Episode 163 Toni Jo Henry Louisiana's Femme Fatale

Southern Mysteries Podcast

Shannon Ballard

True Crime, Society & Culture, History

4.8 • 918 Ratings

🗓️ 14 April 2025

⏱️ 25 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In 1942, the state of Louisiana executed a woman in the electric chair for the first and only time in its history. She was young, beautiful, and utterly devoted to the man she loved, a Texas outlaw. Toni Jo Henry was willing to do anything to free him from prison which led her down a dark path…the cold-blooded killing of an innocent man. Toni Jo claimed her accomplice pulled the trigger. He said she did. Was Toni Jo Henry a ruthless killer, or a woman trapped by her tragic past and her devotion to the wrong man? Want more Southern Mysteries? Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries Connect Website: southernmysteries.com Facebook: Southern Mysteries PodcastInstagram: @southernmysteriesEmail: [email protected] Episode Sources The Times: Former Shreveport Girl to Face jury for Lake Charles Slaying, March 24, 1940 The News Star: Toni Jo Henry is denied new trial, May 25, 1942 The Atlanta Journal: Woman Slayer, Awaiting death in chair, wisecracks over fate, August 4, 1942 The Town Talk: High Court denies stay of execution for Toni Jo Henry, November 4, 1942 Shreveport Journal: Toni Jo Henry Executed, November 28, 1942 Del Rio News Herald: Kin of Toni Jo Henry Claim body for burial, November 30, 1942 The DeQuincy News: Burks to follow Toni Jo to chair, High Court rules, December 4, 1942 Greenville News: Trip of Death Ends as Burks electrocuted, March 24, 1943 State v. Henry, 196 La. 217, 198 So. 910 (La. 1940) M. Watt Espy Papers: Documentation for the execution of Harold Burks, Toni Henry, 1943-03-23 Harold Burks executed on 1943-03-23 in Louisiana (LA); Toni Henry executed on 1942-11-28 in Louisiana (LA) Find A Grave: Joseph Prince “Joe” Calloway Find A Grave: Claude David “Cowboy” Henry Find A Grave: Toni Jo Henry/Annie Beatrice McQuiston Nola Mae Ross: Crimes of the Past in South Louisiana, 2004 Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.

Transcript

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0:00.0	In 1942, the state of Louisiana executed a woman in the electric chair for the first and only time in its history.
0:18.0	She was young, beautiful, and utterly devoted to a man she loved,
0:24.3	which led her to orchestrate a crime so brutal, the courts could not show mercy.
0:30.7	Tony Joe Henry loved a Texas outlaw and was willing to do anything to free him from prison.
0:41.3	Her devotion and desperation led her down a dark path, the cold-blooded killing of an innocent man.
0:45.3	But here's where the story gets complicated.
0:48.3	Tony Joe claimed her accomplice pulled the trigger.
0:52.3	He said, she pulled the trigger. Was Tony Joe Henry
0:56.8	a ruthless killer or a woman trapped by her tragic past and her devotion to the wrong man?
1:06.0	Welcome to Southern Mysteries, exploring Southern history and true crime.
1:13.2	I'm your host, Shannon Ballard.
1:15.8	This is episode 163.
1:20.4	Tony Joe Henry, Louisiana's Fem Fetal.
1:33.3	Love is one of the most powerful forces in human nature, capable of inspiring beauty and destruction. Tony Joe Henry maintained it was love that drove her to robbery, murder, and a desperate plan to free her husband from a Texas prison. Love seemed to blind Tony Joe to the reality
1:48.4	that her poorly planned scheme was doomed from the start. Tony Joe Henry was born Annie Beatrice
1:56.0	McQuinston in January 1916 near Shreveport, Louisiana.
2:01.8	The third of five children, Tony Joe's mother, died when she was just six years old.
2:07.6	Her father remarried, and as Tony Joe entered her teen years,
2:11.6	she was unhappy with her stepmother and begged her aunt to take her away from her father's home.
2:19.1	Tony Joe found work in a macaroni factory when she was 13 years old.
2:24.1	She hoped to save enough money to leave home, but her hopes were shattered when she was fired.
2:30.9	When her father learned she had been let go, he beat her, leading Tony Joe to leave home for good.
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