Gangsters Bonnie and Clyde
Infamous Bank Robbers and Killers Left Bloody Trail in 1930s America
Bonnie and Clyde captured the public's imagination during the hard times of the Great Depression. Murder, bank robbery, burglary, car theft and kidnapping were their known crimes, with the colorful pair meeting their just end in a hail of gunfire in 1934.
Bonnie Parker Meets Clyde Barrow
Bonnie Elizabeth Parker (1910-1934) first met Clyde Champion Barrow (1909-1934) in West Dallas, Texas, in January 1930. At the time, Parker was separated from her husband, Roy Thornton, who was later gunned down in 1937 during a prison escape.
Arrested on a burglary charge, Clyde made his escape from jail with a gun smuggled in by the smitten Bonnie. Later recaptured, Clyde was sent to prison, but was paroled in February 1932.
Clyde tried honest work for all of two weeks before he and Bonnie made off in a stolen car. The law nabbed Bonnie, jailing her in Kaufman, Texas, but Clyde got away.
First Killings
On April 13, 1932, Clyde and childhood friend Raymond Hamilton robbed a jewelry store in Hillsboro, Texas, killing owner John Bucher. The pair struck again four months later, killing two policemen in Oklahoma who had approached their car for a liquor violation. Later apprehended in Michigan, Hamilton was sent back to Texas where he received a 263-year sentence.
Barrow Gang
With Bonnie now out of jail, the infamous Barrow Gang was formed in earnest in 1933. Joining Bonnie and Clyde were older brother Ivan Marvin "Buck" Barrow and his wife Blanche, along with petty thief W.D. Jones. Also counted as members of the gang later on were Ralph Fults and Henry Methvin.
Shootouts in Joplin and Platte City
While holed up in Joplin, Missouri, in April 1933, the Barrow Gang was approached by a posse of local lawmen, who believed them to be suspected bootleggers. A gunbattle ensued, with the gang killing two policemen. Both Clyde and W.D. Jones were wounded, but managed to escape with the others.
The Barrow Gang then took up residence at the Red Crown Tourist Camp in Platte City, Missouri. The law found them once again, with a wild battle taking place pitting the cops' Thompson submachine guns against the gang's fearsome Browning Automatic Rifles. Buck took a bullet to the head and later died while Blanche was blinded by flying glass, becoming a guest of the Missouri State Penitentiary.
Prison Break at Eastham
On January 16, 1934, Bonnie and Clyde staged a prison break at Eastham Prison Farm near Huntsville, Texas, freeing old partner-in-crime Raymond Hamilton, one Henry Methvin and three others. Hamilton was later recaptured and executed in 1935 for the murder of a guard.
Bonnie and Clyde Ambushed
With Texas Ranger Frank Hamer now on the case, Bonnie and Clyde's whereabouts were traced to Louisiana. Before dawn on May 23, 1934, a posse of law enforcement officers concealed themselves along Highway 154 between the towns of Gibsland and Sailes. When Bonnie and Clyde approached some seven hours later in a stolen Ford V8 sedan the officers opened fire, pumping over 130 rounds into the car and killing the two instantly.
Bonne and Clyde Legacy
According to the FBI, Bonnie and Clyde were responsible for at least 13 murders. And although later romanticized in such movies as The Bonnie Parker Story (1958) and Arthur Penn's Bonnie and Clyde (1967), these two public enemies were hardly the stuff of Robin Hood legend. They were instead a pair of cold-blooded killers whose savagery was only equaled by their ineptitude as small-time bank robbers.
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