The man who loved his mother to death

It’s probably not a stretch to suggest that most people love their mothers. They are the tender women who wipe away tears, put band aids on our scraped knees, and listen to us grumble about our troubles. However, John “Jack” Gilbert Graham didn’t love his mother. He was born in Denver, Colorado, in 1932.

During the 1930s, Americans suffered from the Great Depression. Between 1930 to 1933, America unraveled at the seams. After several thousand banks closed, American lost over $2 billion in deposits. This left millions of Americans destitute. Afterward, unemployment soared, and many people committed suicide.

Unfortunately, Jack’s father died when he was five. This left his mother Daisy destitute. Although she loved Jack, she didn’t want him to go without food or a home. In a selfless act of love, she placed him in an orphanage. She intended to get her son back once she became financially secure.

It would take her five years to reunify with her son. After marrying a prosperous rancher, she moved into a gracious home with her new husband. She then retrieved Jack. Life in the orphanage didn’t have a negative effect on him. He was well mannered and performed well in school. Although Jack seemed fine, he wasn’t. When he was sixteen, he ran away from home and tried to join the Coast Guard. His plot failed miserably. He returned home to his devoted mother.

After Jack earned his high school diploma, he found work in a Denver manufacturing company in the payroll department. He then embezzled money from his employer, bought a convertible and drove to Texas. After committing crimes in Texas, he was thrown into a Texas jail for 60 days. Texas then returned Jack to Denver for embezzling from his former employer. However, his overindulging mother stepped in and interceded on her son’s behalf. She repaid $2,500 and set up a payment plan for Jack to repay the balance.

After returning to Colorado, Jack appeared to have changed. He began working and repaying his former employer. He also got married, had a son, and settled down. His mother was proud of his success. After Jack’s stepfather died, Daisy received a sizable inheritance. She invested in a restaurant and made Jack the manager. His life had turned around. But the good times wouldn’t last.

The crash of United Airlines Flight 629

On November 1, 1955, Daisy took a trip to visit her sister in Alaska. Jack, his wife and their two-year-old son went to the airport to see her off. Within minutes of the flight taking off from the Denver airport, the airplane exploded. Daisy King and 43 others perished.

The wreckage landed on a Colorado farm. The National Guard and investigators soon descended on the field to investigate the wreckage. The FBI also arrived. They assumed the airplane had either malfunctioned or a pilot had made a miscalculation. The FBI soon realized someone had planted a bomb near the airplane’s tail.

Jack was devastated upon receiving the report of his mother’s death. He didn’t eat and appeared distressed. Meanwhile, the FBI decided someone had brought dynamite on board. But who? The police recovered a suitcase belonging to Daisy King. Inside was an insurance policy for $62,500. The beneficiary? Mr. Jack Graham. The FBI knew they had to find Graham and talk to him. Jack’s wife Gloria told the agents she watched her husband give his mother a gift before boarding the airplane. Jack said he had gotten his mother a gift, but wanted to give it to her after she returned home. The FBI agents didn’t believe him. They accused him of blowing up the plane for insurance money.

After the FBI searched Jack’s house, they found items matching the explosives on the airplane. Jack confessed to the agents and said he didn’t kill his mother for insurance money. He killed her because he despised her. He never forgave her for sending him to an orphanage. He unsuccessfully tried to plead insanity, but no one believed him. The court sentenced him to die in the gas chamber. Colorado officials carried out his death sentence on January 11, 1957.