7/20/2023 0 Comments Charles starkweatherThe facts were not in dispute, and neither was Starkweather's culpability at issue was his mental state.Įarlier Starkweather had pointedly refused to cooperate with attempts to save his life through a plea of insanity, sneering, "Nobody remembers a crazy man." Now, when his chief counsel, T. He swaggered into court on May 5, 1958, before Judge Harry Spencer, to face a single count of murder, that of Robert Jensen. They were tried separately, Starkweather first. By this time Fugate had already washed her hands of him. When eventually arrested, Starkweather mugged for the cameras like some psychotic James Dean, cigarette droopingįrom his mouth-America's first rock 'n' roll killer had just been born. In that time they had gone on a killing binge across Nebraska, littering the highway with bodies, until their final tally reached 11 victims. But there was no sign of the wanted couple.Īnother week passed before they were captured. One week later, alerted by an anxious relative, police officers called at the house and uncovered the massacre. No one noticed anything out of the ordinary. In that time various people visited the house and met the two teenagers. Then, after pinning up a notice in the window that read "Every Body is Sick with the Flu," the couple hunkered down for the next six days, watching television, having sex, gorging themselves on fast food. Minutes later Fugate arrived home, at which point Starkweather stabbed her 2-year-old half-sister to death. Seconds later, Fugate's stepfather was similarly dispatched. When she tried to slap him, he grabbed a rifle and shot her. While awaiting her return, Starkweather got into an argument with Fugate's mother. This was the day when he visited the home of his girlfriend, Caril Fugate, aged 14. SIGNIFICANCE: Can a dysfunctional upbringing ever excuse homicide? That was the question facing jurors in this remarkable saga that changed forever the face of murder in America.Īlthough he had murdered a few weeks before, Charlie Starkweather, a diminutive 19-year-old garbage truck driver from Lincoln, Nebraska, didn't begin killing in earnest until January 21, 1958.
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