The Life of Bonnie and Clyde

By Taylor L. and Taylor J.

What Happened?
Bonnie and Clyde were well-known gang members who robbed lots of banks and hurt many people. They never got caught; they always ran away before the police would get there. They died when they were driving down the road and the police shot at them. The shots were fatal.

Who Were They?
Bonnie Parker was born on October 1st, 1910 in Rowena, Texas. She was in a family of five until her dad, Charles Parker, died when she was at the age of four. After the death of her father, she and her family moved to their grandparent’s house in Cement City. Bonnie was a straight A student at her high school. Bonnie was an independent teenage girl until the second year of high school. Her first love was a classmate named Roy Thornton. Later in their relationship, they dropped out of school and got married on September 25th, 1926. Later on, after they were married, they turned in different directions. They were never divorced; she still wore the ring that Thornton gave her at the wedding while she was with Clyde.

Clyde Barrow was born on March 24th, 1909, in Ellis County, Texas. He was born just south of Dallas. He had nine people in his family, and he was the fifth born out of the seven children. They were not the richest family in the world. They all were happy when their Dad got a bit of money. They used the money to upgrade on their little individual flimsy sheds to a big tent. Clyde was first put behind bars because he outran the police, because he didn’t bring a rental car back in time. Then the next time he was in jail was for stealing some turkeys. When he was in jail he was sexually assaulted for over a year by his jail mate. Then he killed his mate by hitting him with a pipe; he fractured his skull. That was his first murder. When he got out of jail, he finally tried to get a job at a little gas station.

Where Did They First Meet?
They met when Bonnie was at a friend’s house to assist her with her broken arm in West Dallas. Then Clyde came to visit the friend, but when he came into the house, Bonnie was in the other room making hot chocolate. They say that she was in love with him and that’s why she went with Clyde. Clyde met Bonnie at the age of 19. When he first saw her, he knew she was a girl that would help him through his horrific crimes.

When Did This Occur?
Bonnie was born on October 1, 1910, and Clyde was born on March 24, 1909. They both died on the same day which was May 23, 1934. In-between those dates Bonnie and Clyde made numerous criminal acts.

Why Did They Rob Banks?
It is believed that the reason Bonnie and Clyde started robbing banks is because they didn’t have a lot of money and they wanted more of it. Bonnie was known to have anger issues, which is the reason for some of her criminal acts.

How Did They Die?
They died on March 23,1934. The police had been chasing them since their murders and robberies in 6 different states. On their final day of life, the police knew where Bonnie and Clyde were traveling on the day of their death. They waited for Bonnie and Clyde as they were coming on highway 154. They used the son of the guy they kidnapped, and put his truck on the road with a tire removed, so that Clyde would slow down and investigate the truck. At 9:15 am, Clyde, who was driving a Ford V-8, spotted the son’s truck. Sure enough, he slowed down to look. The police started to fire, and the surprised couple could not react to it. Clyde and Bonnie died after 130 bullets. The police went to investigate their bodies. Clyde had been hit in the head, and Bonnie’s right hand was damaged by bullet fire. They took the bodies back to Dallas and put them on display. Afterward, they were buried in separate cemeteries, according to the families' wishes, despite Bonnie's request to be buried beside Clyde.

Resources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonnie_and_Clyde
http://www.essortment.com/all/deathbonniepar_rtpo.htm