This is the horrifically true story of the Atlanta Ripper.
The South has its beauty with dripping Spanish moss, massive oaks, thick woods, and vibrant green vegetation. But along with the remnants of abandoned mansions and decaying buildings—long abandoned and forgotten to a time long ago—its secrets keep creeping out of the grave, never to stay buried.
After a recent trip to Atlanta and its hauntingly beautiful Historic Oakland Cemetery, I picked up a few books that uncover some of the Gate City’s dark past.
Atlanta in the early 1900s
Atlanta began with the railroad. Because of its location near the Chattahoochee River, the railroad extended to the area and became known as “the end of the line.” The railroad dubbed the vicinity, Terminus.
In 1843, the city took the name Marthasville, named after Governor Wilson Lumpkin’s daughter Martha Lumpkin Compton. By 1845, the area was officially named Atlanta. Unlike other cities in Georgia during this time, Atlanta’s economy was not fueled by plantations and farming; instead, it was propelled by the railroad industry and mercantilism. Hence, Atlanta never had a large slave population like many other southern cities. Because it was one of the few places in the South that offered jobs in manufacturing, the city quickly grew. In 1860 there were 9 thousand people, while by 1865, it had grown to twenty-two thousand — all in only five years.
Though the Civil War and General Sherman’s attack on the city caused some setback, the South’s crop of choice—cotton—with the implementation of sharecropping, made its comeback in the late 1800s. This made Atlanta a hub for the textile industry. By 1900, the population soared to ninety thousand people, and the state capital was moved from Milledgeville to Atlanta in 1868.
Of its ninety thousand, thirty-five thousand of those were African Americans. Civil rights movements came early to Atlanta, thankfully. Well-known historical figures like Alonzo Herndon, founder of the Atlanta Life Insurance Company, and Dr. W.E.B. DuBois, who founded the NAACP, would write themselves in Atlanta’s history. And Booker T. Washington’s speech “Atlanta Compromise” in 1895 would place the city at the forefront of the Civil Rights Movement.
Race Riot in 1906
Though there were great strides made for civil rights, there would prove to be much more work to be done in changing the minds of many Atlanta people. Part of this was because as the city grew, so too did the difficulty in obtaining jobs. With both white and black laborers looking for work, the competition could be intense. Not to mention that there was a growing number of African American upper class. All of this bred contempt in the residents who were of backward thinking.
In the 1906 election, candidate Hoke Smith, previous publisher of The Atlanta Journal, and Clark Howell, editor of Atlanta Constitution, proved to be a turning point for relations in Atlanta. Their backward message further fueled the contempt of some residents and led to a race riot in September of that year. Despite the mayor, James D. Woodward, trying to squelch the uprising, white men continued attacking black men on the streets, invading black-owned businesses, and for four days, the rioting continued. The state militia had to move in to help control the chaos. According to Jeffrey Wells, author of The Atlanta Ripper, somewhere between 24-40 African Americans lost their lives, leaving the city ripped apart.
Jack the Ripper
In 1888, Jack the Ripper began plaguing the streets of London. Newspapers around the world roared about the nightmare of the monster loose on the streets. So much was said about Jack the Ripper that he became a household name by the early 1900s. So when women started showing up dead in Atlanta, the term “Ripper” fit the dreadful fiend who scoured the streets, thirsting for blood.
The Atlanta Ripper
With only about 21 years between the Jack the Ripper killings and the murders in Atlanta, some people wondered if the same man committed them. Not to mention that there were similarities. Victims’ throats were often slashed in both cases, for example. But Emma Lou Sharpe, a woman who was almost a victim to the Atlanta Ripper, debunked the idea, though. She claimed that the South’s Ripper was a tall, thin black man. While evidence for Jack the Ripper supports that he was a white man.
Side note: The idea of Jack the Ripper having come to America turned out not to be such a strange and far-fetched idea because, in 1993, it emerged that Dr. Francis Tumblety, a key suspect in the London ripper killings, did in fact come to America.
The idea term “Ripper” was widely used after the sensational journalism about London’s Ripper had poured through the nation. Many killers of women during that time were labeled “ripper,” which speaks volumes to the fear of citizens. If such a monster existed in London, who’s to say they didn’t exist everywhere?
Though the dates are sometimes disputed, the Atlanta Ripper began his work sometime between 1909 and 1911. The first arguable slaying was that of Della Reid on April 5th, 1909. She was found in a pile of trash. Another body was found on September 7th that year, and by 1910, black women were being murdered every month. In March, it was Estella Baldwin, in April in was Georgia Brown, then Mattie Smith, then Lavinia Ostin, then Sarah Dukes, then Eliza Griggs, and Maggie Brooks.
By 1911, things had gotten even worse, as unimaginable as that is. You see, no one had yet been caught for these horrific murders, and people were not only afraid but outraged that seemingly nothing was being done to find the murderer or murderers. In January, the body of Rosa Trice was found near her home. An article in the Atlanta Constitution described the condition of the body, explaining that her body had been dragged, her head had been bashed in, she had been stabbed, and her throat was slit. Initially, police suspected her husband, John Trice, but after an investigation, no evidence supported that theory, and he was released.
Another woman was found in February, who died of a head wound and a slash of the throat. Understandably, people were afraid. Young black women were being murdered at an alarming rate, and still… no one knew who was killing them.
In May, Rosa Rivers was shot and killed. She was walking with her sister and a friend when a man approached them, pulled out a gun, and fired. Later that month, Belle Walker’s body was found near her home. In June, it was Addie Watts. By this time in 1911, the papers started dubbing the murderer, the Atlanta Ripper. Then there was Lizzie Watkins… finally, the media was beginning to take notice and gave the city’s nemesis coverage on the front page of the Atlanta Journal.
By the time the Ripper had struck again, in June, killing Lena Sharp—the papers were keen to get the scoop. And he’d left behind a witness that gave them a description of the killer. Lena Sharp left on that evening to visit the market, while her daughter Emma Lou stayed home. When her mother didn’t return home, she went looking for her. While searching, she came face-to-face with a murderer. She came across a tall, dark man wearing a black hat. Strangely, the man asked her how she was feeling. Sensing that something wasn’t right and having heard about the killings, she tried to hurry away, only to be stopped by the man who said, “Don’t be afraid. I never hurt girls like you.” He then stabbed her in the back. He then fled. She was able to scream for help and survived. Her mother was not so lucky.
A reward of $25 was then offered by a citizen for the capture of the killer.
Then Reverend Henry Hugh Proctor, pastor of the First Congregational Church, held a meeting and encouraged every African American to both cooperate with the police and to use every resource to find the Atlanta Ripper.
In July, Mary Yeldell, a cook for the Selcer household, was walking home when she heard a whistle. She turned to look if someone was trying to get her attention, and that’s when she saw a tall, broad-built black man. She ran back to the Selcer home. Upon hearing what happened, Mr. Selcer went out with a gun to where she’d seen him. He found the man, still there, in the alleyway. He told him to put his hands up, but the man ran and got away.
Sadie Holley was the next victim.
Police soon apprehended a man by the name of Henry Huff. Huff had been seen by witnesses with Sadie Holley the night of the murder. When he was captured, police noted that he was wearing bloody clothes and had scratches on him. He also had a gash wound on his head. Huff claimed that the blood and marks were because of a scuffle at a poolroom.
A second man was in question, too—Todd Henderson. Emma Lou Sharp identified him as the man who had stabbed her and who had likely killed her mother. Only, Emma hadn’t exactly identified him. Her words, when asked if he was the man, were, “To the best of my knowledge.” Not exactly a clear accusation. But when she heard him speak, it was reported that she shrieked—likely reliving that night again—and that cemented any questions she may have had about whether or not he was her attacker. And a clerk placed him near the scene of the murder, as well. Another witness said that Henderson had accompanied Sadie Holley to the store the night of her death.
Though evidence seemed to be mounting against Henderson, he maintained his innocence. He claimed the reason he’d been seen in these places was because he lived in the area. He even suggested that if he were going to kill someone, it would have been his wife. But many of the murders took place near his home so that only furthered investigators’ suspicions. Another witness—a conductor—also placed Henderson there the night of Sadie Holley’s murder. But witnesses had also claimed they’d saw Huff with Holley the night of the crime. One damning piece of the puzzle surfaced against the case of Henderson. He’d claimed that he didn’t own a razor, but police discovered that he’d taken a razor to a barbershop the day after Sadie’s murder to get it sharpened. Henderson was eventually arrested for the murder of Sadie Holley, but not for Lena Sharp or the others. But neither Huff or Henderson would ever be convicted.
The murders continued despite two men being in custody. The police even continued to arrest suspects. And things got even worse. The victims began being mutilated. In the fall, Minnie Wise was found with her finger severed from its middle joint. Then—the worst of all—an unidentified woman was found with her head almost completely detached from her body. Her heart had been removed, and she’d been disemboweled.
Eventually, a man by the name of Charles Owens was convicted for one of the Ripper murders and sentenced to life in prison; though, the papers did not mention which murder he was convicted of. But still, the killing continued.
By August of 1912, police arrested Henry Brown for the murder of Eva Lawrence. His wife claimed that’d he’d frequently come home on the weekends with his clothes covered in blood. He’d even reportedly told police details about some of the murders. But a man came forward and testified that the police had beaten a confession out of Brown, to which he was then acquitted.
In March of 1914, the killer or killers began playing with authorities. Notes pinned to fireboxes (ranker article) began appearing around the city. The author threatened to kill to quote “cut the throats of all Negro women” who were out late at night. These notes were signed, “Jack the Ripper.”
Whoever the killer or killers were, there were some consistencies. The way the women were murdered—usually clubbed in the head and throats sliced. Also, many of the victims’ shoes were removed and taken. Another oddly consistent thing is that many of the killings were done on Saturday nights.
With at least twenty murders attributed to the Atlanta Ripper, beginning in 1911, the Ripper left a brutal scar in Atlanta’s history. It’s believed that he had committed his last murder in 1914 with Mary Roland. But some believe that the killings may have gone on until 1924.
Despite many arrests and eyewitness accounts, the Atlanta Ripper was never named or found. It’s unknown if these brutal attacks were made by one singular murderer or a series of copycat murderers.
Conclusion
Because the South was plagued with segregation and racism at the time, the victims of the Atlanta Ripper never got the attention and reverence they deserved. While the murders were taking place, the media was also covering a string of robberies happening in affluent white neighborhoods. Police were likely overwhelmed with crime and a lack of both resources and science to help aid in their investigations.
For over 100 years, the vicious murders of these young women have gone unsolved. It remains a heartbreaking reminder of the South’s dark history. One can only take solace in knowing that no evil ever truly goes unpunished.
