on Thursday, October 30, 1947, Tacoma Police Officers Andrew P. Although the case fails to capture the attention of the national press, history marks Bird as one the nation’s most prolific serial killers.Īt 2:30 a.m. He is hanged at the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla on July 15, 1949.
While on death row, Bird confesses to committing or being involved in at least 44 murders during his travels across the country. On November 26, 1947, after a three-day trial, a Pierce County Jury convicts Bird of first-degree murder and recommends the death penalty.
Bird is captured and taken to the Tacoma City Jail where he confesses to the killings, claiming it was a burglary gone bad. Two police officers, sent to the Tacoma residence to investigate reports of screams from inside the residence, see a man run out the back door and give chase. On October 30, 1949, Jake Bird (1901-1949), a 45-year-old transient, breaks into the home of Bertha Kludt and her daughter, Beverly June Kludt, and hacks them to death with an ax. Police capture serial killer Jake Bird after he murders two Tacoma women on October 30, 1947 Status: Executed by hanging at the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla on July 15, 1949 Method of murder: Beating with an ax - Stabbing with knife AKA "The Tacoma Ax-Killer" Classification: Serial killer