First Nebraska Territory Murder Was by a Doctor

 In the Nebraska Life Magazine for March April 2026 there is a note about a murder in Bellevue.  Dr Charles Henry was a physician and a land speculator in Bellevue in 1855.  He argued with George Hollister about property lines.  Henry shot him dead.  It seemed a clear case and he was arrested and confined in the blacksmith shop.  He was protected by guards form a lynch mob.  Cholera broke out about this time.  Many needed treated and Dr. Henry was lead form home to home to provide treatment.  He was under guard and providing treatment.  When his case came before the grand jury there were enough on the jury he had treated, and others as character witnesses the he was never convicted.  This was the first arrest for murder in the new Nebraska Territory.

There were two grand juries convened, and both failed to indict.  Another possible reason for this is there were groups of land speculators who were protecting their own.  However the story of the patients refusing to indict is a good one.  Henry relocated to Omaha where he became a prominent citizen and supporter of the Union in the Civil War.