Frank Carter was born as Patrick Murphy in County Mayo, Ireland, in 1881. He later emigrated to the United States and eventually settled in the Midwest, where he worked various manual labor jobs, including as a farmhand and city laborer.

Carter's documented criminal behavior began not with murder, but with a cruel act of animal violence. In 1916, while living in Iowa, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison for maliciously slaughtering an entire herd of dairy cattle. These animals belonged to Otto Schoeneman, a former employer who had dismissed Carter following a personal dispute. In an act of revenge, Carter snuck onto Schoeneman's farm and killed the cattle. He later warned Schoeneman from prison: “I’ll get you when I get out.”

After serving only four years, Carter was paroled in 1920. His obsession with revenge continued. In 1925, he began threatening Otto’s son, Verne Schoeneman. One night, Verne believed Carter was attempting to break into his home. Hearing someone quietly entering through the back door and walking upstairs, Verne shot the intruder, only to find out he had fatally wounded his own new farmhand, Charles Van Meeteren.

In early February 1926, Frank Carter committed his first known murder in Omaha, Nebraska. His victim was William McDevitt, a local mechanic, who was shot and killed using a .22 caliber pistol fitted with a silencer. Soon afterward, Carter struck again, murdering Dr. Austin Searles, a well-known physician. The murders sent a wave of fear through the Omaha community, particularly because of the randomness and method of the attacks.

Within days, the city was in full panic. The press revealed that several victims had been shot while standing in the windows of their own homes. The implication was terrifying: Carter was sniping at random targets, choosing victims simply because they were visible. On February 15, 1926, local newspapers urged residents to black out their homes at night, leading to a citywide shutdown of activity. Entertainment venues were abandoned, businesses closed early, and for over a week, Omaha resembled a city under siege.

The terror didn’t stop in Omaha. Carter moved across the river to Council Bluffs, Iowa, where he shot a railroad detective six times. He also reportedly fired into a drugstore in downtown Omaha and shot indiscriminately through more than a dozen lighted windows. At least one victim was shot in the face during the daytime. Carter’s behavior resembled a modern-day spree killer more than a methodical serial killer. He made no attempt to hide his trail or avoid detection, which led police to suspect that the shooter was acting out of compulsion, not strategy.

On February 28, 1926, Carter was arrested in Bartlett, Iowa, roughly 30 miles south of Council Bluffs. He offered no resistance and confessed to the killings. He even claimed that he had murdered 43 people across various locations, an assertion that reporters and investigators strongly doubted. The Lexington Herald-Leader dismissed most of his claims as “obviously fictitious.” There was never any evidence to connect Carter to dozens of additional murders, and he was only formally charged in two.

His trial began in early 1927. Carter’s legal defense attempted to plead insanity, but the court rejected this argument. He was found guilty of the murder of Dr. Austin Searles and sentenced to death. The charge for the murder of William McDevitt was later withdrawn, likely to expedite the execution process. After his conviction, Carter admitted to being a parole violator, having broken the terms of his release from the Iowa State Penitentiary in 1925.

Frank Carter, inmate #9277 at the Nebraska State Penitentiary, was executed in the electric chair on June 24, 1927. Before his death, he reportedly uttered the grim final words: “Let the juice flow.”