Step back into the dangerous world of early colonial America as we explore the chilling true story of John Billington, the Mayflower passenger who became America’s first convicted murderer. In this historical true crime documentary, we uncover the shocking murder of John Newcomen in Plymouth Colony in 1630 and examine how a man who signed the Mayflower Compact ultimately faced execution for willful murder. Click here for a 19-minute video posted on June 24, 2026 by @Crime Files 800.

This forgotten historical murder case takes viewers deep into the struggles of Plymouth Colony, the lives of the Pilgrims, and the fragile justice system of 17th-century New England.

Through surviving records, including the writings of Governor William Bradford (above, center, left with images of Mayflower passengers Myles Standish and William Brewster) which survive in which Bradford described Billington in unflattering terms, declaring that he would, in Bradford’s words, live and die a knave (a dishonest, deceitful, or unprincipled man). Billington became engaged in a bitter quarrel with a fellow colonist, a young man named John Newcomen. Though the events leading to the fatal shooting are unclear, it was clear that Billington was at fault.

Standish (above, left) was one of the officials at the time who presided over the trial. The accounts of the first murder trial in English America are sparse, but the legacy of one of the most controversial passengers aboard the Mayflower will always be remembered.