The Infamous Bonnie and Clyde

Where To Start.. Let’s Start With Their Early Lives

Sooooo, when you hear the names Bonnie and Clyde, what do you think of?  Maybe you think of their “Romeo and Juliet-esque” love story.. Maybe you think of their crime spree that resulted in their deaths in a hail of bullets and gunfire.. Maybe you think of the Eminem song ‘97 Bonnie and Clyde.  With today’s episode, we’re going to dive into the story and mythology that has been built up around the couple and their crime spree.  While there is plenty of information about their later lives and crime spree, there is very little  when it comes to their early, pre-crime lives.  So, we will start there, with the little information we have to go on…..

Bonnie Parker was born on October 1, 1910, in Rowena, Texas.  Despite her infamous reputation, little is known about Parker’s early life and upbringing as we previously stated. Through various accounts and historical records, a picture of Bonnie’s early years can be pieced together.

Growing up, Bonnie was the second of three children born to Charles Parker and Emma Krause.  When Bonnie was just four years old, her father died, leaving her mother to raise the children.  Bonnie was raised primarily by her mother and grandmother. She was a smart and imaginative child, with a natural talent for writing poetry and a love of books.  She was also known to be a bit of a daredevil, enjoying attention and taking risks.

At a young age, Bonnie showed a strong desire for adventure and a life beyond the confines of rural Texas.  She dreamed of becoming a famous movie star, and she was said to be captivated by the glamour and excitement of Hollywood. Despite her big dreams while growing up though, money was extremely tight for the family, as with many others during that time.  Because of the lack of money growing up, Bonnie had little to no opportunity to pursue her dreams of acting.  Bonnie dropped out of school in the sixth grade and began working odd jobs to help support her family, but eventually returned.  In 1926, when she was in her second year of high school, she met Roy Thornton.  

The two hit it off quickly and promptly dropped out of school and married, about a week before Bonnie turned sixteen years old.  During their short time together, Roy was often in trouble with the law and would disappear for periods of time.  In 1929, they separated, but never officially divorced.  In 1933, Thornton was sentenced to 5 years in prison for robbery and for attempting to escape from different prison facilities.  In 1937, he was killed trying to escape from Huntsville State Prison.  

After she and Roy Thornton split, Bonnie moved to Dallas to live with her mother and pursue her dream of becoming a movie star.  However, her aspirations were cut short when she was involved in a car accident that left her with a permanent limp. The injury put an end to her hopes of a career in show business, and Parker found herself struggling to make ends meet.  

It was in early 1930 when Bonnie met Clyde Barrow, whose early life we know even less about…

Clyde Barrow was born on March 24, 1909 to a poor family in Telico, Texas.  His father was a farmer, and his mother worked as a laundress.  Clyde was the fifth of seven children.  Growing up, Clyde had a troubled childhood, marked by poverty, violence, and abuse.  Like Bonnie’s family, money was a constant struggle.  When the Barrows moved to West Dallas, they didn’t have a place to live, so they slept in their wagon until they were able to save enough money to buy a tent.  

Clyde dropped out of school in the fifth grade and started working odd jobs around his neighborhood and town to try to earn any amount of money he could to help at home.  In his teenage years, Clyde became involved in a life of crime. He was arrested several times for various offenses, including theft and burglary.  Clyde was first arrested in late 1926, at age 17, after running when police confronted him over a rental car that he had failed to return on time.  His second arrest was with his brother Buck soon after for possession of stolen turkeys.  

Barrow had some legitimate jobs during 1927 through 1929, but he also cracked safes, robbed stores, and stole cars.  In January of 1930, Clyde met 19 year old Bonnie Parker through a mutual friend.  For the next few weeks after they met, they were almost inseparable, spending almost all of their free time together.  Their time together was interrupted though, when Clyde was arrested for auto theft and burglary. 

The Bonnie and Clyde We Know

Clyde was arrested and charged with two counts of burglary and five counts of auto theft for his involvement in an interstate crime ring.  He was sentenced to 14 years in prison and was transferred to the Eastham Prison Farm in April of 1930.  Later, Clyde would say that Eastham was a “hell hole.”  While there, he said that he witnessed prisoners being beaten and forced to sit in tin sweat boxes in the hot Texas sun for hours on end.  Some claim that prisoners were murdered by guards sometimes just for the $25 reward for capturing escaped prisoners.  Clyde managed to escape the farm with Bonnie’s help, but was captured very shortly after and sent right back. 

When Clyde was at Eastham, he was repeatedly sexually assaulted by another inmate.  Eventually, Clyde retaliated by attacking the other inmate with a metal pipe.  He bashed the man over the head and crushed his skull.  Many reports say this was his first murder, but another inmate who had a life sentence took responsibility to keep Clyde from facing the repercussions of killing his tormentor.  

In an attempt to keep from being sent to the fields to work, Clyde took extreme measures.  Using an ax, he had two of his toes cut off, hoping that the injury would keep him from the brutal labor in the Texas heat.  It’s unknown whether  Clyde did it himself or if he had the help of another inmate, but only 6 days after cutting his toes off, it proved to be unnecessary.  While Clyde was plotting on how to get out of prison, unbeknownst to him, his mother had been talking to any and everyone she could to petition for his release, and eventually, it worked.  He was released 6 days after his injury, but he was now a hardened and bitter criminal.  His sister Marie said “Something awful sure must have happened to him in prison because he wasn’t the same person when he got out.”  An inmate that served with Clyde said that he saw him change from a school boy to a rattlesnake during his time in prison.  

Clyde’s experiences while at Eastham drove him to hate the facility.  So much so that his main goal upon release was to get enough money to buy enough guns so he could go back with a gang and destroy the place.  Once he was released, Clyde, Bonnie, and a man Clyde served time with, Ralph Fults, began a series of robberies.  They mainly focused on gas stations and small grocery stores.  Fults shared Clyde’s hatred for Eastham, so he was happy to join.  In late March / early April of 1932, the gang was robbing a hardware store for any guns they had, but things went south.  When they tried to flee, Fults and Bonnie were both arrested.  Bonnie was in jail for a few months, but ultimately released when a grand jury didn’t indict her.  Fults was convicted and served time in prison, and never joined back up with Bonnie and Clyde. 

While Bonnie was serving time in Kaufman, TX, Clyde was doing what he could to make cash.  From robbing people and stores to being a getaway driver for others.  In late April, he was the driver for a robbery in Hillsboro, TX.  During the robbery, the store owner, J.N. Bucher was shot and killed.  Some say that Clyde was the one who killed him, including Bucher’s wife.  She identified Clyde as being the murderer, even though there were several accounts that had him staying in the car.  So, Clyde became wanted for murder. 

In June of the same year, Bonnie was released and quickly met back up with Clyde and the couple set out on the run.  In August they were in Stringtown, Oklahoma.  They had met up with two men, Raymond Hamilton and Ross Dyer.  The gang were at a county dance / fair type event and were drinking moonshine in their car.  While in the car, they were approached by Sheriff C.G. Maxwell and Deputy Eugene C. Moore.  The officers saw the open bottle and as they approached, sheriff Maxwell reportedly said “you can consider yourselves under arrest.” As he started to speak, gunfire erupted from inside the car.  Deputy Moore was struck and fatally wounded.  Sheriff Maxwell was stuck as well but survived his injuries.  Deputy Sheriff Eugene Moore was the first officer killed by the Barrow Gang, as they would come to be known. 

In October of the same year, Howard Hall was working in his small store in Sherman, TX when he was robbed, shot, and killed.  Some said that it was the Barrow gang, but there has never been a connection made between the murder and the gang.  Many familiar with all the details considered it unlikely that the gang was responsible. 

On Christmas of 1932, Bonnie, Clyde, and W.D. Jones were back in Texas.   Jones had known Clyde since they were boys.  He had joined up with Bonnie and Clyde only the day before, Christmas Eve, and he was 16 years old.  On Christmas, they were in Temple, TX trying to steal a car when the owner approached them.  His name was Doyle Johnson, and he was murdered when he came upon Jones and Clyde trying to steal his car. 

In January of 1933, Clyde shot and killed Tarrant County (TX) Sheriff Deputy Malcolm Davis.  The gang had unknowingly stumbled into a police trap that had been setup to capture a different criminal that was  terrorizing the area.  When the police sprang up to capture them, Clyde opened fire, killing Malcolm Davis.  Since April of the previous year, they had killed five people. 

The Gang Grows

In the Spring of 1933, Clyde’s brother, Buck, who had been serving time in prison was granted a pardon and release.  Buck and his wife Blanche met up with Bonnie, Clyde, and Jones in Joplin, Missouri.  Originally, Buck and Blanche were there to try to talk Clyde into turning himself in, but quickly realized that wasn’t going to happen… So they joined the Gang!!  While living in Joplin, they often had loud, alcohol fueled parties, but no neighbors dared to approach the house and tell them to quiet down.  But, one neighbor did complain to the police, who started to watch the house.  After a bit of surveillance, they thought that the people living in the house were bootleggers, and planned to confront them.

In April, five officers in two cars pulled up in front of the house.  Clyde, Buck, and Jones immediately opened fire.  Detective Harry McGinnis was shot as he tried to exit his vehicle and immediately died.  J.W. Harryman was also shot and fatally wounded in the shootout that ensued.  During the shootout, Clyde, Buck, and Jones were able to get in a car and begin to escape while Bonnie used a 30 caliber BAR (Browning Automatic Rifle).  As they were leaving, Bonnie jumped in the car and they then scooped up Blanche, who was in the road trying to get her dog who had escaped.  The officers later testified that they only fired 14 rounds during the shootout.  Of the 14 rounds, one struck Jones in the side.  One struck Clyde, but was deflected by a button on his coat.  One grazed Buck after bouncing off of a nearby wall. 

While the gang escaped from Joplin, they left behind the majority of their possessions.  The police had a treasure trove of things to go through, including their arsenal of weapons, poetry written by Bonnie, and rolls of undeveloped film.  The film was developed at the Joplin Globe, and once they saw them, the Globe sent them out over the news wire, so they were published nationwide.  This is where many of the most well known photos of the couple originate from.  As a result of publishing the photos and some of Bonnie’s poetry, the Barrow Gang became front page news in America, and their legend grew.  

For the next few months, the gang moved around a lot.  They went from TX to Minnesota, to Indiana, and tried to constantly be on the move.  When they went to steal a car, if the owner or officers got in their way, they would kidnap them.  Then, once they got far enough away, they would release their captives, sometimes giving them money to get back home.  But, the gang also didn’t hesitate to kill anyone who got in the way of what they wanted to do.  

Because of the photos and stories that were published in the newspapers, the gang had a difficult time blending in any more.  They became more and more desperate and their daily life became more difficult.  Now, they couldn’t just go get a motel room in the middle of nowhere, because they would be recognized and the police would be called.  

In June of 1933, Clyde was driving with Jones and Bonnie and failed to see signs that a bridge was under construction in Tx.  Because of the construction, the car flipped into a ravine.  Exactly what caused it is unconfirmed, but Bonnie sustained third degree burns on one of her legs.  Some said that it was from a fire in the accident and others said that it was because of battery acid that leaked out onto her leg after the accident.  Whatever it was, Bonnie’s right leg had burns so severe that the muscles contracted and caused her leg to “draw up.”  The burns were so bad that they thought she would die.  On parts of her leg, they could see the bone.  Bonnie could barely walk, and if they went places, Clyde carried her the majority of the time.  

They met back up with Buck and Blanch in Arkansas and laid low, trying to nurse Bonnie’s wounds.  That didn’t last long though; Buck and Jones tried to commit a robbery, but blew it and in the process killed Town Marshal Henry Humphrey.  The gang had to quickly flee.  

Their Final Run

After the gang fled Arkansas, they settled in Missouri at the Red Crown Tourist Court.  Blanche checked them in, saying that there were only 3 people, and they rented two cabins that were connected by a garage between them.  When they were unpacking, the manager of the grounds noted that there were 5 people, and that Clyde parked the car “gangster style” in the garage, meaning he backed it in, so they could make a fast getaway if necessary.  When Blanche went to get food, she paid for 5 meals each time, and the staff noticed that the gang had put newspaper up over the windows of the cabins they rented.  The manager told all of this to a highway patrol captain who frequented the restaurant on the grounds.

One day, Clyde and Jones went to a nearby town pharmacy to get bandages, supplies to treat Bonnie’s leg, cheese, and crackers.  While there, they caught the eye of the pharmacist, who had been told to look out for strangers or out of towners buying similar things.  He alerted the sheriff, who called in reinforcements from Kansas City.  Around 11PM that night, they moved in towards the cabins that the gang had rented.  Again though, the gang escaped, although they did suffer wounds in this shootout.  The only reason they escaped though was because a bullet had gone through and short circuited the horn of an armored car the police were using.  The officers mistook this as a signal to cease fire, and the gang drove off in their bullet riddled car.  But, Buck had been struck in the head by a bullet and had a hole exposing his skull and a section of his brain.  Blanche had been near a glass window that was shot, sending shards of glass in her eyes, nearly blinding her. 

They made it to Dexter, Iowa and settled in an abandoned amusement park.  Butttt, nearby people noticed that there were bloody bandages randomly strewn about different places and notified the police.  Local officers and about 100 spectators surrounded the gang and the officers opened fire.  Bonnie, Clyde, and Jones escaped.  Buck and Blanche were captured.  Buck died a few days later, and Blanche was arrested and sent to prison for six years. 

For the next few weeks, the remaining members of the Barrow Gang were spotted in Colorado, Minnesota, and Mississippi… and continued to commit small robberies.  They even robbed an armory of rifles, handguns, and ammunition in Illinois.  

In September of 1933, they went back to Dallas to see family.  Once there, Jones left Bonnie and Clyde to go to Houston where his mother lived.  He was later arrested in November of the same year without incident.  He would eventually be sentenced to 15  years in prison.  Some speculate that since he was a minor, Clyde had instructed him to tell the authorities that he was forced to ride along with the gang, and pin everything on Clyde and Buck, which is the basic story he told the police.  Because of his testimony, a grand jury delivered a murder indictment against Bonnie and Clyde, which was the first for Bonnie.  This was after the couple was almost apprehended when visiting family in Dallas.  As their car drove up, Clyde suspected something was off and drove off.  Nearby officers ran out and started shooting the car, striking both Bonnie and Clyde in the legs, but they escaped.  

In January of 1934, Clyde finally was able to orchestrate an attempt at his original goal of getting revenge against the Eastham Prison Farm and the Texas Dept of Corrections.  There were various people on the prison farm who were at one point or another in the Barrow Gang.  It was Clyde’s goal to get them out.  In the ensuing escape, Major Joe Crowson was shot and killed while several men escaped.  This escape brought down the full power of the Texas and Federal governments.  The TX Dept of Corrections reached out to former Texas Ranger Frank Hamer and asked him to track down the Barrow Gang. 

For all of his adult life, Hamer had served as a law enforcement officer in some form, mostly as a Texas Ranger.  He is widely recognized as one of the best Texas Rangers to ever carry the badge.  He’s officially credited with 53 kills and suffering 17 wounds himself.  Three of Hamer’s four brothers were also Texas Rangers.  His brother Harrison was the best shot of the four, but Frank was considered the most tenacious.  Starting on February 10, 1934 Hamer became the constant shadow of Barrow and Parker, living out of his car, just a town or two behind them.

On Easter Sunday of 1934, highway patrolmen HD Hurphy and Edward Wheeler stopped their motorcycles to help a motorist who was on the side of the road.  As they approached, Barrow and another man, Henry Methvin, (one of the prison escapees) opened fire.  Methvin later said that he fired the first shots, after mistakenly thinking that Clyde wanted the officers dead; Clyde joined in after he started shooting.  An eye witness claimed that Bonnie herself fired the fatal shots, which spread like wildfire once it was reported by the papers.  Over the next few months, these stories became more and more embellished.  Eventually, a $1000 reward (About 23K in today’s dollars) was announced for the bodies of those responsible for the murders… not their capture, just their bodies. The TX Governor would later add an additional $500.

Not long after, in Oklahoma, Barrow and Methvin murdered Constable William Campbell.  The public opinion had shifted; they now saw Bonnie as a cold blooded killer just like Clyde.  

In May of 1934, Hamer was still tracking the couple and began to see a pattern.  He noticed that they traveled in a pattern between several states, because of the “state line” rule, meaning that officers wouldn’t pursue them from one state to another.  They began to watch the family of Henry Methvin in Louisiana, because they noticed that almost all of the gang’s travels centered around visiting various family members scattered around the country.  They didn’t know that Clyde had designated Methvin’s parents house as a rendezvous point if they got separated, which had actually happened only days before in Shreveport.  

On May 21st, 1934, a 6 man posse composed of Hamer and various TX and Louisiana officers learned that Bonnie and Clyde were planning to visit Ivy Methvin (Henry’s dad) in Bienville Parish that evening.  They set up an ambush on Louisiana State Highway 154 and waited.  

At 9:15 AM on May 23rd, the posse was concealed in the bushes by the road.  They had persuaded Ivy to pull his truck on the side of the road in hopes that if Bonnie and Clyde came through, they would see him and stop.  They were getting ready to give up when they heard the roar of the Ford V8 that Clyde was driving.  As they approached and began to slow down near Ivy’s car, the posse opened fire. 

Clyde was struck in the head by the first shot and died almost instantly.  Bonnie began to scream as the officers emptied each of their guns into the car.  Over 130 rounds were fired.   The coroner said that Clyde had 17 entrance wounds and Bonnie had 26, including several to each’s head, and one that severed Clyde’s spinal column.  It’s reported that the undertaker had difficulty embalming the pair because of all the bullet holes.  

News quickly spread that Bonnie and Clyde had been killed and a crowd began to form around the scene.  People began to approach the scene and try to take souvenirs, including shell casings, parts of the car, and even locks of Bonnie’s hair.  One man was even caught trying to cut off Clyde’s trigger finger.  

The legacy of Bonnie and Clyde has lived on, and they have become folk heroes to some people.  Their story has been told in books, movies, and songs, and they are remembered as symbols of the lawless spirit of the early 20th century. But to many others, they are remembered as notorious criminals who terrorized the country with their violence and crimes.

Bonnie and Clyde’s crime spree was a defining moment in the history of American crime.  Their daring exploits and violent crimes captivated the public and inspired fear across the country.  While their legacy has been the subject of much debate, one thing is certain: Bonnie and Clyde will always be remembered as two of the most notorious outlaws in American history.