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The 1930s Death Row Inmate Who Killed Himself With A Bomb Made From A Pack Of Playing Cards
A convicted murderer fashioned a lethal weapon using little more than playing cards, water and a piece of his bed
Prison inmates on death row find themselves in situations where they have nothing to lose. Some dedicate themselves to appeals or living out their remaining days as best as they can. Others have taken their fate into their own hands and determined they would handle things on their own terms, This includes convicted murderer William Kogut, who devised his own improbable suicide in 1930 by using a pack of playing cards to make an explosive while in his cell.
In 1930, Kogut was a Polish-American logger living at the boarding house of Archie and Mayme Guthrie in San Mateo, California. Not much was known about him, as he was subsequently described as being anywhere from his early 20s to 40 years of age. Unfortunately, on the evening of May 29th, Mrs, Guthrie was found stabbed to death in her kitchen, with the murder weapon surmised to be a pocket knife.
Shortly thereafter, Kogut was arrested for the murder and readily admitted guilt in the slaying. Although a motive was never determined, he was blackout drunk when the killing occurred. He claimed that the…
