The Valentine’s Day Murderer
Toni Jo Henry was the first woman to be electrocuted in Louisiana for killing out of crazy, stupid, love. In 1939, Henry married Claude Henry, who was sentenced to 50 years in jail for killing a man during a bar fight. Toni, 23, promised she would do whatever it took to get her 26-year-old husband out of prison. From then on, Toni used her good looks to meet two men: Finnon Burks and Joseph Calloway. Toni and Burks would rob stores together and planned to rob a bank so she could use the money to get her “Cowboy” out of jail.
After hitchhiking a ride from Calloway on February 14, 1940, Toni shot and killed the 41-year-old and stripped him naked so Henry would have something nice to wear.
Because of Toni’s beauty, the case would make national headlines and go on until 1942. Toni admitted to killing Calloway after Burks was initially sentenced to death in an electric chair for the crime. Toni’s curly black locks were shaved off when she was also sentenced to the chair. Henry was released from jail in 1944, and gunned down three months later.
A movie highlighting the case titled The Pardon was released in 2013, with Jamie King playing Toni (above).
Giphy | YouTube
14 Real Horror Stories That Will Make You Stay Home On Halloween Night was originally published on globalgrind.com
