Frank Carter (murderer)

{{Infobox serial killer

| name = Frank Carter

| birth_name = Patrick Murphy

| birth_date = Unknown date, {{circa|1881}}

| birth_place = County Mayo, Ireland

| death_date = {{death date and given age|1927|06|24|46|mf=y}}

| death_place = Nebraska State Penitentiary, Lincoln, Nebraska, U.S.

| death_cause = Execution by electrocution

| conviction = First degree murder

| criminal_penalty = Death

| fatalities = 2 confirmed (43 claimed)

| weapons = .22 pistol

| other_names = The Omaha Sniper

| criminal_status = Executed

| states = Nebraska

| image = Carter-Frank-9277s.jpg

}}

Frank Carter (1881 – June 24, 1927) was a notorious murderer and self-confessed serial killer in Omaha, Nebraska. Confirmed to have committed two murders, Carter claimed to have murdered 43 people.{{Cite web|title=Frank Carter, "Omaha Sniper"|url=https://history.nebraska.gov/visit/frank-carter-omaha-sniper|access-date=2022-01-16|website=History Nebraska|language=en}} However, reporters doubted most of his claims. The Lexington Herald-Leader called most of the alleged murders "obviously fictitious".{{Cite web|title=Frank Carter {{!}} Omaha Magazine|url=http://www.omahamagazine.com/2016/12/28/302822/frank-carter|access-date=2022-01-16|website=www.omahamagazine.com|language=en}}

Crimes

Carter was born in County Mayo, Ireland, as Patrick Murphy. The crimes for which he is known began in Omaha, Nebraska, where he worked as a laborer. At the beginning of February 1926, a mechanic was murdered with a .22 caliber pistol with a silencer attached. Soon after, a doctor was murdered, and then a railroad detective was shot six times in neighboring Council Bluffs, Iowa.[https://www.nytimes.com/1926/02/20/archives/sniper-shoots-council-bluffs-detective-terror-of-people-hits-omahas.html?sq=omaha+sniper&scp=1&st=p "Sniper Shoots Council Bluffs Detective; Terror of People Hits Omaha's Business"], The New York Times. February 20, 1926. Retrieved 5/30/08. On February 15, Omaha's newspapers recommended the city black out all lights after an exposé on previous murders showed that the victims had been standing in their windows at home when they were shot.[https://www.nytimes.com/1926/02/19/archives/omaha-darkens-houses-in-fear-of-sniper-who-fires-through-windows.html?sq=omaha+sniper&scp=6&st=p "Omaha Darkens Houses in Fear of Sniper Who Fires Through Windows; Has Slain Two"], The New York Times. February 18, 2008. Retrieved 5/30/08. During daylight hours, the sniper shot another in the face and fired through more than a dozen lighted windows. Businesses in Omaha came to a standstill, streets cleared and the city's entertainment venues emptied for more than a week.[https://www.nytimes.com/1926/02/21/archives/terror-of-sniper-wears-omaha-folk-to-breaking-point-maniac-is-still.html?sq=omaha+sniper&scp=7&st=p "Terror of sniper wears Omaha folk"], The New York Times. February 20, 1926. Retrieved 5/30/08. Other crimes included shooting indiscriminately into a Downtown Omaha drugstore.[https://web.archive.org/web/20070310182155/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,928260,00.html "In Omaha"], Time magazine. December 3, 1928. Retrieved 5/30/08.

More than two weeks after his first murder, Carter was captured in Iowa, 30 miles south of Council Bluffs at Bartlett in Fremont County, Iowa. Carter readily admitted his crimes.[https://www.nytimes.com/1926/02/23/archives/omaha-gets-sniper-farm-hand-boasts-of-skill-in-killing-captured-on.html?sq=omaha+sniper&scp=4&st=p "Omaha gets sniper"], The New York Times. February 23, 1926. Retrieved 5/30/08. After a month-long trial where Carter's lawyers pleaded insanity,[https://www.nytimes.com/1926/03/21/archives/omahas-sniper-bandit-is-sentenced-to-death-i-am-sorry-that-you-lost.html?sq=omaha+sniper&scp=10&st=p "Omaha's sniper bandit is sentenced to death"], The New York Times. March 21, 1926. Retrieved 5/30/08. Carter was convicted on one count of first degree murder for killing Dr. A.D. Searles.[https://www.nytimes.com/1926/02/26/archives/sniper-to-be-tried-in-omaha-monday-prosecutor-hopes-to-convict-him.html?sq=omaha+sniper&scp=2&st=p "'Sniper' to be tried in Omaha Monday"], The New York Times. February 26, 1926. Retrieved 5/30/08. He was also charged with first degree murder for killing mechanic William McDevitt, but that charge was withdrawn. After his conviction, Carter further admitted to being a parole breaker. (He had been released from the Iowa State Penitentiary in 1925, after serving time for killing cattle.)[https://www.nytimes.com/1926/02/25/archives/omaha-sniper-a-parole-breaker-identified-as-exconvict-from-iowa.html?sq=omaha+sniper&scp=3&st=p "Omaha 'sniper' a parole breaker"], The New York Times. February 25, 1926. Retrieved 5/30/08.

Frank Carter's Nebraska Prison Number was #9277.{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20130304024445/http://nebraskahistory.org/exhibits/mugshots/Carter_Frank.htm Nebraska history Frank Carter]}}

He was executed by electrocution on June 24, 1927, at the Nebraska State Penitentiary in Lincoln, Nebraska. Carter was quoted as saying "Let the juice flow" just before he died.