Gleeson: Arizona Ghost Town. Volume 03: Murder and burned body parts...

Volume 03

We stop at the "Joe Bono" store, the store that was run by the father of current owner of the Gleeson jail and was where he grew up. We stop at the remains of the old warehouse. Gleeson had a movie theater, Chinese restaurant, new car dealership etc.

We see "Bigfoot's" trailer. Richard Stokley (Bigfoot) and friend Randy Brazeal, kidnapped, raped and murdered two young girls from Elfrida in 1991. Stokley was executed in 2012 and Brazeal was released from prison in 2011 but died after hitting his head in 2021.

The last stop is the miner's hospital and burn pit where the amputated body parts were burned.

Small town murders:

https://tucson.com/news/local/crime/inmate-to-be-executed-in-killing-of-2-elfrida-girls/article_773659ac-22eb-11e2-81cb-0019bb2963f4.html

https://www.myheraldreview.com/news/douglas/convicted-killer-set-for-prison-release/article_b7a4d645-6fa4-541b-be61-f2c7d6b5141d.html

Gleeson was an old west mining town. It was originally called Turquoise and the post office was established in 1890. In 1894, John Gleeson registered a copper claim and the town was renamed Gleeson and in 1900 the post office was opened.

It's now a ghost town, with a few residents still living there.

Joe Bono, who grew up in the town of Gleeson, owns the jail, which has been renovated and turned into a museum. Every first Saturday of the month, the jail is open to the public and the Bono family members give tours, tell stories of the old town etc.

These are super nice people and we encourage anyone in the area to stop by and learn about this town. You might find that it had quite a bit more going on "old west" style than Tombstone or other notorious towns.

We really want to thank the Bono family for being so gracious and kind and a special thanks to our tour guide Rene, who gave us a lot of history and insight into the town.

We plan on going back once it cools down a bit and doing another tour.

The Gleeson Jail Website, loaded with information and pictures:

http://www.gleesonarizona.com/

Other interesting links:

http://www.ghosttownaz.info/gleeson-ghost-town.php#

https://tv.azpm.org/p/sportsandrec/2020/5/15/172695-bono-buys-gleeson/

https://historicpearce.org/gleeson.html

https://www.frrandp.com/p/the-map.html

http://www.abandonedrails.com/

"The Mysterious Rider" was filmed here in 1938.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSOHCaSIRd4

www.tunetank.com
Song: Wild West
By: EDRecords