James C Dunham was a mass murderer who, on the night of May 26,1896, killed his wife, her family, and two of that family's servants in Campbell, California.
13 Facts About James Dunham
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James Dunham disappeared during the intense, ensuing manhunt and never has been positively identified since then.
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James Dunham remarried to McGlincy in approximately 1889 or 1890.
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James Dunham was not highly regarded; at the time of his marriage to Hattie, he was undergoing a divorce from a young lady with whom he had eloped recently.
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In Sacramento, after Hattie's jewelry was stolen, investigators concluded that James Dunham had pawned the items while she slept.
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Two men "entirely oblivious of the noiseless tragedy which had taken place" came to the orchard that night to steal cherries; they later recalled that while watching the house for any sign they had been seen, they saw the lights go out and then, ten minutes later, James Dunham came out to smoke a cigarette while sitting on the porch.
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James Dunham had assumed that Schaible was already resting in the cabin with Brisco, and after checking the cabin for him, entered the barn and ascended the ladder, where James Dunham struck a match, looking for Schaible, who was crouched in the hay loft.
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However, James Dunham failed to spot Schaible and left soon afterwards, taking a horse from the barn.
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At that point, it was believed he was seeking shelter from friends in Tulare County; a rancher near Merced believed he had shared a meal with James Dunham, which turned out to be a false accusation.
10.
In early June 1896, a man reported as James Dunham had asked for food near San Miguel, which turned out to be a different outlaw.
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The next year, James Dunham was claimed to be living among the Navajo.
12.
Skeletal remains have been examined to see if they had come from James Dunham, starting in 1898.
13.
Several discredited alternate theories have been advanced, postulating that James Dunham had been killed to draw the blame from the real murderer.