The Bucher Murder and the Great Hill County Jailbreak of 1933
On April 30, 1932, Hillsboro businessman John N. Bucher was murdered during a robbery at his jewelry business on the northern outskirts of Hillsboro. His death led to an investigation involving members of the notorious Bonnie and Clyde gang and brought Raymond Hamilton, one of Clyde Barrow's associates, to the Hill County Jail. Less than a year later, Hamilton would escape from that jail with two other prisoners, setting off an armed pursuit through the Hill County countryside.
Bucher was a longtime Hillsboro jeweler and optician who, with his wife Madora, had previously operated a jewelry store downtown. The couple later relocated their business to a property along the old Fort Worth highway, combining their jewelry shop, filling station, and living quarters. On the evening of April 30, several young men reportedly visited the establishment, examined merchandise, and departed without purchasing anything. Later that night, two men returned, claiming they wanted to purchase guitar strings. They offered a ten-dollar bill for the small purchase, requiring the Buchers to open their safe to make change. During the encounter, Bucher was shot and fatally wounded, and the robbers escaped with cash and jewelry, including diamond rings.
Sheriff J. W. "Jim" Freeland and other officers began investigating the murder, which soon became connected to the activities of Clyde Barrow's criminal associates. Raymond Hamilton, a young Dallas outlaw who had traveled with Barrow and Bonnie Parker, became a suspect after Madora Bucher identified him from photographs. Hamilton was returned to Hillsboro in December 1932 to face a murder charge. Although Mrs. Bucher identified him as one of the robbers, she acknowledged during the trial that her back had been turned when the fatal shot was fired. Hamilton denied involvement, and defense witnesses testified that he had been in Michigan at the time of the killing.
Hamilton's first trial concluded on March 20, 1933, when the jury was unable to agree on his punishment, resulting in a mistrial. He remained in the Hill County Jail awaiting retrial, where two other inmates, J. B. Stephens and David Cates, were being held in connection with the robbery of the Covington State Bank. That robbery had occurred on January 26, 1931, when approximately $4,100 was taken from the bank.
On March 23, 1933, Hamilton, Stephens, and Cates escaped from the Hill County Jail after overpowering deputies who were escorting another prisoner into the building. The three men seized weapons and keys, fled the jail, and crossed the street to a gasoline station, where they stole an automobile belonging to Beatrice Hare. They headed west toward Whitney as Sheriff Freeland and his deputies organized a pursuit. This was the only documented "escape" from the Hill County Jail.
Approximately twelve miles west of Hillsboro, the stolen automobile developed a flat tire, forcing the fugitives to abandon their escape by car. Sheriff Freeland and his deputies caught up with the men along a rural road, where an armed confrontation followed. Stephens and Cates surrendered, while Hamilton initially attempted to avoid capture near a tree. One account preserved in local history describes Freeland firing into a tree limb above Hamilton, causing the branch to fall and strike him, after which he surrendered. Although that particular detail has not been independently confirmed in contemporary newspaper accounts, all three prisoners were recaptured and returned to the Hill County Jail. The museum's historical account places the entire escape at approximately ninety minutes.
The Bucher murder case continued to generate considerable attention. On May 30, 1933, newspapers reported that Martin Kitchen, a prosecution witness, had been abducted from downtown Hillsboro, driven into the countryside, and severely beaten. Kitchen was found bound with barbed wire along a rural road and reported that his attackers had threatened him in connection with his testimony. The attack occurred only days before Hamilton's second trial.
On June 2, 1933, a Hill County jury convicted Hamilton of Bucher's murder and sentenced him to life imprisonment. His conviction did not end the questions surrounding the identity of the actual gunman. Later historical investigations, including John Neal Phillips's Running with Bonnie and Clyde, have attributed the fatal shooting to Ted Rogers, another associate of Clyde Barrow. Phillips's account places Barrow outside in the getaway automobile while Rogers participated in the robbery. The competing accounts remain an important distinction between Hamilton's legal conviction and the unresolved historical debate over who fired the shot that killed Bucher.
Hamilton was transferred to the Texas prison system but escaped from the Eastham Prison Farm on January 16, 1934, during a breakout assisted by Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow. Prison guard Major Crowson was shot during the escape and subsequently died from his injuries. Hamilton was eventually recaptured, convicted in connection with Crowson's death, and executed at the Texas State Penitentiary in Huntsville on May 10, 1935, at the age of twenty-two.
Sheriff Jim Freeland, whose law-enforcement career began as Hubbard city marshal in the 1890s, had served Hill County as Sheriff during two separate administrations, first from 1911 to 1914 and again from 1931 through 1934. His pursuit and recapture of Hamilton and the other fugitives became one of the best-known events of his career. The jail where the escape began had been constructed in 1893 and remained in use until 1983. Today, the building at 120 North Waco Street in Hillsboro is preserved as the Hill County Cell Block Museum, where visitors can see the original sheriff's office and surviving prisoner cells associated with this period of Hill County history.
Sources and Further Reading
Historical Books
Phillips, John Neal. Running with Bonnie and Clyde: The Ten Fast Years of Ralph Fults. University of Oklahoma Press, 1996. Publisher and book information.
McMahan, Dick. Turning Point: The Bucher Murder Was the Turning Point for Clyde Barrow, Bonnie Parker and Raymond Hamilton. Southwestern Historical Publications, 2007. Hill County historical bibliography.
Baker, T. Lindsay. Gangster Tour of Texas. Texas A&M University Press, 2011. Publisher and book information.
Underwood, Sid. Depression Desperado: The Chronicle of Raymond Hamilton. Eakin Press, 1995. WorldCat library record.
Milner, E. R. The Lives and Times of Bonnie and Clyde. Southern Illinois University Press, 1996. Book information.
Contemporary Newspaper Articles
The Cushing Daily Citizen, December 18, 1932. “Dallas Boy Named as Slayer of Man.” Reports Madora Bucher's identification of Raymond Hamilton. Read original newspaper.
Eastland Telegram, March 20, 1933. Reports the mistrial following the jury's failure to agree on Hamilton's punishment. Read digitized newspaper (PDF).
Amarillo Globe, March 24, 1933. “Fugitive Dash Ends After Flat Tire in Hillsboro.” Contemporary coverage of the Hill County Jail escape and recapture. View newspaper archive.
Midland Reporter-Telegram, May 30, 1933. Reports the abduction and assault of prosecution witness Martin Kitchen. Read digitized newspaper (PDF).
Midland Reporter-Telegram, June 2, 1933. Reports Hamilton's conviction and life sentence for Bucher's murder. Read digitized newspaper (PDF).
Official Records and Historical Archives
Federal Bureau of Investigation. “Bonnie and Clyde.” FBI historical case summary documenting the gang's activities, Hamilton's association, and the 1934 Eastham Prison Farm escape. FBI historical records.
National Archives and Records Administration. United States v. Raymond Hamilton, et al., 1934, Criminal Case No. 8008. Federal court records concerning the Barrow gang and stolen National Guard weapons. National Archives collection.
Texas Historical Commission. “Hill County Jail,” Recorded Texas Historic Landmark No. 2482, 1981. Official documentation of the historic jail's construction, architectural features, and original use. Texas Historic Sites Atlas.
Local Historical Research
True Tales of Hill County, Texas. “Clyde Barrow Gang.” Local account of the Bucher murder, Hamilton's imprisonment, and the 1933 escape, including historical photographs. Read local history.
Holley, Joe. “Family Tree Branches Have Brush with History.” Houston Chronicle, July 28, 2017. Retrospective account featuring the Bucher murder, Sheriff Freeland, and the jail escape. See article here.
Help Us Preserve Hill County History
Do you have old photographs, family stories, memories, documents, or information about Hill County, Texas? We would love to hear from you! Every contribution helps the Hill County Cell Block Museum preserve and share our community's history for future generations.
Email HillCountyMuseum@outlook.com or visit www.HillCountyMuseum.org to connect with us.
Visiting the Museum
Open Saturdays, April through October, 10 a.m.– 4 p.m.
Private tours available by appointment.
We are located steps from the Hill County Courthouse at 120 N. Waco Street, Hillsboro, Texas.
Comments