Frank Carter

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Frank Carter
Born 1881
County Mayo, Ireland
Died June 24, 1927
Lincoln, Nebraska
Alias(es) Patrick Murphy
Conviction(s) Two counts, First degree murder
Penalty Execution

Frank Carter, (1881-1927) was a notorious sniper murderer in Omaha, Nebraska. Tried for two murders, Carter claimed to have murdered forty-three victims. He was known as the Omaha Sniper, Phantom Sniper, and the Sniper Bandit.

[edit] Crimes

Carter was born in County Mayo, Ireland as Patrick Murphy. At the beginning of February 1926 a mechanic was murdered with a .22 caliber pistol with a silencer attached. Soon after a doctor was murdered, and then a railroad detective was shot six times in neighboring Council Bluffs, Iowa.[1] On February 15 Omaha's newspapers recommended the city blackout all lights after an expose on previous murders showed the victims were standing in their windows at home when they were shot.[2] During daylight hours, the sniper shot another in the face and fired through more than a dozen lighted windows. Businesses in Omaha came to a standstill, streets emptied and the city's entertainment venues emptied for more than a week.[3] Other crimes included shooting indiscriminately into a Downtown Omaha drug store.[4][5]

More than two weeks after his first murder Carter was captured in Iowa, 30 miles east of Council Bluffs. After readily admitting his crimes,[6] he was convicted on two charges of murder, one for killing mechanic William McDevitt and the other for killing Dr. A.D. Searles.[7] After his conviction Carter admitted to being a parole breaker. He was released from the Iowa State Penitentiary in 1925 after serving time for killing cattle.[8]

After a month-long trial where Carter's lawyers plead insanity,[9]

He was executed by electrocution on June 24, 1927 at the Nebraska State Penitentiary in Lincoln, Nebraska. Carter was quoted as saying, "Let the juice flow" just before he died.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Sniper Shoots Council Bluffs Detective; Terror of People Hits Omaha's Business", The New York Times. February 20, 1926. Retrieved 5/30/08.
  2. ^ "Omaha Darkens Houses in Fear of Sniper Who Fires Through Windows; Has Slain Two", The New York Times. February 18, 2008. Retrieved 5/30/08.
  3. ^ "Terror of sniper wears Omaha folk", The New York Times. February 20, 1926. Retrieved 5/30/08.
  4. ^ (2007) "History at a glance". Douglas County Historical Society. p 85. Retrieved 5/30/08.
  5. ^ "In Omaha", Time magazine. December 3, 1928. Retrieved 5/30/08.
  6. ^ "Omaha gets sniper", The New York Times. February 23, 1926. Retrieved 5/30/08.
  7. ^ "'Sniper' to be tried in Omaha Monday", The New York Times. February 26, 1926. Retrieved 5/30/08.
  8. ^ "Omaha 'sniper' a parole breaker", The New York Times. February 25, 1926. Retrieved 5/30/08.
  9. ^ "Omaha's sniper bandit is sentenced to death", The New York Times. March 21, 1926. Retrieved 5/30/08.