From Jack Moseley's column in the Fort Smith Times Record (September 8, 2004):

It's true that Belle ran with the bad boys of Indian Territory, packed an ivory-handled pistol and bought her clothes at (the) Fort Smith Boston store . . . .

(Jerry) Akins, who has read hundreds of newspaper accounts, depositions from Judge Parker's court and other documents, including one that reveals that the man who some wrongly claim murdered Belle was issued the warrant to arrest the man who was actually accused of the crime.. . .

Some have argued that Blue Duck, rumored to be Belle's lover, killed her. "Impossible," says Akins.

"Blue Duck was in prison for murder at the time. He did not get out until 1895 . . . ".

Others contend that Belle was killed by her son, Eddie Reed, supposedly because she had recently whipped him for mistreating one of her horses. Highly unlikely, says Akins. "The son lived in the Cherokee Territory. Belle lived in Choctaw Territory miles away. Besides, they had not seen each other in months."

A lot of folks claim Belle was murdered by her husband whom sometimes went by Jim July and sometimes by Jim Starr. Belle had ridden halfway to Fort Smith with Jim July, camped overnight and started back on the day she was murdered. . . .

Days later, Jim was given the arrest warrent to serve on Edgar A. Watson, the man Akins believed most likely killed Belle. Watson was arrested by Jim July right after Belle was laid to rest wearing a black dress and holding her favorite pistol that was interred with her body. . . .

Watson was acquitted of killing Belle. There were no witnesses to the actual murder. He steadfastly contended he was an innocent man.

--meursault

This message has been edited. Last edited by: meursault,

The murder mystery of who killed Belle Starr has been going on for years. I have asked many people who lived in the area where she was killed in nearby Hoyt, Oklahoma, who they felt murdered Belle. Most have stated it was her son. The actual location of the shooting is not too hard to locate, but has probably changed through the years, as it is near the river bottoms.

Do you happen to know where the location of her murder is exactly? Is it on private land? What about Younger's Bend and her grave?

Hi,

She was shot and killed by the town of Hoyt, Oklahoma, near the Canadian River in present day Haskell County. Obviously, the river has change its location since she was killed, so oneone knows exactly where she was killed, but old timers from years ago have identified a present day dirt road, which has a fork to it near the river, just north of the town of Hoyt, where she was killed. It is not on private property that I am aware of. Her spot of burial is very hard to get to during the summer since the grass is not mowed and with all the trees, you are not able to see the dam as Dee has stated previously. I do not know who presently owns the property. Good luck.

I think I've located the road on which she was shot. I don't think that the river there has moved enough to interefere with the spot of ambush as it was a respectable distance from the river and the county boundaries on that part of the river coincide pretty closely to the location of the river. Those boundaries are the same as those that separated the Cherokee & Choctaw Nations.

Perhaps this Fall I can get down and try and locate the grave site.

I have been to the grave site many times. Let me know if I can help you on this. It is harder to find than it used to be due to an ice storm that damaged the natural trails a few years ago. I would not suggest going to it until the winter or early spring. There are many other related sites in the area also that might intereest you.

Great! I may be fishing Eufaula this fall. If so I would like to locate it. Can you give me directions from the dam?

What are the other sites?

I've noticed the creek that comes off of the mountain and empties into the Canadian about a mile east of the dam. I've always wondered if that creek would take one up to Younger's Bend. My biggest concern is that I don't want to upset a landowner.