Background: Born in Tecumseh, Michigan One of 13 children
Mother died when he was five Father remarried, argued with stepmom
a lot When he was 14, stove exploded on stepmom, he watched her
burn for a little bit and then poured water on her, she died from
injuries later on Went to Tecumseh High School and Michigan State
College Studied electrical engineering Worked as an electrician in
St. Louis, Missouri Returned to Michigan and married Nellie Price
Bought farm house outside the village of Bath Treasurer of the Bath
Consolidated School Board Nellie had TB, he stopped paying mortgage
and insurance, began foreclosure Tuberculosis- Bacteria called
Mycobacteria attack the lungs and other parts of the body.
Foreclosure- legal process in which a lender attempts to recover
the balance of a loan from a borrower who has stopped making
payments to the lender by forcing the sale of the asset.
Slide 4
Crimes: CrimeDateVictim(s) Killed his wifeMay 18, 1927Ellen
Nellie Price School ExplosionMay 18, 1927killed 44 injuring 58,
mostly children Blew up his truckMay 18, 1927Superintendent and
kehoe himself Set his house and barn on fire May 18, 1927Animals on
the farm
Slide 5
Evidence: Wooden sign wired to the farms fence Set his own
house on fire with wifes dead body Angry over the defeat of Bath
Township Clerk position Neighbor thought he was planning a
murderous revenge around this time Found that all equipment and
material on farm could have paid off the mortgage if sold Volunteer
handyman and had access to the building
Slide 6
Sentence: Committed suicide the day of these events Was by his
truck, struggling with the superintendent when his truck blew
up
Slide 7
Theory: I believe that Andrew Kehoes crime and deviance is
Anomie theory. Andrew was known as someone who was difficult to
deal with and always had personal dealings. He was the treasurer
and member of the school board and he was the town clerk. So he was
very involved with the community and always had strong feelings and
opinions to be heard. There were several events leading up to the
crime that coincides with anomie theory. One of which is that Kehoe
lost his position for town clerk, this made Andrew very up set and
angry. He always wanted to have some type of control over something
and he lost that power. Also, the school board decided to increase
taxes of the community. This is something that Andrew didnt agree
with and voted against it, but his vote was out weighted. This made
Kehoe very up set because with all of these things happening he
also had to deal with the foreclosure on his house and the farm.
With his wife ill with Tuberculosis she had been in and out of the
hospital and the bills began to add up. He had to pay for her
medical bills, insurance bills, and the mortgage all by himself.
Eventually he just stopped paying the bills altogether. He started
to blame the school for everything and got very angry. He finally
started to plan his revenge on the school which was to destroy it
along with everyone inside.
Slide 8
Cultural References: Books The case of Mark Barton and Andrew
Kehoe by: Steven G. Carley The Bath School Disaster by: Monty J.
Ellsworth Bath Massacre by: Arnie Bernstein Movies None Songs None
Only Voice recordings of survivors