301:, discovered the head of Bernard Connally on December 9, 1925. Riggs, along with an acquaintance, Ben Aycock, and his dog Butch, went to his grandfather's farm to set traps. Aycock set traps outside of an abandoned house on the farm, while Jesse Riggs went inside to set traps. When he reached the basement of the house, he noticed the bloody sack containing the head. Riggers alerted Aycock about the sack, and he went into the cellar to inspect it. Then, Aycock opened the bag and found the head.
324:. They also determined that the decapitation wasn't the cause of death. The authorities theorized that the death may have resulted from the knife wound found under the chin, or from a bludgeoning. The police also realized that the murderer was likely familiar with the area, because there were three other abandoned homes nearby, but the one the murderer hid the severed head in was the only one with a basement.
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Francis Marion Snow was executed by electric chair on August 12, 1927, in
Huntsville, Texas. His last words, which he said while strapped to the electric chair, were "there's never been a better man sit in this thing." He is buried at
392:
of Fort Worth, Snow walked to where the rest of his stepson's remains were, sixteen miles away from where the head was found. While standing over the body, Snow also confessed to the murders of his wife and mother-in-law.
421:, but it was quickly rejected. The most damning evidence in the trial was Snow's written confession, which he signed in front of multiple witnesses. On December 27, 1926, the jury briefly deliberated before returning a
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in the hopes that someone would recognize it. An estimated 6,000 to 7,000 people viewed the head, nicknamed "the pretty boy" before it was identified as
Bernard Connally by a woman named Ida Gristy.
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While in Prison, Snow confessed to murdering several more people, including Gene Graves, another inmate who taunted Snow in prison. He also confessed to murdering a man in
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her to death with a wooden club. Snow then murdered his mother-in-law, Samantha Olds, with an axe. Olds, who was 74, was unaware that she was in any danger because she was
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Francis Snow confessed to the murder of
Bernard Connally on December 11, 1925. Accompanied by the sheriff, the deputy, two rangers, district attorney
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218:, after an argument. He was convicted of these murders and executed on August 12, 1927. Snow is also suspected of committing several other murders.
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After arriving at the cellar, investigators quickly determined that the murder didn't happen at the farmhouse due to the lack of blood at the
262:, and wanted Connally to return home. After arriving at the farm, Snow shot Connally twice in the back with a Winchester rifle, killing him.
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Other records of the event state that Bernie
Connally was present during the argument, and killed by Snow because he agreed with his mother.
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After murdering his three family members, Snow cut up the bodies of Maggie Snow and
Samantha Ann Olds with an axe, and burned them in his
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346:, Texas on November 27. However, Snow soon became a suspect in the murders after Sheriff Hassler and Stewart Stanley, a
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to find his stepson, 19-year-old
Bernard Connally. Earlier in the day, Connally took a load of wood into a more
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area of
Stephenville, and hadn't returned home yet. After he found Connally, Snow told him that his mother was
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David
Medicus Hassler. Snow claimed that Maggie Snow, Samantha Olds, and Bernard Connally left home to visit
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On
November 27, 1925, a 44-year-old Francis Snow had an argument with his wife, Maggie Snow, after she let
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the body with his axe. Later in the evening, Snow put the severed head in a sack, and left it in the
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555:"The Butcher of Stephenville: F.M. Snow murder victims left a trail of dead men behind them"
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fragments of Maggie Snow and
Samantha Olds. They also found an axe with dry blood on it.
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and the Winchester rifle used to kill Bernard Connally. In the fireplace, they found the
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After the identification of the head, Francis Marion Snow was questioned at his home by
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269:. Snow then stripped all the clothes from Bernard Connally's body except for his
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The fireplace where Maggie Snow and Samantha Ann Old's bodies were burned.
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584:"Details of triple murder given to Erath County grand jury early monday"
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wrote a song about Francis Marion Snow in 1926, titled, "Old Man Snow."
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Snow was also suspected of decapitating and murdering someone in
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The two men then drove away in their car and alerted the police.
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350:, noticed inconsistencies in Snow's story, so he was taken into
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417:, started on January 18, 1926. The defense attempted to use an
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to investigate Snow's farm. In his wagon, they discovered dry
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The dog is often miscredited with the discovery of the head.
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for additional questioning. In order to prevent locals from
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in 1912, but he refused to comment further on that murder.
425:. Snow was sentenced to death. He then tried to file an
714:"Blood Legacy Murder victim remembered at Spirit Walk"
691:. University of North Texas Press. pp. 208–209.
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Blood Legacy: The True Story of the Snow Axe Murders.
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loose in the cotton patch. Snow became enraged, and
190:(June 6, 1881 – August 12, 1927), also known as the
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Blood Legacy: The true story of the Snow ax murders
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429:, which was denied, and he was then taken to the
358:him, Snow was kept in the Tarrent County jail in
331:the head, so they put it on display at a local
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843:People executed by Texas by electric chair
29:
18:
548:
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682:
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616:"Summary of the execution of F. M. Snow"
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405:The electric chair Snow was executed in.
250:. Snow then hid the bodies, and rode on
655:(illustrated ed.). Jacobus books.
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514:
194:, was an American triple murderer and
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838:People convicted of murder by Texas
798:American people executed for murder
273:. He took his stepson's remains to
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848:Executed suspected serial killers
773:1925 murders in the United States
833:Mass murder in the United States
818:Familicides in the United States
788:20th-century executions by Texas
783:20th-century American criminals
724:from the original on 2016-02-06
565:from the original on 2021-01-15
415:The State of Texas vs. F.M Snow
397:Legal proceedings and execution
365:Authorities quickly secured a
1:
712:Daven, Melissa (2015-10-28).
285:of an abandoned farmhouse in
16:American murderer (1881–1927)
316:Bernard D. "Bernie" Connally
327:The investigators couldn't
297:Jesse Elvis Riggs, a young
210:on November 27, 1925, near
96:The Butcher of Stephenville
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813:Executed people from Texas
808:Deaths by firearm in Texas
87:Execution by electrocution
689:The Ranger Ideal Volume 3
463:Captain Joe Byrd Cemetery
181:
112:
28:
553:Randy Jr. (2020-08-23).
362:for his own protection.
192:Butcher of Stephenville
651:Pylant, James (2008).
479:Pylant, James (2008).
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317:
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687:Ivey, Darren (2021).
444:, and another man in
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386:Samuel Morris Russell
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828:Mass murder in Texas
293:Discovery of remains
823:Mass murder in 1925
589:Corsicana Daily Sun
188:Francis Marion Snow
83:Cause of death
23:Francis Marion Snow
743:"The Snow Murders"
409:Francis M. Snow's
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318:
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196:family annihilator
125:Murder with malice
442:Palo Pinto county
198:who murdered his
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157:November 12, 1925
75:Huntsville, Texas
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803:Burials in Texas
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446:San Saba county.
419:insanity defense
176:Winchester rifle
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131:Criminal penalty
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93:Other names
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500:Musical artist
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483:Jacobus Books.
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431:Huntsville Unit
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252:horse and buggy
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103:Criminal status
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71:Huntsville Unit
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63:August 12, 1927
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67:(aged 46)
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308:Investigation
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119:Conviction(s)
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746:. Retrieved
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620:. Retrieved
618:. 1927-08-12
594:. Retrieved
592:. 1925-12-14
587:
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567:. Retrieved
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502:Milton Brown
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348:Texas ranger
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287:Erath County
264:
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98:Old Man Snow
65:(1927-08-12)
48:June 6, 1881
778:1927 deaths
768:1881 births
322:crime scene
299:fur trapper
279:decapitated
277:, where he
275:Cedar Point
168:Wooden club
793:Axe murder
762:Categories
748:2022-08-08
728:2022-08-06
622:2022-08-04
596:2022-08-03
569:2022-08-04
538:References
474:Literature
435:Huntsville
360:Fort Worth
240:bludgeoned
44:1881-06-06
456:Execution
437:, Texas.
271:underwear
267:fireplace
236:livestock
722:Archived
563:Archived
469:In media
390:officers
356:lynching
329:identify
208:step-son
107:Executed
352:custody
340:sheriff
222:Murders
163:Weapons
146:Victims
141:Details
695:
659:
487:
427:appeal
388:, and
333:morgue
283:cellar
212:Selden
206:, and
77:, U.S.
54:, U.S.
718:Patch
509:Notes
495:Music
411:trial
375:ashes
371:blood
256:urban
244:blind
216:Texas
135:Death
52:Texas
693:ISBN
657:ISBN
485:ISBN
379:bone
377:and
344:Waco
260:sick
248:deaf
246:and
200:wife
154:Date
60:Died
38:Born
433:in
172:Axe
149:3-7
764::
720:.
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671:^
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42:(
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
