Arheel's Uncle
Senior Reporter
Jake Bird -- The complete story HERE
Jake Bird was arrested in Tacoma, Washington, on Oct. 30, 1947. He broke into the home of Bertha Kludt and her daughter, Beverly June Kludt, and hacked them to death with an ax. He confessed to the killings and was sentenced to death. On Nov. 26, 1947, following a three-day trial, he was convicted of first-degree murder. He confessed to 44 murders during his travels as a hobo across the country. He was hanged at the Washington State Penitentiary on July 15, 1949.
Jake Bird was arrested in Tacoma, Washington, on Oct. 30, 1947. He broke into the home of Bertha Kludt and her daughter, Beverly June Kludt, and hacked them to death with an ax. He confessed to the killings and was sentenced to death. On Nov. 26, 1947, following a three-day trial, he was convicted of first-degree murder. He confessed to 44 murders during his travels as a hobo across the country. He was hanged at the Washington State Penitentiary on July 15, 1949.
In 1991, criminologist Eric W. Hickey, Ph.D., Director of Alliant International University's Center for Forensic Studies, wrote about how the Bird case challenges stereotypes of serial killers, who are mostly thought to be Caucasian males, whereas African-American killers typically are associated with urban violence. Hickey wrote, "Revelations that Jake Bird, a black man, had actually stalked and killed dozens of white women in the 1940s in dozens of states...continue to challenge traditionally held profiles of serial killers."[2]
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