On the night of March 16, 1938, in Shelby County, Texas, 38-year-old Lillie Mae Curtis committed a tragic act by taking the lives of six of her children, including her 5-year-old daughter, Marcie Jack Curtis. After putting her children to bed around 9 p.m., Lillie Mae waited approximately an hour to ensure they were asleep. She then proceeded to shoot each child, starting with the eldest and ending with Marcie Jack. The sequence of victims was: Thomas "T.O." Curtis, 13; Gloria Jean Curtis, 11; Billie Burke Curtis, 10; Robert Curtis, 9; Margie Ree Curtis, 7; and Marcie Jack Curtis, 5. Lillie Mae stated that she kissed each child before and after shooting them.
Following the murders, Lillie Mae sent her 16-year-old son, James Travis Curtis, to notify Sheriff J.B. Sample. She was later found alone in the woods near her home and was taken into custody without resistance. Upon her arrest, Lillie Mae expressed that she had no money and believed her children were better off dead, indicating her inability to support them as the motive behind her actions.
This was not Lillie Mae's first encounter with lethal violence within her family. In June 1935, she shot and killed her husband, Robert Curtis, citing his infidelity and involvement of their children in illegal activities as reasons. During her trial for Robert's murder, she received a suspended sentence, largely due to the consideration of her large family dependent on her.
The six children were laid to rest in West Hamilton Cemetery in Shelby County. James Travis Curtis, the surviving son, later served in World War II and passed away in 1987. Lillie Mae Curtis died in 1980 and was buried alongside her children.
