Nearly three years before London's "Jack the Ripper" garnered headlines for his murderous expoits, a similarly frightening series of murders terrorized and captivated the citizens of Austin, Texas. Perpetrated by a man dubbed the "Servant Girl Annihilator", the slayings got much attention at the time and were considered among the world's most notorious crimes. Somehow, these ax murders were almost totally lost to history from the late 1800's until the mid-1990's.
The mysterious slayings first began on December 30, 1884, when Mollie Smith's remains were found outside her employers home. Smith, a servant in the home, had apparently been murdered in her quarters by ax blows before being dragged outside and sexually assaulted. Cook Eliza Shelley became the next victim on May 6, 1885, when she was hacked to death in her room.
Austin's maniac picked up the pace when he attacked Irene Cross on May 23. It was reported that Cross survived her inuries for a short time before succumbing but could provide no help to police before her death. The Annihilator attempted a double slaying on August 29, raping and killing 12-year-old Mary Ramey but only injuring her mother Rebecca. The newspapers of the day proclaimed the city under siege by the homicidal madman.
On September 29 the horrendous murders escalated when four people were attacked in two seperate incidents. Orange Washington and his female companion Gracie Vance were both kiled. Vance had been sexually assaulted after being dragged outdoors. Nearby, two black women were beated badly with sand bags but were not mortally wounded.
If Austin was not in a panic at this point it likely was after the killer claimed his first white victims on Christmas Eve. Susan Hancock and Ella Phillips had been dragged from their beds and killed with an ax in seperate attacks. Up to this point the victims had consisted of poor, black servants.
After the murders of Hancock and Phillips, the Annihilator killings stopped. Despite much media attention throughout the next few years virtually no mention of this series was apparently made from the late 1880's until the 1990's when researchers brought these horrible murders back to light. It now rightfully takes it's place as one of the world's oldest and most baffling cases of serial murder.