Joe Ball

Joseph Douglas Ball (January 7, 1896[2][1] – September 24, 1938)[1] was an American murderer and suspected serial killer, sometimes referred to as the "Alligator Man",[3] the "Butcher of Elmendorf"[4] and the "Bluebeard[3] of South Texas".

For other people named Joe Ball, see Joe Ball (disambiguation).
Joe Ball
Born
Joseph Douglas Ball

(1896-01-07)January 7, 1896
San Antonio, Texas, U.S.[1]
DiedSeptember 24, 1938(1938-09-24) (aged 42)[1]
Elmendorf, Texas, U.S.
Cause of deathSuicide by gunshot
Other namesThe Alligator Man
The Butcher of Elmendorf
The Bluebeard of South Texas
Details
Victims5–20
Span of crimes
1936–1938
CountryUnited States
State(s)Texas

Background

Ball was the great-great-grandson of John Hart Crenshaw, a notorious illegal slave trader, kidnapper, and illegal slave breeder in Gallatin County, Illinois. After serving on the frontlines in Europe during World War I, Ball started his career as a bootlegger, providing illegal liquor to those who could pay for it. After the end of Prohibition, he opened a saloon called the Sociable Inn in Elmendorf, Texas. He built a pond that contained six alligators because he misunderstood the term corpus delicti, believing that a murder conviction without a body would be impossible. He charged people to view them, especially during feeding time; the food consisted mostly of live cats and dogs.[4]

Murders

After a while, women in the area were reported missing, including barmaids, former girlfriends, and his wife. When two Bexar County deputy sheriffs went to question him in 1938, Ball pulled a handgun from his cash register and killed himself with a bullet through the heart (as noted on his death certificate by the coroner, but some sources report that he shot himself in the head).[3]

A handyman who conspired with Ball, Clifford Wheeler, admitted to helping Ball dispose of the bodies of two of the women he had killed.[3] Wheeler led them to the remains of Hazel Brown and Minnie Gotthard. Few written sources from the era could verify Ball's crimes. Newspaper editor Michael Hall investigated the story in depth in 2002 and wrote on his findings for Texas Monthly.[4]

The film Eaten Alive by Tobe Hooper was inspired by Ball. The film features a man named Judd, a serial killer who runs a hotel and disposes of his victims' bodies by feeding them to a Nile crocodile.[5]

Ball was referenced in Bones in the fifth episode of season eight, "The Method in the Madness".

Macabre wrote a song called "Joe Ball Was His Name" which can be found on Carnival of Killers.

See also

References
  1. Texas Deaths, United States census, 1890–1976; Texas; roll 4030421, page 2025, line cn 40253. Retrieved on February 14, 2011.
  2. Texas Monthly
  3. "Drag Texas Dunes for Alligator Man's victims". The Evening Herald. Rock Hill, S.C. October 19, 1938. Archived from the original on November 25, 2015. Retrieved March 4, 2011.
  4. Hall, Michael (July 1, 2002). "Two Barmaids, Five Alligators, and the Butcher of Elmendorf". Texas Monthly. Texas. Retrieved March 4, 2011.
  5. "Deep Red Horror Handbook".
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