George Hassell: The Family Axeman
7/23/202656 min
On the evening of December 24, 1926, a farmer in Farwell, Texas, called the sheriff to report that his neighbor, George Hassell, had been acting very strangely in recent days and he had been telling conflicting stories about the whereabouts of his family, who had been missing for several days. When the sheriff arrived at the Hassell farm, he began questioning George about where his family had gone, but mid conversation, Hassell removed a pocket knife from his pocket and stabbed himself three times in the chest.
Hassell was taken to the hospital, where he was not expected to survive, but against the odds, George pulled through. With no option for escape and having given law enforcement good reason to suspect him in the disappearance of his family, George began confessing to multiple murders. At first, it was assumed he had flown into a rage and murdered his family a week earlier, but the more Hassell talked, the clearer it became that George Hassell violent and murderous behavior went well beyond the walls of his home in Farwell.
References
Associated Press. 1927. "Hassell death edict to stand." Fort Worth Record-Telegram, February 15: 1.
—. 1928. "Hassell is fifth white man to chair." Fort Worth Record-Telegram, February 10: 1.
—. 1926. "Sheriff expects full statement from Hassell." San Antonio Express-News, December 26: 1.
—. 1928. "Slayer of 13 thanks judge for sentence." San Antonio Express-News, January 11: 1.
Church, Marlowe. 2019. "Hassell offered detailed confession." Eastern New Mexico News, September 3.
Morning Press . 1927. "Texas killer's name heard in Whittier case." Morning Press (Santa Barbara, CA), January 1: 1.
Roth, Michael. 2022. Man with the Killer Smile: The Life and Crimes of a Serial Mass Murderer. Denton, TX: University of North Texas Press.
San Antonio Express-News. 1927. "Hassell's California victims identified." San Antonio Express-News, February 12: 5.
Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)
Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)
Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley
Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally
Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsAsh Kelley· Host0:00
Hey, weirdos. I'm Ash.
Alaina Urquhart· Host0:02
And I'm Alayna And this is Morbid. [gentle music] It is.
Ash Kelley· Host0:21
I have that song stuck in my head that's like... Okay, it's actually kinda weird, because I have two songs stuck [laughs] in my head. [laughs] One of them is, "Tiptoe- By the window" ... by the window." And then the other one is, like, that club beat that I'm just getting on TikTok a lot that's like, "Da, da, de, doo, doo, da, da."
Alaina Urquhart· Host0:39
Oh, my God.
Ash Kelley· Host0:40
So for that to, like, "Tiptoe," da, da, de.
Alaina Urquhart· Host0:43
You mean Call On Me?
Ash Kelley· Host0:45
Call On Me?
Alaina Urquhart· Host0:46
That, that, quote-unquote, "club beat" that you just [laughs] couldn't name.
Ash Kelley· Host0:51
[laughs] Is that what it is? Is he saying, "Call on me"?
Alaina Urquhart· Host0:53
Is it? Hold on.
Ash Kelley· Host0:54
We know I'm famous for lyrics. Just breathe and have- Yes ... faith that everything- Yeah ... will work out.
Alaina Urquhart· Host0:59
This is a so- [laughs] ... this is, like, a, a good song.
Ash Kelley· Host1:01
It's a good- yeah, I love that song. That and, "Tiptoe" "Tiptoe" ... by the- Very different songs. [laughs] Some, some DJ, please- Mash 'em up ... please.
Alaina Urquhart· Host1:10
Mash 'em up. Mash 'em up.
Ash Kelley· Host1:11
[laughs] Send it to my- Please ... inbox.
Alaina Urquhart· Host1:15
Mash that up.
Ash Kelley· Host1:16
I don't know how it will work. Oh, that will be so creepy.
Alaina Urquhart· Host1:18
Tiny Tim, Tiptoe Through the Tulips, and Call On Me.
Ash Kelley· Host1:23
[laughs] You know your assignment. [laughs] We're so, we're so reckless lately.
Alaina Urquhart· Host1:28
We are reckless lately.
Ash Kelley· Host1:29
We just sit in front