William A. Renfroe

Serial Killer

William A. Renfroe: The Washington Logging Camp Killer

Overview

William A. Renfroe was a Washington logging-camp worker responsible for four known killings between 1930 and 1931. Although he is sometimes classified as a serial killer because his first known murder occurred approximately a year before the final killings, the events of May 15, 1931, also fit the pattern of a family annihilation and workplace mass murder. His violence unfolded in the isolated logging communities of western Washington, culminating in the murder of his wife, one of his daughters and a young logging supervisor before Renfroe ended his own life. Renfroe was approximately 31 years old at the time of his death. He lived with his family at Simpson Logging Camp No. 3 in the upper Skokomish Valley near Shelton, Washington. The camp was operated by the Simpson Logging Company and consisted of workers and their families living in a relatively remote settlement connected to the region's timber industry.

The 1930 Killing of Herman Arnold

Renfroe's first documented killing occurred in 1930 at a dance hall in the vicinity of Brady and Montesano, Washington. During an altercation, Renfroe shot and killed a man named Herman Arnold and wounded another person. Available historical accounts do not provide a reliably confirmed exact date for Arnold's death, but they consistently place the shooting approximately one year before Renfroe's final rampage. Renfroe was charged with first-degree murder after Arnold's death. However, he was acquitted. His defense reportedly argued that he had been temporarily insane because of intoxication. T. W. Grisdale, a prominent logging foreman and an associate of the influential Reed lumbering family, reportedly assisted Renfroe during the case and believed that alcohol had caused Renfroe to lose control of his actions. The acquittal allowed Renfroe to return to the logging community rather than serving a prison sentence for Arnold's death. In retrospect, the decision became a troubling part of the case because Renfroe committed three more murders approximately fourteen months later. ...

Confirmed Victims: (4)

Herman Arnold Age: (18+), Date of Death: 1930

Survivors:

Wanda Renfroe Age: (7), Date of Attack: May 15, 1931

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