On a cold January day in 1958, the life of 17-year-old Caucasian male Robert W. Jensen of Bennet, Nebraska, was tragically cut short. On January 27th, Jensen and his 16-year-old girlfriend, Carol King, were driving near Bennet when they stopped to offer a ride to two strangers walking on the road. Those individuals were 19-year-old Charles Starkweather and his 14-year-old girlfriend, Caril Ann Fugate, who were in the midst of a violent crime spree.
Once inside the vehicle, Starkweather
brandished a weapon and forced Jensen to drive to an abandoned storm cellar in the Bennet area. There, Starkweather marched the young couple to the cellar. In a senseless act of violence, he shot Robert Jensen in the head. His girlfriend, Carol King, was also brutally murdered at the same location. After the killings, Starkweather and Fugate fled the scene in Jensen's car, continuing their deadly journey. The bodies of Jensen and King were discovered later, bringing a grim end to the search for the missing teenagers.
The crime spree of Starkweather and Fugate came to an end on January 29, 1958, when they were captured in Wyoming. Starkweather was swiftly brought to justice. He was tried for the murder of Robert Jensen, found guilty, and sentenced to death. His execution was carried out in the electric chair on June 25, 1959. Caril Ann Fugate was also arrested and tried for her role in the murders. She was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. Fugate maintained that she was a hostage of Starkweather and acted out of fear for her own life. She was eventually paroled in 1976.
