Edward Bates Soper

Serial Killer

Edward Bates Soper: Murder, Deception and Flight Across Two States

Early Life and Criminal Behavior

Edward Bates Soper was born on February 7, 1855, near Kearney in Clay County, Missouri. He was the second of eight children born to John Lewis Soper and Sarah Hyatt Estes Soper. Although surviving accounts provide few reliable details about his childhood, his adult life became marked by theft, deception, assumed identities and repeated acts of violence against members of his own family. As a young man, Soper stole a horse and sold it in Kansas City. He was eventually convicted of horse theft and served approximately two years in prison. His later confessions, however, revealed that his criminal history had already escalated to murder before that imprisonment. Over a period of seventeen years, Soper killed five known victims in Missouri and Oregon. Four of the victims were children, and every confirmed victim was a member of his immediate family.

The Murder of John Lewis Soper

Soper's first known victim was his father, John Lewis Soper. The killing occurred on January 30, 1880, near the Soper family farm approximately four miles south of Kearney, Missouri. Soper reportedly organized a literary society gathering and invited his father to attend. Before John reached the meeting, Edward concealed himself near a feeding lot and waited for him to approach. When his father came into view, Soper fired several shots, killing him at the scene. He then discarded the revolver in a creek and returned to the gathering, where he behaved as though nothing unusual had happened. His attempt to establish an appearance of normal activity helped divert suspicion away from him. Another man, Thomas Maib, was convicted on circumstantial evidence and imprisoned for John Soper's murder. Edward Soper did not publicly admit responsibility until years later, after his own arrest for the murders of other family members. His confession established that the wrong man had been punished for a killing Soper had carefully planned and concealed. ...

Confirmed Victims: (0)

Edward Bates Soper - Wikipedia