In the vast and rugged landscape of the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in southeastern Arizona, the year 1925 was marked by a violent act that would become the first known killing by a future serial murderer. The victim was Francis Knight, a male member of the tribal community. His life was cut short in a sudden eruption of violence that, for a time, seemed like an isolated tragedy born from a night of drinking.
In reality, it was the beginning of a dark chapter in the reservation's history, authored by a man named Earl Gardner.
The fatal encounter occurred after a drinking party, a gathering that devolved into a heated fight. During the altercation, Earl Gardner, a fellow Apache, stabbed Francis Knight to death. Gardner would later claim he committed the act in a "drunken frenzy." Because the crime took place on a Native American reservation, the case fell under federal jurisdiction. Gardner was subsequently arrested, tried in federal court, and convicted of second-degree murder for Knight's death. He received a 13-year prison sentence for the killing.
For a time, it may have seemed as though justice had been served. Gardner was imprisoned, and the community was left to mourn the loss of Francis Knight. However, Gardner did not serve his full sentence. After his release from prison, he returned to the San Carlos reservation, his violent temper apparently undiminished. Gardner, who was reportedly bullied for his short stature and developed a fierce temper, was despised by many who knew him as a "mad dog."
A decade after he murdered Francis Knight, Gardner’s rage exploded again, this time with even more horrific consequences. In December 1935, he attacked his own family, murdering his wife, Alice, and their infant son, Edward, with an axe. This brutal act led to his swift arrest for two counts of first-degree murder. This time, the legal system would show no leniency. Gardner tried to plead guilty, stating it was better to "die like an Apache" than to die slowly in prison and that the government should "take a good rope and get it over with."
A trial in federal court in Globe, Arizona, ended with a guilty verdict on February 6, 1936, after only 30 minutes of deliberation. When asked if he had anything to say before sentencing, Gardner told the judge, "I want you to get a good strong rope and have this happen immediately." Despite his wishes, his attorney filed an unsuccessful appeal. On July 13, 1936, Earl Gardner was executed for the murders of his wife and child.
The execution itself was a grim and difficult event. Because Arizona had switched to the gas chamber, federal authorities had to improvise a gallows near the Coolidge Dam, using an abandoned rock crusher. The hanging was botched, and Gardner struggled for more than 30 minutes before he died. His death marked the last legal hanging in Arizona's history and led to a change in federal law to align federal execution methods with those of the state where the crime occurred. While Gardner's violent life came to a definitive end, the story began with the tragic, and less-documented, death of Francis Knight in 1925.
