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Man Who Murdered Girlfriend Was Killed By Her Father As He Attempted Suicide
In 1929 Missouri, a very unusual double slaying occurred after a couple diagreed on eloping
Sadly, violence permeates all aspects of life, even sometimes in matters of love. Such tragedies routinely dot our news and despite their regularity rarely fail to still shock us. One of the most bizarre occurrences in this vein was nearly a century ago when a young man killed his girlfriend after she refused to marry him, and then he in turn was killed by her father after he shot himself in the head, but it did not prove to be fatal.
According to the July 5, 1929 issue of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the deadly incident occurred in Kewanee, Missouri. 19-year-old Honas Mayberry killed 16-year-old Irma (some accounts spelled her first name as Erma and his name as Hollis. Also his age was reported alternately as being between 19–23 and her age between 16–18) Hendershott after she declined to run away with him and get married.
Mayberry had previously lived in Kewanee and been a childhood sweetheart of Hendershott. However, after his parents passed away, he was sent to live with relatives in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Despite the distance, the pair continued to communicate by exchanging letters. They were even said to have…
