In 1958, a teenage boy in Omaha, Nebraska, committed a heinous crime. He managed to escape justice and build a new life on the other side of the world, where he lived under a secret identity until his death in 2010.
Thanks to the modern technology of DNA test kits, William Leslie Arnold was traced all the way to Australia.
William Leslie Arnold shot and killed his parents in 1958 because they wouldn’t allow him to use the family car to take his girlfriend to the movies. He buried his parents in the backyard and then took his girlfriend to a drive-in screening of The Undead.
Arnold kept the murders a secret for two weeks. When friends and family asked about his parents, he told them they were on a trip.
But soon enough, his crime came to light. He confessed to the murders and led the police to where his parents’ bodies were buried.
He pled guilty to two counts of second-degree murder in 1959. At the age of 17, he was sentenced to life in prison in the Nebraska State Penitentiary.
For eight years, he behaved himself in prison and was well-liked by people. He was a talented musician and spent most of his time in the music room.
But as the years dragged on, he started to hatch up an escape plan with a fellow inmate. They used masks to trick the guards who conducted daily head counts.
In 1967, Arnold and his co-conspirator, James Harding, broke out of prison under the cover of night and made it to Chicago, where they parted ways. Harding was caught shortly after, but it seemed that Arnold had vanished off the face of the Earth.
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Later, investigators were finally able to follow his next steps. Apparently, Arnold had changed his name to John Vincent Damon. He found work at a restaurant in Chicago, met the woman who would become his wife, got married, and helped take care of her four kids.
The family moved to several different cities before Arnold and his wife divorced. Then, Arnold journeyed to Australia and became a salesman. He remarried and had kids of his own. He died as John Damon in 2010 and was remembered as a “great father.”
In 2020, investigators collected a DNA sample from Arnold’s younger brother. One of Arnold’s sons uploaded a DNA sample two years later in the hopes of learning more about his father, who had claimed he was an orphan from Chicago.
Once investigators had confirmed that John Vincent Damon was William Leslie Arnold and that he was dead, they told Arnold’s son the truth about his father.
“Although it’s shocking to know that his life began with a terrible crime, his legacy is so much more than that,” Arnold’s son said. “I want him to be remembered for being a good father and provider to us, and instilling in me a passion for music, and a drive to always be the best person I can be.”
By Emily Chan
Emily Chan is a writer who covers lifestyle and news content. She graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in... More about Emily Chan
