It’s hard to discard humanity’s morbid curiosity. We’re always seeking details to try to solve catastrophes we come across, no matter if it’s a wreck we pass on the highway or our staying tuned to see if the culprit on the evening news is brought to justice. It’s hard not to get wrapped up in true crime, especially since there have been multiple serial killers in Arkansas. Sometimes that craving gets the best of us and we’re stuck with wanting to know the whole story. With somber earnest, let’s tiptoe through the Arkansas murder house, where tragedy struck in 1964.
This house once belonged to the Degges family.
www.AbandonedAR.com/Ginger Beck Unfortunately, it’s also part of a crime scene - the murder of Mrs. Maudine Degges happened here.
A young mother of three, Mrs. Degges dropped off her two older children at school one September morning.
www.AbandonedAR.com/Ginger Beck Later that morning a neighbor spotted the youngest child, a four-year-old boy, wandering the streets. The neighbor brought the child to his grandparents and together they went to the Degges house.
Mrs. Degges was nowhere to be found.
www.AbandonedAR.com/Ginger Beck The only things left over were a plugged-in iron and one of her shoes.
Her body was found the next day about three miles southeast of the house.
www.AbandonedAR.com/Ginger Beck Blunt force head trauma was the cause of death. A wrench, the assumed murder weapon, was recovered at the scene.
Investigators were able to piece together what had happened.
www.AbandonedAR.com/Ginger Beck A neighbor had seen a black and white 1956 Buick pulling out of the Dregges’ driveway. The driver had suspiciously sped off without stopping. Two men working on a nearby telephone line also witnessed the odd Buick.
Police followed the trail and found the owner of the Buick.
www.AbandonedAR.com/Ginger Beck The owner, James Williams, worked near the Dregges’ neighborhood. Police noticed a large burn on Williams’ chest during questioning. He brushed it off saying it was caused by the muffler of the chainsaw he was operating in the woods.
Williams claimed to have been working at the time of the attack.
www.AbandonedAR.com/Ginger Beck About two weeks after the policemen’s first contact with Williams, they were able to obtain a warrant and disprove his alibi. Also at this time Williams’ burn had healed to the point where a match could be made between its shape and the shape of the iron Mrs. Degges had been using.
Williams’ had broken in through a window and attacked Mrs. Degges.
www.AbandonedAR.com/Ginger Beck Mrs. Degges fought back, but was overpowered when Williams used the wrench.
Williams was arrested for first-degree murder. He was sentenced to death by electrocution.
www.AbandonedAR.com/Ginger Beck He appealed but the Supreme Court of Arkansas denied his hearing.
Justice came quicker than expected.
www.AbandonedAR.com/Ginger Beck Williams died in prison before his sentence could be carried out.
Mrs. Degges was given a proper burial and flowers are still left on her grave to this day.
www.AbandonedAR.com/Ginger Beck
Share your thoughts about this harrowing crime with us in the comments – we love to hear from you. For a much-needed palate cleanser, read about this delightful small town pie shop. After all, who doesn’t love pie?
www.AbandonedAR.com/Ginger Beck
Unfortunately, it’s also part of a crime scene - the murder of Mrs. Maudine Degges happened here.
Later that morning a neighbor spotted the youngest child, a four-year-old boy, wandering the streets. The neighbor brought the child to his grandparents and together they went to the Degges house.
The only things left over were a plugged-in iron and one of her shoes.
Blunt force head trauma was the cause of death. A wrench, the assumed murder weapon, was recovered at the scene.
A neighbor had seen a black and white 1956 Buick pulling out of the Dregges’ driveway. The driver had suspiciously sped off without stopping. Two men working on a nearby telephone line also witnessed the odd Buick.
The owner, James Williams, worked near the Dregges’ neighborhood. Police noticed a large burn on Williams’ chest during questioning. He brushed it off saying it was caused by the muffler of the chainsaw he was operating in the woods.
About two weeks after the policemen’s first contact with Williams, they were able to obtain a warrant and disprove his alibi. Also at this time Williams’ burn had healed to the point where a match could be made between its shape and the shape of the iron Mrs. Degges had been using.
Mrs. Degges fought back, but was overpowered when Williams used the wrench.
He appealed but the Supreme Court of Arkansas denied his hearing.
Williams died in prison before his sentence could be carried out.
But if you’d like more true crime creepiness, however, then read about a notorious serial killer in Arkansas. Or visit this museum that has the weapons of multiple serial killers in Arkansas.
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Arkansas Murder House November 11, 2021 Tori Jane What are some notorious Arkansas murders? Arkansas is one of those places that doesn’t make the news a whole lot, but when it does – it definitely goes hard. For example, in 1998, two teenaged boys committed a massacre at Westside Middle School, killing five. There is also the horrifying tale of Robert Gene Simmons (definitely not to be confused with the lead singer of hair band KISS), a mass murderer with more than 16 victims in under a week. He was executed for his horrific crimes by lethal injection in 1990. Finally, and most infamously, there is the tale of the West Memphis Three; when three young boys went missing and were later found in a wooded area having been brutally murdered, three local teenagers were almost immediately implicated in the crime, whose investigation had devolved into varied states of “satanic panic”. The cases against the boys were flimsy at best, and still, one was sentenced to death and the other two to life in prison. Thanks to a storm of controversy over the investigation and the people who conducted it – as well as the lack of actual evidence and no DNA matches – the three were released after 18 years in prison. The murders of the children that they were put away for, however, remain unsolved. Check this article out for more chilling Arkansas crimes. What are some scary unsolved Arkansas mysteries? Well, there’s always the triple-murder of the three children in West Memphis, of course, but there are several other eerie, creepy, or just downright scary unsolved mysteries in Arkansas. One of the most horrifying on every level is that of the Texarkana Phantom Killer, who killed five people in 1946 while wearing a burlap sack with slits cut for eyes. It was so unsettling and eerie that a film was made inspired by the events. There is also the unsolved, horrific murders of Don Henry and Kevin Ives, whose bodies were run over by a train and initially determined to have been the result of suicide. However, eventually, it was realized that they had been killed before being hit by the train – and their killer remains at large to this day. There are plenty more, but we think we’ll let you try to sleep tonight.
The OIYS Visitor Center
Arkansas Murder House
November 11, 2021
Tori Jane
What are some notorious Arkansas murders? Arkansas is one of those places that doesn’t make the news a whole lot, but when it does – it definitely goes hard. For example, in 1998, two teenaged boys committed a massacre at Westside Middle School, killing five. There is also the horrifying tale of Robert Gene Simmons (definitely not to be confused with the lead singer of hair band KISS), a mass murderer with more than 16 victims in under a week. He was executed for his horrific crimes by lethal injection in 1990. Finally, and most infamously, there is the tale of the West Memphis Three; when three young boys went missing and were later found in a wooded area having been brutally murdered, three local teenagers were almost immediately implicated in the crime, whose investigation had devolved into varied states of “satanic panic”. The cases against the boys were flimsy at best, and still, one was sentenced to death and the other two to life in prison. Thanks to a storm of controversy over the investigation and the people who conducted it – as well as the lack of actual evidence and no DNA matches – the three were released after 18 years in prison. The murders of the children that they were put away for, however, remain unsolved. Check this article out for more chilling Arkansas crimes. What are some scary unsolved Arkansas mysteries? Well, there’s always the triple-murder of the three children in West Memphis, of course, but there are several other eerie, creepy, or just downright scary unsolved mysteries in Arkansas. One of the most horrifying on every level is that of the Texarkana Phantom Killer, who killed five people in 1946 while wearing a burlap sack with slits cut for eyes. It was so unsettling and eerie that a film was made inspired by the events. There is also the unsolved, horrific murders of Don Henry and Kevin Ives, whose bodies were run over by a train and initially determined to have been the result of suicide. However, eventually, it was realized that they had been killed before being hit by the train – and their killer remains at large to this day. There are plenty more, but we think we’ll let you try to sleep tonight.
The OIYS Visitor Center
The OIYS Visitor Center
Arkansas is one of those places that doesn’t make the news a whole lot, but when it does – it definitely goes hard. For example, in 1998, two teenaged boys committed a massacre at Westside Middle School, killing five. There is also the horrifying tale of Robert Gene Simmons (definitely not to be confused with the lead singer of hair band KISS), a mass murderer with more than 16 victims in under a week. He was executed for his horrific crimes by lethal injection in 1990. Finally, and most infamously, there is the tale of the West Memphis Three; when three young boys went missing and were later found in a wooded area having been brutally murdered, three local teenagers were almost immediately implicated in the crime, whose investigation had devolved into varied states of “satanic panic”. The cases against the boys were flimsy at best, and still, one was sentenced to death and the other two to life in prison. Thanks to a storm of controversy over the investigation and the people who conducted it – as well as the lack of actual evidence and no DNA matches – the three were released after 18 years in prison. The murders of the children that they were put away for, however, remain unsolved. Check this article out for more chilling Arkansas crimes.
What are some scary unsolved Arkansas mysteries?
Well, there’s always the triple-murder of the three children in West Memphis, of course, but there are several other eerie, creepy, or just downright scary unsolved mysteries in Arkansas. One of the most horrifying on every level is that of the Texarkana Phantom Killer, who killed five people in 1946 while wearing a burlap sack with slits cut for eyes. It was so unsettling and eerie that a film was made inspired by the events. There is also the unsolved, horrific murders of Don Henry and Kevin Ives, whose bodies were run over by a train and initially determined to have been the result of suicide. However, eventually, it was realized that they had been killed before being hit by the train – and their killer remains at large to this day. There are plenty more, but we think we’ll let you try to sleep tonight.
