WASHINGTON STATE PRISON, JULY 15, 1949 12:20 AM. In front of 125 witnesses Jake Bird black 45 is Hung. He was buried in an unmarked grave in the prison cemetery. Who was Jake Bird? What was his crime? What drove this man to become one of the first convicted serial killers in our country’s history. Here’s the story of the United States first African American convicted serial killers. Born Dec. 14, 1901 somewhere in Louisiana he said he never knew where. He became known as The TACOMA AX-KILLER. His total body count is unknown but estimated to be 46. We will find out later he was a prime suspect for 33 murders. His record shows he spent a total of 31 years in prison, Michigan, Iowa and Utah, his killing states Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wisconsin. How the hell did he cover this much ground and murder in such a small amount of time? He was a transient who worked for the railroad as a manual labor and a railroad Gandy Dancer. This was slang at the time for men who laid track. On Oct. 30, 1947 he murders Bertha Kludt (53) and her daughter Beverly Kludt (17) with an axe. He is apprehended later that day. He confessed to 46 murders which delay’s his first execution date by 60 days so they can investigate, they find he had enough knowledge of 33 in which they can call him a prime suspect. So now here’s where it gets crazy and weird. “THE BIRD HEX”- After his sentence is handed down he is allowed to make a statement. To which our murder here takes full advantage of. He goes on for 20 minutes and concludes with, “I’m putting the Jake Bird Hex on all of you who had anything to do with me being punished. Mark my words you will die before I do”. Holy Shit!! Judge Edward D. Hodge dies of a heart attack within a month of sentencing. The Police Officer who took his first confession, the Police Officer who took his second confession, the courts Chief Clerk and one of his prison guards all dead before him. No that’s not it. One of Birds lawyers J.W. Seldon died on the first anniversary of his sentencing. Eric W Hickey Ph. D. said that Bird challengers the stereotypes of serial killers being white males, whereas African Americans are typically not serial killers. He also said that Bird stalked and hunted white females in the 1940s in many states and this challenges the typical serial killer profile as well. As I continue to research this topic I can’t wait to get on the 3RD Floor Podcast, it is so interesting, brutal, and disturbing the things that these victims went though the waste of life on both ends. And at the same time what about some of these Judges. lawyers and jury and investigators said and did or didn’t do. I’m looking forward to hearing your comments on this topic and these articles. Stayed tuned in for The 3RD Floor Podcast updates and the start of season 2. WASHINGTON STATE PRISON 