A sense of dread hung over Austin, Texas, during the year of 1885, as a shadowy figure preyed on the city's women, entering their homes at night to commit horrific acts of violence. This reign of terror, attributed to a killer nicknamed the "Servant Girl Annihilator," culminated on Christmas Eve with attacks on two homes, leaving two mothers dead and a city in the grip of fear.
One of these final victims was Susan Hancock, a 41-year-old white woman who had moved to the burgeoning state capital with her family only seven months prior.
Susan Clementine Scaggs Hancock was born in Alabama on December 27, 1840. She was married to Moses H. Hancock, a carpenter, and they had two daughters, Lena and Ida. By all accounts, they were settling into their new life in Austin. On the evening of December 24, 1885, the family's two daughters went out to attend a Christmas party, leaving Susan and Moses at home. Later that night, after the couple had retired to their separate rooms, an intruder broke into their house. The attacker found Susan asleep, not in her own bed, but in one of her daughter's.
The assailant brutally attacked Susan with an axe, striking her in the head before dragging her from the bed and out into the backyard. Her husband, Moses, was awakened by the sounds of a struggle. He went to investigate and saw a figure running from the yard. Moses threw a brick at the fleeing intruder before discovering his wife grievously wounded. He cried out for his neighbor, who came to help. Susan was still alive, but her injuries were catastrophic. She lingered for four agonizing days before succumbing to her wounds on December 28. An autopsy later detailed multiple skull fractures caused by a blunt object, like an axe, as well as a piercing wound to her ear, a chilling signature of the serial killer.
The same night Susan was attacked, the killer struck again, murdering a 17-year-old wife and mother named Eula Phillips. The murder of two white women in a single night, after a year of attacks that had primarily targeted Black servant girls, sent a wave of panic through Austin's white community. Gun shops sold out of weapons, and citizens formed vigilance committees to patrol the streets. The Christmas Day newspaper headline screamed, “BLOOD! BLOOD! BLOOD! Last Night's Horrible Butchery!”
In the immediate aftermath, suspicion fell on those closest to the victims. Susan's husband, Moses Hancock, was arrested and tried for her murder. Prosecutors pointed to a letter Susan had allegedly written about leaving him due to his drinking. However, the case against him was weak, and he was ultimately exonerated in 1887. Similarly, Eula Phillips's husband, James, was also charged, convicted, and then had his conviction overturned.
The series of eight brutal murders attributed to the "Servant Girl Annihilator," also called the "Midnight Assassin," had begun in December 1884. The killer typically attacked women in their beds, often dragging them outside to be further assaulted and mutilated. The attacks on Susan Hancock and Eula Phillips were the last in the series. After that night, the murders abruptly stopped, leaving the city with a legacy of terror and unanswered questions.
No one was ever convicted for the murder of Susan Hancock or any of the other victims of the Servant Girl Annihilator. Over 400 men were arrested in connection with the crimes, but no definitive suspect was ever identified. One theory points to a 19-year-old cook named Nathan Elgin, who was killed by police in February 1886 while assaulting another girl. Elgin had a missing toe, which corresponded with bloody footprints found at some of the crime scenes. The case remains officially unsolved, a dark and violent chapter in the history of Austin, and a personal tragedy for the families of Susan Hancock and the seven other victims whose lives were stolen by a phantom killer.
