Edward Capehart O'Kelley (1 October 1857-13 January 1904) was an American man from Missouri who, on 8 June 1892, killed Robert Ford, the man infamous for betraying and killing Jesse James ten years earlier.
Biography[]
Edward Capehart O'Kelley was born in Harrisonville, Missouri in 1857, and he may have married a relative of Jesse James, making him a cousin by marriage. After James' death, it is said that Soapy Smith convinced O'Kelley that he would become famous if he killed James' killer Robert Ford, and, on 8 June 1892, O'Kelly entered Ford's tent saloon in Creede, Colorado, greeted Ford (whose back was turned to him) by telling him, "Hey, Bob," and shot him with both barrels of the shotgun he was carrying. O'Kelley was sentenced to life in prison, but his sentence was later reduced to 18 years, and he was released due to a 7,000-signature petition. Afterwards, O'Kelley moved to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. In December 1903, a policeman arrested O'Kelley, whom he deemed suspicious. On 13 January 1904, another policeman attempted to arrest O'Kelley after he had been released from jail that same day, leading to an enraged O'Kelley shooting at the lawman seven times as the alert policeman wrestled with him. O'Kelley used his teeth to bite chunks out of the policeman's ears, but a baggage man restrained O'Kelley, enabling the policeman to shoot O'Kelley twice, killing him.