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Poole, Oliver

Coroner of Hallelujah, New Mexico Territory in 1876.[1] (August 22, 1822 – September 2, 1900)[2]

A timid and nervous man, appointed to the office of Coroner by Sheriff Chick Tucker.[1]

In September of 1876, Tucker convinced Poole to help him affect Bret Maverick's escape from the gallows so Bret could lead them to the Wells Fargo money stolen by Cliff Sharp. Poole did not wish to go along with the plan for fear of getting caught, but was coerced by the promise of splitting $35,000 of the stolen money with Tucker. Poole placed mattresses and blankets behind a tarp under the gallows to break Bret's fall. After cutting Bret loose, he helped Bret climb into a coffin which he and Tucker drove out to the cemetery for a mock burial. Along the way, they freed Bret and placed a log in the coffin so the gravediggers would believe it still contained a body. After Bret escaped from Tucker, Poole became very nervous, constantly wondering what was going to happen. When Molly Sharp arrived in Hallelujah, claiming to be Bret's widow, Poole interrupted Tucker's card game with Henry to bring the sheriff out to Molly's stage. Molly convinced the townsfolk that "Bret Maverick" was merely one of many aliases her husband, Cliff Sharp, used and that the town had actually hanged and buried Sharp. After Bret and Molly returned to Hallelujah from Santa Fe with the stolen Wells Fargo money, Bret turned the money in for the $5,000 reward, exposing Tucker and Poole's plan to fake Bret's burial and keep the stolen money for themselves. Along with Tucker, Poole was jailed in Hallelujah and tried for his crime. Poole was sentenced to five years in the Missouri State Prison.[1]

See: The Day They Hanged Bret Maverick