Texas Servant Girl Murders -
history detectives special investigations

In 1885, six African-American servants and two white society women were killed in Austin, Texas - almost all bludgeoned with an ax, dragged from their beds and raped. As quickly as the killings started, they stopped. No killer was ever identified. Desperate to find someone to blame, the authorities first rounded up hundreds of black men. Later, they pointed the finger at a white man, James Philips, whom they accused of murdering his teenage bride. Although Philips was eventually acquitted, the trial was akin to the OJ Simpson trial, with sensational, lurid details spilling out in court. After the furor and panic died down, so did the memory of the killings. Can the History Detectives solve these murders? They pore over the records and apply cutting-edge police techniques to determine who killed the servant girls of Austin.

Episode Duration: 56 minutes and 46 seconds

Episode Number: 103

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About History Detectives Special Investigations:

The HISTORY DETECTIVES SPECIAL INVESTIGATION team brings cutting edge tools to some of our biggest historical mysteries.

Each episode asks probing questions behind a single iconic mystery from America's past.

Three investigators team up to solve each case: Wes Cowan, an independent appraiser and auctioneer; Kaiama Glover, professor at Barnard College, Columbia University; and Tukufu Zuberi, professor of sociology at the University of Pennsylvania.

As the detectives unearth fresh evidence, sift through clues and crisscross the country in search of answers, they reveal new perspectives on stories we thought we knew.