Andrew Philip Kehoe was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
suicide bomber and murderer who perpetrated the
Bath School DisasterThe Bath School disaster is the name given to three bombings in Bath Township, Michigan, on May 18, 1927, which killed 38 elementary school children, two teachers, four other adults and the bomber himself; at least 58 people were injured. Most of the victims were children in the second to sixth...
on May 18, 1927.
Early life
Kehoe was born in
TecumsehTecumseh is a small city in Lenawee County of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated where M-50 crosses the River Raisin, a few miles east of M-52. Tecumseh is about SW of Detroit, south of Ann Arbor and north of Toledo, OH....
,
MichiganMichigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
into a family of 13 children. His mother died when he was five, and his father remarried; reportedly, Kehoe often fought with his stepmother. When Kehoe was 14, the family's stove exploded as she was attempting to light it. The
oilHeating oil, or oil heat, is a low viscosity, flammable liquid petroleum product used as a fuel for furnaces or boilers in buildings. Home heating oil is often abbreviated as HHO...
fueling the stove soaked her, and she caught fire. He watched his stepmother burn for a few moments before dumping a bucket of water on her, which, due to the oil-based nature of the fire, only exacerbated the flames. She later died from the injuries.
Kehoe attended
Tecumseh High SchoolTecumseh High School is a public high school for students in grades 9-12 located in the city of Tecumseh, Michigan. The school services an area of roughly and includes the city of Tecumseh and parts of the Townships of Adrian, Clinton, Franklin, Macon, Raisin, Ridgeway, and Tecumseh. Tecumseh...
and Michigan State College (later
Michigan State UniversityMichigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
), where he met his wife, Ellen "Nellie" Price, daughter of a wealthy Lansing family. Married in 1912, they moved around until 1919, when the couple bought a 185 acres (74.9 ha) farm outside the village of Bath from Nellie's aunt for $12,000, paying $6,000 in cash and taking out a $6,000
mortgageA mortgage loan is a loan secured by real property through the use of a mortgage note which evidences the existence of the loan and the encumbrance of that realty through the granting of a mortgage which secures the loan...
.
Personality
Kehoe was regarded by his neighbors as a highly intelligent man who grew impatient and angry with those who disagreed with him. Neighbors recalled that Kehoe was always neat, dressed meticulously, and was known to change his shirt at midday or whenever it became even slightly dirty. Neighbors also recounted how Kehoe was cruel to his farm animals, having once beaten a horse to death.
Kehoe's neighbors were not impressed by the level of his farming ability. As neighbor M.J. "Monty" Ellsworth wrote,
Bath Consolidated School administration
With a reputation for thrift, Kehoe was elected treasurer of the Bath Consolidated School board in 1924. While on the board, Kehoe fought for lower taxes. He blamed the previous property tax levy for his family's poor financial condition, and repeatedly accused superintendent Emory Huyck of financial mismanagement. While on the school board, Kehoe was appointed the Bath Township Clerk in 1925, but was unsuccessful at retaining that position in the election later that year. During this time, Nellie Kehoe was chronically ill with
tuberculosisTuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
, and her frequent hospital stays may have played a role in putting the family into debt. At the time of the
Bath School disasterThe Bath School disaster is the name given to three bombings in Bath Township, Michigan, on May 18, 1927, which killed 38 elementary school children, two teachers, four other adults and the bomber himself; at least 58 people were injured. Most of the victims were children in the second to sixth...
, Kehoe had ceased making mortgage and homeowner's insurance payments, and the mortgage lender had begun foreclosure proceedings against the farm.
Bath School disaster
The Bath School disaster is the name given to three bombings in
Bath Township, MichiganBath Charter Township is a charter township of Clinton County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the township population was 11,598, an increase from 7,541 in 2000...
on May 18, 1927, which killed 45 people and injured at least 58. Most of the victims were children in the second to sixth grades (7-12 years of age) attending the Bath Consolidated School. Their deaths constitute the deadliest act of
mass murderMass murder is the act of murdering a large number of people , typically at the same time or over a relatively short period of time. According to the FBI, mass murder is defined as four or more murders occurring during a particular event with no cooling-off period between the murders...
in a school in U.S. history.
On the morning of May 18, Kehoe first killed his wife and then set his farm buildings on fire. As fire fighters arrived at the farm, an explosion devastated the north wing of the school building, killing many of the people inside. Kehoe used a detonator to ignite
dynamiteDynamite is an explosive material based on nitroglycerin, initially using diatomaceous earth , or another absorbent substance such as powdered shells, clay, sawdust, or wood pulp. Dynamites using organic materials such as sawdust are less stable and such use has been generally discontinued...
and hundreds of pounds of
pyrotolPyrotol was an explosive available for a time after World War I. It was reprocessed from military surplus cordite and smokeless powder. Usually used in combination with dynamite, it created an incendiary blast. Since it was very inexpensive, it was often used by farmers to remove tree stumps and...
which he had secretly planted inside the school over the course of many months. As rescuers started gathering at the school, Kehoe drove up, stopped, and detonated a bomb inside his shrapnel-filled vehicle, killing himself and the school superintendent, as well as killing and injuring several others. During the rescue efforts, searchers discovered an additional 500 pounds (230 kg) of unexploded dynamite and pyrotol planted throughout the basement of the school's south wing.
After the bombings investigators found a wooden sign wired to the farm's fence with Kehoe's last message, "
CRIMINALS ARE MADE, NOT BORN," written on it.
When they were done taking an inventory of the Kehoes' estate, investigators estimated that, prior to its destruction, the amount of unused equipment and materials on the farm could have easily paid off the Kehoes' mortgage.
Fictional representations
In the paranormal adventure novel
He Who Shall Remain Shameless (2011), the ghost of Andrew Kehoe is the seventh encountered by the narrator.
External links
- Andrew Kehoe at Find A Grave
Find a Grave is a commercial website providing free access and input to an online database of cemetery records. It was founded in 1998 as a DBA and incorporated in 2000.-History:...