True Life Tuesday: Jack Graham

This guy took matricide to a completely different level. I think the term is overkill.

John "Jack" Gilbert Graham was born on January 22, 1932 in Denver, Colorado. He was the son of William and Daisy Walker Graham. William was Daisy's second husband and she had a daughter from her first marriage. In 1937 his father died of pneumonia. His mother sent him to an orphanage due to the poverty they faced after William's death. In 1941 his mother remarried but her husband died shortly after. She used the inheritance she received to open a restaurant and became a successful businesswomen. However, even after becoming financial successful she never sent for Jack from the orphanage which caused them to become estranged. They ended up reconciling in 1954 but their relationship remained rocky. He married Gloria Elson and they had two children, Allen and Suzanne.

In 1955 Daisy's restaurant was destroyed in an explosion. It was believed that Jack did so deliberately in order to collect on the insurance policy he took out on the property but it could never be proven. On November 1, 1955 United Airlines flight 629 was on its way from New York City to Seattle. The flight had many stops on the way including one at Denver's Stapleton Airfield. Daisy was on the flight on her way to Alaska to visit her daughter. Minutes after taking off the plane exploded and all aboard were killed. 

The FBI was able to reconstruct enough of the wreckage and they determined that the explosive was placed in someone's luggage. It was found that Jack had purchased $37,500 (about $410,000 in 2022 dollars) of insurance on the flight. It was possible to buy insurance in the airport terminal at the time and this continued until the 1980s. jack provided conflicting statements to the FBI and there was also physical evidence found in his home. He eventually ended up confessing to the crime. While in prison he stated to the doctors that he did not care how many other people were on the plane and that it was their time to go. 

His trial led to Colorado becoming the first state to allow for trials to be televised. Believe it or not at the time there was no federal statute outlawing the blowing up of a plane. Because of this the Colorado District Attorney decided that the easiest to proceed was to charge him only with the murder of his mother. He did attempt suicide in his cell in February 1956 which led to him being placed under 24 hour surveillance. During his trial he tried to recant his confession but it did not work. He was convicted on May 5, 1956. He was executed in the gas chamber on January 11, 1957. After his execution his wife and children, who were only toddlers when he committed his crime, started going by her maiden name.