Dark Stories: On This Day In True Crime History - Dark Stories True Crime Tours

1865: John Wesley Hardin Gunned Down in an El Paso Saloon

John Wesley Hardin was one of the most feared gunfighters of the American Old West. Born in Texas in 1853 to a Methodist preacher, he killed his first man at 15 and spent the following decade evading lawmen across the South. Sentenced to 24 years for murder in 1877, Hardin claimed to have killed 42 men, though historians estimate the true figure exceeded 20. He studied law in prison and wrote a self-aggrandising autobiography, widely noted for its exaggerations.

Within a year of his 1894 release, Hardin was shot dead by constable John Selman in the Acme Saloon in El Paso. Hardin had been gambling, rolling dice at the bar, and his last words were reportedly “Four sixes to beat.” Moments later, Selman walked up behind him and shot him in the head. Hardin was 42 years old.

Portrait of outlaw John Wesley Hardin

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Gang Murder Organised Crime Prison Trial USA

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2005: BTK Killer Dennis Rader Sentenced to 175 Years for Ten Murders

Dennis Rader, a church council president and compliance officer from Wichita, Kansas, was sentenced to ten consecutive life terms totalling 175 years in prison for a killing spree that began in 1974 and claimed ten lives over three decades. Methodical and media-savvy, he bound, tortured, and killed his victims, earning the acronym BTK. He stalked neighbours, executed families, and kept trophies, all while living an unremarkable suburban life.

Rader had evaded capture for thirty years before his own need for notoriety led to his undoing. In 2004 he resumed contact with police and local media after a long silence. A floppy disk he sent to a television station was traced back to his church computer, and he was arrested in February 2005. He pleaded guilty to all ten murders in June 2005 and was sentenced in August of that year, using his final court appearance to describe each killing in cold, methodical detail.

Forensics expert examining floppy disk with magnifying glass

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Murder Serial Killer Trial USA

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1857: Alexander Cullen Hanged at Campbell Street Gaol for the Murder of Betsy Ross

Betsy was known to frequent the Red Lion Tavern in Liverpool Street and was living with Cullen in a house behind the tavern. On the night of the murder, witnesses saw her drinking at the Red Lion before she later returned towards the area with Cullen.

Cullen had lost his wife only a few months earlier and was supporting his young daughter. His landlord described him as sober, hardworking and careful with money, saying Cullen would sometimes explain how much he had earned, pay half towards the rent, and keep the rest “to feed the child.”

Later that night, Betsy was found dead inside their home with a bloodied tomahawk beside her. Cullen was arrested with blood on his hands and later admitted, “I have done it, and I am sorry for it.” He was convicted of murder andexecuted at the Campbell Street Gaol.

Alexander Cullen Hanged at Campbell Street Gaol for the Murder of Betsy Ross

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Australia Execution Murder TAS Trial

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1786: Britain Decides to Dump Its Criminal Class on the Far Side of the World

In 1786, Britain faced a crisis of its own making. Decades of the so-called bloody code had swollen the criminal class with petty offenders, American independence had slammed shut the old dumping ground of the colonial plantations, and the gaols were bursting. The solution settled upon was audacious: ship Britain’s unwanted more than 15,000 miles to New South Wales, a coastline only recently mapped by Captain Cook, who had praised the land around Botany Bay.

Over the next 80 years, more than 160,000 men and women were transported to Australia and Van Diemen’s Land. Transportation meant total erasure: the loss of home, family, and identity, followed by a brutal sea crossing and survival in an utterly foreign land. Yet for many, the far side of the world offered something the old country never would: a second chance.

First Fleet ships entering Sydney Harbour 1788 illustration

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Australia Colonial History England NSW Organised Crime Political Crime Prison Transportation UK

1865: John Wesley Hardin Gunned Down in an El Paso Saloon

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2005: BTK Killer Dennis Rader Sentenced to 175 Years for Ten Murders

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1857: Alexander Cullen Hanged at Campbell Street Gaol for the Murder of Betsy Ross

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1786: Britain Decides to Dump Its Criminal Class on the Far Side of the World

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