Bio

Duane Earl Pope was born in 1943 and grew up on a small farm outside Roxbury, Kansas. His family owned 160 acres, and he was one of eight children in a farming household. As a child, he was known to be shy and quiet but was also athletic. Growing up on a farm, he developed a fascination with guns and tractors, which was common for boys in rural areas.

Pope attended school in Roxbury, where he participated in various sports and extracurricular activities. He played football, basketball, and ran track. He was quite active in school, even serving as the president of his senior class and being named a co-captain of the football team. Despite his involvement in sports, he was only a mediocre student academically.

After high school, Pope went to McPherson College in McPherson, Kansas. He graduated in 1965 with a degree in industrial education. However, he did not complete the necessary teaching component that would have qualified him to teach high school industrial arts. While at college, he was an average student but excelled in football.

During his time in college, Pope found work in the wheat fields around Big Springs, Nebraska. This job inspired him to think about robbing a bank in that area. He began to plan out how to commit a robbery to acquire money, which he needed to start an excavation business involving the Caterpillar tractors he had acquired.

In the weeks leading up to his graduation, he quietly prepared for the robbery by making silencers for his guns in the college machine shop. He also created a protective breastplate from a bulldozer blade. Just two days after graduating, he borrowed money from his father, claiming he was going to Oklahoma to find work.

Instead, Pope rented a car and drove to Nebraska, where he executed his plan. 

Murder Story

On June 4, 1965, Duane Earl Pope entered the Farmers State Bank in Big Springs, Nebraska, armed with a Ruger .38 semiautomatic pistol. After observing the bank for a while, he approached one of the bankers, posing as a landowner looking to secure a loan. Once inside the bank, he revealed his intentions and demanded that the staff fill a briefcase with cash. The employees complied, giving him around $1,600.

After securing the money, Pope ordered the four bank employees to lie face down on the floor. He then shot them execution-style in the back and neck. Three of the bank employees, Andreas (Andy) Kjeldgaard, Glenn Hendrickson, and Lois Ann Holthan, died at the scene. The fourth employee, Franklin Kjeldgaard, survived but was left paralyzed for life.

Following the shooting, Pope fled the scene. He discarded his gun and a homemade breastplate along the road. He returned some of the stolen money to his family home before moving on. After abandoning his rented car, he made his way to Tijuana, Mexico, traveling by various means including bus and plane.

Pope remained at large for about a week. During this time, he was spotted in San Diego and Las Vegas. While in Las Vegas, he read an appeal for his surrender from the president of his college in a newspaper. Following this, he flew to Kansas City, Missouri, where he turned himself in to the police. He then provided a detailed confession to authorities and was extradited back to Nebraska.

Pope was tried in 1965 and 1970 in separate courts. On both occasions, he was found guilty and received death sentences. However, in 1972, the U.S. Supreme Court commuted his death sentences to life imprisonment. He has remained in federal prison since that time.