Notable people · Crime History · Writer
Clara Green Carl
Born in Ward Township, Hocking County, Carl was a newspaper writer in Cleveland who was convicted in 1922 of second-degree murder in the poisoning deaths of her third husband's family. Newspapers called her a 'feminine Bluebeard'.
At a glance
- Born
- 1876-05-07
- Died
- 1962-03-03
- Known as
- Crime History, Writer
Life story
Clara Green Carl was born in 1876 in Ward Township, Hocking County. She worked as a newspaper writer in Cleveland and, with her first husband Robert Gibson, tried a get-rich scheme selling books on local history.
After Gibson died in 1920 she collected a $3,000 life insurance payment. In 1921 her father-in-law Alonzo Carl and then her husband Frank Carl died within weeks of each other.
She was arrested in January 1922, convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to life at the Indiana Women's Prison. She escaped in October 1925, was caught a week later, and was paroled in 1937 after fifteen years. Press of the time called her a 'feminine Bluebeard'.
Timeline
- 1876-05-07: Born (Ward Township, OH) source
- 1897-01-02: Marries Robert Matthew Gibson source
- 1920-03-18: Robert Gibson dies source
- 1920-09-14: Marries Frank Carl source
- 1921-08: Alonzo Carl dies source
- 1921-10: Frank Carl dies source
- 1922-01: Arrested; later convicted of second-degree murder source
- 1925-10: Escapes prison; recaptured after a week (Indiana) source
- 1937-05-26: Paroled (Indiana) source
- 1962-03-03: Dies (Canton, OH) source
What Clara is known for
- Convicted of second-degree murder, 1922
- Escaped from an Indiana women's prison in 1925 and was recaptured
Family
- husband: Robert Matthew Gibson
- husband: Frank Carl
Ohio places
Where Clara Green Carl was born, lived, worked and is remembered, with the ZIP code, town and county pages for each.
- Born: Ward Township, Hocking County ZIP 43138 · Hocking County
- Worked: Cleveland, Cuyahoga County ZIP 44113 · Cleveland · Cuyahoga County
Further reading
Sources
Confidence. Medium: the main facts were confirmed, but some details (often an address or ZIP code) were not.
- Wikipedia: Clara Green Carl dates, marriages, conviction, prison