In the early morning hours of St. Patrick’s Day 1964, a man was found bleeding to death on the sidewalk in front of the Linen Department Store at 127 South Palafox Street. A trail of blood led from a broken storefront window, behind which was a display of shrunken heads and stuffed alligators. Pensacola native Hank Killam suffered a fatal laceration to his jugular vein after crashing through the plate glass.

The question that has never been answered is how, exactly, did Hank Killam end up crashing through that window? Adding to the mystery is the fact that Hank had connection to individuals close to the Kennedy assassination. His wife, Wanda Davis, worked for Jack Ruby and his friend, John Carter, lived with Lee Harvey Oswald. Hank was just unlucky. We guess.

According to one account, Hank left his mother’s house along Romana Street that morning in an effort to reach Trader Jon’s Bar, several blocks south of the intersection of Romana and Palafox. An ex-wife, Trudy, worked there. Upon reaching the bar and discovering it closed Hank started north on Palafox towards home. Unfortunately for Hank, he never got that far.

As he crossed the intersection of Intendencia and Palafox, he jumped, fell, or was thrown through the window of the Linen Department Store at 127 South Palafox. The official investigation claimed that the hallucinatory effects of his amphetamine addiction made him think that the novelty shrunken heads and stuffed alligators were real. Stay tuned. Next Exit History will soon feature the rest of the story.

Credits and Sources:

UWF Historic Trust Archives, Pensacola News Journal