On a cold winter day on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in Arizona, a young mother’s life was brutally cut short, leaving a legacy of sorrow that would span generations. Alice Gardner, a 21-year-old female, was a member of the Apache community, living a life shaped by the traditions of her people and the harsh realities of the era. Born Alice Dia in 1914, her father was Francis Dia. She had become a mother herself, welcoming a son, Edward, with her husband, Earl Gardner.
But the promise of family life turned to tragedy on December 8, 1935, a day that would forever be marked by violence.
That Sunday morning, Alice asked her husband to look after their infant son while she attended church. This simple request ignited a rage in Earl Gardner, a man with a history of violence and a fierce temper. Instead of caring for his child, he grabbed an axe. In an act of unimaginable brutality, he murdered both his wife and their 27-day-old son, Edward. He struck Alice multiple times and killed his infant with a single blow from a hatchet. The motive he later gave to police was his anger at being asked to watch the baby. "I wasn't drunk this time," he told the arresting officer after immediately turning himself in. "I was just crazy."
Earl Gardner was no stranger to violence. In 1925, a decade before he killed his family, he had stabbed a man named Francis Knight to death during a fight that erupted after a drinking party. For that crime, which also occurred on the reservation, he was convicted of second-degree murder in federal court and sentenced to 13 years in prison. He was paroled in 1932, having served about seven years of his sentence. Those who knew him reportedly called him a "mad dog" due to his short stature and volatile temper, which was often exacerbated by bullying. His history of abusing Alice was known before he ultimately took her life.
The murders of Alice and baby Edward shocked the community and the legal process moved swiftly. Charged with two counts of first-degree murder, Earl Gardner was tried in federal court in Globe, Arizona. He attempted to plead guilty, expressing a desire to "die like an Apache" rather than spend his life in prison. "I want you to get a good strong rope and have this happen immediately," he told the judge. A trial in January 1936 ended with a hung jury, but a second hearing was ordered. On February 6, 1936, after just 30 minutes of deliberation, a new jury found him guilty and recommended the death penalty.
Gardner's own wishes for a swift end were met, though not in the way anyone could have predicted. Because Arizona had switched to the gas chamber, federal authorities had to improvise a gallows for the hanging. They used an old rock crusher from the Coolidge Dam project, situated in a deep gorge on the reservation. On July 13, 1936, Earl Gardner was executed. His last meal consisted of ribeye steak, fried potatoes, and watermelon.
The execution was horrifically botched. When the trapdoor sprung, the noose slipped, and Gardner's neck did not break. He struggled for over 30 minutes before a sheriff reportedly stepped through the trapdoor to hasten his death. The gruesome event made Earl Gardner the last person to be executed by hanging in Arizona. In the aftermath, Congress passed a law requiring federal executions to be carried out using the method of the state where the crime occurred. Earl Gardner was buried in a cemetery in Florence, Arizona, while Alice and her infant son, Edward, were laid to rest in the San Carlos Cemetery, a final, heartbreaking testament to a family destroyed by one man's rage.
