Toni Jo Henry: Murder for the Love of Cowboy Henry

Toni Jo Henry had lived a hard life long before she met the man known as Claude “Cowboy” Henry. But when the former boxer and outlaw entered her world, Toni Jo fell hard—and when Cowboy was sentenced to fifty years in a Texas prison, she became determined to get him out. Her plan would end with an innocent man dead. In 1940, Toni Jo teamed up with ex-convict Finnon “Arkie” Burks in a scheme to obtain money, weapons, and transportation for a prison break. While hitchhiking in Louisiana, the pair accepted a ride from Joseph P. Calloway, a man who had no idea who he had just picked up. Calloway was robbed at gunpoint, locked in the trunk of his own car, driven to a remote area, and forced to remove his clothing. He was then shot in the head and left dead in a field. Toni Jo and Burks later blamed one another for pulling the trigger. The sensational case would send Toni Jo through three separate trials, each ending with a conviction. On November 28, 1942, she was executed in the electric chair at the Calcasieu Parish Courthouse, becoming the only woman ever executed in Louisiana’s electric chair. Burks was executed the following year. And the love story had one final bizarre chapter. Just days before Toni Jo’s execution, Cowboy Henry escaped from prison, reportedly hoping to see his wife one last time. He was quickly recaptured. Toni Jo went to her death at twenty-six years old, still devoted to the man whose imprisonment had set the entire deadly plan in motion. This is the true crime story of Toni Jo Henry and Claude “Cowboy” Henry—a tale of desperate love, a doomed prison-break scheme, the murder of an innocent stranger, three sensational trials, and the woman who became Louisiana’s only female prisoner to die in the electric chair. Sources used for this podcast Support the show JOIN THE  HITCHED 2 HOMICIDE IN-LAWS AND OUTLAWS START KRIS CALVERT'S BOOKS TODAY FOR FREE Send Kris and Rob a Message H2H WEBSITE H2H on TWITTER H2H on INSTA Toni Jo Henry, Claude Cowboy Henry, Cowboy Henry, Toni Jo Henry murder, Joseph Calloway murder, Joseph P Calloway, Arkie Burks, Finnon Burks, Louisiana electric chair, Toni Jo Henry execution, female death row inmate, Louisiana true crime, 1940 murder, prison break murder, historical true crime, women executed in America, true crime podcast #ToniJoHenry, #CowboyHenry, #ClaudeHenry, #JosephCalloway, #ArkieBurks, #LouisianaTrueCrime, #HistoricalTrueCrime, #ElectricChair, #DeathPenalty, #TrueCrime, #TrueCrimePodcast, #TrueCrimeCommunity, #CrimeHistory, #VintageTrueCrime, #Hitched2Homicide     Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.