The Idaho Ripper Was Brought to Brutal Justice, But His Ghost May Still Linger Behind

Raymond Snowden was born on October 22nd, 1921 in New England. His adult life saw him as a traveling laborer in Southwestern Idaho.

In 1956, Snowden spent one night in the Ada County Jail after he allegedly attacked and threatened his partner with a knife. He plead guilty to battery charges and was fined by the courts.

Although not much is known about Snowden’s life as a child or an adult, what we do know shows a man with violent tendencies. It was clear that Snowden was capable of displaying and acting on his violent behavior, and this was solidified on the night of September 22nd, 1956.

On the night in question, 34-year-old Snowden was enjoying a night of heavy drinking, jumping from bar to bar in Garden City. It was during this bar hopping that Snowden met Cora Dean.

Cora Dean was a widower and mother of two who had just moved to Idaho from Pasadena, California. She lived with her mother, Lucy Bundy.

Dean met Snowden in the HiHo club on Chinden. Again, not much is known about their encounter at the club, but there is speculation as to whether the pair were on a date or if they had only met whilst at the club.

Regardless of how they met, an altercation ensued after they vacated the club, and it resulted in a brutal attack on Cora Dean. The reason for the altercation varies from source to source.

Was it an argument over the taxi fair? Or did Snowden's sexual advances cause friction between himself and Dean?

Snowden is said to have struck Dean first, to which she retaliated by kicking him, leading to Snowden snapping. He slashed Dean's throat with a 2.25” pocket knife, leaving a wound so deep it severed her spinal cord.

He proceeded to stab her 29 more times.

Her mutilated body was found by a local paper boy in a Boise suburb on September 23rd. Her mother, Lucy Bundy, is the one who positively identified her daughter's body.

Cora Dean was laid to rest in September of 1956 at the Cloverdale Memorial Park in Boise.

After the brutal murder, Snowden is said to have stolen Dean's purse and discarded the murder weapon down the gutter outside the Hannifin's Cigar Store in Boise. It is believed Snowden also entered the establishment and washed his bloodied hands in the restroom.

It was Garden City police officer Frank Boor who studied the murder of Cora Dean and recalled a man who he had previously arrested for attacking and threatening his partner with a knife. The authorities were able to track Snowden down, arrest him, and gather testimonies from eyewitnesses at the HiHo club who saw Snowden engaging with Dean.

Snowden was questioned by police for around eight hours. At first, he claimed to know nothing about the murder, but eventually confessed.

He told the police exactly where he had disposed of the murder weapon, although it took the authorities several days to locate it. Snowden also told the police that he gave Dean an ultimatum after she quelled his advances: “Take your pick, honey, rape or death.”

At Snowden’s trial, the autopsy revealed grizzly details that were left out of the public’s knowledge, such as the “sexualized cuts” that were found on Dean’s body and the fact that her spinal cord was severed so perfectly it could have been done intentionally. The combination of Snowden’s violent stabbing, his knowledge of how to sever a spinal cord with precision, and his further attacks on the more intimate areas of Cora Dean is how he earned the moniker of the Idaho Ripper.

Raymond Snowden was given a hearing on October 23rd, 1956 to determine the severity of his punishment. At the hearing, it was determined that the murder was in the first degree and had no “mitigating circumstances” which would lead to his punishment being reduced in any way.

Raymond Snowden was sentenced to death on December 7th, 1956, but a “notice of appeal” put in by his lawyer automatically delayed the execution. The appeal tried to argue that the severity of Snowden's punishment was too harsh as he did not “exhibit malice forethought,” and that his charge should be lowered to second-degree murder or even manslaughter.

The Idaho Supreme court rejected this plea and his death sentence was scheduled for October 18th, 1957.

Raymond Snowden was sentenced to hang at the Old Idaho State Penitentiary in the “Gallows Room,” which was constructed by convicts of the prison between 1954 and 1955. When Snowden was asked for a last statement, he responded, “I can’t put into words what I want to say.”

The trap door opened at 12:05 on October 18th, 1957, but the execution did not go to plan. The rope fastened around his throat did not break his neck upon his fall through the trap door.

Instead, Snowden hung for several agonizing minutes as he slowly choked to death. He was pronounced dead at 12:20.

A letter written by Snowden’s brother was received by the penitentiary, stating that his family did not want to claim the body. Raymond Snowdon was buried in the prison cemetery.

The botched execution of Raymond Snowden has become the catalyst for ghost stories surrounding the prison. It is said that Snowden still haunts the gallows where he slowly choked to death, making visitors feel uneasy, scratching them, and even talking to them.

Many paranormal investigations have taken place at the Old Idaho State Penitentiary, which closed its doors to criminals in 1973. The penitentiary has since re-opened to the public as an “historic museum.”

The grizzly nature of the criminals housed at the penitentiary and the awful conditions they were forced to live—and die—in have spawned many ghost stories. Disembodied voices and laughing have also been heard in the building, but the most prolific ghost is that of Raymond Snowden, who is said to roam the corridors and cells.

Some paranormal investigators have claimed to have seen Snowden with their own eyes.