Stephen Decatur Richards (March 18, 1856April 26, 1879), known by the nicknames The Nebraska Fiend and The Ohio Monster, was an American mass murderer, outlaw, and serial killer who committed nine to twelve murders in Nebraska and Iowa between 1876 and 1878.
Richards was born in West Virginia (then part of Virginia) in 1856. His family later moved to Ohio, and eventually settled in the Quaker village of Mount Pleasant. In 1876, Richards left his home and headed westward to seek his fortune. For a time, he found work at a local asylum; he claimed that during his time there, he lost all empathy for other people. When Richards later confessed to his crimes, he claimed to have committed his first murder sometime in late 1876, two weeks after arriving in Kearney, Nebraska. He went on to commit several other murders, which he later claimed were done in self-defense. Richards fled after murdering Mary L. Harlson and her three children, but was captured in Mount Pleasant. In 1879, he was convicted of the murders of the Harlson family, as well as the killing of neighbor Peter Anderson, and hanged.
Richards was regarded as handsome and charismatic by some contemporary chroniclers, who described his appearance and behavior as completely obscuring his nature as a cold-blooded killer. Many observed that he displayed a complete lack of remorse for his crimes and indifference toward his execution. Modern-day forensic psychologist Katherine Ramsland has written that these characteristics were also displayed by serial killer Ted Bundy, and she has referred to Richards as The Old West's Ted Bundy.
The nature of Richards' crimes and his behavior after his capture led to a brief period of notoriety, as Richards was widely talked about in the media at the time. Richards has been featured in a handful of books and periodicals, including a posthumous biography, based on an interview conducted after his final arrest. The biography, which also included entries on other criminals of the time, was published in 1879 by the Nebraska State Journal. In modern times he is known as Nebraska's first documented serial killer in Nebraska and the first person to be executed by the state.
Background In the mid-19th century, Nebraska experienced a period of territorial expansion in the wake of the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, which saw the creation of Nebraska and Kansas territories to facilitate the construction of the Transcontinental railroad. In 1867, Nebraska was admitted into the Union as the 37th state, two years after the conclusion of the American Civil War. Nebraska's newfound statehood led to an influx of settlers; among the growing population and political controversies incited by the state's first governor David Butler, renewed calls for a state constitution were made in 1871. During Richards' crime spree and trial, Nebraska's law and justice system had only recently been developed, with the state's criminal code written into state law in 1871. Before his execution, the state had only one recorded execution, in 1863, four years before its inclusion into the United States.
Early and young adult life Stephen Decatur Richards was born in Wheeling, Virginia, on March 18, 1856. He was said to have had five sisters and a brother. When Richards was six, his family relocated to Ohio; first to Monroe County, and then to Noble County. The family later settled in the Quaker village of Mount Pleasant in Ohio when he was eleven. Richards described his mother as a devout Methodist, and his father, a farmer, as having "made no profession of religion". Richards attended school in Mount Pleasant; he claimed that the teachers considered him well behaved. At his mother's insistence, he also attended Sunday school and church regularly.
Up until the age of twenty, Richards lived with his parents, working for farmers and other locals in the area. On September 16, 1871, Richards' mother died of an unknown cause. At the age of 20, Richards met and became engaged to a young woman named Anna Millhorne, with whom he corresponded with during his later travels. Richards also met men whom he described as being of "questionable occupation"; he began passing counterfeit bills he obtained from a man in New York City. In February 1876, he left Mount Pleasant, heading west for better career opportunities.
For a short time, Richards lived in Iowa, and worked as a farmhand in Burlington and Morning Sun. He was later hired as an attendant at the Iowa Lunatic Asylum in Mount Pleasant, Iowa; tasked with burying deceased patients. The New York Times wrote that Richards' time working at the asylum was a significant event in his life that shaped his own humanity and view of the human race. While he denied witnessing any abuse of the asylum's patients, he later reflected that during his tenure of handling and disposing of deceased patients, he became accustomed to viewing people as 'nothing more than meat'.
Richards left the asylum in October 1876, and began drifting around the Midwestern United States, finding intermittent work and occasionally consorting with train robbers. He stayed in Kansas City briefly before he moved to Nebraska, where he passed through Hastings before arriving in Kearney, residing there for two to three weeks before leaving for Cheyenne County. According to Richards, he became involved in several gunfights during his stay, that resulted in him shooting each individual, although he stated he was unaware of their condition after each confrontation. During this period, Richards went under the name William Hudson, and later discarded this once he reached Kansas City.
Murders Early murders In a confession written after his final arrest, Richards admitted to having killed four men during his travels around Nebraska and Iowa between 1876 and 1877. He described committing his first murder sometime in late 1876, two weeks after arriving in Kearney.
According to Richards, he met a man while traveling on horseback through the Nebraska countryside, and the pair decided to camp for the night near Dobytown. (Several newspapers reported that the two men's campsite was instead near Sand Hills.) Settling down for the night, the two began gambling in a game of cards, with Richards winning most of the stranger's money. As the two set off for Kearney the following morning, the other man turned on Richards and demanded his money back. Richards refused, whereupon, he claimed, the other man became belligerent. Richards then shot him above the left eye, killing him instantly. After confirming the man was dead, he disposed of the body in the Platte River.
Several days later, as he continued his trek to Kearney, Richards encountered another man fifteen miles from an area called Walker's Ranch. The man had seen Richards and the previous traveler together, and the stranger asked what had become of that man. While talking to him, Richards realized that this man and the deceased were friends and business partners. Richards denied any knowledge of the dead man, but his friend continued to hound Richards with questions, which caused Richards to become increasingly anxious. Believing the man knew too much, Richards decided to kill the stranger to prevent any discovery of the murder. When the stranger turned his back to Richards, he was shot in the back of the head. He disposed of the corpse and sold the man's horse in a nearby town. Before reaching Kearney, Richards stopped at the home of Jasper Harlson, who, according to Richards, was a train robber. Mary, Jasper's wife, noticed upon his arrival that Richards' shirt was stained with blood, and commented on it. Richards had not noticed blood on his clothes, and claimed to have replied, as if in jest, that it must have come from the men he had murdered. That ended the conversation.
After his stay, Richards traveled to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he used counterfeit money to purchase a horse and buggy from an unidentified man. After he left, the seller discovered the bills were not genuine. Tracking Richards down, the seller demanded that Richards give him real money or return his horse and buggy. With Richards refusing both demands, the man threatened to have him arrested, and Richards responded by shooting him. He then buried the body and left the area.
In March 1877, Richards and a young man with the surname Gemge left Grand Island, Nebraska, on horseback and headed towards Kearney. As they neared their destination, they stopped and camped for the night between Lowell and Kearney, along the Platte River. Richards woke up at about 3:00a.m. and roused his partner, telling him it was nearly morning and they should get back on the road. Gemge, infuriated at being awakened so early, began arguing with Richards. The argument continued, as Richards later recounted:
After leaving the area, Richards arrived at Kearney, registering under the name F.A. Hoge at the local hotel. During his stay, Richards reunited with several old acquaintances George "Dutch Henry" Johnson, and his companion Hurst, as well as a man who went by the name Mr. Burns. On March 21, Richards was arrested along with Burns, whom he had been spending most of his time with. At the time, both men were not told as to the reason for their arrest, although Richards came to suspect that it was for the murder of Gemge. It was only later that they were notified by the authorities that they were under suspicion for murder of a man named Peter Geteway, whom Richards claimed his innocence over. Although Richards was soon acquitted, Burns was held in custody because of a testimony of a "sporting lady" whom he had previously been acquainted with. Burns would also be acquitted sometime later after no evidence was found linking him to the crime.
Murders of the Harlson family
In June 1878, while in Kearney, Richards was arrested and jailed for larceny. He later claimed that this charge was unfounded. During his time in jail, he reunited with Mary L. Harlson. Shortly before Richards' arrival, she had been arrested under suspicion of having aided the escape of her husband and another prisoner, named Underwood or Nixon, from the Kearney jail. Richards and Mary Harlson agreed that she would sell him the deed to her property six months later, for $600 ($ in ).
After Richards was released from jail, he traveled around Nebraska for several months. He did business in Hastings, Bloomington, and Grand Island before arriving at the Harlsons' Kearney County homestead on October 18, 1878. Mary Harlson transferred the property to Richards upon his arrival, and he stayed there for several weeks. The New York Daily Herald later reported that Richards had married Harlson on November 2, in what the newspaper alleged was a scam to acquire ownership of Harlson's land. A month later, Richards decided to kill Harlson and her three children—ten-year-old Daisy, four-year-old Mabel, and two-year-old Jasper, nicknamed "Jesse". In his confession, Richards claimed that Harlson had discovered that he was guilty of murder, and he feared that she might betray his presence to the authorities. To silence Harlson, and ensure that his previous crimes remained hidden, Richards resolved to murder the entire family.