The case was an immediate sensation. The guards didnt know he had a gun in his food sack. (1970 photo shows Manson Family follower Patricia Krenwinkel/AP/File Photo). Knowing this, you might find yourself wondering, Why is Alabamas crime rate so high?. The best hidden gems and little known destinations - straight to your inbox. Although she was never charged with the deaths of her husbands, she became known as the Black Widow of Hazel Green. In 1864, Gayle made headlines when he paid to publish an ad inThe Selma Dispatchseeking funds in exchange for plotting the murders of Lincoln, Vice President Johnson and Secretary of State William Seward, the same three men who were targeted in John Wilkes Booth's assassination plot. The lake was drained and Irenes body was found approximately 30 feet from Emmas. The most famous murder in Alabama history is the 1988 Hawes murders, which took place in the city of Birmingham. Reynolds was shot and killed the same day. Miller called the Legislature into session to pass amendments to collect state income tax and inheritance tax, as well as budget controls. 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. 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. (Greene County Courthouse/Historic American Buildings Survey/Library of Congress), Unidentified, masked killers of Guilford Coleman in the Eutaw riot. Getty Each state has a connection to an infamous serial killer. Robert J. Bentley, elected as Alabama's governor in 2011, was born in Columbiana, Ala. On Oct. 9, 1890, Rube was captured and shot to death. 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. Legends often say that he was hanged on trumped-up charges for deserting the Confederate army, although details vary. Read all the AL.com coverage of the Bentley scandal here. Her crimes were committed in four states from the 1920s-1953. When asked how he was shot, he refused to answer. 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. . She is thought to have killed two other children but denied it. Bill'sex-wife Jenny arrived in Blount County in July 1918 and announced she wasn't dead. Middleton was the son of Robert Middleton and Nancy Adeline Reed. 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. Click hereto read more. Kennedy. (Wallace in 1957/AL.com File/The Birmingham News), George Wallace, controversial Alabama governor, 1919-1998. However, political and business figures from any generation were fair game. It was a bomb. He was captured in Washington County, Ala., and taken to Fort Stoddert. Hal and three other slaves were killed and the others recaptured. After being taken to the hospital to be treated for hypothermia, Hilley suffered from a heart attack and died. He was returned to Washington, D.C., and acquitted on Sept. 1. . Burrow escaped but as he ran through town, Carter spotted him and opened fire. The Greek Revival mansion was designed by architect B. F. Parsons, who also designed the Perry County Courthouse in Marion. He was waylaid while collecting taxes and the bandits Charles Kelley and John Hipp stole the $2,000 he'd collected. Willie Maxwell, voodoo preacher and murderer, 1925-1977. Who did I choose for your county? Only the testimony of James White. In June 1977, Maxwell's 16-year-old stepdaughter became the latest victim in the spree but no one had proved Maxwell's involvement. She eventually became an alcoholic and May, the oldest sister, had to start caring for Irene and their younger brother, Willie. Reuben Houston Burrow was fascinated by tales of Jesse James and his gang of outlaws. Crime: Found guilty of killing six men between the years of 1989-1990. In 1870, in a period of political unrest during Reconstruction in the South, members of the Ku Klux Klan were busy in Alabama terrorizing those who supported black residents holding office. She had also been poisoning her daughter, Carol, with large doses of arsenic after taking out a life insurance policy on her. James K. McCollum was the son of Fayette County's first settlers. Daniel Lee Siebert (June 17, 1954 - April 22, 2008) was an American serial killer on Alabama 's death row. Thank you! James K. McCollum, politician and possible arsonist, 1800-1872. Standing alone in the annals of illicit liquer-selling, was his scheme for disposing of mountain dew. They took about $19,000 in cash but were later arrested. 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. 1868. On Thursdays, she cleared everyone from the house and welcomed her captain home from the Tennessee River. 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 . Do you agree, or would you have picked someone else? She received life in prison for murdering her husband and 20 years for attempting to murder her daughter. 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. Two years prior to this event, Rudolph had attempted to shut down the 1996 Summer Olympics by bombing Atlanta's Centennial Park. The day of the shooting, students claimed she seemed perfectly normal. The victims were identified as Jerome Maurice. According to prosecutors, Richards motive for murdering May was so she wouldnt tell on him for murdering her mother and younger sister. 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. Glen Rogers. Marshall Herff Applewhite, cult leader, 1931-1997. Dr. Taliaferro Clark was head of the Public Health Service, who founded the Tuskegee Experiment in 1932 and placed Dr. Eugene Dibble in charge. Other famous murders in Alabama include mass murders, including the 2009 Geneva County Massacre and the 1963 Baptist Church Bombing. Rhonda Bell Martin of Montgomery was executed in 1957 in Alabama's electric chair after confessing to killing her mother, two of her husbands and three of her children with arsenic, reportedly for the insurance money. Joseph Sanders, bushwhacker, 1828-ca. 1880-death unknown. He was eventually arrested and received treatment for his wound. His trial, with a change of venue to Miami, in June, 1979, was the first nationally televised . 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. 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. 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." 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. Robert Bentley (R) to find out if heconducted an affair using state resources. On January 15, 1947, 22-year-old Elizabeth Short was found dead in residential Los Angeles. An entertainer who played "Pogo the Clown" at children's parties, John Wayne Gacy was one of the most infamous serial killers in America. The Wilson's marriage was troubled. Get more stories delivered right to your email. 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. Like many, he sustained heavy debt from the Civil War. Lackey then stabbed Newman more than 70 times. Whitecapping was a movement in which white males formed secret societies to deliver vigilante justice that eventually targeted blacks. Finding the most notorious person from each of Alabamas 67 counties was no easy task. But like every state, Alabamas history was created by plenty of colorful characters. Wed love to hear your thoughts! Get more stories delivered right to your email. Emma was preparing to travel to Atlanta to pick up her son from Richards brothers house. He would leave again at 9 a.m. Friday mornings and Kate would return to business as usual. She also reputedly killed three other husbands, two children, her mother, her two sisters, a grandson and a mother-in-law. He was convicted and resigned in 1993. After WWII, Thompson opened a law practice in Luverne in Crenshaw County. On February 28, 1890, Richard Hawes was executed. Kate opened her home on Bank Street in Decatur as a brothel. They were sent to prison in Atlanta, but when Clarence and John attempted escape they were sent to Leavenworth and later to Alcatraz, the infamous island prison authorities hoped would finally thwart their escape attempts. 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. 1866. 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. John Wesley Hardin, Texas outlaw with Alabama in-laws, 1853-1895. Thank you! In 2016, there were around 30 murders in Montgomery, Alabama, alone. But an angry mob took the four men and hung them from nearby trees. (Source: Mug shots of John, left, and Clarence), Anglin brothers, Alcatraz escapees: John, born 1930; Clarence, born 1931; deaths unknown. Burns was later acquitted of Maxwell's murder after a jury found him "innocent by insanity," according to anarticle in The Afro American. (Source: Chicago Tribune, September, 1988). As they searched Newman's house, they came across blood that matched Lackey's DNA. It was called the Free State of Winston. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Rev. On September 11, 2012, Bishop pleaded guilty to one count of capital murder and three counts of attempted murder in order to avoid the death penalty. She was also accused of killing another niece, Shirley's older sister Polly. Lewis was found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder and treason and sentenced to death by hanging on July 7, 1865. Patricia Dianne Krenwinkel was born Dec. 3, 1947, in Los Angeles, Calif., but her parents divorced when she was 17 and her mother moved to Mobile, Ala. Krenwinkel moved to Mobile briefly to attend Spring Hill College but soon dropped out and returned to California. 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