The Lexington Murders

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The Lexington Murders was one of the most notable crimes in California during the 1800s. Lloyd Leadbetter Majors (February 26, 1837 – May 24, 1884), Joseph Jewell (1855 – November 30, 1883) and John Franklin Showers (September 20, 1860 – May 15, 1899), were responsible for the brutal murders of William Peter Renowden and Archibald McIntyre in Lexington, California, on March 11, 1883.

The Lexington Murders, considered the most heinous in California history up to that time, enraged the entire state. The murders were not only senseless, but the unmitigated torture inflicted upon William Peter Renowden was unprecedented. Newspaper headlines rivaled that of Lizzie Borden’s trial for the murder of her parents, Leopold and Loeb’s thrill killing of Bobby Franks, and, more recently, Scott Peterson’s conviction for the murder of his wife and unborn son.

Contents

[edit] Background

John Franklin Showers (1883)
John Franklin Showers (1883)
Lloyd Majors (1883)
Lloyd Majors (1883)
Joe Jewell (1883)
Joe Jewell (1883)

Born in Sherwood, Michigan, and raised in Newberg, Showers traveled to Los Gatos, California with his family in 1876. The following year, this cowboy and teamster ventured to Prescott, Arizona. In 1879, he returned to Los Gatos and the following year he made his way to Bodie, California, where his cousin James Showers was serving as sheriff. When he returned to Los Gatos in 1881, he often referred to himself as “The Bad Man From Bodie,” adopting this popular catchphrase from the violent mining town. Until the Lexington murders, however, this moniker was a misrepresentation.

In January 1883, Showers met Jewell in Majors’ Los Gatos Saloon and they became quick friends. Jewell, who was presumably born in England, arrived in town two months earlier at Majors’ request. He was a painter and grainer, and by all accounts a good one, but it appears he was actually there to assist the saloonkeeper in robbery and arson. Majors was the mastermind in the plot to rob William Renowden.

Majors, a native of Adams County, Illinois, had every opportunity for a promising future, but he was evil to the core. His first occupation was that of a carriage maker, but interrupted his work to serve with the 3rd Missouri Cavalry in the Civil War. A bullet to the right side of his jaw forced his discharge from the military in 1863. Permanently disfigured, he looked as hideous on the outside as he was on the inside. He married briefly to Katey Bennett, who died young, and then, attended the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, seeking to enter the legal profession. He never graduated. Instead, he settled in Missouri, where he resumed work as a carriage maker and married Lucinda Oustott. This union produced four children, two of whom died young, and his two sons, Archie and Abe, became outlaws in their own right in the 1890s. In the years that followed, Majors worked as a lawyer, preacher, blacksmith, carpenter, saloonkeeper and lumberman. He was also a serial arsonist, which prompted his move to California in 1875.

Majors conceived the plan to rob Renowden, but he would not personally participate. While he did not believe the old man would resist, he knew that Jewell, at five-foot-four and 150 pounds, could not defend himself. They needed someone strong and powerful, and Showers, who stood six-foot-three and weighed 190 pounds, was more than willing to participate. He also contributed to the scheme by suggesting that they torture the old man into revealing where he hid his fortune, estimated to be between $15,000 and $20,000.

This meant they would have to kill Renowden, which was fine with them, and then Majors convinced Jewell to kill Showers. The crime scene would suggest that Showers attempted to rob the lumberman and they killed each other in the fray. As an added measure to divert their involvement, Jewell would burn the cabin to the ground.

[edit] The murders

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As night fell on Renowden’s hillside cabin on March 11, 1883, Showers and Jewell approached. They knew that Archie McIntyre was also at the cabin, for they spent the afternoon scoping out the place. Renowden answered their knock on the door and invited them in for bread and milk. Soon, Showers went outside to man his shotgun, which he left beside a tree, while Jewell asked the kindly old man for directions to Saratoga.

Renowden led Jewell around the cabin to point the way, when the outlaw drew his pistol and demanded he capitulate. The old man never uttered a word, but grabbed Jewell and forced him to the ground. Several shots rang out and Renowden clenched his rugged hands around Jewell’s throat, intent on killing his assailant.

McIntyre rushed outside and proceeded directly toward Showers. Showers fired at him with his shotgun, but the hammer fell idle. He tossed McIntyre aside like a rag doll and attempted unsuccessfully to fire the other barrel. Showers pulled his pistol, shot McIntyre through the chin and heart, and then rushed to help Jewell.

Jewell was seconds away from losing consciousness when Showers struck Renowden in the back of the head with his pistol. He bound the old man’s hands and feet, and then asked where he hid his money. Each time the lumberman refused to answer, Showers inflicted more pain. He struck Renowden twice with the butt of his pistol, carved a slice of flesh from the palm of his right hand, shot him through the mouth, and then dipped a rag with turpentine, tied it around the old man’s abdomen and lit it on fire.

Showers planned to pull out Renowden’s fingernails and toenails, but that did not occur because he ultimately submitted. When the lumberman revealed that his treasure was in a trunk against the kitchen wall, Showers and Jewell each fired a shot into the poor man’s heart. Moments later, when they attempted to enter the cabin, a shot rang out, forcing them to flee. McIntyre, who fired the shot, summarily collapsed over his rifle and died.

[edit] Conviction

Showers and Jewell returned to Majors’ saloon and told him what occurred. The saloonkeeper handed Jewell five dollars and a bottle of whiskey, advising them to flee the country. As the murderers headed south, Majors rushed to Renowden’s cabin, setting it ablaze, unaware that the old man was outside. Showers was captured in Gilroy and Jewell nabbed near Madera.

While Showers was in jail in Gilroy, ex-Sheriff James Showers visited his cousin and convinced him to turn states evidence to keep from hanging. John Showers decided to tell the truth about what occurred before and after the murders, which helped his credibility, but he blamed the murders squarely on Jewell. No one questioned how Jewell simultaneously wielded a shotgun, two pistols and a knife. It did not matter. They wanted him to hang and Showers’ testimony would ensure that happened.

The public was outraged by the murders and the subsequent trials of the three men were unprecedented in California history. If it was not the trial of the century, it was in the running. Everyday, spectators from around the state packed the Santa Clara County Courthouse in San Jose , occupying every inch of the courtroom, including that inhabited by the judge! A senator, visiting California while on his honeymoon, also attended the proceedings. Those who could not attend eagerly waited for the morning edition of the San Jose Mercury, which documented the proceedings in exacting detail.

Judge David Belden presided over the proceedings and his conduct on the bench was magnificent! Defense Attorney William Hardy, who represented Majors, used every loophole he could conjure to prevent his client from hanging, but when he tried to manipulate the legal process, the judge stopped him dead in his tracks.

Jewell was sentenced to hang and Majors and Showers received life in prison, Showers for turning states evidence and Majors thanks to his attorney. The saloonkeeper-turned-murderer gloated as he left the courtroom, which led to his downfall. The trio were convicted for the murder of Renowden, not the murder of McIntyre, so action was taken to convict Majors for the latter. Justice ultimately prevailed. Jewell hanged on November 30, 1883, in San Jose, and Majors—following a lengthy appeals process and a subsequent trial—dangled from the gallows in Oakland on May 24, 1884.

[edit] Murdered in prison

Showers spent a year at San Quentin Prison, and then transferred to Folsom in May 1884. He easily adapted to prison life and considered a model prisoner. There was a serious attempt by James Showers to gain his release in 1894, but the crime for which he was convicted was too horrific to be forgotten and the governor denied his appeal.

In 1896, Majors’ son, Abe, was sentenced to Folsom for burglary and discovered Showers turned states evidence against his father. The two never spoke, and Showers was still as strong and powerful as ever, so Abe Majors never confronted him. Instead, he befriended an opium addict named George Puttman, who was serving ten years for burglary. Puttman, whose real name was Mervin McKean, agreed to kill Showers. In 1898, Majors was released from prison.

On May 15, 1899, while Showers was seated against a wall waiting for the noon meal, Puttman pulled a knife and savagely stabbed him six times. He died a short time later. Puttman hanged in Folsom on November 19, 1900.

After the turn of the century, this horrific event fell by the wayside, a historical footnote lost to greater crimes and trials.

[edit] References