Charles Starkweather

Charles Starkweather
Mugshots of Starkweather in 1958
Born
Charles Raymond Starkweather

(1938-11-24)November 24, 1938
Lincoln, Nebraska, U.S.
DiedJune 25, 1959(1959-06-25) (aged 20)
Nebraska State Penitentiary, Lincoln, Nebraska, U.S.
Cause of deathExecution by electrocution
Conviction(s)First degree murder
Criminal penaltyDeath
Accomplice(s)Caril Ann Fugate (1956–1957)
Time at large
60 days
Details
Span of crimes
December 1, 1957 – January 29, 1958
CountryUnited States
State(s)Nebraska, Wyoming
Location(s)
Killed11[1]
Injured0
Weapons
Date apprehended
January 29, 1958
Imprisoned atNebraska State Penitentiary

Charles Raymond Starkweather (November 24, 1938 – June 25, 1959)[2] was an American spree killer who murdered eleven people in Nebraska and Wyoming between November 1957 and January 1958, when he was nineteen years old.[3] He killed ten of his victims between January 21 and January 29, 1958, the date of his arrest. During his spree in 1958, Starkweather was accompanied by his fourteen-year-old girlfriend, Caril Ann Fugate.[4]

Both Starkweather and Fugate were convicted on charges for their parts in the homicides; Starkweather was sentenced to death and executed seventeen months after the events. Fugate served seventeen years in prison, gaining release in 1976.[5] Starkweather's execution by electric chair in 1959 was the last execution in Nebraska until 1994.[6]

Criminologists and psychologists have analyzed the Starkweather case in an attempt to understand spree killers' motivations and precipitating factors.[7][8][9] It also became notorious as one of the earlier crime scandals that reached national prominence, much like the kidnapping of Charles Lindbergh's son with the media outlets covering the case at the time openly condemning Starkweather.[10][11]

  1. ^ "Teenage killers murder three people". History.
  2. ^ Wishart, David J. (2004). Encyclopedia of the Great Plains. U of Nebraska Press. p. 462. ISBN 978-0-8032-4787-1. Retrieved October 22, 2010.
  3. ^ Rule, Ann (2004). Kiss Me, Kill Me: Ann Rule's Crime Files. Simon and Schuster. p. 224. ISBN 978-0-671-69139-4. Retrieved October 22, 2010.
  4. ^ Hanzlicek, C.G. (October 1, 1967). Newman, Charles (ed.). "Five for Charles Starkweather, murderer". TriQuarterly. 10 (2). Evanston, Illinois, United States of America: Northwestern University Press: 60. ISSN 0041-3097. OCLC 889376903. Retrieved September 8, 2021 – via ProQuest.
  5. ^ Flowers, R. Barri; H. Loraine Flowers (April 2005). Murders In The United States: Crimes, Killers And Victims Of The Twentieth Century. McFarland. p. 176. ISBN 978-0-7864-2075-9. Retrieved October 22, 2010.
  6. ^ Lachance, Daniel (July 1, 2009). De Giorgi, Alessandro; Barker, Vanessa; Hannah-Moffat, Kelly; Lynch, Mona (eds.). "Executing Charles Starkweather: Lethal punishment in an age of rehabilitation". Punishment & Society. 11 (3). Thousand Oaks, California, United States of America: SAGE Publications: 337–358. doi:10.1177/1462474509334607. ISSN 1462-4745. LCCN sn99017542. OCLC 42208145. S2CID 145675504. Retrieved September 8, 2021.
  7. ^ Parker, A.H., ed. (November 25, 1960). "Backward look at a boy killer". International news section. The Buckingham Post. Vol. 65, no. 30. Buckingham, Quebec, Canada: Estate of A.H. Parker. Newsweek. p. 4. Retrieved September 8, 2021 – via Google Books.
  8. ^ Reinhardt, James Melvin (June 17, 1958). Baker, Alton F.; Frazier, Robert B.; Baker Jr., Alton F.; Currey, A.H.; Strommer, Arne; Fugle, Jari E.; Johnston Jr., W.B. (eds.). "Reason sought by criminologist for youth's wild slaying spree". Eugene Register-Guard. Vol. 91, no. 238. Eugene, Oregon, United States of America. The Associated Press (AP). p. 12B. Retrieved September 8, 2021 – via Google Books.
  9. ^ DeLisi, Matt; Hochstetler, Andy; Scherer, Aaron M.; Purhmann, Aaron; Berg, Mark T. (March 13, 2008). Tewksbury, Richard; Baker, David v.; Mustaine, Elizabeth Erhardt; Copes, Heith; Payne, Brian (eds.). "The Starkweather Syndrome: exploring criminal history antecedents of homicidal crime sprees". Criminal Justice Studies: A Critical Journal of Crime, Law and Society. 21 (1). London, England, United Kingdom of Great Britain: Taylor & Francis: 37–47. doi:10.1080/14786010801972670. ISSN 1478-601X. S2CID 145389937. Retrieved September 8, 2021.
  10. ^ Marshall, Chris E. (1991). Burruss, George W.; Matusiak, Matthew; Carson, Dena; Haberman, Cory (eds.). "Fear of crime, community satisfaction and self-protective measures: Perceptions from a Midwestern city". Journal of Crime and Justice. 14 (2). Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America: Midwestern Criminal Justice Association /Taylor & Francis: 97–121. doi:10.1080/0735648X.1991.9721440. ISSN 0735-648X.
  11. ^ Ravnikar, Michelle Barret (1986). Brier, Warren J. (ed.). Reporting a mass murder: Coverage of the Charles Starkweather case by the "Lincoln Star" and the "Omaha World Herald" (PDF). University of Montana Graduate School (Master of Arts). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. Vol. 5065. Missoula, Montana, United States of America: University of Montana. Retrieved September 8, 2021 – via ScholarWorks at University of Montana.