Kit Kelly

Serial Killer

Kit Kelly and the Kelly Family Murders

Background

Kit Kelly was an alleged American serial killer who reportedly participated in a series of murders committed by the Kelly family during the final months of 1887. Kit was approximately 18 years old when the crimes were discovered. She lived with her father, William Kelly, her mother, Kate Kelly, and her older brother, Bill Kelly, who was also known as Billy. The Kellys were originally from Pennsylvania. According to accounts later attributed to William Kelly, the family moved west in 1869 and traveled through communities along the southern Kansas frontier. They eventually settled near Oak City in the isolated region then called No Man's Land. The territory was outside the effective control of an organized state government and later became part of the Oklahoma Panhandle. The family established a ranch and roadside tavern near a route used by cattlemen, merchants, salesmen and other travelers. Visitors could stop for food, rest or overnight lodging. The Kellys reportedly appeared to be an ordinary, hardworking frontier family, and there was little reason for travelers to suspect that entering their home might place them in danger.

The Murders at the Kelly Tavern

Between approximately August and December 1887, travelers began disappearing after entering the sparsely populated region surrounding the Kelly property. Because travel through No Man's Land was already dangerous, the disappearances were not immediately connected. A missing person might have become lost, suffered an accident, encountered hostile weather or been attacked by highway robbers. Later reports claimed that the Kelly family deliberately selected guests who appeared to possess money, valuable merchandise, horses or other property. Kit allegedly helped her father or brother keep a traveler occupied in conversation while Kate prepared a meal. The intended victim was then seated in a chair positioned over a concealed trapdoor in the floor. At a signal, a mechanism reportedly released the trapdoor, dropping the traveler into a cellar beneath the house. Some victims may have died from the fall. Those who survived were allegedly killed with an axe or another blunt instrument. The family then robbed the bodies and concealed them in the cellar or buried them near the barn. The exact role Kit played in each killing is not documented. Historical accounts nevertheless portray her as an active participant rather than an innocent person who merely lived at the property. She was reportedly capable of distracting guests and assisting other family members as they prepared the trap. These claims, however, came largely from newspaper stories and an alleged confession obtained from her father by a vigilante posse. ...

Confirmed Victims: (3)

Jim Coven

The Kelly Family (serial killers) - Wikipedia