The Arkansas Hitchhike Killer: James Waybern "Red" Hall

by Janie Nesbitt Jones

 
In 1945, Faulkner County native James Waybern “Red” Hall confessed to murdering at least twenty-four people. In the closing months of World War II, he beat his wife to death and went on a killing spree across the state. Most of his victims were motorists who picked him up as he hitchhiked around the United States.
 
Perhaps even more unsettling than the crimes themselves was the signature smile Hall used to lured his victims to their doom. Even after his capture, he maintained a friendly manner. One lawman went so far as to describe him as “a pleasant conversationalist.” In this in-depth biography, author Janie Nesbitt Jones chronicles his life and explores reasons why he became Arkansas’s Hitchhike Killer.

Genres: True Crime

142 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2021

Reviews

[Nita · Rating 5 out of 5]

In her fascinating book, author Janie Nesbitt Jones takes us on an intimate tour of the life, times, and crimes of James Waybern “Red” Hall, the Arkansas native and serial killer who confessed to killing at least 24 people between approximately 1938 and 1945.

Red, a high school dropout with flame-colored hair who was discharged from the Navy in 1943 after only three weeks of service because of “indifference,” couldn’t stay in one place for very long. He had to wander. And kill. He hitchhiked his way across the nation, leaving a trail of bodies behind. Among his many victims were a warehouseman from Oklahoma, a Little Rock cab driver, an osteopath from Kansas, an Army Corporal stationed in Kansas, ten migrant workers in Arizona, an Arkansas barber, and an Arkansas truck driver. Red also killed his second wife.

In between his killing sprees, Red lived a somewhat normal life. His landlady described him as a “nice, clean boy” who didn’t smoke, drink, or swear, and who always paid his rent on time. He married, had a son, and worked a variety of odd jobs.

Jones, a seasoned journalist and true crime writer for Little Rock’s AY Magazine, begins her captivating story by telling us about Red’s childhood and family, and then progresses chronologically through his killing years to his eventual capture. She devotes a considerable portion of her book to Red’s trial and generously includes numerous pages of actual testimony, which gives us an up-close view of the judicial system, forensics, and the psychology of a southern-born serial killer in the 1940s. We are taken to the Tucker Prison in Jefferson County, Arkansas, where we witness Red’s execution in the electric chair and learn of the death mask made immediately after his execution that is on exhibit today at the Old State House Museum in Little Rock.

This book is about much more than a serial killer. While reading this remarkable tale, we learn about the history of the Arkansas State Police and the background of some of its law enforcement officers, criminal profiling, interesting Arkansas architecture, long-time Arkansas reporter Joe Wirges, World War II, the experiences of Italian and German prisoners of war in Arkansas camps, and more.

Anyone interested in true crime or Arkansas history will relish this carefully researched, well written, fine read. Highly recommend!

[Bill reilly · Rating 3 out of 5]

James "Red" Hall was one of ten children, born in rural Arkansas in 1922 to a farming couple. His father was a Baptist minister who beat the hell out of his offspring.
Red began running away from home at fourteen and hitch hiked from state to state over the course of the next twelve years. Unsuspecting drivers would meet their maker after picking up the redhead.
A wife went missing and after his capture in 1945, Hall led the police to her final resting place. He admitted to twenty-four murders.
The trial was nothing special as psychiatrists debated the state of Jimmy's sanity and, in the end, justice was meted out by the legal system. The book is short and not a great read.

[Dennis Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the history you don't learn in school! A fascinating story about the life of a remorseless killer who terrorized Arkansas and several other states in the 1930s & 40s. Janie Nesbitt Jones meticulously researched and assembled the timeline of events and the trial of "Red". The book even presents a few leads to additional murders that could have been committed by Hall, potentially some of his own siblings! Additionally, it parallels Hall along with other serial killers. As a distant relative of the main character in the story, I learned many details that my family didn't know or didn't want us to know.

[Ken Heard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I used to be a reporter for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, I now work for a county prosecuting attorney's office and I wrote freelance features for the magazine Janie Jones writes for (I once filled in for her column about long ago Arkansas murders).

So, who better to read this book?

Janie Jones does a great job researching this story that, despite having lived in Arkansas for a long while, I've never heard about before. James Hall was a drifter-type who killed for the sport of it, apparently. I think Janie has done a nice job of showing Hall's personality throughout the book.

The thing that impressed me the most was the second half of the book that included a lot of the trial transcripts. This was back in the 1940s. Things have changed a lot in court now and that obvious difference was interesting. It was a time when reporters had more access to defendants... Arkansas Democrat reporter Joe Wirges interviewed Hall often and went with police when Hall showed them where he killed his wife. It was also a time when court proceedings, executions and other legal matters were not delayed by the myriad of appeals that bog the court systems now.

This is a quick read of only about 140 pages or so. But it's packed with a culture of the south during the 1930s and 1940s. It's a good book for those interested in court, true crime tales, the post-Depression era and the south in general.

[Paula Corregan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating true crime!

This book was interesting. It was well written and researched. It details the life and killing spree of James (Red) Weyburn Hall, an Arkansas native. He lived from 1921 to 1946. I highly recommend this book to other true crime readers.

[Kenzie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was alright

It didn't really go into the murders that much. It mostly just went into his capture and the court proceedings. It's still interesting and worth a read in my opinion if you like true crime stuff.

[Hewitt Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a bad little true crime book. Pretty short, but informative. I had never heard of "Red" before, but apparently he was a pretty prolific serial killer in the 40s.

[Carley Rice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good information but very slow.

[Joseph Hamilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

In 1946 America was a more straightforward country and the criminal justice system less captious. The criminals too, or at least the Arkansas Hitchhike Killer, were stoic and laconic.