In the aftermath of Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker’s bloody two-year crime spree, the U.S. government put more than a dozen of their family members and friends on trial for helping the couple out. During his closing argument, prosecutor Clyde O. Eastus made a surprising allegation.
Pointing at Clyde’s mother, Cumie Barrow, Eastus roared: “She is the ringleader in this conspiracy!”
As the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Texas, Eastus likely was embellishing his point for the Dallas jury. He put Cumie front and center because she admitted meeting regularly with the fugitives and was known to provide them with food, clothing and other comforts.
But Eastus was on to something.
