In the spring of 1918, Carter County, Kentucky found itself at the center of one of the most shocking and volatile murder cases in its history. The man at the center of the storm was 23-year-old Melvin Collins, a troubled laborer from Olive Hill whose paranoia and simmering resentment erupted into a deadly rampage that left three men dead, two others wounded, and the entire region on the brink of vigilante justice.
Today, more than a century later, Collins’ name is nearly forgotten — buried under fragments of newspapers, genealogical entries, and fading local memory. But his story remains one of the most violent episodes ever recorded in Carter County.
Very little survives about the early life of Melvin Collins. Genealogical records place his birth around 1894, most likely in or near Olive Hill. Contemporary accounts suggest he already had a reputation as a “bad actor” before the murders — a young man frequently in trouble, often armed, and unpredictable in his behavior.
In 1918, Collins was working around the Hitchins Fire Brick Company, a large industrial plant near Grayson. It was a tough but steady job, and many local men who labored there were also preparing for possible service in World War I. The era was tense. “Slackers” — those who refused or failed to register for the draft — were under intense social pressure, and communities often turned on anyone suspected of dodging military duty.
This atmosphere would prove deadly.
On May 25, 1918, something inside Collins snapped.
He had recently been fined for failing to register for the draft, insisting he was underage. But in his mind, the fine wasn’t the real problem — the problem was who he believed had “turned him in.” Collins became convinced that several co-workers at the brick plant were responsible for reporting him to the authorities.
Fueled by anger and paranoia, Collins armed himself and set out for revenge.
On May 25, 1918, something inside Collins snapped.
He had recently been fined for failing to register for the draft, insisting he was underage. But in his mind, the fine wasn’t the real problem — the problem was who he believed had “turned him in.” Collins became convinced that several co-workers at the brick plant were responsible for reporting him to the authorities.
Fueled by anger and paranoia, Collins armed himself and set out for revenge. At the end of his rampage, three men were dead: D. V. Carpenter , John Howard, and Cleve Sparks.
Collins fled the plant and took refuge in a nearby farmhouse. As word spread, lawmen and armed citizens converged on the property. A violent standoff erupted:
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Collins fired from a window, wounding Levi Shields in the hip.
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A civilian, Tony Stephens, entered the house to negotiate. But when he exited unexpectedly, the posse mistook him for the gunman and shot him by accident, wounding him seriously.
The sheriff and his men prepared to burn the house down to force Collins out. Faced with the prospect of being burned alive, Collins finally surrendered.
But he was far from safe.
As officers transported Collins toward Olive Hill, a furious mob gathered, shouting for blood and demanding that he be turned over to them. The sheriff drew his revolver, ordered Collins into a car, and sped through the crowd. To avoid lynching, they took him to the safer Catlettsburg jail in Boyd County. Even then, rumors spread that the mob might follow.
Judge Cisco ordered Collins moved again that very night.
Carter County had avoided a lynching by inches.
A grand jury was summoned almost immediately. Collins was indicted for the three murders, with two additional assault victims making the case even more severe.
Witnesses described Collins as cold, emotionless, and fully aware of his actions. Any hint of insanity was dismissed.
The jury convicted him, and he was sentenced to die in accordance with Kentucky law.
By 1918, Kentucky no longer hanged murderers at county jails — executions had been centralized at Eddyville in Lyon County, where the state’s electric chair had been in use since 1910.
According to Kentucky’s official execution records, Melvin Collins was executed on July 12, 1919, for the triple murder committed at Hitchins one year earlier.
His body was returned to family and buried in Woodland Cemetery in Ironton, Ohio.
The killings at Hitchins created deep shockwaves through Olive Hill and Grayson. All three victims were respected local men; two had prior law enforcement experience. The violence was sudden, senseless, and frighteningly personal.
In the end, Collins’ name slowly slipped into obscurity — overshadowed by World War I, the influenza pandemic, and the passage of time. But for those living in Carter County in 1918 and 1919, it was one of the defining tragedies of their era.
Three innocent men were murdered. Two more were shot. A community nearly descended into mob justice. And a troubled 23-year-old from Olive Hill became one of Kentucky’s most notorious killers of the early 20th century.
Remembering stories like this matters — not to sensationalize them, but to preserve the truth and acknowledge the real human cost behind headlines long forgotten.
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