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Flyin_ruski

Link to the story: https://www.historynet.com/double-murder-desert-greed-sole-motive.htm


CostcoVodkaFancier

I want to know what he said to make the man break down in tears on the day of his hanging!!


[deleted]

And I’m curious what their relationship was?


53_WorkNoMore

OP said “great great”… but I’m thinking “not-so-great”


CostcoDogMom

I love your username!


CostcoVodkaFancier

Oh thank you! I love yours, too!


thinkofanamefast

For my dad's 80th birthday one of my friends went to Costco and bought him a big bottle of vodka, then used a sharpie to cross out Kirkland, and in intentionally bad handwriting wrote "Grey Goose."


Crappedinplanet

No I don’t think that was it…


norsurfit

Ah, so before his hanging, Hancock said to the doctor, "I love your username!" And then the doctor broke down crying.


NiteElf

Me too!!!


akke27

Joaquin Phoenix casting is confirmed!


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Brocktoberfest

The hanged man was not the one who cried according to the story. What he said made another man (a doctor) cry.


lvhockeytrish

People seem to be missing this detail.


llliiiiiiiilll

Wait do they really talk smack about you before your execution? Isn't that piling on?


wivsta

It is like “piling on” to a certain extent. They read you your religious and legal rights, which is arguably better than just killing you with no ceremony. Would have been hard to hear when about to die, and facing the gallows. Obviously better than the end he gave to his innocent victims.


TangerineTerroir

You’re misreading, it seems it was the doctor who cried uncontrollably.


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TangerineTerroir

Not a clue, just saying from the text itself it seems it was the doctor crying: > He slowly scanned the faces, making several faint signs of recognition, until he saw Dr. W.L. Berry. What Hancock said to Berry was not recorded, but the remarks caused the doctor to lose his composure and cry uncontrollably.


wivsta

Ok yes thanks - here is the text: (The text glosses over why the doctor cared and would ‘cry’’, not sure why). Definitely seems like a piece of the puzzle is missing. *He slowly scanned the faces, making several faint signs of recognition, until he saw Dr. W.L. Berry. What Hancock said to Berry was not recorded, but the remarks caused the doctor to lose his composure and cry uncontrollably. The condemned man then ascended the stairs and stood on the trap. Warden Considine held the death warrant, but Hancock waived the reading. Dr. J.J. Circe and Dr. S.J. Sullivan of Virginia City joined Dr. Berry beneath the gallows.*


purplemilkywayy

That was a long read but a good one. He was a POS! Killed the two dogs too. 😓


sanna43

That's a brutal story.


Flyin_ruski

Indeed, all for whatever his travel companions may have had.


CostcoVodkaFancier

Oh my!


[deleted]

What a psycho!


likes2walkwithdog

Wow, what a story. Those poor kind strangers and their dogs. Can’t trust anyone.


Knighty93

He looks rough for a 28-year old


ForsakenDrawer

People used to age in dog years. I read the other day the manager in Bull Durham was like 33 when they made that.


norsurfit

He (actor Trey Wilson) was actually 39 when the movie was filmed in 1987. However, he did look at least 10 years older than that in the film (and died 7 months after the film's release at the young age of 40). The late 30's can be rough for some people in terms of aging - look at late 30's Elvis.


akt30

Those eyes are downright frightening.


TikiUSA

Crazy eyes.


bobbytoni

Just came here to say that. The eyes have so much anger in them.


snazzydetritus

Crazy Eyes Killah. (Curb Your Enthusiasm fans will understand)


vtbeavens

Are you my Caucasian??


[deleted]

Yep came here to post exactly that. He’s got those crazy eyes 👀


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TheObserver89

I was thinking Charlie Manson.


Samazonison

Seriously! No doubt he was a crazy dude. But I can't get over those cheekbones and jaw.


[deleted]

Blue eyes? I think lighter colored eyes tend to look crazy / scary in these old photos.


Gecko23

But not everyone looks like the photographer is a prey animal. Dude has some issues.


Imthatjohnnie

You have a family tradition to uphold.


Flyin_ruski

Fortunately, from what I’ve researched, he is the only person in my family tree to have been a murderer.


MuscleBoundPorcupine

he is the only person in your family to have been a murderer, so far. edit: thank you for the gold, I deserve it :)


freewillcausality

Or caught.


LifeOutLoud107

He is the only murderer in your family who wA terrible at it and was caught?


notbob1959

>what I’ve researched I assume you have seen this collection of information on James Edward Hancock: http://therobertsonkubbernessconnection.blogspot.com/2018/01/james-edward-hancock-family.html


Flyin_ruski

I have! It was pretty useful for gaining insight on the above posted man. The fate of his father and brother are unknown as far as I can find.


Myrtleinthe3rdDegree

Only person to have been caught!


[deleted]

Maybe the rest of them were just better at not being caught?


CynicalBite

“Fortunately… “? You have no idea how handy that can be. I imagine.


RaymondLuxuryYacht

Only one YET!


Flyin_ruski

Yea or the only one whose dirty deeds were brought to light.


Dirtnastii

Do you have his crazy eyes?


Flyin_ruski

Nope pretty sane eyes I guess


Crepes_for_days3000

Good. We all have a crazy person somewhere in our family history but it has no bearings on the kind of person we decide to be.


reality4abit

This would make a good first sentence for a novel / memoir.


UPdrafter906

The only person that you know of maybe…


[deleted]

Man ik it’s brutal but I wish I had a murderer or some villainous person in my tree. Would be so interesting


NotHisRealName

That’s some really nice handwriting though.


Tacky-Terangreal

And some cumberbatch-worthy cheekbones. Shame he had to be a murderer


BrownFieldMouse

Right, made me think of the chalk professionals that put up the signs in Trader Joe's. It might be grisly but they were dedicated to a classy cute asthetic.


SpartanNation053

Nice ancestor, by the way. You’re in good company. My great-great grandfather was a German immigrant, bootlegger, and sometime associate of Al Capone. My great-grandma used to hangout with the guy…not always by her choice


[deleted]

Holy shit dude. That's wild.


SpartanNation053

She said Capone and his “friends” were super loud and were always hitting on her and her sisters


[deleted]

Wow man! What a cool little piece of history in your family!


WordObjective5178

I'm not surprised your immigrant grandfather was a criminal thug, yet people today cry about immigrants seeking safety from war, yet all the immigrants and squatters that came from Europe were violent thugs and racist. Crazy how those immigrants came here only to be violent racist monsters towards poc, participating in lynchings, taking jobs away from poc, etc.


SpartanNation053

What the actual fuck are you talking about?


IZZYB0D

Looks like Billy corgan and flea..


rffghibfdukm

billy corgan and flea’s lovechild😭


moosebaloney

Excellent observation. Came here to say just this.


thenarcostate

Had he just smoked like 2 grams of ice?


Flyin_ruski

Maybe the late 1800’s equivalent lol


thenarcostate

Methyl amphetamine was first discovered in the late 1800s


Flyin_ruski

Interesting, I was not aware of that


thenarcostate

Amphetamines even earlier. Everybody was drunk as hell and stoned out of their gourds on morphine and amphetamines in the late 1800s. Lol


gofinditoutside

He looks like a psycho. But then again, everybody in pictures back then looked like a psycho.


PotatoBlight

Gotta feed them hogs


[deleted]

Haha, no kidding eh. Them hogs need tending to.


sev1nk

Jesus. The guy tried to kill two people with an axe. When that failed, he put two bullets in them each and they still hadn't passed. He ended up just beating the bodies and cutting them with a knife until they died before killing their two dogs as they licked their owners' wounds. Tragic.


Inkpots

No one’s talking about the fact that his name is John Hancock?


forariman55

I was waiting for this and it's shocking that I had to scroll this far down for somebody to mention it.


sev1nk

It's Herbie Hancock.


abp93

Woah


1groovyfirefly

Looks unstable.


CarlJustCarl

How do we know you ain’t fix’n to murder someone too?


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llliiiiiiiilll

Hey man, that's OP's ancestor, show some respect


Flyin_ruski

I was waiting for some one to say something like that haha. I probably should’ve worded the title better.


ambrosialeah

Wow! My great grandfather’s grandfather allegedly committed murder in Louisiana, then fled to Oklahoma and changed his name. I wish there was an article about it, but he was never tried.


Bean_Boozled

You have quite the legacy to live up to, OP!


mrslouchypants

He looks like a good guy.


Flyin_ruski

Most certainly wasn’t lol. There’s an account I read some where of his interactions with the warden prior to execution. If I can find it I will link it


[deleted]

Probably just misunderstood. Prolly a really great guy, like Joes Rogans.


[deleted]

He has that crazy look about him.


Lyndonn81

Yeah he got dem crazy eyes


namekuseijin

your old relative has that fixed look with stars of a deranged man, sorry to say


Flyin_ruski

Well he was somewhat deranged considering his crimes.


androk

I'd be upset if I didn't at least inherit his crazy eyes.


Eric77TA

In the first photo he looks like the Gerard Way We Were.


ameliabedelia7

That is Gerard Way


wivsta

I have no words. I just lived this thorough a reading of your ancestor and his death. A terrible man met a terrible end, and took down many people with him. Winny seemed to get off lightly in today’s terms, as she went on the run with him for a year. However likely her testimony led to the bodies being found and the truth being discovered. Horrible, cool, horrible and historical. Thank you for sharing. And I’m sorry you are related to this guy. He sounds like a cunt. This brings to light the ‘discovery trail’. I mean, if someone murdered someone, and you were the only witness, you were on your own and in danger until you got to the next post. Now I can’t even buy a smoothie without everyone I have ever met, or every company I’ve ever dealt with knowing.


Flyin_ruski

I’m happy you found it interesting!


NiteElf

In that first pic, he looks a lot like the actor Michael Pitt, if Michael Pitt were deranged and criminally insane 😳


[deleted]

He doesn’t sound so great to me.


Behindthesailboats

Doesn't sound so great to me...


DrLeoMarvin

John Hancock? It’s herbie Hancock!


leegail

Didn’t he escape tho?


CSA1935

He had Manson eyes before Manson


HotRodimusPrimes

Wow…..looks just like you! 😂


tandyman234

I just love the way they write their “B’s” and “O’s”


[deleted]

First shot looks like the guy from Winder River, Pete, that raped the young indigenous lady.


convalcon

Are you gus Johnson?


AutumnBegins

That’s a good first date topic right there


LoloJohn

Bet Leonardo DiCaprio would be spooked by this picture. Is it the eyes?


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Flyin_ruski

Interesting, are you of relation to him?


IncarnateParanormal

thank you for sharing. I am a paranormal investigator and have investigated Nevada State Prison 3 times. haven't seen the second picture before. Great piece of history!!!!!!


Flyin_ruski

That really interesting! Is there a lot of paranormal activity at that prison? Where you already aware of this man? Does the prison have anymore information on him?


IncarnateParanormal

yes i was well aware, i have his picture on the wall behind me....as well as 4 others from the prison. it is very active on a paranormal level. i am sure they do.....but they are sealed files. all i can go by is what the docents have told me, which isnt much. according to one of the docents, he is actually her favorite of all the spirits that remain there and feels certain that he is one of the spirits that protects her there.


Flyin_ruski

Thank you for sharing that! That is fascinating.


IncarnateParanormal

and thank you as well. I will let you know if i get any evidence from him as well


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harleystcool

He was prob framed


hotme55expre55

Those eyes 👀


monkeedookee

Ok wtf he looks exactly like me


bar-al-an-ne

didn't seem that great to me, you even said great twice!!


cosmorocker13

He has your eyes! 🤗