Bonnie and Clyde

The annals of true crime history are filled with tales of lustful gunslingers, greedy mobsters and unmerciful outlaws; however, few cases have gained more glorification and attention than that bestowed on Bonnie and Clyde. With the recent passing of the 75th anniversary of their deaths, Investigation Discovery's David Lohr brings you a look at the deeds and misfortunes that led them to that place in history.

There have been countless books and movies inspired by the exploits of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow. The couple has been compared to such famous characters as Robin Hood and Romeo and Juliet. While I doubt their victims would agree with those comparisons, the fact that they would go down in history did not escape the gun-toting duo, nor did the fact that death would be their only way out. The evidence is a poem Bonnie wrote during their crime spree. Entitled "The Story of Bonnie and Clyde," it reads in part:

"Some day they'll go down together they'll bury them side by side. To few it'll be grief, to the law a relief but it's death for Bonnie and Clyde."

The truth is that Bonnie and Clyde did not have an altruistic agenda.

Clyde Chestnut Barrow was born in Telico, Texas, on March 24, 1909. The fifth of seven children born to Henry and Cumie Barrow, Clyde, along with most other children of the era, grew up in poverty. Even after his family managed to improve its circumstances, Clyde chose to ditch school and, along with his brother, Marvin "Buck" Barrow, commit petty crimes.

Bonnie Elizabeth Parker was born in Rowena, Texas, on Oct. 1, 1910. The second of three children born to Charles and Emma Parker, Bonnie was also raised in poverty. However, unlike Clyde, she excelled in school and was an honor roll student. Her knack for creative writing did not escape her peers, and she managed to win a County League contest in literary arts. At age 15, Bonnie married Roy Thornton, but the couple separated in 1929.

Bonnie's and Clyde's paths first crossed in January 1930. Some sources claim they met at a local café, while others say it was at a mutual friend's house. Regardless of how they met, the two were immediately smitten with each other. Perhaps that is what led to their first crime, which occurred only weeks after they met.

On Feb. 12, 1930, Clyde was arrested for a series of robberies, most of which occurred in McClennan and Waco counties. While in jail awaiting trial, Clyde's cell mate, Frank Turner, convinced Bonnie to smuggle in a gun so that the pair could escape prison. Anxious to be reunited with her new love, Bonnie agreed, and the plan went off without a hitch.

Unfortunately for the lovebirds, their plan to reunite was thwarted by the manhunt that was launched following the jail break, so Clyde and Turner absconded to Illinois, where they committed a series of robberies, before being recaptured and extradited back to Texas.

As a result of his crimes, Clyde was sentenced to 14 years of hard labor at Eastham Prison Farm Number 2 in Huntsville.

As luck would have it, Clyde did not have to serve his entire sentence and his mother – along with an accident in which he lost two toes – convinced a judge to grant him parole on Feb. 8, 1932. Despite having just earned his freedom, Clyde was not yet ready to settle down. And, while courting Bonnie, he formed a gang and set out on a crime spree unlike any other in the pages of history.

It's impossible to know the number of robberies and market holdups in which Bonnie and Clyde participated. Often they were accused of committing crimes when they were actually hundreds of miles away at the time. Nonetheless, it is believed that Barrow's gang was responsible for committing some 13 homicides, nine of which involved officers of the law.

At the start of the gang's crime spree, Bonnie was captured during a failed robbery attempt in Kaufman, Texas. The incident might have ended the couple's romance, but fate had a different history in store for them.

The first murder attributed to the gang occurred in April 1932, when a grocer was murdered during a robbery in Hillsboro. Two months later, Bonnie was released after a grand jury declined to indict her.

Following the reunion of Bonnie and Clyde, the gang drove to Oklahoma. At one point during this trip, Clyde and Raymond Hamilton, a childhood friend, stopped in Springtown to enjoy music at a community dance. During the event, they were approached by two policemen, C.G. Maxwell and Eugene Moore. A confrontation ensued, and both lawmen were shot. Moore was killed by a bullet to the throat, while Maxwell was injured by a bullet to the stomach.