Texas History Minute

a confusing and contradictory description Wild rumors ran through the city streets about the identity of the possible killer or even suggested that a gang of men was responsible

The last two murders both occurred on Christmas Eve 1885. Two women were murdered by an axe in their homes while they slept Susan Hancock was killed while sleeping alongside her teenaged daughter, and Eula Phillips, age 17, was murdered blocks away while her husband was seriously injured

Serial killers usually will stop killing either because they have moved away from the area, they are in jail or institutionalized from unrelated causes, or they die In 1885, it was considerably easier for people to slip away and disappear from public view Austin was known for a population that drifted in and out of the city No similar murders were reported elsewhere in the United States in the years after the Austin murders stopped

One suspect, Nathan Elgin, was named as a possible suspect by Travis County Sheriff Malcolm Hornsby Elgin was 18 when the murders started In February 1886, he was shot while assaulting a girl near a saloon and died shortly afterward Though Elgin was missing a toe and the murders stopped after his death, no other physical evidence or witnesses at the time was able to conclusively connect him He had no arrest record, and though he does not fit the typical profile of a serial killer, this neither acquits nor convicts him.

Two trials were held in connection to the deaths James Phillips was tried for his wife’s death the following May. The death of Eula Phillips by the axe seemed too similar Though her husband was also wounded, he was placed on trial It was clearly shown that his footprints did not match those in the other cases, but he was nevertheless convicted of seconddegree murder, a conviction later overturned Moses Hancock was tried for his wife’s death in 1886. The case ended in a hung jury

The Jack the Ripper case shocked the world with the brutal slayings of five women, with these murders taking place in London between August and November 1888 Even at the time, some people speculated the two series of murders were connected However, no evidence ever emerged to connect the two While the two cases have a passing similarity on the surface, more in-depth examination shows that the targets and the styles of the murders were completely different And what is truly more terrifying is that there was more than one person capable of such barbarity an ocean apart

Austin tripled the size of its police force in 1886, set strict curfews, and forced the all-night saloons to close at midnight. By 1895, Austin’s distinct Moonlight Towers were set in place across the city to improve lighting and nighttime safety Even a decade after the deaths, the city was still unnerved by the Servant Girl Murders

Today, there is still some active discussion and interest in the Servant Girl Annihilator case A number of books have been written discussing the case None of the houses where the murders took place still stand, all wiped away by time and progress Though more than a century has passed; and all survivors, witnesses, and possible suspects are long since dead, the case still remains technically unsolved

The most terrifying things are not ghostly wisps or supernatural bumps in the night True terror is the depths of evil that some people are willing to inflict on another But even in a world of nightmares, the good is still strong enough to defeat the bad

HPD arrests 21-year-old Melissa man for burglary and public intoxication

On Thursday, October 5, 2017, Howe Police Lieutenant Michael Hill and Officers Morris and Stone arrested 21-year-old Melissa resident Bryce Woodall for Burglary of a habitation, Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon, and Public Intoxication

Woodall broke into a home on Tutt Street at approximately 5:00 am Thursday morning The homeowner heard the commotion and confronted Woodall He assaulted the homeowner with a baseball bat, then ran from the scene. He was later located walking down State Hwy 5 Inside the backpack, he was carrying contained items taken from the home on Tutt Street He was found to be intoxicated Woodall was arrested and into the Grayson County Jail

Fifth and sixth grade Dogs advance over Whitewright, 44-0

Howe's third and fourth grade advance in overtime win, 26-20

The Howe third and fourth grade Bulldogs opened the game on defense and quickly forced a Whitewright turnover which was stripped and recovered by Vincent Castellanos

On Howe's first play of offense, Garret Rodgers scored on a 40yarder to give Howe the first lead Howe's defense then forced a turnover on downs which set up a Beaudy Kuykendall score from 25 out

Gavin Rodgers intercepted intercepted a Tiger pass and ran it back for a touchdown on Whitewright's next possession

The Tigers did score just before half to make it 20-7

Everything clicked for Howe on Saturday at Blue Ridge versus Whitewright in the opening game of the playoffs Howe (8-0), the number one seed, took on Whitewright (0-8), the eight seed Braden Ulmer quickly scored for Howe while Cooper Jones caught the 2-point converstion from Jacob "Clyde" Campbell to give Howe an 8-0 lead

Howe's next score came on a 20yard run by Garren Lankford Rowdy Kuykendall connected with Campbell for the 2-point conversion Howe led 16-0

Noah Riley ran around the right end for a 32-yard touchdown Jones and Campbell connected again for the 2-pointer to up the Bulldog lead to 24-0

Lankford added a 25-yard touchdown in the second quarter to give Howe a 30-0 halftime lead

Ashton Trevino picked up the kickoff and ran it back 58 yards to open the second half Beau Stephens caught the 2-point conversion from Campbell Howe led 38-0

Jesse Portman finished out the scoring barrage with a 2-yarder Riley added the 1-point conversion on a blast through the right side The final score was Howe 45, Whitewright 0

The Bulldogs will play Tom Bean in Tom Bean on Saturday at 4:30 The winner of that game will advance to the Super Bowl in the fifth and sixth grade division

S h i h h d f ll P b

Howe got the ball after half and turned the ball over on downs which set up the Tigers who scored on three plays bringing it to 20-14 Both defenses stepped up to keep it scoreless until :17 left in the fourth when the Tigers tied it up 20-20

Howe had first possession in overtime and scored, 26-20

Will Ingram and Rylan Strong made the defensive stops keeping Whitewright out of the endzone in overtime. Howe advances on the 26-20 win to play Leonard at Tom Bean at 1:30 pm The winner of that game goes to the Super Bowl in the third and fourth grade division

City sales tax totals $26,300

Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced today he will send cities, counties, transit systems and special purpose taxing districts $660 4 million in local sales tax allocations for October, 1 6 percent more than in October 2016 These allocations are based on sales made in August by businesses that report tax monthly

Howe's total for the month game to $26,299 75 which is up from 24,829 01 from October of 2016 and up from

$25,003 03 from a month ago

Howe's total in 2017 is $279,538 36 which is 10 43 percent ahead of last year