Wikipedia

List of people who were beheaded

The following is a list of people who were beheaded, arranged alphabetically by country or region and with date of decapitation. Special sections on "Religious figures" and "Fictional characters" are also appended.

These individuals lost their heads intentionally (as a form of execution or posthumously). A list of people who were decapitated accidentally, including animal-related deaths, can be found at List of people who were decapitated.

Salome and the Beheading of St. John the Baptist, by Titian
The Beheading of Saint Paul. Painting by Enrique Simonet in 1887

Austria

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Azerbaijan

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Brazil

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  • Jordão da Silva Cantanhede (2013) – a Brazilian amateur football referee,[3] was lynched, quartered, and beheaded by football spectators in Pio XII, Maranhão, after he stabbed a player to death in a match he officiated on 30 June 2013. Spectators then put his head on a stake in the middle of the pitch. A viral video later surfaced of medical officials reassembling his body.[4][5][6]
  • João Rodrigo Silva Santos (2013) – Brazilian football player, murdered and beheaded by suspected drug traffickers.[7]

Canada

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Central African Republic

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  • Didier Wangay (2021) - Former acting Mayor of Bambari; Wagner and FACA arrested Wangay and his family in Gallougou on 15 December 2021 and beheaded him, his son, wife, niece, and nephew. Afterwards, their heads were displayed in Bambari as trophies.[12]
  • Josué Béfio (2024) - Anti-balaka leader in Ouham-Fafa; Béfio, along with his bodyguard, were beheaded at a military base in Bouca.[13]

China

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Mural depicting Jing Ke's assassination attempt on the King of Qin; the severed head of Huan Yi is in an open box at bottom.

Chile

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Croatia

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Execution of Petar Zrinski and Fran Krsto Frankopan in Wiener Neustadt.

Denmark

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Democratic Republic of the Congo

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  • Zaida Catalán (2017) – Swedish politician of Chilean descent, kidnapped and murdered in 2017

England

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For English beheadings after 1707, see § Great Britain.
 
The heads of famous English traitors were customarily spiked on London Bridge
 
Piers Gaveston at the feet of the Earl of Warwick, 1312
 
Execution of Hugh Despenser the younger, 1326
 
The execution of Edmund Beaufort, 4th Duke of Somerset at Tewkesbury, 1471
 
Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots, 1587
 
Raleigh just before being beheaded in 1618– an illustration from c. 1860
 
This contemporary German print depicts Charles I's decapitation in 1649.
 
Execution of James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth by Jack Ketch on Tower Hill, 15 July 1685 (O.S), in a popular print.

European New World colonies

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For beheadings after the respective dates of independence, see the respective country headings.
 
Blackbeard's severed head hanging from Maynard's bowsprit
 
Execution of Diego de Almagro

Bolivia

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Brazil

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  • Joaquim José da Silva Xavier (Tiradentes) (1792) – the body was quartered after his hanging for revolutionary activity

British North America

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Haiti

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Mexico

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Panama

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Peru

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Finland

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France

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Ancien Régime

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French Revolution

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Note: some estimates place the number of persons executed by the guillotine, particularly during the Reign of Terror (1793–1794), at 40,000.

 
Execution of Marie Antoinette, 1793
 
Execution of Jacques Pierre Brissot, 1793
 
The execution of Robespierre
 
The execution of Robespierre, 1794

French First Republic

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(after Reign of Terror)

Restoration

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French Republic

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Georgia

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Germany

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Pre-20th century

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Execution of Johann Wittenborg, 1363
 
Execution of Pirates in Hamburg, 1573

Weimar Republic

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  • Rupert Fischer (1924) – Murderer; first to be guillotined by Johann Reichhart who executed 3165 condemned[34]
  • Fritz Haarmann (1925) – The Butcher (or Vampire) of Hanover; guillotined in Hanover for murder
  • Peter Kürten (1931) – The Vampire of Düsseldorf; guillotined in Cologne for murder

Nazi Germany

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Great Britain

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For beheadings before the Union of 1707, see § England, § Scotland, and § Wales.
 
Execution of Lord Lovat, 1747
 
Jeremiah Brandreth's head, 1817

Hungary

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India

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Indonesia

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Iraq

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Ancient Mesopotamia

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Umayyad era

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Abbasid era

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  • Al-Walid ibn Tarif al-Shaybani, was a Kharijite rebel leader. In 794, he launched a rebellion against the Abbasid Caliphate, but was defeated, killed, and beheaded in 795.
  • Ja'far al-Barmaki (803) – Vizier executed on the orders Caliph Harun al-Rashid (r. 786–809).
  • Al-Amin, the sixth Abbasid Caliph (813) – beheaded on 27 September 813 during the conflict.
  • Al-Musta'in, the twelfth Abbasid caliph (866) – beheaded on the orders of his cousin al-Mu'tazz.

Modern

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Iceland

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Iran

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Execution of Buqa
  • Buqa (1289) – Grand Vizier. Executed for treason.

Ireland

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Israel

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Death of Raynald of Châtillon

Italy

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The Execution of Marino Faliero, Eugène Delacroix, 1827.

Ancient Rome

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Medieval Italy

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Later Italy

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Giovanni Battista Bugatti, executioner of the Papal States between 1796 and 1865, carried out 516 executions

Japan

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Head of Kim Okgyun, 1894

Home islands

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Sergeant Siffleet's execution at Aitape, 1943

Japanese-occupied territories (20th century)

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Modern Japan

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Jordan

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Korea

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Libya

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Netherlands/Belgium

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Beheading of Johan van Oldenbarnevelt

Norway

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Pakistan

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Raja Dahir (712) – executed on command of Muhammad bin Qasim after Dahir's empire was defeated.
  • United Provinces of Agra and Oudh
Syed Ahmad Barelvi (1831) – Sufi mujahideen who was beheaded by the Indian army in the Battle of Balakot
  • Islamic Republic of Pakistan
Daniel Pearl (2002) – American journalist killed by al-Qaeda.
Piotr Stańczak (2009) – Polish engineer beheaded in Pakistan by Radical Islamic terrorists

Philippines

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The following were all executed by ISIL-inspired terrorist group Abu Sayyaf.

  • Bernard Then (2015)[46] – Malaysian man who was kidnapped from a restaurant in Sandakan, Malaysia, brought over to Parang, Sulu, and beheaded after ransom demands were not met
  • Robert Hall (2016) – Canadian welder held for ransom, after the resort he was staying at was raided by Abu Sayyaf militants. They demanded 300 million pesos (around $6.5 million) for his release, and when the demand was not met, Hall was beheaded nine months later in Patikul, Sulu
  • John Ridsdel (2016) – Canadian businessman, also held for ransom at the same resort as Robert Hall. Ridsdel was beheaded on 25 April 2016, nine months after being held hostage
  • Jürgen Kantner (2017) – German sailor ambushed and held for ransom, while out sailing with his wife, who was shot and killed. Abu Sayyaf militants demanded 30 million pesos ($600,000), and when the demand was not met, Kantner was beheaded

Poland

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Portugal

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Russia

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Saudi Arabia

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Scotland

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For Scottish beheadings after 1707, see § Great Britain.
 
The Scottish Maiden on display at the Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh

Serbia

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Spain

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Sri Lanka

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  • Puviraja Pandaram (1591) – Hindu king who was beheaded by Portuguese. Portuguese, led by André Furtado as commander, mounted a military campaign against the Jaffna kingdom from Mannar and succeed for conquer Jaffna kingdom.[54]
  • Keppetipola Disawe (1818) – beheaded by British Ceylon in Kandy, Sri Lanka for fighting for independence.

Sweden

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Execution of Anna Månsdotter. The executioner Dalman stands to the far left, hiding his axe behind his back.

Syria

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Switzerland

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Execution of Greifensee garrison

Turkey

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Byzantine era

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Further information: Byzantine Empire

Ottoman era

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Republic era

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United States

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For beheadings before 1776, see § European New World colonies.
  • Henry Laurens (1792) – decapitated posthumously in accordance with his wishes and then burned on a funeral pyre by his son and slaves.
  • Isaac N. Ebey (1857) – Washington state pioneer murdered by Haida Indians.
  • Pearl Bryan (1896) – murdered in Fort Thomas, Kentucky.
  • Captain Harry Miller (1936) – beheaded after murder near New Trenton, Indiana, "Head and Hands" murder.[56]
  • Sixteen victims of Jeffrey Dahmer (1978–1991).
  • Adam Walsh (1981) - abducted from a Sears department store at the Hollywood Mall in Hollywood, Florida and his head was found in a drainage canal two weeks after he was murdered.
  • Christa Hoyt (1990) – decapitated by serial killer Danny Rolling.
  • Frank Griga and Krisztina Furton (1995) – decapitated and dismembered by Daniel Lugo and Adrian Doorbal members of the infamous Sun Gym gang in Miami.[57]
  • Yang Xin (2009) – decapitated at Virginia Tech by Zhu Haiyang.[58]
  • Aasiya Zubair (2009) – decapitated in New York by murderer/husband Muzzammil Hassan.
  • Hanny Tawadros and Amgad Konds (2013) – decapitated posthumously, allegedly by murderer Yusef Ibrahim.[59]
  • Colleen Hufford (2014) – 54-year-old woman was decapitated in Oklahoma by a 30-year-old pro-Jihad, Islamist, Jah'Keem Yisrael, formerly Alton Alexander Nolen.
  • Lee Manuel Viloria-Paulino (2016) – missing youth who was found to have been decapitated by a classmate.[60]
  • Luis Romero (2019) – decapitated by his cellmate, Jamie Osuna, at Corcoran State Prison in California.[61]
  • Jennifer Schlecht (2019) – decapitated by her husband Yonathan Tedla in their Harlem flat, he then killed their daughter and hanged himself on a fan. Tedla had put Jennifer Schlecht's head in her own lap.[62]
  • Cecilia Gibson (2020) – 79-year-old Cecilia Gibson, step-grandmother of her killer, Kenny W. McBride, 45, was bludgeoned in head while in house, then McBride decapitated and placed Ms. Gibson's head in their backyard. Kenny W. McBride was arrested at time of reporting after body was dead for two days. McBride's father had married and his new wife's mother, Cecilia Gibson, all lived in the same residence in Bedford, Michigan where the crime occurred.[63]
  • America Thayer (2021) – Beheaded with a machete after an argument with her boyfriend.[64]
  • Shad Thyrion (2022) – Shad Thyrion's mother found his severed head in a bucket in the basement of their home in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Taylor Schabusiness, who had a sexual relationship with Thyrion, beheaded him after killing him.[65]
  • Karina Castro (2022) – Rafa Solano decapitated Castro, his ex-girlfriend, on a street with a samurai sword in San Carlos, California.[66]

Vietnam

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Execution of Pierre Dumoulin-Borie

Wales

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For Welsh beheadings after 1707, see § Great Britain.

Religious figures

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The Bible

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Hebrew Bible/Old Testament

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  • Goliath – after he was killed by David, this example illustrates the aforementioned post-mortem decapitation
  • Saul – after he fell on his sword at the Battle of Mount Gilboa (1 Samuel 31:3–6); the Philistines cut off his head and fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan.[67]
  • Ish-bosheth – killed by Baanah and Rekab in his bed after they entered his house under the pretext of borrowing wheat.

Apocrypha

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Judith Beheading Holofernes (Caravaggio)

New Testament

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The Executioner with the Head of John the Baptist (William Dobson)

Catholic saints

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The martyrdom of St Barbara
 
The martyrdom of Saints Cosmas and Damian by Fra Angelico (Musée du Louvre, Paris)
 
The martyrdom of St Nicasius

Greek mythology

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Sikh

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Hindu

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Fictional characters

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  • Aura in Frieren: Beyond Journey's End
  • Sabretooth in Deadpool & Wolverine
  • Fender in Robots

    • See also

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    References

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    1. ^ "Azerbaijani soldiers behead Armenian Yazidi Kurd: Karabakh conflict". Ekurd Daily. 4 April 2016. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
    2. ^ Roth, Andrew (15 December 2020). "Two men beheaded in videos from Nagorno-Karabakh war identified". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
    3. ^ "Fans decapitate soccer referee after he stabs, kills player:police". New York Daily News. 6 July 2013. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
    4. ^ "Brazil referee decapitated after stabbing player". BBC News. 7 July 2013. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
    5. ^ "Brazilian Referee Beheaded by Fans for Killing Player". International Business Times. 6 July 2013. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
    6. ^ "Brazilian Soccer Fans Decapitate Ref After He Stabs, Kills Player". Deadspin. 6 July 2013. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
    7. ^ From Shasta Darlington; Catherine E. Shoichet. "Former Brazilian footballer's head left on doorstep". CNN. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
    8. ^ Blatchford, Christie. "Luka Rocco Magnotta video proves the web is a place for good, and for gore | Full Comment". National Post. Archived from the original on 31 May 2012. Retrieved 1 March 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
    9. ^ "Head found in Montreal park belongs to Jun Lin: police". CTVNews. 4 July 2012. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
    10. ^ "Northern B.C. homicide witnesses silenced by gang fears". Retrieved 11 October 2013.
    11. ^ O'Brien, Abby (16 May 2024). "Toronto man killed his mother and decapitated her — but it wasn't murder, lawyers argue". CTV News. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
    12. ^ Yékoua, Bertrand. "RCA : Monsieur Didier Wangay, ex-maire par intérim de Bambari a été exécuté avec sa famille par les miliciens Anti-Balaka faction Touadera". corbeaunews-centrafrique.org. Corbeau News Centrafrique. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
    13. ^ CorbeauNews, CorbeauNews. "Enquête exclusive : La décapitation de Josué Béfio, un règlement de comptes orchestré par Touadéra". corbeaunews-centrafrique.org. Corbeau News Centrafrique. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
    14. ^ Klaić, Vjekoslav (1988). Povijest Hrvata IV. Matica hrvatska. pp. 344–345.
    15. ^ Klaić, Vjekoslav (1988). Povijest Hrvata V. Matica hrvatska. pp. 148–149.
    16. ^ "Døde" [Deceased]. Kirkebog [Parish Register]. 1750–1788 (in Danish). Løgsted Sogn [dk]. 1752.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
    17. ^ "Kim Wall: What we know about Danish submarine death". BBC News. 14 August 2017. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
    18. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp "Confirmed executions at Tower Hill". Retrieved 29 March 2011.
    19. ^ "Thomas Mowbray". Archived from the original on 22 March 2012. Retrieved 30 March 2011.
    20. ^ "The Martyrdom of Archbishop Richard Scrope". The Catholic University of America. Retrieved 29 March 2011.
    21. ^ Thomas Pennant Wybunbury to Darlaston Excerpt From Chester to London (1780), at visionofbritain.org.uk
    22. ^ Gairdner, James. "Richard III" . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 48. pp. 158–164. see page 159
    23. ^ Harrison, William Jerome. "Hungerford, Walter (1503-1540)" . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 28. pp. 259–261.
    24. ^ a b Lee, Sidney. "Fane, Ralph" . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 18. p. 179.
    25. ^ "Foxe's Book of Martyrs". Archived from the original on 16 May 2011. Retrieved 29 March 2011.
    26. ^ "Danvers, Sir Charles (c.1568–1601), soldier and conspirator". Oxford DNB. Retrieved 29 March 2011.
    27. ^ History of Plymouth: From the Earliest Period to the Present Time. p. 100.
    28. ^ "Gregory Clement, Regicide, 1594–1660". Retrieved 12 June 2013.
    29. ^ Oberg, Michael Leroy (2010), The Head in Edward Nugent's Hand: Roanoke's Forgotten Indians (Series: Early American Studies), University of Pennsylvania Press
    30. ^ "Munck, släkt - Svenskt Biografiskt Lexikon". sok.riksarkivet.se. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
    31. ^ Ramsay, Jully (1909). "285 (Frälsesläkter i Finland intill stora ofreden)". runeberg.org (in Swedish). Retrieved 27 April 2024.
    32. ^ "Genos 68(1997), s. 55-69, 94-95 (Henkirikoksista kuolemaan tuomittujen kohtaloita vuosina 1824-1825 Suomessa)". 27 December 2010. Archived from the original on 27 December 2010. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
    33. ^ Willsher, Kim (17 October 2020). "Teacher decapitated in Paris named as Samuel Paty, 47". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
    34. ^ von Lüpke, Marc (9 December 2013). "Scharfrichter Johann Reichhart: Henker im Dienst der Nazis" [Executioner Johann Reichhart: executioner in the service of the Nazi Regime. Nazis]. SPIEGEL ONLINE (in German). Hamburg. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
    35. ^ Life for head-on-beach murderers BBC NEWS, 6 March 2009
    36. ^ "Driver used rope to kill himself". 7 August 2008. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
    37. ^ Szombati, Kristóf (7 September 2012). "What does the Safarov case tell us about Hungary today?". Heinrich Böll Stiftung. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
    38. ^ Barry, Ellen (9 September 2012). "A Hero's Welcome for a Convicted Killer Reignites Tensions". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
    39. ^ Deréktól hiányzik Kádár János – többen őrzik a sírkertet Archived 6 May 2007 at the Wayback Machine Lánchíd Rádió, cs, 3 May 2007 17:40
    40. ^ Putri, Risa Herdahita. "Perang Saudara Berebut Singgasana Majapahit". historia.id. Historia. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
    41. ^ Amanda, Putri. "Kisah Demang Lehman, Panglima Perang Banjar yang Dikubur Tanpa Kepala karena Dipenggal Belanda". nasional.okezone.com. Okezone. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
    42. ^ Setton, Kenneth Meyer (1984). The Pacy and the Levant. American Philosophical Society. ISBN 9780871691620. Retrieved 16 August 2010.
    43. ^ Theophilus and Muslim sources apud Hoyland, 660-1
    44. ^ "تسجيل يظهر إعدام تنظيم الدولة 21 قبطيا مصريا بليبيا". Aljazeera.net. 15 February 2015. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
    45. ^ Eliott C. McLaughlin (20 April 2015). "ISIS executes more Christians in Libya, video shows". CNN. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
    46. ^ "Why Bernard Then was beheaded". Asiaone. Archived from the original on 23 November 2015. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
    47. ^ "No. 1463". The London Gazette. 24 November 1679. p. 1.
    48. ^ Ređep, Jelka (1991). "The Legend of Kosovo". Oral Tradition. 6 (2–3). Columbia, Missouri: Center for Studies in Oral Tradition. ISSN 1542-4308.
    49. ^ a b c d e f g "Campana de Huesca, La". 20 August 2009. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
    50. ^ a b c d e f g La Campana de Huesca, La
    51. ^ "Lanuza, Juan de". 20 December 2006. Archived from the original on 20 July 2015. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
    52. ^ "El asesinato y decapitación de un vecino de Ejea se queda definitivamente impune". 6 November 2011. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
    53. ^ "Grandmother beheaded in Tenerife supermarket was defenceless in 'abhorrent attack'". Independent.co.uk. 19 February 2015. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
    54. ^ De Queyroz, Fernão (1930). The Temporal and Spiritual Conquest of Ceylon (in Portuguese). Vol. II. Translated by Perera, S.G. A.C. Richards. p. 810. ISBN 978-81-206-0766-8.
    55. ^ Dr. Abdullah Mohammad Sindi. "The Direct Instruments of Western Control over the Arabs: The Shining Example of the House of Saud". Social sciences and humanities. Retrieved 4 June 2012.
    56. ^ Hicks v. State, 11 N.E.2d 171 (Ind. 1937), via courtlistener.com
    57. ^ "Pain & Gain True Story vs. Movie - Real Daniel Lugo, Paul Doyle". HistoryvsHollywood.com.
    58. ^ "Killer decapitates Va. Tech student, police say". CNN. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
    59. ^ "Yusuf Ibrahim, Of Jersey City, Indicted In 2013 Beheadings". Retrieved 20 December 2014.
    60. ^ Morrison, Heather (18 October 2021). "After 16-year-old was beheaded, independent review into police handling was blocked". masslive. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
    61. ^ "Tentative preliminary hearing date set for Osuna in grisly killing of cellmate". KGET. 15 February 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
    62. ^ "NYC woman decapitated by estranged husband, who also slit 5-year-old daughter's throat and hanged himself – on day she planned to file for order of protection". New York Daily News. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
    63. ^ "Temperance woman's head found in backyard, body in living room". Retrieved 7 March 2020.
    64. ^ "Man charged with beheading woman in Minneapolis suburb". AP NEWS. 30 July 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
    65. ^ Palmer, Emily (28 July 2023). "Jury Says Woman Who Dismembered Lover After BDSM-Gone-Wrong Is Not Mentally Ill". People. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
    66. ^ Howland, Lena (30 January 2024). "Victim's family angry with sentence of Bay Area man who beheaded ex-girlfriend with samurai sword". ABC7 News. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
    67. ^ 1 Samuel 31:3–6
    68. ^ Acts of the Apostles: Commentary
    69. ^ The Apostle Saul (Paul) at BiblePath.com
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