how old was the iceman killer when he died

On January 13, 1904, O’Kelley was arrested by another officer (it’s not clear why) but soon released. O’Kelley would get his chance to get even. He soon ran afoul of policeman Joe Burnett, who arrested O’Kelley for being a “suspicious character.” That didn’t help the ex-con’s disposition, and once he was released from custody, he began making threats against Burnett. He hung around in the saloon district where the denizens learned that he was the man who killed Bob Ford-information that apparently didn’t give him greater prestige in local eyes. When he got out, O’Kelley moved to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and re-established his reputation as a nasty guy, not to be messed with. Ten years in a steel cage must have made things even worse. In 1891, he reportedly killed a man who accidentally stepped on his feet (there’s no record of his being arrested or tried for that). He was quarrelsome and surly and someone to avoid in private and public. O’Kelley was a former lawman with a reputation for a bad attitude. Apparently, the jail time did not rehabilitate him. That was later cut to 18 years, but a petition campaign resulted in his release on medical grounds in 1902. Much to his surprise, O’Kelley-who thought he’d be hailed as a hero-was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. There were consequences for the killing of Jesse James’ killer Bob Ford. But it set him on a path that would result in his own violent death in a Western street more than a decade later.

It’s not clear why O’Kelley killed Ford-maybe to avenge Jesse, perhaps to get some publicity. The victim just happened to be Robert Ford, “the dirty little coward” who shot Jesse James 10 years before. On June 8, 1892, he walked into a tent saloon in Creede, Colorado, and emptied two shotgun barrels into the neck of the proprietor.

How old was the iceman killer when he died