Rumors swirled that Maxwell, known to perform voodoo rituals, had killed five members of his family. Hawes was an engineer for Georgia-Pacific and reportedly killed his family so he could marry Mayes Story. When I created this list, I tried to stick with more historical figures when dealing with violent crimes, to prevent highlighting any recent tragedies. Learn more about old Alabama insurance laws and women who used arsenic in this article. ALASKA: The Coulthurst family murders in Craig. 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. Legend holds that as Wells peered out of the North window as a mob gathering below, lightning struck nearby, indelibly etching his image on the pane. The Rev. 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 . Lewis signed up to fight for the Confederacy at age 17. Robert Bentley, embattled current governor, 1943-?? 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. Read more here. Richards associate, John Wylie, was eventually brought to trial for the murders of Emma and Irene. According to the CDC, the homicide rate in Alabama as of 2020 was around 12.8 per 100,000 residents. Hawes was charged with all three murders, but the trial focused on May's murder. 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. 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. Murder of Judge Edward Aaron - Birmingham, Alabama 1957. The victims were identified as Jerome Maurice. "Jacob" Armstrong. OnlyInYourState may earn compensation through affiliate links in this article. This is a list of notable female murderers who committed their murders in Alabama, USA. The sixth woman was also held captive but managed to survive. ", 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. However, Sequoyah's early life made it doubtful he would become so famous. On February 28, 1890, Hawes was executed. The sect would become known as "Simsites." Middleton was later accused of killing Sheriff J. H. Black of Lamar County, Texas. ", Railroad Bill, legendary outlaw, ca. Benjamin Meeks Miller, frugal governor, 1864-1944. (A photo of John Samuel Barker contributed by TheRestorationMovement.com), Rev. It was the first time a pre-literate group created such a system. (Source: Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain), Pat Garrett is known as the man who killed outlaw Billy the Kid. 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. The outlaw brothers were executed on Nov. 18, 1859, for murder: Irvin and Stephen Ward were hung for the murder of Allen Page during a failed cotton wagon robbery near Brewer Creek in Conecuh County, Ala. A posse caught the brothers, who confessed." Father Thomas Morrisroe, a Catholic priest, was shot in the back. ", Nancy Nannie Hazel Doss, black widow killer, 1905- 1965. Wyatt Tate of Monroe County was an outlaw who murdered Sheriff J.D. 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. It's unclear what happened to the younger brother, Willie Hawes. Don Noble's newest book is "Alabama Noir," a collection of original stories by Winston Groom, Ace Atkins, Carolyn Haines, Brad Watson, and eleven other Alabama authors. In 2019, there were 39 murders in Montgomery County, Alabama. At the time of his killing, he was wanted for murder and arson. Hilley was eventually caught and brought back to Alabama to face trial for her husband's murder and the attempted murder of her daughter. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Rhonda Bell Martin, black widow, 1907-1957. 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. Newman's grandson had told Lackey his grandfather had a vault inside his home that held a lot of cash. Knowing this, you might find yourself wondering, Why is Alabamas crime rate so high?. He was shot in the back by an El Paso, Texas, lawman in 1895. Also, read about another Calhoun County "notorious" killer, Audrey Marie Hilley, here. Lewis was found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder and treason and sentenced to death by hanging on July 7, 1865. These individuals are also known to have committed some of the most infamous Alabama murders. He was captured in 2003, and on August 24, 2005, he was sentenced to life in prison without parole - four consecutive life sentences plus 120 years. The well-invested legacy left by her father had made her rich and she didn't know the man who introduced her to everyone as his wife was a bigamist and adulterer. Cherry was convicted in 2002 and died in Atmore Community Hospital, where he was transferred from Holman Prison, in 2004. Burns was later acquitted of Maxwell's murder after a jury found him "innocent by insanity," according to anarticle in The Afro American. Aileen Wuornos (aka "That chick from Monster ), 1956-2002. (Photo of Ira Thompson from a 1928 edition of Collier's magazine entitled "The Whip Wins. Elizabeth Evans Hall Dale Gibbons Flanagan Jefferies High Brown Routt married and buried six men before the Civil War. On May 3, 1889, Hawes received the death penalty. In December 1888, the famous Hawes murders took place in the earliest days of Birmingham, Alabama. Other famous murders in Alabama include mass murders, including the 2009 Geneva County Massacre and the 1963 Baptist Church Bombing. Epicenter Press, 210 pages, 2020. 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. 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. Mize's family placed a memorial marker in Liberty Presbyterian Cemetery in Odenville. He had a reputation for frugality and shocked the people of Montgomery when he brought his own milk cow to the governors mansion. 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 homicide rate in Alabama, as of 2017, was 12.9, meaning that there are almost 13 homicides per 100,000 individuals living in Alabama. The body was laid out to the general public at the local funeral parlor in hopes that someone would be able to identify her. Bill'sex-wife Jenny arrived in Blount County in July 1918 and announced she wasn't dead. 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. 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. In December 1888, the famous Hawes murders took place in the earliest days of Birmingham, Alabama. But they insisted on having the last word about their former son-in-law and inscribed her headstone: Murdered By Her Husband. These murders resulted in a deadly riot and "The Magic City" soon gained national media attention. Uncovered is where the most passionate true crime enthusiasts can learn from and teach others. The victims were 37-year-old Connie R. Woolfolk of Flossmoor, Illinois; 22-year-old Sarah Szafranski of Oak Forest; 42-year-old store manager Rhonda McFarland of Joliet; 33-year-old Carrie Hudek Chiuso of Frankfort; and 34-year-old Jennifer Bishop of South Bend, Indiana. Get more stories delivered right to your email. One article from 1894 said Bannister was wanted in Cleburne County for shooting off the leg of a "Mrs. Cotton," and brutally beating Old Man Cotton. No bodies or trace of the ship were ever found. As they searched Newman's house, they came across blood that matched Lackey's DNA. 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." According to the article "The Life and Work of Sequoyah," by John B. Davis, Sequoyah drank heavily and spent all his money on liquor. 1898-1953. He died near the Texas-Mexico border. The tale was repeated in Kathryn Tucker Windham's "13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey. He was convicted and resigned in 1993. Hearing of Burr's plans, Thomas Jefferson declared him a traitor and issued an order for his arrest. 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. On his way to jail, he claimed his innocence. As authorities searched his car, they found his .38 caliber handgun. 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 . Standing alone in the annals of illicit liquer-selling, was his scheme for disposing of mountain dew. She was known as The Giggling Granny and the Lonely Hearts Killer. Reynolds was shot and killed the same day. She enjoys discovering new places and currently calls North Alabama home. On December 4, 1888, two boaters, John Keith and Ben Culbalson, discovered the body of a young white female in East Lake. Robert J. Bentley, elected as Alabama's governor in 2011, was born in Columbiana, Ala. One legend claims "he burned the Fayette County Courthouse in 1866, to delay the trial over his debt situation involving his father's will." He was an escaped convict that had been on the run for 4 years, before being captured. Dennison, born in Wetumpka, was convicted in 1952 and became the first white woman sentenced to die in Alabama's electric chair. Glen Rogers. Jonathan Myrick Daniels pushed her to the ground and was shot and killed in her place. According to legend, he spent his time sitting and watching wild animals and could forecast the severity of winter based on their actions, such as how many nuts the squirrels were storing. If they refused, they were killed. Buy newspaper front pages, posters and more. He was also a character about whom many legends arose. Famous Murder Cases. Sheats and many in Winston County opposed secession and declared the county neutral during the war. ", George Washington Gayle, threatened to assassinate Lincoln, 1807-1875. Irene Amanda Vanzandt "Rena" Teel was known as the Seer of Millerville. Then, "Hipp and Kelley were taken by a mob of 100 armed, masked men and lynched on the courthouse columns. 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. A $25,000 reward is still being offered for information leading to an arrest and conviction. Ragsdale lived in Tuscaloosa's upscale Highlands neighborhood, and to this date, no suspect has been identified in the case. The case was an immediate sensation. Garrett tracked him to Fort Sumner on July 14 where he was shot and killed Garrett was murdered by Jesse Wayne Brazel on February 29, 1908. Only the testimony of James White. , Nancy Nannie Hazel Doss, Black widow killer, Audrey Marie hilley here! 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