Rumors of Lady Bird Lake killer conjures horror memories of Austin's infamous Servant Girl Annihilator
Warning: This article contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some, readers' discretion advised.
AUSTIN, TEXAS: A total of eight deaths in 10 months in Austin's Lady Bird Lake have raised fears that there may be a serial killer on the loose. Many have dubbed the supposed mass murderer as the Lady Bird Lake or Rainey Street serial killer. However, this isn’t the first case that has left the citizens of Austin terrified.
In the year 1884, eight gruesome murders committed by the Servant Girl Annihilator caused panic in Austin. What was the killer's name and what was the motive? To this day, the whole case is shrouded in mystery and it also made Austin the first city in the US to have a serial killer, per Culture Map Austin.
RELATED ARTICLES
APD Statement on Lady Bird Lake Drownings pic.twitter.com/mpc3uuJJ1N
— Austin Police Department (@Austin_Police) April 3, 2023
Why was the killer called Servant Girl Annihilator?
The killer always hunted down women, regardless of race or class. The killer's victims were attacked in their beds as they slept. A total six women, all servants, became the victims. They were struck in the head with an axe and were then taken to the yard where they were raped and mutilated, states a website, servantgirlmurder.com, dedicated to the crime. The other two victims were an 11-year-old girl and a man.
The manner of the crime were consistent as it included an axe. Even footprints were found and bloodhounds were used to track suspects, states servantgirlmurder.com. Private investigators were brought in by police but the person(s) responible was not caught.
Over time, public outrage grew and people called the police “ineffectual and incompetent.” In December, 1885, City Marshal H Grooms Lee was replaced by James E Lucy, an ex-Texas Ranger, and many were recruited in the city police force. In addition to this, new ordinances were enacted by the city council, including a midnight curfew. However, till date, the murder mystery remains unresolved.
Who were the victims?
Mollie Smith: She was the first victim to be killed on December 30, 1884. She was a 25-year-old cook working for the Walter Hall residence on Sixth Street, which was named Pecan Street. She was found with axe wounds to her head, abdomen, chest, legs and arms. Her body was found outside in the snow next to the family outhouse, states CultureMap Austin.
Eliza Shelly: The second victim, who got killed on Cypress Stress on May 7, 1885, worked as a cook for the family of a doctor. Her head had almost been plit in half due to blows from an axe.
Irene Cross: She was found dead on May 23, 1885 and it looked as if she had been scalped. Cross, who lived on East Linden Street, was also a servant.
Gracie Vance: She and her boyfriend Orange Washington were murdered while they were sleeping. They were brutally attacked with an axe and according to the local paper, and Vance's "head almost beaten into a jelly."
Sue Hancock: "One of the most refined ladies in Austin" was found dead in her backyard, which is now known as the Four Seasons Austin, by her husband, who was accused of the crime but was found not guilty of the murder.
Eula Phillips: "One of the prettiest women in Austin" was found dead in the backyard of her her in-laws home, where the Austin Central Library is now located. Her husband, Jimmy, also sustained severe wounds in the attack. He was also accused of the crime but was found not guilty.
Apart from them, a servant named Rebecca Ramey was attacked and wounded, and her 11-year-old daughter Mary was killed. She was dragged outside into a washhouse where she was raped, and stabbed through the ear on August 30, 1885, as per Mental Floss. The site further states, "Though around 400 men were arrested in 1885 under suspicion of being the Annihilator, none were ever successfully tried."
