On the HBO series Deadwood, which aired from 2004 to 2006, British actor Ian McShane portrayed one of the main characters, a saloon owner and ruthless pimp by the name of Al Swearengen. The series took some dramatic license with the real man behind the character, however, and by all accounts, the historical Al Swearengen was far worse than his fictional counterpart. Little surprise, then, that he was likely murdered, though the culprit was never identified, and in fact, for many years it was thought that he had died accidentally.
Originally from Iowa, Al Swearengen eventually made his way to the iconic Old West town of Deadwood, South Dakota in 1876, accompanied by his wife Nettie, who would divorce him shortly afterwards on the grounds that he was abusive.
Undaunted, Al proceeded to open up a saloon called the Cricket, and later opened a much larger establishment called the Gem Theater, an unbelievably profitable venture that featured dancing girls (such as the infamous Calamity Jane) and other performers, but was in actuality a thinly disguised brothel. Al would often run ads in newspapers around the country seeking girls to work as waitresses at the Gem, and then force them into prostitution once they arrived. During his time in Deadwood, he would marry twice more, but both of these wives also quickly filed for divorce, alleging that he beat them.
The Gem Theater was partially destroyed by fire in 1879, but Al wasted no time in rebuilding it. Unfortunately for him, only three months after that, most of the town of Deadwood would be burned down in another massive conflagration, taking the Gem right along with it, and after that Al decided to pursue his illicit fortunes elsewhere.
By 1904, both Al and his twin bother Lemuel were living in the Denver area. On October 2nd, Lemuel Swearengen was set upon outside of the meat market he owned, and shot five times by an unknown assailant or assailants. He was not robbed of the large sum of cash he carried on his person. He managed to survive, but speculation at the time was rife that whoever had targeted him was actually attempting to kill his brother Al, who aside from being a pimp and a spousal abuser was also suspected of several murders.
If this had indeed been the plan, then it would seem that the mysterious killer eventually succeeded in his goal about a month and a half later. On November 15th, 1904, the body of Al Swearengen was found in the middle of a Denver street not far from his home.
In ensuing years, the legend grew that Al’s corpse had been found near railroad tracks, and that he had lost all of his money and died accidentally while hopping a freight train like a hobo, but this story was exactly that; a story. The contemporary autopsy report demonstrates that Al’s death was almost immediately recognized as murder, due to the massive wound on the back of his head that suggested he’d been clubbed with a blunt, heavy object.
Since Al Swearengen was widely despised, it seems that the number of people who would want him dead was essentially limitless, and it would appear that authorities didn’t exactly strain themselves looking too hard for the likely murderer.
Interestingly, six years later, Al’s twin brother Lemuel was also found dead of a similar head wound outside of his meat market. To this day it is unknown whether the two crimes were committed by the same person, though the likelihood seems high. The life and death of Al Swearengen has been fictionalized countless times in popular media since, with Ian McShane’s recent portrayal earning him the coveted number six spot on TV Guide’s “Nastiest Villains of All Time” list.
Crime Immemorial 