In 1958, A Killing Spree That Shocked The Nation Ended In This Little Wyoming Town
People often look at the past with longing for a simpler time, but yesteryear wasn’t all sweetness, innocence, and light.
In 1958, a pair of teens went on a killing spree that left 10 people dead. They cut a bloody trail across two states before finally being apprehended in a little town in eastern Wyoming. For a nation full of people that allowed their children to play in the street unsupervised and still left their doors unlocked at night, it was a shocking incident that horrified everyone.
Fugate always maintained that she had broken up with Charlie before that fateful day. When she returned home later that evening, he told her that her family was being held hostage and that they would be killed if she didn't cooperate with him.
The pair stayed at Caril's home for nearly a week until Caril's grandmother became suspicious that the family hadn't been seen in 6 days and threatened to call the police.
The pair stayed at Caril's home for nearly a week until Caril's grandmother became suspicious that the family hadn't been seen in 6 days and threatened to call the police.
Starkweather's friend was a 70-year-old farmer, whom they asked for help in getting their car unstuck from a mud bog. The old man was obliging, but before he knew what was happening, Charlie killed him with a shotgun.
Charlie killed them, as well, and hid their bodies in a storm cellar before stealing their car and heading for Lincoln, Nebraska. There, he killed again. This time, it was a well-known businessman, his wife, and their housekeeper. Starkweather and Fugate filled the man's Packard with valuables from the house before taking it and continuing west.
A shoe salesman from Montana had pulled over to rest by the Ayres Natural Bridge turnoff, providing Charlie with a less conspicuous vehicle. Starkweather shot the salesman, but before he and Caril successfully switched cars, another motorist stopped to see if help was needed.
When the man glanced into the front seat and saw a dead body, he turned just in time to see Charlie pulling a shotgun on him. Knowing he would die if he didn't get the gun away from Starkweather, the man tried to wrestle it away. Soon, a Natrona County Deputy Sheriff arrived on the scene. Charlie tried to flee in the Packard but gave up after the sheriff fired a shot through the windshield.
When the man glanced into the front seat and saw a dead body, he turned just in time to see Charlie pulling a shotgun on him. Knowing he would die if he didn't get the gun away from Starkweather, the man tried to wrestle it away. Soon, a Natrona County Deputy Sheriff arrived on the scene. Charlie tried to flee in the Packard but gave up after the sheriff fired a shot through the windshield.
Starkweather received the death penalty and was electrocuted in Nebraska the following year.
Fugate had appeared at times to be cooperating and fully involved in Starkweather's scheme, but she told authorities that she was afraid of Charlie and everything she'd done had been out of self-preservation.
Have you heard or read accounts of Charlie Starkweather and Caril Fugate? What other shocking crime sprees in Wyoming do you know of?
Though these two teenagers brought their murderous rampage from another state, Wyoming isn’t without its own deranged killers. In fact, the first serial killer in Wyoming’s history began her bloody reign almost 100 years before Starkweather and Fugate.
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