Caril Ann Fugate was the adolescent girlfriend and
accompliceAt law, an accomplice is a person who actively participates in the commission of a crime, even though they take no part in the actual criminal offense. For example, in a bank robbery, the person who points the gun at the teller and asks for the money is guilty of armed robbery...
of
spree killerA spree killer is someone who embarks on a murderous assault on two or more victims in a short time in multiple locations. The U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics defines a spree killing as "killings at two or more locations with almost no time break between murders."-Definition:According to the...
Charles StarkweatherCharles Raymond Starkweather was an American teenaged spree killer who murdered eleven people in Nebraska and Wyoming during a two-month road trip with his 14-year-old girlfriend, Caril Ann Fugate. The couple was captured on January 29, 1958...
. She is the youngest female in United States history to have been tried for first-degree murder.
Fugate lived in
Lincoln, NebraskaThe City of Lincoln is the capital and the second-most populous city of the US state of Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska. Lincoln's 2010 Census population was 258,379....
, with her mother and stepfather. In 1956 she formed a relationship with Charles Starkweather, a
high school dropoutDropping out means leaving a group for either practical reasons, necessities or disillusionment with the system from which the individual in question leaves....
five years her senior, who worked as a truck unloader at the Western Newspaper Union warehouse. On January 21, 1958, Fugate later claimed, she came home to find that Starkweather had shot and killed her stepfather, Marion Bartlett, and her mother, Velda. Starkweather then choked and stabbed her baby half-sister, Betty Jean, to death. The bodies were found later in outbuildings on the property.
During the next six days the pair lived in the house and turned away all visitors, which made Fugate's relatives suspicious. Starkweather and Fugate then fled, driving across Nebraska on a spree of robberies and murders that claimed eight more lives before they were arrested. Fugate's downfall was admitting to holding a .410
shotgunA shotgun is a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a solid projectile called a slug...
on a young high school couple in a car while robbing them of $4; the couple were shot and killed later that evening. The girl was found partially naked and was stabbed multiple times in the abdomen after being shot. Starkweather and Fugate accused each other of the girl's murder, while Starkweather openly admitted to killing the boy.
Starkweather was executed in the
electric chairExecution by electrocution, usually performed using an electric chair, is an execution method originating in the United States in which the condemned person is strapped to a specially built wooden chair and electrocuted through electrodes placed on the body...
on June 25, 1959. He insisted that although he had personally dispatched most of the victims, Fugate had murdered several as well. The extent of her actual involvement is uncertain.
Fugate was tried for her role in the
murder spreeA spree killer is someone who embarks on a murderous assault on two or more victims in a short time in multiple locations. The U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics defines a spree killing as "killings at two or more locations with almost no time break between murders."-Definition:According to the...
. The
juryA jury is a sworn body of people convened to render an impartial verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Modern juries tend to be found in courts to ascertain the guilt, or lack thereof, in a crime. In Anglophone jurisdictions, the verdict may be guilty,...
did not believe her claim that Starkweather had held her
hostageA hostage is a person or entity which is held by a captor. The original definition meant that this was handed over by one of two belligerent parties to the other or seized as security for the carrying out of an agreement, or as a preventive measure against certain acts of war...
, because she had many opportunities to escape. She was sentenced to
life imprisonmentLife imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
at the
Nebraska Correctional Center for WomenThe Nebraska Correctional Center for Women is a state correctional facility for the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services. Located just west of York, Nebraska, it is the only secure state facility to house adult women....
in
York, NebraskaYork is a city in York County, Nebraska, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 7,766. It is the county seat of York County. It is the home of York College and the Nebraska Correctional Center for Women.-Geography:...
. A model prisoner, Fugate was
parolParols are ornamental star-like Christmas lanterns from the Philippines. They are traditionally made out of bamboo and paper and come in various sizes, shapes and designs; however, their star-shape façade and basic design remain dominant....
ed in 1976 after serving 17 years. She now lives in
Lansing, MichiganLansing is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located mostly in Ingham County, although small portions of the city extend into Eaton County. The 2010 Census places the city's population at 114,297, making it the fifth largest city in Michigan...
, as a retired medical aide, and married in late 2007. Her unauthorized biography,
Caril, was written by Ninette Beaver, and to this day Caril Ann Fugate maintains her total innocence.
A character based on Fugate was portrayed by
Sissy SpacekSissy Spacek is an American actress and singer. She came to international prominence for her for role as Carrie White in Brian De Palma's 1976 horror film Carrie for which she earned her first Academy Award nomination...
in the feature film
BadlandsBadlands is a 1973 American crime drama film written and directed by Terrence Malick, starring Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek. Warren Oates and Ramon Bieri are also featured. Malick has a small speaking part although he does not receive an acting credit...
(1973).
Fairuza BalkFairuza Alejandra Balk is an American film actress. She made her theatrical film debut as Dorothy Gale in Disney's Return to Oz...
portrayed her in the television mini-series
Murder in the HeartlandMurder in the Heartland is a television miniseries aired on ABC in 1993. It was based on the 1957 murder spree carried out by 19 year-old Charles Starkweather throughout Nebraska and Wyoming. The first half of the miniseries covers the murders. The second half covers the trials of Starkweather and...
(1993), and actress
Shannon LucioShannon Lucio is an American actress who played Lindsay Gardner on The O.C..Lucio is a graduate of the University of Southern California and was cast in the lead female role of the CBS television drama Moonlight , but was replaced by Sophia Myles in April 2007...
portrayed her in the feature film
StarkweatherStarkweather is a 2004 film directed by Bryon Werner. Written by founder and prolific screenwriter Stephen Johnston whose scripts including and started the 'Serial Killer' sub genre. Brent Taylor and Shannon Lucio star...
(2004).