On this date in 1933, the bound and mutilated body of outlaw Verne Miller was found just outside Detroit, MI. Miller, the chief suspect in the Kansas City Massacre, was a decorated World War I veteran and former lawman. After a short stint as sheriff of Beadle County, SD, Miller turned to a life of crime. He started out in bootlegging, then moved on to robbery. Eventually he wound up as a trigger man for organized crime. The list of people with motives to kill him was long, but Miller's murder was never solved.
Further reading:
Wikipedia: Vernon C. Miller
FBI Famous Cases - Kansas City Massacre - Charles Arthur "Pretty Boy" Floyd
SD Public Broadcasting - Vern Miller History Page
Lawman to Outlaw: Verne Miller and the Kansas City Massacre, by Brad Smith
Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-34, by Bryan Burrough
6 comments:
IMO one of the most interesting of the Depression era desperados. I highly recommend both the Smith and Burrough books.
Pat,
Agreed. Miller was a fascinating character. I read the Burrough book, and second your recommendation. I haven't gotten my hands on the Smith book yet, but the late, great Rick Mattix gave it a very positive review on Amazon, so I figured it had to be good. I'll be keeping my eye out for it.
Is it me, or does his frontal look like Paul Bettany??
Aggie,
I'd never noticed that before, but now that you mention it, he does look like Paul Bettany. Hollywood needs to do another biopic about Miller before Bettany gets too old to play him.
I always thought a young Peter Weller would have made a good choice.
Pat,
He could have pulled it off too.
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