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workers were found after washing up on the shores, robbed of any valuables or money they were known to have. From 1905 to 1910, 40 bodies were found floating near
Aberdeen. Gohl was accused of starting a fire which burned a saloon in Alaska. Contemporary news reported that a Jacob Miller and wife had "vanished" while living in a
231:) In March 1912, a human skull was found buried near the cabin owned by Gohl; another skull had previously been found near the same spot on a beach and was thought to have been of "Red" Miller who had "disappeared" and was believed to have been a victim of Gohl. Gohl was employed as a union official at the
307:
Hoffman had been killed
December 23, 1909, after the Hatberg killing, and had been robbed of $ 400.00 and also disposed of in the Harbor near Indian Creek. In July 1910, a human skeleton was found in Indian Creek; however, it is not known whether these were the remains of Hoffman. Other corpses found
218:
Little is known about Gohl's early life though at one point as an adult, he went to the Yukon chasing gold. He was unsuccessful, and on his return to
Aberdeen he took on work as a bartender. During this time, it was alleged that he may have been responsible for numerous murders. The bodies of migrant
294:
Klingenberg was able to testify to seeing Gohl alone with a sailor, Charles
Hatberg (or Hatteberg), whose body had recently been found in the harbor at Indian Creek February 2, 1910, soon after his disappearance on December 21, 1909. Hatberg had been shot with a .38 Automatic pistol which had been
209:
Historian Aaron Goings argues there is cause for doubt that Golh was a killer, proposing instead that the numerous bodies discovered in Grays Harbor were the result of accidental deaths caused by unsafe conditions on the docks and in the timber industry. Goings also proposes Gohl was unjustly blamed
253:
Gohl is believed to have used the Union building as a location for his crimes, both in providing victims, and in concealing the evidence of their murders. Sailors arriving in the port of
Aberdeen would usually visit the Sailor's Union building soon after disembarking. There they could collect their
257:
Gohl would usually be on duty, alone. Typically, Gohl would ask if the sailors had any family or friends in the area. Then he would turn the conversation to the topic of money and valuables. If the sailor was just passing through, and would not be missed by anyone in the area, and had more than a
185:
Gohl was convicted of two murders in 1910 and is a suspect in dozens more that occurred between about 1905 and 1910, all supposedly for financial gain by stealing valuables from the victims. Spared from the death penalty by a request for leniency by the jury, he was sentenced to life in prison at
303:
and taken to the State Prison June 13, 1910. Besides
Hatberg, the second count was for the murder of John Hoffman, a witness to the Hatberg murder who was shot and injured by Gohl on the night of the murder, and killed the next day by Klingenberg, for which Klingenberg was sentenced to 20 years.
298:
Gohl had already been arrested in
February 1910 for the Hatberg murder. The Sailor's Union "did not come to his aid", according to contemporary media, and he was ultimately convicted of two counts of murder though suspected of 41 or more, found guilty May 12, 1910 and sentenced to
277:
to murder his victims and dump the bodies directly in the harbor. Though suspected of being responsible for the large number of sailors who would disembark in
Aberdeen and disappear, nothing was done to stop him until an accomplice, John Klingenberg, was brought back to
295:
found in the salt flats by his body. The ownership of the gun was traced to Gohl. The motive to kill
Hatberg, according to Klingenburg's confession, was that Gohl claimed Hatberg had told a "detective Miller" that Gohl had illegally shot a cow the previous summer.
597:
May 3, 1910-Mayor Benn of
Aberdeen in 1908 had heard of Gohl being responsible for the "Floater Fleet"; Benn had Police Chief Dean begin an investigation although it took over a year because of the scarcity of evidence for a
731:
February 6, 1910 reports Hoffman had withdrawn $ 450.00 prior to his disappearance; Gohl was also reported to have taken Hatberg personal belongings from the Indian Creek Shack where the victim had lived
937:
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in the Grays Harbor area were suggested to be victims of Gohl, including the body of Carl O. Carlson, found on April 27, 1910, floating in the harbor. Gohl was later transferred to an
246:
In 1905, during a major waterfront labor strike Gohl was charged with "assembling men under arms", and was also accused of forcibly abducting non-union crewmen from the schooner
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for which he was fined $ 1,250 in the Superior Court. As a union official, Gohl used his reputation and intimidating size to discourage strikes and "recruit" new union members.
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Gohl was accused of killing his victims in the union building by shooting them, relieving them of their money and valuables, and disposing of them in the
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after an unsuccessful search for gold. Already an accomplished criminal, Gohl was accused of being responsible for many of the large numbers of deceased
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for these deaths by influential local businessmen hoping to do away with a powerful figure in the local labor movement.
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October 16, 1910 Klingenberg was found guilty of manslaughter in Hatberg murder; the jury recommended leniency
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that were found washed up on shore during his tenure as a bartender, as well as a number of other crimes.
316:, where he died in 1927. He is buried in an open field above West Medical Lake, Eastern State Hospital.
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in the building directly into the river. Other reports state that Gohl would use a small
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was found drowned and that Gohl had led an armed party which taken two sailors from the
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trivial amount of cash or valuables on hand, Gohl would choose him as his next victim.
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The Port of Missing Men: Billy Gohl, Labor, and Brutal Times in the Pacific Northwest
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The Port of Missing Men: Billy Gohl, Labor, and Brutal Times in the Pacific Northwest
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162:(February 6, 1873 – March 3, 1927) was a German-American murderer and suspected
849:. Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences History (Bachelor of Arts in History).
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235:. Before this he had been employed as a bartender after returning from the
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269:. According to some reports, there was a chute which descended from a
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Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Washington (state)
688:"Mrs. Gohl Will Stick To Husband Who Has Been Found Murderer"
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mail and, if they wished, set some money aside in savings.
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April 7, 1910 attributes the number of victims as 50 to 60
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Emigrants from the German Empire to the United States
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April 7, 1910 reports it was Gohl who killed Hoffman
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531:. University of Washington Press. pp. 122–128.
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286:to escape prosecution, or possibly to escape Gohl.
943:Prisoners who died in Washington (state) detention
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903:American prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment
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928:People convicted of murder by Washington (state)
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576:August 23, 1906 reports that on a man from the
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789:"Items of Interest to Mariners in the Pacific"
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908:Deaths from pneumonia in Washington (state)
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482:Argument workout on Billy Gohl pdf document
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349:On the Harbor: From Black Friday to Nirvana
326:List of serial killers in the United States
898:American people who died in prison custody
29:
265:, which ran behind the building and into
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624:"Slayer of Hadberg tells story of deed"
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958:Trade unionists from Washington (state)
771:"Another Dead Body Found Near Aberdeen"
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842:
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948:Sailors' Union of the Pacific people
777:. July 25, 1910. p. 2, at foot.
493:"Skull found may be victium of Gohl"
347:Hughes, John; Beckwith Ryan (2005).
893:American people convicted of murder
556:"Sailors' agent is held for murder"
391:Lane, Brian; Wilfred Gregg (1995).
13:
828:. University of Washington Press.
817:
430:. University of Washington Press.
395:The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers
14:
969:
923:Murder convictions without a body
873:1905 murders in the United States
933:People from Aberdeen, Washington
843:Osborn, Andrew (December 2013).
883:20th-century American criminals
851:University of Washington Tacoma
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562:. February 11, 1910. p. 6.
351:. Stephens Press. p. 209.
657:"Sixty Murders traced to Gohl"
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479:. February 5, 1910. p. 6.
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424:Goings, Aaron (26 June 2020).
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188:Walla Walla State Penitentiary
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282:after trying to jump ship in
233:Sailors' Union of the Pacific
795:. April 28, 1910. p. 17
639:"Confession of Klingenberg"
7:
805:At the Library of Congress.
714:. June 14, 1910. p. 9.
319:
190:where he died in 1927 from
10:
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696:. May 12, 1910. p. 6.
527:Morgan, Murray C. (1955).
473:"Weaving a Web About Gohl"
69:Spokane County, Washington
399:. Berkley Books. p.
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953:Suspected serial killers
846:Face Down in the Wishkah
708:"Slayer Taken To Prison"
166:who, while working as a
888:American male criminals
16:Suspected serial killer
824:Goings, Aaron (2020).
793:The San Francisco Call
775:The San Francisco Call
712:The San Francisco Call
661:The San Francisco Call
609:"Murder by Wholesale"
214:Occupation and murders
80:Ghoul of Grays Harbor
66:Eastern State Hospital
613:February 3, 1910 .p.1
450:"May Lynch Suspect".
109:2 (but possibly 100+)
913:Deaths from syphilis
229:Westport, Washington
180:Aberdeen, Washington
643:April 27, 1910 .p.2
529:The Last Wilderness
462:. February 4, 1910.
312:for the criminally
115:Span of crimes
757:San Francisco Call
743:San Francisco Call
729:Los Angeles Herald
674:San Francisco Call
595:Los Angeles Herald
574:San Francisco Call
560:The Colfax Gazette
200:dementia paralytic
835:978-0-295-74741-5
628:May 12, 1912 .p.3
626:The Newport Miner
611:The Spokane Press
538:978-0-670-41936-4
301:life imprisonment
223:owned by Gohl on
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95:Life imprisonment
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178:passing through
145:Date apprehended
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91:Criminal penalty
77:Other names
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45:February 6, 1873
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241:migrant workers
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198:complicated by
192:lobar pneumonia
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82:"Billy Montana"
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71:, United States
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42:William F. Gohl
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160:William Gohl
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878:1873 births
868:1927 deaths
598:prosecution
168:labor union
862:Categories
332:References
202:caused by
196:erysipelas
170:official,
138:Washington
23:Billy Gohl
799:April 24,
119:1902–1910
578:Fearless
320:See also
280:Aberdeen
271:trapdoor
248:Fearless
204:syphilis
174:several
172:murdered
133:State(s)
176:sailors
124:Country
106:Victims
101:Details
49:Germany
832:
535:
434:
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314:insane
310:asylum
290:Arrest
284:Mexico
275:launch
237:Yukon
227:near
221:cabin
830:ISBN
801:2013
533:ISBN
460:p. 8
458:and
456:p. 1
432:ISBN
405:ISBN
353:ISBN
194:and
149:1910
56:Died
38:Born
401:179
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
