Hezekiah "Hez" Rasco: The Murders in Nodaway County
Overview
Hezekiah "Hez" Rasco was an American murderer whose known crimes occurred fourteen years apart in rural Nodaway County, Missouri. He was convicted of two separate murder cases: the 1896 killing of Katrina "Katy" Baumli and the 1910 murder of Oda Hubbell. Rasco was also accused of killing Hubbell's wife and two young children during the same 1910 attack. Although he was prosecuted only for Oda Hubbell's death in the later case, authorities considered him responsible for the destruction of the entire Hubbell family.
Rasco's record is notable because his first murder occurred while he was still a teenager. After serving years in the Missouri State Penitentiary, he returned to Nodaway County and eventually became involved in another exceptionally violent crime. The second case ended with his conviction, death sentence and execution by hanging in Maryville, Missouri, on March 26, 1912.
Early Life
Hezekiah Rasco was born on October 8, 1880, in Sidney, Iowa. His family later lived in the farming communities of northwestern Missouri. Accounts of his youth described him as intelligent, personable and capable of appearing calm even when facing serious accusations. Those qualities later contributed to the controversy surrounding his trials, as some people viewed him as manipulative while others questioned whether investigators had focused on him too quickly.
Rasco was only fifteen years old, approaching his sixteenth birthday, when he became connected to the death of Katy Baumli near Arkoe, Missouri. The crime was shocking not merely because of the victim's injuries, but because the accused killer was a local boy who knew her and lived within the same rural community.
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