The Colorado Cannibal: Alfred Packer

The story of Alfred Packer’s survival in the Colorado mountains is riddled with numerous, shifting accounts, casting doubt on his truthfulness and motives.

Packer Denied Involvement in Deaths or Cannibalism Initially

Returning To Civilization In April 1873, Packer Claimed He Survived On Rabbits and Rosebuds After Being Abandoned by His Companions Who Disappeared In the Mountains

After anywhere from 57 to 66 days in the wilderness, Alfred Packer emerges as the sole survivor in a town near Gunnison, Colorado around mid-April. Though ragged and tired, he claims his group became lost, and his severe frostbite and snow blindness made him too weak to keep up. According to Packer, his companions abandoned him, and surviving on little more than rabbits and rosebuds, he has no idea of their fates.

His Story Implausible: Well-Nourished, Carried Cash, Showed Little Urgency Obtaining Food

People notice issues with Packer’s story. For a man starving for two months, he looks surprisingly well-nourished, and his first desire is whiskey rather than food. Furthermore, despite lacking money for supplies earlier, Packer now carries a significant amount of cash, prompting immediate suspicion.

Packer's Second Account: Admitted Cannibalism, Blamed Natural Causes and Accident For Deaths

With inconsistencies and growing doubts, Packer’s story shifts under questioning.

He Revised His Story to Admit They Had Starved and Frozen, Resorting To Consuming Bodies of the Dead

Packer adjusts his account, admitting that the group did not abandon him. Instead, the party was snowbound and starving, with the oldest member dying first from hunger and exposure. Consumed by desperation, the survivors chose not to waste the body and resorted to cannibalism for sustenance.

Companion Killed by Accident, Packer Claims Self-Defense in Bell's Death

As the ordeal continues, Packer claims another group member died from exposure, and the third was accidentally killed under unclear circumstances. This leaves only Packer and Shannon Bell. According to Packer, Bell attempts to kill him, prompting Packer to shoot Bell in self-defense.

Packer Reluctantly Eats Human Flesh to Survive Extreme Circumstances

Following Bell's death, Packer reluctantly turns to eating Bell’s remains to survive.

Packer's Final Account Blames Shannon Bell As Sole Killer

Later, Packer shifts his narrative again, now completely blaming Shannon Bell.

Packer Testified Bell Murdered Companions, Butchered Bodies, and Prepared Human Flesh When Packer Returned From Seeking Escape Route

Packer asserts he left the group momentarily to seek a way out. Upon returning, all but Bell are dead, with Bell butchering the bodies and roasting human flesh over the fire.

Packer Shot Bell Twice In Self-Defense, Then Ate Remains After Days of Hesitation

When Bell sees Packer, he attacks with a hatchet. Packer shoots Bell twice, wrestles the weapon ...

Discovery Contradicts Packer's Claims on Bodies' Location and Condition

In 1874, a traveling illustrator working for Harper's Weekly discovers what appears to be a massacre. The decomposing bodies of the five missing prospectors are found together in one spot, directly contradicting Alfred Packer’s claim that their remains were left scattered miles apart. The condition of the corpses is grim: four have fractured skulls, one is headless, and all show signs of butchering. Later forensic examination suggests that some of the men might have been murdered in their sleep, challenging Packer's repeated accounts and undermining his self-defense narrative—even if some injuries occurred postmortem.

Bailey's Late 20th-Century Probe Suggested Packer's Innocence

Decades later, museum curator David Bailey uncovers another clue while conducting inventory: an 1862 Colt revolver loaded with three .38 caliber cartridges. The gun bears a label stating it was found at the site where Packer killed and ate his companions. Bailey conducts tests, finding lead in a bullet hole of one victim that matches the chemical composition of the bullets from Packer's gun. To verify, he fires those bullets into an elk’s hip bone, producing damage identical to that found on a victim. Evidence confirms only Shannon Bell, whom Packer claimed he shot in self-defense, was shot. The revolver’s remaining bullets suggest Packer could have shot others if his motivation had been robbery and murder, casting doubt on the idea that he planned to kill all his companions.

1989 Exhumation of James Starr Applies Modern Forensics To Historic ...

Packer's Death Sentence Overturned On a Procedural Technicality

Alfred Packer was initially found guilty and sentenced to death, with the judge declaring, "you will be hung from your neck until you are dead, dead, dead, and may God have mercy on your soul." However, a crucial legal detail altered his fate. Between the time of Packer's alleged crimes in 1873 and his sentencing in 1883, Colorado transitioned from a territory to a state. During the territorial period, the death penalty was illegal, becoming legal only after Colorado achieved statehood. A precedent set by the Colorado Supreme Court held that crimes committed while Colorado was a territory could only be subject to the laws valid at that time. Because this rule was not applied in Packer's first trial, his lawyers succeeded in overturning his death sentence on this technicality. The legal precedent thus invalidated Packer's original conviction.

Gunnison Trial Relocation Leads To Manslaughter Conviction, Lengthy Sentence

When retried, Packer could not be charged with murder again due to further legal technicalities, but he was eligible for a manslaughter charge. The jury quickly convicted him, and the judge sentenced Packer to 40 years in the state penitentiary—eight years for each victim—the longest sentence ever handed down by an American judge at the time. The original trial in Lake City was fraught with local hostility, making unbiased jury selection nearly impossible; 44 out of 57 potential jurors admitted to prior knowledge and bias regarding the case. As a result, the trial was relocated 50 miles away to Gunnison to reduce hostility and secure a fairer jury. Despite the effort, there was skepticism about the impartiali ...

The case of Alfred Packer, long steeped in controversy, shifts through the decades thanks to the powerful influence of media, public discourse, and renewed forensic inquiry. Over time, sympathetic portrayals and sensational details not only shape opinions, but foster a unique cultural fascination with Packer’s story.

Pry's 1890s Journalism Altered Packer's Guilt Perception

Pry, a Reporter, Interviewed Packer In 1899 and Was Convinced Of His Innocence by Intuition, Not Evidence

In 1899, Denver Post reporter Polly Pry interviews Alfred Packer in prison and is immediately convinced of his innocence. Pry’s conviction emerges not from newly discovered evidence, but from a sense that Packer was wrongly judged and that his final court testimony was truthful. Pry relies on intuition and a belief that society condemned Packer too swiftly and harshly.

Media Campaign Portrays Packer As Honest, Sympathetic Figure Whose Prison Health Worsened Due to Epilepsy

Pry launches an intense media campaign presenting Packer as a fundamentally honest and sympathetic man whose health has deteriorated in prison, likely due to epilepsy. She highlights his suffering, writing evocatively about his longing for freedom and the cruel injustice inflicted on him by society, framing Packer as the victim of circumstance.

Compelling Writing Emphasized Injustice and Harsh Judgment of Packer, Framing Him As a Victim of Circumstance Rather Than a Calculating Murderer

Through her powerful prose, Pry sways public opinion and inspires passionate supporters. Her writings emphasize the world’s blind injustice and society’s quick condemnation, carving out a new image of Packer as much-maligned rather than a cold-blooded murderer. Pry’s persuasive advocacy, grounded more in emotion than in hard evidence, leads many to reconsider Packer’s guilt.

Public Outrage Over Packer's Case Sparked Violent Unrest

Pry's Advocacy Split Supporters and Detractors Over Packer's Innocence or Guilt

Pry’s campaign polarizes the public, creating fierce camps on both sides of the debate. Arguments over Alfred’s innocence or guilt grow so heated that two people are shot and nearly killed. Supporters rally, circulating petitions demanding his pardon.

Two Shot in Arguments Over Packer Pardon

The controversy around Packer’s fate spirals into near-violence, underscoring how deeply people are invested in the outcome. Public opinion is so divided that debates about Packer—even erupting into violence—become a notable part of the case’s history.

Polarization Reframed Packer As a Sympathetic, Reconsiderable Figure

Ultimately, the groundswell of support compels the Colorado governor to release Packer on parole after serving only 15 of his 40-year sentence. For some, this marks justice; for others, it's yet another outrage. The ongoing debate recasts Packer as a reconsiderable figure in the American imagination, rather than a straightforward villain.

Bailey's Forensic Discoveries Bolster Innocence Claims

Bailey's Ballistic Testing Offered Tangible Evidence, Lending Scientific Credibility To the Innocence Narrative

Decades later, museum curator David Bailey brings new attention to Packer’s story. During an inventory, Bailey discovers an 1862 Colt revolver and three .38 caliber cartridges. His investigation into a hole in a hip bone found with Packer’s alleged victims leads to ballistic tests: lead found in the bone matches bullets from Packer’s gun, and shooting trials using elk bones create similar holes. While not a “smoking gun,” Bailey’s findings provide tangible evidence and scientific backing to claims of Packer’s potential innocence, introducing doubt where only certainty once existed.

Media Interest Boosted True Crime Tourism In Lake City

Bailey’s investigation, costing $15,000, revives the case for a new generation and triggers a niche tourism industry in Lake City, Colorado. The story’s reach extends even further as Trey Parker and Matt Stone, later creators of “South Park,” immortalize Packer in their 1993 film “Cannibal: The Musical,” embedding his narrative in popular culture.

Cannibal: The Musical (1993) by Parker and Stone Cemented Packer's Story in Popular Consciousness

“Cannibal: The Musical” makes Packer a legend for younger audie ...

Carter Roy explains that the iconic image of the American Wild West is largely the product of Hollywood and popular fiction, rather than historical fact. The reality of frontier life was far less violent and much more diverse than common pop culture depictions have shown.

Hollywood Distorted Frontier Reality With Exaggerated Violence and Lawlessness

Wild West Image Shaped by Fiction, Not Fact

The Wild West myth began with pulp dime novels, evolved through traveling shows, and finally landed on the silver screen, all helping to establish a legendary image of constant danger and excitement. In contrast, the real frontier was much tamer.

Frontier Towns Often Banned Public Gun Carrying

Contrary to the shootouts and constant gun violence shown in movies, most frontier towns actually outlawed carrying guns in public. Strict firearms bans were common, making public displays of violence rare.

Palisade, Nevada Staged Fake Shootouts For Tourists, Using Mythology For Profit

Some locales even exploited these myths for financial gain. Palisade, Nevada, for example, staged entire mock gunfights and robberies timed with the arrival of tourist trains. Whole towns—including local indigenous tribes—joined these performances, with locals acting as victims and fake blood and blanks heightening the spectacle. These acts catered to eager visitors seeking the Wild West experience, though the violence was all staged for show.

Frontier Demographics Were More Diverse Than Depicted

The reality of the West included substantial diversity that pop culture typically ignored or erased.

25% of Cowboys Were Black, Often Absent in Hollywood

Roughly a quarter of all cowboys were Black, a fact seldom reflected in films or television Westerns, which almost exclusively feature white leads.

Vaqueros Essential To Ranching In California and Texas but Invisible in Frontier Mythology

Mexican cowboys, or vaqueros, were also crucial in the development of ranching in California and Texas. Their contributions are foundational, yet rarely seen in the mainstream frontier narrative.

False Homogeneous History From Erasing Diversity

This diversity—in both race and culture—was instrumental to the real West. By erasing these stories, the popular Wild West myth promotes a false narrative of a homogenous, white, male-dominated frontier.

Packer's Case Sensationalized In This Myth-Making Era

Case Occurred During American Gold Fever and Frontier Cultural Narrative Period

Alfred Packer’s case unfolded in the midst of this myth-making era, at the height of America’s gold fever and fascination with western riches. Like many, Packer was drawn west by stories of easy fortunes. ...