Joe Ball

Joseph Douglas "Joe" Ball (January 7, 1896[2] – 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". He is known to have killed two and is said to have killed as many as 20 women in the 1930s. His existence was long believed to be apocryphal, but he is a familiar figure in Texas folklore.

Joe Ball
Joe Ball
Born
Joseph Douglas Ball

(1896-01-07)January 7, 1896[1]
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
Victims2–20
Span of crimes
1936–1938
CountryUnited States
State(s)Elmendorf, Texas

Background

Ball was the great-great-grandson of John Hart Crenshaw, the notorious illegal slave trader, kidnapper, and illegal slave breeder in Gallatin County, Illinois.[5] 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. 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 sheriff's deputies went to question him in 1938, Ball pulled a handgun from his cash register and killed himself with a bullet through the heart (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. There were few written sources from the era which 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.[6]

Ball was referenced in Bones in the 5th episode of season 8 “The Method and the Madness”.

gollark: How long until adults now?
gollark: Or temporarily, for a month or whatever.
gollark: What if there's some really crazy mechanic like *permanently* changing colour when bred with certain breeds?
gollark: https://dragcave.net/sacrificesoul
gollark: It's probably just green until you sacrifice your soul to Ba'al the Soul-Eater, at which point you can get other colours.

See also

References
  1. Texas Deaths, United States Census, 1890-1976; Texas; roll 4030421, page 2025, line cn 40253. Retrieved on 2011-02-14.
  2. Texas Monthly
  3. "Drag Texas Dunes for Alligator Man's victims". The Evening Herald. Rock Hill, S.C. October 19, 1938. Retrieved 2011-03-04.
  4. Hall, Michael (July 1, 2002). "Two Barmaids, Five Alligators, and the Butcher of Elmendorf". Texas Monthly. Texas. Retrieved 2011-03-04.
  5. John Hart Crenshaw, the notorious illegal slave trader, kidnapper, and illegal slave breeder in Gallatin County, Illinois.
  6. https://archive.org/stream/Deep_Red_Horror_Handbook/Deep_Red_Horror_Handbook_djvu.txt
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