Texas Led The Way In Terms Of Serial Killers

Texas can't claim the most serial killers, (looking at you Alaska), but it appears Texas did have the first one. It happened in the mid-1800's and the killer was never caught.

Between December, 1884 and December, 1885 ... about 3 years before Jack The Ripper did his thing in London ... 8 girls were attacked, raped and murdered in Austin, Texas.

Being that most were servants, these are referred to as the servant girl murders.

2 of the ladies were married and their husbands were accused. A hung jury resulted in one being freed and the other was found to have also been injured during the attack on his wife so both were ultimately released. All 8 murders remain unsolved.

Were The Police Inept?

Austin was terrified for a year as the hunt continued and a frustrated, frightened public began calling the police incompetent. The women were always attacked in bed while sleeping and then drug outside, making evidence gathering tough.

Despite the murder weapons typically being left at the crime scene and bare, bloody footprints being left all over the place; the cops still didn't really have much to work with. The crimes all happened at night, in the dark and modern investigation tactics like fingerprinting and blood analysis didn't really exist yet.

There were also no witnesses and the crime scenes were always outside, subject to the elements, animals and whatever else could cover up, blow away or otherwise ruin evidence.

The Footprints May Have, Sort Of, Helped though.

One thing cops did notice was that the bloody footprints showed the killer had a missing toe. He apparently always took his shoes/boots off, probably to help him be quieter, and some of the footprints were pretty clear.

There were no more murders after December, 1885. However, in February of 1886, the beast may have awoken.

Did Nathan Elgin Kill These Women?

Rape is a horrible and violent crime. The level of violence in these cases was above and beyond though, indicating a deep seated and intense hatred of women. One night in February of 1886, after a lull in these crimes, people heard a woman screaming.

Nathan Elgin had grabbed a serving girl, (a "servant"...sound familiar?), drug her from her business for reasons unknown into a nearby home and was beating her. Witnesses called the cops who confronted Elgin. Transferring his rage from the girl to the cops, he drew a knife on them and was fatally shot. Further investigation revealed he was missing a toe ...