Died in jail or a lockup
One of 9 people whose names were not reported
A man held in the Bell County Jail in Texas was killed on May 25, 1874, when a mob broke into the jail while the sheriff was out of town, according to a local account retold in 2018 by Bell County Museum executive director Coleman Hampton. The account says the mob questioned the prisoners and shot them, and that the bodies were dragged into the jail yard and buried in a mass grave in Belton. Accounts differ on how many men died that night.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. Bell County Museum's executive director Coleman Hampton, retelling a local account, says a mob broke into the jail while the sheriff was away and shot the prisoners.
Reported by: Bell County Museum executive director Coleman Hampton.