WEBVTT - How Did Bonnie and Clyde Die?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Hey brain Stuff Lauren Bogelbaum here. This episode is a

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<v Speaker 1>little more violent than usual in terms of death and

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<v Speaker 1>bodily injury, so listener discretion is advised. It was a

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<v Speaker 1>spring morning in Louisiana, near its border with Texas and

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<v Speaker 1>the grimy heart of the Great Depression Mayo to be precise.

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<v Speaker 1>Clyde Champion Barrow, one of the most wanted men in America,

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<v Speaker 1>casually parked his stolen Ford at mock Canfield's Cafe and

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<v Speaker 1>hobbled inside to order a breakfast of either burghers, b

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<v Speaker 1>lt s or fried bologna sandwiches, depending on which witness

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<v Speaker 1>testimony you choose to believe. There were a lot of witnesses,

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<v Speaker 1>and they all seem to have known perfectly well who

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<v Speaker 1>Clyde was. Had been lurking in the area for some

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<v Speaker 1>time by then. They watched him warily as he collected

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<v Speaker 1>the sandwiches limped back out to the car, handing one

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<v Speaker 1>of them over to his driving companion, Bonnie Elizabeth Parker,

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<v Speaker 1>one of the most wanted women in America. You'll note

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<v Speaker 1>that Bonnie didn't share Clyde's last name. This wasn't a

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<v Speaker 1>proto feminist statement of independence. It reflected the minor detail

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<v Speaker 1>that the two notorious fugitives weren't married, or at least

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<v Speaker 1>not to each other, and Bonnie was officially the wife

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<v Speaker 1>of a violently abusive crook who was serving time for robbery.

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<v Speaker 1>Bonnie hadn't taken his name, either, but she had married

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<v Speaker 1>him when she was only sixteen years old and soon

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<v Speaker 1>thought the better of it and separated from him a

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<v Speaker 1>few years later. Still, neither was divorced, so Bonnie and

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<v Speaker 1>Clyde were officially living in sin but that was the

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<v Speaker 1>least of their outlaw behavior. By May of four, the

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<v Speaker 1>couple was wanted on multiple charges of theft and murder

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<v Speaker 1>and had broken the lawn just about every way possible.

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<v Speaker 1>That also become popular criminal pin ups thanks to a

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<v Speaker 1>cash of glamorous photos discovered by the cops at one

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<v Speaker 1>of their previous hideouts, but there was little glamour in

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<v Speaker 1>their lives that spring morning. The reason Bonnie stayed in

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<v Speaker 1>the car while Clyde went inside the diner was because

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<v Speaker 1>Bonnie could barely walk at all. About nine months earlier,

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<v Speaker 1>Clyde had crashed a different stolen car into a river,

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<v Speaker 1>an acid from the battery had splashed all over one

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<v Speaker 1>of Bonnie's legs. They managed to save her leg from

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<v Speaker 1>complete ruin with the help of some baking soda, but

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<v Speaker 1>not before the acid ate it down to the bone

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<v Speaker 1>in some places, and things had deteriorated to the point

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<v Speaker 1>that Bonnie had to hop rather than walk to get around,

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<v Speaker 1>and as often as not, Clyde had to carry her.

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<v Speaker 1>And as we already mentioned, Clyde himself had a pronounced

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<v Speaker 1>limp some years earlier, while serving time in a penitentiary,

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<v Speaker 1>had cut off two of his own toes to avoid

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<v Speaker 1>the prison's brutal forced labor regime. All in all, lugging

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<v Speaker 1>Bonnie in to get some breakfast sandwiches would have been unnecessary,

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<v Speaker 1>at least strenuous, and so she had waited in the car.

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<v Speaker 1>As Clyde pulled out of the parking lot. Bonnie ate

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<v Speaker 1>a few bites of her sandwich and wrapped the remainder

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<v Speaker 1>in the paper napkin it had come with. A Short

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<v Speaker 1>time later, the car was speeding down a back country

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<v Speaker 1>straightaway when they spotted a truck that looked like it

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<v Speaker 1>had broken down. The driver was standing next to the vehicle,

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<v Speaker 1>looking forlorn. They knew the truck and driver well. It

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<v Speaker 1>was Ivy meth Finn, whose son Henry, was part of

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<v Speaker 1>Bonnie and Clyde's small gang lately that spent many an

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<v Speaker 1>evening visiting the meth Finn's house. Clyde slowed the car

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<v Speaker 1>to see if he needed help. Ivy did not need help.

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<v Speaker 1>In fact, his truck wasn't even broken down. About two

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<v Speaker 1>months earlier, Henry, of violence prone hothead recently sprung from jail,

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<v Speaker 1>had mistaken Clyde's instructions to kidnap a police officer who

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<v Speaker 1>was getting too close. Henry had gunned him down instead.

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<v Speaker 1>Enraged by the unnecessary loss of life, Clyde reluctantly shot

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<v Speaker 1>down the second officer, twenty four year old about to

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<v Speaker 1>be married Novice out on his very first day of

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<v Speaker 1>motorcycle patrol. Bonnie and Clyde were already wanted for multiple crimes,

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<v Speaker 1>but it was this outrageous act that turned the tide

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<v Speaker 1>of public sentiment against them and stoked the efforts of

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<v Speaker 1>law enforcement to bring them down by any means necessary.

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<v Speaker 1>Given the nature of the incident and his role in it,

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<v Speaker 1>Henry had a lot of gall to cut a deal

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<v Speaker 1>with the cops. But that's just what he did when

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<v Speaker 1>he agreed to help a posse of lawman ambush his

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<v Speaker 1>two former partners in crime. Henry's father Ivy, was recruited

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<v Speaker 1>to play a part, which he did convincingly enough. On

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<v Speaker 1>that morning in May, no sooner had Bonnie and Clyde

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<v Speaker 1>slowed down to see about Ivy's well being than six

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<v Speaker 1>men with guns appeared from the woods and opened fire

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<v Speaker 1>a blizzard of bullets. They fired a hundred and sixty

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<v Speaker 1>seven shots. The guy in charge of the carnage, a

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<v Speaker 1>Texas ranger by the name of Frank Haymer, was not

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<v Speaker 1>a subtle man. He's reputed to have personally killed sixty

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<v Speaker 1>five people over the course of his career. And even

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<v Speaker 1>if it wasn't his gun that killed Bonnie or Clyde,

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<v Speaker 1>he was at the end of the run for the

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<v Speaker 1>most famous criminal couple in American history. The year four

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<v Speaker 1>was a faithful one for the eras famous gangsters. Over

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<v Speaker 1>the course of those twelve months, John Dillinger, Charles Author,

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<v Speaker 1>Pretty Boy, Floyd George, Baby Face Nelson, and Mob Barker

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<v Speaker 1>and her son Fred were all gunned down by law enforcement.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's episode is based on the article how did Bonnie

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<v Speaker 1>and Clyde Really Die? On how stuffworks dot Com written

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<v Speaker 1>by O'sheen Kuran. Brain Stuff is a production of I

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<v Speaker 1>Heart Radio in partnership with how stuffworks dot Com and

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<v Speaker 1>is produced by Tyler Klang. Before more podcasts my heart Radio,

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