Youthful Killers.

Murder knows no age limit, and some of the most sensational murders in the 19th century were committed by teenagers. Often, their victims were abusive parents, but young killers were as likely as adults to murder anyone standing in their way. In at least one case, a serial killer was stopped before he could reach his full potential. 

Here are a few cases featuring Murder by Gaslight’s youthful killers:

 

	Horrible Murder in Twelfth Street. Alfred Buchanan - age 19. Mrs. Sarah Shancks was found dead in her millinery store in New York City on December 7, 1860. She had been brutally beaten and slashed, her throat cut so deeply she was nearly decapitated. 19-year-old Alfred Buchanan was indicted for the murder, but before his trial, he was pronounced insane and committed to the state lunatic asylum.
	"Girl Slays Girl." Alice Mitchell - Age 19. Alice Mitchell and her 17-year-old schoolmate, Freda Ward, declared love for each other and planned to elope to St. Louis to live together as husband and wife. When Freda’s family stopped the relationship, Alice Mitchel met Freda Ward on the street and cut her throat with a straight razor.
	Orrin De Wolf. Orrin De Wolf - Age 18. In 1844, Orrin De Wolf boarded at the home of William Stiles in Worcester, Massachusetts. He fell in love with Stiles’s young wife, Eliza Ann. De Wolf strangled Stiles with a silk handkerchief, hoping to steal his landlord’s wife.  Instead, he was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.
	The Murdered Congressman. Thomas Hamilton - age 18. U.S. Congressman Cornelius S. Hamilton returned to Marysville, Ohio, because his son Thomas was experiencing mental problems. He was preparing to send Thomas to an asylum, but when he went to the barn for some feed, Thomas hit him in the back of the head with a fence post, fracturing his skull and killing him instantly.
	Another Boy Murderer.  Francis J. Kelley - age 17. In 1883, Francis Kelly, of Rockport, Indiana, decided that farmwork was not for him. He took a job with a man trading illicit liquor from a boat. After an argument over his share of the profits, Kelly shot the man in the head and burned his boat. He was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.
	Shot by Her Stepson. Thomas McCabe - age 16, Thomas McCabe enjoyed life in New York City but did not like the discipline of school or his parents.  He decided to rob his parents and leave town, and in the process, he shot and killed his stepmother. McCabe was easily captured and convicted of second-degree murder.
	Jesse Pomeroy - "Boston Boy Fiend." Jessie Harding Pomeroy - age 14. In 1874, Jessie Pomeroy of Boston, Massachusetts, murdered 10-year-old Katie Curran and 4-year-old Horace Millen. He had previously assaulted and tortured several other children. Pomeroy was captured and convicted of first-degree murder. He spent the next 53 years in prison.
	Delia's Gone, One More Round. Moses "Cooney" Houston - age 14. In Savannah, Georgia, on Christmas Eve 1900, the tail end of the 19th Century, Moses “Cooney” Houston shot and killed his 14-year-old girlfriend, Delia Green. The murder of Deila Green was the source of the folk song “Delia’s Gone,” still sung 125 years later.
	A Boy Murderer. John Wesley Elkins - age 11. Around 2 a.m. on July 24, 1889, John Wesley Elkins went into his parents' room and shot his father in the head with a rifle. Then he beat his mother to death with a club. He did it because he was unhappy about having to take care of his infant half-sister and wanted to go off on his own. Elkins served twelve years of a life sentence for murder.