Edward Capehart O'Kelley

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Edward Capehart O'Kelley (1858—January 13, 1904) will forever be remembered as "the man who murdered Jesse James' murderer." A book entitled Ed O'Kelley: The Man Who Murdered Jesse James' Murderer was written by Judith Ries, a great-great niece of O'Kelley's. Edward's last name has been misspelled by historians and contemporary newspapers over the years as "Kelly" or "O'Kelly," and sometimes the letter O is misused as his middle initial.

1 "Hello Bob": Ed murders Bob Ford
2 "A dangerous man"
3 Ed O'Kelley is shot dead
4 Sources
5 External Link

[edit] "Hello Bob": Ed murders Bob Ford

Robert Ford, the man who killed outlaw Jesse James in 1882, had a tent saloon in the silver mining camp of Creede, Colorado. On June 8, 1892, while preparing to open his saloon, Edward O'Kelley walked into the tent with a shotgun. Ford had his back turned away from the front entrance. O'Kelley called out, "Hello Bob," and as Ford turned around to see who was addressing him, O'Kelley fired the shotgun, hitting Ford in the neck area and killing him instantly. O'Kelley never gave a reason as to why he had shot Ford. It was rumored that infamous confidence man, Soapy Smith had a hand in convincing O'Kelley that he would be a hero for performing the dirty deed, but this is unsubstantiated.

After Ford's murder, O'Kelley reportedly said, "I don't burn a man's mother's heels, nor I don't rob pocketbooks, nor I don't pull off women's toenails with pinchers, but I can kill such men as Bob Ford." At least one newspaper account of the day hinted that O'Kelley's mother, Margaret Anne Capehart O'Kelley, had been "abused" by a member of the James gang in this way and that O'Kelley shot Ford in retaliation for the alleged abuse merely because Ford was a former member of the James gang.

O'Kelley was convicted of the murder of Robert N. Ford on July 12, 1892 and spent eight years in prison before his release on October 14, 1902.

[edit] "A dangerous man"

After his release from prison, O'Kelley moved to Oklahoma City. Shortly after his arrival in town, O'Kelley was recognized by Otto Ewing of the Southern Club, a local gambling house. It is said that Ewing had been connected with Ford's saloon in Creede, and was there when O'Kelley killed Bob Ford. Ewing informed people that O'Kelley had killed Ford, and that he was a dangerous man best avoided. In December 1903, policeman Joe Burnett arrested O'Kelley as a "suspicious character". O'Kelley was staying at the Lewis Hotel, and when he had returned there, following the arrest, he openly made threats that he was gunning for a man. He frequented the dive saloons on west 4th and 2nd Streets, which were known as the rendezvous of dangerous criminals in the early years of Oklahoma City. On Wednesday, January 13, 1904, Edward O'Kelley was arrested by a policeman named Bunker. O'Kelley was later released and went to his hotel, where he made comments to others that the police had better not attempt to arrest him again.

[edit] Ed O'Kelley is shot dead

On the evening of January 13, 1904, officer Joe Burnett was walking along his beat on the south side of First Street in front of the McCord & Collins building. Burnett encountered O'Kelley and said, "Hello O'Kelley". Immediately O'Kelley struck at the lawman, and produced a revolver. O'Kelley told Burnett, "You come with me. I'll arrest you, you son of a bitch". As O'Kelley struck at the officer, Burnett grabbed the gun with his left hand.

The two men began to wrestle in a life and death struggle. Several times during the struggle, O'Kelley discharged his pistol, trying to kill Burnett, all the while, O'Kelley repeatedly called him foul names, and said he was going to murder him. Burnett called out for help repeatedly, as the fierce fight continued. O'Kelly was not able to hit Burnett with any of the rounds from his gun, but received powder burns on one ear. Once empty of cartridges, O'Kelley used his teeth, as weapons, to bite off both ears of the policeman.

A companion of O'Kelley's came to his aid, firing one shot at the policeman, and then ran away. O'Kelley called out to him to come back, saying, "we will murder this fellow".

R. E. Chapin, witnessed the fight from the rear of the building at 325 1/2 West Main Street and telephoned police headquarters. Chapin heard officer Burnett call out to several men who were passing; "I am a police officer help me". Chapin stated one of the passing men replied, "we don't know whether you are a policeman or not," and then ran away.

Finally, A. G. Paul, a railroad baggage man, came running from the depot, and grabbed O'Kelley's hand, thus releasing Burnett's gun hand. The officer immediately fired two shots, and killed Ed O'Kelley.

It was then realized just how close Burnett came to death. There were two bullet holes in the back of his overcoat and the left hip pocket was torn by a bullet. Burnett's gloves were burned and his clothing was on fire when his friends reached his side after the conflict.

An ambulance was called and O'Kelley's body taken to the morgue at Street and Harpers furniture store. His body had a bullet wound in his left leg just above the knee. The shot that killed him entered his head just back of the left temple and came out behind the right ear.

O'Kelly's body remained at the morgue for approximately two weeks. This was for identification purposes and for any relatives to have the opportunity to claim the remains. A number of persons identified the dead man as the assassin of Robert Ford, who had killed Jesse James, including Otto Ewing. The warden of the Colorado State Penitentiary sent a description and photograph of O'Kelley, that left no room for doubt as to his identification.

On January 28, 1904, the body of Ed O'Kelley, age 46, was interned at Fairlawn Cemetery in north Oklahoma City. The casket was provided by the county at a cost to the taxpayers of $12.50. Joe Burnett continued with the Oklahoma City Police Department, serving as a Captain and later as assistant Chief of Police.