Irene Hawes

Irene Hawes (born c. 1882; died 1888 in Birmingham) was youngest daughter of Richard and Emma Hawes. She and her mother and sister were murdered by Hawes during the weekend of December 1, 1888. Her body was found with her mother's in the lake at Lakeview Park on December 8. The discovery led to a lynch mob gathering to kill Hawes, already imprisoned for the murder of Irene's sister May, whose body had been found in East Lake on December 4.

Irene was buried along with her mother and sister at Oak Hill Cemetery. Funds had been collected for a headstone, but the grave remained unmarked until 2024 when Terri Hicks, William Nolen and Karen Downs led a new fund-raising drive to supply a granite marker.

References

• Hoole, WIlliam Stanley (1980) The Birmingham Horrors. Huntsville: The Strode Publishers
• Jones, Pam. (Spring 2006) "The Hawes Murders." Alabama Heritage No. 80, pp. 34-40
• Thornton, William (April 3, 2024) "Victims of Birmingham’s notorious 1888 ‘Hawes Horror’ murders will finally have a gravestone." AL.com