Bio

Clarence Leon Raby was born in 1933. He grew up in a small community in Tennessee. As he got older, Raby began to get into trouble with the law. He had a few run-ins with the police and was known for being involved in criminal activities. He was convicted of theft and had also spent time in prison. After his release, he struggled to stay out of trouble. He was later serving a sentence for a drunken driving charge when he escaped from a workhouse in Knox County.

In 1960, Raby was living near Knoxville, Tennessee. At that time, he was known to have a difficult life. He seemed to have trouble finding direction and may have turned to a life of crime to cope with his circumstances. 

Murder Story

On July 7, 1960, Clarence Leon Raby committed his first murder when he shot and killed Frank C. Keith, a store owner in Andersonville, Tennessee. Raby and another man robbed Keith, taking about $1,000 before shooting him with a shotgun.

Less than a month later, on August 1, 1960, Raby shot and killed Deputy Sheriff Ben DeVault. DeVault attempted to arrest Raby when he spotted him on a rural road. Raby, armed with a pistol, fired a fatal shot that struck DeVault in the head. After the shooting, Raby commandeered a truck from a farmer named Fred Rutherford, but later released him unharmed. Raby abandoned the truck on the outskirts of Knoxville.

On August 28, 1960, after living in the hills to avoid capture, Raby turned himself in to the former Knox County Sheriff E. B. Bowles. He was taken into custody and placed in the Knox County jail for safekeeping.

On October 24, 1960, Raby tried to escape from jail. He called officers to his fourth-floor cell, claiming he wanted to make a statement. When officers arrived, Raby pulled a gun on them and forced them to take him down in the elevator. Once at the first floor, he fired at other officers from behind a glass partition. Raby attempted to flee but was shot and killed on the front lawn of the jail.