Joseph "Joe" Ball ( born Joseph D. Ball ; January 6, 1896 - September 24, 1938 ) is an American serial killer. Known under the nickname "Elmendorf Butcher", "Alligator Man" and "Blue Beard of South Texas" [1] [2] . As expected, he was involved in at least three murders of girls committed in the 1930s [2] . Its existence has long been called into question; it is often mentioned in Texas folklore itself , where he is credited with the massacre of girls.
| Joe Ball | |
|---|---|
| Joseph "Joe" Ball | |
 | |
| Birth name | Joseph D. Ball |
| Nickname | Alligator Man , Elmendorf Butcher , South Texas Bluebeard |
| Date of Birth | January 6, 1896 |
| Place of Birth | San Antonio , Texas , USA |
| Citizenship |  USA |
| Date of death | September 24, 1938 (42 years old) |
| Place of death | Elmendorf, Texas , USA |
| Cause of death | Suicide |
| Occupation | |
| The killings | |
| Number of victims | 5-20 |
| Kill period | 1930s |
| The main region of the killings | Elmendorf, Texas |
Content
Start
After front-line service in Europe during the First World War , Joe began to illegally sell alcohol to people who paid well. In the end, he opened a bar, which he called the "Social Inn in Elmendorf." At this inn there was a pond in which alligators swam (probably Ball brought them to get rid of the corpses). He invited people to look at them, most often during feeding. Food for alligators was mainly cats and dogs. [2]
Murders
After some time, women began to disappear, including bartenders, girlfriends and Ball's wife. When two sheriffs from Bejar County came to Ball to interrogate him, Joe took a revolver from the cash register and shot himself in the heart [1] (according to some sources, in the head).
The handyman who was conspiring with Ball, Clifford Wheeler, said he had helped the killer get rid of two corpses. Wheeler revealed the whereabouts of the remains of Hazel Brown and Minnie Gottard. In addition, Clifford said that Joe had killed at least 20 women and fed their bodies to alligators, which made his involvement impossible to prove.
The editor of the newspaper, Michael Hall, in 2002 examined this story and wrote a note for the newspaper Texas Monthly. [2]
In 1976, Toube Hooper made the movie The Deadly Trap , which is based on the story of Joe Ball.
See also
- List of serial killers by country
- The Death Trap (film, 1976)
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 Drag Texas Dunes for Alligator Man's victims (October 19, 1938). Date of treatment February 15, 2013. (English)
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 Hall, Michael . Two Barmaids, Five Alligators, and the Butcher of Elmendorf (July 01, 2002). Date of treatment February 15, 2013. (English)