Susie Hassell, a 40-year-old woman, was tragically murdered on December 2, 1926, in Farwell, Parmer County, Texas. She was killed by her husband, George Hassell, who was also the uncle of her eight children. The circumstances surrounding her death were deeply disturbing. Hassell had previously been married, but after his first wife and children left him, he married Susie, his brother’s widow, and took her children under his care.
On the night of December 5, 1926, Hassell and Susie argued over his drinking habits. In a fit of rage, he struck her with a hammer, killing her. However, later investigations revealed that the murder was not solely due to the argument. Hassell admitted that Susie had confronted him about an inappropriate relationship with one of her underaged daughters, and he killed her to cover up his actions. After murdering Susie, Hassell proceeded to kill all eight of her children, using various methods including strangulation, an axe, and a shotgun. He placed their bodies in the home’s root cellar.
For three weeks, Hassell attempted to deceive others by claiming that Susie had taken the children and left the state. However, suspicions grew, and before he could escape, authorities cornered him. In an attempt to evade justice, Hassell tried to commit suicide by stabbing himself in the chest, but the wound was superficial, and he survived. During the investigation, he confessed not only to the murders of Susie and her children but also to the murders of his first family. The bodies of his first wife and children were discovered in the location he directed authorities to.
Hassell was arrested and put on trial. His case attracted significant attention, turning the town into a spectacle. Despite confessing to a total of 13 murders, he was convicted and executed only for the murder of his 21-year-old stepson. On February 2, 1928, he was executed in the electric chair in Texas. His actions were later analyzed, and a psychiatric report characterized him as a sociopath. His crimes remain one of the most horrifying cases of family annihilation in U.S. history.
