Probably the most famous and most romanticized criminals in American history were Bonnie Parker
and Clyde Barrow, two young Texans whose early 1930s crime spree always marked them. Their
names have become compatible with an image of Depression-era chic, a world where women chomped
cigars and brandished automatic rifles, men robbed banks and drove away in squealing automobiles, and
life was lived fast because it would be so short. Of course, the story that we see in movies about
Bonnie and Clyde, is rarely close to reality. The story promotes the idea of a romantic couple
in stylish clothes who broke the chains of law and became a threat to those times,
who didn't fear the police and lived a life of exciting enjoyment beating them. The reality was
somewhat different. Sometimes clumsy, often simple, Bonnie and Clyde and the Barrow gang
lived a hard, troubled life punctuated by small escapes, failed robberies, harm, and murder.
They became one of the first bandit media stars after some photos of them fooling around with guns
were found by police. Soon fame would turn bitter and their lives end in a bloody police ambush,
but their dramatic and untimely end would only add luster to their legend.
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Bonnie Elizabeth Parker was born in 1910 in Rowena, Texas. Her father died when she was only
four years old. Her widowed mother relocated her family back to her parents' home in Cement City,
an industrial area in West Dallas.as an adult, Bonnie used to write poems, she was actually a
very smart girl. In her second year in high school she met a guy called Roy thornton.The
couple dropped out of school and were married in 1926, six days before her 16th birthday.
Their marriage was destroyed by Thornton's repeated absences and problems with the law.
Anyway, They never divorced, but their pathways never met again because her husband got caught
by the police and was sentenced to 5 years for robbery in 1933 and after attempting several
prison breaks from other facilities, Thornton was killed while trying to escape.After the end
of her marriage,Bonnie moved back in with her mother and worked as a waitress.Soon
after, Bonnie met Clyde, and although the pair fell in love, she never divorced Thornton.
Clyde Chestnut Barrow was born in 1909 in a poor farming family in Ellis County, Texas.
He was the fifth of seven children of Henry Basil Barrow and Cumie Talitha Walker. His
family moved to Dallas in the early 1920s. The Barrows spent their first months in West Dallas
living under their truck until they got enough money to buy a tent. His mother Cumie was far
more intelligent than her husband, who had been weak and never went to school. The couple spent
most of their life farming or trying to. It was very hard for them to make a living from farming,
it was a huge challenge, especially as their family grew from one child in 1894 to seven by
1918. Cumie became savvy in survival skills. When they moved to Dallas Clyde Barrow was in his
mid-teens, he had given up on school and was working in a series of factory jobs.
The cheap earnings weren’t enough for the lifestyle he wanted. When Clyde was 16 he
had ambitions of becoming a musician, learning to play both the guitar and saxophone.However,
under the influence of his older brother, Buck, Clyde soon turned to a life of crime.
He added stealing to his skills, firstly metal items to help his father and then turkeys before
proceeding to a car theft and break-ins. When the police in Dallas started to drag him to
the station regularly for interrogation, he took his business to other Texas cities.Clyde
soon escalated his activities to armed robbery. By late 1929, at the age of 20,
Clyde was already a fugitive from the law, wanted by authorities for several robberies.
Barrow was first arrested in late 1926, at the age of 17, after running when the police confronted
him over a rental car that he had missed to return on time. His second arrest was with his brother
Buck. In january 1930, one evening, Clyde received news that his sister had fallen and broken her
arm. When he arrived home, he found his sister’s friend, Bonnie Parker, making hot chocolate in
the kitchen. They spent the whole night talking, arguably love at first sight. After that evening,
they spent almost every day together for the next few months. Unfortunately, their excitement was
crushed when Barrow was captured and convicted of auto theft. When Clyde got arrested, all he
was thinking about was escape. At that time, Clyde was so in love with Bonnie, he couldn't
stay away from her, he was absolutely overtaken by heartache. a lovesick Bonnie was more than willing
to help the man she called her soulmate, and soon after his conviction, she smuggled a gun into the
prison for him. On March 11, 1930, Clyde used the weapon to escape with his cellmates, but they were
arrested a week later. Clyde was then convicted to 14 years of hard labor, finally being transported
to Eastham State Farm, where he was regularly sexually assaulted by another prisoner.
While Clyde was completing his penalty, he and Bonnie started a romantic mailing with each other,
and once again, Clyde's attention turned to escape. Wishing to be discharged from his
exhausting work, he had a bad accident in prison which succeeded in cutting off his big toe and
part of another toe. As a result, he would walk with a constant limp and be required to drive
in his socks. weeks after, His mother Cumie gave an interview to the Waco News-Tribune,
emphasizing that he was in Dallas and not Houston at the time of the murder.
She connected his troubles to falling in with a bad group of young men and noted, rightly,
that he had previously been charged, but never condemned of a crime. She was obviously lying,
she also said that “Clyde was just 18 last Monday.” In fact Clyde was 21 years old,
but she surely knew that the state tended to be more sympathetic with teens. Anyway,
The Killing charge was dismissed when another prisoner appeared.
But when Clyde reached the state penitentiary to complete his punishment, he noted his age
as 18. Cumie would keep up the age story as she fought diligently to get Clyde rescued from jail.
Clyde and Bonnie began seeing each other again shortly after Clyde’s discharge and their love
only got more powerful. But angry about the government’s role in the Depression, Clyde
decided to put together a new team of thieves to take the money that he felt was rightly theirs.
Not wanting to let Bonnie out of his sight, Clyde took her along with them on their first ride. This
was the start of a crime spree that would spark her enthusiasm for adventure and romance.
On their first joy ride, they decided to rob the hardware store that sat
directly across from the Kauffman town courthouse. Bonnie was unsteady with excitement until she
heard Clyde asking her to jump from the car and told her to catch a bus back to Dallas. Although
she understood it was for her own advantage, she still felt left out of the group. However,
in need of cash, Clyde and an associate decided to rob the local grocery store. The two men held
the store owner and his wife at gunpoint and demanded their safe be opened. Sometime during
the unlocking of the safe, a gun was fired and the grocery store owner fell dead to the ground.
The men grabbed the money and fled. Unlike the previous robbery, this one involved murder. The
wife of the grocery store owner identified the two men as Clyde and his accomplice Ray Hamilton.
Clyde recognized that he would need to start running for the rest of his life,
he revealed the story to his sister and went to visit Bonnie. He gave her the option of
going or staying, he didn’t want her involved in his wrongdoings. Promising to stay by his
side until the end, Bonnie left a message for her mother and joined Clyde on the road.
On the road while they were running away from the police they stopped in a gas station,
they saw a community dance. they wanted to let loose, they decided to join the fun,
thinking that the police wouldn’t be around. However, as it was still Prohibition, two police
officers were in attendance. When they noticed that Hamilton appeared to be drinking and swaying,
they surrounded the men to question them. Clyde and Hamilton quickly pulled their weapons and
fired, both police officers were shot. Another of Clyde’s associates, Everett Milligan, got
caught up in the chaos following the shooting, and the police arrested him. While in jail, Milligan
blurted out the names of the killers with whom he had been riding. Clyde understood that he had to
get out of Oklahoma and put as much distance as he could between himself and the police.
Bonnie suggested they visit her aunt, Nettie Stamps, at her farm in New Mexico to regroup.
Bonnie and Clyde knew that they couldn't go back home, Therefore they headed to Dallas to say their
goodbyes to their families. they were able to get away most of the time because they were shielded
by people who understood their actions. Clyde and his gang ranged all over the USA driving powerful
stolen cars. At that time there was no FBI and local police often had to use their own cars
and buy their own guns; as they were poorly paid this meant old cars and cheap weapons.
Against Clyde and his fast cars and Browning machine gun they stood no chance. At that time
their crimes were not federal crimes so they could escape just by crossing state lines.
In 1933 the police were becoming wise to their actions, the gang decided they
were required to steal a new car and to renew their license plates more often.
They chose a black Chevrolet and in broad daylight, stole the vehicle. The owner of
the car was furious and borrowed his neighbor’s car to chase after them. The two people were
taken hostage and driven around the rest of the night, only stopping for food. The next morning,
they were dropped off miles from home with some money but no car.
Bonnie and Clyde ran for a while longer, robbing stores along the way. They knew they were going
to be caught ultimately. it was only a matter of time. On May 6, they had one last visit with
their families. Bonnie's mother has published a poem about their achievements in the papers.
Noting the pattern of family visits, the police easily divined their next destination.
They found the couple’s car and followed them. Without warning, lead detective Hamer gave the
“shoot” signal and the band of police let fly a barrage of bullets at the vehicle. It was
an ambush. Once the firing stopped and the men approached, they found Clyde slumped forward, dead
in his seat. The car door was open on Bonnie’s side and she had slid out of the car onto the ground.
Bonnie and Clyde had finally been caught and killed.