205: The Santa Claus Bank Robbery

WEBVTT

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Southern fried True crime covers cases that
are not suitable for young listeners, and

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there may also be some explicit language
used. Listener discretion is advised. On

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December twenty third, nineteen twenty seven, the downtown area of the small north

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central Texas town of Cisco in Eastland
County was busy with last minute shoppers getting

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ready for Christmas. Situated about one
hundred miles west of fort Worth, Cisco

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was a bustling center that had thrived
off the back of the Texas oil boom

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in the mid to late nineteen tenths. It had begun life as a railroad

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town and continued to prosper thanks to
coal mining. The town of around eight

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thousand residents was enjoying unseasonably warm weather, according to the fort Worth Weekly,

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and given the time of year,
it didn't seem out of place to see

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Santa Claus ambling down Cisco's main street, known as Avenue D. For the

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town youngsters, the unexpected delight of
jolly old Saint Nick walking down the street

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at midday brought great unanticipated delight as
the man in the red suit strolled along.

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He greeted excited children, waving anciently
patting them on the head as he

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passed. A six year old girl
across the street with her mother was so

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excited she pleaded with her mom for
them to follow Sanna to see where he

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was going, and her mother agreed. Sanna couldn't pause to chat though,

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like everyone else, he had things
to do that day, and his first

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stop was at Cisco's First National Bank. Welcome to episode two o five,

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the Santa Claus Bank Robbery. Underneath
the festive attire, dressed in street clothes

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was twenty four year old Cisco local
and unemployed convicted arm robber Marshall Field's Ratliff,

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and he wasn't filled with Christmas spirit
that day. He was intent not

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on giving, but taking from the
First National Bank, and just like Sanna,

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Marshall had helpers on standby to help
him pull it off. Waiting outside

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in an alley beside the bank in
a stolen dark blue buick were thirty one

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year old Henry Helms, twenty two
year old Robert Hill, and thirty two

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year old Louis Elmore Davis. The
men had arrived in town after driving over

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one hundred and fifty miles from Wichita
Falls late the night before, having stolen

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the buick and made their journey drunk
on moonshine. They had an audacious plan.

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Marshall and his brother Lee had initially
conspired to rob the bank some months

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before. They weren't strangers to being
on the wrong side of the law.

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In nineteen twenty six, they were
convicted for another armed robbery in Valera and

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sentenced to eighteen years in prison.
But when they were both pardoned by Governor

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Mariam Ferguson after just a year and
were unable to find work in the oil

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fields, Marshall and Lee made their
way to Wichita Falls, where they lived

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in a rooming house. Things went
awry for the brothers when Lee committed another

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armed robbery in the fall of nineteen
twenty seven and returned to prison. Marshall

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decided to recruit two of his Huntsville
Seat penitentiary buddies, Henry Helms and Robert

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Hill, as well as a safecracker. By mid December, the plan was

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set to rob the Cisco First National, but a week later the safe cracker

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came down with the flu, so
Marshall roped in his brother in law,

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Lewis Davis, who, unlike the
others, had no criminal record, but

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the lure of a sizeable cut of
the money was too good to resist.

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For the father of three, Marshall
knew he couldn't walk into the bank wearing

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any old disguise hoping to get away
with robbery. He was known in Cisco,

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where his mother formerly ran a cafe. Back in Wichita Falls, Marshall

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persuaded his landlady to loan him a
Santa Claus costume she had made for her

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husband, reassuring her he would have
it back to her in time for Christmas

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Day. On the morning of December
twenty third, after the group arrived in

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Cisco, Marshall put on the red
suit and crouched down on the floor of

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the buick. His accomplices let him
out a few blocks away from the bank

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to walk the rest of the way. They then continued on into the alleyway

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alongside the bank building to await their
queue. After Marshall let his accomplices in

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the alley know he had arrived,
he strolled into the lobby of the red

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Brook one story bank. Enthralled children
followed him like a festive pied piper.

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Around sixteen people were inside, including
customers and staff, with some at the

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teller's windows. Cashier Alex Spears caught
out a friendly hello Santa, but got

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no response from the bearded man as
he made his way to a desk where

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customers for riding deposit slips. A
follow up greeting was also ignored. Without

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warning, Robert, Henry and Lewis, who had followed Marshall inside but were

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all undisguised, suddenly pulled out their
guns. According to the fort Worth Star

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Telegram, Robert confronted the cashier and
a customer he was speaking with, telling

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them it was a stick up.
Francis Blasingame was the six year old girl

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who, along with her mother were
among those who had followed Santa into the

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bank, but they had no idea
what awaited them and were now trapped thanks

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to Louis menacingly blocking the front door, or so they thought. Thinking quickly,

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missus Blausnglen grabbed her daughter, bravely
running through the bookkeeper's office and ignoring

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the shouts of the robbers to stop
or be shot, they ran out a

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side door and down the alley towards
the police department nearby. I'm going to

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pause now for a short commercial break. Upon being alerted to the robbery in

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progress, police Chief George bit Bedford, Deputy George Carmichael, and Officer Ronald

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Ready sprang into action. The fifty
nine year old Chief Bedford was an imposing

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man, standing six foot four and
had twenty five years on the job.

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Grabbing riot guns, the officer swiftly
made their way to the bank, with

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Chief Bedford taking up position near the
top of the alley near the bank's front

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door. His fellow officers manned an
alley running perpendicular to the bank's rear.

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According to local newspaper editor Boyce House, as word quickly spread outside up and

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down Avenue D, it was a
literal call to arms for the citizens of

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Cisco. In the nineteen twenties,
bank robberies throughout smalltown Texas were occurring at

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a rate of up to four times
a day. In response, just months

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before, the Texas Bankers Association had
announced a five thousand dollars reward for anyone

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who killed an armed robber. That's
over eighty eight thousand today, But there

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was no reward for a robber who
was captured alive. So it's no surprise

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that Ciscowans determined to either nab themselves
the reward. Completely fed up with armed

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robber's rampant lawlessness, or both,
converged upon the bank from a safe distance.

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After all, while people's lives were
at risk, the opportunity to score

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a quick five thousand was too good
to resist. Stores carrying firearms were selling

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out of guns as people on the
street wanted in on the action to take

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down the men terrorizing their community.
Inside the bank, Marshall had barged through

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to the teller's cage, where he
took a pistol from a drawer. Inside,

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Henry shoved customer Oscar Kliat out of
the way at the counter, ordering

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the cashier Jewel Poe to open the
bank vault. Pulling a potato sack out

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from under his Santa suit, Marshall
hurriedly stuffed twelve two hundred dollars almost two

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hundred seventeen thousand today and one hundred
and fifty thousand in bonds worth over two

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point six million today into his bag
and emptied cashier drawers while his accomplices herded

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terrified bank staff and customers into the
bookkeeping office. Henry was particularly frightening as

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he held an automatic weapon in each
hand, threatening the hostages not to look

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at their captors. When Marshall emerged
from the vault, the gunfire started.

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Apparently seeing someone peering in through one
of the windows, Henry fired a shot.

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Robert then fired multiple times into the
ceiling to show the terrified hostages the

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gang meant business. Armed citizens waiting
outside the bank responded in kind, unleashing

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a hail of bullets on the building. The robber's new time was running out

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to make their escape and needed to
make a quick exit. As the gang

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made their way to the side door
and out into the alley with the hostages,

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gunfire erupted in a dramatic shootout with
Chief Bedford, officers Carmichael and Reddy's

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and the public. The robbers returned
fire and in the melee, six hostages

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were wounded. It was hard to
say whether they were shot by the robbers,

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police or the public. The wounded
included forty two year old cashier Alex

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Spears, who was shot in the
jaw, customer Oscar Klatt who was struck

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in the foot, and twenty two
year old Harvard student Maryan Cayson who was

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shot in his leg. Twenty eight
year old laborer Pete Rutherford thirty three year

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old Brady Boggs and cafe owner R. L. Day Chief Bit Bedford was

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shot five times by Henry Helms as
he attempted to prevent the men from passing

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him at the top of the alley
near the street. Deputy George Carmichael was

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also struck by Henry, sustaining a
serious head wound. Robbers knew they couldn't

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take a whole group of hostages with
them and making their escape, so instead

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they chose two girls, twelve year
old Laverne Comer and ten year old m

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M. A. Robertson, using
the girls as human shields while the gang

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ran towards the buick with the lute
in hand. The men bundled their hostages

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into the vehicle, but the robbers
didn't escape unscathed. Robert was shot in

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the arm, while Marshall was struck
in the leg and chin, but Louis

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Davis was also wounded badly and had
lapsed into unconsciousness by the time he was

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laid on the floor in the rear
of the buick. Ironically, he had

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only agreed to the robbery on the
condition that there would be no shooting.

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As the bullet riddled buick took off. Officer Reddies, who had managed to

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escape uninjured, made a dash back
to the police department for a rifle before

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hitching a ride with a motorist to
continue the chase. Hopes of a speedy

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getaway were thwarted as a comedy of
errors seated to play out. It seems

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it had occurred to none of the
men that after their road trip from which

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Tau Falls, the buick would need
more gas. Realizing the tank was dangerously

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low, they turned right out of
the alley and sped south on Avenue D

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with a flat tire. Thanks to
several crack shots by a mailman's forty five

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colt, they pulled over. Marshall
and Henry rushed out into the road,

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holding up an oldsmobile at gunpoint,
driven by fourteen year old Woody Harris,

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who had driven his parents and grandmother
Inn from Rising Star. As the Harrises

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ran for safety into a nearby house, the robbers man handled their two young

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hostages, Lewis, and the money
into the oldsmobile, all the while dodging

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bullets which whizzed and pinged around them
As incensed locals and law enforcement gave chase.

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Robert was wounded during the relentless gunfire, but to start a car you

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need keys, and the one for
the Oldsmobile were safely still with the quick

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thinking Woody Harris. The bumbling and
frustrated men hurried back to the buick with

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their hostages, leaving the comatose Lewis, who would slow them down, in

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the back of the Oldsmobile. He
was later taken to a Fort Worth hospital.

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As the men forced the last drop
of gas out of the buick,

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they fired shots back at a vehicle
pursuing them. Even if they hadn't planned

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on an empty tank, they had
brought with them a deterrent in the form

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of nails, which they tossed out
into the road to disable their pursuers tires.

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The men only made it a few
miles to the edge of town before

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they ran out of gas and decided
to flee on foot over a fence and

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into the undergrowth. Laverne and ma
May were left cowering in the buick,

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unharmed with the bloody Santa suit as
the men ran for their lives. But

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by the time they felt free and
clear of the angry townsfolk and law enforcement,

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they realized it wasn't Lewis they had
left behind. Thankfully for authorities,

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the robbers had left behind all the
stolen cash and securities too. According to

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the Waksahatchie Daily Light, the proceeds
were returned to the bank, which was

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damaged by at least two hundred bullet
holes. I'm going to pause now to

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Products are issued by Evolved Bank and
Trust Member FDIC. The biggest manhunt in

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Texas to date was on led by
thirty one year old Ranger Captain Tom Hickman,

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and authorities in the surrounding areas were
about to take up the pursuit,

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already having been alerted by Cisco law
enforcement. Eastland County Sheriff John Hart,

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his deputies, reporters, and the
public were on high alert in the hunt

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for the fugitives. According to the
fort Worth d Record Telegram, search parties,

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including those on foot and horseback,
scoured the unforgiving outskirts of Cisco with

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tracker dogs for any trace of the
missing men. Aside from a suitcase containing

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first aid supplies and overcoat and bloodstained
gloves, there was no sign of the

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gang. But back in Cisco,
the news got worse. That evening Chief

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Bedford died from his injuries and Lewis
the only man in custody was charged with

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murder and armed robbery. On the
morning of Christmas Eve, Marshall, Henry

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and Robert snuck back into Cisco and
stole a Ford vehicle. Thirty two year

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old Lewis Davis would never face justice
for Chief Bedford's death, succumbing to his

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wounds and dying that evening. For
all the efforts of law enforcement and the

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Cisco townspeople, no one received their
reward as it couldn't be determined exactly who

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shot the man. Come Christmas Day, the robbers were still at large.

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Despite the need for a reliable transportation, The trio wrecked the Ford just thirteen

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miles west of Cisco, outside the
town of Putnam. Needing another vehicle,

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Around one am on December twenty sixth, they came upon the Wiley home,

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forcing twenty two year old Carl Wiley
to drive them in his Dodge. Carl

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was shot in the arm as the
group forced him at gunpoint to drive them

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away, not by the bandits but
by his own desperate father. For almost

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another twenty four hours, Karl was
kept hostage by the men who didn't even

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offer him anything to eat, but
they were much the worse for wear by

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now thanks to their gunshot wounds and
lack of sleep, not to mention the

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worsening weather conditions, with sleet and
icy plummeting temperatures making staying on the run

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near impossible. At five a m. On December twenty seventh, the men

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released Karl in his dodge and stole
a roadster, driving fifty five miles north

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to South Bend in Young County.
Carl told police he believed the men planned

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on returning to Wichita Falls, but
the gang didn't plan on encountering Sheriff Foster,

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Deputy Sheriff Sigh Bradford, and other
officers in a roadblock at South Bend,

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thwarting their attempt to cross the Brazos
River. A chase ensued, with

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Marshall, Henry and Robert abandoning the
roadster and fleeing on foot across an oil

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field. They fired back at law
enforcement as they ran, with each man

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being injured in the shootout. Thanks
to Deputy Bradford's double barreled shotgun nicknamed Old

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Betsey, Henry and Robert made their
escape into the woods, but Marshall Ratliffe

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was finally brought down. He was
alive, but had six gunshot wounds and

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was carrying six pistols in addition to
a double barreled shotgun, three belts of

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ammunition, and a bowie knife.
Despite an aerial search, there was no

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sign of Henry and Robert in the
woodland, and the number of people wounded

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during the ongoing search continued to climb
ter. Two men, including a sheriff,

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were injured after their weapons were accidentally
discharged. On the morning of December

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thirtieth, Henry Helms and Robert Hill
were finally captured without incident, and the

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town of Graham authorities were alerted by
locals who took note of the fugitive's firearms

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and bedraggled appearance. By now,
the men were so fatigued, dehydrated,

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and in need of medical attention there
was no point continuing to run. Between

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the two of them, they were
carrying seven pistols. According to the Associated

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00:18:33.960 --> 00:18:38.599
Press. On January twenty seventh,
nineteen twenty eight, ten days after sixty

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00:18:38.680 --> 00:18:44.519
year old Deputy George Carmichael became the
second lawman to succumb to his injuries,

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Marshall was convicted of armed robbery and
sentenced to ninety nine years behind bars.

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Despite how traumatizing the experience of the
robbery and shootout had been for young Laverne

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Comer and Woody Harris, it was
their eyewitness evidences that helped convict the man

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00:19:00.799 --> 00:19:07.240
disguised as Sannah. Marshall's trial was
the last ever to be held in the

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Eastland District Court's former courthouse, which
was reduced to rubble following the conclusion of

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the proceedings. Henry meanwhile attempted to
plead insanity and the lead up to his

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trial, but was prosecuted for killing
Chief Bradford and Deputy Carmichael in February nineteen

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twenty eight, and was sentenced to
death. At Robert's trial the following month,

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he pled guilty to armed robbery and
begged the court for mercy, claiming

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his lack of a stable childhood home
had led him to become involved with convicted

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felons. His pleas must have worked, because instead of death, he was

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sentenced to ninety nine years in prison. By now, Marshall had received a

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further sentence, despite there being no
evidence that he had fired his gun out

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00:19:52.480 --> 00:19:56.240
into the alley. He was convicted
of killing Chief Bradford and Deputy Carmichael and

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was sentenced to death. On September
sixth, nineteen twenty nine, thirty two

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00:20:03.400 --> 00:20:07.519
year old Henry Helms was executed in
the electric chair and Huntsville. The same

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day, Marshall's mental health seemed to
take a turn for the worse. A

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00:20:11.599 --> 00:20:18.400
subsequent appeal against his death sentence had
since been unsuccessful. After his attorney and

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mother applied for a sanity hearing,
Marshall was extradited to Eastland County Jail for

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evaluation after a bench warrant was issued
over his theft of the oldsmobile. But

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the town's patience was wearing thin with
the delay. They wanted to see Marshall

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executed swiftly. On November eighteenth,
Marshall's health had supposedly deteriorated so rapidly that

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it took Deputy Sheriff Thomas Jones and
jailer Edward Pack Kilbourne to help the convicted

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felon with basic tasks like eating and
bathing. But Marshall's act was all a

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00:20:53.000 --> 00:20:59.079
ruse. According to the Abilene News
Reporter, when Pack and Tom's backs were

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turned marsh she'll snuck out his open
cell door and stole a thirty eight pistol

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from an office desk drawer. In
the resulting tussle with the officers, Marshall

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shot Deputy Jones multiple times, wounding
him badly. Thankfully, Pack managed to

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overpower Marshall, who was rendered unconscious
before being locked back in his cell.

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Pack subdued Marshal by pistol, whipping
him. By the following evening, two

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00:21:25.920 --> 00:21:30.000
thousand, agitated Eastland County residents had
gathered outside the jail hoping that Deputy Tom

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00:21:30.079 --> 00:21:36.400
Jones would pull through. Fueled by
vigilanteism and hell bent on vengeance, a

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00:21:36.400 --> 00:21:41.759
crowd of about two hundred men stormed
the jail, overpowering Pack Kilbourne and dragging

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Marshall from his cell, stripping him
naked and binding his hands and feet.

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Dragging him outside, the angry mob
made their way two hundred yards down the

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road to the rear of the Majestic
Theater, which was ironically staging a production

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entitled The Noose. Someone produced a
length of rope and the hostile, jeering

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00:22:02.480 --> 00:22:07.799
crowd proceeded to lynch twenty six year
old Marshall Ratliff over a guy wire strung

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between two telephone poles fifteen feet above
the ground. Marshall had a brief reprieve

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when the rope broke, but another
one was quickly found. The second time,

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there was no escape. After Marshall's
corpse hung in the air for several

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00:22:22.480 --> 00:22:27.880
hours, he was pronounced dead at
nine to fifty five pm. His body

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was laid out for all to see
in an Eastland furniture store the next day

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00:22:32.880 --> 00:22:37.039
until it was taken to the coroner. Sadly, fifty five year old Deputy

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Tom Jones didn't make it and died
in the hospital the next day. Lynching

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was punishable by death in Texas,
and Marshall's was said to be the last

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00:22:47.480 --> 00:22:52.079
mob lynching in the state, but
despite a grand jury being convened, no

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one was prosecuted. Marshall Ratliffe's death
brought the death toll from the robbery including

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00:22:57.839 --> 00:23:03.359
the gang, to six, and
eleven others had been wounded. The only

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00:23:03.440 --> 00:23:07.319
member of the gang to survive was
twenty two year old Robert Hill, who

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00:23:07.440 --> 00:23:12.279
was released from prison in the mid
nineteen forties after three unsuccessful escape attempts.

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There are mixed reports as to whether
he changed his name, but it appears

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he faded into obscurity into quiet life, dying in nineteen ninety six at age

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ninety. Since nineteen sixty seven,
the original First National Bank building has a

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00:23:30.240 --> 00:23:36.799
plaque that was installed by the Texas
Historical Commission. These days, while the

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00:23:36.839 --> 00:23:41.759
former bank has moved premises, it
features artwork depicting the infamous heist and even

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00:23:41.799 --> 00:23:48.599
has a printed booklet available about the
robbery. It's called the First Financial Bank

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00:23:48.640 --> 00:23:53.559
Now and is located on Conrad Hilton
Boulevard. If you're interested in reading more

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00:23:53.599 --> 00:23:59.480
about this fascinating chapter in Texas criminal
history, you can check out the Santa

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00:23:59.519 --> 00:24:04.200
Claus Ribery by Ac Green and the
twenty twenty three novel The Last Man by

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00:24:04.240 --> 00:24:12.640
Thomas Goodman. Southern Fried True Crime
is hosted and produced by me Erica Kelly.

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00:24:12.880 --> 00:24:18.359
Today's episode was researched and written by
Jima Harris. Southern Fred's original music

284
00:24:18.400 --> 00:24:21.759
is by Rob Harrison of Gamma Radio, and the original graphic art is by

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00:24:21.799 --> 00:24:25.920
Coly Horner. If you have any
case suggestions, please go to my website,

286
00:24:26.119 --> 00:24:30.920
Southernfrid True Crime dot com and click
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287
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sftcresearch at gmail dot com. This
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those little known cases, y'all.
Always send me. Please remember that I

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299
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so much for listening, y'all,
Take care and Merry Christmas to those who celebrate