Polly Bartlett
| Polly Bartlett | |
|---|---|
| Born | Polly Bartlett |
| 💀Died | October 7, 1868 South Pass City, WyomingOctober 7, 1868 |
| Cause of death | Homicide by gunshots |
| Other names | The Murderess of Slaughterhouse Gulch |
| 💼 Occupation | Innkeeper |
| 📆 Years active | 1868 |
| 👴 👵 Parent(s) | Jim Bartlett |
| 👪 Relatives | Hattie Bartlett |
Polly Bartlett, also known as The Murderess of Slaughterhouse Gulch, is the first known serial killer in the history of the state of Wyoming in the United States, before it was even incorporated as a state, as well as a classic ghost story figure of the local communities. Bartlett killed men who entered her family lodge with the complicity of her father Jim (whose name is otherwise given as John and Stephen in other accounts[1]) in 1868, amounting to a total of 22 murders, every victim found buried on her property.[2][3]
Case history
As the accounts go, Bartlett lured businessmen and other wealthy travelers into her lodge with extremely valuable belongings on their person, typically gold. Every time she gave them meals and whiskey, they would always be laced with arsenic to poison them. Jim helped bury the men's bodies, and if anyone asked about their disappearances, the daughter and father would lie indigenous Americans and outlaws took them.
Polly and Jim had early beginnings in their career crimes, where they ran a saloon in Ohio, Polly isolating men for sex before Jim robbed them. Polly's first victim, Lewis Nichols, left her and Jim with a quick $4000, leading to her and Jim constructing the lodge for their murder scams east of South Pass City, where much traffic came during American gold rushes. When they killed Theodore Fountain in August, the son of mine owner Bernard Fountain, Barnard hired investigators from Pinkerton to track his son's whereabouts.
Polly and Jim absconded in August once realizing they were found out, leading to the police unearthing the remains of the men they killed once combing through their property. When a price was put on the heads of the duo, Ed Ford, who evaded being murdered by the Barletts', only for his brother Sam to end up a victim, set out to capture them. On October 7, Ed shot Jim dead and turned Polly in for trial and execution. That evening, Polly was shot dead through the window of her jail cell by Otto Kalkhorst, a German-born man assigned to one of Fountain's mines, who wasn't charged by Esther Morris, the first American female justice of the peace, so the country could put the case to rest.[2][4][5]
An article by Dean W. Ballinger is said to be one of the best accounts of the Bartlett family murders.[2] Today, South Pass City is a ghost town in arrested decay, and Bartlett's Inn is regarded as a folk tale by the local citizens.[6][7]
In popular culture
Polly Bartlett has been the inspiration for fictional murderers in crime show episodes, including:
- CSI:Crime Scene Investigation, Season 11, Episode 5 "House of Hoarders"[citation needed]
- Criminal Minds, Season 8 Episode 12 "Alchemy"[citation needed]
See also
References
- ↑ "150 YEARS AGO: WYOMING'S FIRST SERIAL KILLER CLAIMED 22 VICTIMS". Y95 Country. January 14, 2020. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Polly Bartlett, Wyoming's Amazing Poisoner" (PDF). Buckrail. December 2017. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
- ↑ Magaraci, Kim (October 7, 2021). "The Story Of The Serial Killer Who Terrorized This Small Wyoming Town Is Truly Frightening". Only in Your State. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
- ↑ "Wyoming's worst serial killer: The Murderess of Slaughterhouse Gulch". Buckrail. December 8, 2017. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
- ↑ Schwamle, Bill (January 29, 2019). "IS THIS WOMAN WYOMING'S MOST DEADLY SERIAL KILLER?". My Country 95.5. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
- ↑ "Murderess of Slaughterhouse Gulch, Polly Bartlett (Truth or Legend) HD 1080p". YouTube. October 6, 2022. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
- ↑ "Polly Bartlett, Serial Killer? Old Legend or 1960s Hoax? – Wyoming, 1868". Blogspot. July 1, 2020. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
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