Joseph Douglas Ball was not a pleasant man. Born as one of eight children, Joe Ball served on the frontlines during World War I for multiple years before returning home to Texas. There he started his career as a bootlegger, smuggling alcohol during the Temperance movement and selling it at high prices. He opened a saloon called The Sociable Inn in Elmendorf, Texas where he ran his illegal alcohol business, often shooting his gun at the feet of his employees to encourage them to work faster.
Another quirk of The Sociable Inn was the built in was the pool of alligators in the back. Joe Ball ran a miniature zoo that consisted of five alligators, charging visitors to view them. But this zoo was not only for viewing. Joe Ball frequently allowed visitors to pay extra for feeding time, which often consisted of tossing live puppies and kittens into the alligator pit. Joe Ball’s “eccentric” hobby inspired his nickname: “The Alligator Man”.
On the surface Joe Ball seemed like a mean lunatic already, probably scarred with PTSD and left as an unfeeling shell from his time in World War I, so when people started to go missing he was an obvious lead for investigators. Joe Ball often fell in love with waitresses who worked at his saloon, and one waitress in particular named Big Minnie had a deeper relationship with Joe Ball. However, when she suddenly went missing during the summer, Joe claimed she was pregnant at the hospital although all her clothes were left behind.
Only a few months later Joe got married to another waitress named Buddy, and revealed his secret to her. He had taken Big Minnie to the beach and killed her. Suddenly, Buddy had disappeared, and was replaced by Schatzie, another barmaid. After Schatzie went missing, a citizen of Elmendorf tipped off a sheriff about a barrel outside of Joe’s house that smelled like something rotting.
The sheriff went to check on Joe, finding the barrel missing. However, Joe’s sister confirmed the tip off given about the smelly barrel. The sheriff told Joe he was taking him in for questioning. In response Joe promptly pulled out his gun and shot himself in the chest. Although many in Elmendorf today believe Joe Ball fed the corpses of his victims to his alligators, eventually it was found that Joe had taken two of his victims to secluded areas, and buried a bullet between their eyes. Schatzie had survived and ran away from Joe. The police later found a scrapbook that Joe had owned, full of pictures of dozens of women who had also gone missing. As the police uncovered more gruesome details about the murders, the Alligator Man earned his new name: The Butcher of Elmendorf.
