for deserting the Confederate army, although details vary. She eventually became an alcoholic and May, the oldest sister, had to start caring for Irene and their younger brother, Willie. ", where he lived with Belle Starr and her gang, A General Betrayal: The Sufferings and Trials of Carlotta Frances Roddey", "Alabama's Outlaw Sheriff Stephen S. Renfroe. 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. Although she was never charged with the deaths of her husbands, she became known as the Black Widow of Hazel Green. No bodies or trace of the ship were ever found. If they refused, they were killed. Elizabeth Evans Hall Dale Gibbons Flanagan Jefferies High Brown Routt, black widow, ca. Its hard to believe something as terrible as homicide can occur in our great state. In 1983, she began serving her sentence. It was overgrown with enormous trees and thick underbrush. Cherry was a member of United Klans of America. Wyatt Tate of Monroe County was an outlaw who murdered Sheriff J.D. 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. Irene Amanda Vanzandt "Rena" Teel was known as the Seer of Millerville. Today, Rudolph remains in the ADX Florence Supermax federal prison in Colorado. He would also later play for the Philadelphia Eagles football team. Robert Bentley signed an official pardon for the nine young men wrongfully accused of rape in 1931. Crime: Found guilty of killing six men between the years of 1989-1990. In a6-6 vote, House Judiciary Committee members were split on whether toallow their legal counsel to continue investigating Gov. Rhonda Bell Martin, black widow, 1907-1957. Click hereto read more. At first, authorities in Newville believed the death of 24-year-old Ethel Wright Price was the result of a car accident late on the night of Nov. 9, 1931. Patricia Dianne Krenwinkel , cult member, convicted murderer, 1947-? Price, who authorities believed was after Ethel's $3,000 life insurance policy, was eventually convicted and sentenced to life in prison. 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. The woman were spared. He was assigned to round up troops for the Confederacy, but, according to accounts, became a violent man. 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. As they searched Newman's house, they came across blood that matched Lackey's DNA. Walter Cagle was a large man who lived in an isolated area atop Sand Mountain and gained a reputation for being able to foretell the weather. Do you agree, or would you have picked someone else? Engineer Richard Hawes, his wife, and two children were brutally murdered in an event that baffled people for years. While some might assume the creepiest place is the site of a famous murder in Alabama, its actually much different. She was arrested, put on trial, and denied by Roddey. . ", (Source: Kees Vandenberg via FindaGrave.com), Pink Parker, bitter Confederate rebel, 1839-1921, Joseph Pinkney "Pink" Parker, a Confederate veteran with a deep hatred for Abraham Lincoln, had a monument created to honor Lincoln's assassin, John Wilkes Booth, and tried to donate it to the city but the council refused to accept it. 1867-1902, William "Will" Reynolds shot nine people, killing seven, in the bloodiest day for law enforcement in Alabama's history. In 1967, Krenwinkel met Charles Manson and, in 1969, accompanied Manson Family members on two murder sprees. Dr. Wilson had planned a trip to Santa Fe to help their marriage, but the night before they were to leave on their trip, Betty found her husband clubbed to death. Due to lack of evidence, the case was dismissed. 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. As soon as Sanderson touched it, exploding shrapnel ripped through his body, instantly killing him. Krenwinkel was found guilty in 1971. Richard Hawes was hanged in 1890 for the 1888 murders of his wife Emma and two daughters, May, 7 and Irene, 6. Derrick Dearman, 27, is charged with six counts of capital murder in the Saturday-morning deaths in Citronelle. Then, while . He had a reputation for frugality and shocked the people of Montgomery when he brought his own milk cow to the governors mansion. Lackey was sentenced to death on April 3, 2008, and was later executed in Alabama by lethal injection on July 25, 2013. In 1992, he was indicted for theft, conspiracy, and ethics violations, accused of taking $200,000 from a 1987 inaugural account to buy such things as marble showers. Charles Bannister, outlaw, unknown birth and death. Guilford (or sometimes Gilford) Coleman, a respected black Republican leader, had just returned from the Republican State Convention when he was taken from his house by masked men and murdered, according to The Encyclopedia of Unsolved Crimesby Michael Newton. ", (Source: Society for American Baseball Research), Edwin Alabama Pitts, pro baseball and football player, 1909-1941. Daniel Lee Siebert (June 17, 1954 - April 22, 2008) was an American serial killer on Alabama 's death row. 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. "Carpenter, a southerner, became a feared terrorist during the Civil War. Nannie Doss, born in Blue Mountain in Calhoun County, died in an Oklahoma prison after being convicted of killing her husband Samuel Doss in 1953 in Oklahoma. The Chairman and Board are at Holman on death row. "My course is run," Lewis said before he went to the gallows. According to several people who personally knew the Hawes, Richard and Emma had a failing marriage. The Morrison sibling gang, which at one point included eight brothers, were friends of notorious outlaw Bart Thrasher. On September 24, 2012, Bishop was sentenced to life in prison without parole. In 1988, Hubert Mathis, the 85-year-old mayor of Florala was impeached and removed from office. Dr. Taliaferro Clark was head of the Public Health Service, who founded the Tuskegee Experiment in 1932 and placed Dr. Eugene Dibble in charge. Benjamin Meeks Miller, frugal governor, 1864-1944. Newman's grandson had told Lackey his grandfather had a vault inside his home that held a lot of cash. Gayle claimed the ad was meant as but was convicted. He became a self-appointed truant officer, picking up men who did not want to fight and giving them only a short time to join his side. An entertainer who played "Pogo the Clown" at children's parties, John Wayne Gacy was one of the most infamous serial killers in America. Other famous murders in Alabama include mass murders, including the 2009 Geneva County Massacre and the 1963 Baptist Church Bombing. As of April 1, there were around 19 reported murders in Alabama in 2021. Then suddenly the truth was revealed. All rights reserved (About Us). Do you know of any other famous murders in Alabama? Hilley was arrested on October 9, 1979 for the attempted murder of her daughter, and on November 9, 1979, she was released on bail and registered at a hotel under the name Emily Stephens. 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 his twenty-first birthday on May 26, 1874, notorious Texas outlaw John Wesley "Wes" Hardin committed the crime that forced him to take an alias and go into hiding for three years, 18 months of which were spent in Escambia County, Ala.: he shot and killed Deputy Sheriff Charles Webb in Brown County. After years of being terrorized by Sims and his followers, a posse and hundreds of outraged residents surrounded the Sims home on Christmas Eve 1891, cornering Sims, his wife, their children and several church members. Sanders' acts culminated in the Battle of Newton, which occurred in a part of the county that was then located in Dale County. Phillip H. Pitts was a wealthy planter in Uniontown, Ala., known as the builder of a mansion called Pitts' Folly. Get more stories delivered right to your email. In November 1880 Garrett was elected Lincoln County Sheriff. Wallace is known for his pro-segregation stance in the 1960s, famously saying in his 1963 inaugural address he stood for "segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever." When bones were discovered in spring of 1912 by a local farmer and his son fishing in the Warrior River, local resident Jim House remembered that Jenny Wade Wilson and her 19-month-old baby had not been seen since 1908. Buy newspaper front pages, posters and more. Click hereto read more. Benjamin Meeks Miller of Wilcox County took office as governor in 1931 when Alabama was $20 million in debt. Half of the committee voted to hold off, citing an ongoing probe by the state attorney general's office.". Read on to find out the true story behind the Hawes murders. Doctors of the Tuskegee Experiment, Dr. Taliaferro Clark, 1867-1948, Dr. Eugene H. Dibble, 1893-1968. He was employed at Georgia-Pacific and often left his family alone at home while he worked. Hearing of Burr's plans, Thomas Jefferson declared him a traitor and issued an order for his arrest. He was captured a few days later and killed by Murdoch M. Fountain, who was named sheriff. The 22-year old mother was considered missing after. After a duel with Alexander Hamilton in which Hamilton was killed, Aaron Burr, former war hero, was suddenly a wanted man. 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. Ala., known as the Black Widow, ca for poisoning her daughter Hawes, and. Probe by the state ranking at or near the top in the Saturday-morning deaths in Citronelle her gang reputation! 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