Unsolved case · 1892
Also known as the Ruggles brothers's murder · the Ruggles brothers's lynching
The short answer
In 1892, brothers John and Charles Ruggles robbed a stagecoach near Redding, California, during which a guard was fatally shot. While awaiting trial, both were seized from the Redding jail by a masked mob and hanged; no one was ever prosecuted for the lynching.
No one's coverage is attached to this file yet.
Know great coverage of this case?
A documentary, a podcast episode, a careful long-form video. Suggest it and an editor will review it before it appears here.
Suggest coverage for Lynching of the Ruggles brothersOn May 10, 1892, brothers John and Charles Ruggles robbed the Weaverville stage in California, netting a small amount of money. Two days later, on May 12, 1892, the pair attempted a second robbery at a hilltop location five miles north of Redding, chosen because the stagecoach would be moving slowly with tired horses. During the holdup, a guard riding inside the coach shot Charles Ruggles with buckshot. Gunfire followed, wounding passenger George Suhr, driver Johnny Boyce, and guard Amos "Buck" Montgomery. John Ruggles then approached the wounded Montgomery and shot him in the back, killing him. Believing Charles was mortally wounded, John fled the scene with the stolen money while driver Boyce regained control of the team and escaped.
A posse found Charles Ruggles at the scene and took him into custody; his injuries proved less severe than initially believed, and he was held in the Redding jail. Under questioning by Wells Fargo detective John Thacker, Charles identified his brother John as his accomplice. A reward of eleven hundred dollars was offered for John's capture. He was subsequently arrested while eating at a restaurant in his hometown of Woodland, California, by a Yolo County deputy sheriff, and was transported by train to Redding.
While the brothers awaited trial, which had been scheduled for July 28, 1892, reporting from the period describes sympathetic attention from local women, who reportedly brought the two men flowers, cakes, fruit, and even marriage proposals while they were jailed. Contemporary accounts also note that defense counsel had been attempting to implicate the deceased guard, Amos "Buck" Montgomery, as a participant in the robbery, a strategy that drew public criticism. These circumstances were cited as contributing factors in the events that followed.
On July 24, 1892, before the scheduled trial could take place, an armed and masked mob—estimated at approximately 40 to 75 men—stormed the Redding jail. The mob blew open a safe containing the jail keys, removed John and Charles Ruggles from their cell, and hanged both men from a derrick at the corner of Shasta street. John Ruggles reportedly offered to disclose the location of the stolen money if the mob would spare his brother, but the offer was refused. No one was ever prosecuted for the lynching.
John and Charles Ruggles robbed the Weaverville stage.
The brothers attempted to rob a stagecoach north of Redding; guard Amos "Buck" Montgomery was fatally shot by John Ruggles after being wounded, and passenger George Suhr and driver Johnny Boyce were also wounded.
A masked mob stormed the Redding jail and hanged John and Charles Ruggles from a derrick at the corner of Shasta street.
Date originally scheduled for the brothers' trial, which never took place due to the lynching.
Victims first. Every legal label is set from public records and court outcomes, not from the prose.
Stagecoach guard fatally shot by John Ruggles during the May 12, 1892 robbery attempt.[2]
Lynched by a masked mob on July 24, 1892, while awaiting trial for stagecoach robbery.[2]
Lynched by a masked mob on July 24, 1892, while awaiting trial for stagecoach robbery and the killing of a guard.[2]
Coverage is not a source: every fact in this file rests on the records below.
Are you family of someone named in this file? Corrections and removal requests from victims’ families are prioritized.
SOLVEDListenRedding, California · 2010s
Sherri Papini fabricated a three-week disappearance from Redding, California, in November 2016, and in 2022 pleaded guilty to federal mail fraud and false-statement charges for staging the hoax.
Happy Valley, near Redding, California · 1990s
Gary Matson and Winfield Mowder, a gay couple from Happy Valley near Redding, California, were shot to death in their home on July 1, 1999, by brothers Benjamin Matthew Williams and James Tyler Williams, who told investigators and media the killings were motivated by the victims' sexual orientation. Both brothers were convicted; Matthew Williams died by suicide in jail in 2002 before sentencing, and Tyler Williams pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in 2003.
Image recordCC BY-SA 4.0SourceSOLVEDListenRed Bluff, California · 1970s
Colleen Stan was abducted while hitchhiking in 1977 and held captive by Cameron Hooker and his wife Janice, who was granted immunity from prosecution, in Red Bluff, California, for over seven years, subjected to torture and sexual assault before escaping in 1984.
Credit: Family/Instagram photograph, widely distributed in press coverageEditorial useSourceSOLVEDListenMoscow, Idaho · 2022
Four University of Idaho students—Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, and Xana Kernodle—were fatally stabbed inside an off-campus house in Moscow, Idaho, in the early morning hours of November 13, 2022. Bryan Kohberger, a criminology PhD student at nearby Washington State University, was arrested that December and pleaded guilty in 2025, receiving four consecutive life sentences.
Credit: Mona EshaikerCC BY-SA 3.0SourceSOLVEDListenHolmby Hills, Los Angeles, California · 2009
Singer Michael Jackson died on June 25, 2009, in Los Angeles from acute propofol intoxication administered by his personal physician, Conrad Murray. The Los Angeles County coroner ruled the death a homicide, and Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in November 2011.
Credit: RaptacCC BY-SA 4.0SourceSOLVEDListenBardstown, Kentucky · 2015
Crystal Rogers, a 35-year-old Bardstown, Kentucky, mother of five, disappeared in July 2015 and has never been found; in 2025, her former boyfriend, Brooks Houck, was found guilty of her murder, and two other men were convicted of related conspiracy and evidence-tampering charges.
.jpg)