The serial killer who believed his name was a hex.

The bizarre case of Jake Bird.

Jake Bird was executed for killing a mother and her daughter in 1947. He admitted to killing 44 people just before his death, and has been linked to at least 11 more murders since his passing.

What made Bird an unusual serial killer is that he believed he could hex people with his name. He placed the “Jake Bird” hex on all those who tried to punish him and surprisingly, several people connected to his trial unexpectedly died.

Jake Bird’s Washington State Penitentiary mugshot. Image from Wikipedia.

Who was Jake Bird?

Bird was born December 14th in 1901. According to Bird, he was born “somewhere out in Louisiana where they ain’t no post office”. Not much is known about his family life, but he left home when he was 19-years-old. Bird was considered to be a transient person and never stayed in the same place for very long. He earned money working odd jobs but often found work as a laborer on railroads. These jobs were easy to come by and allowed Bird to jump from town to town because they also paid good money.

Despite how much Bird worked, he found himself in a great deal of legal trouble from a young age. By the time Bird was arrested at the age of 45, he had an extensive criminal record which included assaults, burglary, and attempted murder. Bird served a total of 31 years in different prisons across the country for his crimes including prisons in Michigan, Iowa, and Utah.

The Kludt family murders

Bird was making his way through Tacoma, Washington, when he stopped at the Kludt home on October 30th, 1947. The home was occupied by Bertha Kludt(52) and her daughter, Beverly(17).

Bird had gotten an ax out of a nearby shed, but it isn’t clear if the shed belonged to the family or a neighbor. Bird took off his shoes and entered the family home from an unlocked door in the back of the house. Bird later reported to authorities that it was to be what he called an “easy burglary”, but that was not the case.

Bird allegedly entered the home and took $1.50 from Bertha’s purse in her bedroom. Bird then made his way to the kitchen where he ran into Bertha. Bird supposedly told Bertha that he only wanted money and that he would leave. It is…