Viola Slaughter - Murder, Death

Murder, Death

On May 4 of 1921, a foreman, Jesse Fisher, was murdered in the ranch by robbers. John supposedly felt the danger near him, so he decided to ask Fisher to check on John's horses, and then, John moved into a bedroom without windows. Seconds later, Fisher was murdered.

One of the killers turned out to be one of the Slaughters' adopted children, a fact which left John and Viola distraught. Convinced that they needed to get away as quick as possible, the Slaughters moved to Douglas, where John died in 1922.

Viola remained active, although she stayed in Douglas for the remainder of her life. She would travel to do interviews, and she became grand marshal of Douglas' town rodeo parade in 1939, riding a horse through the streets of the border city.

In 1941, Addie Slaughter suffered a fatal heart attack on February 27, while visiting her surrogate mother Viola. Viola became depressed after Addie's death, and she was not able to cope with it, dying herself one month later, towards the end of March of that year.