Bio

Roy Mitchell was born in 1892, in Louisiana, and later lived in Waco, Texas. Mitchell lived in Waco during a period of severe racial tension. The city already had a history of mob violence, including the 1916 lynching of Jesse Washington. In 1922, another Black man, Jesse Thomas, was wrongly identified as a suspect in one of the attacks later linked to Mitchell and was killed by a mob. These events shaped the public atmosphere surrounding Mitchell’s later arrest and trial.

By 1922, Mitchell became linked to a series of murders and attacks in and around Waco. The crimes involved robbery, shootings, an axe killing, and attacks on couples in secluded areas. He was arrested in January 1923 after police connected him to stolen items from earlier victims.

Murder Story

Roy Mitchell’s first commonly listed murder was the killing of William Driskell on May 7, 1922. Driskell was a cotton buyer and part-time deputy constable in Waco. He was killed with an axe in his garage, and several items were stolen from him, including a pistol, watch, and ring. Investigators initially treated the case as a robbery-related killing.

On May 25, 1922, Harvey Bolton, age 21, was attacked while parked with his girlfriend outside Waco. A gunman approached the couple, shot Bolton, and sexually assaulted the woman. After the attack, Jesse Thomas was wrongly identified as the suspect. Thomas was killed by the woman’s father, and a mob later burned his body publicly in Waco. Later accounts state that Thomas had been falsely accused.

On November 20, 1922, Grady Skipworth, age 19, was parked near Lover’s Leap in Cameron Park with Naomi Boucher. A gunman attacked them and shot Skipworth. The attacker then threw Skipworth’s body over the cliff and also pushed Boucher over the edge. Boucher survived after a tree broke her fall. Another suspect was accused, but he was acquitted.

On January 10, 1923, another attack was attempted in Cameron Park. A gunman jumped onto the running board of a passing car and pushed a shotgun through the window, but he was knocked down before he could fire. He left behind a checkered cap, which later became important evidence.

On January 20, 1923, W. E. Holt and Ethel Denecamp were attacked while parked outside Waco. Holt was shot in the head, and Denecamp was beaten to death. Their car was later found abandoned in Waco. This attack increased pressure on police to solve the series of killings.

Police eventually connected the checkered cap to Roy Mitchell. He was arrested on January 30, 1923, on a gambling charge. When officers searched his home, they reportedly found William Driskell’s handgun and holster, along with a watch fob linked to Grady Skipworth. Later accounts state that Mitchell confessed after several days in custody, though he later recanted before trial.

Mitchell was tried in Waco in 1923. He was convicted and sentenced to death. Later historians and local writers have noted concerns about the fairness of the case because of the racial climate in Waco and the influence of mob pressure and Ku Klux Klan-era politics.

Roy Mitchell was hanged in Waco on July 30, 1923. Thousands of people gathered to watch the execution. His final reported words were, “Goodbye, everybody.” The hanging is often described as the last public legal hanging in Texas, though later reporting notes that another hanging occurred in Angleton on August 31, 1923, making Mitchell’s execution one of the final hangings before Texas centralized executions and moved to the electric chair