True Crime Database

Andrew Kehoe - The Bath School Disaster

On May 18th 1927,the small town of Bath Township, Michigan, was forever tainted withthe horrific events that occurred due to the actions of one man. Afarmer and treasurer of the local school board, Andrew Kehoe,murdered his wife and then went on to detonate bombs around the BathConsolidate School. He then committed suicide by detonating the truckhe was driving in while inside. The death toll, including Kehoe, was45, many of whom were children around the ages of 7-12. 58 otherswere injured. This tragedy claims the title of the deadliest massmurder in a school in US history.

The perpetrator in all ofthis was born on February 1st 1872 in Tecumseh, Michigan.He was one of the youngest children in a family of 13 to Philip andMary Kehoe. At the age of 5, Kehoe's mother passed away and hisfather remarried a woman named Frances Wilder. He did not get alongwith his step-mother, and when she caught on fire while trying tolight the stove when he was 14, he watched her burn for a few minutesbefore attempting to put out the flames. However, his efforts werefutile as Frances eventually succumbed to her injuries and died.Rumours spread that the stove had been tampered with to deliberatelyinjure Francis, with many speculating whether Andrew was the culprit.

Kehoe attended Tecumseh HighSchool and Michigan State College, where he studied electricalengineering. It was at this college that he met his future wife –Ellen "Nellie" Price – who was the wealthy daughter of a familyfrom a nearby Michigan town. After graduating, Andrew travelled to StLouis, Missouri, for work. However, in 1911, Andrew developed asevere head injury after a fall and drifted in and out of a coma for2 months. He eventually returned to Michigan and married Ellen in1912. With money given by her family, they were able to purchase an185 acre farm outside of Bath Township in 1919.

Due to accounts thatneighbours, friends and families gave about Andrew, it is easy to seethe telltale signs of a future mass murderer. He was regarded asbeing intelligent but had a very short temper, even growing angrywhen someone disagreed with him. He was very meticulous and neat,known to change his shirt midday or if he got the slightest stain onit. He was also known to be very cruel towards his animals, oncebeating a horse to death. Although he and his wife had initiallystarted attending the Catholic Church in Bath, he refused to pay thechurch and prevented his wife from attending these services.

Kehoe was also known forbeing very thrifty, and became the treasurer of the Bath ConsolidatedSchool Board. He used this new position of power to campaign forlower taxes, claiming that they were causing him financial hardship,often accusing the superintendent of financial mismanagement. He wasappointed as the Bath Township Clerk in 1925 but was defeated in the1926 election, which upset him greatly. Neighbours suspected thatAndrew was planning revenge against the community and may even beconsidering suicide, as he had ceased working on his farm for about ayear. During this time, Ellen became chronically ill fromtuberculosis and had to attend numerous hospital visits. Andrew alsostopped paying mortgage and homeowner's insurance payments –foreclosure proceedings had even been imposed on the farm. It seemedas though everything he once had, he lost quickly, which may havebeen one of the main causes for him to turn to such drastic measures.

Before the fateful day onMay 18th, Andrew loaded the back seat of his truck withmetal debris and replaced the tires for his truck to avoid breakingdown while transporting these explosives. He purchased explosivesfrom nearby towns in bulk to prepare for the tragedy. Ellen wasdischarged from her most recent hospital visit on May 16th.Between this time and the bombings, her husband had murdered her andleft her body in a wheelbarrow located near the chicken coop on hisfarm. He then placed explosives all around his farm and the house,keeping his animals tied up to avoid them escaping during the chaos.

At approximately 8:45am, thefirebombs in his house and farm buildings were detonated. Debris flewinto a neighbour's farm, which caused the emergency services to becalled and volunteers to be rushed to the scene. They found Ellen'sbody in the wheelbarrow in a heavily charred condition after theexplosions surrounded by silverware and ashes of bank notes. Asfirefighters were trying to put out the fire, Kehoe yelled at them togo to the school instead as he drove off to the school.

Classes at Bath ConsolidatedSchool started at 8:30am – Kehoe had set an alarm clock, connectedto dynamite and pyrotol, for 8:45am under the north wing.Firefighters heard the explosion of the school from the farmhouse andrushed towards the school. 38 children were killed in the initialexplosion, most of which were children. The north wing of the schoolhad completely collapsed, crushing and trapping multiple children.

About half an hour after theexplosion, Andrew drove towards the school. He summonedSuperintendent Huyck, the one who he accused of financialmismanagement. He then detonated the dynamite stored in his truckwith a long gun, killing himself, the Superintendent, a retiredfarmer a postmaster and another child who had survived the initialexplosion.

Despite the tragedy that hadoccurred, the small community banded together to help rescue and healthe wounded and trapped. Nearby towns sent over their firefightersand other emergency services – there were 34 firefighters on thescene, alongside several Michigan State Police officers. The governorof Michigan, Fred W. Green, arrived during the disaster and assistedin the relief work. Investigators found a wooden sign wired toKehoe's farm fence, saying, "Criminals are made, not born."

The town of Bath Township tothis day still commemorates the day that they lost many innocentlives, many of which were children who never had the chance to livetheir lives. The Bath School disaster remains a tragedy that reignseven true in today's time, with rising amounts of school shooters.