Jake Bird (December 14, 1901 – July 15, 1949) was an American serial killer who was executed in Washington for the 1947 murders of two women in Tacoma. He is also known to have murdered at least eleven other people across several states between 1930 and 1947. Prior to his execution Bird had implicated himself in up to 46 murders.
In 1991, criminologist Eric W. Hickey, Ph.D., Director of Alliant International University's Center for Forensic Studies, wrote about how the Bird case challenges stereotypes of serial killers, who are mostly thought to be Caucasian males, whereas African-American killers typically are associated with urban violence. Hickey wrote, "Revelations that Jake Bird, a black man, had actually stalked and killed dozens of white women in the 1940s in dozens of states...continue[s] to challenge traditionally held profiles of serial killers."
Murders[]
Bird’s first kills were reportedly those of two women in Evanston, Illinois in 1942. Other victims were confirmed in Louisville, Kentucky; Omaha, Nebraska; Kansas City, Kansas; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Cleveland, Ohio; Orlando, Florida; and Portage, Wisconsin. Police in Houston, Texas suspected he murdered a woman there as well.
On October 30, 1947. Bird was 45. He was looking for work and came across the home of Bertha Kludt and her daughter Beverly June. The house still stands at 1007 South 21st Street. Bird entered their home and hacked them to death with an ax. They screamed during the attack, alarming the neighbors who proceeded to call the police. Two officers arrived at the scene only to find Bird covered in blood, still holding a knife as he ran from the scene. They cornered him. He attacked. One officer was slashed in the hand while the other was stabbed in the shoulder. Despite their injuries, the officers managed to tackle Bird and handcuff. He was taken to the hospital for his injuries and then delivered in shackles to the Old City Hall jail cells.
On November 26, 1947, Bird was found guilty of two counts of first degree murder. The jury fixed his sentence as death. On December 6, 1947, Bird was sentenced to death by hanging.
The Bird Hex[]
After his conviction and death sentences were announced, Bird was allowed to make a final statement. He spoke for 20 minutes, noting that his request to represent himself had been denied and that his own lawyers were against him. At the end of his 20-minute impassioned speech, Bird declared that, "All you guys who had anything to do with this case are going to die before I do." This would become known as the "Jake Bird hex." Five people connected with the trial died from heart attacks within a year. Judge Edward D. Hodge, died on January 1, 1948, at the age of 69. Joseph E. Karpach and Sherman W. Lyons, both aged 46, died on April 5, 1948, and October 28, 1948, respectively. Both men had been involved in the taking of Bird's confessions. Court reporter George L. Harrigan, died on June 11, 1948, at the age of 69. J.W. Selden died on November 26, 1948, at the age of 76. A sixth man, Arthur A. Steward, a Washington State Penitentiary guard assigned to death row, died of pneumonia two months before Bird's execution.