Murder And Mayhem In Randolph County Missouri

Many are under the assumption that crime is on the rise, but a look back at the history of major crimes in Randolph County, Missouri shows that over the 130 year history of the county crime has dropped to an all time low in the 21st century. Murder and Mayhem in Randolph County, Missouri covers many of the major crimes committed before 1960 in the county. You will read about murderer Hade Brown whose tale was sensationalized in the Kansas City papers, the tragic death of Julie Duvall, the robbery of the Wabash Depot in Huntsville, the murder of Thomas Bagby, lynchings, cold cases, and much more,

Desperadoes like Frank and Jesse James earned Missouri the nickname of the "Outlaw State" after the Civil War, and that reputation followed the region into the Prohibition era through the feverish criminal activity of Bonnie and Clyde, the Barkers and Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd. Duck into the Slicker War of the 1840s, a vigilante movement that devolved into a lingering feud in which the two sides sometimes meted out whippings, called slickings, on each other. Or witness the Kansas City Massacre of 1933, a shootout between law enforcement officers and criminal gang members who were trying to free Frank Nash, a notorious gang leader being escorted to federal prison. Follow Larry Wood through the most shameful and savage portion of the Show-Me State's history.

"This book will deal with notorious incidents that occurred throughout the state of Missouri from before the Civil War through the gangster era of the 1920s and 1930s"--

Around noon, November 22, 1915, everyone in Stoutland, Missouri, who could walk or ride rushed to view the mortal remains of one of the area's most prosperous farmers and leading citizens. Hidden in a brush pile on nearby Rouse Hill, the victim's body displayed the marks of a determined and vicious killer.Six years later, a dozen lawyers, four doctors, one hundred witnesses, four jury trials, a Missouri Supreme Court decision, and the only eyewitness--a Missouri fox-trotter horse named "Sam"--had not resolved the brutal murder of Jasper Jacob "Jap" Francis.Alan Terry Wright's suspenseful tale of greed, fraud, political influence, and cold-blooded murder will keep you riveted. His descriptions of the predawn killing, carried out in pitch darkness on a public road, and the agony of "Sam," Francis's prized horse, tied by the killer and left to starve, are both frightening and moving. The accused killer, Charlie Blackburn, nearly lynched by townsfolk, died in his bed in a California nursing home in 1964 at the advanced age of 91. The victim, Jasper Francis, had been dead for 49 years. Wright's account of a young girl's unwitting visit to the murder scene in 1928 is chilling. Her return there as a feisty 84-year-old accompanies events so bizarre and puzzling they verge on the paranormal.Recent interviews with the accused killer's family, the opinion of a renowned medical examiner, and the report of a handwriting expert shed important new light on this nearly forgotten case.Wright's skillful weaving of the story line with gently humorous vignettes of backwoods living sets this book apart from typical "true crime" stories. His love for the history and lore of Missouri helps craft a tale that rings with authenticity.

Each fun and intriguing volume in the award-winning series offers more than 250 illustrated pages of places where tourists usually don't venture: the oddball curiosities, ghostly sites, local legends, crazy characters, cursed roads, and peculiar roadside attractions.