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On August 6, 1887, between approximately 2:00 and 4:00 a.m., nine members of the Woolfolk family were killed with a wood-handled axe at their farmhouse twelve miles from Macon, in Bibb County, Georgia. The victims were Richard F. Woolfolk Sr.; his wife Mattie Woolfolk; their six children, Richard Jr., Pearl, Annie, Rosebud, Charlie, and infant Mattie; and Mattie's 84-year-old aunt, Temperance West. Most victims were found in their beds, while one victim, Annie, was found in a kneeling position near an open window, apparently having attempted to escape.
Authorities identified Thomas George "Tom" Woolfolk — Richard Sr.'s son, Mattie's stepson, Temperance West's grandnephew, and stepbrother to the six children — as the perpetrator. After the killings, Tom told neighbors that a gang had murdered his family while he escaped, but investigators found no evidence of robbery, noted blood on Tom's body, and learned he had discarded bloody clothing in the family well and bathed before seeking help. A coroner's inquest concluded Tom was most likely responsible. Witnesses also testified to prior threatening statements Tom had made about his stepmother and half-siblings, reportedly driven by resentment over inheritance prospects.
Tom was indicted on nine counts of murder but was tried only for the murder of his father, a strategy later banned in Georgia. His first trial, in December 1887, resulted in a conviction and death sentence after a twelve-minute jury deliberation. The Supreme Court of Georgia overturned this conviction in February 1889 due to inadmissible testimony and courtroom disorder, ordering a new trial. A second trial, held in Perry, Georgia, in March 1889, ended in a mistrial. A third trial, beginning June 3, 1889, resulted in another conviction and death sentence on June 24–25, 1889. The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld this conviction in July 1890, and Tom was executed by hanging on October 29, 1890, in Perry, Georgia, before a crowd of about 10,000 people. Reports indicate the hanging was botched, with his pulse continuing for at least 11 minutes afterward.
Tom Woolfolk maintained his innocence throughout his imprisonment and at his execution. Since his death, some historians and authors — including Carolyn DeLoach — have disputed his guilt, proposing alternate suspects such as a Woolfolk family employee named Simon Cooper, who was later lynched in South Carolina in connection with a separate 1897 killing. Other historians, including Dr. Chrissy Lutz, have argued the evidence against Tom Woolfolk was strong and that later claims exonerating him lack credible support. The New Georgia Encyclopedia continues to identify Woolfolk as the perpetrator, describing the evidence against him as "overwhelming" and calling the case "the most infamous crime in nineteenth-century Georgia." For over a century, the Woolfolk murders were considered the largest mass murder in Georgia history until a 1999 mass shooting surpassed it in victim count.
Key facts
- Victims
- Mattie Woolfolk (infant), Rosebud Woolfolk, Charlie Woolfolk, Mattie Woolfolk, Annie Woolfolk, Richard F. Woolfolk Sr., Pearl Woolfolk, Richard Woolfolk Jr., Temperance West
- Date
- 1887
- Location
- Bibb County, near Macon, Georgia
- Case status
- solved
Case timeline
1887-08-06
Nine members of the Woolfolk family are killed with an axe at their farmhouse in Bibb County, Georgia.
1887-08-07
Authorities search the family well and recover Tom Woolfolk's discarded bloody clothing; the nine victims are buried in Macon's Rose Hill Cemetery.
1887-12-05
Tom Woolfolk's first trial begins in the Superior Court of Bibb County.
1887-12-15
Jury convicts Tom Woolfolk of his father's murder and issues a death sentence.
1889-02-11
Supreme Court of Georgia overturns the first conviction and orders a new trial.
1889-03
Second trial, held in Perry, Georgia, ends in a mistrial.
1889-06-03
Third trial begins in Perry, Georgia.
1889-06-24
Jury returns a second conviction for the murder of Richard Woolfolk Sr.
1890-07-28
Supreme Court of Georgia upholds the second conviction and death sentence.
1890-10-07
Judge Gober affirms the death sentence and schedules the execution.
1890-10-29
Tom Woolfolk is executed by hanging in Perry, Georgia.
2024-07
The Woolfolk family's burial sites are vandalized in Macon.
Best coverage
No approved coverage links are attached yet.
People
Mattie Woolfolk (infant)
VICTIMInfant half-sister of Tom Woolfolk; killed in the August 1887 axe murders.
citation on file
Rosebud Woolfolk
VICTIMHalf-sister of Tom Woolfolk; killed in the August 1887 axe murders.
citation on file
Charlie Woolfolk
VICTIMHalf-brother of Tom Woolfolk; killed in the August 1887 axe murders.
citation on file
Mattie Woolfolk
VICTIMStepmother of Tom Woolfolk; killed in the August 1887 axe murders.
citation on file
Annie Woolfolk
VICTIMHalf-sister of Tom Woolfolk; killed in the August 1887 axe murders.
citation on file
Thomas George "Tom" Woolfolk
CONVICTEDConvicted of the murder of his father, Richard F. Woolfolk Sr., after three trials; sentenced to death and executed by hanging on October 29, 1890.
citation on file
Richard F. Woolfolk Sr.
VICTIMFather of Tom Woolfolk; killed in the August 1887 axe murders.
citation on file
Pearl Woolfolk
VICTIMHalf-sister of Tom Woolfolk; killed in the August 1887 axe murders.
citation on file
Richard Woolfolk Jr.
VICTIMHalf-brother of Tom Woolfolk; killed in the August 1887 axe murders.
citation on file
Temperance West
VICTIM84-year-old aunt of Mattie Woolfolk, grandaunt by marriage to Tom Woolfolk; killed in the August 1887 axe murders.
citation on file
Places
Common questions
- What happened to the victim?
- On August 6, 1887, nine members of the Woolfolk family were killed with an axe at their farmhouse near Macon, Georgia. Thomas G. "Tom" Woolfolk, the son and stepson of two victims, was convicted of murdering his father after three trials and was executed in 1890, though doubts about his guilt persist among some historians.
- Where did the murders happen?
- Bibb County, near Macon, Georgia.
- Who was convicted?
- Thomas George "Tom" Woolfolk (Convicted of the murder of his father, Richard F. Woolfolk Sr., after three trials; sentenced to death and executed by hanging on October 29, 1890.).
- What is the current status of the case?
- Status: solved. Last verified July 2026.
Sources
- Woolfolk murderswikipedia · Wikipedia · 2026-07-07
- Contemporaneous coverage — digitalcommons.law.uga.edunews · digitalcommons.law.uga.edu · 2026-07-07
- Contemporaneous coverage — georgiaencyclopedia.orgnews · georgiaencyclopedia.org · 2026-07-07
Last verified JUL 2026
