Deseret News archives: Lessons from life and death story of Bonnie and Clyde
A look back at local, national and world events through Deseret News archives.
On May 23, 1934, bank robbers Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker were shot to death in a police ambush in Bienville Parish, Louisiana. Their lives and deaths would have been fodder for the true-crime genre, only this legend only got bigger as time went on.
“Bandit, girl killed by Texas officers,” reads the bottom of the page story on the cover of the Deseret News in 1934. “Southern public enemy and moll fail to get guns in time as auto speeds 85 miles an hour.”
Granted, the crime spree attributed to this pair occurred in the central and the southern U.S. during the Great Depression. But their pursuit came during a time when capturing criminals often ended in dramatic shootouts. Some refer to it as the “public enemy era,” when law enforcement began to label criminals as “Public Enemy No. 1.” Think Al Capone, John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson, etc.
Including the barely-in-their-20s Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker. They are believed to have murdered at least nine police officers and four civilians, according to historical accounts, robbing big banks and small out-of-the-way stores, and avoiding capture with daredevil getaways.
While their accounts of exploits, crimes and demise are well-documented, much of what shows up in news archives since relates to Bonnie and Clyde memorabilia. Hollywood created a couple of movies about the pair, while a musical a dozen years ago did fairly well.
“Town to mark demise of Bonnie and Clyde”
“Louisiana town hopes to cash in on the legend of Bonnie and Clyde”
