Carl Newton Mahan: The Youngest Murderer To Ever Stand Trial

I'm not sure why, but this case from 1929 is once again receiving a lot of attention.  Several YouTube videos have been done on the case within the past year. So let us too take a look at the case.

One of the biggest mysteries when it comes to crime is what causes young kids to do bad things? We know that we are all a product of our environment.  But could there also be underlying factors as well?  

This is a true story of a 6 year old boy-turned-killer in Paintsville, Kentucky.

Paintsville is the county seat of Johnson County. It was originally known as Paint Lick Station, then Paint Creek, before becoming Paintsville in 1843.  

Paintsville has given birth to numerous celebrities over the years, including country music star Crystal Gayle, Major League Baseball stars Willie Blair and Johnnie LeMaster, and may more.  But it was also the home of the youngest murderer in American history - Carl Mahan. 

Carl Newton Mahan

Carl Mahan was born on September 22, 1922 there in Johnson County. He was the son of John Mahan and Cora Dixon Mahan.

Cecil Vanhoose was born March 17, 1921 in Johnson County, the son of Albert Jackson Vanhoose and Vera Ann Blair Vanhoose.

These two families were neighbors and friends. And on May 18, 1929, six year old Carl and eight year old Cecil, who had been playmates, were out scouting for scrap metal.  This was just months before the stock market crash of 1929, but according to other historians, the folks of Paintsville were already falling into poverty.  So the boys were out looking for scrap iron in hopes of selling it for a few cents to buy some candy.

Scrap iron was found by the two, but that piece of scrap iron would cause the death of Cecil.  How? Well I'm about to tell you. 

The two boys began arguing over the possession of the scrap iron. The argument lead to a fight. The two battled for some time when Mahan told Vanhoose that he was going to kill him, and started toward home.  When Mahan got home, he climbed upon the back of a chair and got his father's shotgun.  He aimed the gun at Vanhoose and pulled the trigger.  He then returned the shotgun to its place. John Mahan, Carl's Father, stated that Carl told him that he "wouldn't have done it if he had known the gun was loaded."

Cecil Vanhoose, the victim

  Although mortally wounded, Cecil ran toward his home crying "Mamma! Mamma!".  He ran a few yards before he collapsed. Neighbors ran to his assistance, placed him in a car and rushed him to the hospital.  But he breathed his last breath just as they reached the hospital.

When questioned by the authorities, Mahan admitted to the shooting.  He showed the officers how he got the gun. He then showed them how he opened the door and fired the gun at Cecil.  He allegedly told the officers that he intended to kill Cecil and would do the same thing again.

 Young Cecil Vanhoose was buried in the Mayo Cemetery in Paintsville, KY. And Mahan was arraigned for his murder and was scheduled to stand trial on May 23, 1929. However the judicial system in Johnson County found itself with a case for which there had been no precedent.   The prosecutor stated that there was nothing in Kentucky law to guide him in prosecuting a child under 10 in serious matters. The law suggested that a child under that age could not be "held to account." So it was up to the jury to decide what to do.

The Gravesite of Cecil Vanhoose - Mayo Cemetery, Paintsville, KY.

The defense asked for a jury trial because they were afraid that the judge would sentence Carl to reform school.  The request was granted.  However the jury selection set off an altercation between Sheriff Harry Adams and Judge John W. Butcher, and the Sheriff was fined $3.00 (the equivalent of $53.53 in today's money.) The Judge claimed that the Sheriff was not bringing in veniremen and the Sheriff reported that he was not being furnished with the venire lists.  The County Jailer ended up becoming a peacemaker in the matter.

The selected jury consisted of: William Puckett, farmer; Lum Green, farmer; Samuel Cantrell, storekeeper; Sanford Stapleton, teamster; Tina Hazelett, miner; Frank Brown, farmer; Ray Turner, farmer; Bascom Stanley, farmer; Isaac Hamilton, farmer; James Gibbs, miner; Tom Hazelett, teamster, and Sam Brown, miner. 

Carl Mahan went on trial laughing and talking with his friends and did not realize that he was being tried on a serious charge.   

During the trial Carl told his side of the story of the shooting. The two had been seeking scrap metal to sell.  Carl found the "prize piece" of scrap metal of the hunt, and Cecil tried to take it away from him. Cecil, being older and bigger succeeded in taking the scrap metal from Carl.  Carl  then went into his house, stood up on a chair, got his fathers shotgun off the wall, opened the door, pulled the trigger. The charge struck Cecil, and he died later.

The Mahan Family Home in Paintsville, KY

Witnesses for the prosecution included Manuel Fitzpatrick, Mrs. Manuel Fitzpatrick, and Albert Vanhoose, father of the slain boy.    Vanhoose testified that he was not at home and knew nothing of the shooting until later. He was not cross examined.

Mrs. Fitzpatrick testified that she heard the quarreling from her back door. She stated that she heard Carl Mahan tell Cecil Vanhoose that if he did not give up the piece of scrap iron that he would kill him.  She stated that Vanhoose continued to hold on to  the scrap iron and Carl again cried out that he would get a gun and kill him.  She stated that  she thought it was just a childish quarrel and never paid anymore attention to the boys, until she heard a gunshot about five minutes later.  She went on to state that Cecil, though shot, was running from the yard  and she overtook him and helped put him into an automobile. He was taken to the hospital where he died on the examining table. 

Mr. Fitzpatrick testified that he was at home at the time but not in the rear of the house so he did not hear any of the argument between the two boys. 

The jury deliberated just thirty minutes before rendering a verdict of guilty of the charge of manslaughter. Judge John W. Butcher sentenced six year old Carl to 15 years in the Glendale, Kentucky reform school. 

Judge John W. Butcher

Defense Attorney John Wheeler immediately announced that he would file a motion for a new trial. Judge Butcher took the motion under advisement. 

Just as promised, Attorney Wheeler filed the motion for a new trial under the charges that 

*the court permitted incompetent evidence to be introduced,

*refused to allow the defense to introduce certain evidence,

*that as the defendant is under the age of seven the court had no jurisdiction,

*that the jury's verdict was not supported by competent evidence,

*that since the child was charged with murder and not charged with delinquency, the court had no jurisdiction in the case except to transfer it to the Johnson County Circuit Court for trail, and lastly,

*the court improperly instructed the jury. The jury received only meager instructions from Judge Butcher. He said, in part: "I can see only two things in this case - acquittal or conviction. If you gentleman believe that this boy did not know it was  wrong to take the life of another, or  that he did not know what he was doing at the time of the killing, you must bring in a verdict of not guilty.  But if you believe that he knew it was wrong to kill and knew what he was doing, you must bring a verdict of guilty."

Judge Butcher  stated that he would not act upon the motion for a new trial until Judge Bailey has passed on the prohibition writ.

Overruling of the motions by County Judge John W. Butcher, who presided at the jury trial that found Carl guilty automatically sent the prohibition writ  before District Judge J.F. Bailey of Lexington.

In addition to filing for a new trial, the Counsel for Mahan requested a writ to prohibit him from being sent to reform school.  Judge  J.F. Bailey issued the writ. 

Judge J.F. Bailey

Judge Bailey held that Judge Butcher exceeded his authority when he pronounced sentence after a jury had found the boy guilty of manslaughter. "There is no doubt he exceeded his authority", said Bailey. He held that Judge Butcher had no jurisdiction to give a final decision on anyone charged with murder.

Judge Bailey went on to say that there was no law in Kentucky under which a child under 10 years' might be confined to a reform school.

During the proceedings Carl sat with his parents and Mrs. Harry Neugel, social worker of Cincinnati.  Carl amused himself by looking at the comic section of newspapers, chewing gum, and playing quietly. He paid no attention to what was going on.

Governor Flem Sampson refused to intervene in the case, stating "I feel sure there will be no miscarriage of justice, that the courts will handle the case properly."

Mrs. Emma Hunt, director of the Kentucky Children's Bureau, took the first steps toward deciding young Carl's future.

Mrs. Hunt called a conference of defense and prosecution counsel in the recent trials. She said she had not decided what would be done by the bureau to which Carl was paroled by County Judge John W. Butcher after he had been declared delinquent.

After reviewing the views of those invited to the conference she stated that she will make her recommendations to the bureau's governing board the following week.

Psychologists ran tests on Carl and revealed that Carl had no criminal tendencies and that he didn't realize the wrong he had committed. 

On June 26, 1929, Kentucky Attorney General J.W. Cammack, to whom the authorities had left the final decision on an appeal, announced that his department had completed a study of the case records. And it was understood that he would take no action.

That left young Carl in the custody of his parents, protected from imprisonment by a writ of prohibition issued by Judge J.F. Bailey. One month and three days after the original trial, the case was done.

Six Year Old Carl Mahan with his family: L-R
Cora Mahan, Mother, John Mahan, Father, and Grandmother Roxie Tackett

Carl and his family would move to Louisville, KY at some point after the trial.  It was there in April 28, 1958 at the age of 35, Carl Mahan would take his own life.  

In a closing note, as I was researching this case, I found both of these boys - Carl Mahan and Cecil Vanhoose, in my ancestral tree. In fact, young Cecil was somewhat closely related to me.