Thomas David Carr

Serial Killer

Thomas David Carr: The Civil War Veteran and Self-Confessed Serial Killer

Thomas David Carr was a 19th-century American murderer whose violent history stretched from the Civil War era into the years immediately following the conflict. Born on March 6, 1846, in Virginia, Carr eventually became associated with Ohio and West Virginia and served in several Union Army units while still a young man. He was ultimately convicted and executed for the 1869 murder of 13-year-old Louiza Catharine Fox in Belmont County, Ohio. Before his execution, however, Carr claimed that Fox was only the last in a much longer series of killings. He confessed to involvement in the deaths of as many as fourteen men in several states, giving him a possible total of fifteen victims. Carr's reputation as a serial killer depends heavily upon his own statements. Only the murder of Louiza Fox resulted in his conviction, and his claimed participation in the murder of Aloys Ulrich is connected to an independently documented homicide. Many of his remaining stories concerned unidentified soldiers and civilians killed during the confusion of the Civil War. Contemporary observers questioned portions of Carr's confession, and some details could not be reconciled with known evidence. He is therefore most accurately described as a self-confessed serial killer whose true victim count remains uncertain.

Early Life and Military Service

Carr was born Thomas David Carr on March 6, 1846. His family moved repeatedly during his childhood, eventually living in communities around what is now West Virginia and eastern Ohio. Accounts of his youth describe frequent fighting, disciplinary problems and early involvement in criminal behavior. Still a teenager when the Civil War began, Carr entered Union military service and served with several Ohio units during the conflict. His military record was reportedly troubled. Carr was repeatedly punished for misconduct and later claimed that he had twice been condemned to be shot for violations of military regulations. Contemporary accounts even related that he had once been forced to dig what he believed would be his own grave before receiving clemency. Carr's years in the military also formed the basis of most of the murders to which he later confessed.

The Alleged Civil War Murders

Shortly before his execution, Carr described a succession of killings that he claimed occurred while he was moving through different states during the war. His stories involved civilians, Confederate soldiers, Union soldiers and other people he encountered while traveling. Exact dates and names were usually absent from Carr's accounts, making independent verification extremely difficult. One of his earliest alleged victims was an unidentified civilian near Greenleaf Mountain in Virginia. Carr claimed that he had wandered away from his regiment and was drinking when the man attempted to arrest or detain him. Carr said he drew a firearm and shot the man in the chest. According to his confession, the victim survived the initial shooting but died the following day. While Carr was reportedly a prisoner in Columbia, South Carolina, he claimed that he and two other Union soldiers killed a man named Edward Berringer. Carr said Berringer intended to join the Confederate military and that the three men strangled him. Berringer is one of the relatively few alleged victims Carr identified by name, although a reliable exact date for his death has not been established. Carr also confessed to shooting two Confederate soldiers while serving in Mississippi. He claimed that one was killed while performing picket duty. Later, during the Battle of Franklin in Tennessee, Carr said he killed and robbed two more men. He offered few identifying details about them, and no reliable individual dates of death can be assigned to these unidentified victims solely from his confession. In North Carolina, Carr claimed that he killed a Confederate sergeant near Wise's Forks after hiding behind a fallen or low-lying pine log. Carr said he subsequently took clothing from the dead soldier. In another incident, he claimed that a Union soldier placed under his guard attempted to escape and that Carr killed him. Carr identified the prisoner as belonging to the 84th Ohio Infantry, but aspects of his military stories have long been difficult to verify. Carr further claimed that he participated with a group of soldiers in the robbery of a sutler's establishment in Petersburg, Virginia. According to his account, the shopkeeper was attacked and trampled or beaten to death during the raid. The victim's identity and an exact date have not been reliably established. Other killings described by Carr allegedly occurred near Raleigh, North Carolina, and while he traveled between military locations. He said he shot a man attempting to enter a house he was guarding and claimed that he threw a waiter overboard from a steamer traveling between Morehead City and Fort Monroe after an argument over food. He also described a violent encounter in Baltimore in which a streetcar employee intervened during an argument over Carr's refusal to pay his fare. Carr claimed that he stabbed the employee, who subsequently died. Another alleged incident occurred in Newark, Ohio. Carr said that after drinking whiskey he threw a bottle at a stranger standing near a railroad platform, striking the man in the head. Carr then supposedly jumped onto a passing train carrying soldiers and escaped. Whether the victim died exactly as Carr claimed has not been independently established. ...

Confirmed Victims: (3)

Louiza Catharine Fox Age: (13), Date of Death: 1869-01-21

Dark Deeds in the Mountains: The Twisted Tale of Thomas David Carr