The Kelly Family (serial killers)

Last updated
The Kelly Family
Born
DiedJanuary 4, 1888
Cause of deathBill, Kit, and William were hanged by a posse. Kate broke her neck after falling off a horse.
Other names"The Kelly Friends"
"The Kelly Gang"
Conviction(s) Murder, Manslaughter, assault
Criminal penaltyNone, died before they could be convicted
Details
Victims11
Span of crimes
August December 1887
Country United States
State(s) Oklahoma Panhandle ("No Man's Land"), later part of Oklahoma
Date apprehended
January 4, 1888

The Kelly Family was an American family of serial killers who operated between August and December 1887 near a town called Oak City, just south of the Kansas state border in "No Man's Land", now the Oklahoma Panhandle. The family consisted of William Kelly (55); his wife Kate; his son Bill, also called 'Billy' (20) and daughter, Kit (18). Originally from Pennsylvania, the family is believed to have murdered 11 wealthy travelers, akin to the Bloody Benders a decade earlier. [1]

Contents

Vigilantes hunted down and killed the fleeing family in order to make an example of them. William confessed to all of the family's crimes before being hanged from a tree. [1]

Move to Kansas

According to 55-year-old William Kelly's confession, he and his family moved from the Pennsylvania mountains to Kansas in 1869. They moved around to different places along the southern border until eventually settling in No Man's Land, around 25 miles from Beaver, Oklahoma. Initially dealing with cattle, the Kellys soon opened a tavern, where they housed fellow cattlers and travelers. [1] Although illiterate, they were regarded as an ordinary working family, with nobody harboring any suspicion towards them. [2]

Discovery of crimes

In the span of a few months, a number of people had disappeared mysteriously along the road leading to the Kelly tavern. Despite this, nobody suspected the family of doing anything until around December 1887, when the occupants suddenly left the house without notifying anybody. [3] A short while after, a traveller from St. Louis named S. T. Gregg, who had visited the tavern before, decided to stop by and check the house. [4]

Upon entry, a foul stench overtook him, coming from a hidden cellar underneath the house. [2] The bodies of three men, already in an advanced state of decomposition, were discovered, as well as a trap door under the tavern's floor. [5] [6] Gregg immediately notified authorities of the matter. Shortly after, search parties came into the house, one of them led by a cowboy called "Texy". [2]

While digging around the barn in search of any other corpses, the men's attention was drawn to some loosened dirt to the left of the barn door. When dug up, a body with a broken skull was discovered, evidently murdered with an axe. Further digging revealed seven other bodies, two of them women. [4] Although the majority of the victims were decomposed beyond recognition, three were identified from their clothing: Jim Coven, a cattleman whose business covered that area and Texas; [4] J. T. Taylor, [2] a missing wealthy drummer (salesman) from Chicago; and a Texas merchant named Johnson. [7] An old rusty axe with human flesh on its blade, presumed to be the murder weapon, was also located. [1]

Search, capture and execution

Soon after the discoveries, information from Beaver came that all four of the Kelly Family had passed through town a few days ago, en route to New Mexico. It was noted that they were driving a span of several horses, and appeared to have a lot of money on them. A posse of 20 men was quickly organized, and the family's trail led to Palo Duro Creek, from where it appeared that their route had changed towards Wheeler, Texas. After a while, the posse caught up with them, and engaged in a two-hour long chase. Eventually, Kate Kelly's horse tripped and Kate fell to the ground, breaking her neck in the process. She was left behind, and half an hour later, the vigilantes caught up with Bill and Kit, but William managed to escape. [1]

Upon capture, Kit began pleading for mercy, only to be told off by her brother for being as complicit in the murders as he was. Two ropes were procured and the duo were prepared to be hanged on a nearby tree. Moments before they were hanged, Kit whispered to Bill if she should tell them everything, only for her brother to curse at the posse and encourage them to 'find out for themselves'. Subsequently, both were left hanging on the tree. [1]

The vigilantes then chased after William, whose horse left behind a recognizable trail because it was shod only in the front. They eventually caught up with him, and after firing two shots at the fugitive, he gave up, stopped and dismounted from his horse. The group quickly surrounded him, and the leader allowed the criminal to confess all of his sins. William proceeded to explain their family history, but claimed to have moved towards Texas because of the crimes in the area, denying taking part in the killings. [1]

The posse being dissatisfied, he was quickly hanged for a bit before being lowered down and asked to confess. Finally he did, telling that all of the family members had taken part, where the money was stored and that they had killed 9 men and 2 women. The elder Kelly was then stripped of all his belongings, including a gold watch belonging to J. T. Taylor, and was left to hang. [1]

Modus operandi

When a traveller would come by at the Kellys' tavern, they would first ascertain if they were wealthy. If confirmed, either William or Bill, or sometimes Kit, would engage the client in conversation, while Kate prepared the meal. The victim's chair would always be positioned at the trap door, and when a signal was given, the door would spring open, with the victim either dying from the fall or being disposed of later on with the axe. [7]

Connection to the Benders

According to a news report from contemporary media, an unnamed man from Kansas City, who had investigated the notorious Bender Family's house and the rumors of their deaths numerous times, claimed that the Kellys were in fact the Benders. The man further elaborated that all the stories of the latter's capture were made up, supposedly by a group of confederates, who have also helped the Benders dispose of the murdered victims' horses and wagons. He pointed out that both families' modus operandi, family unit numbers and other evidences proved that they are one and the same. [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

John Daly was an outlaw in the American Old West and the leader of the Daly Gang. Daly and his gang were known for terrorizing townspeople with the violent treatment of those who resisted their thievery. In 1864, a citizen posse caught and hanged Daly near Aurora, Nevada after a brutal murder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Plummer</span> American prospector, lawman, and outlaw (1832–1864)

Henry Plummer was a prospector, lawman, and outlaw in the American West in the 1850s and 1860s, who was known to have killed several men. He was elected sheriff of what was then Bannack, Idaho Territory, in 1863 and served until 1864, during which period he was accused of being the leader of a "road agent" gang of outlaws known as the "Innocents," who preyed on shipments from what was then Virginia City, Idaho Territory to other areas. In response some leaders in Virginia City formed the Vigilance Committee of Alder Gulch and began to take action against Plummer's gang, gaining confessions from a couple of men they arrested in early January 1864. On January 10, 1864, Plummer and two associates were arrested in Bannack by a company of the Vigilantes and summarily hanged. Plummer was given a posthumous trial in 1993 which led to a mistrial. The jury was split 6–6.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bloody Benders</span> American family of serial killers

The Bender family, more well known as the Bloody Benders, were a family of serial killers in Labette County, Kansas, United States, from May 1871 to December 1872. The family supposedly consisted of John Bender, his wife Elvira, their son John Jr., and their daughter Kate. Contemporary newspaper accounts reported that the Benders' neighbors claimed John Jr. and Kate were actually husband and wife, possibly via a common-law marriage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Earp Vendetta Ride</span> Search by Wyatt Earp for outlaw cowboys

The Earp Vendetta Ride was a deadly search by a federal posse led by Deputy U.S. Marshal Wyatt Earp for a loose confederation of outlaw "Cowboys" they believed had ambushed his brothers Virgil and Morgan Earp, maiming the former and killing the latter. The two Earp brothers had been attacked in retaliation for the deaths of three Cowboys in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral on October 26, 1881. From March 20 to April 15, 1882, the federal posse searched southeast Cochise County, Arizona Territory for the men they believed were responsible for the attacks on Virgil and Morgan. Several suspects had been identified and were charged, but were soon released by the court, owing in some cases to legal technicalities and in others to the strength of alibis provided by Cowboy confederates. Wyatt hoped that the legal system would bring the Cowboys to justice, but after suspects in both ambushes were freed, Wyatt resolved to take matters into his own hands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roxana Druse</span> Executed woman from New York (died 1887)

Roxalana "Roxana" Druse, was the last woman hanged in the state of New York, and the first woman hanged in 40 years in Central New York. Her botched execution didn't kill her instantly, further motivating New York officials to replace the gallows with the electric chair in New York in 1890.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pleasant Valley War</span> Arizona range war (1882–1892)

The Pleasant Valley War, sometimes called the Tonto Basin Feud, or Tonto Basin War, or Tewksbury-Graham Feud, was a range war fought in Pleasant Valley, Arizona in the years 1882–1892. The conflict involved two feuding families, the Grahams and the Tewksburys. The Grahams were ranchers, while the Tewksburys, who were part Native American, started their operations as cattle ranchers before branching out to sheep.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doc Scurlock</span> American Old West figure (1849–1929)

Josiah Gordon "Doc" Scurlock was an American Old West figure, cowboy, and gunfighter. A founding member of the Regulators during the Lincoln County War in New Mexico, Scurlock rode alongside such men as Billy the Kid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Banditti of the Prairie</span> Group of loose-knit outlaw gangs, during the early-mid-19th century

The Banditti of the Prairie, also known as The Banditti, Prairie Pirates, Prairie Bandits, and Pirates of the Prairie, in the U.S. states of Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio and the Territory of Iowa, were a group of loose-knit outlaw gangs, during the early to mid-19th century. Though bands of roving criminals were common in many parts of Illinois, the counties of Lee, DeKalb, Ogle, and Winnebago were especially plagued by them. The new crime wave in the region of the frontier Midwest may have occurred following the crackdown on Southern outlaws by the rising vigilante-regulator movement and the breakup of the criminal syndicate of John A. Murrell and his gang, the "Mystic Clan", in the Southern United States. In 1841, the escalating pattern of house burglary, horse and cattle theft, stagecoach and highway robbery, counterfeiting and murder associated with the Banditti had come to a head in Ogle County. As the crimes continued, local citizens formed bands of vigilantes known as Regulators. A clash between the Banditti and the Regulators in Ogle County near Oregon, Illinois resulted in the outlaws' demise and decreased Banditti activity and violent crime within the county.

The Jesse Evans Gang, also known as The Boys, was a gang of rustlers and robbers led by outlaw and gunman Jesse Evans, which lasted from 1876 until 1880. The gang was formed after Evans broke with the John Kinney Gang. After breaking away, he brought along with him Billy Morton, Frank Baker, Tom Hill, Dolly Graham, George Davis, Jim McDaniels, Buffalo Bill Spawn, Bob Martin, Manuel "Indian" Segovia and Nicholas Provencio.

<i>The Flesh and the Fiends</i> 1960 British film by John Gilling

The Flesh and the Fiends is a 1960 British horror film directed by John Gilling and starring Peter Cushing, June Laverick and Donald Pleasence. 19th-century medical doctor Robert Knox purchases human corpses for research from a murderous pair named Burke and Hare. The film is based on the true case of Burke and Hare, who murdered at least 16 people in 1828 Edinburgh and sold their bodies for anatomical research.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Villisca axe murders</span> Spree killing that took place in Iowa in 1912

The Villisca axe murders occurred between the evening of June 9, 1912, to the early morning of June 10, 1912; in the town of Villisca, Iowa, in the United States. The six members of the Moore family and two guests were found bludgeoned in the Moore residence. All eight victims, including six children, had severe head wounds from an axe. A lengthy investigation yielded several suspects, one of whom was tried twice. The first trial ended in a hung jury and the second ended in an acquittal.

Phineas Fay Clanton was the son of Newman Haynes Clanton and the brother of Billy and Ike Clanton. He was witness to and possibly played a part in a number of illegal activities during his life. He moved frequently in his early life from Missouri to California and to Arizona.

Harmon Murray was an African-American who briefly achieved notoriety in 1890 and 1891 as the reputed leader of a feared criminal gang in northern Florida, and for killing a number of men, including a sheriff and a deputy sheriff, before being killed himself by an acquaintance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Family feuds in the United States</span> Prominent feuds in the US

Feuds in the United States deals with the phenomena of historic blood feuding in the United States. These feuds have been numerous and some became quite vicious. Often, a conflict which may have started out as a rivalry between two individuals or families became further escalated into a clan-wide feud or a range war, involving dozens—or even hundreds—of participants. Below are listed some of the most notable blood feuds in United States history, most of which occurred in the Old West.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brite Ranch raid</span>

The Brite Ranch raid was an incident that occurred on Christmas Day 1917, in which Mexican raiders crossed the Rio Grande River border and attacked a ranch in Presidio County, Texas. At the time the raiders were thought to be Villistas, as they had been responsible for several other previous incursions into American territory, though other accounts say that some Carrancistas were involved as well. During the raid the Mexicans murdered three people, robbed a general store and rode back to Chihuahua under pursuit by a motorized posse and troops of the United States Army 8th Cavalry. The Americans fought a running battle with the Mexicans on December 26 that resulted in the deaths of several raiders and the recovery of some stolen property. Soon after, an expedition to find more of the raiders led to another more violent episode when, on January 27, 1918, a force of Texas Rangers accompanied by US Cavalry, executed 15 Mexican men in what became known as the Porvenir Massacre.

The history of vigilante justice and the Montana Vigilantes began in 1863 in what was at the time a remote part of eastern Idaho Territory. Vigilante activities continued, although somewhat sporadically, through the Montana Territorial period until the territory became the state of Montana on November 8, 1889. Vigilantism arose because territorial law enforcement and the courts had very little power in the remote mining camps during the territorial period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Axe murder</span> Murder in which the victim was struck and killed by an axe or hatchet

An axe murder is a murder in which the victim was struck and killed by an axe or hatchet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bisbee massacre</span> 1884 homicides in Cochise County, Arizona

The Bisbee massacre occurred in Bisbee, Arizona, on December 8, 1883, when six outlaws who were part of the Cochise County Cowboys robbed a general store. Believing the general store's safe contained a mining payroll of $7,000, they timed the robbery incorrectly and were only able to steal between $800 and $3,000, along with a gold watch and jewelry. During the robbery, members of the gang killed five people, including a lawman and a pregnant woman. Six men were convicted of the robbery and murders. John Heath, who was accused of organizing the robbery, was tried separately and sentenced to life in prison. The other five men were convicted of murder and sentenced to hang.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shootout at Wilson Ranch</span> Shootout in Arizona on April 7, 1899

The Shootout at Wilson Ranch resulted in the final and most famous hanging in the history of Tombstone, Arizona. On April 7, 1899, the brothers William and Thomas Lee Halderman were confronted by two lawmen at a ranch located in the Chiricahua Mountains. A brief gunfight ensued, during which Constable Chester L. Ainsworth was killed and his deputy, Teddy Moore, was mortally wounded. The Halderman brothers then fled to New Mexico, but they were captured shortly thereafter and executed on November 16, 1900, following a hasty trial in Tombstone.

Billy the Axeman was the name of a suspected serial killer thought to be responsible for a series of family murders that occurred mainly in the U.S. Midwest between September 1911 and June 1912.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Justice Overtakes the Kellys". The Sun . January 3, 1888.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Crimes of the Kellys". The Memphis Appeal. December 26, 1887.
  3. "The Bender Horror Repeated". The Morning News. December 29, 1887.
  4. 1 2 3 "The Kelly Fiends". The Butler Weekly Times. December 28, 1887.
  5. "A Ghastly Discovery". Alexandria Gazette. December 24, 1887.
  6. "A Horrible Story". Staunton Spectator. December 28, 1887.
  7. 1 2 "The Fiends Caught". Hillsborough Recorder. January 12, 1888.
  8. "Are They The Benders?". St. Paul Daily Globe. January 11, 1888.