Arthur Barker
| Arthur Barker | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
Arthur R. Barker June 4, 1899 Aurora, Missouri, U.S. |
| Died | January 13, 1939 (aged 39) Alcatraz Island |
| Cause of death | Gunshot wound |
| Resting place | Olivet Memorial Park |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Doc Claude Dade Bob Barker |
| Criminal penalty | Life imprisonment |
| Criminal status | Deceased |
| Parent(s) | George Elias Kate "Ma" Barker |
| Conviction(s) | Murder Kidnapping |
| Partner(s) | Barker–Karpis gang |
| Killings | |
| Victims | Thomas Sherill (murder) |
| Date | August 25, 1921 (murder) June 1933 (William Hamm kidnapping) January 1934 (Edward Bremer kidnapping) |
|
Span of killings
|
1918–1935 |
| Country | United States |
| State(s) | Oklahoma (murder) Minnesota (kidnappings) |
| Location(s) |
Tulsa, Oklahoma (murder) Saint Paul, Minnesota (kidnappings) |
| Target(s) | William Hamm (kidnapping) Edward Bremer (kidnapping) |
|
Date apprehended
|
January 8, 1935 |
| Imprisoned at | Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary |
Arthur R. Barker (June 4, 1899 – January 13, 1939) was an American criminal, the son of Ma Barker and a member of the Barker-Karpis gang, founded by his brother Fred Barker and Alvin Karpis. Generally known as "Doc", Barker was typically called on for violent action, while Fred and Karpis planned the gang's crimes. He was arrested and convicted of kidnapping in 1935. Sent to Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary in 1936, he was killed three years later while attempting to escape from the Rock.
Barker is described by one writer as "a dimwit and a drunk", who was little more than a brutal thug. However, fellow Alcatraz inmate Henri Young said of him that he was "determined and ruthless, and that once he started on anything nothing could stop him but death."
Barker was born in Aurora, Missouri the John Elias Barker and Arizona "Ma" Barker née Clark. Through the 1920s and 1930s, Barker, with his brothers Herman, Lloyd and Fred, committed numerous crimes such as theft, robbery and murder. On July 18, 1918, Barker was arrested for stealing a car on the highway and was sent to serve prison time in Joplin, Missouri. On February 19, 1920, he escaped from Joplin prison. Using the pseudonym "Claude Dade", Barker was involved in robberies in Oklahoma. He was arrested and imprisoned at Oklahoma State Penitentiary under the name "Bob Barker" from January to June 1921.
On August 25, 1921, Barker and three other men robbed a woman at a hospital construction site in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The three men were surprised by the night watchman, Thomas Sherill. When Thomas saw them he opened fire. Sherill was fatally shot when two of the men shot at him while fleeing the scene. After Sherill's family hired a private investigator, Barker and another man, Volney "Curley" Davis, who worked at the construction site and was friendly with the Barker family were arrested for Sherill's murder. On January 14, 1922, Barker was convicted of Sherill's murder and sentenced to a life term at Oklahoma State Penitentiary. Barker appealed the conviction and always maintained his innocence of this crime. He was paroled ten years later, on September 10, 1932.
...
Wikipedia