John “Bloody Jack” Krafchenko (1881-1914)

Outlaw.

Born in Romania in 1881, he came to Canada with his parents aged 7 and settled in Plum Coulee, Manitoba. He was constantly in trouble as a child. He later fought as a boxer. He was arrested for passing bad cheques in 1902, robbed a bank in 1906, and robbed another bank at Plum Coulee in 1913, killing the manager. He was arrested in Winnipeg in December 1913, escaping from the Winnipeg police station and setting off a major manhunt. He was recaptured on 18 January 1914, and was hanged on 9 July 1914. He is the subject of a long poem by Dennis Cooley, Bloody Jack (1984).

More information:

The Story of “Bloody Jack” Krafchenko by Martin Zeilig
Manitoba History, Number 35, Spring/Summer 1998

Source:

Profile revised: 21 March 2008

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