The Strange Death of Wild West Serial Killer Charles Kennedy

How this Killer of Sleeping Travelers Met an Unusual and Gruesome End

While the Wild West brings us thrilling tales of outlaws, gunslingers, and cowboys, they rarely bring us tales of serial killers.

One day in the fall of 1870, a few men were relaxing in a saloon in Elizabethtown, New Mexico. Suddenly, an injured and distraught woman named Rosa burst in crying out for help. The men helped her to a seat and asked her what happened.

Her story was horrifying.

A Rest Stop for the Weary

Charles Kennedy moved to the Elizabethtown area in 1865 with his wife Rosa and their young son. About 15 miles outside of town, on the way to the next town of Taos, the family found a rather isolated plot of land to build on and call their own.

When someone struck gold nearby in 1866, an influx of miners quickly swarmed the area and the Kennedy family turned their property into a rest stop for weary travelers. For those passing through the long, dark trail, this was the perfect place to stop for a hot meal and a place to sleep for the night.

Soon though, rumors began to spread that several travelers who had stopped at the rest stop were never seen again.

No one questioned Kennedy until a prominent businessman disappeared. When the man’s horse, pack mule and belongings were found on Kennedy’s…