) Eternity, Febru-
dly signed a con-
a bomb in_ his
before the plane
ontends that the
r duress. Accord-
vort, Graham was
faculties on the
on the day that
Jefense attorneys
sion is the only
m to the crime
lowed to be en-
il, Graham could
‘al punishment.
‘rson cannot be
there is either a
witness,
1 with the brutal
in Pklos Verdes
Over, February
mmitted to the
sital for 90 days
Hedlund had a
atw'e maladjust-
robbery
for the
ifessed
in two
« shocked
court acted on
ists who agreed
sexual psycho-
oer study.
2 runaway ro- «
nd ended in a
ith of Chicago
ipade, January
0 a brief jail
, 25, who was
res of breaking
“yas conducted
DIV WIN gy
. disappeared on her way home from school
sab t our W El » Sas GQ iil) ( req ) He ide . he 4
Nae!
es
en
Two more men have been arrested in
the slaying of Lulubel Rossman, wealthy
Philadelphia widow who was slain in her
Philadelphia hotel room (Nine Wigs and
a Potful of Dough, October INSIDE, 1955).
Gus De Moss, 48, a radio dispatcher for
the Tulsa, Okla., police department and
Robert Thomas, 46, of Miami, Fla., a for-
mer Tulsa policeman, were both named
in a surprise grand jury indictment on
charges of interstate transportation of
many weeks later in Syracuse, N.Y., and, stolen money. The indictment also named
readily confessed to the murder. The signed Frank J. Ellsworth and Raymond P. Wilson, :
already in custody on charges of strangling
Mrs. Rossman. Both Ellsworth and Wilson
were arrested in a Las Vegas gambling
casino while trying to cash $87,000 in $100 |
bills in their possession. —_—
Arthur Ross Brown, who admitted to
police that he shot. and killed Mrs. Wilma
Allen, the pretty 34-year-old wife of a
wealthy Kansas City, Mo., automobile
dealer (So Rich, So Lovely, So Dead, Feb-
ruary INSIDE, 1956), entered a plea of
guilty to a federal kidnaping. charge. A
jury found him guilty and he was given
women who deliberated a full week before the death penalty. Brown told how he
arriving at a decision. Abbott, who had | forced his way into Mrs. Allen’s car at gun-
pleaded not guilty and had vigorously point as she prepared to-drive away from a
repudiated the charges, entered the court parking lot in a shopping district. Her nude
room with a smile. His face turned to a body was found three days later on the
chalky white when the jury foreman an- Kansas side of the Missouri-Kansas line.
‘nounced the result, Abbott’s mother fainted Brown said that robbery had been his
and his wife, who had stuck by him motive and that he decided to shoot her
throughout the trial, glared: at the jury because he was afraid she would identify
without giving way to emotion. Stephanie him in the robbery, but later buried all the
Bryan, a shy, serious, dark-haired girl, jewelry he’d stolen because he was afraid
they would identify him as the killer, The
trial for the federal kidnaping charge was
heard by a jury impaneled outside the area
where the crime took place. Brown will
die in the lethal gas chamber at the Mis-
first-degree murder in court.
Burton W. Abbott, tried for the murder
of 14-year-old Stephanie Bryan in Berkeley,
Cal. (The Finding of Stephanie Bryan,
October 1nsIDE, 1955), has been found
guilty and sentenced to die in the gas
chamber by a jury of seven men and five
~
and after a large scale search, was dis-
covered in a grave in Trinity County,
scarcely 100 yards from Abbott’s summer
cabin. Previously, her handbag had been
discovered in Abbott’s basement. Abbott, souri State Prison at Jefferson City.
a 27-year-old accounting student at the
University of California, contended that
tuberculosis had left him’ physically in-
capable of committing the. crime.
Be. .
_ OR call AD-VISER SERVICE in Al
PQ cities listed on page 93, to order /
: or for complete information@
JUMP IN
THE LAKES
(8.676 OF THEM)
OF WONDERFUL
the sun! Vacation this year
the summertime ayerage is
nexcelled accommodations —
s dairyland food. Inexpensive
— and] there’s no sales tax!
ne
uF
J
Bucky, the lucky Badger, invites you
to write for free information,
ONSIN CONSERVATION DEPT.
Office Bidg., Room 22. '
dison 3, Wisconsin ,
' send me complete Wisconsin vaca-
on kit including book in color, map, fish-
ati and itional
information. °
. a blissful haven’
15
3 msec
<a
<_
|) (SS
JWSID
60
CONFESSED-KILLER.
Arthur Ross Brown shows
no emotion minutes after
a Kansas City, Mo., jury
found him guilty of mur-
dering Mrs. Wilma Allen,
beautiful wife of a wealthy
auto dealer. Brown, sought
for months, glumly .con-
fessed to kidnaping, rap-
ing and then killing the
woman last August. He
received extreme penalty:
Death in the electric chair.
AFTER SEVEN DAYS of
deliberation, an Oakland,
Cal., jury “sentenced Bur-
ton W. Abbott, 27-year-
old accounting student, to
-die in the gas chamber.
He was convicted of mur-
dering Stephanie Bryan,
14. The girl disappeared
in April, 1955, on her
way home from school.
Her body was found in a
grave near the mountain
cabin which Abbott used..
matter, but he would shoot Mickey
Strange to shreds with fiendish delight.
As he saw it, Mickey had spat at deity
when he spat at Owney Madden.
Mickey and I went right to work that
morning to get the whisky back to
Madden. Toddo Martine and _ three
other Harlem hoods had brought the
stuff to the drop, a garage on 129th
Street off Amsterdam Avenue. They
were supposed to change the license-
plates on the trucks. But they decided
that people like Madden didn’t “yell
copper,” so there would be no law
around frisking the. garages. Toddo de-
tailed one man to hang around and see
that the trucks were not broken into or
hijacked. Mickey and I picked up a
couple of pistols and went to Toddo’s
apartment on West 124th Street.
Hit with the story cold turkey, Toddo
bristled with suspicion. “What are you
guys trying to pull, a double-bank?” he
demanded.
I told him that he could go with me
to The Cotton Club, sit with me during
my talk with Madden and decide for
himself if everything was on the level.
He couldn't believe that Madden’s
men could have discovered us at work
and allowed us to complete the hijack-
ing operation merely to avoid trouble
at the plant. “You know,” he said, “if
I was working for you and something
like that happened, no one would have
got out of the joint alive.”
I nodded my head in agreement and
said, “Yeah, Toddo, that’s why you've
got nothing and Madden heads up a
combination like that.”
A sour note
We left on a sour note. Mickey was
sure that none of Toddo’s boys. would
go along with his kick-back idea. They
were home sleeping now, Toddo said,
and he’d see them that evening and give
me a call at the speak’ where I was
taking my calls at the time. I decided
that something drastic would have to
be done before these clowns got to-
gether. Mickey and I were marked men
now, and we wouldn’t be safe anywhere
if that whisky got out of our control.
I didn’t know where to reach Madden
in the daytime, but I had Jerry Sul-
livan’s home address in Brooklyn.
Checking the phone book, I found that
his number was unlisted. Mickey
wanted to grab some sleep, but I made
him stick with me, reminding him that
this was his hide as well as mine. He
shrugged his shoulders.
I got Sullivan out of bed and told him
that Toddo and his boys probably didn’t
intend to give up the stuff. He blew his
stack and made two or three calls with-
out comment. Dressing swiftly, he
came out to the car with us and had us
drive him to the warehouse. Picking up
four of. the Madden boys there, he
equipped them with a couple of high
powered rifles, a sawed-off shotgun and
a tommygun. I got a box of slugs for
the .38 revolvers Mickey and I carried.
We had to sit around a few minutes
waiting for Jerry to get in touch with
Madden. He told Madden that Mickey
and I were sure we could do nothing
with. Toddo and his. boys to get
the stuff back.
to pull the truc]
out of the drop
would cover us
Even this wa
He insisted th
men into the «
we weren't am!
He figured that
to pull a fast
sible, there w
Owney orderec
promised, that
visited by And
of mobsters to <
better hold sti
matter.
Between two
Jerry and h
Packard. Mic
car and we |
speeds which
come attentior
this deal, but
two fires. W
one presentir
thought we co
selyes, but w:
Madden wou!
- Traffic was
noon we pull
and swung int
directly into
frantic wavin
right over to
trucks were p
Tommy M
boys, was sle
truck. We p)
lieved him o
in a holster.
the wheel wi
alongside.
I wanted
other truck,
Mickey take
him to asst
Madden’s m
jumped in \
member of b
. ple feared to
employees ra
began yellin;
going on.
It looked
to be uneve
cop and a se)
cry and took
Sullivan, hi:
I had revol
loaded shotg
Nicky, t
celerator do
leaped into
car making
pull us over
zag race thi
avenues, Wi
fire in an e
I wanted
But Jerry p
that we c
squared wi
long as no «
Nicky c
ought to be
a corner, <
through th
missed Nic
id)
tad Erhart backed out and turned
nd and sped to the home of Tony
doza-who farmed the land. He.
d the police from there.
1@ army of searchers had concen-
‘d its efforts on the Blue River area
they were still at work dragging
‘iver when word was received that
ly had been found. Sheriff Williams
Major Pond and dozens of other
rs raced to the scene.
1e body already. was in a state of
mposition. It was a woman and she ,
on her back with her hands ap- |
atly tied behind her. Her head was_
y crushed. At first the police
ght it must be from sledge-like
3; later they were to find that the
lation was caused by two bullets
ng out the top of her skull.
‘+hough officers had seen many pic- .
of Wilma Allen, they could not
ify what they saw in the field as
voman they sought. A relative by
iage was brought from a near-by
and even he could not be certain.
che saw the long scar on the thigh.
uid he thought Mrs. Allen had such
w. _ A telephone call to the Allen
: verified it. The search for the
of Wilma Allen was ended.
ief Brannon arrived at the scene
he was followed by Haupt and
ze and others of the Detective
au. They found that Mrs. Allen’s
s were tied behind her back with
1ead scarf she had worn when she
he béauty shop. : ;
other painstaking search began. .
by inch, about 25 police officers
over the field. All that was. found
a small plastic clip, about 20 feet
the body, which apparently had
used as.a tie for the head scarf.
ield revealed nothing more.
e Allen family was grief-stricken
1e news. Three days later the ter-
mutilated remains of what once
been a charming and’ attractive
an and mother were laid to rest in
len plot at near-by Independence:
¢ from her lips would the world
P the horrible last few hours of
e i
no time in the police investigation -
1ope any lower than at this point.
ing in the crime fitted the known
ods of operation. Haupt and
‘e discussed this as they left Head-
ers the morning of Mrs. Aljen’s -
‘al to follow up the leads that were’
ng in from the citizens, - :
hey say the body is too badly de-
osed to tell. definitely if it’s a
ls case,” Breece said as he slid un-
he wheel of the police car’ *':
JPT got in and slammed the door.
fe sat there glumly as Breece put
ar in gear and pulled away. Morals
ders don’t usually use a gun, he
tht. They go for the knife or any-
heavy that comes to their hands.
how else explain it? -Abduct a
in and hold her captive for several
+ and then kill her, all for $25?
didn’t make sense.
¢ did other facts make sense.
ng that car back into the city and
ng it as far north as the Union
2m was the work of either a man
vas tempting fate or one who had
thing in mind’ that no one had
-d as yet. What if he intended to
her for ransom and when she be-
hysterical he had to kill her and
= him off from making any ‘~
nas? oo Y
told this theory to Breece.
er @ moment Breece asked, “If he
that frightened, would he have
a the car back through the city?”
‘obably not,” Haupt said. a
sece pulled up to a red traffic light,
t stared down the steep street be-
im. Blocks and blocks of rooftops.
e was the killer? Somewhere in
ty? He remembered that he’d had —
ume thoughts when he’d wondered
2 the body of Wilma Allen was.
e had she been? In the weed-
1 lot? Behind the warehouse? In
of those. Now where was her
? Out there among those half mil-
eople? In a rooming house? ‘In a :.
al home? In a hotel? Working at -
ib today? Where was he and how
asp the right idea, the right mo- ©
«
— the clue that would point the
way :
If this were not a morals crime then
why was the woman disrobed? Why,
too, were the clothes not discarded near
her body instead of put back in the
. automobile? Where did her killing
occur? No bullets had been found in
the field. ; ;
Breece pulled up at‘a large frame
house on the South Side. He and Haupt
got out and climbed the half dozen
steps to the front door. A woman |
‘ ahswered their knock; the officers iden-
tified themselves, ,
“Are you the one who has something
to tell the police about her husband?”
Haupt asked.
“Yes.” The woman was small and
slim and ‘her dark eyes flashed. “He's
ot scratches on his face. And he
wasn’t at home the night that woman
%
in from ordinary citizens, Soon the
fund was up to $10,000, which would be
given to anyone supplying information
which would lead to the arrest of the
killer. More information poured into
Police Headquarters. Tips were- aver-
aging 100 a day. Each was taken down
and studied by one of the executives
and those that were not palpable fakes
were mimeographed and distributed to
the details.
The work was mountainous. Some-
times it was amusing but not very often.
Neighbor informed on neighbor ‘to
settle old grudges. The woman whom
Haupt and Breece had interrogated
early in the search was only the first
of many wives who accused their hus-
bands of the Allen killing. But each
lead was investigated cautiously. No
person, no matter on what charge he
was picked up, was turned loose with-
Had to Have a Baby’”.
chains almost constantly.
_ & $3.00 Can of Worms”, .
f
Up to the Minute =
T¥O different courts, in two widely separated cities, have come up
~ § with strikingly dissimilar verdicts on the insanity question.
In San Francisco, Betty Jean Benedicto listened carefully while
her’ mental condition was discussed, answered questions without
hesitation and showed only a slight twitch of her hands to betray
her nervousness. A judge ruled that she is insane and incapable of
understanding the actions contemplated against her.
As a result, blond, frowsy Betty Jean was sent to a state hospi-
tal, to be kept there until she is cured. Then, and only then, may
the state of California prosecute her for the kidnaping of three-day-
old Robert Marcus from a San Francisco hospital, or go into the
question of whether she was sane at the time of the kidnaping.
Betty Jean was captured, and the Marcus baby returned, fol-
lowing an all-out, intensive investigation into the kidnaping. ‘The
story of that investigation appeared in the December, 1955, issue of
OFFICIAL DETECTIVE STORIES Magazine, under the title, “‘I ~
‘In Chicago, however, once swaggering Robert Carpenter refused
to cooperate with the jury hearing his case. During the lengthy ~
trial he talked incoherently, even to his relatives or his counsel. He
- did not change his clothes; deputies finally had to use force to wash_-
and shave him. He went on a hunger strike and he had to be kept in °
- — The jury ruled that Carpenter was sane and sentenced him to.
death for the murder of Chicago policeman William: Murphy in a
=, oo. acer, ~~ an bys of a: tenn as
> tion. It was en’ » “‘Take Him—But Take Him Alive,’” when it re]: @their eyes open for a light-sk:
appeared in the November, 1955, OFFICIAL. : . er hy: "ihe oe ey yer
A sixteen-year-old boy was sentenced to live out his life span. ~~ *
behind bars in Michigan when Philip W. Colwell received a lifeterm ya
’ for clubbing to death elderly David Keckler and robbing him of a.
‘ paltry three dollars in Kalamazoo, Michigan..
*“s parole or pardon boards ever should free Colwell, the sentencing Ri
ee" Solis has ordered that he be given “every educational opportunity”’?~—~ ">
OFFICIAL DETECTIVE STORIES Magazine.in its November, ~-!
1955, issue, carried the story of the search for Keckler’s killer, “For. ‘/
Because OFFICIAL DETECTIVE STORIES Magazine is inter- -
"ested only in the detective work done in an actual investigation, and
not the long-drawn-out legal maneuverings that sometimes follow,
_ Stories occasionally are published before those legal steps have. been
completed. To bring you up to date on such Cases,
is published on these pages.—The Editor.
wever, in case
this department
was killed—he was out all night. -He’s
always talking about cases like that,
too, when he reads the newspaper
stories about them.”
“Is. he home now?”
. “No, I chased him out. He’s been
running around with other women.”
“Did he say anything about Mrs.
Allen?” - : :
“He's always talking about those sex
things in the paper.” -_ :
“Did he say how he got the
scratches,” . :
wee no mystery. I gave them to.
Haupt looked at Breece and cast his
glance to the sky in a silent appeal for
strength. “Well, you give us his name
and where we can find him and we'll
see that someone talks to him.”
The woman complied. “Aren’t you
going to arrest him now?”
‘“No, Ma’m. We got to find him first.”
The officers returned to ‘their auto-
— and drove away on the next
lead.
This was the start of it. Days were to
‘stretch into weeks, weeks into months
‘and details of police were to continue’
the investigation of each tip. .
A reward was offered. Money came
out being questioned about his: move-
ments on the day of the killing.
The detail which had worked on the
many finger-prints found on the Allen
automobile, finally finished its. job.
Every print had been identified except
two. One was a palm print and the
other only part of a thumb-print.
Neither offered much hope. Few if
any police departments take palm
prints and the partial thumb-print was
not: enough for infallible identification
even of a suspect—the whole print was
needed to be certain. If these were the
prints of the killer, then even here his
phenomenal luck or knowledge of police
methods had saved him. ‘
All persons picked up on any charge
who might even have the barest chance
of being connected with the killing were
made to give palm prints. If police
could find the matching one, this
would be as good as the best iden-
tification. j
Finished with that stage of the
investigation, the finger-print detail
now took on one even more prodigious
—comparing the 2500 prints on file.
against the partial thumb-print which ‘
had been found on the car. Nothing’
conclusive would be learned by this,
/
they knew, but it would eliminate many
men and point to only a few. At this
stage of the investigation the police _
were looking with hope on the most .
meager lead.
Haupt, Breece, McCormick, Robinson
and Cunningham continued the me-
thodical investigation of each lead. By
now they knew the answers to questions
before they were asked. The ‘search
had, spread throughout the nation. A
score of times the Kansas City Police
received word from other cities that a
man was being held who might fit into
the pattern. Each time the palm print
ruled him out.
There was no relaxing of- the in-
vestigation.
What alarmed police most was that
among all the tips and leads furnished, .
few persons actually said that they had
“seen the Allen automobile and its oc-
cupants. - This left the investigators
without a mental image of the killer.
A service-station operator in Kansas, °
. in the vicinity where Mrs. Allen’s body
had been found, came closest to giving
such a description. He said that on the
afternoon of the killing a new blue and
gray Chevrolet had pulled into a side
drive of his gas station. The manager
had been troubled by hot-rodders using
the place as a turn-around in their drag
races and he thought this was one of
them. As he approached to question the
occupant of the car, the man backed
out and sped away. The station operator
said he was light-skinned, with a pen-
cil-line mustache. The Chevrolet, he
said, went about a mile up the road and
turned into a lane leading to a field,
where it stopped. He had noticed that
the car still was there at about sundown.
(EF BRANNON and Major Pond
exhausted every avenue of approach
‘they or their staffs could conceive of.
_ As a last resort they issued an appeal to
anyone who had taken any type of
picture on the day of the killing to ex-
amine the print on the chance it might
have caught the killer and the Allen
automobile in the background. All this |
was to no avail.
Since the report of the filling-station
operator, Haupt and Breece had -kept
with a thin mustache. On the morning
of November 8, more than three months
since the killing, they saw such a man .
being booked for leaving the scene of
an accident.. Haupt approached the
desk sergeant and told him when he .
was finished with the man to bring him
into a private office. , : re
Five minutes later the man’ was
brought before Haupt and Breece.
“What's your name?” Haupt asked.
The man told him. He ran a finger
along his thin mustache as if: to
straighten it. “I just lost my head; I
didn’t think when I hit that car.” ©’
“You a careful driver?” ~ ‘
“Very.” ‘ ne Wak
The man was meticulously neat. :-
“You're kind of careful about every-
- thing, aren't you?” Haupt asked.
The man smiled. “One of those
methodical guys, people say. Arrange
the towels:in the bathroom, take the
creases out of the toothpaste tube.” He
smiled. - .
“We'd like to take your palm print.”
The man was startled. “Is that cus-
tomary? No one was hurt; I just hit.a
Parked car.”
“We still want it.”
The man was silent.
“Could you. remember where you
were three months ago?” a
The man got the idea that the offi--
cers were amusing themselves at his
expense, “If you're trying to frighten
me...
“We're not. We'd like to know where .
you were on August the fourth.” :
The man studied Haupt’s eyes and
decided he was serious. “That’s easy, I.
was living in St. Louis.” .
“Can you prove that?” ve
“Not this minute. You can find out
from my people who still live there.” .
Haupt looked at Breece to determine ~
if he had any questions and his partner _
shook his head. .- . ai rape
“Do us that favor about the palm: .:.
print,” Haupt said. “A man will be in
here in a minute to show you how.”
45
wt
me
Three months later, officers and
accused re-examine the scene
“You didn’t find the purse or any-
thing in the car?” Allen asked, his
spirits rising.’ “Couldn't that mean
maybe she became il] and is in a hos-
at someplace?” He hesitated, trying
think of. explanations for the mys-
tery. ‘‘She’d take the purse with her.”
The words disturbed Haupt and
Breece. They realized that Allen had
not been told of the bloodsoaked cloth--
in the trunk of the automobile,
“A robber would take the purse, Mr. '
, aie. Breece said.
ie
Kelly. “Can you tell them?” »
““I know. she had her blue stra
‘pocketbook. Inside probably would be
her compact. It’s about three inches in
diameter and has a fancy sort of ‘A’
monogram on it.” She thought a mo-
ment. “Then there would be her charge-
account plate, which I think is in a red
holder. She always carried a coin purse
and billfold combination sort of thing, |
her keys .. .”
1
Arthur Brown, in jacket: He fell
asleep with his guns beside him’
Allen interrupted. “They would be on ~
chain with a Greenlease-O’Neill Mo-
r Company tag.” t ‘ :
“She also would have her lipstick,”
Jen’s sister continued.
Pod she wearing stockings?” Haupt
The. second he uttered it he knew
aat it would lead to. . ,
Allen said sharply, “Why, of course.
ouldn’t she?” he asked his sister. :
The woman nodded. eT ladeit
“What is this?” Allen demanded. :
Vhy. would you be interested in that?” .
His voice ,was uncertain as his mind
raced to determine the significance of
what Haupt had said.
“Mr. “Allen, I thought you knew that
most of your wife’s clothes were found P
in the trunk of the automobile,” Haupt
said softly.
Allen looked from Haupt to Breece,
the understanding: of what had been
said slowly reflected in ‘his eyes. He
lowered his head. “She’s being ‘held for
ransom,” he said quietly. “That’s the
answer. I'll get a letter:” .
Haupt spoke to Allen’s sister, He told
ow Oy ST a
er
ng
her that all the clothing had been re-
' covered except the stockings, the purse
and whatever else she might have had
as accessories. ’
“She wore a head scarf,” the woman
said. “And her wedding band and en-
gagement ring.” She described them.
It was light now and the eastern
over the city for a day were breaking up.
Allen had recovered from his first
shock. “There is some chance that she
went to our place on the lake and they
got her there,” he said. °
He'd. stopped a few hours before at
their Summer home on Lake Lotawana
near the-city, Allen said, thinking that
she might have gone out to get some
clothes. They lived out there in the
Summer as much as they did in their
city home.
Haupt and Breece arose and said the
things that always are said so ineffec-
tually on such occasions. | They were
glad when they got into their auto-
mobile and drove away.
The Lieutenant reported to Major
Pond and decided that the next big
step was to canvass the shopping dis-
trict where Mrs. Allen liked to shop,
as soon as the stores opened.’ .
BY THIS time 50 men were working on
the case. if
After a good breakfast; Haupt and
Breece drove to the parking lot.’ Most
of the car owners had returned for their
automobiles and had been questioned.
McCormick and Detective Cunning-
ham, however, still waited for the car
which had been parked on the left side
of the Allen automobile. Half a dozen
policemen were assembled on the lot.
It was now almost twelve hours since
Mrs. Allen had been declared missing.
Almost eight hours since the car had
been found. A premonition of what the
Police faced crossed Haupt’s mind. An
ordinary homicide victim is- not that
hard to find. Where could one hide a
body successfully for almost a day in
the city? Was this possibly'a morals
crime? Was the woman still alive and
imprisoned in some shack? That
wouldn’t make sense. What about the
bloody clothes? The blood on the floor
rug of the car? Not enough blood, doc-
tors said, to prove that the person who
lost it must be dead. But she certainly -
would be gravely hurt. What was wrong
about this case? Why were the alarms
ringing? ;
Haupt shook off the mood and .
stepped out.
“Any luck, Joe?” he asked as he ap-
proached the automobile where Mc-'
Cormick and Cunningham sat,
’ “Lots of guys came for their cars and
- Some of them remembered a car in that
sky . :spot and some didn’t,” McCormick said.
hinted that the clouds which had hung °
“It confuses everything.”
“This is the same car that was parked
here last night, isn’t it?” Haupt asked. ©
MU Ys. Belongs to an engineer for the
Santa Fe by the name of Hardin.
He’s due here any minute.”
Soon the owner approached the car,
staring curiously at the policemen sta-
tioned on the lot. A patrolman stopped
him and after they exchanged a few
words escorted the man over to the car
where the detectives sat. - ;
“I’m George Hardin,” the man said.
- “We have only a couple of questions
to ask,” Haupt said. “Did you see a new,
blue and gray Chevrolet convertible
parked next to your car there when you
pulled in yesterday?” ‘
The man considered the question. “I.
came in shortly after eight last night.
And no such car was there then.”
“You're sure?”
“As sure as I am about anything.”,
The man smiled. “What's this all
about?” : ;
“Just routine,” Haupt said. “You can
go ”
Hardin hesitated for a moment, then
got into his own auto. '
“That's the way it goes. The man
who was parked two places down said
he remembered the car there in the late
afternoon.” McCormick shrugged, :
Haupt was looking toward the rail-
road tracks. “I wonder if the guy could: :
have hit a freight.”
“The Major’s already thought of
that,” McCormick said. “A dozen men
have come through here on their way
be a out all the railroads that enter
e city.”
Haupt smiled. The pressure was in- |
creasing. Reports, he knew, would be
coming in from the many fronts of the
‘investigation. It was like a motor
warming up, sputtering at first, then
smoothing . out, settling down. When - |
‘would it be at full throttle? Never, he
age A body was just not that. hard
find. (oF
“Another. detail is coming in here,”
‘Haupt said. “We've got to hit the stores
(Continued on Page 44) -
: 23
dedicates tacks bast
onsen rae re een a ee
8 Whe SN Seabed
es
Ses
eT ee
nt te nin ati ah let
ask
With that, the officers got up. They
left the building and drove several
blocks away to have lunch, They didn't
bother to exchange ideas on the man
they just had questioned; they had
one through this too many times,
eé man picked up in Chicago last
month. He'd had terribly livid scars
from what appeared to be scratches on
his face. He had admitted being in
Kansas City the day of the killing. He
had on him‘an Army .45-caliber pistol,
_ And those others from Creston, Iowa,
and Pleasanton, Kansas. None had
worked out. No excitement was left in
it any more. Just drudgery and the
knowledge that if the pressure was kept
up at‘all points, something would give.
The next day, on November 9, Haupt
and Breece took their list. of leads and
set out once again. : :
. “Another wife complaint ‘heads the.
list,” Haupt said. “Thirty-Two Hun-
dred block of Jefferson.”
They arrived at the large house and
climbed the seemingly inevitable steps
‘and an. older woman answered their
knock, : :
“Does Jean Brown live here?” Haupt
ed. ‘
“Yes. This way.” She followed the
- officers in and pointed up the stairs.
“The first door on your right. Just
knock;. she’s home.” She_ stopped.
_. “You're the police, aren’t you?”
“Yes, Ma’m.
A worried frown that had appeared
“} on the woman’s face disappeared. “I
“i. thought you might be some friends of
sher husband.” .
Haupt and Breece' wearily climbed
the stairs. A young woman let them in
and at the same time identified herself
as Jean Brown. e,
“You have trouble with your hus-
_-band?” Haupt asked when they were
seated. :
“I'm terribly afraid,” she said. She
got up and went to the door. of an ad-
joining room and closed it. “The baby.
is. still sleeping.” ‘
“You think he may be connected with
the killing of Wilma Allen?” - é
The girl cried, “What?” . °.
Her reaction surprised Haupt and he
“+ looked more closely at the information
he had been given, to see that it had
been put on the list apparently only be-~
cause Pond thought what had happened.
to Mrs. Brown bore a slight.resemblance
to the Allen case. :
were brimming with tears. She blinked
furiously, obviously embarrassed. “I was
coming home last night and he was
parked down there.” She motioned
toward the street. “He forced me into’ had
the car and drove away,"
“Did he threaten you?”
“Not really. I was a little afraid of
him, that's all. I didn’t want to stay in
the car but I did because I didn’t know
what he would do.”
“Did he threaten to beat you?”
The girl clasped her hands until the
knuckles were white. “He had a gun.”
THERE was silence. Haupt’s mind was
racing. The red light was flashing.
This had happened before, In the
hundreds of interrogations he: had -
conducted in the past months, this
thump of his heart, this racing of the
pulse, had happened before. He re-
membered them. The words, the
ideas dropped from the lips of the per-
son he was questioning which ‘said
falsely each time, “This is the avenue.
Down this road is the way to the killer
of Wilma Allen.” It had happened to
him and it had happened to other dis-
heartened cops since this investigation
had started. .
Haupt got up. “Jean,” he said calmly,
“y would like you to talk to Major
Pon ” ‘ A
_ Again the girl was startled..
“Down at. Headquarters,” - ;
Later the girl told her story to Pond
and Captain Don Bishop. They knew
that it was a tardy move but they posted
men at roads leading into Kansas City
’ and alerted the sheriffs of the adjoining
counties. Then they placed the home
where Jean Brown lived under 24-hour
vigil. They wanted to talk to the girl’s
husband. They didn’t say why. Not even *
to themselves. .
The FBI was notified of the develop-
‘ment, As the name of the man, Arthur.
Ross Brown, went through the FBI
network, a curious thing happened. In
San Francisco, California, the FBI
agency shot back word that Brown al-
ready was being sought for the shoot-
ing of Sheriff Willard H. Marshall of
Sheridan, Wyoming. Brown, the FBI
ehad said, was known in California and -
had served a term in San Quentin on
an arson conviction from 1947 to 1952.
He had shot the Sheriff August 31 while
he was being questioned regarding a
burglary. The officer recovered but
. Brown had escaped.
“you can disregard that, Mrs.
Brown; we do that merely as.
. routine,” Haupt said, hoping this
* would relieve the woman of the start he
inadvertently had caused her.
“Oh, you frightened me.” She sat
* down, more composed. “My . landlady
insisted that I notify you about my
husband.” : .
“Are you living with him?”
“We're estranged. But I think things,
will work out.” She paused and seemed :
to be groping for words. “I think it will
work out,”
“Can you give us more details on this
complaint?” Haupt asked.
The young woman turned wide eyes
on the officers and in a moment they
Who Raided the Nuclear Weapons :
about 50 partial prints from the furni- ;
ture and equipment that did not
compare with the prints of the five em- .
ployes who worked in the bank.
None of the prints was those of
Ricotto.
Immediately, agents went to work
comparing the partial prints with |
those of all persons who had access to
the Sandia Base. It would be a terri-
fic job, since none of the partial prints
could be classified.
On Thursday afternoon, a dealer in
““cone of the downtown casinos in Las
Vegas phoned the FBI. Two men were |
Sheriff. Marshall had been in critical
condition for days from a wound in the
abdomen and another in the hip. He
had been shot in a hotel lobby where
he awaited Brown’s return to his room.
Brown was known in Sheridan because
he had relatives living there and he also
had spent much time in the city.
He later was known to have stolen a
car in Omaha, Nebraska, leaving the
city several jumps ahead of the FBI.
G-Men informed Chief of Police Bran-
non that they had established a vigil at
the home of Brown’s mother, Mrs. Mary
Brown, in San Jose.
It was a vague possibility; that was
all. Yet the Kansas City Police had not
allowed even the most vague lead to
dealer said. “But they kept making bets
of as much as five dollars with quarters
and halves. It seemed funny because
we don't pay off in chicken feed. Both
' of them were loaded with it.”
: er questions showed that the
men had gone to a cashier and turned
in almost $100 in quarters and halves
for folding money, claiming that they
had hit the jackpots of slot machines.
“But they didn’t hit any jackpots
. here,” the girl cashier declared. “We
keep track of the jackpots that are hit.
I call them out over the loudspeaker to
encourage the other players and the
.. _ Sambling heavily with silver money. ‘boss uses the information in his adver-
*.\. Agents rushed out. ; Me
“I wouldn’t have noticed ‘them if
they'd stayed with silver dollars,” the
tising.” : :
With the help of local -officers, the
FBI agents picked up the trail of the
remain unsettled. Major Pond sent
word to San Quentin asking if they had
Brown's palm print, the only reliable
identification the City Police
ad,
Before the answer could return, the
quarry was flushed. The break came
from an unexpected source. Brown
apparently suspected that the home of
his mother was watched. He showed -
up in the neighborhood of: an aunt in
San Francisco, The aunt complained to
police that she thought a prowler was
near her home, Actually, it was Brown,
attempting to determine if thé place
was under surveillance. San Francisco
Police, knowing that Brown was sought
by the FBI, told them of the prowler
tip and the Federal men acted on the
Possibility that it might be their man.
They infiltrated the neighborhood and ~
stood watch. _
Tension mounted as the evening
wore on and the house of Brown’s aunt
remained dark and no one approached
it. Midnight came and slipped: by into
Monday, November 14.
TH end came at three o’clock in the
morning, -An FBI man decided to
make a wide sweep of the neighborhood.
He noticed an automobile parked about .
three blocks from Brown’s aunt's
home, a car similar to the one. stolen
dn Omaha; The Federal man sought
out assistance. They came at the car
from three sides,. cautiously. ' Inside .
was a sleeping man.’ In the beam from
a@ Street light, they could make out two.
pistols at his side on the car seat.
It was Brown. ‘
The officers yanked open the ‘door
and the man came awake with the
explosiveness of a travped animal.
Seeing the muzzles of three pistols in
his face, he sat back, defeated. ‘
A twist of fate could have played in
Brown’s favor when he was taken to
Headquarters in San Francisco. The’.
FBI was so intent on their search for
him in connection with his alleged
- shooting of Sheriff Marshall that they
did not question him immediately about
his possible connection with the death
of Wilma Allen, nor did they ask for
his palm print immediately. However,
‘during the early interrogation of Brown
by the FBI, he suddenly said, “Where
I’m really wanted is in Kansas City.”
But the man’s luck had run out in
any case. Major Pond, when he heard
that Brown had been captured, pre-
pared a wire to San Francisco re-
minding the police that he was wanted
in connection with the Wilma Allen
killing. When word was received that
Brown had admitted the slaying, he
canceled the message. Even if Brown
had remained silent he could not have
- escaped, because the palm print even-
tually would have trapped him, Major
Pond claimed later. : |.
Brown was returned to Kansas City,
where he was taken directly from the
airplane to point out the route he sup-
posedly traveled with Mrs. Allen. He
showed police a. spot under a road
culvert where, they said, they found the»
victim’s wrist watch, charge-account
Plate, eyeglasses and one ring. He
v
men in another casino. Every move °
they made for two days was watched.
Agents were on hand when the men
went to bed and when they got up in
the morning for breakfast. The agents
were never outside of “tickling” dis-
tance of the pair at any time.
A careful note was kept of how much
silver the men disposed of. :
Finger-prints were taken from _ar-
ticles the men handled and photographs
— made without their being aware
of it. ‘
These were sent by telephoto service
over closed telephone circuit to Wash-
ington, D.C. : ‘ ‘
The men were registered at.a motel
as Adolph Zudnick and Jefferson Adams
George. FBI files showed that they had
pound. te tne aahae” heen
n @ other poli
Suoted him as saying, —
According to Major Pond, Brow
said that he had shot Mrs, Allen in i
automobile, at a spot near where i
stockings were found. | This plas
abounded in the telltale foxtail weed
Veteran policemen, however,
that this was not likely.:' More bloo
would have been found in the car
at least one of the slugs would ha
been certain to lodge someplace in th
An FBI agent explained that
inals who make grave admission)
later sometimes attempt to }
the details. _ as ES
Later; Brown changed his story,
Major Pond claimed, to say that heh
forced the woman to drive directly.
the field where her body was found
took her money and personal effects an
then shot her there. He did not o
could not explain why he had disrobe
her, Pond said. Police again regretted
that laboratory tests on the body co
not have been conclusive. 4
People who knew Brown recalled the
day: of August 4 when Wilma Allen
killed. They remembered that the m
arrived home late that afternoon after
the killing, and he had a toy boat as.
gift for his. young daughter. He. wai
meticulously clean and had no
or other marks on his clothing.
Weeks after his confession, Brown sat
in his cell reading novels and profess
ing, police say, that he had told the
whole story. Police were contented with
what they had. The matching palm
print on the Allen car and Brown's
knowledge of. where to find the items
missing from Wilma Allen’s purse, were
proof of his connection with the crime,
officials claimed.
OFFICIALS ‘quoted him as saying
that he did not es motive in
mind except. robbery when he waited in
the shopping-district parking lot for
likely victims. He had almost given up
finding such a victim, police claim, and
-had rejected several because they “had
children with them” and finally, just as
‘he was about to leave, Wilma Allen
“came along and he chose her. She was
the mother of two young boys, the wife
of a successful businessman, the center
of the lives of all three.
He could have taken almost as much
money from a few parking meters in
the car lot if he had chosen to smash
them instead of abducting Wilma Allen
for the few dollars she had in her pos-
session, officers said.
A Federal’charge of kidnaping has
been placed against him and Johnson
County, Kansas, authorities placed one
of first-degree murder. Either charge
carries the death penalty.
As this issue of OFFICIAL DETEC-
TIVE STORIES Magazine goes to press,
Brown is being held in the Johnson
County jail awaiting action on either
of those charges. \
The result of that action when it is
final will be published in “Up to the
Minute” in a future issue of OFFICIAL
DETECTIVE STORIES Magazine.
Bank? (Continued from Page 39)
pacer for burglary in Oregon and
aho, P
The agents who had been following
the pair computed that they had cashed
in nearly $500 in silver, of which only a
‘small amount could be accounted for
from their gambling. ‘
Zudnick and George were taken into
custody. A search warrant was obtained
and the motel room in which they
stayed was examined thoroughly. G-
Men turned up about $2000 in currency.
estioned about their activity and
where they had obtained the large
amount of silver money, Zudnick
claimed that they had won it playing
the slot machines.
“I have a system,” he declared. “I
been working on it for years. You get
Disappearance of Wilma Allen
think of anything else to ask so
than
The Strange
p her trail. We
(Continued from Page 23)
fone dovens of police who Converged
lam . scene,
sutomobile- Where is it?” Haupt ask “wh
ome from entered @ crow genera,
with their. Sheriff Williams Pointed {
Allen, Mr, etbook on the counter, It.
straw. “That fits the deseri;
kus prevented them “Let me take it to Headquarter.
sas City. They had we'll ask the Allens.”
appearance reached
és
HE receptionist smiled softly and.
“Mr. Connell!” she
led to a man sitti
corner of the foyer,
an approached them. He intro-
himself J. David Connell,
- Operator of the shop. “I’m Mr. David,”
h about Mrs, Allen,
to a
r she left the ha Haupt said. “]"yj wa)
word of her dis-- the pocketbook carefully. Back at £
em,
Mr. and Mrs Kelly. PonpD and Chief Brannon held a:
Nsion was evident the State line, the Federal Bureay
Investigation could be called into ¢
cr you see any kind of. case, if only for unofficial consultat
of foxtail,” The search concentrated in the a
is side of the where the purse had been found, T
ie other,” gured correc in many ways.
“When did she
kK over the ques
“Shortly after
“Do you suspect that
might have hap)
us find out, Sir,”
you talk to her whil sh
“Oh, yes, I dressed h
Toad and Pat, you
»” Connell said.
Up near one o'clock
McCormick said
€ you will help
replied. “Did
er hair. She has
t. Every Thurs-
id she talk about?”
t know exactly,” i
’t listen when a cus-
me, but Mrs, Allen
to
Y out of his
er the same
le “Rita,” he called ie)
N THE late afte:
Officers wanted,
curist said. She
y small talk,” the mani-
never draw not
now they had bee:
she was going
On the polish
'w hair styles,
Much but was - bee
ID she say where
“No. After we decided
we talked about
which she didn’t
going along with . eid
Haupt interrupted.
sh
ere she planned to go after she left
? - 2
d,““I can’t recall
she Was going to
the kind of material they
Taining when she left?”
“I was thinking about her °
to lend her an um-
ot to bother,”
to anybody else while
Phone call. It was 9
1 to her home,
another call?
id she pay you for
asked Connell.
‘Oh, yes, she alwa;
In fact, I cash
Haupt knew this wi
Allen had driven
‘ons on the lengthy re- 7nGAME on Sa
Port indicated
lor, a farmer,
ts had been sent to
she was here?”
“She made a tele two in Missouri
very short one.” ta Kansas
uld be the cal
HE report on th
pays immedi-
& check for her,”
important. “For -
her twenty-five
: e light was a blue
Allen probably ,
Taylor clambered caref
-More in her p
h of
© patch found, and then back to the barking }
they were unsuccessful, where the Allen car was abandon
Ise they were of Wilma Allen was drawing to a close
i ” The. injection of the Blue River
f Brannon in- into. the investigation brou
. Sheriff “gan the laborious Job of dragging the
Johnson water for miles, :
i nevening, al- Five miles to the southwest on a
id son the narrow lane called Tibbetts Road,
Clifford Erhart and his son, Milton,
stopped fifteen, were driving along in search of
took
nd looked but ‘the tires had been alerted by the police and they
ht. In the darkness he considered their chore twofold.
location and out At a gate buried deep in the hedgerow
the/light against which bordered most of the road, they
stopped
by police just — “What's Tony’s gate doing open?”
im. son idly,
Erhart asked _ his
: id if I should find her . “Maybe the cow wandered in there.”
Erhart. pulled into the lane leading
round specula- from the road and drove about 75 feet
to the ditch until the lane broke from the brush
ad. His heart hit
ip hammer, Caught
inthe’ brome Srass. He turned to the right to
straw follow the contour of the field when a
losely under the “What's that over there?”
in good’ condi- shouted, He Pointed to an obj
peared, Haupt
Ne tt it heavy when -H
Acta hte site es.)
r what the looked lily-white against the rich green
purse, . |
bed back to Erhart followed his: son’s gaze and
tle town of saw the body of a woman about 25 feet
in front of the car
Neither he nor his Son left the car. °
after-
t same
re the
.e man
killer
which
a sus-
100n of
rorized
urning
after
wife,
into a
tnessed
a yard
ife es-
ired in
ich po-
been
ficers
so Was
unding
Sheri-
There
nt rob-
in an
it wife,
earned
Brown
a time
th kid-
ing the
> Cap-
eats to
r fora
Brown
City in
to have
But he
ice and
Brown
» police
3rown’s
Wilma
. There
own the
of her.
ities in
t of the
hat she
a letter
mntained
mnth-old
ywn re-
is sorry
»ved his
od up.”
a hunt
here he
ey were
closing
spect in
ng, No-
was re-
ler was
of San
the FBI
2 stolen.
. At his
he man,
, proved
ynce had
ve taken
Learning that Brown had been cap-
tured in San Francisco, Major Pond
wired officials there, requesting Brown’s
fingerprints for comparison with those
on the Allen car. Meanwhile the FBI
agents were questioning Brown, who
was held on an auto theft charge, and he
confessed the kidnap-slaying of Mrs.
Wilma Allen on August 4th. U. S. Com-
missioner Joseph -Karesh ordered Brown
held on $100,000 bond, pending action
by Kansas City authorities.
In his confession Brown said that he
had seen Wilma Allen, who was a com-
plete stranger to him, getting into her
convertible that rainy Thursday fore-
noon of August 4th. No one else had been
in the vicinity, he said, and with his
.38-caliber revolver he had forced his
way into the car. He had been planning
a robbery of a lone woman and had vis-
ited the shopping center with that single
purpose in view. Up to the moment he
saw Mrs. Allen, all the women he met
on the street had been accompanied by
some other adult or by children. It was
the merest chance that fate picked
Wilma Allen for his victim. He had not
known that the Allen family was well
to do and chosen her for that reason.
Brown forced the pleading housewife
to drive him to a lonely spot south of
Kansas City. Not too familiar with the
Kansas City area, he could not in the
first confession he blurted out locate ex-
actly for officials the place where he had
had her drive him. But he had shot her
in the back of the head twice, he said,
and stripped her body and left it in a
deserted field. He had had to kill her,
he said, for it was his belief that Kansas
City police had his photo on file and she
could have identified him. This was an
error—the police of the city did not at
that time have his photo on file. Two
pistols were found in the car he was
driving when he was captured in San
Francisco, one of them the .38 with
which he said he had killed Wilma Allen.
Other loose ends began to tie into the
case. Brown admitted that the reason he
had shot Sheriff Willard Marshall at
Sheridan, Wyoming, on August 31st, was
that Brown was still carrying the dead
woman’s billfold at that time. He said
that he had chosen to shoot the sheriff
rather than be arrested carrying the
billfold.
On November 15th the FBI announced
that the palm print found on the Allen
car in Kansas City was identical to that
of the captured fugitive in San Fran-
cisco. And the next day, November 16th,
when Brown was taken to Kansas City
under a heavy guard of the FBI, he
pointed out the lonely lane where he said
he had murdered the attractive house-
wife. He showed officers a point 3 miles
away where her personal possessions and
jewelry had been discarded. At first he
had intended to try to sell the rings, he
said, but he changed his mind and hid
them in a drainage tunnel. Her eye-
glasses, a ring, a wrist watch, and a
charge-a-plate were all recovered from
the-exact spot he pointed out to the FBI.
But if some of the details seemed to
fit, others were in contradiction. In San
Francisco Brown had said that Mrs.
Allen was murdered in a lonely spot and
that he had then proceeded to the de-
Suspect picked up 1500 miles from scene of murder, asleep in a stolen automobile
serted field where the body was found.
But in Kansas City he led officers di-
rectly from the city to the Spooners’
Lane- where the corpse was discovered.
Then too Brown had without hesitation
led officials from Kansas City to the
Spooners’ Lane over a somewhat com-
plicated auto route. Could he have re-
membered the route so exactly that he
could follow it after three months’ time?
Or had he visited the scene of the mur-
der long after the crime had been com-
mitted? In connection with this point
officers remembered the finding of the
purse and the testimony of neighboring
residents that the purse had not been in
the ditch before that Saturday.
At least one witness was found, too,
who had seen Brown at about 4 o’clock
on Thursday afternoon, August 4th, the
day of the kidnaping. This could mean
the Allen death car had been parked in
the vacant lot before that time, although
five witnesses stated it had not been’
there until some time after 10:15 that
night. This mystery was deepened by the
fact that Brown seemed to know exactly
the details of the careful manner in
which the Allen car had been parked.
And where were the still-missing items
of Wilma Allen’s—another ring, a com-
pact and a lipstick case, a set of motor
car keys, and a St. Christopher’s medal-
lion? And where were the plastic toys
that were thought to have been in the
car?
Unhesitatingly the police and the FBI
officials set to work to try to unravel the
answers to these minor but puzzling
questions. Often details of a criminal’s
confession will differ slightly from actual
facts, owing to a haziness of memory
after a lapse of time.
Late on November 16th, a federal
charge of kidnaping was filed in the
United States District Court in Kansas
City against Arthur Ross Brown, con-
fessed kidnap-slayer of Wilma Allen.
The maximum punishment for convic-
tion on the charge is death, if recom-
mended by a jury. Brown was held with-
out bond pending the presentation of
evidence before a grand jury.
“Backstop” charges were also filed—
kidnap charges filed in Missouri by Jack-
son County Prosecutor Richard K.
Phelps, and murder charges filed in Kan-
sas by Johnson County Prosecutor James
H. Bradley. Prosecutor Bradley ex-
pressed the belief that the Kansas mur-
der charge presented a better case than
the kidnaping charge filed by the federal
government, since the Allen case seemed
primarily a murder case with the kid-
naping aspect secondary in importance
to the actual slaying. If for some rea-
son Brown would be freed of the fed-
eral charge, the Johnson County charge
59
SE es
reer:
a
aie
eee
William Allen Jr. waited anxious hours
for his wife, finally summoned police
before it could be learned whether the
type was the same as that on Wilma
Allen’s clothing found in the car.
One of the officers mused, “Well, it
may have no connection at all with the
case.”
“Yes. But if it does,” another re-
minded him, “it could help to pinpoint
our search to the middle of the city. As
it is, we’re spread out everywhere,
spread out thin. We’re trying to comb
the city and the countryside as well, for
miles in every direction.”
The freight trains in the Union Station
yards having been checked with no re-
sults, Major Pond and his men veered
to the theory that whoever had parked
the Allen car had walked to some desti-
nation not too far away. A minute check
of the area of the parking lot was in-
stituted. Or could there have been an
accomplice, someone who picked up the
driver of the Allen car and whisked them
miles away? To make the ever-widen-
ing search as thorough as possible, even
though it was the middle of vacation
season, all leaves of homicide officers
were canceled.
The tedious job of fingerprint com-
parison was begun by the police. Found
on the car were an unidentified palm
print and a partial fingerprint. Neither
print was conclusive for identifica-
tion, so a careful check with the more
than 2500 prints on file at the Kansas
City police department was begun. One
by one the prints on file were com-
pared with those on the car. This study
was to go on for. weeks and months,
painstaking and tedious, and finally
56 fruitless.
Late Saturday afternoon another re-
port of a blue-and-white convertible
seen out in the country on Thursday af-
ternoon :was checked. This one, said in-
formants, had had dual exhaust pipes
just as the Allen car did. But a careful
study of the time element involved,
plus the mute testimony of the amount
of gas still left in the Allen car, con-
vinced police that the observed convert-
ible could not’ have been Wilma Allen’s.
Saturday night the first major break
came. Wilma Allen’s blue straw pock-
etbook was found in a country area
near U.S. Highway 69 in Northeast John-
son County, over the state line in Kan-
sas. A farmer, driving his tractor and
hay baler along the highway noticed the
purse just as he was about to turn into
the driveway to his home. “It looked,”
he said, “like it had been thrown from
a car and bounced into the ditch.”
The farmer sent his son to pick up the
purse and he called the sheriff. Shown
the purse, the men in the Allen family
were pretty sure it was that of the miss-
ing woman. And a few minutes later
women of the family positively identi-
fied it as Mrs. Allen’s. The purse was
empty and no amount of search in the
area could uncover the pink coin purse
that had been inside nor any other of
the contents. And with the discovery of
the pocketbook came another baffling de-
tail in the maze of deepening mystery—
residents of the area who had passed
along the highway were sure the purse
had not been there Friday.
But with the finding of the purse the
minute scrutiny of the countryside was
intensified. One of the: three missing
articles had been found. A painstaking
search of the area might reveal the
stockings and scarf. And in turn they
might lead to the discovery of thé miss-
ing woman.
Major Pond, with his own Kansas City
police officials as well as Johnson County
sheriff’s deputies, rushed to the scene.
They were prepared to search all night,
if necessary. The hunt continued long
into the hours of darkness, with no im-
mediate results. The search area was not
made public, so that sightseers would not
destroy any clues or evidence. Rain be-
gan to fall-around 2 o’clock Sunday
morning and the hunt was halted until
daybreak.
About the time the search was called
off for the rain, Colonel D. L. Crowe,
Central Air Defense Force comptroller
at the Grandview Air Base, and Lieu-
tenant Colonel John Hinson, deputy base
commander, consulted Major Pond and
Sheriff Norman F., Williams, of Johnson
County, Kansas, to ask if the air base
personnel might be of help in the hunt.
The law officers accepted the offer, and
at 5 o’clock Sunday about 150 airmen,
accompanied by Colonel Crowe and
Lieutenant Colonel Hinson, piled out of
buses and private cars to join in the
search. The airmen were volunteers,
most of them after having completed
their regular routine of work schedule
at the air base. And in the next six hours
200 searchers covered the ground that
it would have taken days to go over.
without the assistance of the airmen.
Hour by hour the hunt dragged on.
Nothing escaped the scrutiny of the
searching airmen—bits of handkerchiefs,
an abandoned cap of a small boy, pop
bottles, tin cans. But as time wore on it
seemed that nothing was being uncov-
ered that would have any bearing on the
Allen case.
Suddenly one of the airmen, walking
through a field, straightened up. “Hey!”
he shouted. “Look here!”
“Found anything?”
The airman held an object aloft. It
was a woman’s nylon stocking.
The discovery sent a tremor of excite-
ment through the huge searching party.
The flagging hopes of a moment before
were spurred to new heights. Sheriff
Williams and Captain Don Bishop of the
Kansas City police department rushed to
the location. The field where the stock-
ing was found was near the Blue River,
about a half-mile off Highway 69 and
south of where the purse had been
picked up.
Quickly looking over the scene, Sheriff
Williams and Captain Bishop noted that
the path used by cars to reach the lo-
cation where the stocking was found was
covered by foxtail grass. The same kind
of grass that was found on the under-
carriage of the Allen car.
Tire marks of a car, not yet obliterated
by the morning rain, led close to the
river. It seemed that one driver had
gone as near as possible to the river
bank. The officers made a quick but
careful inspection of the ground and
called all the searchers together.
“We'll concentrate our hunt right
here,” the men were told. “Everyone fan
out in a long line. Get about 3 feet away
from the men on each side of you. Then,
with your backs to the river, start walk-
ing across the field.”
The line spread out, forming quickly.
Methodically the human chain began a
foot-by-foot scrutiny of the field. A key
chain charm was picked up, a fingernail
clipper—but neither was on the list of
missing items. The line progressed 30
yards, 40.
“ve found it!” Another airman,
standing about 50 yards from where the
first stocking had been found, held up
the second.
Examining the stockings and ascer-
taining they were mates, Sheriff Wil-
liams and Captain Bishop were reason-
ably sure they might be those of the
missing woman.
There was some doubt, however. The
owner of the field told the officers he
had mowed the field only the day be-
fore, that Saturday, and he had not seen
the stockings at that time. If the stock-
ings had been left in the field less than
24. hours before, they could not belong
to Wilma Allen. They would hardly
have been left there on Saturday, in-
stead of with the other clothes placed
in the car trunk Thursday.
The owner of the field said he worked
five days a week, would be unlikely to
have seen a car there except during the
‘daylight hours of Saturday or Sunday.
People frequently drove into the field to
fish in the river, he said. Sometimes they
asked his permission to do so, some-
times not.
Assuming for the moment the stock-
ings were Wilma Allen’s, the sheriff no-
tified Major Pond of their find. Then he
and Captain
the river fo
men volunte
water, mud
Everyone g:
two stepped
It was an
Sunday mor
where in th
Sunday Sch
ing for chur«
the river ba
hush from t!
day morning
on the river
sibility of a
in the yello.
Presently
shovt. “I've
“What is
rushed close
“T can’t te
I stepped on
ooze to the s
the river so:
low the surf
“Stay ther
he was told.
and start dr:
Minutes sp
rived and dr
Finding of
rchiefs,
oy, pop
‘e on it
uncov-
on the
valking
“Hey!”
loft. It
excite-
z party.
before
Sheriff
> of the
ished to
> stock-
> River,
69 and
d been
Sheriff
ted that
the lo-
ind was
ne kind
under-
iterated
to the
rer had
1e river
ick but
ind and
it right
one fan
set away
u. Then,
rt walk-
quickly.
began a
i, A key
ngernail
e list of
assed 30
airman,
here the
held up
d ascer-
“iff Wil-
reason-
e of the
ver. The
ficers he
day be-
not seen
1e stock-
less than
t belong
{ hardly
‘day, in-
Ss placed
e worked
likely to
uring the
Sunday.
ie field to
imes they
o, some-
ne stock-
neriff no-
Then he
and Captain Bishop prepared to search
the river for a body. Two o” the air-
men volunteered to wade the chest-deep
water, muddied by the recent rains.
Everyone gathered on the bank as the
two stepped into the stream.
It was a moment of tension that quiet
Sunday morning. At that very time else-
where in the vicinity children were in
Sunday School, their parents prepar-
ing for church. But the grim quiet along
the river bank was a different kind of
hush from that of the normal lazy Sun-
day morning. The thoughts of every man
on the river bank were all on the pos-
sibility of a dread discovery, still hidden
in the yellowish muddy water.
Presently one of the waders gave a
shovt. “I’ve found something!”
“What is it?” Everyone on the bank
rushed close.
“T can’t tell,” came the answer. “When
I stepped on it just now, it made bubbles
ooze to the surface. But the rain’s made
the river so muddy I can’t see a thing be-
low the surface.”
“Stay there and don’t lose the spot,”
he was told. “We'll get a boat over here
and start dragging the river bottom.”
Minutes sped by. At 10:15 the boat ar-
rived and dragging of the river bottom
started. The crowd hung close to the
edge of the water as the slow methodical
search began.
Before any definite find was made,
however, the dragging of the river was
suddenly halted. A note arrived from the
radio dispatcher in the office of Sheriff
Williams. It stated that the body of a
woman had been found in a secluded
pasture about a mile and a half south-
east of the spot where the airmen were
making their painstaking search.
At the same time the airmen had been
at work that Sunday morning a farmer
and his teen-age son had left their house
in a station wagon to look for a missing
cow and calf. Driving along the road,
they noticed that the gate to a little-used
pasture was open. Thinking that the cow
and calf might have wandered in, the
two drove inside the gate and headed the
station wagon along a little road referred
to by residents of the: neighborhood as
Spooners’ Lane,
“I guess we’d pulled in about 50 feet
when I stopped the car,” the farmer told
reporters later. “My son glanced over to
the right. He said, ‘What’s that over
there?’”
But the farmer and his son both knew
what it was when they looked over by
the row of trees. It was the body of a
woman. “We didn’t even get out of the
car,” the farmer said. “I backed out and
we drove down the road and called the
sheriff’s office to tell them what we’d
seen.”
Sheriff Williams, Major Pond and
Captain Bishop arrived at the pasture in
moments. The body of the woman, a bru-
nette, was nude. She had been shot twice
in the back of the head and her skull
was crushed. And her hands were tied
behind her back—with a pink head scarf.
After identification of the body as that
of Wilma Allen, medical examination led
to the belief that she had been slain late
Thursday afternoon or early Thursday
evening. From scratches and cuts on her
hands, officers knew that the slain wom-
an had put up a desperate fight.
Some officials were of the belief that
the brutal murder could be attributed to
a sex motive, although an autopsy could
not determine whether she had been
sexually attacked before being shot. The
decomposed condition of the body in
midsummer weather was a handicap to
any complete post mortem examination.
But the absence of any other motive,
with the slim exception of robbery,
seemed to indicate a sex crime. Robbery
a
as a motive could not be ruled out, how-
ever. Still missing was the money that
she had had with her, as well as her dia-
mond wedding and engagement rings.
Police immediately intensified their
search for the killer. Since the kidnap
and murder seemed to involve a cross-
ing of the state line of Missouri into
Kansas, the FBI joined in the manhunt.
Careful scrutiny of the spot where the
body was found seemed to indicate the
murder had not occurred there. Also, the
body was found lying face up, but the
bullet wounds were in the back of the
head. Perhaps Wilma Allen had been
killed in some building, her body taken
to the pasture area where it was found.
Many cars might have parked in that
Spooners’ Lane on the evenings since
Thursday, their occupants totally un-
aware of the gruesome sight down by
the trees.
The car had been parked in the vacant
lot near the Union Station, over 20
miles from the place where the body
was discovered. Most of the victim’s
clothes were in the trunk of the car.
Study revealed that the victim had been
shot with either a .38-caliber or a .45-
caliber weapon. The decomposed condi-
tion of the body made any definite an-
swer impossible.
Two possible clues faded out com-
pletely. Tests of the white towel found
on the viaduct revealed that it seemingly
had no connection with the kidnap-
murder. And the Allen family was un-
able to identify the stockings found by
the searching airman as belonging to
the slain housewife. This changed com-
pletely the possible route of the death
car, which police were trying vainly to
map out.
On Monday afternoon a suspect was
given a lie detector test, one of the first
of many leads which proved worthless.
In the next few days more than 100
telephone calls came in to officials from
persons believing they had information
which could help to solve the mystery.
No call was ignored; no tip uninvesti-
gated. But nothing seemed to draw the
police closer to a solution.
A reward fund which grew to $10,000
was offered by the Kansas City Crime
Commission for any information which
would lead to the arrest and conviction
of the kidnaper-slayer. The state of Kan-
sas offered an additional reward, since it
seemed likely that the murder might
have taken place across the state line in
Kansas.
Officials began an intensive study of
vacant buildings and abandoned barns
and sheds, on the possibility that the
murder might have taken place some
distance from the spot where the body
had been found. An adjunct to such a
theory was the belief, expressed by
many, that the killer had been familiar
with the pasture where the body was
found. Since that little pasture road re-
ferred to as Spooners’ Lane was seldom
used, it was thought the killer must have
known just where he was.
From reports of persons who thought
they had seen the Allen car, it was con-
jectured that the murderer might be a
swarthy, olive-skinned man. It was even
possible that more than one person might
have been involved in the kidnaping and
enema
4
killing. This possibility was considered.
On Wednesday, August 10th, just six
days after her disappearance into that
light misty rain, Mrs. William Allen Jr.
was buried. in Woodlawn cemetery in
Independence, Missouri. As was usual in
such cases, police kept the funeral serv-
ices under strict surveillance, but no
new clue resulted from it.
Because of the lack of specific infor-
mation, every criminal apprehended in
Kansas City became a suspect in the
Allen case, no matter what the charge
against him might be. One man ques-
tioned was particularly hazy in his an-
swers. The indecision of his replies
seemed to indicate that he might be try-
ing to hide something. He knew the
Kansas City area well and, furthermore,
knew the area in which the body had
been found. Interrogating him, the police
noted the confusing and conflicting points
in his statements and became sure his
denials of any connection with the Allen
case were false. But their heightened
hopes soon fell away. The partial prints
on the car proved not to be this man’s,
and the next day two witnesses ques-
tioned separately accounted for the sus-
pect’s whereabouts all that fateful
Thursday, August 4th.
The offer of the $10,000 reward by the
Kansas City Crime Commission was to
terminate at midnight on October 10th.
And by midnight of the 10th the police
officials and officers of the FBI were little
further in their efforts to solve the case
than they had been that Sunday morn-
ing of August 7th, when the body was
found.
Other headlines were crowding the
front pages of the newspapers. But if
the public was forgetting the Allen case,
the family of Wilma Allen had not for-
gotten. And Major Pond, who had led the
investigation, had not forgotten. The un-
solved murder preyed night and day on
his mind. Systematically, time and again,
he went over the known details with his
officers. And slowly, out of all the maze,
a different pattern of the case began to
evolve. Some theories, quite removed
from those first advanced, began to pre-
sent themselves.
It was possible that the crime had not
been a sex crime after all—that is, that
sex had not been the primary motive.
Robbery, perhaps. It was possible, too,
that the criminal was not too familiar
with the Kansas City area, as had been
previously believed. Maybe the body had
been left in Spooners’ Lane by mere
chance. And being little familiar with
the countryside around Kansas City, the
killer might have driven the Allen car
back to the area he knew, back to the
center of the city. That could explain
why he had not abandoned the car out
in the country and: would indicate that
the killer had worked alone.
As a matter of routine Major Pond
kept a check on all criminals appre-
hended throughout the country who
might have been in Kansas City on Au-
gust 4th. Every criminal apprehended in
Kansas City was still an automatic sus-
pect in the Allen-case until ruled out.
Regularly Major Pond called together
the officers connected with the case so
that they might review it. Each of these
meetings was given newspaper publicity.
One such meeting was held the after-
noon of November 9th. And that same
afternoon, a few minutes before the
meeting of the officers ended, the man
who was to confess himself the killer
of Wilma Allen made the move which
finally brought attention to him as a sus-
pect.
Arthur Ross Brown, that afternoon of
November 9th, kidnaped and terrorized
his estranged wife as she was returning
to her Kansas City apartment after
work. Threatening to kill his wife,
Brown forced her with a pistol into a
motor car. The incident was witnessed
by two small children playing in a yard
and the police were alerted.
Three hours later Brown’s wife es-
caped from him and he disappeared in
the car he was driving—a car which po-
lice had reason to believe had been
stolen in Omaha. Immediately officers
began a search for Brown, who also was
wanted for the shooting and wounding
of Sheriff Willard Marshall at Sheri-
dan, Wyoming, on August 31st. There
was, too, the question of the recent rob-
bery in Om@ha and the stolen car.
That night of November 9th, in an
interview with Brown’s distraught wife,
Major Pond and Captain Bishop learned
that she had separated from Brown
during the latter part of July—a time
which was close to the August 4th kid-
naping of Wilma Allen. And during the
three hours Brown held his wife cap-
tive he had alternately made threats to
kill her and had pleaded with her for a
reconciliation.
Further sleuthing revealed that Brown
had been in and out of Kansas City in
August. He was definitely known to have
been in the city on August 2nd. But he
had been able to evade the police and
once again had disappeared.
There were no fingerprints of Brown
available in Kansas City and no police
photos of him. And a motive for Brown’s
having committed the murder of Wilma
Allen seemed completely lacking. There
was no evidence that he had known the
slain woman, or even known of her.
Nevertheless there were similarities in
the behavior of Brown and that of the
unknown murderer.
Mrs. Brown told authorities that she
had received from her husband a letter
postmarked San Francisco. It contained
$40 for the support of their 13-month-old
daughter. In the letter, Mrs. Brown re-
ported, her husband said he was sorry
for what he had done, that he loved his
wife, and that he “was all messed up.”
Police and FBI agents began a hunt
for Brown in San Francisco, where he
was known to have relatives. They were
now confident that the net was closing
and they would soon have the suspect in
custody. And on Monday morning, No-
vember 14th, their long search was re-
warded.
On a complaint that a prowler was
loose in a residential district of San
Francisco, police and agents of the FBI
approached a car believed to be stolen.
In it was a young man, asleep. At his
side were two loaded pistols. The man,
who quietly submitted to arrest, proved
to be Arthur Ross Brown, who once had
boasted that he never would be taken
alive.
Learning tha’
tured in San
wired officials t
fingerprints for
on the Allen
agents were q
was held on an
confessed the
Wilma Allen on
missioner Josep!
held on $100,0(
by Kansas City
In his confess:
had seen Wilma
plete stranger :
convertible tha’
noon of August
in the vicinity.
.38-caliber revc
way into the ca
a robbery of a |
ited the shoppin
purpose in view
saw Mrs. Allen
on the street h:
some other adu!
the merest ch
Wilma Allen fo
known that the
to do and choss«
Brown forced
to drive him t
Kansas City. Ni
Kansas City ar
first confession
actly for official:
had her drive h
in the back of
and stripped he
deserted field. }
he sai& for it w
City police had
could have ider
error—the polic
that time have
pistols were fo
driving when h
Francisco, one
which he said he
Other loose er
case. Brown adn
had shot Sheri
Sheridan, Wyor
that Brown was
woman’s billfol<
that he had chc
rather than be
billfold.
On November
that the palm p
car in Kansas C
of the captured
cisco. And the n¢
when Brown wa
under a heavy
pointed out the |
he had murdere
wife. He showed
away where her
jewelry had bee
had intended to
said, but he cha
them in a drai
glasses, a ring,
charge-a-plate v
the-exact spot he
But if some o:
fit, others were i
Francisco Brow:
Allen was murde
that he had the:
————
52
Unknown to the public at this time,
crime lab and identification experts
were working feverishly on a partial
fingerprint and a palm print found on
Wilma’s convertible. The quality of the
partial was such, however, that unless
they were very lucky, it might be a
long-drawn-out task to secure an iden-
tification from it; it might even be
impossible.
As for the palm print, this would be
valueless except to prove or disprove
whether a suspect had been in or near
the car. As yet, no suspect was in cus-
tody.
It was Saturday night, nearly 48
hours after discovery of Mrs. Allen’s
car, before investigators’ efforts were
rewardc\gy the first solid lead.
“Her handbag has been found,” in-
vestigators were informed by radio.
Across the river in Kansas, near U.S.
Route 69 in northeast Johnson County,
a farmer spotted the blue bag by the
roadside as he was about to drive his
tractor into his yard.
“It looked like it was thrown from a
car and bounced into the ditch,” he told
officers who sped out to talk with him,
when he reported the discovery.
Sheriff deputies swiftly canvassed
residents in the vicinity. All were sure
the purse had not been there on Fri-
day. Within a couple of hours, members
of Mrs. Allen’s family positively iden-
tified the handbag as hers. The pink
change purse was still missing. A care-
ful search of the highway and fields on
both sides of the spot where the bag
was found failed to turn up any sign
of it. The search continued in darkness.
with the aid of floodlights, but to no
avail. At two a.m. on Sunday, it had to
be called off when a heavy rain started
to fall.
Major Pond, on the scene directing
the search, was contacted at this time
by Colonel D. L. Crowe, Central Air
Defense Force comptroller at the
Grandview Air Base, and Lieutenant
Colonel John Hinson, deputy base com-
mander. Consulting with Pond and
Sheriff Norman F. Williams of Johnson
County, the Air Force officers offered
to place at their disposal 150 men from
their base to aid in the search. The
offer was gratefully accepted.
At dawn on Sunday, 150 airmen
joined 200 police searchers and began a
virtual inch-by-inch search of the
countryside near where Mrs. Allen’s
handbag was found. Moving forward in
skirmish lines within arms’ length of
one another, nothing would escape their
attention if it lay in their path. Hour
after hour that Sunday morning, the
line moved forward, but the men found
nothing beyond a welter of discarded
articles—rusty beer cans, old tires, bits
of trash—none of which, it was obvi-
ous, had any bearing on the case.
It was shortly before noon when one
of the airmen suddenly shouted, “Hold
it! I’ve got something!” He held aloft a
woman's nylon stocking.
The search was halted, pending the
arrival at the spot of Sheriff Williams
and Kansas City Police Captain Don
Bishop, who had been advised of the
find by walkie-talkie.
Sheriff Williams studied the area and
said, “We're about half a mile from
Highway 69, and a little more than that
south of the farm where the handbag
was picked up. And we're around a
quarter of a mile from the Blue River.”
He marked the spot carefully on a map
of the region.
Captain Bishop, meanwhile, pointed
out that the lane used by cars to reach
the spot was nearly overgrown with
foxtail grass, like that found clinging to
the underside of Mrs. Allen’s car. Now
they found some car tracks, not yet
completely obliterated by the rain
which had fallen earlier. The tracks led
as close to the river bank as a car could
safely have driven.
A new search plan was quickly
formulated. ‘“We’ll concentrate our
hunt right here,” Sheriff Williams told
the men. “Let’s form a tightened-up
line right here, backs to the river, and
start across this field.”
In the first couple of minutes, as the
line moved forward, two items were
found, a rusted nail clipper and a key-
chain charm. Neither was on the list of
missing articles.
But 35 yards further on, another
shout went up from an airman. “I’ve
found it!” he called, and held uy the
mate to the first nylon stocking found.
Major Pond was notified by radio. In
the meantime, the sheriff and Captain
Bishop made plans to search the river
for a body. Here the river was fairly
shallow, and several volunteers among
the airmen offered to wade into the
muddy waters. Other members of the
search party lined the river bank,
watching tensely as this operation
began.
It quickly became apparent, how-
ever, that if any object lay on the river
bottom, it would only be found by
someone stumbling upon it. “This wa-
ter is so muddy,” one of the airman
called to shore, “I can’t see my hand
three inches under the surface.”
Still, the volunteers in the water
moved forward, trying to sweep the
muddy bottom with their feet as they
advanced. About 20 minutes later one
of the airmen yelled, “I’ve found some-
thing!”
“What is it?”
“T can't tell,” he said. “It’s soft and
slippery, but I can’t see it. Bubbles
come up when I step on it.”
“Don’t move from the spot,” he was
told. ‘‘We’ll have a boat here soon and
begin dragging the bottom.”
The boat, ordered before the river
search began, arrived shortly. Dragging
operations had hardly gotten under-
way, however, before they were called
off. By radio, word had come that a
woman’s body had just been found in
an isolated pasture a scant mile and a
half to the south. It had been found,
near a rutted path known locally as
Spooners’ Lane, by a farmer and his
son searching for a missing cow and
calf.
Sheriff Williams, Major Pond and
Captain Bishop reached the scene al-
most simultaneously. A few feet off the
lane, the nude body of a woman lay
crumpled on the ground. There were
two bullet holes in the back of her
head. Her skull had been battered and
crushed by some heavy object. Her
wrists were bound behind her back by
a pink scarf. Her hands and forearms
were scratched and cut. Her finger-
nails, though recently manicured, were
broken, as if in a struggle against her
assailant.
Within a couple of hours the body
was identified as that of Wilma Allen.
The medical examiner estimated she
had been dead since late Thursday
afternoon or early the same evening.
Due to the hot August weather, de-
composition was aJready far advanced.
This handicapped the surgeons who
performed the autopsy required by law.
The fact that the body was found
nude suggested a sex motive for the
murder, but it could not be immedi-
ately determined whether the victim
had been raped. Wilma Allen’s wedding
ring and her diamond engagement ring
were missing, but their negotiable
value to a thief would be slight. Her
change purse was still missing, but it
was believed to have contained less
than $15.00.
Secking a
clue to the slayer, searchers scoured the field where the nude body of
Mrs. Wilma Allen (r.) was discovered on Sunday, three days after she disappeared
The FBI had officially entered the
case now, since the crossing of a state
line in the kidnap-murder was defi-
nitely established.
Had Wilma Allen been slain where
her body was found? Officials thought
not. The body was lying face up when
found, yet the wounds were in the back
of her head. The bullets retrieved from
the body were badly broken and bat-
tered; it could not be determined accu-
rately whether they were .38 or .45
caliber. ;
In the meantime, the crime lab re-
ported definitely that the bloody white
towel found on the viaduct had no con-
nection with the Allen case.
The murder sent a violent shock
wave through citizens of the Midwest,
and a reward for the apprehension of
the young mother’s slayer was offered
by the Kansas City Crime Commission.
By public contributions, this rapidly
swelled to a total of more than $10,000.
Certainly there. was no lack of dili-
gence or eagerness on the part of hard-
working police in their efforts to bring
the brutal slayer to justice. But from
the outset, this was one of those frus-
trating cases in which clues bearing on
the identity of the killer were almost
completely lacking. Despite the inten-
sive investigation of every lead, every
scrap of information turned up, not a
single witness had been found who ac-
tually had seen Mrs. Allen in the com-
pany of her killer. It was impossible to
determine even what he looked like,
let alone who he was. :
Weeks passed with little progress in
the case, but Major Pond continued to
press his investigation. Again and again
he reviewed the case with his inves-
tigators. Police departments throughout
the country were circularized and
asked to report on any suspects ar-
rested who might have been in Kansas
City around August 4th. All criminals
arrested in Kansas City were auto-
matically grilled, in an effort to estab-
lish any possible connection they might
have had with the crime.
But it was not until November 9th
that the first break came. Even then, its
relation to the murder of Wilma Allen
took a little time to develop.
In a sense, the suspect who emerged
at this time focused police attention on
himself. On the afternoon of November
9th, a man named Arthur Ross Brown
kidnaped and terrorized his estranged
wife as she was returning to her Kan-
sas City apartment after work. At pis-
tol point, threatening to kill her, he
forced her into his car. Two youngsters
playing nearby witnessed the incident,
told their parents, and the police were
notified.
Brown's wife managed to escape
from him about three hours later.
Brown then fled in his car, a vehicle
believed to have been stolen in Omaha.
It was swiftly learned there was a
“Want” on Brown in Sheridan, Wyo-
ming, where he was charged with
shooting and wounding Sheriff Willard |
Marshall on August 31st.
re
ee ee _— rime
eres tsa >
Major Pond and Captain Bishop per-
sonally questioned Brown’s wife after
her escape, and several significant
points emerged from this interview.
Brown had separated from his wife
late in July, not long before the August
4th slaying of Mrs. Allen. His capacity
for violent action was obvious. They
knew for sure he had been in Kansas
City on August 2nd, and reportedly he
had been in and out of the city several
times more in the same month.
There were no mugshots or finger-
prints of Brown in Kansas City police
files. Neither was there any evidence to
connect him with the murder of Mrs.
Allen. Nevertheless, due to a number of
circumstances which police knew but
did not disclose at the time, he was
quickly considered a hot suspect in the
Allen case.
Before his appearance in Kansas City
on November 9th, Brown’s last contact
with his wife was a letter he had
mailed to her from San Francisco,
where he had relatives. He had sent
her $40 toward the support of their in-
fant daughter, avowing his love for
them both, apologizing for his behavior
and declaring that he “was all messed
up.”
The FBI, apprised of these develop-
ments, promptly launched an intensive
search for the fugitive in San Fran-
cisco, and on the morning of Monday,
November 14th, Brown was captured.
He was found asleep in his car, two
In Johnson County, where Mrs. Allen’s
bag was found, Sheriff Williams aided
an intensified search for her abductor
loaded pistols on the seat beside him.
The FBI agents held him on a car-
theft charge, but under close interroga-
tion, Brown finally gave them more
serious charges for his detention. They
had been quizzing him about the slay-
ing of Wilma Allen in Kansas City on
August 4th. At first he denied all
knowledge of the crime. He denied he
had been in Kansas City at any time
during the month of August.
That, the federal agents knew, was a
lie. Witnesses had seen him there on
August 2nd, and there was strong rea-
son to believe he had been there sev-
eral more times in August. They told
him as much.
Without warning, in the midst of a
heated denial that he was lying, Arthur
Ross Brown suddenly stopped talking,
looked pensive for a moment, then
shrugged. “Okay—what the hell—I did
it. I killed her,” he said.
“Will you tell us about it?”
“Sure, why not?” Brown replied.
He was advised then of his con-
stitutional rights and told that he did
not have to say anything, but that any-
thing he said might later be used in
evidence against him.
He agreed to make a statement.
Arthur Brown then told his story to
several FBI men and witnesses. A sten-
ographer took down his statement. He
began by saying that on that morning
of August 4th, he went out looking for
a lone woman to rob. He spotted Wilma
Allen getting into her blue-and-white
Chevrclet convertible, parked in the
Kansas City business district.
“It was a perfect setup,” Brown said.
“It was raining like hell and there was
nobody around.”
He said he had darted into the car
right behind her and threatened her
with his .38 revolver. “I didn’t know
her from Adam,” he continued, “but she
was the first woman I’d seen in an hour
who was alone. All the others had
somebody with them, kids or a guy, or
another woman.”
Mrs. Allen pleaded with him to take
her purse and let her go, he said, but
at gun point, he forced her to drive him
to a lonely area south of the city. He
was not very familiar with Kansas City
and was unable to pinpoint for his lis-
teners the spot where they stopped or
the exact route they had taken.
“Why did you kill her?” a G-man
asked. ‘‘Why didn’t you just take her
money and let her go?”
Now there emerged yet another
ironic coincidence in the chain of cir-
cumstances which had cost Wilma Al-
len her life. Brown said he thought his
mug shot and prints were on file in
Kansas City and that the woman would
be able to identify him. “So I had to
kill her,” he said.
He told the listeners he shot his vic-
tim twice in the back of the head, then
stripped the body and left it in a field.
He said one of the pistols he had with
him when arrested in San Francisco
was the one he had used to kill Mrs.
Allen.
It now developed that Sheriff Mar-
shall had been a victim of circum-
stance, too, when Brown shot him in
Sheridan, Wyoming, on August 3lst.
Brown confessed that he was still car-
rying Mrs. Allen's billfold at the time
and he dared not risk being arrested
with it on his person.
Soon after his arrest in San Fran-
cisco, Brown had been fingerprinted.
The FBI also took his palm prints and
both sets were flown to Kansas City.
The next day, November 15th, the Kan-
sas City FBI office announced that one
of Brown’s palm prints matched that
lifted from Mrs. Allen’s convertible.
Returned to Kansas City the next
day, November 16th, Brown surprised
his captors. Despite his professed un-
familiarity with Kansas City and its
environs, he directed them to the lonely
lane where he said he had killed Mrs.
Allen. He then took them to a spot
three miles distant where he had dis-
carded her jewelry and personal pos-
sessions.
“T was going to keep 'em at first,”
he said, “and try to sell them. But I
changed my mind.”
Mrs. Allen’s eyeglasses, one of her
rings, her wrist watch and charge-a-
plate were recovered at the spot Brown
showed the officers.
In U.S. District Court in Kansas City,
on November 16th, Arthur Ross Brown
was charged with kidnaping under the
“Lindbergh Law.” The maximum pen-
alty for conviction under this federal
statute is death.
But if by some unforeseen quirk of
fate, Brown should manage to be ac-
quitted of the federal charge, steps
were taken to insure he would have to
face additional prosecution before he
could hope to go free. In Missouri,
Jackson County Prosecutor Richard K.
Phelps filed a charge of kidnaping
against Brown. And in Kansas, John-
son County Prosecutor James H. Brad-
ley filed murder charges against Brown.
Bradley had hoped to have first crack
at Brown with his murder charge, but
it was decided to try him first on the
federal kidnaping count. A_ federal
grand jury indicted him on this count
on November 28th.
Testifying before the grand jury that
day were William R. Allen Jr., the vic-
tim’s husband, Major Pond, chief of
Kansas City detectives, Dr. Meigs
Jones, who had been Mrs. Allen’s den-
tist, Herman Davis and Albert Morton,
police crime laboratory technicians,
Kansas City Patrolman Ronald Ehr-
hardt, who had found the victim’s car,
and six FBI agents.
If the veniremen needed anything
more to convince them, they got it
when the final piece of evidence was
presented to them: an exhibit pre-
pared by FBI technicians which showed
that Brown’s palm print and that found
on Mrs. Allen’s convertible were iden-
tical. °
Reporters were given copies of the
indictment, couched in precise, stilted
but all-inclusive legal phraseology. It
read: ‘The grand jury charges that on
or about the fourth day of August, 1955,
the above named defendant, Arthur
Ross Brown, did unlawfully, wilfully
and feloniously transport in interstate
commerce from Kansas City, Jackson
County, Missouri, in the western dis-
trict of Missouri, into the state of Kan-
sas, one Wilma Frances Allen, who had
heretofore been unlawfully seized, con-
fined, inveigled, decoyed, kidnaped,
abducted and carried away for reward
and otherwise and that the said Wilma
Frances Allen was not liberated un-
harmed by the said Arthur Ross Brown,
in violation of Section 1201, Title 18,
United States Code.” ;
Almost immediately after filing of
the indictment, Brown was taken to the
Jackson County Jail, where he was
confined in a triangular-shaped maxi-
mum security cell. This was the same
cell in which another kidnaper, Mrs.
Bonnie Brown Heady, later convicted
and executed with Carl Austin Hall for
the kidnap-murder of little Bobby
Greenlease, had been confined after her
capture in 1953.
As for Brown, he had little to say
about what was happening to him at
‘this juncture. “I can’t stand to be
cooped up again,” he told his jailors.
It was also rumored that he had said
he wanted to plead guilty to the mur-
der of Mrs. Allen and hoped he would
get the death sentence.
Brown, it was now disclosed, had
been under treatment by psychiatrists
after a parole from San Quentin, in
California, where he served a term for
P
t Arthur Brown (c.) in San Francisco
burglary. But before he went into
court to stand trial on January 23rd, the
state took the precaution of having him
examined by three psychiatrists. They ~
declared he was sane.
At his arraignment on December
30th, the confessed kidnap-killer
pleaded guilty. Hence, when he came
to trial, the judge informed the jurors
that they would not be called upon to
decide the defendant’s guilt or inno-
cence. Their task, the judge said, was
to recommend punishment of imprison-
ment or death, after hearing and
weighing the evidence which would be
presented to them.
Brown, still wearing the leather
jacket in which he was captured
months before, was impassive through-
out most of the proceedings which
would decide whether he lived or died.
In a powerful opening statement sum-
marizing the crime which had shocked
the country, U.S. Attorney Edward L.
Scheuffier demanded the death penalty.
This statement also contained the first
intimation given the public that in ad-
dition to kidnaping and murder, Brown
also had raped his victim.
The first day of the trial, after the
jury had been selected, was devoted
for the most part to routine identifica-
tion of evidence accumulated by in-
vestigators. On the second day, the
detailed confession which Brown had
made to the FBI agents, after his ap-
prehension in San Francisco, was read
to the jury.
Brown, slouched in a seat at the
defense table, elbow on an arm of the
chair and chin resting in his hand, lis-
tened to the reading with desultory
interest.
On the third day, most of the morn-
ing was taken up by the reading of
Brown's final statement. FBI agent
Elmer W. Parrish read this from the
witness stand and its details brought
gasps from spectators in the crowded
courtroom. The accused man’s earlier
statements had lacked any admission
that he sexually assaulted Mrs. Allen.
But in this final statement, made on
November 30th to FBI agents Parrish
and W. Harold Skelly. Brown disclosed
details of his assault.
He said he had forced the young
mother, with her hands tied behind her.
into the back seat of her car. First
he tore off her blouse, then he stripped
the rest of the clothing off her. When
this was done, he raped her
It was during the reading of this
baldly shocking statement that Brown's
demeanor changed for the first time
He lowered his head and stared at the
floor.
According to the statement, Brown
shot Mrs. Allen once in the car, holding
his pistol about six inches from the
back of her head. He then dragged her
out of the car and Jeft her body in the
field. Returning to the car, he used the
clothing he had stripped from her to
wipe up as much blood as possible
When this was done he got into his
victim’s automobile, started the enginc
and began to drive away. He had gone
o
uo
Ti
oe]
56
only a short distance, however, when
he changed his mind and stopped. Then
he backed up the car till it was oppo-
site:the spot where he had left the
body, left the engine running as he got
out, and walked to the dead form of
Mrs. Allen. Standing over her, he fired
another shot into her head.
At 8:30 that night, Brown, back in
Kansas City, boarded a bus for St. Jo-
seph. It was noted that he had fled from
Kansas City long before the police were
even notified of Mrs. Allen’s diappear-
ance.
After the luncheon recess, the after-
noon proceedings began with the de-
fense statement to the jury. It was
brief.
Then it was the prosecution’s turn.
U.S. Attorney Scheuffler again deliv-
ered an impassioned address, and again
he demanded the death penalty as the
only just punishment for so heinous a
crime against an innocent, defenseless
victim. Once more, Prosecutor Scheuf-
fler summarized the details of the case,
in brutally frank terms. During this
recital, Brown reacted visibly for the
second time. He flushed deeply and
squirmed.
The jury went out at 2:40 p.m., but
obviously they had been deeply im-
pressed by the prosecution’s case. At
2:55, a mere fifteen minutes after retir-
ing to deliberate, they sent word by the
bailiff that they had agreed upon their
verdict.
They were ready to come back into
court at once, but a delay ensued while
attorneys for both sides were contacted
and notified that their presence was
required in court. :
It was revealed later that the jurors
required only one ballot to reach a
unanimous verdict: Death. Judge
Whitaker ordered the prisoner to stand
before the bar, and then imposed the
sentence. The judge fixed February
24th as the date for Brown’s execution
in the gas chamber at Missouri State
Penitentiary in Jefferson City.
This was the same execution cham-
ber in which Car] Hall and Bonnie
Heady paid with their lives in Decem-
ber, 1954, for the kidnap-murder of
Bobby Greenlease.
As Brown was led out of the court-
room by deputy U.S. marshals, one of
them asked him, ‘‘Was that the verdict
you wanted?”
Brown was silent for a moment, then
shrugged, and finally uttered one word
in reply: “Yeah,”
At one minute after midnight, on the
morning of Friday, February 24, 1956,
Arthur Ross Brown was strapped into
the steel chair in the gas chamber at
the Missouri prison.
At 12:08, the lever was pulled which
dropped the cyanide pellets into the vat
of sulphuric acid under the chair in
which the condemned man sat.
At 12:16, the ‘prison doctor pro-
nounced Arthur Ross Brown dead.
The man whose tragic victim had
been claimed by an ironic set of cir-
cumstances had paid—at least legally
—his debt to society. ooo
Returned to Kansas City, Brown confessed the crime which had shocked the nation
ee
peer Serr lame
by Ellis Tasker
RAPE
ON HIS MIND,
A PISTOL IN
HIS POCKET!
All he needed was
the woman,
and the beautiful
socialite
was handy.
She had the car
and he had
the persuader-
and all three
went off on
a one-way ride
to murder!
10
SV
CZ
T WAS A FEW minutes before noon.
The Chevrolet convertible was parked
on Brookside Plaza, in Kansas City,
Missouri. A man was loitering close
by. His eyes were appraising the auto-
mobile.
A few minutes later a pretty brunette
came out of a beauty shop in the plaza.
She went into two other shops and
then walked over to. the Chevy, slid
into the front seat and was about to
press the starter button when the man
opened the other door and forced his
way into the seat beside her. He had
a gun in his hand.
“Act like nothing is happening,” he
warmed. “Start driving and keep going
until I tell you where to tum.
The panic-stricken woman eased the
car into 63rd Street and drove on to
Wornwall Road. The gunman told her
to make a left. After driving a few
blocks he said, “Turn right.”
He paid for his shocking crime in the gas chamber.
Ph 4
As,
4 v
PRARS ¥
“T’ve got two little boys at home,” the
brunette pleaded. “Take this car and all
the money I have. But please let me go
home to my husband and children.”
The kidnaper coldly told her to turn
south on Route 69 and keep on driving.
The woman did as directed, but tears
streamed down her face as she begged
to be allowed to return to her family.
Just before they reached the town of
Stanley in Johnson County, Kansas,
some 18 miles southeast of Brookside
Plaza where the abduction had taken
place, the man seemed to relent. He
told her he knew how she felt.
“I've got a little girl of my own,” he
said. Then he took out a billfold and
showed her a snapshot.
“She’s very cute,” the captive woman
said, trying to placate the kidnapper.
“It didn’t work. His eyes dwelt on
the full curves of her figure and he
ordered her to keep on Route 69, past
Stanley and out into the farmlands.
Between sobs the abducted brunette
tried to talk the man into taking the car
and her money and letting her” out.
He wasn’t listening. He i el for
an isolated spot. The farmhouses were
too close together along the main high-
way.
Finally, about five miles south -of
Stanley, they came to a dirt road run-
ning west. The kidnaper commanded
the woman to turn in there. She obeyed,
and they went along the rutty road for
some two miles before the man spotted
an open field with a dense thicket in
the background. ‘ ;
“Pull over into that field,” he or-
dered.
The woman trembled as she did
what she was told.
When she stopped she was pulled
from the wheel and forced into the
back of the car. She fought desperately,
The coroner inspects the body at the lonely spot where the murder was committed.
Py
rr
fo OES
Mrs. Wilma Allen mysteriously vanished.
*9961 ‘72 Azenaqeg uo (Tereped) Funosst pezetxfydse ‘eqztym *ssoy umyuqty *NMOUd
i
AE SS oe
IBTET IRE Fn ere we
Atragedy caused by being inthe —
right place at the right time...
The Kansas
— Cty
Socialite
Became A
Target For
- Murder
by PETER MATHEWS
HEN FATE moves human beings around on the
chessboard of life, those moves may Create victory
or defeat, success or failure, disaster or triumph.
They may also end in murder for a hapless person who by seem-
ing chance is placed in the path of destiny at a given place, at a
given time.
So it was in the case of Wilma Allen, a lovely young matron of
Kansas City, Missouri. In this instance, fate disrupted the normal
course of four intiocent lives—Wilma’s, her husband's, and the
lives of their two small sons—by such casual circumstances as a
change of dinner plans, a switch in beauty parlor appointments,
and a brief, midsummer shower.
But all this was not immediately apparent in the alarm and con-
fusion which followed Mrs. Allen’s disappearance. It would be
22
et ee. . adh
Se: Vi
Wilma Allen told her husband by phone that she was going to ,
beauty parlor. She vanished, was found dead three days later
¥
some time before the facts finally became known.
Her drama of life and death began with a telephone call ona
sultry, oppressively hot Thursday morning, August 4, 1955.
“Wilma,” the distressed voice of the caller said, “we can’t make ©
it tonight.”
Mrs. Allen recognized the voice as that of one of their friends, «
who with her husband, had been scheduled to join the Allens ata #
dinner party that evening. Something had come up which forced ©
them to cancel out. E
Just before ringing off, Wilma said, “Maybe we'll go anyway. -
I've got a baby-sitter coming and we might as well take advan-
tage of it.” ‘
She called her husband at the Kansas City motor firm he head-
~~
a x"
a
*
ty des
*
"t ci omaah ocon
ed, and he agreed with her that they might as well go out to
dinner by themselves.
“T think I'll call and see if the beauty parlor can take me today
instead of tomorrow,” she said just before she hung up. *
Wcteoc
“ii
oe
~
ieee re -
tp ON SrA ak
yy f
ste pee Ae
The lovely young matron’s nude body was found in a pasture. She had been raped, beaten and shot in the head
It was classic—and ironic—proof of the old line
Customarily, she went to the beauty shop every Friday. “I'll keep
in touch,” she added. This also was a long-standing habit;
whenever she was out of the house for any length of time, she
always called her husband at frequent intervals to let him know
Where she was.
Busy as he was at his office, William Allen Jr. mentally noted
the absence of any such calls from his wife that Thursday after-
noon. It was not a matter for serious concern, however, until he
arrived home at six o'clock and learned that Wilma had not
returned from her appointment at the hairdresser’s, nor had she
called the house. And when there was still no word from her by
: Seven o'clock, he was genuinely alarmed.
On the chance that something had happened to her car, he
called his office and asked that as many salesmen as were
available be sent out to cruise around town in the hopes of spot-
ting his wife’s automobile. All he could tell them was the name of
the beauty parlor to which she had gone some time between ten
-ASTER DETECTIVE, January, 1975.
rie -~ about time being a precious commodity. A minute
ie or two, either way, could have saved the beauty’s life
and eleven o'clock that morning, and that possibly she had gone
shopping afterwards.
For the next three hours, Allen’s salesmen cruised Kansas City
streets, beginning first with the shopping district and the area
around the beauty salon, and then gradually working slowly out
through residential districts on the way to the Allen home. All the
men were familiar with Mrs. Allen’s car and would have
recognized it at once, if they had seen it. But they did not see it.
Shortly after 10:00 p.m., William Allen’s mounting fears for his
wife's safety made it impossible for him to defer any longer 4
move he had been hoping desperately would not be necessary.
He called his wife's parents in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to ascertain if
for some inexplicable reason, his wife had shown up there.
She had not. They, too, now shared his fear.
Immediately after this; Allen reported his wife’s dis-
appearance to the Kansas City Police, and then to the Missouri
State Highway patrol. Within minutes of his call, an alert to be on
23
Tune
*OCLteTWe87 (TeISONET)
i i i icting Wilma All
Clues found in victim's car were later to prove invaluable in convicting
“Like Taking Candy From A Baby!”
cruising along 21st Street near Union
Station when he spotted a blue-and-
white Chevrolet convertible parked be-
neath the viaduct at Broadway. Quickly
the officer flashed a beam on the license
plates. It was. number 1-585, Wilma
Allen’s car.
Within 15 minutes Chief Pond. Lieu-
tenant Lester Haupt, homicide detail
commander, and Detectives John Cun-
ningham and Joe McCormick were
e scene. .
ee was blood on the floor of the
back part of the car and more splotches
on the outer part of the trunk com-
partment. Detective Cunningham pried
the trunk open.
Inside was a woman’s white blouse.
blue skirt, brown-and-white shoes and
pink underwear. All were bloodstained.
Since the parking area under the
viaduct was not a regular parking spot,
it seemed likely the two other cars
parked nearby belonged to railroad
2 ees,
iy scare Ehrhart and Detective
McCormick returned with these two
nen in tow just as technicians arrived
-o dust the car for fingerprints on
he spot. .
Both men had come to work about
35
8:30 and both agreed the convertible
had not been parked there that time.
“The motor was completely cold when
I found the car,” Patrolman Ehrhart
observed, “so that it must have been
parked there by midnight or earlier.
Chief Pond and Lt. Haupt agreed
that if a killer had abandoned the car,
he’d had more than enough time to
make a getaway. Unless prints on the
car produced a new lead, it appeared
the only hope for cracking the case
lay in checking on Wilma Allen’s move-
ments on Thursday. ;
Detectives McCormick and Cunning-
ham hit the shops in Brookside Plaza
as they opened Friday morning. They
soon learned that Wilma Allen had
left the Shears and Tears beauty par-
lor at noon. A clerk in the Coach Shop
at 6312 remembered that she asked
for a pair of Bermuda shorts shortly
after that. About 12:30 Mrs. Allen
had inquired about a jacket at Bill’s
Boys Shop at 6320. The item was not
in stock and Mrs. Allen had left.
The sleuths were unable to follow
the trail any further.
Meantime, fingerprint experts had
come up with a number of finger and
palm prints on the car. All the age
prints were found to match those 0
various members of the Allen family,
but one palm print could not be
en's murderer.
matched. Chief Pond ordered it for-
warded to the FBI in Washington.
The Chevrolet was to yield another
significant clue, however. Stems and
heads of foxtail grass were found cling-
ing to the front bumper and stuck in
oil and grease’ on the car’s underside.
“This means the car had driven
through a field recently,” Pond in-
formed the missing woman’s husband.
“Would your wife have had any occa-
sion to do that near your summer
place?”
Allen shook his head. “I can’t think
why she’d do that—unless someone
forced her to.”
By Saturday morning, radio and tele-
vision broadcasts and newspaper stories
began bringing in tips. Two boys in-
formed Sheriff Norman Williams of
Johnson County, Kansas, they had seen
a blue-and-white Chevrolet convertible
traveling south on Route 69 on Thurs-
day. A woman wearing a pink-and-red
scarf on her head was driving, and a
man was_ sitting beside her. They'd
noticed the car because it had two ex-
haust pipes—just as the Allen car had.
An hour later, a gas station owner
from south of Stanley called the sher-
iff to say he remembered seeing the
same kind of blue-and-white Chevy. The
driver, a man, had used his place to
turn around and had driven off without
.
buying any gas.
Sheriff Williams telephoned this in-
formation to the Kansas City police.
Then, an hour later, he had a sheriff’s
car speeding to police headquarters, A
farmer walking along Route 69 had
come across a blue straw pocketbook
which matched the description of one
‘Wilma Allen had been carrying. In
Kansas City, William Allen identified
the pocketbook as his wife's.
This was more than enough to center
the search for Wilma Allen in Johnson
County. Over 200 volunteer searchers
. in posses searched the area around the
gasoline station. Before they had time
to find anything. a farmer and his son
were busy searching along Tibbetts
Road, a narrow lovers’ lane, five miles
south of Stanley for some stray cows.
In a field about two miles off Route
69. the farmer spotted something at the
edge of the brush. Walking over to inves-
tigate. the farmer and his son came up
short. It was the nude body of a woman.
The pair rushed back to their farm-
house and called the sheriff’s office.
Arriving on the scene, Sheriff Wil-
liams took one look at the pink-and-red
scarf tied around the dead woman’s
hands and declared: “It’s Wilma Allen
all right. =
By the time sleuths from Kansas City
arrived to make identification of the
body definite by a scar on the woman’s
left thigh. the result of a childhood
accident, Johnson County Coroner Dr.
David S. Long had a report ready for
them.
“Bruises about the body indicate the
woman put up a terrific battle.” the
coroner said. “She was raped in a very
forcible manner. Death resulted from
two shots in the back of the head with
a large calibre gun.”
Discovery of Wilma Allen’s body was
confirmation to the police they were
looking for a particularly vicious. yet
cool.. killer. : =
“Remember it took plenty of nerve
for the killer to dump the body and
then drive all the way back to Kansas
City with a car he must have realized
the police might already be searching
for.” Detective Chief Pond observed.
The motive for the crime was obvi-
ously rape and robbery. But that put
neither Sheriff Williams, the Kansas
City authorities nor the FBI, which
entered the case with the discovery
the killer had crossed state lines with
his victim, any closer to a solution.
Private citizens, enraged by the
fiendishness of the murder, started a
reward fund that soon reached $10,000.
Known sex offenders were rounded up
and given lie tests. A particularly zany
character from the vicinity of the Allen
summer cottage near Lake Lotawana
was taken into custody, but cleared
when he produced a perfect alabi.
No one was able to furnish any de-
cent description of the slayer and with
the palm print in the car unidentifi-
able, the case soon slowed to a process
of running down useless, wild tips.
Weeks passed and still the Allen
murder remained unsolved.
Then on Thursday, November 10.
Kansas City police got a report of an
attempted abduction. Attractive, 30-
year-old Jean Brown had been walking
toward her home on Jefferson Street
when her husband, whom she’d left in
California some months before, hopped
out of a yellow sedan and brandished
a gun in her face. He forced her into
the car and drove off. For three hours
the man threatened to kill her and then
commit suicide, unless she agreed to
rejoin him and go with him to Mexico.
The woman finally escaped by jump-
ing from the moving car, crying for
help. The man drove off.
On the basis of the woman’s com-
plaint. charges were issued against
29-year-old Arthur Ross Brown. It de-
veloped that Brown had been on the
FBI’s wanted list for many months.
Brown was wanted in California for
rape and burglary, and also as‘a pa-
role violator after being released from
He was already on the FBI’s Wanted
List for shooting Wyoming sheriff.
prison where he was doing time for
arson.
Brown had been tracked down in
Sheridan, Wyoming, for a number of
burglaries but escaped custody after
shooting Sheriff Willard Marshall twice
in the stomach.
On September 30. Brown telephoned
his wife from San Francisco threaten-
ing to come to Kansas City and kill
her unless she agreed to return to him.
Mrs. Brown informed the poljce and
was provided with a guard for some
time. When nothing developed, the
police protection was eventually re-
moved. Then followed the recent at-
tempted abduction.
On November 13, Jean Brown re-
ceived a special delivery letter from
her estranged husband postmarked St.
Joseph, Mo. The fugitive enclosed $40
in cash and said the money was to
help support his daughter and apolo-
gized for his recent behavior. “...I’m
all mixed up.” he wrote.
Mrs. Brown turned the letter over
to the police who were keeping close
tabs on the Brown manhunt since they
now knew he was in Kansas City at
the time of the Allen murder.
(Continued on page 70)
37
~—
31299
FULL CAP
Pre-cut and Styled. Never needs Setting.
Slips over any Length Hair. Just Shake and
Wear. Adjustable; Finest 100% Human Hair.
All Colors—Black thru Platinum. Enclose
Hair Sample for Exact Match.
WOW TO ORBER: Send full amount and Company
Pays Postage. C.0.8. Orders: Send $300 deposit
(cash reg. of money order only) pay Postman bal
ance plus postage on delivery
State Color. Order Now! Satisfaction Guaranteed.
SUSY WIGS, INC. Dept. 307-LDR12
507 Sth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10017
SONGS — POEMS
Wanted for publishing and
6 recording consideration.
Accepted songs will be published & recorded
at our expense - for information write to
Talent, 17-GC Longwood Rd., Quincy, Mass.
* TO BE SET TC MUSIC x
All types for songs &
recordings Records
Send poems for
FREE EXAMINATION.
ASCOT MUSIC INC. + Studio C-g8
5904 Sunset Bivd., H’y’d, Cal. 90028
Guaranteed The knife for
10 Years!
Ported
steel blade honed
to a _ razor’s edge.
Rugged. Opens with
ick of finger. Locks into
Position. Blade will not close
IN OILS
Nis Y fas
HAND PAINTED
TO LAST A
LIFETIME
A genuine oil portrait, in full color, hand-painted in everdasting rich oils
from any photograph, slide or negative by outstanding portrait artists.
Painted on pure silk to insure even texture and perfect color blending.
An oi! portrait adds elegance and warmth to your home and gives you
a lifetime of joy in having a thrilling living-likeness of your loved ones
HOW TO ORDER: Send any black and white'or color photo, slide or
negative, with color information on hair, eyes, skin, clothing and ap-
proximate age of subject. A hair swatch is helpful. Never before avarl-
Phy at such low prices, compares to portiaits painted for from $100. to
800
size price size price size price
8°10" — §$ 7.95 11°14" — $12.95 20x24" — $32.50
10x12" — $ 9.95 12%x16" — $14.95 16"x20" — $22.50
GUARANTEE: Paintings may be returned within three weeks for correc
tions. for credit on another painting or cash refund.
An oil portrait of one dear to you is a priceless heirloom you will al
ways cherish. Order yours today. Send cash, check of M.O. Delivery
approx. 2 weeks
GIFT KING Dept. MDP |
234 Fifth Avenue, New York, N. Y. 10001
PORTRAIT |
_“Like:Taking:- Candy
From: A Baby!’
(Continued from page 37)
The break in the nationwide search
came the following .day in San Fran-
cisco when Patrolman Bert Bystrom
was checking the Candlestick Cove
section after a woman had reported
a prowler around her home.
At the corner of Tacloma and Blan-
ken Avenues, the officer happened
across a yellow Chevrolet sedan with a
man sleeping in the back seat. Every
officer in town was keeping an eye out
for such a car since it was known that
the fugitive Brown was traveling in
that model.
Taking no chances, the officer tele-
phoned for help. Five other officers
plus FBI Agent Curtis P. Irwin rushed
to the scene. They moved in gingerly
since they all knew that Brown was
heavily armed and vowed never to be
taken alive.
The man didn’t wake up until there
were loaded police revolvers staring
him in the face. The officers found
two loaded pistols on the seat beside
the suspect. It was Arthur Ross Brown
all right.
Informed of Brown’s capture, Chief —
Pond in Kansas‘ City immediately re-
quested that the prisoner’s palm prints
be sent immediattly to Washington to
be compared with that found on the
death car. His request was complied
with, but proved unnecessary.
Interviewed by G-man Irwin in San
Francisco, Brown admitted a string of
crimes all over the western half of the
country. :
“And what about Kansas City,” Ir-
win demanded. “We know you were
there August 4.”
Brown took a drag on his cigarette.
“All right,” he said. “You have me on
that one, too. I killed that Allen dame.
I used a Smith and Wesson .38 on her.”
Brown readily agreed to dictating a
full confession to the crime.
“I got into Kansas City on the morn-
ing of August 3rd, 1955, by train from
Sheridan, Wyoming,” Brown declared.
“T went first to my wife’s home... She
had left me in California in July and
returned to Kansas City.
“T left her place Thursday morning,
August 4, and walked east on Main
Street and caught a southbound street
car. I had this .38 calibre Smith and
Wesson revolver in my belt. I got off
the street car at the big Katz drug store
at about 40th and Main with the inten-
HOW TO GET THE
We have perfected an ingenious ‘‘No
. Allow 2 weeks for delivery. (Enclose
for postage, special handling.)
BS nternational Exchange
1001 Glendale Bivd., (Dept CG-1
_ LOS ANGELES, CALIF. 90026
REAL THING
in STAG FILMS
We contend that the individual has the
right to choose for himself, that mate-
rial which affords him personal pleasure
and satisfaction—-despite the censorship
tactics of organized pressure-groups.
Plan that assures your receiving the rare and
prized Stag Films others CANNOT offer—
from little known and discreet suppliers.
We do not ship but arrange all confidential
details. Let us prove that only we have the
connections you've long been seeking! Send:
now for free film strip and referral details.
POSITIVELY NO DEALINGS WITH MINORS!
Risk’’
|
$1.09 ‘ ALA {
“I'm so ornery that nobody
anyplace has photos like mine.”
SEND YOUR BUCK AND GET
THE LOW-DOWN ON ME.
Write: M.M. Box 1629.
Dept.CM-2 Hollywood, Calif. 90028
RIDES AGAIN |
"MASRED MAIDEN ¢
Thelother sidel‘‘bottom’s. up’’!!!, A real pocker
“PIECE”. Coin i$ half-dollar size. sold. at 50¢ pr.
SPEUIAL, with this ad only-6 CUINS for $1.00 ppd.
8ig Three Enterprises, Inc.
[.Dept.G-108 1109 Sixtn Ave., N. Y., N, Y. 10036:
This spicy
“heads”’
and ‘‘tails”’
non-tarnish-
ing alumi-
num coin
will make
you flip.
One side is
a lovely
lady’s better
half.
NUDIST
SIAN Dept.845
“ALL METAL-
a SCREEN INCLUDED
| NEED YOU TO
“PERSONALLY” |
SHARE MY ALL rae
NUDE PHOTOS »
& LETTERS at
to DIANA
8455 Beverly BI.
VM Dept_CG-1 o
YOUNG & NEW L.A., Calif. 90048
® SEND
ONLY
$1.00
UNUSUAL
MOVIES OF WOMEN
Absolutely nothing retouched!
FREE Brochure
(enclose 25c handling)
We: know: YOU want:
SOLAR Box 1476 Dept. 845, Studio City,
FULL
NUDE
SAMPLE
FILM $1
Calif.
43 NEW PICTURES
BOLDLY REVEAL
The Cycle of
*from the-first awakening’
r yy to the final:fullfillment!
NEW BOOK ®
Here is an unusual @
book. It's a story of
two lovers who do
some unconven-
tional things, but &
who find happiness &
anyway.
The whole cycle is @
described and
shown in brand 9
eye new pictures and e
" words so bold. Here
is a chance for a new kind
Pg. of reading and looking
9 $498" pleasure. All we say is try @
ray it — you either fully agree
that it is a real satisfying experience or @
we refund your money.
T2, REY ee Ons Die Ate Ye S
BOND BOOK Co. Dept. S-12201
B 43 W.61 st. NY. NY. 10023
| Rush my copy of The Love Life of the Modern
Homo Sapiens. After examining for 10 days |
| may return it and get a full refund of the
i purchase price.
4 0! enclose $1.98. BOND pays postage.
p Name
| Address
B city State Zip
as N.Y.C. residents include 5% tax. N.Y. State 2%
72
tion of locating somebody to rob for
money and an automobile.
“I looked around at that location
for about 45 minutes and didn’t see
anybody suitable. There was a parking
lot there, but it was too crowded. I
left. Then I rode the street car south
to a shopping center that I now know
as Brookside Plaza. I walked around
there for about an hour looking for a
good prospect that looked wealthy.
Finally this woman came out of a store
and walked over to a flashy Chevvie
convertible. I thought she looked like
ready money, so when she opened the
door and slid under the wheel I slip-
ped in beside her. I point my gun at
her and told her to start driving and
behave. I thought about kidnaping
someone for ransom, but had left my
clothes at my wife’s apartment and
felt that I couldn’t carry out such a
plan.”
Brown described the route he and his
victim had taken, how she’d identified
herself as a mother and begged to be
released. He also told. how he’d ex-
plained to her understandably that he
had a child himself and “know just
how you feel.”
“I recall driving through Stanley,’
Brown went on. “I knew what I was
going to do and I needed an isolated
spot for it. We left the highway and
went a couple of miles down a dirt
road. When I saw that field with the
?
_ thicket -in the back I thought that
would be a good place to kill the
woman.”
Brown detailed his struggle with and
rape of his victim and then her exe-
cution after first letting her scream for
several ntoments until she gave up
from exhaustion.
Atter returning to Kansas City, he
said he abandoned the Allen car and
took the bus to St. Joseph.
Brown’s story was found flawless in
every detail and later confirmed - by
the matching of his palm print.
Brown’s trial in United States Dis-
trict Court opened January 23, 1956.
Technically, he was charged with vio-
lation of the Federal Kidnaping Act
since he’d transported his victim alive
across the state line between Missouri
and Kansas.
The trial was cut and dried. The
defense offered no evidence at all.
It was left to the jury to bring in
a verdict of whether Brown’s punish-
ment should be by imprisonment or
death. Within 35 minutes the jury re-
turned with a guilty verdict, without
recommendation of mercy.
On February 24, 1956, Arthur Ross
Brown entered the gas chamber.
Whether his last living moments were
filled with the echo of frantic screams
of a doomed young mother is prob-
lematical. THE END
NUDE THRILLS
“,..@ most unusual Adult Film,
Mindy, Cindy, Lindy, and...
P
the Peeping’ Jom
Three beautiful young girls
alone at night. They don’t
see the eye at the window.
SAMPLE FILM & BROCHURE $1
100° 8mm film $8 | ROBERTS SALES
ae
PHOTOS: 4x5's PO. Box 829,
16 for $5 Los Angeles
that show the story California 90053
on for the BROAD-MINDED fy
UNINHIBITED = SWINGING SET|S
Join the fun! Find all those special personal
contacts...clubs for singles, couples, swing -
ers, nudists, off-beat tastes...confidential
publications and catalogues...rubber wear
...intimate devices and artifacts, etc., etc.
Now you can find a club, group or individual
to satisfy your desire! How? The new
WORLD CLUB DIRECTORY lists and des-
cribes over 2000 sophisticated clubs, groups,
services. Covers every state, 80 foreign
countries including Sweden, Denmark,
Japan, etc. Get your WORLD CLUB
DIRECTORY now! ie
Send $3 in cash, check, M.O. (Sorry, no GOD's) to: —
es
Buss Soc., DepCG1, 806 So. Robertson Blvd.,
Los Angeles 90035. Catt Res Add’ 5% Sales Tax. oe
MARRIED MEN! DO YOU EXPERIENCE
® HASTE IN YOUR
MARITAL RELATIONS?
You can help solve this common problem with
“‘MM-100”, which for the first time is being sold
by mail. Send for free brochure or remit $3.00
per tube postpaid. Satisfaction guaranteed.
FENAIRE, INC. Dept.B-19
Box 538 — Miami,.Florida 33160
Shee
ere
( : j
ey
This motion picture
REVEALS
sensual pleasures
performed by
Geishas for their
paying-master.
SEND $1.00 for
photo brochure
‘ SPECIAL IMPORTS LTD.
7471 Melrose, Dept. CM-2 LA. Cal. 90046
| HAVE THE
BEST 8mm MOVIE
IN HOLLYWOOD
50 FT. B&W ow. $4.00
50 FT. COLOR ......... $8.00
or 25c for sample & brochure
N&A ® P.O. Box 64232
Los Angeles, Calif. 90064
Dept. CG-1
© After capture, Brown embraces
“his mother,
in an. institution.
who said he “should —
Tak Derecri
te) 1 4s
INCE
der é
Mo., hav
and the }
when M:
Mrs. /
of Willia
Kansas (
place of
out: to ¢
evening,
any of |
Normal]:
missing
home sa’
the start
Under
tery of
moveme
ished. 1
The ty
filled in
enjoying
breakfas
out and
cleaning
recently
Allen tic
the spac
City, loc
box. Sh
drove of
She h
tended °
stop for
she regi
_ “Yes,
had an
she left
The m
and whi'
after sh«
a void.
for the <
dinner.
close fri
up so {
Since tl
the two
anyway.
Every
of the ;
shopping here, and was known at some of the stores.
Detectives canvassed every one of them, and struck a
lead at only one, a clothing store. A clerk here recalled
that Mrs. Allen had stopped in at about 12:30 to inquire
about a pair of: Bermuda shorts she had ordered some
days earlier. The shorts had not arrived, so she went
on her way.
Obviously she had gone to the toggery after leaving
the beauty shop, but after she walked out of the clothing
store all trace of her was lost. Detectives continued the
canvass in downtown stores without result.
Meanwhile, laboratory technicians had been going over
the missing woman’s Chevrolet. Tests of the blood stain-
ing the garments indicated it had been shed from three
~ to six hours before the car was found. That would place
_ the time of the crime roughly from 8 until 11 p.m. This
f introduced a new element of mystery, since Mrs. Allen
-had been expected to meet her husband no later than
7 pm. It indicated a possibility that she had been kid-
: / ‘naped before that time and possibly forced to drive
* around. for some hours before the assault took place.
_ Two clear palmprints were found on the Chevrolet
that did not match those of any member of the family.
While they might have been placed there by some inno-
cent person such as & service attendant, technicians lifted
careful impressions just in case. a
f Vacuum sweepings of the interior turned up no clues. :
i Several strands of foxtail grass clung to the under side , 3 Ce
che plhlgsas pg it had been driven off the road, The lovely Mrs. Allen—she told her captor of her chil-
y . ie dren, begged him to let her go, but her pleas were vain.
f ; A THAT AFTERNOON, a farmer was driving his
£ tractor homeward along U. S. Highway 69 about ten
It miles southwest of Kansas City, across the state line in :
Kansas. He saw & woman's purse lying in the ditch, and examined by three pathologists. There were two large
sf stopped to pick it up. When he got home, he reported bullet wounds in the head, probably made by a 38 or .45
: the find to the Johnson County “sheriff's office, and they ‘caliber weapon. Apparently the slugs had passed out
<1 turned it over to Kansas City authorities. through the head, for they were not found in the autopsy
- It was a blue straw purse, absolutely empty. Allen —a blow, to investigators, who had hoped for at least a
4s immediately identified it as his wife’s. Judging by what ballistics clue. Because of decomposition, it was impos-
4 his wife usually carried in her purse, he thought it had _ sible to tell whether the victim had been raped.
contained a pink leather coin-purse, probably containing Mrs. Allen’s engagement ring, wedding ring and watch
‘the $25 in change she had received at the beauty shop; a were missing. .
department store charge-a-plate; a lipstick case; a gold- News of the finding of the body spread fast, and
a plated compact engraved with the letter A; a key chain aroused a wave of public indignation such as Kansas City
ans ’ and a small compass. has seldom seen. Honest citizens and housewives boiled.
When morning came, an all-out search of the area It appeared that Mrs. Allen had been seized and kidnaped
where the purse was found was made by deputies and by a killer at or near @ large shopping center in broad
volunteers, aided by 150 volunteers from nearby Grand- daylight, and it made one ponder where a woman might ,
view Air Base. ‘They fanned out through fields and even be safe. Meanwhile, the FBI entered the case, since the
investigated barns and outbuildings. They were still discovery of the Missouri woman s body in Kansas in-
searching at 10 A.M. when Clifford Erhart and his son dicated a possible violation of the “Lindbergh law.
their farm Kansas farmers in the vicinity of where the victim
ee _ ne oe a ea had been found were Sr gaeerte a 7 of Pe i
Erharts dr ss a field, and suddenly at called seeing the blue and w. te Chevrolet on August “,
én alae a grove St eos aay saw the nude body of In Kansas City Chief Brannon and Detective Chief Pond .
ing V lly around the
a woman. The father had read in the papers of the search were working virtua
; find some lead. Pawnshops were canvassed in the vain
ae ong Allen.» He headed back home fast and called the nd te OP ar at rg oN Peas
‘4 lry. The ground around the spot where the body was
- The body lay at a spot about 17 miles southwest of jewelry e a3 caper HE ae esa nm see
" Kansas City, two miles ‘west of Highway 69, in the state found was Ta
6s f Kaansas. It lay face up, the hands tied gry the = a Bo a i
‘a si § ink and triped— own. i
opi, en the en oe Se ee pollceraka Pyohn Considering the comparatively small amount of blood in
ived, he looked at the the car and in the ot _— a hep — ‘ =
f - theorized that she must have been slain ¢ ewhere, -
wen shes saa pa ll brag after being criminally assaulted. But the police
le.
acon Be ets CY: where it was admitted they were working (Continued on page 59)
INCE THE BRUTAL Bobby Greenlease kidnap-mur-
der a couple of years back, the people of Kansas City,
Mo., have had a special itchy feeling about kidnaping,
and the police likewise. That itchy feeling hit them again
Mrs. Allen, 34, was the beautiful and charming wife
of William R. Allen Jr., a prominent Chevrolet dealer of
Kansas City. She was to have met her husband at his
evening, and could not be located either at home or with
any of her friends, the worried Allen called the police.
Normally, investigators take a skeptical attitude toward
missing person cases, knowing that most of them return
home safely. But in this instance, it looked ominous from
the start.
Under Major Eugene Pond, chief of detectives, a bat-
tery of sleuths immediately made efforts to trace the
movements of Mrs. Allen up to the moment she van-
ished. They were successful—up to a certain point.
The two Allen boys, 9-year-old William and Bobby, 7,
filled in the first part of the story. Both of them were
enjoying their summer vacation from school, so after
breakfast on the warm morning of August 4 they went
out and cleaned their mother’s car. It scarcely needed
cleaning, for it was a brand new Chevrolet convertible,
recently given her by her husband. Meanwhile, Mrs.
- Allen tidied up the house. Around 9:30 she came out of
the spacious Allen home on Vivion Road in North Kansas
City, looking as usual as if‘she had stepped out of a band-
box. She got into the car, said goodbye to the boys, and
drove off.
She had told her husband that morning that she in-
tended to have her hair dressed that day. So the next
stop for the investigators was the beauty shop where
she regularly had this done.
_ “Yes,” the manager said, “Mrs. Allen was here. She
had an appointment for 10:45. Her hair was dressed and
she left around noon.” ~
” ‘The manager recalled that she was wearing a blue skirt
and white blouse, and the Allen boys agreed on that. But
after she left the beauty shop, she seemed to drop into :
a void. Undoubtedly she had expected to return home ;
for the afternoon, and’ a join her husband in time for
dinner. They had plann to dine with another couple, a '
close sheen but on the previous day something came A KIDNAP KILLER'S CONSCIENCE
up so that the other couple had to cancel the date.
Since the Allens had already hired a girl to sit with SOLVES KANSAS CITY'S "WORST"
the two boys, they had decided to have dinner out
anyway.
_ Every patrolman on duty that night had a description
of the petite brunette Mrs. Allen as well as her con-
Wilma Allen and husband, -
snapped at a convention.
vertible, a new 1955 model painted blue and white, with
license 1-585.
Shortly after 2 a.m., Patrolman ‘Ronald Ehrhart was
cruising in the vicinity of Union Station with these de-
scriptions in mind. As he passed the parking area beneath
the Broadway viaduct between Twenty-first and Twenty-
second Streets, he turned his spotlight into a gloomy: area.
Yes—there was a blue and white Chev convertible. He
turned in and saw the license number, and right away
he flashed headquarters.
The police weren’t fooling on this one. Within a
quarter-hour the parking area was surrounded by a cor-
don of uniformed officers while 20 detectives and: techni-
cians went to work on the car. Its doors were locked, but
it was only a moment’s work to slit the plastic rear
window’ and gain entrance.
“Blood,” a detective muttered. “All over the rear seat
and floor.”
Ts DOORS WERE OPENED and the machine: was
given a thorough scrutiny. The ignition had been left
on, but the keys were missing. The glove compartment
was empty, and the interior of the car was devoid of ©
clothing or other items. There were smaller traces of
blood on one side of the car and also on the rear bumper.
The only other thing to look into was the trunk, and it
was forced open. Flashlights probed into the storage area.
“Some women’s clothing here,” one of the men ob-
served. .
There-were—a blue skirt, a torn white blouse, a pair of
brown and white high-heeled shoes and some lingerie.
It answered the description of the clothing Mrs. Allen
had been wearing when last seen. The garments were
stained with blood, especially the blouse. The only items
of apparel missing were her stockings, scarf and purse.
There was no attendant to question. The parking area
was not a commercial one—just,a city-owned space under
the viaduct, used by railroad workers and others who.
knew about it. Patrolman Ehrhart had seen no one
‘ lurking around the place when he arrived, although. sev-
eral other cars were parked there. The Chevrolet’s
engine was cold, indicating it had been there for some
time.
So now the grimmest fears of the police—and the dis-
traught husband—were all but realized. It seemed .ap-
parent that Mrs. Allen had somehow fallen into the hands
of a criminal. She had been disrobed and in all proba-
bility murdered, judging from all that blood. The loca-
tion of the body—assuming it was murder—was any-
body’s guess. Pe ;
While the car was towed away to the palice garage, a
squad of officers was left there to question persons who
came for other cars parked there. They remained all
night, talking with auto owners as they arrived for their
machines. None of them recalled seeing the Chevrolet
parked there. ;
By morning, Police Chief Bernard C. Brannon and
Detective Chief Pond knew they were up against the
toughest of cases—apparent murder that might have been
committed anywhere, by anyone, and with the body still
missing. A day shift of detectives went out to carry on
the probe, some of them stopping again at the beauty shop
where the socially prominent young matron was last
seen. :
The proprietor recalled another item or two. He said
that Mrs. Allen had cashed a $30 check with him, of
which she paid five dollars for the hairdo. Allen had
informed ‘the police that his wife seldom carried any
cash, preferring to use her checking account. It was
believed that the $25 remaining was virtually all she had -
when she left the hairdresser’s.
Mrs. Allen had patronized the. beauty shop regularly
for several years and was well known there. The pro-
prietor affirmed that she seemed her usual cheerful self,
and the hairdresser who worked on her agreed that she
had chatted pleasantly about inconsequential things. It
seemed apparent that she had not a hint of trouble on
‘her mind.
The beauty shop was. located :in Brookside Plaza, a
well-appointed shopping area at Sixty-third Street and
Brookside Boulevard which included many exclusive
clothing and food shops. Mrs. Allen did a good deal of her
Experts work on Mrs. Allen's cor, found in Kansas City. ‘Handcuffed, wearing leather jacket, Brown is es-
Clear: palmprints on dashboard later proved significant. corted into court after his voluntary confession.
shopping here,
Detectives cany
lead at only on:
that Mrs. Allen
about a pair o!
days earlier. T
on her way.
Obviously sh
the beauty shor
store all trace «
canvass in dowr
Meanwhile, 1:
the missing wor
ing the garmen
to six hours be:
_ the time of the
introduced a n
-had been expe
7 pm. It indic<
naped_ before
around for sor
Two clear p
that did not m
While they mi;
cent person suc
careful impres:
Vacuum swe
Several strand:
of the vehicle,
perhaps into a
ATE THAT
tractor hor
miles southwe:
Kansas. He sa
‘stopped to pic
the find to the
turned it over
It was a bli
immediately id
his wife usual
contained a pi!
‘the $25 in cha:
department stc
_ plated compac’
and a small cc
When morn
where the pu
volunteers, aic
view Air Base
investigated |
searching at |
Milton drove «
six miles sout!
The two Er}
the edge of a
a woman. The
for Mrs. Allen
sheriff.
- The body |:
Kansas City, t
of Kansas. It |:
witha silk sc:
the one Mrs.
- Kelly of neart
body and said
sonally acquai
The body v
a ES ST ee ee
rpse was
remains.
longings.
‘ately for
assenger,
ind greed
His cold,
forehead,
ne.
'll live to
d as she
‘rs many
ve young
vould be
lice mug
; time he
as not on
1. At the
‘stination _
west and
Kansas.
in John-
iy No. 69,
llen was
highway
nervous,
stim be-
ley, take
a nememney 0 i
\\
AN
“ear song
1
‘
the car,” she pleaded. “Just let me go home to my children.” :
“I got a kid myself,” the passenger replied, breaking his
moody silence. “Only my wife and me don’t get along. She...
left me in California and came to Kansas City. That’s why «©
I’m here.”
( Transferring the revolver to his left hand, the man reached Hi
into his hip pocket and drew out a billfold. As he opened it - af
and disclosed.a photograph of a baby girl, his flintlike fea-
tures softened.
Mrs. Allen’s inspection. «=
“Here she is,” he said, as he held the photograph up for 5
“What a cute child,” the matron replied, as a hope for her
safety was revived suddenly. “Surely you wouldn’t do any-* is
thing to make her ashamed of you when she grows up.” ©.)
“That’s enough,” was his retort, the voice hard and cold -%;
again. “Don’t tell me what I should do.” Pie.
The intruder shoved the billfold back into his pocket and
scanned the desolate road in front of and behind the slowly
moving convertible. i mths 4
At this point, the car passed a small pasture. The kidnaper
noted with satisfaction there were no farm homes in sight. z
The gravel road was void of traffic. An open gate led to the 4 i
secluded field. i
To ensure that his privacy would not be invaded, the main
allowed the woman to drive several hundred yards farther
west to be sure there was no one in sight working in the °:
fields,
was told to drive through the open [Continued on page 44]
|
Bliss shared by Wilma and Bill Allen is evident in party
photo, left. Below, convertible was Wilma’s fatal crypt.
Her bloodstained and ripped clothes were found in trunk.
Ag
tid
¢
“This is far enough,” fie commanded hoarsely as the car _
. reached an intersection. “Turn around and go back.”
When the convertible had retraced its path, Mrs. Allen i:
ee uate te
ei ge
%
1h EG Sate 55.
A beautiful matron fell
1 killer into the clutches of a man
Kansas
‘ertible
‘whose violent thoughts
locked
is Now e ‘
ny 4 fashioned him into a
Wilma “4 ;
3 City, re ,
f human beast. Naked and
harsh, sf her, the woman died
a horrible death
FRANK KOHLER
with her hands bound behind
Wilma Allen had the charm and beauty of a movie star; it
was these attributes that acted as an irresistible magnet
to the accused, below, embraced by his grieving mother.
baa}
eee ekaane
Search for victim ended when her tortured: corpse was
found in field. Coroner D. S. Long Jr. views remains.
Below, FBI Agent probes culvert for victim’s belongings.
is likely that‘at this point she did not fear desperately for
her life.
Later, as she glanced stealthily at her unwanted passenger,
her terror became horror when she read the lust and greed
in the expression of the sandy-haired marauder. His ‘cold,
calculating eyes were close together below a high forehead,
made even more prominent by a receding hairline.
“Like I told you, lady, just do as I say and you'll live to
go home,” he snapped, perhaps reading her mind as she
thought of wrecking the car.
It was at that moment, he told arresting officers many
weeks later, that he made up his mind the attractive young
woman at his side must die. He was afraid she would be
able to identify his face out of the hundreds of police mug
shots on file at headquarters. Ironically, up to that time he
had no record in Kansas City and his photograph was not on
file there.
Traffic gradually thinned as the car moved south. At the
whim of her passenger, who had no particular destination
in mind, the frightened woman drove alternately west and
south, finally crossing the Missouri state line into Kansas.
They passed through Stanley, a small farming town in John-
son County, Kansas, as they motored on U.S. Highway No. 69,
south and west of Kansas City.
There was no other car in sight when Mrs. Allen was
ordered to turn west on Tibbetts Road, a gravel highway
south of Stanley. The intruder, suddenly becoming nervous,
fingered the .38-caliber revolver. His intended victim be-
came hysterical.
“For Heaven's sake, take my rings and my money, take
‘
’
8g
\ a Zz
4
~~
i
j peg
a {
to get out of New York for a while. I al-
. ways left the town I was in after I’d done
one of those things. (
“I drove around until I saw a place
where there was not much traffic, under
_the elevated lines.on Jerome Avenue. I
dumped the body out and went back to
the house, where I rye some of her things
to.a girl who lived there. I hadn’t taken
' the things because I wanted them—it was
' only so she wouldn’t be identified until
“-I had a chance to leave town. There was
' always the chance, you see, that someone
might have noticed her getting into my
car and taken the license number,
“I read in the newspapers about the
olice finding the body and became
ightened. That was next day. I left for
my home town, Washington, where I knew
_ my way around,” “
e immediate result of Catoe’s confes-
sion came wher a New York grand jury
indicted him the following day for the
first-degree murder of Evelyn Dorothea
Andersen. But even as the indictment was
being returned, the New York detectives
admitted there was little chance Catoe
would ever be brought to trial for that
slaying.
Aiseady the murdering handy man and
mortician had been turned over to Wash-
ington authorities for further questioning.
And again Catoe talked. He talked for
hours. on end, and when he was through .
the capital authorities had the solutions
to six maniacal sex slayings that had
baffled them for months. Besides these
killings, Catoe boasted of attacks on half
a dozen other Washington women over
a period of a year and a half.
e methods employed in most of his
assaults against women had been siniilar,
When he did not pick them up on the
street under the pretext of giving them a
lift; he carefully went through Classified
“For Rent” advertisements until he found
a likely prospect. The prospect was ge
the woman who advertised a room for
rent, -
“I'd go to the house and get the land-
‘his death ce
lady to show me through the place,” the
slayer explained. “Once I learned that.
was no one but herself at home the
old spell would overcome me and I'd
choke her into submission. Some of them
died, but it wasn’t my intention to kill
them. I just wanted them to be quiet.”
Under heavy guard, the sex monster
went on trial in the nation’s capital for
the brutal murder of Rose Abramowitz,
The proceedings moved swiftly; when the
case was handed to the jury, it showed
the defendant as much mercy as he had
displayed toward his hapless women vic-
tims. Quickly, it found him guilty and
sentenced him to be executed.
‘On January 15, 1942, Jarvis Catoe left
j os at the grworainng art igen
ail. e sang a hymn, the guar
strapped him in the electric chair. At
10:08 p.m., the current was turned on,
and five minutes later the world was free
of a vicious sex fiend whose life had
= wasted spreading rape and destruc-
on.
Blood Over Kansas
Higa [Continued from page 13]
a gate. Her car bumped across ruts that
_. brome grass to the edge of the field away
from the road and near a clump of trees.
---“Stop here,” was the ro order, as
evil desire now was written p ly across
the distorted face.
/ | Realizing her fate, the victim began
« weeping hysterically as she begged to be
. “tigress, inflicting deep scratches on his
face when her frantic plea was ignored.
ere ae murder-bent assailant
threw her ily over the front seat of
the convertible and to the floor of the
‘rear compartment. He ripped the silk
“scarf from her-head and held the strug-
gling woman down on the floor while he
tied her hands behind her with the scarf.
‘Then he rolled up the windows of the
convertible to muffie the screams of the
woman, and also the report of the revolver
‘that he knew was near. Flecks of blood
from the scratches on his own face spat~-
tered the ‘inside of the car and spurred
-his own insane fury and passion.
~“Take anything you want, only let me
0,” were perhaps the beautiful woman’s
ast words as the savage attacker ripped
away her flimsy white blouse. Her blue
skirt was next, torn to shreds in a mani-
acal fury. ‘ nee
: The lusting killer held his revolver to
the struggling woman’s head. He fired
, once and her struggles stopped. He then
commited a revo ne! act as passion
fashioned him into a human beast,
When a fragment of reasoning returned
to him, the murderer lifted the unclothed
~ body by a still-bound arm and a leg, and
. cast it out of the convertible, Glancing
+ at her, the man saw an eyelid flicker as
-;- if the victim was making a mortal effort
. to cling to life. Another shot rang out,
{and life was snuffed out completely, .,
e removed the woman’s rings and placed
*them in his pocket. Then he tossed her
lue’ straw purse out of the car. It fell
close to where the corpse lay face up in
\the Kansas afternoon sun. M
There followed a strange scene. Instead
f discarding the woman’s clothing, the
- were hidden by a growth of thick, dark ©
spared, She fought the man like a trapped ‘.
killer folded the bloodstained and torn
garments carefully and neatly before
placing them in the trunk of the car,
Approximately two hours had passed
since Mrs. Allen had walked from her
beauty shop appointment with her
thoughts on a pleasant dinner date that
night with her husband and friends. The
stranger checked the outside of the car
and lf to ensure that all visible
bloodstains had been erased.
He returned to Kansas City, Missouri,
abandoning the convertible under a street
viaduct near the Union Station and casu-
ally walking by the station to board a
streetcar that was to take him close to
his wife’s home.
Earlier, he had scheduled a meeting
with his wife, Jean, to discuss a possible
reconciliation. As the two talked later
that day, the wife noticed nothing unusual
about her husband’s behavior. He was
his neat and tidy self, except for several
lacerations on the face which he passed
off as a tte. Beeeyae And he had
had the: thoughtfulness to bring their 13-
month-old daughter a toy.
Wisely, the zeane: woman decided
against returning to her husband. Still,
they parted on friendly terms that evening,
after she borrowed a friend’s car to drive
es to a car stop several blocks from her
ome.
Meanwhile, William R. Allen Jr. had
returned home from his auto sales agency
headquarters, and gradually he became
alarmed over his wife’s absence. The
couple and their children, William, III,
914, and ars 4 Allen, 74%, lived in a
luxurious North Kansas City estate that
at one time had belonged to a widely
known Kansas City politician.
Allen’s concern at last resulted in his
calling employes on the telephone to ask
them if they would drive around the city
in search of his wife’s car. Later he
called the police, informing them it was
not like Wilma to be tardy, especially
when she had a dinner engagement.
The early police dragnet produced no
Sign of the car. But as the early-morning
hours lagged by, an officer spotted the
distinctive convertible parked under the
viaduct. When police found: - blood
throughout the automobile’s interior and
discovered the bloodsoaked clothing in the
trunk, they ig ar the distraught young
an
husband family for the worst — slain and fixing the general location of
probability. the crime.
‘There was nothing in the vehicle to . On the follo morning—Sunday—.
indicate where’ the attack which had while the law orcement officers of
; et
spilled the victim’s blood had occurred.
Officers were unable to find any bullets
embedded in the upholstery of the car. To
this day, the authorities have been unable
to find the lethal slugs that were fired into
the back of Wilma’s head.
Kansas City Police Chief Bernard C.
Brannon and Dective Major Eugene Pond
alerted virtually all of the city’s 800-plus
officers. ‘
None was on hand, however, when a
young man stepped up to the counter of
a midtown bus terminal and purchased
a one-way ticket to St. Joseph, Missouri,
a stockyards and manufacturing center
some 50 miles north of the city.
The next morning a man whose face
was tender from- several long scratches
read a new r account of the abduc-
tion. He realized in an apprehensive flash
that he had made one mistake which
could lead to his arrest. The purse he
threw out of the car before leaving the
scene likely bore his fingerprints.
Leaving the St. Joseph restaurant where
he had read the paper, the man walked the
- streets until he found a car that had been
parked with the keys in the ignition.
The murderer returned by way of
Kansas City to the field on the outskirts
of Stanley, Kansas. There, as she had
been left by his atrocity, was the undis-
turbed body of the young housewife.
Except for the dried blood matting her
brown hair, she
during a morning of sunbathing. The man
shuddered as he made the incongruous
comparison. Turning away in a moment
of involuntary horror, he picked up the
purse and returned to the stolen car.
The contents of the boa, were placed in
a drainage hole by a road culvert on an-
other pare road later determined to be
six miles from the secluded murder scene.
He placed one of the two diamond rings,
a wrist watch, Mrs. Allen’s unbroken
glasses and a chargeplate from a down-
town department store in the. hole before
kicking a light layer of dirt over them.
As he headed north once more toward
Kansas City, the murderer placed Mrs.
Allen’s billfold, containing about $50, in
his pocket and threw away the straw
purse the second time. It was found the
next day, August 6, on the side of No. 69
Highway by a farmer, thus tending to
confirm fears that Mrs. Allen had been
t have been napping .
Missouri
buildings
County, )
out on a
Clifford 1]
15, were
that had
They st
station w
gravel wl
gate.
“We se
drove in,
a short ti
in about!
“I was
‘glanced o
as he saw
I when I]
“We di
backed o1
called the
we had s
passenge!
ile 1
investigat
murderer
used part
the victir
ticket to
stole a 19
flight we:
of what |
remained
fession, v
wraps un
killer tur
on Augu:
It was
Marshall
29, in a h
home bu:
month.
“T wait
sheriff sa’
in there t
“It pro!
munition
wanted t
Marsha
when he}
down the
“T star‘
for a gun
sheriff cc
him a li
steps.
“When
around a
in the b
must hav
As he
the sheri
his own
also turn
at the sh
“You :
pock-ma)
boasted a
“lm gl
shall dec
might n«
Kansas C
What t
of course
still carr
made the
he admitt
Sleepin
dlished. Any Wilma Allen’s killer, and they im-
eyed for the mediately asked if Brown had been in
on a trip to Kansas City on August 4th. Mrs.
ioning, and Brown knew he’d been in town on
ffenders were August 2nd, but that’s as close as she
le lots. The could definitely put it to the murder
nmission of- date.
for informa- After arranging for police protec-
rehension of tion for Mrs. Brown, Pond and Bishop
hundreds of went back to headquarters to check
the reward. the files for fingerprints of Arthur yA TL N Y
as any tip Ross Brown.
vestigated ‘ it. There were none on record, nor
be proud of were there any police photos of him. CA P S U, rg ES
h their law Pond questioned Mrs. Brown and
investigation. relatives of the slain woman, and A D /
vas checked found no evidence of Brown’s having 1A ‘4
enemies, re- known Wilma.
3 jealous of The hunt for Brown, which began
ly and popu- as soon as Pond returned to head-
y of enemies quarters from his visit to the kid- IMPORT,
en’s business naper’s wife, was futile. The police DRTANT | The HALSION PLAN ¢ Awonderful new vitamin formula.
vere likewise checked with friends of Brown, and The Halsion Plan is for complexion care ; :
nothing to found that he had left town in a state fully guaranteed, The ia wi * No more sticky ointments.
eared, more of near panic after the episode with Allan Drug Co, stands S enclosed with ¢ No more greasy creams
killing was his wife. “There seemed to be more of behind every capsule. each order. von i
a reason for his panic than just what | | Thousands have found * Full 30 day supply $3.95.
ances, since he did to his wife,” one of them said. the happiness that (ee pe con
en traced to “He said if the cops picked him up comes with a clearer [ ALLAN DRUG CO. Dept. 1108,
ad but one for questioning, it would be curtains complexion. Because | 5880 Hollywood Bivd., Hollywood 28, Calif. |
of: cotuelansia for him.” individual experiences & CO I enclose $3.95, check or money order, Halsion
‘ountry who Brown had vanished, and: though may vaty, you must © | & les 4 te a Pins
a in Kansas they tried all the transportation ter- Bet satisfactory results | 1 agree fo pey postings 1” **PPl Of Hatsion,
that, he minals, armed with a picture of the or every y will be It is my understanding that if | am not satisfied | |
cked up kidnaper which his wife had supplied, refunded. Prompt return’ ‘nused capsules or empty bottle for |
. Every no one recalled having seen him. But Not available “ ?
grifter, got on November 12th, Pond got an ex- = Seer He .: | #95 |
cited phone call from Mrs. Brown. 2p alsion | Adar
came along ti rrsired a. letter from Brown By ALLAN |ciy : ae |
the Kansas rom San Francisco. He’d sent her ere ae
Jlen murder some money for the support of their |] ——-—-——— $$ Ss ES SS — — — — — =
‘gularly Ma- little daughter, but unfortunately he
to discuss ay ene an — which | [ f
old ground, might facilitate the search.
which had Pond notified the San Francisco “MADE TO ORDER”
But as of a police and the FBI about Brown’s FOR FOLKS WHO
1955, there whereabouts and asked them to press LUGER AUTOMATIC DON’T LIKE TO SELL
or inspira- the hunt for him. Two days later, on | | © MAGAZINE LOADING CLIP yrsy yee. ’
igators any Senta bar iy eRe ha ° FULLY AUTOMATIC’ Home Baten t —-a
ma atrol car, responding . ;
to a complaint that a prowler was id he pia STEADY INCOME
1owever, an trying to break into grees house, hard hte si HS. age and wile team opportunity you ever heard of
sent Major came across a car in a San Francisco fon. nee, htah-lnapeed Sere See Oe im any where-xitchen,
iat was “the . Tesidential district, in which a man styrene with amazing attention todetal : nesd-guide you sap tates it wey tom ike
Ross Brown was sleeping. The car turned out to ally pel gga T ht igh rg py hy Shes cet
2d and held ve soley - the sleeping man was appt of Pgiletk And specially eng ~ complete 2 soere, full tiene opportuni tion
ind had es- ur Koss brown. pins 2%¢ shipping charge. or i “ *9
Bi marge HE San Francisco police wired —— =Lvrornt MY = ee re pol ae
ishop, an i] H
spartment Ton the news of the arrest, and AIS B A Ba ame arene
out’ it, and the latter requested fingerprints of | KgAV NS orrow BY MAIL : Ky 2212 E. Jesse St.; Los Angeles 23, Calit.
hbors_ clus- Brown for comparison with those 4 Ys 5] 24 PerMonth ¢ | Book “10-STEP PACKAGING CLO Tey aut
y about the found on Wilma Allen’s car. Pond oj" It Repays 1,000 home. Everything you' sont’ te, naw'ts a
all children had as yet no proof that Brown was BD) Enjoy the things you want | and no salesman will call. Dept.R782 |
tment, Mrs. his man; it was strictly a hunch, based [| LOAN by BANC cena, fhe |
erical. on the criminal’s behavior pattern. m Amount, $100 to $1,000. Pay back ADDRESS
she stam- The FBI, meanwhile, qushinned tai your page "dake ap lone bpd pe | cry ———— ——-20NE__sTaTE____|
rand..t waa Brown about the case, holding him on thing private. Nomatter whereyoulive, [$400] $5.83 | “oe Semeeereeseoers
stepped out hammered at him, tripping him up DIAL FINANCE CO,. 410 Kilpatrick Bldg. [$800 TR]
gun in my with dates and times, and the sugges- - + F-68_- wy lea $51.24 We will pay you $100 each week
is car.” She tion that there were witnesses to his i ai teen Hg tg aly NO AGENT for as long as one year when you
d in July. crime. Brown hedged, denying every- | Please rush FREE Loan Order Blank, 'W/44 CALL are in the hospital for Sickness or
he had al- thing, but the FBI agents, who put | name Accident. People up to 80 years of
ill her and on an act of knowing a lot more than nee age are eligible. No Agent Will
they actually did, behaved so confi- | ; ADDRESS Call. For FREE details of this of-
struck dently that Brown became unnerved. , oer STATE fer write Crown Life, 203 No. Wa-
used by He admitted that Wilma Allen was | | Amount you want to borrow & bash Ave. Chicago 1, Ill., Dept161
‘TIVE CASES CONFIDENTIAL DETECTIVE CASES ; 57
—_—— 7 2s
as found, hope vir-
ce sought a corpse.
: in a kidnap plot.
5 were rightfully
having been in-
Bobby Greenlease
iple of years be-
id do right away,
the missing blue-
le, and to that end
vas sent out.
far away, however.
a.m., Patrolman
discovered it in a
> Union Station. He
om a passing patrol
srs cut through the
t the back of the
so forced open the
k they found a torn,
2 blouse and a spot-
pair of shoes were
was the woman’s
. The front seat was
yodstains, and there
washcloth, evidently
ig up, on the floor.
2 bloodstains on the
; no sign of Wilma.
was brought into the
ITIAL DETECTIVE CASES
police garage for more detailed exam-
ination, Major Eugene Pond, chief of
Kansas City detectives, found clumps
of foxtail grass clinging to its under-
side, indicating that it had been driven
through a field. This suggested that
Mrs. Allen had been killed in the
car and dumped out in the country
somewhere. It was a meager clue, in-
deed, considering the vast tracts of
foxtail grass outside the city.
A’ the start of the day’s duty, more
than fifty detectives and patrol-
men were put to work on the case.
The sheriffs of Clay and Jackson
Counties, in Missouri, and of Wyan-
dotte and Johnson Counties, in Kan-
sas, were alerted, and they also put
men on the case.
Fingerprints had been left on the
car, despite the efforts to mop things
up with the washcloth, but it would
take time to find out whose they
were. The police knew one thing al-
most for certain—whoever had killed
or assaulted Wilma Allen must have
gotten bloodstained . himself. There-
fore, cleaners and laundries through-
out the city were asked to report any
receipt of bloodstained clothing. All
the shops in the vicinity of. the beauty
parlor were checked, and detectives
found two in which Wilma had
stopped, but no clues or leads came
of that knowledge. An inquiry among
people who regularly parked their
cars in the lot where Wilma’s was
found revealed that the last customer
had left at ten-fifteen the previous
night, and there had been no blue-
and-white convertible there then.
Sometime, then, between _—iten-
fifteen p.m. and two-twelve a.m., the
man who had done Heaven only knew
what to Wilma Allen had parked the
car and vanished.
There were only a few routine
things the police could do with the
slim clues available, and they got to
work on them instantly. Newspaper, -
radio and TV appeals were made for
information regarding any ‘unusual
happenings the public might have
witnessed on the night of August 4th,
and the police were soon investigating
the responses to these appeals.
Lieutenant Lester Haupt, Chief: of
Homicide, checked an anomymous
call from an area where the witness
said he had seen two men dragging a
woman out of a Car. Wyandotte
Killer, center, arrives at the Missouri
Penitentiary, where he will be executed.
He is escorted by Eugene T. Durrett,
deputy U. S. Marshal, left, and Burke
Dennis, right, United States Marshal.
CONFIDENTIAL DETECTIVE CASES
County deputies investigated a far-
mer’s story that he’d heard a woman
in a car parked down the road call
“Help! Murder!” Clay County depu-
ties examined a bloodstained towel a
farmer had found on his property.
Men from the Jackson County sher-
iff’s office made a thorough search
through a local lovers’ lane from
which had come sounds of screaming
on Thursday night. None of these in-
vestigations brought tangible results.
A report that a man had been seen
climbing into an empty box-car in the
Union Station brought a police
search, while the parking area where
the Allen car was found was shut off,
as detectives and lab technicians went
over every inch of it minutely. In the
ID lab, fingerprint experts went over
the 2500-plus fingerprints on file in
the rogues gallery for comparison
with the prints found on the car.
Another set was sent to the FBI in
Washington for comparison study.
‘LL day Friday and Saturday, hun-
dreds of police officers chased
false leads and phantoms, some valid
‘reports while others were cranks’
wild imaginings. But on Saturday
night, Major Pond got. the first real
break in the case. A blue straw pock-
etbook, found to belong to Wilma
Allen, was discovered in a field just
off U.S. Highway 69. A farmer had
driven past it in his tractor, thought
nothing of it until later when he
heard a radio report on the Allen
case, and sent his son out to pick
it up.
Although the purse might have
been thrown from a Car, Major Pond
had a hunch that somewhere in this
neighborhood he might find a clue to
the missing woman’s whereabouts.
That, at least, was the way it was put
to relatives. What the realistic police
expected to find, in the face of the
evidence, was a body.
It was decided to round up as many
men as possible to search the area.
Kansas City Police and Johnson
County deputies joined forces, and
with floodlights and hand-torches,
started in. However, around two
o’clock on Sunday morning, rain
interfered. (Continued on page 55)
dicions were
2 while she
ighbor back
en, a little
her to the
ase hospital
Andy Rob-
2’s desk.
feeling that
in on her.
s were get-
y now they
s fishy. She
he got on a
oads, trying
said to Mrs.
just wanted
. all right. I
after things
zoing away,
e other end
s. Rhoads’s
—you’re not
Now what
t Etoi slam-
{rs. Rhoads
e suspicious
als and
of the, hos-
1 her chest,
‘t. husband
helped her
id him the
as she had
wn to the
where she
suis Hostet-
nsons. Hos-
in County
n check on
ong before
npton con-
nson home
iled every-
graphers as
eenactment
cellar, she
the rolling
uck Maud;
uddered as
in the mo-
sinson. She
tockings to
‘o clean up
icemen and
he various
led through
a forlorn
finally she
1e recollec-
or.
ned in her
the conse-
ght forging
nly cashed
at hills,
in Co-
to two
onu-degree
: imprison-
TIVE CASES
i
Yes! If the girls LAUGH at you now when you toke
off your shirt - they'll be breaking down the doors to
get dates with you - once they've seen the rugged
OYNAFLEX BODY | can give you! I'll build you a
tough brutal massive body - shoulders clad with
solid inches of he-man BRAWN. I'll give you bulging
biceps. trip-hommer fists. power-packed legs, ond o
chest that will have you popping the buttons off
your shirt with pride! -says MIKE MARVEL,
“Builder of Champion Bodies":
PROOF!
“1 tried two other systems, before my
buddy told me about DYNAFLEX. It
rcally works—and how! Ive put two inches
of solid muscle on my biceps, three inches
on my chest. It's fike tel
L. C., New York City
“*) never thought you could build terri-
fie muscles without exercises or weights.
Started DYNAFLEX two weeks ago, and
am building a great physique.” 7
E. G., Detroit. Mich.
. CLE, &
take that caved-in chest and build on six
ones inches of strong sleek MAN-SIZED
with GIANT RIPPLI
Cin ace that will have the girls
w
tiring exercise, NO high-priced bar-bells
DYNAFLEX is the modern miracle of
amazement HO
about the Magie Secret of OYNAFLEX!
MY SECRET
DYNAFLEX METHOD
CAN BUILD YOU A
MAGNIFICENT NEW HE-MAN-MUSCLED BODY
IN JUST TEN MINUTES A DAY-—with absolutely
NO weights—NO bar-bells—NO EXERCISE AT ALL!
Pal—do YOURSELF a favor! Take a good
long look in a mirror. Do you see @ puny,
starved body—serawny arms—bony shoulders
—a flabby stomach and skinny legs? Do
girls laugh and fellows grin when you take
eff your shirt?
BELIEVE IT OR NOT--! can add solid
fener of rippling. steely he-man
your pale 1 ean
FREE
MEAT
take those skeleton
HH with
WN. I can elothe wee me fee
faspiss
awe and admiration! And with NO
HOW DYNAFLEX BUILDS
BEAUTIFUL BODIES
STRONG-MAN SEX-APPEAL
you did it—tell them
1
1
Build virile he-man appeal. You'll be really ' ders refund my money in full.
proud to have people see your ° le.
CENT HE-MAN-MUSCLES at the beach Do eeee tte, and: NAME. ccsmannenmnnmnnsn ACB ence
or gym, And, when the fellows stare with H arms
envy and jealousy—when the girls crowd ADDRESS
around to squeeze your iron biceps or touch q 0 Develop crushin
wr bulging brawny ohest when tie oe I sa 8 cere ZONE... STATE...
Ls
,; ‘SECRETS OF
Check as many ot the BERNARD'S, P.O. BOX 3274,
“Complete” System FRESNO 66, CALIF.
body-building, It takes no. tiresome exer- $1.98.
cises, ‘‘erash'’ diets. protein foods, and no
weights or bar-bells. OYNAFLEX is the
amazing discovery of a West German Doctor
whose research into the Science of Strength
found a thrilling new way to build GIANT
BRAWNY MUSCLES in ten minutes a day.
With DYNAFLEX you ‘‘flex” each muscle
once—in a certain way—that is more effec-
tive than if you exercised that muscle 20, strong,
30, even 100 times the old-fashioned way.
Cl tee be trim oxay, Mike! Here's $1.98. Send me yo
(0 Build deep brawny body-bulieine 3
pcos woe By HERCULES HE-MAN BODY In just ton
} a jay. us!
© Lose fat, be trim, DYNA FLEX System and my free gift
Mold mighty back,
* broad beefy shoul- become more popular with girls you will
punch-power
NEW
YOU PAY
ONLY
eC
ATTRACTING GIRLS’!
Fellows! Mail the coupen now, end receive Mike Marvel's FREE ~
GIFT to you, this iting and inf: 4
secret method for developing « new, almost MAGNETIC wey of
attracting the girls. At porties, dances, ot the beech—you will
have the girls clustering around you breathlessly, while the
guys wotch enviously. “Whet does HE have thet WE don’t?”
they will say. The
beok. Di e
answer is in this exciting new beok, your
GIFT from Mike Marvel. Fill out and mail the coupon NOW!
handsome book ‘Secrets of Attracting Girls’’ on your
NE.
(Please Print!)
DEATH FOR THE
KANSAS CITY BEAUTY
(Continued from page 41)
Colonel D. L. Ctowe of the Grand-
view Air Base got in touch with the
police and offered to ask: for volun-
teers among the Air Force personnel
to join the hunt. His offer was ac-
cepted, and the next morning Colonel
Crowe appeared with 150 airmen.
Altogether, more than 200 people
fanned out from Highway 69 and
searched for six hours without find-_.
ing anything. Then, around noon, an
airman discovered a nylon stocking
near the Blue River. The area was
thick with foxtail grass, such as had
been found beneath the convertible.
Sheriff Norman Williams, of Johnson
County, discussed the find with Cap-
tain Don Bishop, of the Kansas City
Police, and they decided to line the
searchers up with their backs to the
river and march from it to search for
the other stocking. Within fifteen
minutes, the other stocking was found,
and nearby the tire-marks of a car.
There was no proof that the stock-
CONFIDENTIAL DETECTIVE CASES
=
ings were Wilma Allen’s, but the tire-
marks were at least the same standard
type as she had on. her car. The fields
had been searched thoroughly by
now, and as yet no body had been
found. It was only logical that Cap-
tain Bishop and Sheriff Williams next
directed their search to the. river.
A couple of airmen volunteered to,
wade in and see what they could’ find
along the shallows. The water was
muddy from recent rains, and they
couldn’t see anything, so they had to
operate barefoot, by touch. A shout
from one of the airmen was followed
by his report that something he’d
stepped on emitted bubbles, but when
he reached down blindly, he couldn’t
find anything. He was about to go in
deeper when a message came over a
patrol car radio from Sheriff Willi-
ams’s office that the body of a woman
had been found in a pasture a couple
of miles east of there.
HE body had been found by a
farmer and his teen-age son, driv-
ing along a road known as Spooners
Lane. They had stopped to close the
gate to a pasture which shouldn’t
have been open, and had stumbled
across the body. They guessed whose
it might be, and rushed to a phone
and called the sheriff’s office.
When Major Pond, Williams and
Bishop arrived, they found the naked
body of a brunette who had been shot
twice in the back of the head. Her
hands were behind her back, tied by
a babushka—the one Wilma Allen
had worn on Thursday to keep her
hair set. It was apparent from the
scratches and abrasions all over her
thighs, breasts, face and arms, that
she had put up a terrific fight against
her, assailant.
Now that it had been definitely es-
tablished that the crossing of state
lines was involved, the FBI joined the
intensified hunt for the killer. Al-
though it was impossible as yet to de-
termine conclusively that the slain
woman had been criminally assaulted,
the apparent lack of any other motive
tabbed it as a sex crime.
Wilma’s body was badly decom-
posed, and since there were no bullet
slugs found in the area, it was guessed
that she had been shot in some other
place, either by a .38 or a .45, and
her body dropped in the lovers’ lane.
Though she’d been shot in the back
of the head, she was lying on her
back when found, which indicated she
had been moved from the death spot.
HE Kansas City underworld be-
gan to feel the pressure, now that
55
2 RRM PS eS se
4
TWIN RIVER
RANCHOS " NEVADA
SASSI eA SH,
on ig i oy: IN
| . Groun oor
\— buyers are reaping for-
. - tunes from small initial
i. /) investments. A factual ex-
ample of skyrocketing
values is Las Vegas, Ne-
r vada. Land in Las Vegas
that originally sold for $200.00 an acre now
sells for $20,000.00 an acre, a profit of
1000%! Buyers who took advantage of low
opening prices have become wealthy. The
ground floor opportunity of Las Vegas is gone,
BUT ANOTHER AREA OF PROPEROUS NEVADA
IS NOW BEING RELEASED FOR PUBLIC SALE!
This area has such a tremendous growth
potential, such a fantastic unlimited future,
that wise investors have purchased large
acreage. Bing Crosby’s ranch was one of the
largest ranches in the county. James Stewart
ig. Nenad Sheriff. Yes, the smart experi-
enced investors have sensed the future and
are buying TWIN RIVER RANCHOS in Elko
County, Nevada.
TWIN RIVER RANCHOS has ail of the fac-
tors needed to boom...to prosper...to sky-
rocket its land values. Located on the level,
fertile lands of Rich Elko Valley, The Ranchos
have the backdrop of the statuesque Ruby
Mountains. The sparkling Humboldt River actu-
ally forms one of the Ranchos’ boundaries, and
is a valuable asset of the property. Every
Rancho fronts on a graded road. The City of
Elko, with its long established schools,
neighbor only 10 miles away!
TWIN RIVER RANCHOS ept. 1108
churches and medical facilities is a friendly
FAMILY RECREATION
HUNTING: The hunting of your life. Big game
species Mule Deer, are abundant. Duck, Quail
and Geese are plentiful.
FISHING: A fisherman's orb Huge
Rainbows, Brook Trout and German Browns
abound in Alpine-like lakes and mountain-fed
bottom streams.
FOR THE FAMILY: Riding, swimming and all
sports. Camping and picnicking sites .of un-
believable scenic grandeur. i
INSURE YOUR PROFITABLE TOMORROW
Yes, wise investors are buying in TWIN RIVER
RANCHOS. America’s largest corporations who
buy in advance of population explosion ‘are
also investing in Nevada, Anaconda Copper ~
has just completed a $32,000,000: plant.
North American Aviation, Curtiss-Wright and
Kaiser Steel have secured ong ag sites. U.S.
Census Bureau Fact: Nevada is the Nation's
fastest Kel. state—8 try population in-
crease, /0%, highest in U.S.A. :
TAX RELIEF: No State Income, Gift or Inheri-
tance Tax. The low Real Property Tax is ac-
tually limited by the State Constitution.
THE TOTAL COSTS
The full price of the title to your 242 acre
Rancho is only $495.00. Total payment sched-
ule is $10.00 down, and $10.00 per month,
including 6% interest. You are not required
to do — to your land. You can live or
vacation on it, or simply watch its value
grow, then sell all or part of it for a profit.
Your profitable tomorrow is here TODAY in
TWIN RIVER RANCHOS.
Lake
OS Dept. 11
Henderson, dines
6% interest. No other charges. Send purchase
my holding. You will return my $10 deposit if
days. | enclose $10 deposit for each 24% acre Rancho desired.
Zone:__State:_____
6
Indicate No. of Ranchos ——Total enclosed $____
8 GD SS 2 ee es
i 27 Water Street © Henderson, Nevada
| Yes!—Reserve acreage at TWIN RIVER RANCHOS for me—$495 for each 2% acre parcel—
| payable $10 down and $10 a month Ts
contract and map showing exact location o
| | request same within
|
ois Re , Mliatome
7%] 30] 30 Can
Elio | 40] ao}
5
MAIL COUPON rooay
| headquarters
murder had been established. Any
crook who looked cross-eyed for the
next couple of weeks won a trip to
for questioning, and
known or rumored sex offenders were
rounded up in wholesale lots. The
Kansas City Crime Commission of-
fered a $10,000 reward for informa-
tion leading to the apprehension of
the killer-kidnaper, and hundreds of
people made a try for the reward.
Vague and irresponsible as any tip
might be, the police investigated it.
Kansas City could well be proud of
the intensity with which their law
officers conducted the investigation.
Mrs. Allen’s past was checked
thoroughly for possible enemies, re-
jected suitors, or cranks jealous of
her wealth, but the friendly and popu-
lar woman had no history of enemies
of that sort. William Allen’s business
and social relationships were likewise
checked, but there was nothing to
that angle either. It appeared, more
and more, as though the killing was
virtually without motive.
Under such circumstances, since
the fingerprints hadn’t been traced to
anyone, Major Pond had but one
course: he kept a record of criminals
arrested throughout the country who
were known to have been in Kansas
City on August 4th. Besides that, he
checked out every criminal picked up
in Kansas City as a suspect. Every
crook, from burglar to grifter, got
the full questionnaire.
Although other cases came along
to claim the attention of the Kansas
City Police, the Wilma Allen murder
was far from shelved. Regularly Ma-
jor Pond held meetings to discuss
ideas and to go back over old ground,
hoping to see something which had
been overlooked before. But as of a
meeting on November 9, 1955, there
was nothing factually new or inspira-
tional to give the investigators any
hope of solving the case.
ATE that afternoon, however, an
event occurred which sent Major
Pond’s hopes soaring. That was the
report from Mrs. Arthur Ross Brown
that she had been kidnaped and held
hostage for three hours and had es-
caped as her abductor was threaten-
ing to kill her. Captain Bishop, and
Major Pond drove to her apartment
as soon as they heard about’ it, and
outside they found: neighbors clus-
tered, still talking excitedly about the
kidnaping which two small children
had witnessed. In her apartment, Mrs.
Brown was almost hysterical,
“The—the kidnaper,” she stam-
mered, “was my own husband. I was
coming home from shopping this af-
ternoon—and he suddenly stepped out
of an alley and stuck a gun in my
ribs, and forced me into his car.” She
and Brown had separated in July.
Throughout the wild ride, he had al-
ternately threatened to kill her and
pleaded for a reconciliation.
This criminal technique struck
both officers as similar to that used by
CONFIDENTIAL DETECTIVE CASES
Wilma Allen’s
mediately askec
Kansas City «
Brown knew +
August 2)
could det
date.
After arrang
tion for Mrs. B:
went back to”
the files for f
Ross Brown. ©
There were
were there any.
Pond question:
relatives of th
found no evide:
known Wilma.
The hunt for
as soon as Po:
quarters from
naper’s wife, wv
checked with f)
found that he h
of near panic <
his wife. “There
a reason for his
he did to his wi
“He said if the
for questioning,
for him.”
Brown had \
they tried all t
minals, armed \
kidnaper which
no one recalled
on November 1
cited phone cal
She’d received
from San Fran:
some money fo:
little daughter,
had not includ
might facilitate
Pond notified
police and the
whereabou
the hunt fi
Monday n.v......
policeman in a |
to a complaint
trying to break ;
came across a c:
residential distri
was sleeping. T)
be stolen, and t
Arthur Ross Bro
HE San Fr:
Pond the ne\
the latter requ
Brown for con
found on Wilm
had as yet no p
his man; it was s
on the criminal
The FBI, me
Brown about the
an auto-theft ch
hammered at hi
with dates and ti
tion that there v
crime. Brown he
thing, but the F
on an act of kno
they actually dic
dently that Brow
He admitted tt
CONFIDENTIAL DE’
RATES AT
t
*
noticed the car because it had two ex-
haust pipes—just as the Allen car had.
An hour later, a gas station owner
from south of Stanley called the sher-
iff to say he remembered seeing the
same kind of blue-and-white Chevy. The
driver, a man, had used his place to
turn around and had driven off without
buying any gas.
Sheriff Williams telephoned this in-
formation to the Kansas City police.
Then, an hour later, he had a sheriff’s
car speeding to police headquarters. A
farmer walking along Route 69 had
come across a blue straw pocketbook
which matched the description of one
Wilma Allen had been carrying. In
Kansas City, William Allen identified
the pocketbook as his wife’s.
This was more than enough to center
the search for Wilma Allen in Johnson
County. Over 200 volunteer searchers
in posses searched: the area around the
gasoline station. Before they had time
to find anything. a farmer and his son
were busy searching along Tibbetts
Road, a narrow lovers’ lane. five miles
south of Stanley for some stray cows.
In a field about two miles off Route
69. the farmer spotted something at the
edge of the brush. Walking over to inves-
tigate. the farmer and his son came up
short. It was the nude body of a woman.
The pair rushed back to their farm-
house and called the sheriff’s office.
Arriving on the scene, Sheriff Wil-
liams took one look at the pink-and-red
scarf tied around the dead woman’s
hands and declared: “It’s Wilma Allen
all right.
By the time sleuths from Kansas City
arrived to make identification of the
body definite by a scar on the woman’s
left thigh. the result of a childhood
accident, Johnson County Coroner Dr.
David S. Long had a report ready for
them.
“Bruises about the body indicate the
woman put up a terrific battle.” the
coroner said. “She was raped in a very
forcible manner. Death resulted from
two shots in the back of the head with
a large calibre gun.”
Discovery of Wilma Allen’s body was
confirmation to the police they were
looking for a particularly vicious. yet
cool. killer. .
“Remember it took plenty of nerve
for the killer to dump the body and
then drive all the way back to Kansas
City with a car he must have realized
the police might already be searching
for.” Detective Chief Pond observed.
The motive for the crime was obvi-
ously rape and robbery. But that put
neither Sheriff Williams, the Kansas
City authorities nor the FBI, which
entered the case with the discovery
the killer had crossed state lines with
his vietim, any closer to a solution.
Private citizens, enraged by the
18
fiendishness of the murder, started a
reward fund that soon reached $10,000.
Known sex offenders were rounded up
and given lie tests. A particularly zany
character from the vicinity of the Allen
summer cottage near Lake Lotawana
was taken into custody, but cleared
when he produced a perfect alabi.
No one was able to furnish any de-
cent description of the slayer and with
the palm print in the car unidentifi-
able, the case soon slowed to a process
of running down useless, wild tips.
Weeks ‘passed and still the Allen
murder remained unsolved.
Then on Thursday, November 10,
Kansas City police got a report of an
attempted abduction. Attractive, 30-
year-old Jean Brown had been walking
toward her home on Jefferson Street
when her husband, whom she’d left in
California some months before, hopped
out of a yellow sedan and brandished
a gun in her face. He forced her into
the car and drove off. For three hours
the man threatened to kill her and then
commit suicide, unless she agreed to.
rejoin him and go with him to Mexico.
The woman finally escaped by jump-
ing from the moving car, crying for
help. The man drove off.
On the basis of the woman’s com-
plaint. charges were issued against
He was already on the FBI’s Wanted
List for shooting Wyoming sheriff.
29-year-old Arthur Ross Brown. It de-
veloped that Brown had been on the
FBI’s wanted list for many months.
Brown was wanted in California for
rape and burglary, and also as a pa-
role violator after being released from
prison where he was doing time for
arson.
Brown had been tracked down in
Sheridan, Wyoming. for a number of
burglaries but escaped custody after
shooting Sheriff Willard Marshall twice
in the stomach.
On September 30. Brown telephoned
his wife from San Francisco threaten-
ing to come to Kansas City and kill
her unless she agreed to return to him.
Mrs. Brown informed the police and
was provided with a guard for some
time. When nothing developed, the
police protection was eventually re-
moved. Then followed the recent at-
tempted abduction.
On November 13, Jean Brown re-
ceived a special delivery letter from
her estranged husband postmarked St.
Joseph, Mo. The fugitive enclosed $40
in cash and said the money was to
help support his daughter and apolo-
gized for his recent behavior. “... I’m
all mixed up,” he wrote.
Mrs. Brown turned the letter over
(Continued on page 56)
- that she would often
he case of young men
enough to merely tell
ut her radiant beauty.
boys, who had the
to stretch it a little,
,at she was the “love-
| Europe,” were never
oy Rosie to regret this
always left tired but
agued by distressing
ecurrent feelings of
ew weeks before her
safety lock, which only
put on her door. She
irl friend: “I’m afraid
d some day.” And to
aid, quite seriously:
die voung.”
ht on both counts. She
ind she died young. She
or a girl who was hand-
to start out with. For,
ll her expensive posses-
lection of valuable jew-
ore than $50,000 in the
se about Rosie: riches
> was anything but hap-
e said she was sick of
anted to “settle down.”
id, if I could find the
often confided to inti-
‘ry him like a shot. He
to have money or any-
buy him a house. And,
| make him a damn good
ver got her man.
was murdered—and _ fa-
THE END
ued from page 18)
ielp. Five other officers -
at Curtis P. Irwin rushed
They moved in gingerly
| knew that Brown was
1 and vowed never to be
idn’t wake up until there
police revolvers staring
face. The officers found
jistols on the seat beside
t was Arthur Ross Brown
£ Brown’s capture, Chief
isas City immediately re-
the prisoner’s palm prints
sdiately to Washington to
with that found on the
lis request was complied
roved unnecessary.
Interviewed by G-man Irwin in San
Francisco, Brown: admitted a string of
crimes all over the western half of the
country.
“And what about Kansas City,” Ir-
win demanded. “We know you were
there August 4.”
Brown took a drag on his cigarette.
“All right,” he said. “You have me on
that one, too. I killed that Allen dame.
I used a Smith and Wesson .38 on her.”
Brown readily agreed to dictating a
full confession to the crime.
“I got into Kansas City on the morn-
ing of August 3rd, 1955, by train from
Sheridan, Wyoming,” Brown declared.
“TI went first to my wife’s home... She
had left me in California in July and
returned to Kansas City.
“I left her place Thursday morning,
August 4, and walked east on Main
Street and caught a southbound street
car. I had this .38 calibre Smith and
Wesson revolver in my belt. I got off
the street car at the big Katz drug store
at about 40th and Main with the inten-
tion of locating somebody to rob for
money and an automobile.
“I looked around at that location
for about 45 minutes and didn’t see
anybody suitable. There was a parking
lot there, but it was too crowded. I
left. Then I rode the street car south
to a shopping center that I now know
as Brookside Plaza. I walked around
there for about an hour looking for a
good prospect that looked wealthy.
Finally this woman came out of a store
and walked over to a flashy Chevvie
convertible. I thought she looked like.
ready money, so when she opened the
door and slid under the wheel I slip-
ped in beside her. I point my gun at
her and told her to start driving and
behave. I thought about kidnaping
someone for ransom, but had left my
clothes at my wife’s apartment and
felt that I couldn’t carry out such a
plan.”
Brown described the route he and his
victim had taken, how she’d identified
herself as a mother and begged to be
released. He also told how he’d ex-
plained to her understandably that he
had a child: himself ana “know just
how you feel.”
“T° recall driving through Stanley,”
Brown went on. “I knew what I was
going to do and I needed an isolated
spot for it. We left the highway and
went a couple of miles down a dirt
road. When I saw that field with the
thicket in the back I thought that
would be a good place to kill the
woman.”
Brown detailed his struggle with and
rape of his victim and then her exe-
cution after first letting her scream for
several moments until she gave up
from exhaustion.
JUST 12 MILES from ELKO, NEVADA
$1 own / SEO ptr mourn 7 CULL prics cae onors
MEADOW VALLEY RANCHOS
, ae nang Sans
THE VERY BEST FEATURES OF TWO WORLDS
... THE WORLD OF THE WEST: Located in prosper-
ous Elko County, the ranchos have the backdrop of
the majestic Ruby Mountains. The sparkling Hum-
boldt River is a short 4% mile away. Every Rancho
fronts on a graded road that leads into coast to
coast U.S. Highway 40. Amidst these spectacular
surroundings MEADOW VALLEY RANCHO owners can
relax and enjoy the wonderful life of the Golden
West. ‘
... THE WORLD OF CITY CONVENIENCES: The bus-
tling city of Elko with its modern schools, shops,
theaters, hospital and airport is only 14% miles
away. New homes, with FHA financing committments
issued, are now under construction... less than 1
mile from the property. The Experienced, Successful
Developers of MEADOW VALLEY RANCHOS are not
offering remote land where purchasers have to hope
for progress and expansion. They offer you the
opportunity of a life time, a chance to participate
In Nevada's continuing boom... Minutes from the
conveniences of hospitable Elko, in the midst of
current growth and progress, MEADOW VALLEY
RANCHOS has all the necessary ingredients to sky-
rocket in value!
RECREATION UNLIMITED:
GOLF: A mere one
mile from MEADOW
VALLEY RANCHOS
is the Ruby View
Golf Course. No
rush for starting
times on this city
owned and main-
gem tained golf course,
but golfing as it should be enjoyed. Play a leisurely
9-18 or 36 holes surrounded by breathtaking scr.-
ery, minutes from your rancho.
tial —
RES apt
HUNTING: Hunters from all corners of the globe
come to Elko County to hunt the big game species
Mule Deer... Quail, Chukar, and Partridge are -
found in abundance.
BOOMING NEVADA IS EQUALED BY ONLY A FEW PLACES IN THE WORLD.
Population has surged: Westward in ever increasing numbers. Westward
to Nevada, where the air is fresh and clear, taxes are low or non-
existent and opportunity is open to all. Yes, Nevada is booming and
real estate investors are prospering. It is a proven fact that many
' purchasers of Nevada acreage have realized fabulous profits from small
Investments. Now, a NEW Nevada Real Estate Opportunity exists for
f you. This Ground Floor Opportunity is MEADOW VALLEY RANCHOS,
ome located only 142 miles from the thriving city of Elko, Nevada.
FISHING: In jewel like
lakes, and mountain fed
bottom streams you'll
catch trophy size Ger-
man Browns, Rainbow
and Brook Trout. . large
mouth fighting Bass.
RANCHO owners can catch their dinner within easy
driving distance of the property lines.
YOUR OWN LAKE...
You, and your invited
guests will spend many
happy hours boating,
fishing and picnicking
at nearby Lake Osino.
There is no charge to
Rancho owners for full rights to the use of this
private multi-acre lake and park area.
PROVEN OPPORTUNITY: Yes, individuals are taking
advantage of Nevada opportunity. But the coun-
try’s leading corporations are also investing in
their Nevada futures. Industrial giants, who erect
plants where increasing land values and population
demand them, are building or have secured acreage
throughout, Nevada.
LOW OR NON-EXISTENT TAXES: As a result of Ne-
vada's low realistic tax structure, Profits And
Wages Are Kept; not paid out to the state. NEVADA
HAS NO STATE INCOME, INHERITANCE, CORPORA-
TION OR GIFT TAX. The low real property tax is
definitely limited by the state constitution. YES,
NEVADA IS ONE OF OUR LAST FRONTIERS OF TAX
FREEDOM!
TOTAL COSTS: The full price of the title to your
2% acre Rancho is only $595.00. Complete payment
schedule is $1.00 down and $10.00 per month.
No interest, no.carrying charges. Live, Vacation or
Retire on your land, or simply hold for investment
security. Wise men like Andrew Carnegie -said,
“More money has been made in Real Estate than in
all industrial investments combined.’’ Make MEADOW
VA)LEY RANCHOS’ PROSPEROUS FUTURE — YOUR
FUTURE. DON’T MISS THIS GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY!
MEADOW VALLEY RANCHOS MAIL COUPON TODAY
2382 Stockmen Bidg., Elko, Nevada
Yes! — Reserve acreage at MEADOW VALLEY RANCHOS for me — 2% acre
§ parcel, $595 — payable $1 down, and $10 a month — no interest no carrying
§ charges. Sand ghee: contract and map showing exact location of my
holding. You will return my deposit if | request same within 30 days. |
enclose deposit for each 24% acre rancho desired.
']
1 (Ee |oom| oe]
§ | 2%] $1 | s10 i
MEADOW VALLEY RANCHOS a H i
fit, neta” ie eS Sin Sis
No. of R. ——Total $
57
es
|
picture for Roxy-NF. It is being dis-
tributed in the U.S. by Films-Around-
the-World, Inc., and stars luscious
Nadja Tiller as Rosemarie.
The movie differs in several respects
from the true story of Frankfurt’s now
celebrated courtesan. The celluloid
. Rosie, for example, is portrayed as
picking up some side money by spying
on German industry for the French.
Her big bed was wired for sound, with
concealed tape recorders, and hidden
cameras as well.
The real life Rosemarie was no spy.
It is said, however, that her popular
bedroom was equipped with secret cam-
eras and recorders, and that she made
a good thing of blackmail as well as
prostitution.
But there are those who question
whether Rosie dabbled in blackmail.
One of these is the wife of a leading
Dusseldorf industrialist, who consid-
ers the idea very silly.
“TI don’t get it,” says this wife. “How
could she have blackmailed anybody?
All of us (wives) are well aware that
our husbands cheat on us, sleep with
their secretaries, and that sort of thing.
How can you blackmail a man like
that?”
There is another variation in the pic-
ture. While his flesh creeps briskly, the
viewer sees a disembodied hand reach
out from behind a curtain, and hears
the doomed doxy give tongue to a
piercing scream of terror.
But that’s not the way it happened
in real life...
No clutching hand, so far as the
Frankfurt Murder Squad _ knows,
emerged from behind a curtain to take
a death grip on Rosie’s soft white
throat; no spine-chilling scream was
heard.
But, when friends became worried
because Rosie didn’t answer her phone,
and no one had seen her on November
lst, 1957, police broke into her apart-
ment and found her stone cold dead in
the living room, lying on one of her
beautiful Oriental rugs, garroted by her
own stockings, still taut about her neck.
It was believed by investigators that
Rosie entertained her last customer on
the last night in October. But they
can’t say who he was, or if he was the
murderer.
From the beginning, police have been
walking on eggs, moving gingerly and
with utmost discretion. And their ques-
tioning of several big industrialists was
conducted with a gentleness and con-
sideration rarely encountered in police
work anywhere.
Finally, an unemployed salesman,
bearing no resemblance whatever to
any of Rosemarie’s chip-heavy clients,
voluntarily went to the police. He was
described as a “close acquaintaince” of .
the golden girl of prostitution and talk-
56
ed freely about anything but her mur-
der because, he said, he only knew
what he read in the papers.
This man, named Heinz Pohlman,
admitted that, although jobless, he had
recently come into possession of a rath-
er large sum of money. And his ex-
planations of where and how he got it
struck the cops as exceedingly vague
and unconvincing.
Pohlman was not held after his first
appearance at Police Headquarters. But
on February 6th, 1948, he was arrested
and charged with Rosie’s murder. The
police didn’t give out much more than
to say they had reason to believe the
money he couldn’t (or wouldn’t) ac-
count for had been taken from the
Stiftstrasse flat.
Where at first Pohlman was highly
communicative, he finally clammed up
and would say no more than:
“T am innocent of the death of Frau-
lein Rosemarie Nitribritt.”
The real Rosemarie was a rarity in
a number of ways. Being openly ad-
mired by less successful members of
her profession was an almost unique
distinction. The girls apparently de-
rived a vicarious satisfaction from her
triumphs in the field of what someone
has called “commercialized eroticism.”
They like to sit over a stein of lager
and swap stories they’d heard about
the “Countess,” and say more power
to her.
Rosie also was a woman of many
moods. The way some of her friends
put it, “she was always trying to run
away from herself.”
And, although she had only to
glance in the mirror to find out who
was the fairest of them all, she could
never be certain that she really was
beautiful.
It is said of her that she would often
waive her fee in the case of young men
who were astute enough to merely tell
her the truth about her radiant beauty.
The real, clever boys, who had the
presence of mind to stretch it a little,
and assure her that she was the “love-
liest woman in all Europe,” were never
given any cause by Rosie to regret this
extra effort. They always left tired but
happy. :
Rosie was plagued by distressing
premonitions, recurrent feelings of
doom. Only a few weeks before her
death she had a safety lock, which only
she could open, put on her door. She
explained to a girl friend: “I’m afraid
’ll be murdered ‘some day.” And to
another she said, quite seriously:
“You'll see—I’ll die voung.”
Rosie was right on both counts. She
was murdered, and she died young. She
also died rich, for a girl who was hand-
ed a cold deck to start out with. For,
in addition to all her expensive posses-
sions, and a collection of valuable jew-
elry, she had more than $50,000 in the
bank.
Something else about Rosie: riches
or no riches, she was anything but hap-
py “inside.” She said she was sick of
her life, and wanted to “settle down.”
“And I would, if I could find the
right man,” she often confided to inti-
mates. “I’d marry him like a shot. He
wouldn’t need to have money or any-
thing. I’d even buy him a house. And,
what’s more, I’d make him a damn good
wife.”
But Rosie never got her man.
All ‘she got was murdered—and fa-
mous,
THE END
“Like Taking Candy From A
Baby!
(Continued from page 18)
to the police who were keeping close
tabs on the Brown manhunt since they
now knew he was in Kansas City at
the time of the Allen murder.
The break in the nationwide search
came the following .day in San Fran-
cisco when Patrolman Bert Bystrom
was checking the Candlestick Cove
section after a woman had reported
a prowler around her home.
At the corner of Tacloma and Blan-
ken Avenues, the officer happened
across a yellow Chevrolet sedan with a
man sleeping in the back seat. Every
officer in town was keeping an eye out
for such a car since it was known that
the fugitive Brown was traveling in
that model.
Taking no chances, the officer tele-
phoned for help. Five other officers .
plus FBI Agent Curtis P. Irwin rushed
to the scene. They moved in gingerly
since they all knew that Brown was
heavily armed and vowed never to be
taken alive.
The man didn’t wake up until there
were loaded police revolvers staring
him in the face. The officers found
two loaded pistols on the seat beside
the suspect. It was Arthur Ross Brown
all right.
Informed of Brown’s capture, Chief
Pond in Kansas City immediately re-
quested that the prisoner’s palm prints
be sent immediately to Washington to
be compared with that found on the
death car. His requést was complied
with, but proved unnecessary.
Interviewed by G-man I
Francisco, Brown admitted
crimes all over the western
country.
“And what about Kans
win demanded. “We kno:
there August 4.”
Brown took a drag on h
“All right,” he said. “You
that one, too. I killed that
I used a Smith and Wesson
Brown readily agreed to
full confession to the crim
“T got into Kansas City «
ing of August 3rd, 1955, b
Sheridan, Wyoming,” Brov
“T went first to my wife’s |
had left me in California
returned to Kansas City.
“T left her place Thursd
August 4, and walked ea
Street and caught a south]
car. I had this .38 calibre
Wesson revolver in my be
the street car at the big Kai
at about 40th and Main wit
tion of locating somebody
money and an automobile.
“I looked around at t
for about 45 minutes an:
anybody suitable. There w:
lot there, but it was too
left. Then I rode the stre:
to a shopping center that
as Brookside Plaza. I wa
there for about an hour |:
good prospect that look
Finally this woman came o
and walked over to a fla
convertible. I thought she
ready money, so when she
door and slid under the \
ped in beside her. I poini
her and told her to start
behave. I thought abou
someone for ransom, but
clothes at my wife’s ap:
felt that I couldn’t carry
plan.”
Brown described the rout
victim had taken, how she
herself as a mother and b
released. He also told hi
plained to her understand:
had a child’ himself ana
how you feel.”
“T recall driving throu;
Brown went on. “I knew
going to do and I needed
spot for it. We left the }
went a couple of miles «
road. When I saw that fi
thicket in the back I t
would be a good place
woman.”
Brown detailed his strug;
rape of his victim and th
cution after first letting he:
several moments until sh
from exhaustion.
Ses
in
betes
RUSH
COUPON
$595,
with 3 snap-in
washable
absorbent pads ¢
MALE-DRI
SUPPORT
Here’s the easy, sanitary way to stop the
embarrassment of wet garments and bedding.
Wear MALE-DRI, the day-and-night support
After returning: to Kansas City, he
said he abandoned the Allen car and
took the bus to St. Joseph.
Brown’s story was found flawless in
every detail and later confirmed by
the matching of his palm print.
Brown’s trial in United States Dis-
trict Court opened January 23, 1956.
Technically, he was charged with vio-
lation of the Federal Kidnaping Act
since he’d transported his victim alive
across the state line between Missouri
and Kansas.
The trial was cut and dried. The
defense offered no evidence at all.
It was left to the jury to bring in
a verdict of whether Brown’s punish-
ment should be by imprisonment or
death. Within 35 minutes the jury re-
turned with a guilty verdict, without
recommendation of mercy.
On February 24, 1956, Arthur Ross
Brown entered the gas _ chamber.
Whether his last living moments were
filled with the echo of frantic screams
of a doomed young mother is prob-
lematical. THE END
delight you.
4 Te * .
. roe 0 ONE
we om
ae ! that gives you constant protection and confi-
1 Dapt. CMeioaM, : dence. High-quality elastic belt, wet-proof
t 811 Wyandotte St. 1 pouch. Quilted absorbent reusable cotton pad
: Kansas City 5, Mo. { snaps in — removes easily for laundering.
4 | enclose $. O Cash ()Check y IDEAL FOR POST-OPERATIVE COMFORT,
1 Cmoney order. Send me Male Dri | TOO. Guaranteed satisfaction or money back
H Supports @ $5.95 each plus 25¢ postage. My ; if returned postpaid in 30 days. MALE-DRI
1 measurement srownd waist Is jncnen, 1 comes to you in plain envelope. Send measure
§ Name ! around waist.
1 i]
1 Address. (
+ mie | PIPER BRACE COMPANY - DEPT. CM-104M,
r] eee eee ees «811 “Wyandotte Street = + Kansas City, Mo.
= _
Never a gal
like her in
a film like
this torrid
production,
Her body is _ =
sensational. oe 0 IE EVER MADE!
She'll make bi. ce
you shudder ,
with pleas: You won't believe your eyes
ure. She'll
when you see it. You'll not part
with it for any price. The film of
the century can now be yours!
GUARANTEED
Your money back
at once if it’s
not better than
any you've seen
8mm Movie (50 feet)... .$3.00
16mm Movie (100 feet).’.$6.00
8 4x5 Photos........... $2.00
5 2x2 Color Slides...... $2.00
Melton 8mm Movie Viewer $4.95
Send cash, check or money order No C.0.D.'s
TIGER PRODUCTION LAB
BOX 69993 LOS ANGELES 69, CALIFORNJA
DEPT. S-10,
58
uy
m Scared—My Husband
Will Find Out About Us!”
(Continued from page 41)
That was the evidence, supposedly.
But was it evidence enough to sup-
port a charge of murder?
In his cell, Jon Mattox was steadfast
in his continued protestations of inno-
cense.
“Somebody is making a bad mis-
take,” he insisted calmly. “They'll find
that out before long.”
Most of the townspeople were in-
clined to agree with him. As many of
them pointed out—what motive could
he have had?
That was a question that police were
having difficulty in answering. Too
much difficulty, it seemed. For on
February 17, not quite two weeks
after his sudden midnight arrest, Jon
Mattox was released from custody.
At the same time the authorities re-
‘leased a strangely worded statement in
partial explanation. It read in part:
“Mattox was arrested after laboratory
reports and other evidence gave the
officers reasonable cause to believe
Mattox had committed the murder.
“Subsequently, additional evidence
was submitted to the laboratory, and
the second findings. in a most unusual
particular, tended to weaken the evi-
dence of guilt.
“It is the opinion of attorneys and
the police chief that legal proceedings
against Mattox at this time are inad-
visable.”
When Sex Becomes “Ditterent”’
UNUSUAL SEX PRACTICES
by M. D. Greenwood
An “Unusual” sex practice |
where there is some greater p!
than orgasm through intercourse
of these bizarre practices inv
measure of mutilation, shock, \
ism, pain or torture. The sex
of the average person are rel
free of such sadistic or maso
traits . . . NEVERTHELESS, the
will be shocked to see how ab
are the tastes of the so-called
person, CASE HISTORIES and int
field work. Filled with chapter
tailing ALL ASPECTS of the se
SAMPLE HEADINGS: Masturbation
eurism, Masochism, Satyraisis,
shism, Bestiality and others. The
age reader will be surprised t
how unusual practices are passed
by seemingly innocent, norma
partners. A-18 —
30 CASE HISTORIES!
THE HOMOSEXUALS by a. M. Kri
Word for word, as they were s
A fascinating insight into the s
world of the “Third Sex.”’ Inc
are: The Diary of a Lesbian
Find out why ‘Homosexual Love i
ter Than the Love of a Women;’’
about Homosexual Practices in pr
on-ships, in all girl, all-boy scho
A-940p —
SEXUAL FEELING IN MEN & WI
by Dr. G. Lombard Kelly
Covers the entire subject of s
marriage, including sex instructio:
impulse in men and women, impo:
sex hygiene, auto-eroticism, ste
fertility, change of life, etc.
Important pieces of information
into the theme: how to enlarg:
erect penis, penis fears in wives:
of lubricants, satisfaction during
struation, a wife's manual assis
in overcoming semi-impotence.
Original drawings: Male and fema
ans, both external and internal,
ngs indicating correct and inc:
methods of penetration. Wives wi
nefit from seeing how the pen
received. A-974 —
DON’T MISS...
SEXUAL DEVIATIONS IN THE FE
by Louis S. London, M.D.
Dramatic forces that drive wome
“changes.” Complete Case Hist
Lesbian Leanings, Nymphomania,
jects used for masturbation, Fe
and Cunnilinguis Between Brother
Sister, and others. A-906 —
PROSTITUTION AND SOCIETY — p
Henriques — An erotic study of
history of prostitution in all cour
. . . in all ways. Many photos
illustrations. Greek and Roman br
paintings alone make this a valu
exciting book. A-12—‘
ILLUSTRATED SEX ATLAS — L. ©
M.D. — Over 287 pictures give a
by-step how to do it in the art of
Special sections on sex organs.
A-140 — §
PARTNERS IN LOVE — E. Hami
Ph.D. — A new concept for an exc
sex life. Don’t miss sections on lor
ity. Thrilling culminations possible
all. A-698 — §
FEMALE HOMOSEXUALITY by Fran}
Caprio, M.D. Lesbians by the hund
interviewed and biuntly yo pag
$32 —
THE JEWEL IN THE LOTUS by &
Edwardes. Actual customs from
syrtorions East, where SEX is a
of life. A-908 — $1
Send to John Amslow & Assoc., 6
1843
Murder anda
Footnote to History
| By the standards of the 20th century, 1843 was not
F an extraordinary year. John Tyler moved into the
White House as the first vice president to become
_ president upon the death of his predecessor, William
| Henry Harrison. Tyler was not well liked. He was
known as "Old Veto" for vetoing more than nine
| bills during his term of office, more than any presi-
dent before him. On January 10 he successfully beat
_ back an attempt in the House of Representatives to
impeach him for gross usurpation of power.
The year was 1843. Expansionist pressures were
| building. The American frontier was a loose and
. unofficial line running along the northern state
| boundaries of Missouri and Illinois, and along the
| western state boundaries of Missouri, Arkansas and
_ Louisiana. The line also cut into a small eastern piece
| of the Independent Republic of Texas. Although it
was an imaginary line it had political significance in
terms of the slavery issue. Politically the frontier
marked the eastern edge of civilization, the relative
| safe areas open to settlement. West of the line lay the
' wild unsettled lands, lands which did not yet belong
to the United States. This territory was noted on
contemporary maps as including the Unorganized or
Indian Territories and Northern Mexico. In a few
| years the expansionist pressures would result in the
Mexican American War. As a result of the American
victory Northern Mexico would be ceded to the
| United States. Included in the Mexican cession were
the future states of California, New Mexico, Arizona,
Utah and Nevada. The Unorganized or Indian Terri-
tories were a different matter. They already belonged
to the United States since the Louisiana Purchase.
The areas that play an integral role in this tale of
historical murder are Missouri and the future states
of New Mexico and Kansas. Kansas was an arid and
desolate place, considered useless for any agricul-
| tural endeavors. Grain farming wouldn't begin until
_ 1874 when the Mennonites arrived in Kansas,
' bringing with them trunks loaded with seeds of
- Turkey Red. It was this strain of wheat that became
the basis for the abundant crops from which the
Kansas economy would later benefit.
New Mexico saw thousands of years of peaceful
agricultural settlement by Native Americans, and
hundreds of years of aggressive settlement by the
nomadic Navajo and Apache tribes. The first Euro-
peans arrived as a treasure seeking expedition lead
by Francisco Vazquez de Coronado in the 16th cen-
tury. The territory was quickly claimed by Spain and
in 1610 Santa Fe became its first permanent settle-
ment. Throughout the 17th century missionary work
was the predominant activity of the area. Trade with
New Mexico's next door neighbor, the United States,
began in 1821 when the region became part of the
Independent Republic of Mexico. The main artery of
this commercial activity was Santa Fe Trail, which
opened the same year. For the Missouri border
towns the Santa Fe Trail and its trade link with the
greater Mexican Republic meant economic survival
and in some cases outright prosperity.
Missouri was named for an extinct Indian tribe
whose last action was losing a battle with the Osage
in 1805, thereafter the tribe dispersed and ceased to
exist. The state's first white settlers were French lead
miners and fur trappers. It was these intrepid
Frenchmen who founded St. Louis in 1764. In 1803
Missouri became a United States possession as part
of the Louisiana Purchase. The state did not see its
first wave of American settlers until after the War of
1812. After much wrangling about its status Mis-
souri entered the Union in 1821 as a slave state un-
der the Missouri Compromise of 1820.
From the very beginning trade was important to
the economy of the frontier state. Its economic life-
line was the Santa Fe Trail opened by trader William
Becknell. From the Missouri River, the trail followed
the divide between the tributaries of the Kansas and
Arkansas rivers to somewhere near the present town
of Great Bend, Kansas. At this point the trail fol-
lowed the Arkansas until it separated into three
routes. The shortest of these went to Santa Fe.
URDER
N NORTH AMERICA
Lionel Martinez
THE WELLFLEET PRESS
Secaucus, At: \
4\
MURDER IN NORTH AMERICA
1]
The westward flow of manufactured goods and
ite eastward flow of gold, silver and fur was benefi-
Mal to both partners. Silver pesos and gold dou-
bloons from Santa Fe stabilized the rural Missouri
economy. In 1839 the Bank of Missouri, one of the
Oundest state banks in the nation, avoided collapse -
bY the timely deposit of $45,000 in silver brought to
Missouri by an American merchant train arriving
rom New Mexico. The Mexicans not only gained
Manufactured goods at reasonable prices, but also
he business of refitting the wagon trains with spare
Darts and the sale of grain to nourish the animals.
Both Missouri and New Mexican gunsmiths, carpen-
fers, blacksmiths and other craftsmen benefited from
fis arrangement. It really was quite ideal and no
me wanted it to change.
Yet there were some changes during the short his-
ory of the arrangement. Early in the commercial
fenture most of the traders were from Missouri. But
Sewith any good money-making idea, everyone
wanted to get in on the act., especially the old aristo-
atic families of New Mexico. Mexican trade grew
and for these aristocratic families commerce flour-
Shed after a small successful overture to the U.S.
Povernment, in 1826, asking permission to allow
Mexican merchants to trade directly across open
Borders. By 1843 the majority of the Santa Fe Trail
Taders were Mexican. No one at either end of the
fail complained. Everyone remotely involved in the
banta Fe commerce was making a profit from the
Ace,
Unlike our crime-ridden times, when government
Siticials, financiers, stock brokers and bank presi-
fents seem to vie with one another to see how much
Money they can steal, there was very little lawless-
Mess at that time in either Santa Fe or Independence,
ie American and Mexican terminuses of the Santa
fe; Trail. It was not unknown for goods shipped
rom St. Louis to stand unguarded in Independence
fOr weeks until they were ready for shipment to
yanta Fe. Once a member of the Chavez Mexican
merchant family left $100,000 in silver coins outside
store where he was going to conduct his business
He next day. Not one coin was missing in the
Mmotning. Trust was so great on that part of the fron-
Her, banks would lend unsecured loans for a year
oniident that they would be paid back.
During this time living legends actually traveled
he Santa Fe Trail. Giants such as Kit Carson, Daniel
Boone, Davy Crockett and John C. Frémont were
Fommon visitors to both Missouri and New Mexico.
Tt was also a time when omens, either supernatu-
fat or religious, appeared and were taken seriously.
gomets scarred the heavens, floods scoured the
sountry, rumors of a new locust plague flew through
the farmlands and the end of the world was seen to
be just around the corner. In New York state,
William Miller, a farmer by occupation and a con-
verted Baptist by inclination, preached for almost 10
years that Christ would return on March 21, 1843.
With his talk of impending Judgment Day, he gained
a few thousand followers. When Miller's end of the
world did not arrive on schedule, he admitted to a
small miscalculation and set another date.
Into this time of settled trade and unsettling
omens a murderous passion was released, and it
came from the direction of the Independent Repub-
lic of Texas. Upon winning the battle of San Jacinto
in 1836, and since its independence from Mexico,
Texas looked to conquering the province of New
Mexico. In 1841, Mirabeau Lamar, president of the
small republic, sent an expedition of over 300 men
to Santa Fe to achieve this goal. Lamar reasoned that
even if the campaign failed to assert Texas' claim to
the land, it would surely wrench away a sizable por-
tion of the profitable Santa Fe trade for the finan-
cially strapped republic. The soldiers lost their way
and the invasion was a disaster. When they arrived
at the eastern settlements of New Mexico the expe-
dition was nearly starving and their morale was
nonexistent. With very little effort the Mexican army
easily defeated the ragged Texans and the winners
marched the surviving invaders off to prison in
Mexico City. Enter the U.S. government. After sev-
eral weeks of heated diplomatic negotiations the
prisoners were released.
Later the same year Sam Houston defeated La-
mar's bid for a second term. The new president faced
the same economic problems as his predecessor—
the treasury was on the brink of collapse. It had
been chronically short of cash under Lamar. Texas
had met with limited success seeking loans from Eu-
ropean governments. Two years later the new re-
public still needed funds. Houston began to think of
how he could expand trade. His solutions were the
same as his predecessor's. Either Texas should annex
from Northern Mexico or divert some of the traffic
on the Santa Fe Trail towards Texas. The following
year began with an interesting proposition.
Charles Alexander Warfield was the well educated
son of a New Orleans merchant and a bit of an ad-
venturer. He had traveled the Southwest in search of
new experiences and new enterprises, and was inti-
mately knowledgeable of the commerce along the
Santa Fe Trail. With the help of some of his New Or-
leans contacts Warfield offered his services to Presi-
dent Houston. It was a package deal. The young
man proposed to win the hearts and minds of the
New Mexicans for Texas. His strategy was simple; he
would lead an expedition of volunteers on a takeover
i
MURDER IN NORTH AMERICA
of the government of New Mexico. In return
Warfield wanted half of all booty seized, the remain-
ing half would fill the Texas treasury. There was
nothing wrong with his plan, except it sounded
suspiciously like the failed expedition of "41."
Warfield added a new wrinkle to the scheme. He
wanted the plan to be kept secret. Only a few indi-
viduals at the highest levels of government were to
know about his mission. Warfield would pose as a
mercenary raider and not as an agent in the employ
of the Texas government. This cover would enable
him to enlist anywhere between 500 and 1,000
hand-picked men of his choosing, and he would not
have to worry about recruits who might have di-
vided loyalties between Warfield's cause and their
other beliefs. At the same time he wanted a letter of
authority stating that he was working for Texas
along with a commission as colonel. The letter of au-
thority was to insure that Northern Mexico could
legally be annexed by Texas after Warfield and his
band conquered it. The commission as colonel was
for his ego and to give him the military authority to
Carry out his mission,
Sam Houston was delighted. This Opportunity
could not have come at a better time. Since the 184]
unsuccessful raid in New Mexico, the Mexicans had
become quite testy. They had carried out a series of
small raids culminating in the temporary seizing of
San Antonio. In all cases the Mexicans were beaten
back to their own land. The new president wanted
to show that Texas was not to be taken lightly, and
he wanted revenge.
Wartield's notion seemed to solve the need for re-
venge and provide a solution to the economic crisis
with one bold stroke. So Houston ordered the secre-
tary of war, George W. Hockley, to obtain the au-
thorization for Warfield's invasion of New Mexico.
Hockley took the subject of secrecy very seri-
ously; he told no one in the Texas government or
Congress about the plan. He obtained the requested
documents and commission. The wagon wheel of
fate was ready to tum in some unexpected ways.
Armed with the proper authorization and
colonel's rank, Warfield began the task of recruiting
his army. He started in Texas, traveled through
Arkansas and sometime in October 1842 he ended
up in St. Louis, Missouri. For someone who wanted
to keep his real mission shrouded in secrecy the
colonel was quite the camival barker. He immedi-
ately attracted everyone's notice by promising rich
rewards and officer's commissions in the Texas
army. As if to underscore the last inducement,
Warfield was seen on a number of occasions bran-
dishing blank commissions in the Texas military
service. It is unknown, but doubtful, whether he
signed up any recruits in Saint Louis.
His next stop was across the state, to the imagi-
nary frontier line, in Independence. Here he found
men willing to undertake his enterprise. Two of
them were brothers, John and David McDaniel from
the town of Liberty. Liberty was only 10 miles away
from Independence and on the other side of the Mis-
souri River, but as far as knowing who was who and
what was what... All the townsfolk of Independence
knew about the McDaniels was that they came from
good family. John could be a very charming man
when he needed to be. No one at the time knew that
John had become an outlaw and killer after serving
in the Texas militia a few years before. No one in the
1840s could have diagnosed that John had what in
modern times is called a sociopathic personality.
Later people would say his moral character was
badly flawed.
Warfield signed up close to 60 men at Indepen-
dence. He was so impressed by John McDaniel's
charm that he used one of his much brandished
blank commissions to make McDaniel a captain in
the Texas military. The colonel also put John in
charge of his new recruits and asked him to find
more. Warfield straight away set out toward the
Rocky Mountains to enroll more members for his
merry band of adventurers.
John McDaniel was left specific instructions as to
when and where to join Col. Warfield. He was also
given the gist of the invasion plans of New Mexico.
On May 15, Warfield, and his newly enlisted men
from the Rocky Mountains, would meet McDaniel
and his detachment at Point of Rocks on the Santa
Fe Trail. Point of Rocks was close to the edge the
Mexican border. On the same day a small contingent
of Texas enrollees was expected to arrive at the
meeting place. Once joined, this paramilitary outfit
would ravage the trail, taking Mexican plunder
wherever it could be found. As soon as they had
cleared the trade route, they would travel due
southwest and begin their glorious invasion of Mex-
ico,
The plan was bold. It was audacious. It began to
unravel as soon as Warfield left Independence.
McDaniel had five months to kill before he was
due to meet Warfield at Point of Rocks. He had
nothing but time on his hands and he spent that
time at Yoacham's Tavern in nearby Westport, Mis-
sourl. Capt. John McDaniel did recruit some more
men for the cause. He also lost most of the men that
Warfield had enlisted. Within a relatively short time
the nature of the Missouri company changed from
carest young men seeking fame, fortune and glory
to a gang of land pirates. Much of this transforma-
tion can be attributed to John McDaniel's lack of
ley
to
RDER IN NORTH AMERICA
1! 9e,
r
Sn
"hte
FIERCE
"In the East the frontier was portrayed as dangerous, uncivilized
‘land, full of unsavory characters who would steal your money as
| soon as look at you. In fact compared to the respectable cities like
| New York, the frontier was usually downright boring.
4
Pplanned robbery of Antonio José. If there was foul
»play, McDaniel and his gang were prime suspects. As
_his gaze fell upon the ledger three signatures stood
out, "John McDaniel for Texas, David McDaniel and
‘William Mason."
McDaniel had signed his real name when he
‘boarded the steamboat because he had no idea he
was wanted for his crimes. He was just being his ob-
/noxious self. He soon found out how dire his cir-
-cumstance really was.
Two developments occurred simultaneously
‘when the paddlewheeler stopped at Independence
yLanding. Gentry sent an urgent note to Indepen-
dence, two miles away, stating that the McDaniels
and Mason were aboard the steamboat. Included in
ithe note was a plan for the authorities to meet the
BANDITS AT BAY.
boat down river at Owens Landing. This stop was 15
miles away by water, owing to a large bend in the
river, but only six miles by horse, owing to a straight
land route. At the same time John McDaniel heard
from some of the passengers that his crime was
common knowledge and he was a wanted man.
The McDaniel brothers quickly devised a plan of
their own. When the steamboat briefly landed at
their hometown of Liberty, the brothers debarked.
Due to heavy rains, the spring floods had swollen
the Missouri and knocked out all ferry service across
the river for several weeks. The only boat capable of
navigating the river was the paddlewheeler. From
the frontier to St. Louis, Liberty was the only stop on
the north side of the Missouri River. By all rights
they should have at least a week's lead on any posse
MURDER IN NORTH AMERICA
MUR!
The citizens of St. Louis were only too happy to host the trial of the
McDaniel gang. After all these men almost severed their economic
jugular vein
pursuing them
Gentry's plan was only partially successful. The
good news was that as soon as the townsfolk heard
about McDaniel brothers' whereabouts, a 20-man
posse formed and rode to Owens Landing. They ar-
rived just as the paddlewheeler was about to shove
off, The vigilantes clamored aboard as soon as the
boat was stopped. Reuben Gentry met them and to-
gether they searched the ship for the wanted men.
Mason was their only catch. He still had Chavez's
beaver furs with him. According to some of the pas-
sengers Mason had tossed something overboard just
before the posse found him. A few men from the
posse dove into the fast moving river and after a few
minutes of searching brought up nine Mexican gold
coins, which were laying on top of the mud.
Mason was shown the evidence and interrogated.
In a matter of minutes he confessed to the robbery.
A few moments later he told Gentry that Antonio
José was murdered. What began as a dribble became
a torrent and Mason just babbled on and on. He de-
scribed the murder to the minutest detail, including
how he fired the last shot after Chavez was dead
Mason was escorted back to the Independence jail
by two members of the posse. All the way along the
six-mile route the bandit kept rambling on about his
small part in the crime and about his fear and
loathing of McDaniel. He would later testify against
his former gang leader.
The flooded river prevented news of Chavez's
murder from getting to the isolated town and the
McDaniel brothers felt safe in their hometown. As
luck would have it, one of Prefontaine's men,
Samuel Berry, had arrived in Liberty a few days ear-
lier. He told the townsfolk who knew of McDaniel's
plans that signs of an Indian war party in Kansas
forced the company back. Berry added, the expedi-
tion was a failure and they never joined up with
Warfield. Later, when McDaniel heard the story, he
chuckled and concurred with Berry's version and
went about his business.
What McDaniel did not realize was that the posse
was still very determined to catch him. They per-
suaded the captain of the paddlewheeler to briefly
chan;
of th:
their
rode
truth
Liber
range
wher
M
main
two
nameé
react
the |
Dani
hand
were
were
talka
M
Berr
ing |
Berr
splir
Cou:
R
the }
man
sensi
was
Mex
as "(
to Ss!
had
for
denc
fame
poss
then
and
Yoa
cust
bur!
qua!
thie:
lease
Hov
that
Mar
not
and
18
MURDER IN NORTH AMERICA
| MU
Kearny wanted to go a step further; he wanted to
accompany the caravans across the Mexican border
as far as Santa Fe. Militarily this made sense; politi-
cally it was naive. The U.S. secretary of war and the
Mexican ambassador conferred on the matter. Al-
though the ambassador was in favor of U.S. Army
escorts to the border, he was unwilling to have for-
eign troops marching into Mexico. As a result of the
conference Kearny was ordered not to cross the
Mexican boundary. It didn't really matter. The Mc-
Daniel gang had already struck, and soon all of Mis-
souri would know about it.
Rueben and Nicholas Gentry were cousins and
traders. Each had their own business and each had a
stake in maintaining the status quo along the Santa
Fe Trail. In mid-March, Rueben had just delivered
12 wagon loads of English goods to Santa Fe when
he learned of Antonio José's early departure. Unwill-
ing to wait for the April 1 caravan bound for Inde-
pendence, Rueben left Santa Fe with only a one day
stopover to replenish his supplies.
His small party made good time on the trail.
Somewhere in the first third of their trek through the
endless Kansas prairie, Gentry came across several of
Chavez's frostbitten servants. He learned of the
Mexican's dire circumstances after the snowstorm,
but not about his abduction. This news drove
Rueben harder. In central Kanse-, beyond the Great
Bend, the party found Antonio josé's last trail-side
campfire. Rueben thought they were about a day's
ride behind Chavez. But the next day he arrived at
Owl Creek and found that the Mexican's wagon
tracks went off the trail toward the south. At the
time Rueben thought Antonio José took a shortcut
that he was not familiar with. So the small company
rode even faster on the trail to catch up with Chavez.
The next day Rueben became worried. There were
no more signs of the Mexican party on the trail. At
the very least Gentry should have seen the resump-
tion of fresh wagon tracks.
Gentry correctly made two following assump-
tions: first, Chavez had met with foul play; second,
whoever was responsible for the treachery outnum-
bered his small party. Being ambushed on the trail
was not Rueben's idea of having fun, so he quit
looking for signs of Chavez and quickly rode to In-
dependence with his terrible news. Later Gentry was
to learn that while he was contemplating Antonio
José's abrupt departure from the trail at Owl Creek,
Chavez was several miles down the gully being
robbed. He was also correct in assuming that there
was nothing he could have done against McDaniel's
14 well armed men.
While Gentry was making his way toward Mis-
souri, Dr. Prefontaine's group had reached the Santa
Fe Trail and was following behind on foot. Neither
group was aware of the other's presence. The thieves
made it as far Council Grove before the weight of
their booty became too much to carry. Dr. Pre-
fontaine decided that they should bury the loot
nearby and retrieve it later when it was safe. The
plunder hidden the band split into smaller groups,
each making its separate ways toward Missouri.
On April 19 Rueben arrived at Independence and
spread the word of Antonio José's disappearance.
The next day all the Missouri newspapers carried the
story. Independence and nearby Westport residents
reacted immediately by forming posses to search for
Chavez. One such group was headed by William
Gilpin. Gilpin was a well educated Quaker who had
been tutored as a child by Nathaniel Hawthorne. In
1861 he would become the first governor of the
Colorado Territory.
It was Gilpin's company that found Antonio José's
wagon on Owl Creek 5 miles south of the Santa Fe
Trail. No corpse was found and it was presumed that
wolves had discovered Chavez before the posse
found the wagon. Years later Gilpin would say that
his party did find patches of human hair, but had no
idea at the time that it belonged to Antonio José.
John McDaniel did not have to bury his spoils as
Dr. Prefontaine did. His group carried the log to In-
dependence on their horses. To make themselves as
inconspicuous as possible the gang split up into
smaller groups at the frontier. The most successful of
these parties was the Searcy brothers. According to
the newspapers, they took a steamer upriver from
Westport Landing to Park's Landing, debarked and
disappeared into the heartland forever.
The McDaniel brothers were less fortunate. They
were recognized by Rueben Gentry. On his way to
make his report at Fort Leavenworth, Gentry had
taken the same steamer as the Searcy brothers. He
failed to recognize them the first time, but on his re-
turn trip to Independence Rueben noticed three
suspicious looking men board the paddlewheeler at
the last moment. Why these men stood out in Gen-
try's mind will never be known. Maybe it was their
distrustful manner, perhaps it was the way they
bounded out of the shadows and boarded the boat,
or maybe it was the two bundles of fur they carried
with them. The skins were beaver, exactly the kind
that the Mexicans usually traded.
Reuben soon discovered that his suspicions were
correct. After watching the three men for several
minutes, Gentry walked over to the clerk's office and
scanned the boat's passenger list. Reuben knew who
he was looking for, because when he was making his
report at Fort Leavenworth Reuben was told about
Warfield's recruitment activities and McDaniel's
e
oO
"MURDER IN NORTH AMERICA
17
took Chavez for a walk, closely followed by the
Other members of the execution squad. The two men
Walked 150 feet away from the camp. Antonio José's
attention was held by the casual conversation he was
having with his captor. Suddenly McDaniel pulled a
un and shot the Mexican at point blank range in
the chest. According to one account, the wounded
Antonio José dodged bullets as he sprinted for 300
eet before being tripped by the pursuing McDaniel
and finally killed by the gang. The more plausible
version, considering that Chavez had a bullet in his
est, was that he ran about a yard or two before
being cut down by a volley of bullets. Later, at the
trial, there was a question of who fired the fatal shot
or shots. William Mason, who would later turn
States evidence at the trial, presented his account
with some significant differences.
» As Mason recalled the events, and as collaborated
by Towson, Antonio José ran a few yards, was
tripped by John McDaniel and shot as he lay on the
‘ground. The rest of the gang gathered around the
prostrate Mexican and pumped the body full of bul-
lets. Mason claimed to have fired the last shot after
‘the Mexican was already dead; it was a shot fired in
fear. Mason felt if he didn't fire his pistol at the dead
man, he might have been the next to be killed.
' Before the killers moved Antonio José's body, it
/was searched. A hidden money belt was found con-
taining almost 40 gold coins. Fortune seemed to be
"smiling on the slayers so they decided to reexamine
‘the merchant's wagon. Inside a trunk they discov-
ered a secret compartment which concealed a little
Hover $3,000 in gold dust.
}~ McDaniel was now in a good mood. In a pretense
of generosity, he let the retainers go. He did this for
) several reasons. In the first place he thought the
docile servants would meekly return to Santa Fe. In
"the second place he was sure that if roving bands of
WIndians didn't kill the unarmed Mexicans the un-
‘predictable and severe weather would. Just to be on
the safe side McDaniel did not bother to leave the
"servants with any food or water.
After the Mexicans were chased from the Owl
|Creek camp the gang unceremoniously dumped
| Antonio José's body in a nearby ravine. McDaniel's
thieving outfit walked up Owl Creek to the point
| where it meets the Santa Fe Trail. Much to their
| amazement they found nine of the stampeded horses
‘freely grazing by the side of the trail. And so the
| gang mounted up and used the spare horse to carry
much of the plunder. It would seem that nothing
could possibly wrong that day.
| At first McDaniel rode toward Point of Rocks, the
location of his planned rendezvous with Warfield.
| But after few days of easy riding McDaniel claimed
to have seen signs of Indians on the trail. Not want-
ing to tempt fate any further the gang abruptly
turned around and rode back toward Independence.
While the McDaniel gang was out on the lonesome
plains, related events were taking shape and gather-
ing momentum.
The rumors that circulated on the frontier before
the thieves left Yoachim's Tavern began to have an
effect. Superintendent Mitchell of Indian Affairs in
St. Louis was notified of the gang's intentions on
March 13. His office presided over the various tribes
and exercised civil authority over United States citi-
zens in the Indian Territory. To enforce the law,
Mitchell had at his command the U.S. Army. Unfor-
tunately he was a pure bureaucrat and would not
move any faster than absolutely necessary. To his
credit, the superintendent did interview Warfield
sometime in early April. In a letter, dated April 21,
to the United States Secretary of War, he wrote that
the colonel had no intention of committing crimes
against Americans on the Santa Fe Trail, but he felt
that any Mexicans not within United States borders
were fair game. To his discredit, Mitchell ended the
letter by saying it was not for him to give any opin-
ion on the Warfield matter, he was just passing the
information along to proper areas of government.
While Mitchell, the man in charge of all Indian
Territories, was doing almost nothing, his subordi-
nate, Indian Agent R.W. Cummins, stationed near
Independence, took action. Cummins heard about
McDaniel's plans from the town's residents and mer-
chants. He quickly sent a message to Col. Richard B.
Mason at Fort Leavenworth, 30 miles away. The
colonel responded with equal speed. Three days
later-he sent a detachment of 60 cavalrymen to find
McDaniel and his gang.
The soldiers searched the Santa Fe Trail as far as
their week's worth of rations would take them. Af-
terwards some citizens would claim that the army
ended their search for the outlaws one day's ride
short of finding McDaniel. Such critical hindsight
ignores the most practical aspect of an army—they
really do travel on their stomachs. A soldier's effec-
tiveness drops as his supplies diminish. Without
food for a longer foray into the Indian Territories,
the cavalry traveled as far as they could.
Although the cavalry did not find evidence of any
wrongdoing, people in Missouri suspected that
trouble was brewing. Col. Stephen Watts Kearny,
commander of the Third Military Department, was
taking no chances. He sent three more companies of
cavalry, two more from Fort Leavenworth and one
from Fort Scott. Their orders were to escort any car-
avan through the Indian Territories, regardless of
their nationality.
BUanlsS, Jimmon, and GOIN, Sam, Indians, hangedFort Smith,
Arkansas, January 16, 1890,
"Sam Goin and Jim Burris, fudl-blooded Choctaws, were tried in
October last. Jim Goin was also a defendant in the case, but
he was acquitted while the others were found guilty. The
victim of these man was Houston Zoyce of Franklin, Tex., who
had fled from his home on account of some trouble he had
gotten into. Un the ¢<7th of November, 1888, we was traveling through
the Indian country, and stopped at the house of Jim Goin, an
uncle of Sam, in Towson County, Choctaw Nation, for dinner,
in payin. for the same he exposed his money. On leaving, he
was put on a blind trail by J&m Burris and after he got out
of sight, Jim Goin gave Burris and Sam Goin his gun and
pistol and told them to follow the white man and kill hin.
they were soon in pursuit, and coming up with their victin,
murdered him in a lonely and unfrequented spot, took possessuon of
his horse and what money and other property he had, and left
the body. Two days after the killing, at a dance, Sam Go&n
divulged the whole thing to his friend, Solomon Bacon, telling him
the horse of the white man was on the prairie, and requested
that Bacon take the animal up and post him as a stray.
solomon did not do it, however, but gave the thing away to
Deputy Marshal 4. M, knnis, who at once began to work up the
case, resulting in the conviction of the mu#derers,"
STAR, Indianapolis, indiana, January 17, 1890 (Page one.)
HEBATORI 38,. T 8, han
CHEBATORI 5, Tony, white, 36,
auspices) duly 8, 1938...
The BANK BANDITS -
By WARD BONNELL
F, at. 11:36 a. um. Wednesday, September 29th, you had
asked any member of the Midland, Michigan, Chamber of
Commerce for a tabulation of that city’s main attrac-
tions, he would have enumerated, with appropriate
gestures, the following:
1. The Dow Chemical Company, one of the largest and
most progressive chemical plants in the world, maker of
more than ninety per cent of the nation’s aspirin tablets.
2. Fifteen thousand civic-minded ‘citizens, including the
highest per capita assortment of college graduates of any
city in the United States.
At 11:40 a. m., four minutes later, had you asked the same
question, an enthusiastic third would have been added,
sounding something like this:
“The world’s finest dentist and one-man bank protector all
rolled into one.”
The short-lived but action-crammed drama got under way
at 11:36 when a black sedan bearing Michigan license plates
halted outside the Chemical State Savings Bank in downtown
Midland.’ Two men stepped out; one tall, of medium build,
the other short, stocky and dark complexioned.
Inside the bank all was activity. It was Dow Company
payday and the bank’s six employees were busy preparing
the $125,000 payroll. Near the door stood sixty-three-year-
old Clarence H. Macomber, president. Beside him stood his
pretty twenty-two-vear-old daughter, Claire. Working at a
near-by cage was Paul D. Bywater, forty-five, cashier for
Macomber and a former bank examiner. Five customers
were in the bank.
Smiling up at her father, Claire Macomber asked: “Dad,
are you going to take me to lunch?”
“This very instant,” replied the parent as he reached for
his hat. It was a gesture he never completed, for an omi-
56
: [hve | Derecr WE Jy 5 21E & ae
fib, ZI3Z¢
The youth (eft)
illustrates how a
sharpshooting den-
tist foiled the escape
of two bank bandits
(Left) Jack Gracey,
Detroit police char-
acter, met death as
Tony Chebatoris
(below), wounded,
was taken into cus-
'tody, doomed to die
a
nous pressure from behind arrested his hand in mid-air.
A térse admonition accompanied the unpleasant prodding of
the weapon: “Keep quiet! This is a stickup!”
Suddenly, with a shock, the banker realized that what he
had long feared was now taking place—his bank was being
robbed. With that realization came an overpowering surge
of anger; anger so intense that all thoughts for his personal
safety were forgotten, Whirling suddenly, the aged banker
grasped the barrel of the revolver. Surprised by this unex-
pected resistance, the stocky bandit grappled with him.
From the doorway the second gunman sought to train his
his adversary. A jet of blue flame, a deafening roar, and
the bank president sank to the floor. Screams of horror broke
from the banker’s daughter and the terrified customers.
As Macomber dropped, the bank cashier rushed to the side
of his fallen employer. But Bywater never reached the aged
bank official’s side. A second shot dropped him in his tracks,
a bullet in his abdomen,
Panic-stricken by the unexpected turn of events, for a
moment the two bandits stood nonplussed, their smoking wea-
pons still directed at the two prone figures on the floor. Then,
as if actuated by a common impulse, they turned and fled
Behind them, untouched, was the $125,000 payroll.
On the second floor of the bank building, Dr. Frank L.,
Hardy was preparing to depart for lunch when sounds of
the commotion downstairs reached his ears, Rushing to the
open window the dentist saw two men, revolvers in their
hands, as they leaped into a waiting automobile,
Three years before Dr. Hardy had voiced his indignation
over a series of bank robberies to Sheriff Venner, at. which
time he said: “I think [ll appoint myself personal protector
ged Milan, Michigan (Federal
he attempted to flee
Fe
ae
i
of the
take p
The
nature:
there }
Sher
brough
val, hi
much
“Shoot
kidding
The
lost sci
As the
ful aim
machi
caused
street,
parked
desper:
Hardy’.
street.
some ti
watche:
Bay Ci:
policem
single s
Porter
The |
and ru
his offic:
perch |
heavy >
CHEBATORIS, Anthony, white, hanged Milan, Mich. (Fed.) 7-8-1938,
"MURPHY LOSES FIGHT TO MOVE EXECUTION OF FEDERAL PRISONER OUT OF MICHI-~-
GAN./ Washington, July 6 (AP) = Governor Frank Murphy of Michigan fatled
tonight to get a scheduled hanging of a Federal prisonor transferred
somewhere beyond Michigan's boundaries. The government went ahead with
preparations to execute Anthony Chebatoris, slayer and bank robber, at
Milan, Friday morning. Mr. Murphy hed appealed to President Roosevelt
to intervene, saying that the hanging would be distasteful to Michigan
residents. Michigan does not have the death penslty, except for trea-
son, Consequently, a conference was held at the Justice Department to-
day. Attorney General (Homer) Cummings refused to discuss it after-
ward, but it was learned that no loophole was found which would justify
removing Chebstoris to another State, Under 9 law passed June 19, 1937,
Federal prisoners sentenced to death must die by whatever method is pre-
scribed by the laws of the State within which the sentence is imposed,
There is no wrovision for transferring men schedihled for execution into
other jurisdictions, Cheba oris was convicted inthe Eastern District
of Michigan for killing a bystander during the robbery of a bank at
Midland, His execution is totake place at dawn Friday at the Federal
Detention Farm at Milan." |
TIMES, New York, N. Y., July 7, 1938.
"GOVERNMENT HANGS BANK ROBBING SLAYER: FIRST EXECUTION IN MICHIGAN IN
108 YEA"S./ By the Associated Press/ Milan, Mich., July 8 = Anthony
Chebatoris was hanged by the Federal Government this morning and became
the first victim of capital punishment to die in Michigan in 108 years,
Governor Murphy, who had appealedto President Roosevelt to stop the
Federal Government from breaking a century-old Michigan tradition, said
the execution was a 'blot' on the State's EX-'civilized record,' The
hengine took place at the Federal Detention Farm here at & sunrise,
G6hebatoris, a Detroit gangster, was sentenced under the National Bank
Robbery Act for an abortive hold-up last Sept. 29 in Midland, in which
Henry S, Porter, an innocent bystander, was slain, Michigan laws do not
permit capitel punishment except for high treason . The execution party
of twenty-three entered the svecislly built hangine chamber at 5:0 A.M,
and Chebatoris, with head erect, walked firmly up the thirteen steps
to the platform, He smiled st the chief EXAXUKXH executioner, G, Phil
Hanna of Epworth, I11l., and savpeared entirely calm , The trap was ¥SKaKE
sprung at 5:08, The Rev. Lee Laige,s priest from a near-by parish,
walked beside Chebatoris to the gsllows and chanted in Latin during the
death m&BXK march, 9 surprising developmen t because the prisoner had
sumrned all religious consolation until yesterday. After thehanging
the priest said: 'Now he can have a Christian burial.'" TIMES, New York
Jul y 9,1938,.
EXECUTIONS OF CRIMINALS.
St. Louis. He was indicted by the grand
ry at a special term of the oyer and terminer
‘gourt held at St. Louis, August 14, 1809, for
‘marder in the first degree. He was tried
August 21, found guilty and sentenced to be
banged. He was duly executed on the date
‘above given. This was done after the primi-
4ive methods then in vogue, and which, it may
be of interest to note, were closely fashioned
yaiter those prevailing at Tyburn, where so
Many famous highwaymen of romance paid
the last penalty of the law. John Long, Jr.,
duly escorted, was driven up to the place of
tion in a cart. The scaffold was a sim-
ple contrivance, consisting of two upright
ts across which a horizontal beam was at-
thed. From the beam hung a rope. The
ondemned man was driven under the scaf-
fold, and the rope was adjusted with a run-
ging noose around his throat. When every-
thing was ready the cart was driven forward,
taving the culprit dangling by the neck.
/ Death came to murderers in those days not
mercifully by sudden dislocation of the neck,
slowly and painfully by strangulation. It
worth noticing that execution followed
Medgment in less than a month, which many
will regard as an improvement upon the ex~
ng dilatory methods in murder cases. It
be stated that the old custom, still ob-
ed in England, was to allow three Sundays
jntervene between sentence and execution.
his custom seems, whether knowingly or
hy due process of law at St. Louis.
_ For the next forty years or so the records
@ not accessible beyond the following mere
"enumeration for St. Louis. Hugh Kink was
ged for the murder of Martin Green, May
go, 1827. Madison, alias Charles Brown,
'Yames Seward, alias Sewell, and Alfred, alias
Ge Alpheus Warrick, all colored, were hanged
tly 9, 1841, for the murder of Jesse Baker
sand Jacob Weaver. A man named Johnson
‘was hanged for killing one Floyd, the date of
tion being March 3, 1843. John Mc-
niel and Joseph Brown were hanged Au-
at 16, 1848, for the murder of one Chavez,
§ Mexican.
‘Hugh Gallagher was hanged, December 13,
~&zo, for the murder of Mary Ann Crosby.
“February 14, 1851, John Thomas was hanged
# Duncan Island, in the presence of a crowd
#ated as fully ten thousand, of whom two
711
thousand were women and children. He was’
attended upon the scaffold by Rev. Fathers
Paris and Hennessy. He met his fate with
fortitude; his last words were: “Gentlemen
and fellow-citizens: I bid you all adieu; I
give myself up to the will of the law and to the
Lord’s mercy.” Owing to some improper
arrangement of the noose, the fall failed to
break the man’s neck. He hung for seven and
a half minutes before giving the last death con-
vulsion. His death was produced by suffoca-
tion. The crime for which he suffered the
final punishment of the law, was the killing
of Michael Stephen, a retired soldier, resid-
ing near Jefferson Barracks. The men were
slightly acquainted. The murder was appar-
ently perpetrated on the highway, the body
being discovered in an adjacent wood.
Thomas was suspected and was arrested on
a Carondelet Avenue omnibus. His shirt
and boots were covered with blood. Some
eighty-seven dollars in gold and silver, and
also a leaf or two, torn from a book which had
been previously found in Stephen’s pocket,
were found in his possession.
Dodge, alias Vanzandt, and Schoen, alias
Shawnee, were hanged July 22, 1853; the gal-
lows used for the purpose being erected in
the space between the criminal court room
and the jail, so that none could see the final
struggles save those within the jail walls.
None the less a large crowd were assembled
from early in the morning until the execu-
tions, in the vicinity of the jail, availing them-
selves of sheds in the neighborhood to catch
a glimpse at the unfortunate culprits. Both
men made short speeches. Dodge, or Van-
zandt, asked all present to take warning, by his
fate, and ended by thanking the jailer and his
family for their kindness. Schoen expressed
himself as willing to suffer for his conduct,
and expressed his gratitude for the efforts
made on his behalf by his American and Ger-
man friends. The bodies were buried in
Rock Springs Cemetery.
On the morning of June 17, 1859, George
H. Lamb was executed for wife murder.
The crime was deliberately planned and
as deliberately executed. Lamb had been
religiously brought up, his father being
a farmer in comfortable circumstances.
In 1856 Lamb met and secretly married
Sarah Stafford, a handsome girl of eight-
een, described as of excellent disposition
and rather more than ordinary education.
oreaking loose down there, I’d get to
that window. And I’d get there fast.”
Doctor Hardy looked intently at the
aard face of the Sheriff. He did not
reply. It didn’t seem necessary. He
vent on making the amalgam.
“You'll hear ’em, Frank,” the Sher-
ff added.. “Well, good-by.” ;
And he left. Doctor Hardy’s keen
»yes gazed out of the window for a
‘ew moments. He looked at the nar-
‘ow laboratory and its double win-
low. And the next day his deer rifle
ippeared in his office.
Just as if it had been left there
houghtlessly, it stayed near the win-
low. It stayed there a long time. Of
course, patients remarked about it:
ther businessmen who occupied ad-
oining offices took to ribbing him
\bout it, asking if he expected to get
iny deer out of his office window.
Che rifle became quite a well-known
opic of conversation. But with that
‘trength of character and inborn con-"
iervatism for which he is noted, Doctor
tardy just declined to talk about it
ind gradually the subject was for-
rotten.
The Sheriff, however, didn’t forget.
22
Neither did the bank president. Neith-
er did a few other businessmen of Mid-
land who were located at strategic
points along the business section. They
knew the excellent ‘chances of a clean
getaway offered by the harsh country
around the town. The Sheriff had told
them about it.
E HAD explained the roads around
the town to them the same way that
we of the Michigan State Police plan
our blockades. He had gone over with
them the logical route a bandit would
take, and showed them how to stop
the bandit. He had armed citizens
ready at several of these points.
These men were sworn-in deputies,
and each of them had a special quality
which the Sheriff recognized as vital to
the success of his daring plan. That
quality was silence. They knew how
keep quiet. Not even their own
—— knew what they planned to.
o. : :
And so Sheriff Smith granted his
citizen-deputies permission to keep
loaded rifles ready for action at any
time, and told each: of them what to
do at the first sign of a bandit raid.
He set his trap and baited it with the
juicy temptation of a $75,000 payroll,
which the bank handled regularly for
the giant Dow Chemical Corporation.
Twice each month this gigantic pay-
roll, in small bills, was made up by
tellers behind their marble counter, BS
stuffed in envelopes, checked and
stacked in locked cash boxes for
transfer to the great chemical plant.
The bills were mostly under ten dol-
lars, with a sprinkling of twenties. =”
Neat rows of packaged coins lay in
trays in these boxes. Thousands of
these pay envelopes full of cash in ae
small denominations made bandit fin-
gers itch greedily whenever they
thought how easy it would be to make
the snatch.
Sheriff Smith knew this was under- °
world gossip. It had been going the
rounds in Detroit for several years. »
Michigan, with no death-penalty law
and a pdrole system admitted to be one |
of the most lenient in the country, was |
the happy hunting ground of the bank
robber. Small banks in Michigan had
been robbed again and again. The :
State was fed up with it. But the swift
attacks continued.
In 1936 Sheriff Smith received a tip-
off that Midland would be next. He
and his aides had reliable information
that a mob would invade Midland and
stick up the bank.
All night long armed citizens waited
a
a
q
HT
Pils
ii
if
Doctor Frank Hardy, dentist,
was reaching for his hat when
he heard a shot, and a scream
(Left) Howard ‘Long, (Right) Fred Parsons, *
biting into a sandwich 4 alias Reibaldi, shortly be- ©
after a fifteen-hour “ fore he was arraigned in
grilling, confessed that
he murdered a ten-year-
old New Hampshire
boy, by beating him to
death. He had formerly
been convicted of a sex
crime and paroled ,
fleeing gunman from the
front window of his office
ae
Alfred Power,
alias Lewis,
seems to realize
that crime does
not pay as he
sits, dejected and
unkempt,
charged with
ding
G-man in Tope-
ka, Kansas
‘rayeroft, attractive
turday she saw the
Mn.
id, “and Jeanette .
near them at that
make-believe game
1, there are no hid- }
-ubbery or isolated
‘ain of the park is |
where ‘each young-
s. Hundreds of un-
cir mothers secure
vised, :
being warned, not 4
d park employees, '
e. We could only ®
idren and Jeanette
x by. the fact that
they were lured
\ approached indi-
But evidently the
von the confidence
i not hesitated to
hated. At night |
ieir homes, grimly
k. At my request a 3 og (Extreme left) Thomas Woodward, hand-'
, by ith m " ] 6 Geek: ie ni : \ hq cuffed and hatless, in custody of Warden W.
wid arranged with | ‘ WA a ; ? jaa) §= Jones of the Baton Rouge, La., State Peni-
a2 t ¢ ; Fe “ p * 5 : ¥ : 3 tentiary, is one six captured in a surprise
'o have twenty | ‘ote ‘ Eta Penne ’ Ed , f ' mare =round-up of the South’s No. 1 Bandit Gang,
onday morning - te bag ; } | ery : in which Louisiana and Mississippi police co-
right be made. | vai st : ogy ® 4 Wily meg =«(oOPperated with. G-men, (Left) Joseph Pimen-
i . : . ia : : f Bi # tal, between Boston: officers, is charged
uly disposal his . ; ", with ‘the ‘slaying “of a five-year-old boy.
i 7 a ’ a %; iat sw : ® : i ' . le own revisiting t ump where
ued on page 77) a. “a is believed to have. killed the child. The
body was found here in a shallow grave
ni td iz saned bart bncrme Vie fv (
suyn Bend ivi Bune M | Pht i
Sunday, February 10, 2002
slaying
suld say, ‘I killed her’ but if they
prove it was on federal land,
then turned over to the state
scutors.”
permost on Tim Timmerman’s
_at the trial will be any word of
non’s fate. Not knowing what
ened to the child has eaten away
e family for more than four
’s simply a big question mark,”
ys.
e 45-year-old electrician says
early remembers that June 3
vhen he last saw his daughter
zranddaughter. Though other
asses claimed to have seen the
an at a party the following
‘end, he calls himself “the last
ble person to see them alive.”
was sitting outside their home
3 daughter was leaving with the
he gave me a big hug and kiss,
ne she loved me,” Timmerman
ls. “My last words to her were,
Llove you, too, honey, and away
vent.
o we did have a chance to say
bye.”
~ Michigan eliminated
capital punishment in 1846
The Associated Press
Twelve states, including Michi-
gan, and the District of Columbia
do not have the death penalty for
murder or lesser crimes.
Michigan State University re-
searchers say Michigan was the first
government in the English-speaking
world to virtually eliminate capital
punishment. In 1846, nine years after
achieving statehood, Michigan abol-
ished it for all crimes except treason
against the state.
There has been one prisoner exe-
cuted here since then — a federal in-
mate named Anthony Chebatoris.
Chebatoris, a 38-year-old Ham-
tramck man, was hanged on July 8,
1938, at the Federal Correctional In-
stitution in Milan after a jury con-
victed him of shooting and killing a
man during a failed bank robbery.
He was the first person executed un-
der the National Bank Robbery Act
of 1934.
Chebatoris, who had a long crimi-
nal history, and 28-year-old cohort
Jack Gracey of Detroit tried to rob the
Chemical State Savings Bank in Mid-
land on Sept. 29, 1987. Their troubles
started when they shot and wounded
the bank’s president and a cashier.
Gracey was killed outside the
bank by a deputized dentist armed
with a hunting rifle. Henry Porter, a
50-year-old truck driver, was shot
and killed by Chebatoris when
Porter tried to prevent him from ap-
proaching a car with a woman in it.
A short time later, the Midland
County sheriff arrested Chebatoris,
who was charged in federal court
with murdering Porter.
On Oct. 28, 1937, the jury of seven
men and five women unanimously
found Chebatoris guilty of murder-
ing Porter. They voted for the death
penalty on the seventh ballot.
US. District Judge Arthur Tuttle
said “there won’t be any hesitancy
on my part in imposing the sen-
‘tence, and I will always know, as
long as I live, that no injustice has
been done by the sentence.”
i Great Prikes. NoWeelqures”
é wa T (Pea 7.81938
i “ y F ‘ "7 { Y) ivi f rd ( ) OP le I Nd
Vi 9 iat n Ee! MAL Ladd 5 Yd uke ( de We Mh @ { ‘ PO ad
‘ me ; 3 “| Aon
Ww DL Dse i ESiaS We) y Br dd Add dd 4
Smt coe <=
Doctor Frank Hardy yanked this
window open, thumbed the safety
on: the rifle, shown. here, and—
eit
cf
"This Crib
e aac inn.
By Sergeant Ray Sullivan
Michigan State Police, as Told to
Kent Sagendorph
o
T WAS a push-over—a cinch—this many years, had been in charge of a
small bank in a small Michigan genial, cultured gentleman of middle
town. Just the ideal setup for a age and distinguished | appearance
quick job and a quicker getaway. named Clarence H. Macomber. On the Th hot. that
Sheriff Ira Smith of Midland County second floor of the building in Mid. Comber, Meet wounded Bank President Clarence H.
knew that the Chemical State Savings land’s best office area is the office of ; Macomber, left, was Cashier P aul D. Bywater’s first warning
Bank was an exposed risk and that it his friend, Doctor Frank Hardy, .
was inevitable that it would be held dentist. .
up some day. So he began planning a Doctor Hardy is a solemn-faced man ‘
defense. He went at the task deliber- with penetrating eyes and a serious get that Dow Chemical payroll, you’d “Well, if I were you,” the She
ately and slowly. He knew the town: outlook on life. Occasionally he goes get a good look at ’em.” hinted broadly, “I'd bring my: da
and its people well. , deer-hunting. For some years he had Doctor Hardy was grinding an amal-, rifle down to the office and stand it
Midland is a cheery little industrial owned a powerful .35 caliber Reming- gam in his prosthetic laboratory. The somewhere handy,”
town in the upper central portion of ton repeating rifle, and he knew how window gave him a good view of Ben- Doctor Hardy’s hands were busy |}
the mitten-shaped lower peninsula of to use it. The Sheriff knew that, and son Street, with a narrow bridge just
his brain was grappling wit
Michigan, just a little north and west he knew Doctor Hardy’s character. over the railroad track, ‘He kept on iff’s meaning. oP didn't, ey =
of Saginaw. The bank is the financial In the quiet way of two men to whom working, but he was thinking. He into any detailed discussion.” He kni
center of the town, and from it radiate words are seldom necessary, the Sher- _ said:. what was wanted. And without sayi
a thousand and one intricate money iff said: ? “Why, I suppose I would, Sheriff, if a word he silently agreed,
arrangements which serve the great “Frank, your office is located just I saw ’em before they got away. I’m “How am I going to: know wha
chemical plant which sprawls like a over the entrance to our bank. It busy up here. I haven’t time to look going on in the bank?”
futuristic monster along the flat banks seems to me that if some gunmen were out. of the window watching for “If I were up here,” remarked t
of a muddy river. This bank, for to come in and stick up the place and bandits,” . Sheriff slowly, “and I heard all Hi
They Shot at Everyone Who Tried to Thwart. This $75,000 Midland, Michigan,
Robbery, But the Bandit's Failed to Count on a Dentist's Deadly Marksmanship
possession of all the silver and gold, but at the time, the brig was from 7 to 9
miles or out of sight to windward of us; and it would have been impossible for us to
have got-°to her during:the night, and the Orbit: being well armed with 2 six«pounders
cutlasses, muskets, pistols, etc, and we not having any arms, deemed it prudent to
let her escape. Strike and Bowen #efused to proceed on board the~ Orbit, saying they
had rather be thrown overboard by us, as a plot had been laid three days previous to
murder them and one other, as soon as they made the land, This was’also confirmed
by the West Indian, 5oth mates had been distharged on the Coast of: Africa — the
brig left there without any. The:Orbit was 199 tons, built at Bath in 182k,
appears by het register, and belonged to tar Woodbury, and Messrs. 5. & by “aynar
& Co, of New Tore" COURIER, C, arleston, S. C.,<Oct. 13, 1830 (2/h&5 6)
"THE PIRATES=The two pirates, Gaudett and Collinet, convicted of murder and mutiny,
were yesterday brought' into court to receive their sentence, To the question 'why |
should not sentence of death be passed upon, you,’ the, latter replied -, "because I.
am innocent,' He then went into a clear and very ya plausiple detail of the circum-
stanees of the murder, alleging his own innocence, and the guilt of the witnesses,
After an address of one, hour, in which he evinced considerable energy and intelli-=
gence, he listened to his sentence with apparent composure and indifference, Sen-=
tence of death ‘was pronounced in an impressive manner by Judge Story, to be carried
ny Oe on the first' of July next." COURIER, Charleston, SC, June 10, 1831
2/1. ' :
¢ k ¢
"Boston, May 25, 1831-CAPITAL TRIAL-The trial of Joseph Gadet, a colored man, for
mutiny and murder on board the ORBIT,-which commenced in the Circuit Court of the
U. States before Judges<Story and Davis, on Monday, was concluded last evening,
Thecjury, after an absence of about ten minutes, returned into Court with a verdict
of guilty against the prisoner, The’ trial of Collonet, his companion, in guilt, it
is urlderstood, will take place this day," COURIER, Charléston,SC, 6-3-1831 (2: ab )
"EXAMONATOPNS OF THE PIRATES - The two mutineers, Joseph Gadett (a: black) and Thomas
-Colonett (a mulatto» brought from doyana in the U..Se Ship. PEACOCK were yesterday |
conducted before Judge Davis of the U, S, District Court, The District Attorney, Mr,
Dunlap, read the accusations against the prisoners, charging them in connection with
a Portugese, Don Juan --=, who acted as principal, with the murder of Captain, :
Samuel Woodbury, master of the brig OBBIT, of New York, and plundering and taking
possession of his vessel, Mr. Dunlap then proceeded to the examination of, wite _
nesses, the most important of whom were Thomas Bowen and James Strike, seamen on
board the ORBIT, Bowen, a mulatto, testified that he was,a native of Baltimore -
that he shipped on board the brig ORBIT, Jan, 1h, 1 830, at Bahia, Se Ae Samuel .
Woodbury, master, bound to the coast of Africa, where they, arrived aBber about 10 days
passage - that while there the prisoners ware shipped on board = that they came
together = that also on board was a Portugese,.called Don Juan <=--3 that, Colonett
said he came from the West’ Indies, or Mexican Colonies = that no accident happened
to the ship until the night of the 18th August, 2 5 or 30 days after leaving the
coast, when witness was at the halm and Captain asleep aft upon the hen-coop, =
The Portugese came forward and asked for tobacco; went again off, when he conversed
with the prisoners, Witness next heard blows aft,’ and looking in the direction, saw
the Portugese SKHXKZNZ standing by the Captain, holding an axe, with which he saw him
strike the Captain two or three times upon the heads; after, which, he hauled him from
the hen-coop and threw him overboard, Colon ett at the same time was standing near
with a harpoon in his hand, and when witness inquired what the Portugese was doing,
he told him to ‘hush, * “They both asked witness to be concerned.in the murder, The
Portugese now took command of the vessel, with Collonett as mate; they divided the
dollars and gold dust among them, and shaped their course for St. Thomas as Colonett
said he belonged theres and they could land without being discovered, Colonett who
can read and write, kept a Journal, and on the 18th day of August, he writes that
the Captain died (giving particulars) of a long and lingering disease, to which were
affixed the names of all the crew, The journal was produced in Court, Strike
corrogorated the testimony of Bowen; said he joined the ORBIT. on the coast of Africa-
that about the time of the murder’ he heard conversation about taking the vessel, etce
That he went below, when hearing a noise he went on deck where he met. the Portugese
: i
g
OO
g
conmert, 1 : aaa
INET » Thomas, and GADETT, J@Seph, hanged at Roston, Mass., July 1, 1831
j ;
"PIRACY AND MURDER - The | ee
el ee ag oe gla ear we Following shocking account of the
catbahapand enelenbec. of the: rte Fey of his port, communicated by the
Santos. Sept. 11, 1 10. N. 1 » which arrived at Boston on Sunday from
5 ep » lat 13210, Ne Lon. W522 We, at 230 PM, |
standing SLRS atc ehb. reused 4a. l0cnile se \: » Saw a vessel a head
down, and lay by until we came up yith: her te pe a asi: fp ued ace fehente
her boat with B, men\ (one Be ce ape io 14 within 2 miles of her, she sent
dian and an Italian) who stated the brig Pee: eee ofS we reas @,Weet Ine
One wbaaae 7 = spear Axim, Coast of Africa, Spek Se uae Tank "aes vert
, who said he was acting mate, brought with him the brigt . Medias
terranean Pass,~ Shi | ins e brig's Register, Medi-
and informed us Etat esplslMeediary “cted & Ne a at iae cee tenn
that there was no one on board who snitin'ete d ; rites ee ee Serene
Mae sails all torn, nothing on board to bonis - wenden adie we ai
eaky, that her cargo i j ; dag e brig very
$200 in specie, ii there tidiny asivedided oo ao per bbaai Boe ee ne oe
the following in the Log Zook, kept by aa a RM TCE Gccaat mado batoraan
the hours of 12 and 1 o' ? ~ "10th August, 1030-Between
Seer ra arti Ea StMeethas saving nerotiingten Waa aticr hie, <o'the
crew think it fit to make a minute of the time of hi after him, so the
which reason they have all signed their name Th Fa pee Morte ie
Strike, Thomas Collinet, Joseph Gadet, Joas Ant pegs pete meets) Bowen, Wil tten
mark) Coviel, Jacob (his mark) etn 4 vie om © Demarais, Joseph Marion (his
per eshowr er ae 2nd Ee and one of Peete Rie os Wace Tiestla the Wank
an on board-the Mentos) to examine the vessel and see what : in
found 13 inches water in her, sails in very bad ord thin eat. seed Peag
and 20 days provisions on board; Offered eee pee: 3 gen Ai iy ewes hae
York, or any port in the U. States .which the man scltees o navigate the brig to New
alleging as a reason, that the vessel was nob in a rit c ius 2 ~— aap artes
States, and that he intended to go.t e T ives a aaoagie vee
Counsel. He was asked if he pe ait etpeticperr eeow por 1 Feige naan an Negus
asked what was the course for St. Thomas and answered pg h a mee wep) Se
We Ne We We This exicted some suspicion that all as npt right ; pee ot ike
crew (Strike, andlrishman), wished to go in the boat to the i t ee. aie
ply Pres Sa a board, but replied he was mearely janie, span patie
. insiste at. he should. not bo, but as it was squally and dark, the b
immediately for the Mentos, and on his, arri p thhe boat, bath
as well as Rowen, the- horrible fact ahiteaaets sh he siamo iar
the 18th Aug. by Joas- AntontonYemarais,, the now actin ert sig ae
1@ and 1 o'clock AM, while asleep on the starboard seule ; he ; cate Ne
three times with the cook's axe, and stabbed 2 or 3 Peasy * kvite. on ee eee
thrown overboard, Demarais then fient forward and ealied the Ca t txt us oh SA
All obeyed by Strike, who was ordered to remain bélea ne was tia : mane ey gay
deck by Demarias, who made him feel, of the dents in the heiscoop and infor oa hia i‘
had murdered the Captain, and at the same time ordered him to meta at dacle sad
incase he was found below, his brains would be blown out. Immediately w an tris
confession of Strike and Bowen, the West Indian and I:valian were put in rae: hen
they also confessed that Strike and Bowen's statement was correct. It is cant
to be squally and very dark, and having no provisions to spare, nothing that we valid
repair the sails with, and nota sufficient, number of men attached to our own vessel
to man both, it was thought ost prudent to send the mutineers on board of their
vessles and keep Strike and Bowen with us, also she brig's papers, log books etc
and a number of letters addressed to different merchants inthe United States and the
1,0 taken from ‘the West Indian, and proceed on our course, as it was impossible to
bring both brigs in with safety. At 8:30 PM put the mutineers in she boat, and order
ed them on board the Orbit, without rendering them any assistance, and immediately
*procéeded on our course, it blowing at the time very fresh from ENB, After the boat
had lef us, Strike took out a small package of Bgl dust, and bandes v9 ue is F
. He also informed us that ne Aad
safe keeping, it being his proportion of the go
left on board about #& 300 Spanish dollars, his share of the silver. Hsd he given
us this information in the first place, we should have endeavored to have got
"Clark is believed to haveen an Englishman by birth, but .has served in our Navy, and
was attached to one of the light armed. vessels in our harbor’, during the late wap as a
petty officers Walf was a German, but has left a wife‘and several childrein ih
Liverpool, England, for. whom he bas left letthrs to be forwarded after his death,
“after hanging.for one hour, the. bodies were lowered down, placed in coffins, and
brought on shore for interment! " COURIER, HORT LEREOM a SC, May 13, 1820 ben 2)
e é
"TRIAL FOR PIRACY, = At a special court of the U,' S,ates now sitting in this Sate:
their honors Judges Johnson and Drayton, presidéng, Henry Roberts, alias De Wolf,
was yesterday found guilty of Piracy, He was carptenter on board the piratical
ship Louisa, commanded first by Almeida, and afterwards by George Clarke and was
on board when the Asia of New York, was robbed near the ‘Isle of Bonavista, Clarke
is now in confinement having been convicted df the same crime.XXX% = ‘CHARLESTON PAP,"
REGISTER AND NORTH CAROLINA GAZETEER, Raléigh, NC, January 28, 1820 ( 3:3.)
et FEDERAL, __ ; i i he ae : Basis 7 mF iN i
CLARK, George, and WOLF, Henry Robert, hanged at Charleston, SC, on May 12, 1820.
"The execution of George Clark and Henry Robert Wolf, convicted of acts of piracy on
b oard the Buends.Ayrean ship, LOUISA, fitted out at Blatimore, was carried into
effect yesterday, at noon} agreeably to their sentence, on board the U, S, schooner
TARTAR, lying in the stream. James Griffin and Thomas Brailsford, who had also been con=
victed of Piracy on board the same vessel, but recommended to mercy by the jury, have been
respited ‘by. the President of the United States for two months, aoe
"Preparations having beén previously made on board ‘the TARTAR, at an early hour, a
yellow flag was di splayed at the fore-top-mast head, © the usual signal for an execution,
A short time before eleven o'clock, the solemn procession moved from the jail. :
Morton A, Waring, Esde, whose province it was, as Marshal of the District, to put
the execution in force, accompanied by Francis G, Deliesseline, Esq., the Sheriff
of Charleston District, with ‘their respectivé D,puties mounted on horseback, led
the way, the were followed by the two prisoners with halters about their necks in a
carriage; in which also were the Rev. Mr. Bachman, and the Rev. Mr. Munds - the
coach being surrounded on all sides by the City Guard. Tke procession moved through
some of the principal streets of the city, on its way to the wharf, from whence the
prisoners were conveyed in one of the Sullivan's Island packet boats on board the
TARTAR. Shortly &&ter arriving on board, they mounved the ScaffGld, still attended
by the Rev. Gentlemen before mentioned; when the Rev. Mr, Bachman, standing between
the two wretched culprits, made a most eloquent and fervent prayers the prisoners,
and all on board, standing uncovered. The conduct of both the prisoners, during
this affecting scene, was firm and collected, Clark adiressed them in a short speech, in
which he solemnly denikd ever having been guilty of the crim e of murder, but admitted that
he had with otheks been deluded into a service which eventuated in piracy - for
which he was about ‘to pay the forfeit of his lifes; while those who projected the
scheme are now walking at large in the country, with impunity, He expressed a
fervent hope, that his sins would be forgiven him; and declared that he forgave all
his enemies, and died in peace with the workd. Wolf, though he evinced much peni-
tence and resignation, both before and at the time of his execution, did not make any obs-
ervations upon the subject during his last moments.
"These awful ceremonies having been finished, the hangman proceeded to make the halters fast
to the ropes which had been rove through blocks at the yard arms; but evincing an
iggorance of his business, the prisoners respectively, with their own hands affixed
thems ttheir eyes were then covered with handkerchiefs = and at about ten minutes past 12
o'clock, the fatal signal gun was fired - and they were run up to the respective
yard-arms, in the smoke, This operation was not performed as is frequently the case,
by the seamen; but by heavy weights attached to the other ends of the ropes, by
which they were suspended; these had been secured to the sides of the vessel, and on
the signal being given, the lashings were cut away, and the weights sinking in the
stream launched the prisoners into eternity.
"It was an awful scene = and the mode of execution being entirely new to the great
body of our citizens, together with the great interest excited by the nature of
¢heir crimes, drew together an immense concourse of people - the wharves, shipping
and stores, within view, being filled with spectators; and the harbour covered
with boats in all directions.
"Justice has thus overtaken and punished two of those offenders whose theatre of
action has been the unrpotected deepe If it behooves a man any where to respect
the rights of his fellow men, it is on the ocean, where there is no tribunal to
protect innocence, or to avenge wrong ~ where the same wave buries the victim and
conceals the crimes; and the noise of whose billows is so well caluciated to drown the ‘stil
small voicetof conscience, Commerce has been represented as the golden b ridge of
the universe= and none but honest men should traverse it, It should be sacred to the
valetudinarian, seeking for health - the s cholar and the artist, inquest of learning
and science = the merchant, pursuing his honorable enterprize - and the exile,
flying for happiness and liberty.
"May the awful example of the sufferers yesterday produce a deep and sa lutary
impression on the public mind, May it serve to restrain the criminal cupidity of
those who, without the courage to undertake such deeds of guilt, will yet furnish the
means for such piratical expeditions, and share in the plunder, though stedine
from the defenceless and unprotected, and in some instances, at che expense ban
blood of their unfortunate victims e
et
trange
Week After Week, No One Knew What Really Had HappenedtoLovely _ : BS
\
Disappearance
‘
2 ‘Wilma Allen—Where She Had Gone, Who Had Kidnaped Her, Why—
quillity left,:Ehrhart shook himself
from a feeling of.sleepiness and walked
into the lot. When he got about half
way through he could see that a couple
of dozen automobiles indeed were
parked there. Union Station was near
by and probably some of the train
crews left automobiles on the lot for sev-
eral days as they completed their runs.
He clicked on his flashlight and
strolled along the line of cars. About
midway the two minutes of time ran
out and the beam of his light flashed on
a license number and Ehrhart knew
that he had found the automobile.
He cupped his hand around his eye
to cut the glare of his own light and
looked inside the car. No one was in it.
On the floor of the back seat, however,
he saw what looked like a washcloth
and even in the poor light he could tell
that it was soaked with blood.
Ehrhart ran two blocks to the nearest
call box. - M
That is the way it began. Before
many hours the Kansas City Police, law
agencies of four counties and the
Federal Bureau of Investigation were
to be sucked up into the vortex of a
bewildering and disheartening investi-
gation. Their talents were to seem
without meaning. The pressure of their
search for a man was to reach a point
where they knew something would
have to give, yet nothing would, and be-
fore despair could set in they would
%
plunge back into the awful whirlwind
where thought became only a burden
and only the'instincts and their train-
ing as policemen kept them moving to-
ward some goal, which, in the obscurity
of each moment, they barely could re-
member.
TE situation did not call for any but
ordinary courage at the beginning,
- however. William Allen, Jr., had be-
come.worried about his wife on the
Thursday afternoon of August 4. She
“usually telephoned him when she was
on a shopping trip that would take her
away from home very long, and on thi
afternoon she hadn't phoned. .
Allen returned home in the early
evening and, not finding his attractive,
34-year-old wife there, returned to his
automobile agency and sent a crew of
his salesmen cruising the streets look-
ing for her automobile. When this
. brought no results he had notified the
police.- The~ thought that physical
harm had befallen his wife had. not
quite entered his mind. He thought
that perhaps she had been detained
someplace, or possibly had gone to see
a motion picture, and if her automobile
could be found she would be near by.
Even Patrolman Ehrhart’s’ tele-
The clothes and the car, technicians examining it, and
as at right, the body, a posse already searching for clues
ee St Tae
\
phoned -report of seeing the bloody:
washcloth did little more at Head-
quarters than set warning signals go-
ing in the minds of the police.
One of those who sensed the danger
early was Lieutenant Lester Haupt,’
head of the Homicide Bureau. He rode
out to the vacant lot, with Detective
Don Breece at the wheel of the police
car, siren screaming.
“Down where the lights are,” Haupt,
said. “It’s under the viaduct.” :
The car slanted down to 21st Street
and turned into the lot. A half-dozen
police cars were already on the scene.
Several had spotlights shining on the
gray and blue Chevrolet, making it look
like the set for some automobile-
company television commercial.
“What's the word, Joe?” Haupt asked
as he got out of the car and was met
by Detective Joseph McCormick,
“We just got here; I haven’t done
pe than take a look,” McCormick
sa
“Where’s this patrolman?” Haupt
swung his head in an arc, searching.
The word passed around and in a
moment Ehrhart came up. He told
Haupt what had happened. The Lieu-
tenant nodded and approached the
convertible slowly, studying the ground.
The Chevrolet was backed neatly -
into a parking slot between two other
cars. Haupt gave instructions to take
down every license number of all: the
automobiles and have the owners
traced.’ Certain now that too
foot-prints had been sunk into the
mushy surface of the lot to make cau-
tion productive, he walked up ‘to the
automobile. :
FP as doors are locked,” McCormick
“Got a knife, Joe?” Haupt .asked.
“We've got to get in there.”
proffered: and sliced through the
rear plastic window. Kneeling on the
trunk of the car, he reached into the
»
. Hauer took the knife McCormick _
car and tripped the lock. Detective -
Breece opened the door. 3
No keys were in the car but the igni-
tion was switched to the “on” position.
The front seat showed no signs of. a
struggle. The back seat, however, was
pulled forward about:five inches from
the frame. On the floor was the bloody -
washcloth. The floor rug was stained
and the experienced police knew that
it was from blood.
Haupt got out, went around to the
front of the car and tripped the hood
catch. He felt inside.
“The motor is cold,” he said.
“How long would that mean it was
' parked here?” Breece asked.
ome
r nformation
onsiderable
yout 8 a.m.
i limousine
w in front of
jumped out
hatless and
an was not
{ on one of
apparently
noments he
n the bell.
fewalk and
er win-
interrupted
in’t re-
I don’t
cad a Rotary
idshield. He
a gray suit
remember
sh
“ky
4d Goltz to
‘otary Club,
n the slain
He learned
ewelry and
i at several
vere half a
ida had told
a male ad-
a check was
And early
» officials of
2 of their
uspected
ast name
.e letter that
e note found
spondence—
- referred to
fault, asked
S.
of the club,
posing home
48-year-old
t and Manu-
1 with his at-
n children at
of the city’s
There he
sday Llewel-
7:30 a.m. as
ring the mid-
Mrs. Llewel-
at of the city
had not been
oney, check-
welry stores,
yeaded hand-
iong the slain
harged to the
n two months
zle beginning
tcher sent out
\lyn be picked
ord from ad-
hat a country
{ businessman
ne of several
_ ed that to her
ountry home,
averton at the
ne and Cedar
County, had
the previous
day the Port-
* lewellyns’
they were
caretaker
Moore conceded that the information
picked up by local officials was correct.
There had been several parties recently at
his employer’s summer bungalow. They
were parties at which there had been both
men and women, among whom he had
recognized several prominent Portland
businessmen.
“When did you last see your boss?”
Thatcher demanded.
“Last weekend. He came out and
stopped at my place before going on to the
big house. Borrowed a gun and said he
planned to do a little hunting.”
A .32-20 Special revolver?”
“No, sir. It was my 16-gauge shotgun. I
thought nothing of it at the time, for he
frequently went hunting. Has plenty of
guns of his own, but there’s nothing much
to shoot at this time of year except small
game, so he took my small-gauge shot-
gun.”
Moore said that about a week before
that there had been a party at the bunga-
low that had lasted well into the following
morning. There had been girls and drink-
ing, but he could name none of the guests.
Llewellyn, the caretaker added, had ar-
rived with the pretty young blonde he
hac been bringing out to the place since
the family left after their summer vaca-
tion. Moore remembered hearing the mid-
dle-aged businessman address her as
“Mildred.”
\Vhen he had left the cottage the Sunday
before, Llewellyn had not returned the
shotgun to the caretaker. He had also
neclected to leave the keys, as was. his
custom, Moore reported. Since . then
neither Llewellyn nor his guests had been
seen about the place.
Thatcher looked carefully along the
Canada. From the first he had been
phenominally successful in business. He
had become a leader of society as well as
in the business circles in which he moved.
But to the knowledge of his family and
‘riends, he had never been interested in
ny woman other than the attractive bru-
yette to whom he was married.
Hattie Llewellyn was positive her hus-
band was not the man who had been keep-
ing company with the pretty blonde
hostess. But she admitted that neither she
nor either of their two grown daughters
had received an expensive beaded bag as
a gift from Llewellyn during the past two
months.
Before he left, Thatcher requested that
the family turn over to him a photograph
of the missing businessman. He explained
that if the photograph was shown to Jack
Lovett—still in critical condition at St.
Vincent’s Hospital, and the latter failed to
identify it as that of the gunman, then
John Llewellyn could be considered
cleared of suspicion.
It appeared, however, that Llewellyn
had not had any recent photos taken.
After a search amongst the family’s pos-
sessions, Mrs. Llewellyn finally came
back with a picture that had been taken
at the time of her marriage.
Chief Thatcher took one long look at
the picture—and instantly decided it
would no longer be necessary to have
Jack Lovett attempt to identify it. What
Thatcher saw was a slim, handsome man
dressed in what was the height of fashion
during the early part of the century. On
his prominent, aquiline nose was a pair
of rimless pince-nez eyeglasses!
Back at headquarters an hour later,
alerts were sent out to police departments
and sheriffs offices throughout the north-
west for the apprehension of John
Llewellyn.
Later that night Thatcher !earned that
none of the suspect’s clothing was missing
from his home, and that no withdrawals
had been made from his bank account
during the past week. From this the de-
tective chief concluded that Llewellyn had
not been premeditating flight at the time
he went to the blonde’s apartment armed
with a deadly weapon.
Next morning a check at the man’s
clubs revealed he had been seen at none
of them for the past four days. At the
FLASHES
STARTLING CASES —
pe REE
BOUND CORPSE IN LOVERS’
LANE (March 1956)—Arthur Ross
Brown paid with his life February
24 in the Missouri gas chamber at »
Jefferson City for the rape sla
in Kansas City last August of Bark
Wilma Allen.
’
THAT’S !!! (March
1956)—A Colorado District Court .
jury has convicted Robert Mark
Dearmin of second degree murder.
for the killing of Denver Symphony
Orchestra musician Hubert D. Hahn »
last September. Hahn was shot to, —
death after he and his girl com-
panion had been kidnaped at gun- —
point. ae
ROADSIDE RAPE SLAYING |
(January 1955)—On March 15, Ber-
nard Schreiber, 19, was executed in
the Ohio Penitentiary electric chair
for the rape murder of 17-year-old ;
Mary Jolene Friess in August 1954 -
near Toledo.
downtown garage where he usually kept
his automobile during business hours, it
was reported Llewellyn had failed to pick
up a new tire there on the day of the mur-
der, as planned.
“It is evident this man did not contem-
plate a long trip, either before or after
the shooting,” Thatcher commented as he
prepared to press his search. “Had he
abandoned his car in the city after he fled
Miss Hume’s apartment, we would surely
have found it by now. And yet it is un-
likely he’d have gone far without first
getting funds or stopping for that new
tire.”
“Well, it isn’t far out to that place of
his in the country,” Detective Holtz sug-
gested.
“Exactly,” agreed Thatcher. “And he
must have felt pretty safe out there, or
he’d never have made it the scene of his
rendezvous with the girl he was later to
murder.”
Half an hour later, Thatcher and his men
were again on their way to the isolated
country home in Washington County. This
time they stopped en route for officers
from nearby Hillsborough—for by now
the Portland detective chief was convinced
that he was finally closing in on the man
he sought.
Arriving at the suspect’s country estate
shortly before noon, Thatcher led his men
toward a wooded area behind the house
before approaching the building itself.
There, pulled up behind a clump of heavy
foliage off a narrow trail, they found
Llewellyn’s Packard Limousine. Five min-
utes later Thatcher opened the back door
to the house with a key obtained the day
before from Mrs. Llewellyn, while his
own men and Washington County officers
surrounded the place with drawn guns.
Inside the darkertéd house there was not
a sound, Thatcher went through the
bottle-littered kitchen toward the big liv-
ing room at the front of the house. He
halted abruptly as he reached the door-
way to that room. ‘
Lying sprawled on a sofa was the body
of John Llewellyn. On the floor beside
the body lay the caretaker’s 16-gauge
shotgun. On an endtable at the dead man’s
head was a hastily scrawled note, ad-
dressed to his wife and three children.
It read:
“Dear Hattie and Harold and Adrian and
orothy: I just hate to do it. Forgive me.
s, J.M.L.”
The man who had murdered his blonde
girl friend when he found her with an-
other, had blown his own head half away
as he Feclined on the very sofa where, the
before, he had made love to her.
e full details of the clandestine af-
i between the balding businessman and
the pretty blonde half his age did not come
to light until the following week. It was
then that the police finally rounded up
others who had taken part in the parties
at the isolated bungalow and returned
them for questioning by Coroner F. J.
Sewell in Washington County.
The names of those men—all of them
married and prominent in Portland’s busi-
ness and civic affairs—have never been
made public. Nor were the names of the
pretty unmarried girls who had accom-
panied them willingly to the secluded
country house.
But the story related by those unnamed
party guests was the age-old tale of an
aging man of wealth and position who
wanted one last fling with youth and
gaiety. On the night of the final party
thrown by John Llewellyn for his pretty
blonde, the girl had told the other guests
that because of his insane jealously she
had been forced to refuse him admittance
to her apartment. _
“They were both drinking and he was
screaming accusations that she was two-
timing him with other men,” one of the
witnesses testified at the inquest into
Llewellyn’s suicide. “They sat there to-
gether on the sofa and he shouted loud
enough for the rest of us to hear.” ‘You're
mine and mine alone. If I ever find you
with another man I’l] kill you both!’ ”
After hearing the inquest testimony,
Portland police closed the investigation
into the death of Ida Hume with the
notation: “Murder and suicide.”
Jack Lovett, the handsome young sales-
man whose visit with the pretty blonde
hostess was interrupted by a love-crazed
man with murder in his heart, recovered
from his injuries and was released from
the hospital soon afterward.
> 47
aor
PA eet ty Soy
se
a iaalateenag edn, ane peceamineann ee
pci tise.
‘
Mr. and ‘Mrs. William ‘Allen, Jr: Always before, she'd phoned
_ when she was going to be away from home for any length of time
BRO Wi art ak Y” Koss wih S 4 P= aanhvy 7 ot ro 4 ; ~d ra
? ur Ross, white, asphyx Mo. sP (Federal), 2-24-1956
: A of wt & Oo @
. AntonNemec }
Special Investigator for
ACTUAL DETECTIVE
STORIES.
Teee ea ieatie: So abe
Ronald Ehrhart of the Kansas <%
City, Missouri, Police Depart-..
ment, peered «down the uninviting\ (ae
stretch of street under. the Broadway: ss)
viaduct. It was 2:10 in the morning of “3
August 5, 1955, and Patrolman Ehrhart.
didn’t know it but he was two minutes +4
~ away from a discovery that was to raise 74
the curtain on a startling manhunt.
While the clock ticked away these.
two minutes of serenity, Patrolman
Ehrhart-strolled under.the viaduct and
came to a vacant lot. It had been a long
night, warm with rain at times fall-
ing in a soft spray to bring some relief. =
The lot, which Ehrhart decided to 5
cross, lay between 21st and 22nd Streets,
Light on the glistening’ pavement #
caused weird reflections and the 4
patrolman couldn't tell if automobiles
were parked on the lot or not. . <4
He considered his assignment pretty ©
dull. Looking for an automobile usually “;
was. This particular one belonged to 4
Mrs. William R. Allen, Jr., wife of the 4
wealthy operator of the Allen Chevrolet:
Company of Kansas City. Her husband |
had reported about ten o'clock that =}
night that she had failed to come home. *4
After he’d been told about the miss-*.7
ing car, Ehrhart hadn't called into the’ *
station for some time. For all he knew, ‘=
- at two a. m., the woman might be home, :
the automobile found and he setting 4
out to see what was on the lot just for «4
the exercise. ©
He was looking for a brand new 4
Chevrolet .convertible. With only a.%
minute. of the two minutes of tran-° 4
I einala‘Eoenart Patrolman ,
gg
“I'd guess at least three hours.”
“And it could be much longer,” Mc-
rmick added. -.. MAS pig y ped
Haupt said, “Well, have this thing
¥towed to the garage so they can go.
+, Over-it for details.” He stepped back --.>
@and - scrutinized the
«.“Strange. Notice how the
:, Cars are pulled in hood first, like a man
g Will who figures he’lt worry about pull-.
ing out when he gets to Mee, ‘
6s Bur not the Allen car,” McCormick
said ty :
- dn, real neat. Even space on
-of it, ready to go as soon as
comes back.” ‘ :
The first piece fell into place in the
ae of a killer that the police were
The first inkling of the long road ahead.
‘ “One of those methodical people,”
Haupt continued. “I'm going to Head-
quarters. Joe, you see that you question
the owners of all these cars and espe-
cially those parked on either side of this
Allen car.” — : ‘
Two hours
had
automobile,-.
rest of these:
“No,” Haupt continued, “it's backed’
both sides -
the driver _
Pursue for more than three months,
i
'
it's’ My Husband," the
° Scratches on His Face. “An
< The Night That Woman Was Killed—He Was Out
“All Night. He's Always Talking About Cases Like
_ That,’ Too, When-He Reads All
t
\
_.. +. -Around With Some Other Women.
a
‘Major Eugene Pond, Chief of: Detéc-
tives, was in charge. A little sleepy-
eyed but alert, half a dozen detectives
were attending the first of many such
sessions that were designed to -reset
the course as numberless blind leads
turned up. At this one, though, only
routine practices were being observed.
“We've told Allen about our discov-
ery,” Major Pond said. “He has taken
it quite well. He’s still hoping that she
will be found unharmed.”
Haupt appeared puzzled. mobi
“He has some idea it’s a kidnaping,”.
Pond said by way of explanation.
_ “Did he get any ransom demand?”
“No. That is, he says he didn’t and
I believe him.” -- : »
“The Major then revealed. that virtu-
ally all Mrs. Allen’s clothes,-including °
her underthings, had been found,
bloodsoaked, in the trunk of the car
when it. was opened in the garage.
“No ransom notes. We are looking
for a body,” Pond said glumly after he.
gave the detectives this information,
The thought was a little hard to ac-
ee
cept. Wilma Frances Allen was the
“mother of two boys, William R. Allen
‘III, who was nine years old, and Bobby
Allen, seven. She was a slim and strik-
ingly attractive woman,
“We'll hit in from all sides as usual,”
Pond was saying. “Haupt, you see the
Allens and let’s try to trace her steps
from the moment she left the house.”
He gave others their assignments. Go
over the Allen car for finger-prints,
canvass laundries for bloody clothing,
taxicab firms, the neighborhood where
the car was found. The men filed out,
confident that the case had marks of
simplicity which indicated it would be
solved early. :
Haupt and Breece stepped out into
early morning air. Toward the east a.
. change in the denseness of the sky gave
the first indication of dawn. The rain
was coming down again in that soft.
spray. - : . :
For a moment Haupt could:see the
_ city’s ‘alleys, the silent streets, the
+ Good . . . Aren't You Going to
after Patrolman Ehrhart.... 0° = ee
found the car, an emergency meet--
ing was called at Police Headquarters, —
,
1
weed-grown lots, the abandoned
buildings. Someplace in this city was
a body. A dead body. A difficult thing
to put out of sight. Even those that are
underground have a way of beckoning
the living to them. The Lieutenant
breathed deep of the moist air. Another-
puzzle to unravel, another meeting with:
tragedy, more sorrow over death.
And some slight satisfaction over
bringing to justice the person who had
caused it. This was a feeling that never ©
grew old. His was more than a liveli-
hood, it was the setting right of a corner
of the topsy-turvy world. :
“Let's go,” Haupt said gruffly to
Breece.
. ‘The Allen home on Vivion Road was:
one of three attractive houses all
belonging to members of the family on
an extensive tract. owned by William
Allen, Sr. Lights were burning in the
house but several people were standing
on the protected portion of a patio of’
the house next door and Haupt and
“questions.” He stopped. “But you un-
giving people rides?”
. Biving a lift to
Woman Seid.” "He's Got
d He Wasn't. at Home
oe : All the Newspaper
' . Stories. About Them. And. He's. Been Running ©
Arrest Him?"
_ find out if the children were behaving.”
‘ Arthur Brown, one errant husband,
returns to Kansas City with escort
%
Breece crossed the lawn and made th;
identities known,
A large, handsome man with d\
hair and eyes that showed strain gol’.
up from a chair and sald that he was |
William Allen, Jr. He introduced the «
People with a wave of his hand as his
sister.and her husband, Mr. and Mrs, +
William Kelly, whose home it was, :
“Have you found her?” Allen asked
hopefully, .
“No,” Haupt said. He braced himself.
“Mr. Allen, this is routine and to find
her we may have to ask some indelicate
derstand?” oo
“Sure,” Allen said.
The rain had stopped so the detec-
tives took off their coats. A robin called ~
in the fading darkness and for amo- :
ment Haupt wished he could be a -
thousand miles away. :
“Ah—is your wife in the habit of ~
he asked finally, «
“No.” Allen thought a moment, “As
a matter of fact, she is somewhat timid
around strangers. I can't imagine her
anyone she does not
know.”. ;
“Where was
terday? I understand your first concern
thoughts of his own. He returned to the q
present, “The only definite date she.
He's Just No- :
had was with the hairdresser. Then she a
did say something about possibly going ©
downtown to buy a suit.” |
* “What was the name of the beauty
shop?” Haupt asked. :
_“The Shears 'n Tears, they call it, I
think. In the Sixty-Three Hundred
block of Brookside Plaza.” He watched
Breece closely as the detective made an
entry in his notebook. “I don’t have any
idea where she would buy the suit. But
she likes to shop in the Sixty-Third and
Brookside shopping district.” ea
“What time did she leave the house?”
“The baby-sitter said about mid-
morning. She called the house here
after she got. to the beauty parlor to
A glimmer of the tragedy which he was
trying not to face, showed in Allen’s
eyes. “That's the last we heard of her.”
“Do you know what your wife ordi- ~#
narily would be carrying with her? How -
Sean money? What she had in her
purse?”
s
ie as to
harried
tails of
ig mys-
and in
ant lot?
it last
it just
a Allen,
ir there
r cloth-
answer
ll mur-
but still
e wom-
ie straw
) carry-
urse in-
indicate
tockings
ible and
he-clock
matron.
the pub-
» attrac-
s a bru-
thes tall
Every
for her
remem-
the car,
eas were
yas com-
that the
tion out
1e homi-
sas City
anothe~
aave any
.g Wilma
y morn-
th towel
the city.
dered t
tion.
{ patrol-
force be-
ase. Be-
r Kansas
between
arch was
ding out
of the city were covered. Personnel of
the Kansas City, Kansas, police depart-
ment and the sheriff’s officers of Jack-
son and Clay counties in Missouri and
Wyandotte and Johnson counties in
Kansas took up the hunt.
Laundries and cleaning shops in both
Kansas Cities and in the counties were
asked to be on the lookout for blood-
stained clothing. And although the car
apparently had been partially wiped of
fingerprints, some remained. Those were
being checked with the Allen family’s
prints, which would normally be on
the car.
But. the actual leads were slim, the
clues few. Major Pond and his men
were faced with what some termed the
most baffling case in the history of the
city. And as they continued their hour-
by-hour, _minute-by-minute, inch-by-
inch search the mystery only deepened.
No stone could be left unturned; no clue,
however small and seemingly unimpor-
tant and irrelevant, might be ignored.
It was determined that Wilma Allen
had done some shopping in the area of
the beauty shop after keeping her ap-
pointment. She had visited at least two
shops, inquiring about purchases in each,
but in neither case taking anything with
her as she departed. Joe McCormick
and John Cunningham, homicide bu-
reau detectives, talked with every shop
owner in the vicinity, asking for any
little detail which might be remem-
bered. They trekked from store to store,
only to find that no helpful informa-
tion might be uncovered. Racking their
memories, shop clerks tried to be of
help, but the plain fact soon became evi-
dent that they could add little to the
scanty details already known.
A member of the Allen family re-
called that the children had cleaned the
car for their mother. They had placed
in it some toy motor cars made of plas-
tic. The toys had not been found.
Other detectives kept constant vigil
at the vacant lot where the car had
been found. Bit by small bit they gath-
ered shreds of information.
“I drove my car away from here about
8:30 last night,” one man told them.
“And although I can’t say for certain,
I don’t believe that blue-and-white con-
vertible was here then.”
“I don’t think so either,” another man
volunteered. “I parked my car here a
little after 10 last night before going to
my night job. I don’t think the con-
vertible was here then. I’m sure I would
have noticed it.”
In all, five persons asserted that they
did not believe the Allen car had been
in the lot before 10 o’clock that Thurs-
day evening. Not one of them could be
sure, but with so many giving the same
information it seemed believable.
This narrowed the time of the park-
ing of the car to a probability of some
time after 10:15 that Thursday night.
On the other hand, Major Pond was
sure that the convertible had been
parked at least two hours before it was
found at 2:12 a.m. on Friday morning.
The motor was cold at that time and,
considering the summer temperature,
it would have taken at least two hours
for the engine to cool off completely,
This narrowed the presumptive time of
parking to sometime between 10:15 and
12:15 P.M.
Since the vacant lot was near railroad
tracks leading tg and from the Union
Station, could someone have parked
the car and then hopped on a freight
train? Or could someone have put the
convertible in its place and then left:
for some destination within walking
distance?
More important were the missing
items, the purse, stockings, and scarf.
And always in the minds of the inves-
tigators was the fact that the foxtail
grass had been found clinging to the
undercarriage of the car. Both heads
and stems of the grass had been found
on the convertible. After checking with
members of the Allen family, the police
were convinced that the grass became
attached to the grease-covered under-
carriage after Wilma Allen left her
home Thursday morning.
The county sheriffs began a thorough
checkup of secluded areas where attacks
of violence might occur. So far the
known details, plus the fact that the
missing woman was young and vividly
attractive, seemed to indicate such a
fearful likelihood. The public responded
to appeals for information. Seven pos-
sible leads were quickly followed up.
A resident of Kansas, some miles out
in the country from the spot where the
convertible was found, reported that on
Thursday night the sound of a woman
screaming had awakened him and his
family. When the man had gone out
to the yard of his home to investigate,
he saw two motor cars parked on the
road in front of his home.
From the first car came the screams
of a woman. In a muffled voice, as if
someone were restraining her, she
shouted, “Help! Murder!”
The man advanced in his yard. The
two cars moved away, the first one weav-
ing along the road as if the driver
might be engaged in a struggle. Check-
ing the report, detectives combed the
wooded countryside near the spot, but
found nothing.
Another report was of the finding of
a bloodstained towel in a wooded area
in Missouri, but further searching in the
vicinity revealed nothing. Likewise the
other five tips were followed up and in-
vestigated carefully, with no results.
As the daylight hours of Friday, Au-
gust 5th, passed into darkness the police
were no nearer a solution to the baffling
mystery than they had been at 2:12
that morning when the missing convert-
ible had been found.
Meanwhile, the distraught husband of
the missing woman made a personal in-
spection of the family’s summer cottage
at the lake. Police requested such an
inspection, but a search of closets and
drawers indicated that nothing was miss-
ing. Carefully the interior was combed
for evidence that Wilma Allen had been
there after her visit to the beauty shop
and her shopping. Nothing was found.
Nor did a-close inspection of the area
surrounding the cottage indicate that
she might have gone there:
Lieutenant Lester Haupt, head of the
homicide bureau, also went to the vicin-
ity of the summer cottage to investigate
.a report from an anonymous phone call-
er who said he had seen two men drag-
ging a woman across a gravel road. But
Haupt and‘his men could find no one
in the area who knew anything about
the report, nor could they find anyone
who could substantiate the report.
Major Pond asked railroad officials to
check all outgoing trains, on the pos-
sibility that whoever had parked the
car had boarded a freight train. It was
learned that at the time the car must
have been parked seven boxcars were
on a siding near the parking area. Dur-
ing the night the cars were moved to
various places in the station yards. Each
car was searched, with no results and
no clues.
Hope alone was the big factor in the
thoughts of the family of the missing
woman. But as the time passed with no
word, no new evidence, the possibilities
as to what had happened to her became
more and more grim. Through the long
hours the family waited. But there was
no word, no attempt to contact them by
possible kidnapers demanding a= cash
ransom.
“We can’t lose hope,” one of the family
said. “She’s got to turn up!”
Saturday passed with the police no
nearer a solution. Reports of a car like
Wilma Allen’s, seen Thursday after-
noon in eastern Jackson County, were
checked. The car was driven by a man
and as passenger there was a dark-
haired young woman in a white blouse.
Possibly, theorized Major Pond and his
colleagues, Mrs. Allen had had trouble
in getting up the top of her convertible
in the rain. It was known the car top
had been down when she left her
home. Perhaps she had asked a chance
passerby for help and then been forced
to give her assistant a ride.
Meanwhile, laboratory tests of the
blood-soaked towel found on the via-
duct continued. Preliminary study con-
vinced the police it was human blood on
the towel, but it would be several days
Sheriff Williams examines victim’s empty
pocketbook. Billfold, change purse gone 55
52
Crowds of newsmen and curious spectators are kept back by police during the long search for the mysteriously missing matron
HURSDAY, AUGUST 4th, was
like any other August day. As
usual the weather in Kansas
_ City, Missouri, was hot, sweltering
hot. Most of the city’s residents
were primarily concerned with the
fact that the light rain in the mid-
dle of the day was some relief, even
if only temporary, from the sum-
mer heat. Not until early the next
morning did they learn that in the
midst of the showers one of the
most sensational crimes in the his-
tory of the entire Midwest had
occurred—the kidnaping and mur-
der of a young and attractive house-
wife, the model mother of two
young sons.
William R. Allen Jr. and his wife
Wilma were planning to go out to din-
ner at 7 o’clock that Thursday evening
with friends. Notified that the friends
would be unable to go, the Allens de-
cided to dine out alone, since they had
already engaged a baby sitter for their
two small sons, aged 8 and 11. In prep-
aration for a night out Mrs. Allen had
changed her usual Friday morning ap-
pointment at the beauty shop to Thurs-
day. The changing of the appointment
from the regular Friday to Thursday
was but one of a chain of purely coin-
cidental circumstances by which vfate
was to place Wilma Allen in the path |
of her murderer, a complete stranger.
As usual when Mrs. Allen was away
from home, she was to keep in touch
with her husband by telephone during
the day. But that Thursday there was
no phone call. As the hours passed, the
husband waited. for the phone to ring,
becoming more and more anxious. Five
o’clock came with no word from hir
wife. Six o’clock. William Allen grew
increasingly concerned. Thoughts of a
motor accident flashed through his mind
‘and his worry loomed larger as phone
calls to friends brought no shred of in-
formation as to the whereabouts of the
missing Wilma. :
About 7 o’clock that Thursday eve-
ning William Allen dispatched a num-
ber of salesmen from his motor car firm
to cruise the streets seeking to locate
his wife’s car. The salesmen covered
the fashionable southside area of the
city, on the lookout for a possible wreck
or evidence of trouble. The only in-
formation the worried husband could
give the searchers was that his missing
wife had gone to the beauty shop some
time between 10 and 11 o’clock that
morning and had possibly done some
shopping afterward.
The evening hours dragged along, most
of the city’s residents following their
regular summer routine of trying to
escape the weather and still unaware
that anything might be amiss. By 10
o’clock no one had been able to uncover
any more information.as to the where-
abouts of the missing woman. In frantic
parked car.
alarm William Allen called the police
and the Missouri State highway patrol.
_In a matter of minutes an area broad-
cast was made requesting location of
the car. Now, in addition to the sales-
men searching the streets, patrolmen and
state highway officials were covering the
whole city and the surrounding country.
Bill Allen telephoned his wife’s par-
ents, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Cookus, of
Tulsa, Oklahoma. But Mrs. Cookus was
unable to give her son-in-law any in-
formation about her daughter, and he
was, as she later told reporters, “so
torn up that he could hardly talk.”
Backtracking to check the movements
of the missing woman, police officials
learned that Wilma Allen had arrived at
the beauty shop shortly after 10 o’clock
that morning. After having her hair
dressed and getting a manicure she had
left the shop shortly before noon. A
manicurist at the shop remembered that
Mrs. Allen had asked for a change of
‘the shade of her nail polish because she
planned to wear a beige dress. Paying
for the work done at the beauty shop,
she had cashed a $30 check and received
in return $25. This amount of money
might mean, as some seemed to believe,
that she intended to do some shopping.
As she prepared to leave the shop she
was offered a magazine to hold over
her head to protect her from the light
misty rain that. had just started. But
she said no to the offer, adding that she
had only a short distance to go to her
And although no one re-
dolice
atrol.
road-
mn of
sales-
n and
g the
intry.
par-
s, of
; was
y in-
d he
“so
nents
icials
ed at
clock
hair
had
. A
that
ze of
e she
‘ying
shop,
sived
ioney
lieve,
ping.
> she
over
light
But
t she
» her
. Tran.
ikon! Aen
oe «
=
Sg rs)
Eagk , oer teneneeere deipaenbitse
aj7T aD
double |length feature
Wilma Allen
Fate placed Wilma Allen
in the path of her
murderer by a chain of
coincidences: changing of
a beauty parlor
appointment, a broken
date, a sudden summer rain
by ANTHONY ALBERT
53
a
ee eens re eS
aS
alized it at the time, that light rain was
a second one of the chance factors by
which fate marked Wilma Allen that
day. If she had not changed her ap-
pointment from her regular day she
would not have been in the shopping
area that Thursday morning. And if
the light rain had not been falling, she
might not have been entirely alone on
the streets as she approached her car.
But with the sudden shower, most peo-
ple hurried for shelter. ‘
One of the hairdressers reported that
when he left the shop to go to lunch
Mrs. Allen was standing in the doorway
waiting for the rain to stop. He had
run on to his car, barely noticing her.
Employees recalled that Mrs. Allen had
worn a white blouse, a dark skirt and
nylon hose to the shop and that she had
carried a pocketbook and a head scarf.
The manicurist who had worked on Mrs.
Allen’s nails was under the impression
that Mrs. Allen might have been in-
tending to drive to the family’s summer
cottage at a lake not far from the city.
The missing woman had not said so
definitely, but the manicurist recalled
that somehow she had thought so.
These then were the few details known
so far. Plus the fact that Wilma Allen
was young and most attractive. And
plus the added fact—which might prove
significant—that the Allen family was
well to do and might be the object of
a kidnap-ransom plot.
With these meager bits of informa-
tion, added to by mere conjecture, the
police began their search for the 1955
blue-and-white convertible Wilma Allen
had been driving. It was not long before
their hunt brought results, the first find-
ing of a string of clues which spelled
kidnap and—officials began to fear—
murder.
At 2:12 a.m. Friday morning Patrol-
man Ronald Ehrhardt found the aban-
doned convertible. It was parked in a
small vacant lot—not a regular parking
lot, but one used regularly by workers
in the area—beneath the Broadway via-
duct in Kansas City, not far from the
Union Station. The car was locked, but
54 the ignition switch was placed in the
Herman Davis, superintendent of police laboratory, gathers clues from recovered
“on” position. Officers cut open the
rear plastic window of the auto and
opened the trunk, which was also
locked. ;
Tension mounted as the beams of their
flashlights revealed the contents of the
trunk. For in it were a white blouse
which had been torn at the shoulders,
a blue skirt, brown-and-white high-
heeled shoes and lingerie.
One of the officers turned the rays of
his flashlight on darkening stains on the
blouse. “Blood!” he said grimly.
The others nodded. ‘Most likely a
head wound,” one of them surmised.
There was ominous silence, as the gar-
ments were carefully gathered together
for a medical examination. The officers
began a minute inspection of the aban-
doned vehicle.
The rear seat of the car was out of
place, having been pulled forward about
5 inches. The seat was covered with
spots of blood and there was blood on
the rear floor and in the trunk. A
bloodstained washcloth was found in
the car. There was some evidence, too,
that blood had been hastily but care-
fully wiped from a chrome strip be-
neath the left front door.
There were two other valuable clues,
not immediately made public. Bits of
foxtail grass and other weeds were
clinging to the undercarriage of the con-
vertible, as if it had been driven through
the high grass of an untended area
somewhere. There were also bits of
grass in the trunk of the car, near the
clothing. And there were small pieces
of metal fragments in the car, possibly
from the bullets of a murder weapon.
Carefully they were gathered up for a
laboratory examination.
With the finding of the missing wom-
an’s car, Major Eugene Pond, chief of
the detectives of the Kansas City. police
department, took over the case person~
ally. It was the beginning of an in-
vestigation that would take weeks, even
months, of untiring effort before the
baffling mystery might begin to un-
ravel.
No one around the vacant lot used
for parking could remember having seen
car while teams hunt for missing garments
Mrs. Allen and there was no clue as to
her whereabouts. And as the harried
officials assembled the known details of
the case early that Friday morning mys-
tery piled upon mystery.
Why was the car, undamaged and in
good condition, left in the vacant lot?
Obviously whoever had driven it last
had taken precise pains to park it just
so. Could that mean that Wilma Allen,
forced to do so, had parked the car there
herself? Why was most of her cloth-
ing left in the car trunk? The answer
to that question seemed to spell mur-
der, a conclusion already feared but still
unvoiced. Still missing were the wom-
an’s stockings, scarf and the blue straw
rectangular purse she had been carry-
ing, with a smaller pink coin purse in-
side. The missing purse could indicate
robbery. The purse, scarf and stockings
were to become the most valuable and
hunted articles.in the around-the-clock
search for the prominent young matron.
Immediately the police asked the pub-
lic to be on the lookout for the attrac-
‘tive young mother, described as a bru-
nette, 34 years old, 5 feet 7 inches tall
and weighing about 110 pounds. Every
officer on the force was looking for her
still missing belongings. And remem-
bering the foxtail grass found on the car,
officials of the nearby county areas were
also alerted. But foxtail grass was com-
mon everywhere; it might mean that the
car had been driven in any direction out
of the city.
In the midst of their search, the homi-
cide department. of the Kansas City
police was also investigating anothe”
clue which might or might not have any
bearing on the case of the missing Wilma
Allen. At 8:00 a.m. that Friday morn-
ing a blood-soaked white bath towel
was found on another viaduct in the city.
Immediate blood tests were ordered t
see if it might have any connection.
More than 50 detectives and patrol-
men on the Kansas City police force be-
gan to work exclusively on the case. Be-
cause of the location of Greater Kansas
City, straddling the state line between
Missouri and Kansas, the search was
widened. Main highways leading out
oa NPI
of the city we
the Kansas Cit
ment and the
son and Clay
Wyandotte an
Kansas took u
Laundries ar
Kansas Cities ;
asked to be o1
stained clothin
apparently hac
fingerprints, so
being checked
prints, which
the car.
But the act
clues few. M
were faced wi
most baffling «
city. And as t!
by-hour, _min
inch search th
No stone coulc
however smal!
tant and irrel«
It was dete:
had done som:
the beauty sh
pointment. Sh
shops, inquirir
but in neither
her as she ¢
and John Cu
reau detective
owner in the
little detail
bered. They t:
only to find
tion might be
memories, sh
help, but the }
dent that the
scanty details
A member
called that th
car for their
in it some to)
tic. The toy:
Other dete
at the vacan
been found.
ered shreds «
“T drove m:
8:30 last nig
“And althoug
I don’t believ
vertible was
“T don’t thi
volunteered.
little after 10
my night jot
vertible was !
have noticed
In all, five
did not belie
in the lot be!
day evening.
sure, but wit
information i
This narro
ing of the ce
time after 1
On the othe
sure that t
parked at le:
found at 2:1
The motor \
considering
it would hav
for the eng)
This narrow
ae
residential districts on the way to the
Allen home, All the men were familiar
with Mrs. Allen’s car and would have
recognized it at once, if they had sem,
it. But they did not see it.
Shortly after 10:00 p.m., William
Allen’s mounting fears for his wife's
safety made it impossible for him to
defer any longer a move he had been
hoping desperately would not be nec-
essary. He called his wife’s parents in
Tulsa, Oklahoma, to ascertain if for
some inexplicable reason, his wife had
shown up there.
She had not. They too now shared his
fear.
Immediately after this, Allen re-
ported his wife’s disappearance to the
Kansas City Police, and then to the
Missouri State Highway patrol. Within
minutes of his call, an alert to be on
the lookout for Mrs. Wilma Allen, fol-
lowed by descriptions of the woman
and the car she had been driving, was
radioed to cruisers on patrol.
As a first step, Kansas City detec-
tives accomplished something which
Allen had not been able to do. They
located the owner and some employees
of the beauty salon, which had been
closed by the time Allen’s salesmen be-
gan their search. Questioning by the
detectives established definitely that
Mrs. Allen had arrived for her appoint-
ment a few minutes after ten that
morning. She had her hair done, got a
manicure, and left the salon a little
before noon
“She asked me if I could cash a check
for her,” the owner recalled, “and I said
of course. So she wrote a check for $30.
Her bill was $5, and I gave her $25 in
change—four fives, four singles, and a
dollar in quarters.”
“Can you remember anything else
about her?”
The beautician reflected a few mo-
ments. “Well,” he said, “it was just
starting to rain as she was about to
leave. I offered her a magazine to hold
over her hair, but she said it wasn’t
necessary—her car was parked only a
short distance away.”
From an employe, a detective learned
that moments after this, as he left the
shop to go to lunch, he saw Mrs. Allen
huddled in a doorway nearby, appar-
ently waiting for the rain, which had
begun falling in a heavy downpour, to
stop. He was sure it was Mrs. Allen, he
said, because of the way she was
dressed; he said she was a very smartly
groomed woman, and he had seen her
that morning, wearing a navy blue
skirt, white nylon blouse, a light scarf,
and sheer nylon stockings.
Detailed as these bits of information
were, they were not, of themselves,
very helpful in determining where
Mrs. Allen had gone after leaving the
beauty parlor, or what had happened to
her. For the time being, police could
only concentrate on the one element
which might produce the most im-
mediate results, Mrs. Allen's blue-and-
white 1955 Chevrolet convertible.
It was not long before the car was
found. With every officer in the Kansas
City area searching for it, the Chevro-
let had to be located if it was anywhere
in the vicinity. At 2:12 o’clock Friday
morning, Patrolman Ronald Ehrhardt
found the car abandoned in a parking
lot under the Broadway viaduct near
Union Station. Minutes after Ehrhardt
reported his discovery, a squad of de-
tectives raced to the scene.
A swift examination of the car’s in-
terior disclosed nothing out of the way.
Then they forced open the trunk.
There, under the illuminating glare of
their flashlights, they found evidence
which confirmed everyone’s fears for
Mrs. Allen’s safety. There was a white
nylon blouse, buttons ripped off and
torn at the shoulders; a navy blue skirt;
brown and white high-heeled shoes;
and nylon lingerie which obviously had
been worn.
The blouse bore a profusion of blood-
stains near the shoulders. “From a head
wound,” a detective guessed aloud.
By this time an emergency truck had
arrived and under its powerful portable
spotlights, a more detailed examina-
tion of the interior turned up evidence
which had escaped the first hasty
search of the car.
The rear seat revealed small blood
spots, and similar stains had seeped
into the carpeting on the floor. The
seat had been pulled forward about five
inches out of its normal position. On
the floor, partially obscured by the seat.
they found a bloodstained washcloth.
There was a smear along the chrome
strip on the front door on the driver’s
side which looked as if someone had
tried to wipe blood from it.
Many of the findings made by the
police examination of the vehicle at
this time were purposely withheld from
publication. This is a customary inves-
tigative safeguard which enables de-
tectives to check the accuracy of
information—and sometimes ‘“confes-
sions”—from cranks and tipsters.
In this instance, no mention was
made in statements to the press about
wisps of foxtail grass and other weeds
found clinging to the underside of the
car, which suggested it recently had
been driven through tall grass in a
field. Similar wisps of grass, in lesser
quantity, were found in the trunk, as
well as small metal fragments, which
might or might not be pieces of a bul-~
let. The crime laboratory technicians
would determine that
At this point, Major Eugene Pond.
Kansas City’s chief of detectives, as-
sumed personal direction of the inves-
tigation. One of his first moves was to
station a detective team at the parking
lot where Mrs. Allen’s convertible was
found. Their orders were to interrogate
all persons who regularlly used the lot.
in an effort to learn whether anyone
had seen the person who left the miss-
ing woman's car there
The early results of this questioning
were not encouraging. No one who used
the parking lot on Thursday remem-
bered having seen the blue-and-white
Chevrolet there. A man who worked
nearby said he drove out of the
At police lab. Supt. Davis and a detective
lot at six p.m. and he was sure the car
was not there then
There were few police officials at this
time who held much hope Mrs. Allen
would be found alive, but the search
for her had to be continued, in the
hope that she might be. Examination of
her wardrobe at home determined that
she had taken no extra clothing with
her. Unless she had purchased a new
outfit after her beauty parlor appoint-
ment, it could only be assumed that
wherever she might be at the moment.
she was without clothing.
There was a slim chance that she
might still be alive, being held prison-
er somewhere. for whatever reason.
This was considered unlikely. If she
had been kidnaped for ransom, officials
were convinced her abductor would
have been heard from by this time.
Still unaccounted for were Mrs. Al-
len’s scarf, nylon stockings, and a rec-
tangular, navy blue straw handbag.
The latter had contained a small pink
change purse, which also was missing.
The aid of newspapers and radio and
television stations in the area was re-
guested by police and all media widely
circulated the description of Wilma
Allen: brunette, attractive; age 34: 5
feet 7 inches tall: weight 110. Via po-
lice teletype, officials in rural sections
near Kansas City also were alerted: the
examined victim’s car, abandoned
ee ene ee iar
wnat
PRE ae
foxtail grass found on Wilma’s car
made it seem likely it had been driven
into the country. But foxtail abounds
in this region and there was little hope
of pinpointing the specific area. R
There was a brief hope on Friday
morning that the missing woman’s trail
had been picked up when an officer re-
ported finding a blood-soaked white
bath towel on another viaduct in Kan-
sas City. Police swarmed about the
scene and began a search radiating out
trom the point, hoping to find other
evidence, possibly one or more of Mrs.
Allen’s still missing personal articles.
But this search was unrewarding.
The bloody towel was dispatched to a
crime lab for analysis, but there was
no immediate way to determine if it
had any connection with the young
mother’s disappearance.
Scores of detectives and uniformed
officers were assigned full-time to the
case and the search was widened to in-
clude areas in Kansas, just across the
Missouri River. Laundries and dry
cleaners were asked to report on any
bloodstained clothing.
Technicians working on Mrs. Allen’s
car said an effort had been made to
wipe it clean of all fingerprints, but
they had found some evidence this at-
tempt “was not entirely successful.
Police would not at this time elaborate
with her bloodstained clothing
definitely on the cryptic statement.
With the opening of stores in Kansas
City that Friday morning, investigators
swarmed through the business district,
closely questioning employees. From
this it was determined that Mrs. Allen
had stopped in at least two shops and
made minor purchases.
Detectives posted at the parking lot
where her car was found had, by Fri-
day evening, narrowed down the time
when her Chevrolet could have been
parked there. They had talked to five
men who were able to give positive in-
formation, and it was now determined
that the convertible must have been
parked there at some time in the two
hours between fo) 47m: and quarter
, past midnight.
Attention now was concentrated on
the foxtail grass found on the under-
side of Mrs. Allen’s car. Interrogation
of her family and mechanics who serv-
iced the car regularly made it virtually
certain the grass had been picked up
some time after she left home that
Thursday morning.
Acting on a teletyped request from
Kansas City police, officers in outlying
areas made a thorough search of iso-
lated secondary roads and lovers’ lanes.
They found nothing which could be
connected to the case.
The widespread publicity engendered
by the attractive young matron’s dis-
appearance and the increased police
activity inevitably brought a flood of
tips, both from well-intentioned citi-
zens who thought they might have per-
tinent information, and from the cranks
and crackpots. All were investigated,
however far-fetched they might seem,
but to no avail. -
One of these, from a respected citi-
zen living in a rural Kansas area about
12 miles from Kansas City, occasioned
a flurry of police activity. He reported
hearing a woman scream for help near
his house around ten o'clock Thursday
night. He was asked to tell about it
from the beginning.
“We go to bed early,” he said. “It was
around ten—a few minutes after, to be
exact—when I was awakened by a
woman’s voice yelling, ‘Help! Murder!’
“I got up and went outside and I saw
two cars parked out on the road in
front of my house. I started to walk out
there, but they must have seen me
coming. Both cars started up and drove
off. The first one was weaving all over
the road till it turned that bend down
there and disappeared. Do you suppose
the driver could have been struggling
with someone in the front seat?”
It was a possibility, the officers con-
ceded, but there was little more they
could do about it. The man could give
only vague descriptions of the cars; he
was not even sure if one was a con-
vertible.
Police searched the Allens’ summer
cottage at a lake near Kansas City, but
found no clues there. They investigated
another report from that vicinity,
where someone said they had seen two
men dragging a_ protesting woman
across a road Thursday night. Nothing
came of this.
No stone was left unturned in a far-
flung search which was steadily wid-
ened. Since Union Station was rela-
tively close to the parking lot where
Mrs. Allen’s car was found, an inten-
sive hunt was conducted in the rail-
road yards, with particular attention
given to empty freight trains standing
on sidings.
Farmers over a wide area were asked
to search their barns and outbuildings.
Abandoned shacks and shanties were
finecombed. All culverts were explored.
But all this searching availed nothing.
Officials would have found encourage-
ment in the discovery of even one of
the missing articles belonging to Wilma
Allen, but not a trace of any of them
was found.
The kidnaping theory was ruled out
when the passage of time failed to-
bring a note or telephoned demand for
ransom. Fears for the missing woman’s
safety continued to mount, despite the
statement of a family member, “We
can’t lose hope. She’s got to turn up!”
On Saturday, the crime laboratory
reported that the bloody towel found
on the viaduct had been stained by hu-
man blood, but they were encountering
difficulty in determining whether it was,
the same type as that found on Wilma
Allen’s blouse and in her car.
) Ss =e
> prob-
ling or
20 po-
of new
ers.
Vas He
DE, .we
He was
fter his
Further
parents
a hap-
hing to
ssent at
‘endorf.
issment
used.
sylvania
slaying
Herbert
stay of
‘cemeal,
District
-0 allow
iurdered
‘r, Wyo.
ed, with
lips and
to trial.
d-degree
years to
indsay’s
entence.
Diestler
yting his
een per-
ted of the
hoy friend,
wed new
s by the
“heat on
. Meade,
necticut
wing his
ere they
\lbonizio
: pleaded
eason of
iimed he
\lbonizio
nded the
eath. but
ye
these .ore
te trials.
elements
ye apper-
ne might
lation of
BROWN, Arthur Ross, asphyxiated
ote og
the cases in one trial,” it continued, “was
bound to result in confusion and miscar-
riage of justice, the consequence of such a
miscarriage in a prosecution culminating in
electrocution is horrible to contemplate.”
“Arthur Ross Brown, the kidnap-killer of
Mrs. Wilma Allen, has gone to his death in
Missouri’s cyanide gas chamber (So Rich,
So Lovely, So Dead, February INSIDE,
1956). Mrs. Allen vanished from sight
while on a Kansas City shopping tour. Her
automobile and her bloodstained clothing
were located but it wasn’t until five days
later that her body was found in a field near
Still, Kan. Brown was arrested three months
later on a charge of transporting a stolen
car across a state line. While being ques-
tioned, he voluntarily admitted he was
wanted in Kansas City in the Allen case.
Brown was accused of kidnaping Mrs. Allen,
raping and robbing her and firing two bul-
lets into her head. He was brought to trial
under the federal Lindbergh kidnap law and
sentenced to death. On the way from his
prison cell to the death chamber, Brown
thanked prison authorities for “all you have
done for me...” and appeared to be re-
signed to his fate. At the door of the cham-
ber he spoke his last words to a priest and
as they strapped him to the chair and put
the mask over his face, he broke into a '
sweat and his lips began trembling. He was
pronounced dead ten minutes later, but
officials said it took only three minutes for
the cyanide to take effect.
Nina Sorenson, 40-year-old Los Angeles
housewife who shot and killed her philan-
dering husband while he slept, has pleaded
guilty to a charge of second-degree murder
Miss ouri (Federal) February 2h, 1956 —
Hunting for a greaseless hair tonic?
’ Vitalis tames wild hair with V-7, the ‘from hair and scalp dryness. Try new
. : ; ed Vitalis—you'll like it. (And so will
unique grooming discovery that’s not your mate. )
mineral, vegetable or animal oil. You
never have an unsightly, over-slick,
_ plastered-down look.
sa How to avoid “billy-goat hair” is
New oreaseless way to keep your ha
And Vitalis protects you handsomely
VITALIS” HAIR TONIC WITH V-7.
ANOTHER FINE PRODUCT OF BRISTOL- MYERS
Eyes hk &
a 77°. 4,
ration
=
. p. thy 3 wy
a
= Sees
hee 9
ir neat all a
and was sentenced to a prison term of five
years to life (He Was Our Man, March
INSIDE, 1956). At the time of her arrest,
Mrs. Sorenson said the shooting climaxed
years of marital uncertainty and distrust
INSIDE DETECTIVE, JUNE, 1956
Nye that she had been broodjng ove
husband’s interest in another woman.
Jo Ann Severson, the Milwaukee
ager-who, along with her boyfriend, |
ard LaFond, 20, is accused of the m
of Dr. Lewis Finn, a Chicago chemist
capade, January INSDE, 1956), has
‘placed in solitary confinement to
a sore jaw—the gift of a jailer
had an understandable lapse of chi
According to jail officials at Boone, !
Jo Ann constructed a makeshift blac
from a dog chain and a piece of a I
harness, and cracked it over the he
one of her keepers. The keeper repliec
a resounding slug on Jo, Ann’s jaw
blow knocked her down and the
dragged her to her cell. Jail’ autho
who say their troubles have been dc
since Jo Ann has been their guest, res¢
her jail privileges, found a cell for he
remote section of the jail, and cau'
other jailers to keep a cautious eye
when approaching her.
John Burton, 36, the former police
- whose hidden police record of a killir
larceny convictions shocked Jasper
(Set a Chief to Catch a Chief, May 1
1956), has been convicted of first-
arson in the fire at his home whic!
the life of tenant farmer Davie Borc
The state had charged that Burtc
- paid Borden to aid in an arson plot
tried to kill him by setting his cloth
fire. Burton plans to appeal. ~
j
a | mD
double jlength feature
HEN FATE moves human beings around
on the chessboard of life, those moves may
create victory or defeat, success or failure
disaster or triumph. They may also end in made
for a hapless person who by seeming chance is
placed in the path of destiny at a given place, at a
given time.
So it was in the case of Wilma Allen, a lovely
young matron of Kansas City, Missouri. In this
instance, fate disrupted the normal course of four
innocent lives—Wilma’s, her husband’s, and the
lives of their two small sons—by such casual cir-
cumstances as a change of dinner plans, a switch
in beauty parlor appointments, and a brief, mid-
summer shower.
But all this was not immediately apparent in the
BY ED McCOY
<f.
ey +2 Fa rr
. BS |
yy re,
alarm and confusion which followed Mrs. Allen’s
disappearance. It would be some time before the
facts emerged.
Her drama of life and death began with a tele-
phone call on a sultry, oppressively hot Thursday
morning, August 4, 1955.
: ‘Wilma,” the distressed voice of the caller said
we can’t make it tonight.”
Mrs. Allen recognized the voice as that of one
of their friends, who with her husband, had been
scheduled to join the Allens at a dinner party that
evening. Something had come up which forced
them to cancel out.
Just before ringing off, Wilma said, “Maybe we'll
go anyway. I’ve got a baby-sitter coming and we
might as well take advantage of it.”
TRUE DETECTIVE, Dece, 19626
on nino ESE
She called her husband at the Kansas City motor
firm he headed, and he agreed with her that they
might as well go out to dinner by themselves.
“{ think I’ll call and see if the beauty parlor can
take me today instead of tomorrow,” she said just
before she hung up. Customarily, she went to the
beauty shop every Friday. “I'll keep in touch,”
she added. This also was a long-standing habit;
whenever she was out of the house for any length
of time, she always called her husband at frequent
intervals to let him know where she was.
Busy as he was at his office, William Allen Jr.
mentally noted the absence of any such calls from
his wife that Thursday afternoon. It was not a
matter for serious concern, however, until he ar-
rived home at six o'clock and learned that Wilma
The lovely young
Kansas City matron
met violent death
only because an 2
ironic quirk of 5
fate placed her o
in the path of a 2
man ready tog
J
rob—and murder®.
soy myqty ‘NOUR
@
- Qu
o
eed
wm
wi
:
we
-
ty
@
had not returned from her appointment at the &
hairdresser’s, nor had she called the house. And %
when there was still no word from her by seven I
, ‘ ed
o’clock, he was genuinely alarmed.
On the chance that something had happened to ©
her car, he called his office and asked that as many He
salesmen as were available be sent out to cruise hy
around town in the hopes of spotting his wife’s
automobile. All he could tell them was the name of ©
the beauty parlor to which she had gone some time *
between ten and eleven o'clock that morning, and p93
that possibly she had gone shopping afterwards. co
For the next three hours, Allen’s salesmen cruised
Kansas City streets, beginning first with the shop- ps
ping district and the area around the beauty salon, \O
and then gradually working slowly out through On
%o9
or ea ane Pr
U
ee
Detectives and | FBI
agents fly self-confessed
See 7 am eS
killer to face charges in Kansas City
would bring him to trial for murder in
’ Kansas.
On November 28th, two weeks to the
day after he was arrested in San Fran-
cisco, Arthur Ross Brown was brought
before a federal grand jury on a charge
of violating the federal kidnaping statute,
the Lindbergh Law. The charge is the
one under which Carl Austin Hall and
Bonnie Brown Heady were executed for
the kidnap-slaying of little Bobby
Greenlease in Kansas City on December
18th, 1953.
The first witness called was William R.
Allen Jr., husband of the slain woman.
Other witnesses were Major Pond, Kan-
sas City chief of detectives; Dr. Meigs
Jones, Mrs. Allen’s dentist; Herman
Davis and Albert Morton, police labora-
tory technicians, Kansas City Patrolman
Ronald Ehrhardt, who had found the
abandoned car, and six FBI agents.
Clinching evidence came when the
FBI technicians matched prints on the
car driven by Mrs. Allen with Brown’s
palm prints.
Less than six hours after the grand
jury began hearing testimony in the case,
an indictment was handed to Judge
Charles E. Whittaker of the United States
District Court. The courtroom in which
the indictment was returned was the
same one in which Judge Albert Reeves,
now retired, was handed indictments on
Hall and Mrs. Heady.
The indictment read: ‘The grand jury
charges that on or about the fourth day
of August, 1955, the above named de-
fendant, Arthur Ross Brown, did unlaw-
fully, knowingly, willfully and felonious-
ly transport in interstate commerce from
Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri,
in the western division of the western
district of Missouri, into the state of
Kansas, one Wilma Frances Allen, who
had heretofore been unlawfully seized,
confined, inveigled, decoyed, kidnaped,
abducted and carried away for reward
and otherwise and that the said Wilma
Frances Allen was not liberated un-
harmed by the said Arthur Ross Brown,
in violation of section 1201, title 18,
United States Code.”
After the court proceedings Brown
was locked in a triangular maximum
security cell at the Jackson County jail.
It was the same cell that had once con-
fined Mrs. Bonnie Brown Heady.
Brown, who had been under psychia-
tric treatment after parole from Cali-
fornia’s San Quentin prison, where he
had been serving a sentence for burglary,
said he “could not stand to be cooped
up again.” He expressed a desire to
plead guilty to the murder of Mrs. Allen
and be sentenced to death.
A weeping woman was allowed to talk
with Brown in his cell. She was his
mother, who had come on from San Jose
to see her son. She told officials that
Arthur had shown signs of mental ill-
ness since he was 3 years old.
“I begged him to plead insanity, and
get a life sentence,” the stricken mother
disclosed. ‘But he said, ‘No, Mom—I
couldn’t spend my life in prison.’” $04
(TS
double length feature
td
Il
NE OF t)
justice 1
by some ale
pictures and
cessfully con
cers of the |
where. But a
and however
always is th
identified as
In its Line
TECTIVE has
and the pub!
rest of Osca
Texas, on O
the efforts «
who recogni
picture and
zine marks t
ture. And o:
proud to ser
for $100 to t}
must be with
In the cit)
September, 1
quainted wit
self Bill Wil
casionally. N
game of do:
was casual,
matters. On
citizen chanc
June, 1955, i
the Line-Up
of a man n
who was wa!
ful flight to «
glary. The fz
34
She felt him clawing away her skirt and under-
things ... She knew what was coming next!
“LIKE
TAKING
CANDY
FROM A
BABY!”
By Carl Sifakis
T FIRST he told himself he was
just interested in robbing
somebody. but inside he was
seething with desires. He
watched people coming out of the
stores at the fashionable Brookside
Plaza in Kansas City, Missouri. He
watched for someone who had money
written all over him. Pretty soon he real-
ized he was only looking at women.
That was right, he reasoned. Women
are easier to rob than men. Then he
saw the one he wanted. She came out
of a store and walked briskly along the
long row of parked cars. She was a
brunette, about five feet seven inches
tall, and weighing around 110 pounds.
He liked her looks. He liked the way
POLICE DETECTIVE, DECEMBER, 1968
her white blouse hugged her bosom..
He liked the way her legs kicked up
the navy blue skirt. She wore a pink
scarf with red candy-bar stripes on her
head. This was going to be fun, like
taking candy from a baby.
As Mrs. Wilma Allen slipped behind
the wheel of her new blue-and-white’
Chevrolet convertible, a strange man
opened the other door and slid in next to
her. Before she could even think of
screaming, the man flourished a gun.
“Just take off nice and easy, like noth-
ing’s happened.”
The frightened woman’ did as she
was told, moving onto 63rd Street.
When the car hit Wornwall Road, her
assailant ordered her to go left. Later
they turned right.
“Please.” the woman pleaded, “I’ve
got two little boys at home. My hus-
band owns the Allen Chevrolet Com-
pany in North Kansas City. Take this
car and my money, but let me go to
my children.”
The man ran his eyes over the
woman’s body. When he spoke his voice
was soft and coaxing. “I know just how
you feel. I got a little girl of my own.”
_He took out a billfold and showed the
’ brunette a snapshot.
“She’s very cute,”.the woman replied,
her voice nearly cracking in hysteria.
“Now please let me go.”
The woman saw the way the man’s
eyes roved over her. She started to cry.
The man told her to turn south on
-Route 69.
All the way, Mrs. Allen kept pleading
with her abductor. Soon they were .
speeding past Stanley in Johnson
County, Kansas, 18 miles from the
Brookside Plaza. Driving on, they were
in lonely farm country. Between sobs,
the woman could hear the man cursing
because there were too many farm-
houses close together.
Finally the car came to a dirt road.
The kidnaper ordered her to drive west
along it. Some two miles further on they
came to an open field with a dense
thicket behind it.
Hardly had the woman obeyed an
order to stop, when she felt rough hands
pulling her from the wheel to the back
of the car,
Wilma Yllen fought and screamed.
Her abductor moved away. He rolled
i
ye
m all mixed up,” killer (1) wrote wife, apologizing.
up the car top and closed all the win-
dows. :
“Now scream all you like,” he
laughed, and moved closer.
Soon the woman could struggle no
more. The man tied her hands behind
her back with her scarf. She felt him
clawing away her skirt and under-
things. . . . It was a long time before
. the man climbed back to the front seat.
He turned and looked down at her, his
gun in hand.
The woman knew what was coming
next. She began to scream, loud and
wildly. The man let her wail. Finally
she could go on no more and sank
weakly to the car floor. The kidnaper-
rapist brought, the revolver down to
about six inches from the back of her
head, and fired.
He waited a couple of minutes, then
looked back at the woman again to
make sure she was dead. Her eyes were
still moving. He pumped another shot
into the head.
It was 10:30 on the evening of Au-
gust 4, 1955, when Major Eugene Pond,
Kansas City chief of detectives, ar-
rived at the Allen home on Vivion Road.
William Allen, Jr. was plainly dis-
traught as he told the officer of his
wife’s disappearance.
His wife had driven back to town
from their summer cottage at Lake
Lotawana with their two boys, Bobby
and Billy, to spend a few days at home.
While Mrs. Martha McFarren stayed
with the ¢hildren, Mrs. Allen drove to
an 1] o’clock appointment at a beauty
parlor. She had called home from the
parlor to ask Mrs. McFarren to have
the cleaners come and pick up some
dirty clothes. That was the last heard
from her.
“How was Mrs. Allen’s health?”
Chief Pond asked.
Allen got the drift of the question.
“Perfect,” he said. “I know my wife
has only been missing a matter of
hours, but I know her. Something must
have happened to her, or she’d be home
now. She’s a devoted mother who can’t
bear being separated from her chil-
dren.”
“Has anyone other than your wife
contacted you,” Pond asked.
Allen shook his head. “I’ve thought
of the possibility of kidnaping,” he
said, “but no one has telephoned.”
Major Pond obtained a full descrip-
tion of the missing 34-year-old house-
wife plus photographs of her and the
automobile to be supplied to television
stations. Pond also ordered an assistant
to have full descriptions carried on
all radio news broadcasts
By midnight, Wilma Allen’s picture
had been shown on television and all
radio stations had carried news of her
disappearance.
Shortly after 2 o’clock Friday morn-
ing, Patrolman Ronald Ehrhart was
*9S6T “tig Arenagqey (Tetepe7) TanosstHW *xfudse S‘eqtym ‘ssoy muyty SNMoug _
Johnson County Sheriff, handbag that focused search there.
35
Immediate Comfort and Relief for You
with Patented
RUPTURE-EASER
T.M. Reg. U.S. Pat. Off. (A Piper Brace Truss)
4 f Right or Left
ve Side $ As5
f Enclose 25c for postage
3 a! Double $595
A strong, form fitting wash-
able support designed to
give you relief and comfort.
Adjustable. Snaps up in
front. Soft flat groin pad—
. back-lacing and adjustable
leg strap. No steel or leather bands. Unex-
celled for comfort, invisible under light
clothing. Washable. Also used as after opera-
tion support.
@ A MOST EFFECTIVE SUPPORT FOR
REDUCIBLE INGUINAL HERNIA
Hundreds of thousands of people have dis-
covered wonderful new comfort with Rupture-
Easer. Compare it yourself with conventional
steel and leather trusses!
@ RUPTURE-EASER IS SANITARY
Can be washed without harm to fabric—
you never offend when you wear Rupture-
Easer.
eNO FITTING REQUIRED
Just measure around the lowest part of
the abdomen and specify right or left side
or double.
Over 2,000,000 Grateful Users
Read What Others Say:
R. C. of Corvallis, Oregon, Alr Mails: “Send
me another Rupture-Easer so I will have
one to change off with. It is enabling me
to work top speed at my press machine
8 hrs. a day.”
M. S. of Anderson, Ind., thanks us and says:
“It is one of the finest things I have ever
worn and has made my life worth living. It
has given me untold ease and comfort.”
L. C. H., Blackburn, Mo., writes: “The Rup-
ture Easer I bought from you has done 30
much good I couldn’t forget you this Christ-
_ mas season.”
GS
S08 PIPER BRACE CO.
\ FF Dept. BK-34
1 811 Wyandotte, Kansas City 5, Mo-
Canadian Orders—
Mail to: PIPER BRACE (Canada)
7024 Cote des Neiges Rd
MONTREAL, CANADA
USE THIS HANDY ORDER FORM
Piper Brace Company, Dept. BK-34
811 Wyandotte, Kansas City 5, Mo.
Order two for change-off
when laundering.
Please send__...RUPTURE-EASERS by return mail.
Right Side [] $4.95 Measure around lowest part
Left Side [] $4.95 of my abdomen is
Doub! S598 a te INCHES.
Enclosed wt Money Order [) Check for $.
Be sure to include 25¢ for postage
Name
Addr
City and State
RUSH THIS COUPON NOW!
52
drove up the dirt road leading to the
hospital. Weitzel, accompanied by Jese-
rich and Herschel, had brought with
him enough policemen to take care of
every emergency.
Weitzel, Jeserich, and Herschel
walked past the vacant Keeper’s hut at
the main gate, up the driveway, and
knocked at the front door.
It opened abruptly, and a large hulk-
ing man, deformed and twisted, glow-
ered at them.
“We are police officers,” Weitzel be-
gan.
he monstrous shape in the doorway
unloosed a string of oaths, and tried
to slam the door in their faces. Her-
schel managed to get his foot in the
opening, while Weitzel applied his
shoulder to the stout panels. Other offi-
cers ran up and helped and, together,
they forced the heavy door open.
Their quarry, hunched like a huge
ape, limped away at astonishing speed.
In the faint light of the gloomy. hall, he
was a grotesque shape as he scampered
up the stairs. :
“Don’t let him escape,” Weitzel thun-
dered.
The police pounded up the stairs, and
the troop followed the fleeing creature
to a second floor room. The door
slammed in their faces. The lock
clicked.
“Smash it down!” Weitzel cried.
Two officers threw themselves like
battering rams against the door, and it
flew open with a tearing sound as
splinters flew and panels cracked.
They found themselves in a large
laboratory equipped with surgical tools,
operating table, glass shelving, and the
like. A hulking form was heading for a
door at the far end.
“Halt!” Weitzel called. “Halt or we
fire!”
The monstrous creature moved even
faster.
The pistol in the police chief’s hand
coughed once, and the creature dropped
to the floor. He sprawled there, gasping.
“Look!” Professor Jeserich ex-
claimed, pointing to a shelf beyond the
operating table.
Resting on the shelf was the head of
a woman! The bright light glittered on
her reddish gold hair. Her eyes stared
across the room, with almost lifelike
intensity.
Weitzel sighed. “Yes,” he said, “Dr.
Anna Stein was most certainly a very
lovely young woman.”
A sound from the creature on the
floor made him the-center of cautious
attention. Blood streaked on his fore-
head, but he seemed not badly injured.
In fact, he climbed to his feet.
“May I ask why you have dared to
force your way in here?” he asked
loudly.
“You are Dr. Schmitz, I presume,”
Weitzel said evenly. “You are under
arrest for the murder of Dr. Anna Stein.
And don’t think you can delude us
further with that ridiculous disguise.
We are tired of the masquerade.”
The prisoner shrugged, and drew him-
self erect. He was indeed a huge figure,
but not deformed. He was powerfully
built, and his strength and agility were
evidently not impaired by his limp. He
folded his arms haughtily and retreated
into silence.
A search of the chalet turned up the
huge shoes which had left the tracks by
the side of the canal. There was no
doubt that it was he who had mailed
the two boxes to Weitzel. The severed
head in the lab was, of course, all the
evidence the police needed.
As the troop of officers were escort-
ing their prisoner from the building, he
tore himself loose and sprinted in the
direction of the thick woods nearby. He
had almost reached their protecting
arms when a bullet from Herschel’s
pistol toppled him to the ground.
Jeserich examined the inert, fallen
figure, then he rose solemnly. “He is
dead, gentlemen,” he stated. “And an
appropriate end it is for such a devil!”
RAPE ON HIS MIND
(Continued from page 13)
len family but the palm print could
not be traced. it was forwarded to the
FBI in Washington, D.C.
Technicians who examined the Chev-
rolet at the police garage came up with
one valuable clue. Stems and heads of
foxtail grass. were found clinging to
the front bumper and on the underside
in oil and grease.
By Saturday moming police radio
broadcasts and newspaper stories be-
gan to pay off. Two boys told Sheriff
Norman Williams of Johnson County,
Kansas, south of Kansas City, that they
had seen a blue and white Chevrolet
convertible traveling south on Route 69
Thursday afternoon. A woman wearing
a scarf was at the wheel and a man was
beside her. The car had commanded
their attention because of its beauty
and the fact that it had two exhaust
pipes. Wilma Allen’s car had such dual
equipment.
On the heels of this information came
a report from a service station operator
on that same highway, but south of
Stanley, Kansas, saying that a flashy
blue and white Chevy convertible had
used his place to turn around in late
Thursday afternoon. The attendant had
been sore because the man at the wheel
—he was alone—had pulled in fast and
sped out faster. Hot rodders did the
same thing often and he'd been trying
to catch them. The car bore Missouri
license plates.
When a farmer in that same vicinity
HEADQUARTERS DETECTIVE
serra TS RPMI By i
found a blue straw ketbook that
turned out to be Wilma Allen’s, the
police concentrated their efforts in John-
son County.
Sheriff Williams asked for volunteer
searchers. Men from nearby Grandview
Air Force Base came forward, 150
strong, as did 50 farmers living in the
area. The volunteers were broken up
into posses. Some worked south from
Stanley, others started near the gaso-
line service station and combed the
fields and roads northward. One air-
man found a woman’s nylon stocking on
Sunday morning.
While the search for Wilma Allen
was going on, a farmer and his son were
hunting something else: their missing
cows. They'd recently moved from a
farm on Tibbetts Road, a narrow lovers’
lane, some five miles south of Stanley,
that runs west off Route 69. The cows
had the annoying habit of returning to
their old pastureland. This was under-
standable because the farmer’s new
house was little more than a mile from
the old.
The farmer crossed a field about two
miles from the highway and started for
the edge of a dense thicket where he
knew the cows sometimes rested in the
shade. The boy was beside him. They
had about decided the cows weren't
there when the father caught his son
by the arm ‘and stopped him.
“Look over there,” he said, pointing
to something lying at the edge of the
brush.
Walking closer, both discovered the
nude body of a woman! They turned
on their heels and hurried back to their
house, where the farmer notified the
sheriff's office.
Williams and his deputies found the
body badly decomposed, but felt cer-
tain the search for Wilma Allen was
over. The dead woman’s hands were
bound behind her back with a pink
- scarf, such as Wilma had worn. A plas-
tic headband was found nearby. Noth-
ing else.
Chief Pond was notified in Kansas
City and before long positive identifi-
cation was made by a scar on the wom-
an’s left thigh, the result of an accident
in her youth.
Johnson County coroner Dr. David
S. Long performed the autopsy. “She
was shot twice through the back of the
head,” he said. “The death weapon was
a large caliber gun.”
HE finding of Wilma Allen’s corpse
T ested up some of the mystery, but
far from all. Bruises indicated she had
put up a terrific struggle, and Dr.
Long’s report stated she had been
raped. But why had her assailant
dumped her body in this isolated spot
and then taken the chance of being seen
while driving her car back to Kansas
City, when he doubtless knew the po-
lice were looking for both Wilma and
the car?
Neither Pond nor Sheriff Williams
could figure this out, but the motives
were clear enough. Mrs. Allen’s purse
had been emptied of what money it
HEADQUARTERS DETECTIVE
contained, so it was robbery as well as
sex.
The FBI stepped into the case with
the discovery of the body across the
state boundry in Johnson County,
Kansas. Percy Wyly special agent in
charge of the Kansas City office, threw
all of the resources of the federal
bureau into the manhunt. Private citi-
zens, outraged by the unbelievable day-
light kidnap-rape-murder, made up a
reward fund that amounted to $10,000.
Lie detector tests were given to several
suspects whose first stories did not satis-
fy the investigators. They were all clear-
ed. An eccentric character living near
Lake Lotawana, the site of the Allen
summer cottage, came in for extensive
questioning. He was released when his
alibi stood up.
Dozens of people came forward with
possible leads and tips, but none pro-
duced a clue to the sex fiend’s identity.
No one had seen Wilma Allen get into
her car at Brookside Plaza. If anyone
beside the killer had seen her after
that, it was only the boys near Stanley.
Their: information had aided in the
finding of the body, but that was all.
Chief Pond and his men realized
that they had a case of a type that was
among the most difficult to solve.
“When someone is murdered by a per-
son with whom they have had abso-
lutely no previous contact,” the de-
tective chief said, “and no one has seen
killer and victim together, you’ve got
a real mystery on your hands. Some-
where along the line we've got to get
a_ break.”
That’s the way the Allen case stood
for three months after the grim dis-
covery of the pretty matron’s corpse.
Chief Pond a his men worked on it
throughout that time. So did the Kansas
City office of the FBI. But there was no
lucky break and the callous killer re-
mained at large.
On Thursday, November 10th, the
Kansas City police department was
confronted with a similar kidnap case.
An attractive 30-year-old woman had
been nearing her home when the hus-
band she had left in California in July
jumped out of a yellow 1955 Chevrolet
sedan and brandished a gun in her face.
He shoved her into the car and drove
off. For more than three hours he ter-
rorized her by threatening to kill her,
then turn the gun on himself if she
didn’t consent to accompany him to
Mexico.
The frantic young woman tried to
reason with him, but failed. She bided
her time and finally leaped from the
moving car, screaming for help. Her
husband stepped on the gas and man-
aged to get away,
Detectives listened to the young
woman’s story, then drew up charges
against her assailant, 29-year-old Arth-
ur Ross Brown, who was no stranger to
either the Kansas City police or the
FBI. He had been on their wanted list
for many months.
Brown was a native of San Francisco,
California. He was wanted in San Jose,
California, for rape and burglary. He
People 50 to 80
MAY NOW APPLY
FOR A $2000 LIFE
INSURANCE POLICY
...at a special money-saving
rate! Let us send you infor-
mation about how to apply
for this $2000 old line legal
reserve policy byreturn mail.
There is no obligation and
no one will call on you at
any time.
Simply tear out this ad and
mailittoday with your name,
address and year of birth to
Old American Insurance Co.,
Dept. 1331M, 4900 Oak St.,
Kansas City 12, Missouri.
PROFESSIONAL INVESTIGATORS
27598-W. Broadway. Los Angeles 41
HOW TO PUBLISH
Join our successful authors in a
complete and reliable publishing
UR program: publicity, advertising,
handsome Books. Speedy, efficient
service. Send for FREE peers
report & copy of Publish Year
BOOK CARLTON PRESS pept. BRC
84 Fifth Ave... New York 1, M. ¥.
POEMS WANTED
To Be Set To Music
Send one or more of your best poems
today for FREE EXAMINATION. Any
Subject. Immediate Consideration.
Phonograph Records Made
CROWN MUSIC CO.,49 W.32 St., Studio 857, New York 1
LEARN
| DRAFTING!
FOR A SPACE AGE CAREER
Automation will never replace drattsmen! Rocket and
Méon projects offer many opportunities, raprd advance:
| you in the most modern techniques. Men or women
II] ! ages 17 to 55. Free information on this vastly interest
ing field. Accredited by the National Home Study Council
Norm Morris, LIFETIME CAREER SCHOOLS
Pt. JD-34, 11824 San Vicente Bivd., Los Angeles, Calif. 90089
SAVE 02 aire...
5-DAY Just arrived
‘eREE |NEW MODELS irom fcimoce
a TRIAL
sational new ideas! Modern new
styling! New features! Buy direct
from Importer—sare up to one-
half! World’slargest accordion
R desler offers fabulous selection—
ever 40 models, Electronic Models,
Amplifiers. Small down payment:
BONUS GIFTS FREE
FOR PROMPTNESS
Try before yon our
you buy on o
RISK 5 day FREE TRIAL. Satin-
faction guaranteed or money back.
count Price List. No obligation. Write:
Accordion Corporation of America
2003 West Chicago Avenue
CHICAGO 22, ILLINOIS
New Color
Catalogs—
Discount
Prices
, sprawled on the wide seat, but her
white blouse and brassiere were ripped
from her body. She begged for.mercy,
and hér skirt, then her undergarments,
were savagely torn away. The hysterical
woman screamed and cried so loud that
her assailant rolled up the car top and
the windows to muffle the sound. She
struck out at him, and finally her hands
were bound behind her wtih her scarf.
Resistance was now impossible.
When he crawled back into the front
seat, and was sitting there with the gun
in his hand, she raised up from the
floor. Realizing what was going to hap-
en, she became loudly hysterical. He
Tet her scream. When she became ex-
hausted, her head sank weakly back
down on the floor. The rapist reached
over the back of the front seat with
the revolver in his left hand. He held
the barrel of the gun about six inches
from the back of the woman’s head.
He fired one shot.
Opening the door on the right side,
he took her by the feet and dragged
her limp body out onto the ground.
Then he took the arms and shoved her
away from the car.
The brunette’s clothes were still on
12
the back seat. The killer used them to
wipe the blood from his hands and to
mop up the inside of the car. When he
finished, he threw most of the clothing
in the car trunk.
Leaving the body at the edge of the
thicket, he got back into the convertible
and drove away. Then, sensing the pos-
sibility that his victim might not be
dead, he turned around and went back.
Her eyes were still moving. He got
out and shot her again in the back of
the head. He drove away after looking
around. No one had seen the daylight
atrocity.
Every light was on in the home of
William Allen, Jr., on Vivion Road,
when Major Eugene Pond, Kansas City
chief of detectives, arrived at 10:30 on
that Thursday night, August 4th. He
questioned the distraught husband.
He learned that Mrs. Allen had driven
in, on Wednesday, from the family sum-
mer cottage at Lake Lotawana. She had
brought their two small sons with her.
They were to spend a few days in the
city. Mrs. Allen had an appointment
for 11 on Thursday morning to have her
hair set. The sitter who stayed with the
two boys said that Mrs. Allen had left
Officer John Bowman checks the missing woman's car. When found, the trunk contained her bloodstained clothing.
the house for Brookside Plaza at 10,
that Thursday morning. She had called
back on the phone at 11 to ask to have
the cleaners notified to pick up some
soiled clothing. The family had not
heard from the missing woman since,
nor had any ransom demands been re-
ceived.
Major Pond’s questioning revealed
that Mrs. Allen had been in fine health,
and a woman of the highest character,
devoted to her husband and children.
He had already checked the police ac-
cident roster and found that Mrs. Allen
was not listed.
Pond was provided with recent pic-
tures of the pretty matron, and she was
described as 34 years old, brunette, five
feet seven, and weighing 110 pounds.
The sitter said that Wilma had been
wearing a sleeveless white blouse, navy
blue skirt, a pink scarf with red stripes,
a plastic headband, and brown and
white shoes. Her handbag was blue
woven straw. Her car was a blue and
white Chevrolet convertible, 1955
model. It bore Missouri license plates.
Wasting no time, Pond arranged to
have Mrs. Allen’s photograph flashed
on local television broadcasts. Radio
HEADQUARTERS DETECTIVE
a ee ne ee ens
it
OP te
The killer (in black jacket) was finally identified by clever sleuthing and nabbed in California by police there.
programs were interrupted to give listen-
ers a full description of the vanished
socialite and her automobile.
Patrolman Ronald Ehrhart, cruising
along 21st Street near Union Station
and listening to repeat broadcasts on
Wilma Allen shortly after 2 o’clock Fri-
day morning, spotted a blue and white
Chevrolet convertible parked beneath
the viaduct at Broadway. His headlights
made the license plate readable. 1-585.
It was Wilma Allen’s car!
Chief Pond hurried to the scene when
notified, bringing Licutenant Lester
Haupt, homicide Fetal commander, and
Detectives John Cunningham and Joe
McCormick with him.
The convertible top was up and there
was blood on the floor in the back and
on the outer part of the trunk. The car
keys were missing, but when the officers
pried the trunk open they found a wom-
an’s white blouse, blue skirt, brown and
white shoes and under-clothing — all
bloodstained. Stockings, pink scarf and
blue handbag were missing. The glove
compartment was completely empty.
Patrolman Ehrhart now told Pond
that the spot beneath the viaduct was
not a regular parking lot. It was used
HEADQUARTERS DETECTIVE
for the most part by railroad employees
working in or near Union Station.
The detective chief had the bloody
clothing sent to the police lab, and
summoned technicians to dust the car
for fingerprints on the spot.
Owners of two other cars parked
nearby, quizzed by detectives, did not
think the blue and white Chevrolet had
been parked there when they came to
work at eight-thirty. Since the motor
had been cold when Patrolman Ehrhart
came upon the car, Pond knew the con-
vertible had been standing there for at
least two hours, and the killer had had
plenty of time to make a departure
from the area. The only hope now was
to check back on Wilma Allen’s move-
ments earlier that day.
Detectives Cunningham and McCor-
mick were in the Brookside Plaza when
the shops opened Friday morning. Ques-
tioning of merchants revealed that Mrs.
Allen had left the beauty parlor around
noon. From there she went to another.
shop at 6312 and asked for a pair of
Bermuda shorts. They hadn’t come in
and she left. Another stop was made at
a boys’ shop at 6320. The garment she
wanted was out of stock. She had left
there about 12:30, Thursday. The of-
ficers could find no trace of Wilma Al-
len after that.
HIEF Pond kept William Allen post-
ed on all of these developments.
No phone calls and no notes asking for
ransom had been received. The worried
husband still held out a faint hope that
his pretty wife would be found, but
the bloodstained clothes in the convert-
ible were an ominous indication that
there mav have been foul play.
Chief Pond now ordered an all-out
search for Mrs. Allen, on the. slim
chance that she was still alive. The
Union Station railroad yards were
searched thoroughly. In-coming and
out-going freight and passenger trains
were investigated. County officers in
both Missouri and Kansas were alerted
for a radius of hundreds of miles around.
The Allen cottage at Lake Lotawana
was searched for some clue. Neighbors
were questioned. No lead materialized.
Several fingerprints and one palm
print were found on the missing wom-
an’s car. The fingerprints turned out to
have been made by members of the Al-
(Continued on page 52)
13
had served time there in the 1940s for
arson, and was wanted as a_ parole
violator.
It was known he had spent some time
in and around Sheridan, Wyoming, and
had been a suspect there in a number
of burglaries during August. Sheriff
Williard Marshall tracked Brown down
at that time and arrested him, but
while searching Brown preparatory to
taking him to the county jail, the pri-
soner pulled a gun and shot Marshall
twice in the stomach. The sheriff sur-
vived, despite being critically wounded.
A federal warrant was issued for
Brown, but the slippery fugitive eluded
police and was not heard from again
until September 30th, when he made
a long distance phone call to his wife
in Kansas City telling her that unless
she returned to him he was going to
come back and kill her. The call was
traced to San Francisco. The woman
had a police guard provided for her,
but when the husband failed to show
up the protection was withdrawn.
HE next time she heard from him
was when he jumped out of the
yellow sedan, abducting her -
The woman told police her husband
would probably head for San Francisco.
But on Sunday, November 13th, she
received a special delivery letter from
him postmarked St. Joseph, Missouri.
Forty dollars in currency was en-
closed in the envelope. Brown said the
money was to be used for the support
of his daughter and apologized for his
actions on the previous Thursday. “I’m
all mixed up,” he wrote.
The woman turned the letter over
to Kansas City police. Chief Pond had
been keeping an eye on.the Arthur
Brown case and was aware that this
man had been in Kansas City on Thurs-
day, August 4th, the day Wilma Allen
was kidnaped and murdered.
On Monday, November 14th, a
woman in San Francisco called police
there and complained that someone had
been prowling around her premises on
Tacloma Avenue in the Candlestick
Cove section. Patrolman Bert Bystrom
was dispatched to the scene.
He searched the grounds and found
no one, but around the comer on Blan-
ken Avenue he came upon a yellow
Chevrolet sedan with a man asleep on
the rear seat. Every police officer in
the West Coast city had been on the
alert for such a car. They had been
. briefed on Arthur Brown's method of
operations. Bystrom knew the fugitive
was a robber as well as rapist and killer.
Also, that Brown had sworn never to be
taken alive.
Bystrom was not sure this was the
man they were looking for, but he took
no chances and summoned FBI Agent
Curtis P. Irwin. Five other policemen
tushed to the scene and closed in care-
fully. They had the sleeping man
covered before he realized what was
happening.
Agent Irwin found two loaded pistols
beside the suspect. “It’s Brown, all
right,” he told the other policemen.
54
Patrolman Bystrom came in for high
praise by both local and federal of-
ficers for his adept handling of what
everyone had thought would be a most
difficult arrest.
When Kansas City authorities were
informed of Brown’s apprehension,
Chief Pond requested that the prisoner’s
finger and palm prints be forwarded
to the FBI in Washington, to be
checked against those found on Wilma
Allen’s car.
“He’s just the type,” the Kansas City
detective chief said, “to pull something
like the Allen kidnap-murder. He’s a
robber, car thief, rapist, kidnaper and
doubtless the murderer we've been
looking for.
While the prints were being com-
pared in Washington, G-Man Irwin was
questioning the prisoner, who had been
arraigned before U. S. Commissioner
Joseph Karesh on a flight warrant and
interstate transportation of a stolen car.
Brown admitted to several crimes on
the Coast, to stealing the yellow Chev-
rolet in Omaha, and to burglaries in
Sheridan, Wyoming. Then Irwin men-
tioned the Allen murder case in Kansas
City. “We know you were in that city
on August 4th,” the federal man told
him. “What have you got to say?”
Arthur Brown asked for a cigarette.
After Irwin gave him one the prisoner
said, “Sure I was there. And I killed
that Allen woman. I used a Smith and
Wesson .38 on her.”
Irwin asked Brown if he was ready
to make a full statement. The prisoner
said he was, and Irwin summoned a
stenographer to take it down.
“T got into Kansas City on the mom-
ing of August 3rd, 1955, by train from
Sheridan, Wyoming,” Brown dictated.
“I went first to my wife’s home at 3210
Jefferson Street and saw her and my
daughter. She had left me in California
in July and returned to Kansas City.
“I left her place Thursday morning,
August 4th, and walked east on Main
Street and caught a southbound street
car. I had this .38 calibre Smith and
Wesson revolver in my belt. I got off
of the street car at the big drug store
at about 40th and Main with the inten-
tion of locating somebody to rob for
money and an automobile.
“I looked around at that location for
about 45 minutes and didn’t see any-
body suitable. There was a parking lot
there, but it was too crowded. I left.
Then I rode the street car south to a
shopping center that I now know as
Brookside Plaza. I walked around there
for about an hour looking for a good
prospect that looked wealthy. Finally
this woman came out of a store and
walked over to a flashy Chevvie con-
vertible. I thought she looked like
ready money, so when she opened the
door and slid under the wheel I slipped
in beside her. I pointed my gun at her
and told her to start driving and be-
have. I had thought about kidnaping
someone for ransom, but had left my
clothes at my wife’s apartment and
felt that 1 couldn’t cany out such a
plan.”
Brown then described the route taken
west and south on Route 69. “I realized
that if I carried out the plans I had in
mind I'd have to kill this woman or
otherwise she would identify me. She
told me I could have her money and
the car, that all she wanted was to go
home to her children. She was pike
and she did most of the talking. I tol
her to keep on driving.”
The confessed killer went on to re-
late how he had told the woman he
knew how she felt about the children
because he had a little girl of his own
and that he showed her a picture of the
child.
“I recall driving through Stanley,”
he continued. “I knew what I was going
to do and I needed an isolated spot for
it. We left the highway and went a
couple of miles down a dirt road. When
I saw that field with the thicket in the
back I thought that would be a good
place to kill the woman,”
Brown then told in detail just how
he had made Wilma Allen stop the car,
forced her into the back seat and raped
her. He had shot her once in the car
and once after he’d thrown her out onto
the ground.
HE story checked out, even to the
f fad detail, and when word ar-
rived from Washington that Arthur
Brown’s palm print matched the one
found on Wilma Allen’s car the officers
needed no more evidence to prove his
uilt.
Chief Pond flew to San Francisco.
Brown waived a hearing there and was
returned to Kansas City. He reenacted
the crime, taking the officers over the
route from Brookside Plaza to the
lonely field south of Stanley, Kansas,
where he had carried out one of the
most cold-blooded rape-murderers in
American history.
Brown was formally charged with
violation of the Federal Kidnaping Act,
popularly known as the Lindbergh Law,
because he admitted Mrs. Allen was
alive when he took her across the Mis-
souri state line into Kansas and killed
her.
United States District Attorney Ed-
ward L. Scheuffler took charge of the
‘prosecution personally. He said he
would have no hesitation in asking for
the death penalty.
It was necessary for the court to
appoint attorneys to represent Brown.
He was arraigned before U. S. Com-
missioner Charles H. Thompson, who
ordered him held without bail.
Arthur Ross Brown went on trial on
Monday, January 23rd, 1956, before
Judge Charles E. Whittaker in United
States District Court, Kansas City. The
highlight of the dramatic court session
was the reading of Brown’s complete
statement by Elmer W. Parrish, FBI
agent, who was the government's last
witness.
Court-appointed attorneys for the de-
fendent did not offer any defense testi-
mony. “lhe detendant ofters no evi-
dence and rests his case,” Martin B.
Dickenson, attorney, told the jurist.
HEADQUARTERS DETECTIVE
District Attorney Scheuffler said,
“When this proceeding opened on Mon-
day, I made a statement in which I told
the panel what evidence the govern-
ment would offer. The evidence is in.
Against this prisoner personally I have
no prejudice, But as a representative
of the government in this case I can-
not be indifferent to the enormity of the
crime. We have no hesitancy whatever
in demanding the death penalty for this
crime, the horribleness of which reeks
to high heaven.”
Judge Whittaker told the jury that
Arthur Brown had been given every
right to which he was entitled by law.
“You have heard the evidence,” he said.
“You must recommend the punishment.
I will submit the question: Should the
defendant be punished by imprison-
ment or death? You will be asked to
say which.”
The jury was out just 35 minutes.
The verdict: guilty as charged with no
recommendation of mercy. Death in
the gas chamber for Arthur Ross Brown.
The decision was publicly popular.
Judge Whittaker set February 24th,
1956, as the date of execution for the
man who chanced to see Wilma Allen
and decided she was ready money—and
therefore had to be murdered. It could
just as well have been another Chevro-
let convertible, another woman.
‘The condemned man died in the gas
chamber at Jefferson City, Missouri. ok
NO WAY FOR A GIRL TO DIE
(Continued from page 37)
Leduc was back on the phone. “I
talked to Balcombe,” he told Lambert,
“and he said he had spent most of his
leave in Quebec looking for an apart-
ment. He had left Wednesday morning
and spent the night in Montreal. Thurs-
day he drove on to London and arrived
there early Friday morning, driving all
night.”
“Did you ask him about Marie Anne
Carrier?” Lambert asked.
“I did. He said he had dated her,
but only knew her casually. He ex-
plained he had met her through her
army reserve work.”
When he had finished his conversa-
tion with the commandant, Lambert
turned back to Ross. “There’s some-
thing that’s not pretty here,” he said.
“I’m concerned about this case,” Ross
said. “Marie Anne Carrier is one of
my charges. I want to find out if she
is in difficulty. I'll tell you what I'll do.
I'll get some of her brothers or sisters
and drive them out to London in my
car. They can look at this unidentified
girl there and see if it’s Marie Anne,
Ihe whole thing gives me a feeling of
apprehension. The murdered girl was
found near Highway No. 2, the route
Balcombe would have taken driving to
London. I'll try to leave tomorrow
morning. But before I go, I have another
spoke I'd like to run to the hub.” Lam-
HEADQUARTERS DETECTIVE
AMERICAN ACADEMY OF THOROUGHBRED HANDICAPPING !
122 SOUTH STATE STREET » CHICAGO 3, ILLINOIS « Dept. 422,!
Send me 4our FREE lst lesson on Handicapping
and FREE Racing facts. Absolutely no cost, no
obligation. No calls by salesman.
NAME.
STREET,
LESSON
PPro x
ED AHR PRC near ote PB
“9 6 1377 |e : ; 2¢
“ Bas 15 scoe js isiets tise Foo or +
‘ re
:
wea 2
+
'
4 6276 |6 3633 |@ 3600 yee er [4 4331 16 2260 |w 2422
earn HANDICAPPING (=:
HERE IS THE COURSE FOR SELECTING WINNING HORSES
...In only 10 short weeks or less . . . you can enjoy
an exciting businesslike hobby as a Handicapper of
thoroughbred horse races.
LEARN AT HOME IN YOUR SPARE TIME .. . You'll find
the lessons so interesting . . . they'll seem remarkably
easy for you. Now, you can really enjoy horse racing.
BUT THE IMPORTANT THING is to get the FREE complete
information right now. There is no cost or obligation
and no salesman will call. This is the Home Study course
to give you an avocation . . . which holds promise of
PROFITS. We will send to you, (in a plain wrapper),
without obligation, your FREE first lesson, and your
FREE ‘Racing Facts’.
Write for details or mail coupon today!
OF THOROUGHBRED HANDICAPPING
CHICAGO 3, ILLINOIS e Dept. 422
122 SOUTH STATE STREET
$5 SS
en
with 3 snap-in
washable
absorbent pads
wae
® (Patent Pending)
MALE-DRI
SUPPORT
Here's the easy, sanitary way to stop the
embarrassment of wet garments and bedding.
Wear MALE-DRI, the day-and-night support
that gives you constant protection and confi-
dence. High-quality elastic belt, wet-proof
pouch. Quilted absorbent reusable cotton pad
snaps in—removes easily for laundering.
IDEAL FOR POST-OPERATIVE COMFORT,
TOO. Guaranteed satisfaction or money back
if returned postpaid in 30 days. MALE-DRI
comes to you in plain envelope. Send measure
RUSH
COUPON
NOW
Piper Brace Co.
Dept. BK-34M
811 Wyandotte St.
Kansas City 5, Mo.
1 enclose $_HSsSSSC Cash Ss) Check
© money order. Send me. Male Dri
Supports @ $5.95 each. My measurement around
lower abdomen is inches.
Name around lowest part of abdomen.
PIPER BRACE COMPANY Dept. BK-34M
811 Wyandotte Street .
Address__
City. State.
55
Kansas City, Mo.
~ enero
Sa == meee 3S ~ ROOT me
rae rete
, barriers” with heat-welded seams enclosing absor-
j change. Moneyback guarantee. Sizes for all a es
« residents in the vicinity. All were sure the
* purse had not been there on Friday. \%;
© Within a couple of hours, members of
Mrs. Allen’s family positively identified
the handbag as hers. The pink change_;
» purse was still missing. A careful search of *
, the highway and fields on both sides of .
. the spot where the bag was found failed ©
to turn up any sign of it. The search con- :
tinued in darkness, with the aid. of
floodlights, but to no avail. At two a.m. on
Sunday, it had to be called off when a
heavy rain started to fall.
Major Pond, on the scene directing the
search, was contacted at this time by
Colonel d. L. Crowe, Central Air Defense
* Force comptroller at the Grandview Air
Base, and Lieutenant. Colonel John Hin-
son, deputy base commander. Consulting
with Pond and Sheriff Norman F.
Williams of Johnson County, the Air
Force officers offered to place at their
G
RAR Ech
!
!
!
|
i
1 U.S. Labor Dept. says “42% more Draftsmen 1
needed in next 10 years.” Easy home-study plan ¢
Career Kit.” I
t
|
|
1
! APTI Tuo guides you. Send for FREE “Drafting
| (west) SF] » APPROVED FOR VETERANS.
NAME
|
| Aooress
1 city, STATE ap.
| NORTHAMERICAN SCHOOL OF DRAFTING, Dept. NBOC4
Afraid Youre
Going Deaf?
Chicago, Ill.—A.free offer of spe-
cial interest to those who hear but
do not always understand has been
announced by Beltone.. An illus-
trated booklet answering the most
common questions about today’s
hope for better hearing will be
given absolutely free to anyone re-
questing it.
The book discusses types of hear-
ing problems, early warning signs
and the possibility of. surgical or
medical help.
The book is free, so wé suggest
you write for yours now. Thou-
sands have already been mailed,
so write today to Dept.4034 Bel-
tone Electronics Corp., 4201 W.
Victoria St., Chicago, Ill. 60646.
',.» For Lack of Control
BE SURE WITH “EVER-SAFE”!
“EVER-SAFE” is Cool, Undetectable, Comfortable
& Effective. Weighs only 7 oz. Novel “fluid
bent launderable liners in soft vinyl, prevent
escape of any moisture. Clothes, bedding stay dry.
Use 2 sets of liners for full nights sleep without
adults & children. ORDER BY WAIST SIZE
Complete with liner, $6.95; extra liner, $3.95; 50
disposable liners, $7.95. RALCO MFG., pent 2o7
6 1534 E. Eaoger Santa Ana, Calif. 9270:
(Sold By Mail Since 1965)
disposal 150 men from their base to aid in
the search. ‘The <offer;was gratefully
accepted... 9“ ea i
At dawn on Sunday, 150 airmen joined
200 police searchers and began a virtual
, inch-by-inch search of the countryside
near where Mrs.” Allen’s handbag was
found. Moving forward in skirmish lines
within ‘arms’. Iéngth of one. another,
nothing would escape their attention if it
lay in their path. Hour after hour that Sun-
day morning, the line moved forward,
but the men found nothing beyond a
welter of discarded articles—rusty beer
cans, old tires, bits’ of trash—none of
which, it was obvious, had any bearing on
the case. 3
It was shortly before noon when one of
the airmen suddenly shouted, “Hold it!
I've got something!” He held aloft a -
woman’s nylon stocking.
The search was halted, pending the
arrival at the spot of Sheriff Williams and
Kansas City Police Captain Don Bishop,
who had been advised of the find by
walkie-talkie. ;
Sheriff Williams studied the area and
said, “We're about half a mile from
Highway 69, and a little more than that
south of the farm where the handbag was
picked up. And we're around a quarter of
a mile from the Blue River.” He marked
the spot carefully ona map of the region.
Captain Bishop, meanwhile, pointed
out that the lane used by cars to reach the
spot was nearly overgrown with foxtail
grass, like that found clinging to the un-
derside of Mrs. Allen’s car. Now they
found some car tracks, not yet complete-
ly obliterated by the rain which had fallen
earlier. The tracks Jed as close to the river
bank as a car could safely have driven.
A new search plan was quickly for-
mulated. “We'll concentrate our hunt
right here,” Sheriff Williams told the men.
“Let's form a tightened-up line right here,
backs to the river, and start across this
field.”
In the first couple of minutes, as the line
moved forward, two items were found, a
rusted nail dipper and a_ key-chain
charm. Neither was on the list of missing
articles.
But 35 yards further on, another shout .
went up from an airman. “I’ve found it!”
he called, and held up the mate to the first
nylon stocking found.
Major Pond was notified by radio. In
the meantime, the sheriff and Captain
Bishop made plans to search the river for
a body. Here the river was fairly shallow,
and several volunteers among the airmen
offered to wade into the muddy waters.
Other members of the search party lined
the river bank, watching tensely as this
operation began.
It quickly became apparent, however,
that if any object lay on the river bottom,
it would only be found by someone
stumbling upon it. “This water is so mud-
dy,” one of the airmen called to shore, “I
can’t see my hand three inches under the
surface.” Pee j
wen ime pe om
. up when I step on it.”
? still missing, but it was believed to havt
' found, yet the wounds were in the back
- through citizens of the Midwest, and#
ree
Still, the volunteers in the water moyeg_
forward, trying to sweep the muddy bot
yelled, “I’ve found something!” ©
“What is it?”
E eward for the apprehension of the young
© mother’s slayer was offered by the Kansas
tom with their feet as they advanced) City Crime Commission. By public con-
About 20 minutes later one of the airma }_ tributions, this rapidly swelled to a total
~ of more than $10,000.
Certainly there was no lack of diligence
“I can't tell,” he said. “It’s soft anfy of eagerness on the part of hardworking
slippery, but I can’t see it. Bubbles come! Police in their efforts to bring the brutal
ye
“Don’t move from the spot,” he wa?
told. “We'll have a boat here soon
begin dragging the bottom.” ar
slayer to justice. But from the outset, this
was one of those frustrating cases in
which clues bearing on the identity of the
killer were almost completely lacking.
The boat, ordered before the rive? Despite the intensive investigation of
search began, arrived shortly. Dragging? ¢very lead, every scrap of information
operations had hardly gotten underway,
however, before they were called off. By
tumed up, not a single witness had been
found who actually had seen Mrs. Allen in
radio, word had come that a womans _ the company of her killer. It was impossi-
body had just been found in an isolated; ble to determine even what he looked
pasture a scant mile and a half to the; like, let alone who he was.
south. It had been found, near a rutted
Weeks passed with little progress in the
path known locally as Spooners’ Lane, by, ©@5¢. but Major Pond continued to press
a farmer and his son searching for a.mis¥
ing cow and calf. setae
his investigation. Again and again he
_ reviewed the case with his investigators.
Sheriff Williams, M ajor Pond andCap} Police departments throughout the coun-
tain Bishop reached the scene .almos
simultaneously. A few feet off the lang!
the nude body of a woman lay crumpled’
on the ground. There were two bulld”
try were circularized and asked to report
on any suspects arrested who might have’
been in Kansas City around August 4th.
Allcriminals arrested in Kansas City were
holes in the back of her head. Her sku, #tomatically grilled, in an effort to es-
had been battered and crushed by some, tablish any possible connection they
heavy object. Her wrists were bound
behind her back by a pink scarf. He
hands and forearms were scratched and
cut. Her fingernails, though recently
manicured, were broken, as if ‘in’
struggle against her assailant. ‘ 4
Within a couple of hours the body wa
identified as that of Wilma Allen. The;
medical examiner estimated she had been!
might have had with the crime.
But it was not until November 9th that
the first break came. Even then, its rela-
tion to the murder of Wilma Allen took a
little time to develop.
Ina sense, tl suspect who emerged at
this time focused police attention on
himself, On the aftemoon of November
h, aman named Arthur Ross Brown kid-
dead since late Thursday afternoon # "Ped and terrorized his estranged wife
early the same evening. Due to the ha ® she was returning to her Kansas City
August weather, decomposition wa
already far advanced. This handicappa.
the surgeons who performed the autops
required by law. “
The fact that the body was found nud¢
suggested a sex motive for the murdé,
apartment after work. At pistol point,
threatening to kill her, he forced her into
is car. Two youngsters playing nearby
witnessed the incident, told their parents,
and the police were notified.
Brown's wife managed to escape from
but it could not be immediately details him about three hours later. Brown then
mined whether the victim had_ bee
raped. Wilma Allen’s weddingyring and
her diamond engagement ring were mist
ing, but their negotiable value to a thi
would be slight. Her change purse wa
contained less than $15.00. a
The FBI had officially entered the ca®
now, since the crossing of a state line
the kidnap-murder was definitely :
tablished.
Had Wilma Allen been slain where
body was found? Officials thought nd All
The body was laying face up wh
her head. The bullets retrieved from th
body were badly broken and battered;i
could not be determined accurate}
whether they were .38 or .45 caliber. 4.
In the meantime, the crime |
reported definitely that the gory whit
towel found on the viaduct had no cof
nection with the Allen case. .
The murder sent a violent shock wavt
in his car, a vehicle believed to have
been stolen in Omaha.
It was swiftly learned there was a
“Want” on Brown in Sheridan, Wyoming,
where he was charged with shooting and
wounding Sheriff Willard Marshall on
August 31st.
Major Pond and Captain Bishop per-
sonally questioned Brown’s wife after her
scape, and several significant points
emerged from this interview. Brown had
Separated from his wife late in July, not
long before the August4th slaying of Mrs.
en. His capacity for violent action was
d obvious. They knew for sure he had been
} ‘in Kansas City on August 2nd, and
feportedly he had been in and out of the
tity several times more in the same
month.
There were no mugshots or finger-
Prints of Brown in Kansas City police
files. Neither was there any evidence to
Connect him with the murder of Mrs.
Allen. Nevertheless, due to a number of
_ Sitcumstances which police knew but did
APHRODISIACS:
=
FROM LEGEND TO PRESCRIPTION.
This book tells the strange fascinating story of the use
and misuse of aphrodisiacs throughout human history.
It is divided into three major sections. Part | is @
history of love potions. Starting with the herbs and salves
used by ancient Jews, Greeks and Romans, the story
moves through the centuries down to modern times.
The second section is devoted to the Cookery of Love.
The author describes the effects upon sexual vigor of
many foods, beverages, tonics, glandular extracts and
ointments. Actually this section is a “Cookbook of Aphro-
disiacs"’"—the first modern attempt to cover this some-
times secretive and elusive subject.
The third major section shows how pharmaceutical
Preparations affect virility, and takes up such allied
tonics as nutrition, vitamin intake, testosterone, and hor-
mone injections.
Good reading, good eating and good....
i seeeseneees MONEYBACK GUARANTEE #eeeeceese
BROADWAY BOOKFINDERS, DEPT.TA—5S
245 W. 19 ST., NEW YORK, N.Y. 10011
Please send me:___ APHRODISIACS @ $5.95 ea.
(Add 60¢ post. & hand. for each book.)
ENCLOSED 1S MY PAYMENT FOR $
PRINT name
address
zip
Make check/M.O. payab
to Broadway fi s
DETECTIVE - FINGERPRINT
TRAINING :
i Learn at home for exciting
\ secure career. Men & Women
“ urgently needed. ;
ALABAMA SCHOOL OF
FINGERPRINTING & DETECTIVE TRAINING
201 Swann Dr. Fairfield, Ala. 35064
SELL ENGRAVED METAL SOCIAL SECURITY PLATES.
—)\ Millions of new prospects every year!
No investment. SEND FOR FREE SALES KIT!
Nome
Address
City__ —_— State Tip.
ENGRAVAPLATES,DEPT.584
BOX 10460 + JACKSONVILLE, FLA.32207
HER
Knowing the
means MONEY to YOU. Today, it pays to know the
“rules” —the LAW. Basic principles explained. illus-"
trated by authoritative texts, study aids, self-tests. etc.
for ad rates wate Classified, 100 & Oho, Chuiago
HOME IMPORT Mail Order Business. Start without
capital Free Report. Mellinger, Dept. Al761, Wood-
land Hills, CA 91364.
1 MADE $40,000.00 YEAR by Mailorder! Helped others,
make money! Free Proof. Torrey, Box 318-MTA, Ypsilanti,
Michigan 48197.
ONEY MAKING OPPORTUNITI
FANTASTIC MONEYMAKING PLANS, Proven Results,
Work from Home. Free Details. Write: Moneymakers, Box
98, Station ‘‘O’', Toronto, Canada.
$300. WEEKLY POSSIBLE—stuffing envelopes. Start
immediately! Details, $1.00 (refundable). Royal-QM7, Box
36643, Los Angeles 90036.
EARN AT HOME ADDRESSING—mailing high profit
paying circulars! Details 25c. Wright,
1305-QM, New York, N.Y. 10036
SALESMEN WANTED
EARN BIG COMMISSIONS soliciting delinquent ac-
counts. No collecting or investment. Metropolitan Fi-
nance, 1129 West 4lst, Kansas City, Missouri.
EDUCATION—HOME STUDY
DETECTIVE COURSE. Free Information. Universal Detec-
tives, Box 8180-C, Universal City, Calif. 91608.
DETECTIVE TRAINING COURSE. American Detec-
* tive Institute, Box 418-D, Fairfield, Alabama 35064.
OF INTEREST TO ALL
(Not a correspondence course.) Send for sting
FREE booklet. “The People vs. YOU" and full details
No obligation
BLACKSTONE SCHOOL OF LAW Dep! 301
209 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago II! 60601
va HOME-IMPORT
p SF BUSINESS-Make Big Profits
4 iy Men-Women, new Drop Ship Plan offers
ng th LY, * fast profits without product invest-
: ment! Deal direct with overseas
Jade Ring 1.43 sources. Buy small quantities. Prices
QUANTITY PRICES shown include duty & postage. Full or
EVEN LOWER = spare time. Write for FREE PLAN, state age.
MELLINGER, Dept A21616100 Variel, Woodland Hills. CA 91364
NO PREVIOUS SKILLS REQUIRED
Be a DETECTIVE
INTRIGUING! REWARDING! BIG DEMAND!
learn modern detection methods from
former Federal Agent for pennies
per day. Easy monthly payments.
SEND for Free Book & Lesson e3
cS
INTERNATIONAL DETECTIVE
Box 4352 (0.D.) Washington. D.C. 20012
TRAINING SCHOOL Est. 1932
BURIED TREASURE
Locate from a LONG DISTANCE! <
with Ultra-Sensitive D/RECTIOWAL Locater
seno FoR FREE inrormarive BROCHURE
_ CARL ANDERSON
sox (EYTIECLM tamea Fioniba 33611
* BARTENDERS’ BASIC GUIDE—verfection at home or
restaurant. 25 ular cocktail recipes, serving tips,
proper tools—glassware. 80 pages. Money Back Guarantee.
Send $3.95 postpaid, CD Publications, 2576 Main St,
Buffalo, N.Y. 14214.
CRIME FIGHTERS! Police-Detectives-Investigators-Infor-
mation $1.00 (refundable). Don-Q, Box 548-C, Seattle,
Washington 98111.
OF INTEREST TO MEN
VACUUM IMPROVES measurements immediately, Illus-
trated, $1.00 (refundable). Aspira, 210 Fifth, NYC 10010.
[EEP_LEARNING—HYPNOTIS
REVEALED! Free Illustrated Details:
Powers. 12015 Sherman Road, North Hollywood, CA 91605.
e SLEEP-LEARNING—HYPNOTISM! Strange catalog
free! Autosuggestion, Box 24-MX, Olympia, Wash.
ADVERTISERS—AGENCIES
—_ “SECRETS OF SUCCESSFUL CLASSIFIED ADVER-
TISING” tells short-cuts to bigger mail response and
profits, includes copy-hints plus where to place your ads
and why—and much more. $2.00 postpaid. Refundable. Free
Details about millions-of-prospects for your ‘‘offer.’" Write
8. Omessi, Dept. SO-M1, Classified, Inc., 100 East Ohio
Sireet, Chicago, Illinols 60611.
(2) KAW DUTY WELDER
m “Somes add Does work ef $85.00 welder
Ya yet costs only 1895
ra POST PAID
bh Exposed Electrical Terminals
WA Fits ordinary 110V eutlet
Weld, braze, solder or cut most anything made of metal
No experience needed. Follow simple instructions. Uses
standard %” rods to weld iron, steel, brass. bronze,
. other metals. New HEAVY DUTY circuit
gives higher heat . . . 4 times the heat needed to melt
toughest iron. More welding power than ever before.
Comes complete with welder’s mask, $2.00 pack of rods,
flux, carbons, automatic arc striker, ete. NOTHING
‘LSE TO BUY. Approved for homes, garages, shops,
factories. 10 day MONEY BACK trial. Send $2.00 and
ay $16.95 plus small C.O.D. when delivered or send
M.O. for postpaid shipment. WEL-DEX
HYPNOTISM
130 West 42nd, —
77
Te ROE FE ENTS TAT
oF
sat
not disclose at the time, he was quickly -
» considered a hot suspect in the Allen case.
Before his appearance in Kansas City
on November 9th, Brown’s last contact
with his wife wasa letter he had mailed to
her from San Francisco, where he had
“* relatives. He had sent her $40 toward the
support of their infant daughter, avowing
his love for them both, apologizing for his
. behavior and declaring that he “was all
messed up.”
The FBI, apprised of. these
developments, promptly launched an in-
tensive search for the fugitive in San -
* Francisco, and on the morning of Mon-
day, November 14th, Brown was cap-
tured. He was found asleep in his car, two
loaded pistols on the seat beside him.
The FBI agents held him on a car-theft
charge, but under close interrogation,
» Brown finally gave them more serious
charges for his detention. They had been
quizzing him about the slaying of Wilma
Allen in Kansas City on August 4th. At
first he denied all knowledge of the
_ crime. He denied he had been in Kansas
City at any time during the month of -
-_
August. rh
That, the federal agents knew, was a
lie. Witnesses had seen him there on
August 2nd, and there was strong reason
to believe he had been there several more
times in August. They told himas much. -
Without waming, in the midst of a
heated denial that he was lying, Arthur
Ross Brown suddenly stopped talking,
looked pensive for a moment, then
shrugged. “Okay—what the hell—I did it.
I killed her,” he said.
. “Will you tell us about it?”
“Sure, why not?” Brown replied.
He was advised then of his con-
stitutional rights and told that he did not
have to say anything, but that anything he
said might later be used in evidence
against him. :
: H. agreed to make a statement.
Arthur Brown then told his story to
several FBI men and witnesses. A
stenographer took down his statement.
He began by saying that on that morning
of August 4th, he went out looking for a
lone woman to rob. He spotted Wilma
Allen getting into her .blue-and-white
Chevrolet convertible, parked inthe Kan- |
sas City business district.
“It was a perfect setup,” Brown said. “It
was raining like hell and there was
nobody around.”
He said he had darted into the car right
behind her and threatened her with his .38
revolver. “I didn’t know her from Adam,”
he continued, “but she was the first
woman I'd seen in an hour who wasalone.
All the others had somebody with them,
kids or a guy, or another woman.”
Mrs. Allen pleaded with him to take her
purse and let her go, he said, but at gun
point, he forced her to drive him to a lone-
ly area south of the city. He was not very
familiar with Kansas City and was unable
78
to pinpoint for his listeners the spot where
they stopped or the exact route they had
taken. ‘ : Ear
“Why did youkill her?” a G-man asked.
“Why didn’t you just také her money and
let her go?” ak a at
Now there emerged yet another ironic
coincidence in the chain of circumstances
which had cost Wilma Allen her life.
Brown said he thought his mug shot and
prints were on file in Kansas City and that
the woman would be able to identify him.
“So I had to kill her,” he said. .
He told the listeners he shot his victim
twice in the back of the head, then
_ Stripped the body and left it in a field. He
said one of the pistols he had with him
when arrested in San Francisco was the
one he had used to kill Mrs. Allen.
It now developed that Sheriff Marshall
had been a victim of circumstance, too,
when Brown shot him in. Sheridan,
Wyoming, on August 3lst. Brown con-
fessed that he was still carrying Mrs.
Allen’s billfold at the time and he dared
not risk being arrested with it on his per-
son.
Soon after his arrest in San Francisco,
Brown had been fingerprinted. The FBI
- ‘also took his palm prints and both sets
were flown to Kansas City. The next day,»
November 15th, the Kansas City FBI of-:~ ;
fice announced that one of Brown’s palm
prints matched that lifted from Mrs.
Allen’s convertible.
Returned to Kansas City the next day, ;
November 16th, Brown surprised his cap-_
tors. Despite his professed unfamiliarity
with Kansas City and its environs, he
directed them to the lonely lane where he
said he had killed Mrs. Allen. He then
took them to a spot three miles distant
where he had discarded her jewelry and
personal possessions.
“I was going to keep ’em at first,” he
said, “and try to sell them. But I changed
my mind.”
Mrs. Allen’s eyeglasses, one of her
rings, her wrist watch and charge-a-plate
were recovered at the spot Brown show- .
ed the officers.
In U.S. District Court in Kansas City,
‘on November 16th, Arthur Ross Brown
was charged with kidnaping under the
. “Lindbergh Law.” The maximum penal-
ty under this federal statute is death.
But if by some unforeseen quirk of fate,
Brown should manage to be acquitted of
the federal charge, steps were taken to in-
sure he would have to face additional
prosecution before he could hope to go
free. In Missouri, Jackson County
Prosecutor Richard K. Phelps filed a
charge of kidnaping against Brown. And ,
in Kansas, Johnson County Prosecutor
James H. Bradley filed murder charges -
against Brown.
Bradley had hoped to have first crack
at Brown with his murder charge, but it
was decided to try him first on the federal
kidnaping count. A federal grand jury in-
dicted him on this count on November
28th.
Testifying before the grand jury tha! “gould be presented to them.
~_ day were William R: AllenJr., the victims= Brown, still wearing the leather jacket
husband, Major Pond, chief of Kansa} which he was captured months before,
City detectives, Dr, Meigs Jones, why "yas impassive throughout most of the
had been Mrs. Allen’s dentist, Herma! proceedings) which would decide
Davis and Albert Morton, police crime} whether he lived or died. In a powerful
laboratory: technicians, Kansas ° Ci ning statement summarizing the
Patrolman Ronald Ehrhardt, who had® grime which had shocked the country,
found the victim’s car, and six FBI agenty; 1.§. Attorney Edward L. Scheuffler
If the veniremen needed anything? demanded the death penalty. This state-
more to convince them, they got it whe! ment also contained the first intimation
the final piece of evidence was presented) given the public that in addition to kid-
to them: an exhibit prepared by FBlPmping and murder, Brown also had
technicians which showed that Browns? saped his victim.
palm print and that found on Mrs. Allert} The first day of the trial, after the jury
convertible were identical. + had been selected, was devoted for the
Reporters were given copies of theit most part to routine identification of
dictment, couched in precise, stilted but) evidence accumulated by investigators.
all-inclusive legal phraseology. It reat (Qn the second day, the detailed confes-
“The grand jury charges that on or abot) sion which Brown had made to the FBI
the fourth day of August, 1955, the above! agents, after his apprehension. in San
named defendant, Arthur Ross Brown) Francisco, was read to the jury.
‘did unlawfully, wilfully and feloniousy} Brown, slouched ina seatat the defense
transport in interstate commerce from} table, elbow on an arm of the chair and
_ Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri,ig] chin resting in his hand, listened to the
the western district of Missouri, into th) reading with desultory interest.
state of Kansas, one Wilma Frances Allen! On the third day, most of the morning
who had beretofore been unlawfully sei#} was taken up by the reading of Brown's
ed, confined, inveigled, decoyed, kid} final: statement. FBI agent Elmer W.
». naped, abducted and carried away {0
‘'reward and otherwise and that the said
Wilma Frances Allen was not liberated
unharmed by the said Arthur Ros
Brown, in violation of Section 1201, Titk
18, United States Code.” va
pay
4
. most immediately after filing of the
indictment, Brown was taken to. the
Jackson County Jail, where he was com
fined in a triangular-shaped maximum
security cell. This was the same cell
which another kidnaper, Mrs. Bonni¢
Brown Heady, later convicted and e
ecuted with Carl Austin Hall for thé
kidnap-murder of little Bobby
Greenlease, had been confined after he
capture in 1953. : a
As for Brown, he had little to say abot
what was happening to him at this june!
ture. “I can’t stand to be cooped wf
again,” he told his jailors. It was als
Parrish read this from the witness stand
and its details brought gasps from spec-
tators in the crowded courtroom. Theac- ;
tused man’s earlier statements had lacked
any admission that he sexually assaulted
Mrs. Allen. But in this final statement,
made on November 30th to FBI agents
Parrish and W. Harold Skelly, Brown dis-.
closed details of his assault.
He said he had forced the young
mother, with her hands tied behind her,
into the back seat of her car. First he tore
olf her blouse, then he stripped the rest of
the clothing off her. When this was done,
he raped her.
It was during the reading of this baldly
shocking statement that Brown's
demeanor changed for the first time. He
lowered his head and stared at the floor.
According to the statement, Brown
shot Mrs, Allen once in the car, holding his
pistol about six inches from the back of
her head. He then dragged her out of the
rumored that he had said he wanted tt} ar and left her body in the field. Retur-
plead guilty to the murder of Mrs. Allet
and hoped he would get the death
sentence. ;
Brown, it was now disclosed, had beét
under treatment by psychiatrists after!
parole from San Quentin, in Californity
where he served a term for burglary. Bul
before he went into court to stand trial of
January 23rd, the state took the precatt
tion of having him examined by th
psychiatrists. They declared he was sané
At his arraignment on December 30th,
the confessed kidnap-killer pleaded gui
ty. Hence, when he came to trial, tht
judge informed the jurors that they would
not be called upon to decide the defer
dant’s guilt or innocence. Their task, the
judge said, was to recommend puni 4,
ment of imprisonment or death, aftety:
ning to the car, he used the clothing he
d stripped from her to wipe up as much
lood as possible.
_ When this was done he got into his vic-
tim’s automobile, started the engine and
began to drive away. He had gone only a
short distance, however, when he chang-
ed his mind and stopped. Then he backed
up the car till it was opposite the spot
_ engine running as he got out, and walked
to the dead form of Mrs. Allen. Standing
vy her, he fired another shot into her
At 8:30 that night, Brown, back in Kan-
sas City, boarded a bus for St. Joseph. It
» as noted that he had fled from Kansas
ity long before the police were even
hotified of Mrs. Allen’s disappearance.
hearing and weighing the evidence wh
After the luncheon recess, the after-
a ; ‘
where he had left the body, left the .
noon proceedings began with the defense
statement to the jury. It was brief.
Then it was the prosecution’s turn. U.S.
Attomey Scheuffler again delivered an
impassioned. address, and again he
demanded the death penalty as the only
just punishment for so heinous a crime
against an innocent, defenseless victim.
Once more, Prosecutor Scheuffler sum-
marized the details of the case, in brutally
frank terms. During this recital, Brown
reacted visibly for the second time. He
flushed deeply and squirmed.
The jury went out at 2:40 p.m., but ob-
, viously they had been deeply impressed
by the prosecution’s case. At 2:55, a mere
fifteen -minutes after retiring to
deliberate, they sent word by the bailiff
that they had agreed upon their verdict.
They were ready to come back into
court at once, but a delay ensued while at-
tomeys for both sides were contacted and.
notified that their presence was required
in court.
It was revealed later that the jurors re-
quired only one ballot to reach a un-
animous verdict: Death. Judge Whitaker
ordered the prisoner to stand before the
bar, and then imposed the sentence. The
judge fixed February 24th as the date for
Brown’s execution in the gas chamber at
Missouri State Penitentiary in Jefferson
City.
This was the same execution chamber
in which Carl Hall and Bonnie Heady
paid with their lives‘in December, 1954,
for the kidnap-murder of young Bobby
Greenlease.
As Brown was led out of the courtroom
by deputy U.S. marshals, one of them
asked him, “Was that the verdict you
wanted?
Brown was silent for a moment, then
shrugged, and finally uttered one word in
reply: “Yeah.”
At one minute after midnight, on the
moming of Friday, February 24, 1956,
Arthur Ross Brown was strapped into the
steel chair in the gas chamber at the Mis-
souri prison.
At 12:08, the lever was pulled which
dropped the cyanide pellets into the vat
of sulphuric acid under the chair in which
the condemned man sat.
At 12:16, the prison doctor pronounced
Arthur Ross Brown dead.
The man whose tragic victim had been
claimed by an ironic set of circumstances
had paid—at least legally—his debt to
society. o¢o¢
YOU DON’T HAVE TO
CARRY A Gl
PROFESS!
Be ab
TO BE)
. Enjoy Top Pay, Security as _
FINGERPRINT
TECHNICIAN
TRAIN AT HOME IN SPARE TIME!
You are needed now to work “behind the scenes” in
crime fighting! You can make a fine salary with excep-
tional job security in the field of Scientific Crime De-
tection and Fingerprint Identification. You will be part
of a professional team that apprehends the. vicious
criminal by building an airtight case that sends him
to jail! You don't carry a gun—you are the vital “in-
side” man! Your job is exciting and important. With
the constant increase in crime, the need for you
becomes even more urgent.
I've helped hundreds of ambitious, dedicated .men
get into Crime Investigation and Fingerprint Identifi-
cation. Ican help you, too! At your home in your spare
time I will reveal the many secrets of this exciting
profession...Police Photography, Firearms, Hand-
writing Identification, the art of “Shadowing” and
other skills you will be using in daily assignments.
Your past experience is not important. Your ambi-
tion and will to succeed A RE+mportant
Our graduates are leaders in this vital work. Over
800 Identification Bureaus around the world employ
IAS graduates. IAS is accredited by the National
Home Study Council. Rush the coupon. We employ
no salesmen; everything will be rushed to you by
mail. Learn now about this opportunity; decide for
yourself if it is right for you. No obligation.
G.I. BILL over 800
APPROVED American Bureaus of
Identification employ
a EF? E E u 1AS Graduates
Read the famous i
Blue Book of Crime
Filled with little known crime facts ;
and famous criminal cases. Tells °
how you can find success and secur- J |
ity in Crime Investigation and Fin-
gerprint -Identification. Free! Just
mail coupon. No salesman will call.
INSTITUTE OF APPLIED SCIENCE
ACor School Foi in 1916
Dept 784C !920 Sunnyside Ave., Chicago, Ill. 60640
CLIP AND MAIL:COUPON NOW
| INSTITUTE OF APPLIED SCIENCE
Dept784C 1920 Sunnyside Ave., Chicago, 1. 608640 |
Send me FREE the latest edition of the Blue Book of Crime |
and information on opportunities im Crime Detection and |
| Fingerprint Identification. i
| Name Age |
| Address |
(od
79
PENSE emer My ah
*
NATIONAL POLICE
AND FIRE FIGHTERS
ASSOCIATION
ANNUAL DUES $10
*«$SO000 Maximum
Accidental Death Benefit
* Special Identification Card
«Car Emblems
* Training Material
MAIL THIS COUPON TODAY!
SEND CHECK OR MONEY ORDER TO:
1100 N. E. 125th Street, Suite 100
North Miami, Florida 33161
Taz finis |
i high school |
| If 17 or over and have left school, write
State. Zip.
today to see how you can complete your
H. S. education at home in spare time.
wonmmemeee Our (8th Year aamewewee,
Dept. H130
J American [227.1525 sx. |
4G ASCHOOL | Chicago, Ill. 60637
| Please send FREE Brochure.
| city. state. zip. |
Approved for Veteran Training
Accredited Member NATIONAL HOME STUDY COUNCIL
as ee eee eee ees ee
qreevegeuaeessrsess)
)
persons, jercover,
eiectronic debugging,
tock security, etc.
INLY 9
K_INCOME! MAKE $9 sate
SELL ENGRAVED METAL
SOCIAL SECURITY PLATES
<= Millions of new prospects added every
year! No investment needed.
SEND FOR FREE SALES KIT.
ENGRAVAPLATES, BOX 10460-583
JACKSONVILLE, FLA 32207
ua DETECTIVE PROFESSION
WE We have 20,000 satisfied students and
YY graduates, men and women Private, police
Ips
and military. G.J. BILL approved. Send
¢ NOW for FREE Sample lesson & full
Q (Ry Hi information on easy home study plan,
Nt lapel pin, certificate and your future No
~ salesman will call. Write TODAY to —
PROFESSIONAL INVESTIGATORS.” Dept. 0
Box 41345, Los Angeles, Calif. 90041
** * BEAT THE DEALER « ***
Blackjack has the best odds, Let a tong time
casino boss show you the tricks of the trade.
Learn the game by following his easy rules.
For system information booklet and wallet
size strategy card send $3.00 to:
MR. TEE, INC.
2025 Paradise Road
Las Vegas, Nevada 89104
had been made.:It-coincided with the ?
date of the daring burglary of the motel
room in downtown Fayetteville.
Just to further convince themselves
that they had accidentally warned their
™
suspect, the officers went to the next *
restaurant they had visited on November
10th. Sure enough, shortly after they had
inquired there about Johnny Johnson,
someone came in right behind them and
asked who the cops were looking for. The
cashier said she presumed that maybe the
officers were supposed to meet.Johnny
the officers had been inquiring about.
When the surveillance ended on the '
apartment on Hay Street, the proprietor
gave officers permission to remove all the
notebook and found the date the first visit, Fayettebille he possibly had taken th:
we
‘abortive escape attempt. His trial on th
-. charge of first degree burglary and grand
Johnson there and had told the man what .,..
things in the room which had belonged to ~ °
Johnny Johnson. Among the items con-
fiscated were the clothes of Eric Wurm-*!'
son, his tools, portable radio and a.
number of _ watches, a_ 45 caliber
automatic pistol, a box of copper-coated
ammo, a box of assorted ammunition, in- ,
cluding .38 and .45 caliber, several books
pertaining to bondage and aberrant sex, ”
and three drinking glasses which would
later reveal fingerprints of Ernest Eldon
Woods. :
In early December of 1971, the
automobile stolen from the Downtowner ~.
Motor Inn in Fayetteville was located
near a YMCA in Los Angeles, California.
FBI agents and other law enforcement of-
ficials in that area were given a summary
of matters pertaining to Ernest Eldon
Woods, but the trail ended there.
As time passed the federal agents put
out a wanted flier’ on Ernest Eldon
Woods. They also continued to remove
persons on their “Ten Most Wanted” list
and in May of 1973, Woods was about to
hit that widely publicized criminal Who's
Who.
He never made it. In the act of com-
mitting a burglary in Torrence, Califor-
nia, he was caught red-handed. Finger-
printed and mugged after he was charg-
ed, he immdiately was identified as being
wanted in other places on other charges.
When Fayetteville authorities were in-
formed of the arrest, plans immediately
went forward for extradition. FBI Agent
Donald L. Mullen interviewed Woods in
Los Angeles and he readily admitted be-
ing in Fayetteville, North Carolina, in Oc-
tober and early November of 1971 and to
committing several crimes there, in-
cluding a daring burglary of a motel unit
occupied by a man taking a shower.
He had taken his car and credit cards
and made his way to California in that
fashion. In fact, he had at one point,
somewhere in the Midwest, been given a
speeding ticket which he had paid with
part of the $150 he had found in the
billfold he had taken.
He denied any knowledge, however,
of any murder. He said that if clothes and
other belongings of a murdered man had
been found in his apartment in
Wiosaz trial on the murder charg
term of Superior Court in Cumberlar
County. : i
convicted of these charges, drawing 4
*’ sentence of life for the burglary (burglay
the ; course of other® burglari
Fayetteville.
With this information, Fayette
fh
Ville in.
vestigators marked the investigation into’
the death of Eric Wurmson closed and
burglary there and sentenced to at
from five years to life. 2
Shortly after being lodged ‘in the
Cumberland County jail, Woods madea
larceny came on June of 1974 and he
of an’ occupied dwelling» in - North
Carolina at that time was a capitd
offense) and 10 years for larceny of the
automobile. agers
was tentatively scheduled for the Augut
Woods’ previous attempt to escaj
revealed that he had obtained severd
backsaw blades which he had been up
able to use. However, before the mid
August term of court began @
Fayetteville, he made a_ success
attempt to escape, sawing this way outa
the jail and escaping through the vem
courtroom in which he had been tried i
June (at night, of course). :
Some three hours later, however, hé
was found in -the bushes off U.S. 40)
North of Fayetteville and returned to the,
lockup. After considering all the aspect
of the case, on Thursday, August 22, 1974,
District Attorney Ed Grannis announced.
that he was taking a nol pros with leavé)
against Woods in the case of the murdé)
of Eric Wurmson and ordered that he bt
* his sentence there.
returned to California authorities to a
‘ ix
At the same time, Grannis wrote
letter to penal authorities in California,
Louisiana and North Carolina detailing,
the case in Fayetteville involving tht
murder of Eric Wurmson, the elderly
widower, who had stopped on his way
Florida and was found dead in a remot,
section of the state of North Carolina/§
Meanwhile, Woods still faces time #
Louisiana and if California and Louisiané
authorities ever get through with him,
will be returned to North Carolina
begin serving current sentences of lif
plus 10 years. d
‘4
+
EDITOR’S NOTE: q
Harold T. McFee and Cleve Bux,
ton are not the real names of the peft
sons so named in the foregoing story:
Fictitious names have been use
because there is no reason for public
interest in the identities of these per)
sons. ss
4
ig: “. (Continued from page 25)
‘even sure if one was a convertible.
~ Police searched the Allens’ summer
.awaited extradition ‘of ‘Woods Arom)
of 1953 after Woods was convicted fF
cottage at a lake near Kansas City, but
found no clues there. They investigated
gnother report from that vicinity, where
gmeone said they had seen two men
dragging a protesting woman across a
road Thursday night. Nothing came of
this.
No stone was left unturned in a far-
* flung search which was steadily widened.
Since Union Station was relatively close
to the parking lot where Mrs. Allen’s car
was found, an intensive hunt was con-
ducted in the railroad yards, with par-
ticular attention given to empty freight
trains standing on sidings. :
Farmers over a wide area were asked
to search their barns and outbuildings.
Abandoned shacks and shanties were
finecombed. All culverts were explored.
But all this searching availed nothing. Of-
ficials would have found encouragement
in the discovery of even one of the miss-
ing articles belonging w Wilma Allen, but
not a trace of any of them was found.
The kidnaping theory was ruled out
when the passage of time failed to bring a
note or telephoned demand for ransom.
Fears for the missing woman’s safety con-
tinued to mount, despite the statement of
a family member, “We can’t lose hope.
She's got to turn up!”
On Saturday, the crime laboratory
reported that the bloody towel found on
the viaduct had been stained by human
blood, but they were encountering dif-
ficulty in determining whether it was the
same type as that found on Wilma Allen’s
blouse and in her car.
Unknown to the public at this time,
trime lab and identification experts were
working feverishly on a partial finger-
print and a palm print found on Wilma’s
convertible. The quality of the partial
was such, however, that unless they were
very lucky, it might be a long-drawn-out
task to secure an identification from it; it
might even be impossible.
As for the palm print, this would be
valueless except to prove or disprove
whether a suspect had been in or near the
Car. As yet, no suspect was in custody.
It was Saturday night, nearly 48 hours
after discovery of Mrs. Allen’s car, before
investigators’ efforts were rewarded by
the first solid lead. :
Her handbag has been found,” in-
Vestigators were informed by radio.
Across the river in Kansas, near U.S.
Route 69 in northeast Johnson County, a
farmer spotted the blue bag by the road-
as he was about to drive his tractor
into his yard.
It looked like it was thrown from a car
and bounced into the ditch,” he told of-
ficers who sped out to talk with him,
when he reported the discovery.
Sheriff ° deputies, swiftly . canvassed
A well-known publisher reports
there are simple techniques in us-
ing everyday English which can
pay you real dividends in social
and business advancements by
helping you to express your ideas
-in a more interesting and con- |
_vincing manner.
According to this publisher
-many people do not realize how .
important it is to know how to |
use effective English. Whether in °
- business, at social functions or —
even in casual conversation with
strangers, there are ways you can
use the English Language to make
Why Do You
Use Poor.
English?
a good impression each time you
speak or write.
To acquaint the readers of this
publication with the easy-to-
follow rules for developing skill‘in
everyday English, the publishers
have printed full details of their
interesting self-training method
in a 32 page booklet “How You
Can Gain a Command of Good
English” which will be mailed
free to anyone who requests it.
No obligation. Simply send your
name, address and zip to: Eng-
lish, Division Career Institute,
Dept. 811-02 , Mundelein, Illinois
60060. (A home study school)
WIPE OUT DEBTS
Little-Known Federal Law Gives Relief.
Used By Thousands —
$600 Up to $25,000.
FREE REPORT tells you how to get immedi-
ate relief from nagging debts. Stops -bill-
collectors, garnishments and suits. Free
yourself of past due bills and clear your
credit.
FREE MONEY SECRETS
$$ Raise the cash $$ Clear your credit
you need. $$ Get hundreds of
$$ Pay bills. free items.
$$ Get loans, $$ Free
| poet aid.
$$ Advance yourself.
ms . with hundreds of other benefits yours
for the asking. Plus business capital, loans,
grants, cash to start a business.
Send No Money
Get Free Details
Special FREE Report sent. Helped many
others. Just tear out this message and mail
it with name and address to:
National Counselor Reports
Div. 44 Kerrville, Texas 78028
ourself
DETECTIVE
TRAINING
G.I. APPROVAL
FOR VETS!
Easy home study course prepares
men and women for the exciting
and rewarding investigation
profession, SEND NOW FOR FREE
DETAILS about course, lapel pin ond diploma
No solesman will call.
UNIVERSAL DETECTIVES
EXTENSION TRAINING DIVISION
DEPT cc P.O. BOX 8189
@ Ca Emsac city CALIF 91608 S
MEN- WOMEN! TRAIN AT HOME IN
~ SPARE TIME FOR A CAREER AS A ©
VETERINARY ASSISTANT
_ Chances are, you'll spend the rest of
your life working — so, shouldn't
your Work lead to a career you énjoy?
If you love animals, there's one
career that promises this kind of
satisfaction and, it's easily
within your reach!
VETERINARY
~ ASSISTANT
Work with a Veterinarian
> or in an animal hospital.
LABORATORY AIDE
Exciting opportunities await the trained
Veterinary Assistant in pharmaceutical
laboratories, schools and research
facilities ZOOKEEPER
Growing demand for trained men
and women to care for animals found
in public and private zoos.
PET SHOP OR
KENNEL OWNER
The rapid expansion of this
field offers opportunities for
trained men and women
to own or manage .
a pet shop or kennel * s ts
‘MAIL THIS *~
COUPON TODAY!
MAKE YOUR MOVE NOW! We'll
send you a Free “Career Kit." |,
—_ee ewe scenery
Careers.by Home-Study
4 North American School of Animal Sciences, Dept. NBOC4
1 4500 Campus Dr., Udiversity Plaza, Newport Beach, CA 92663
15 w,, RUSH FREE “CAREER KIT”
Ha Miss
10 Mss. at
/ Address —___ 4
a
7S
eee
a
&
¢
at
We
2
¥
is © the lookout for Mrs. Wilma Allen, followed by descriptions of the
Fess : x
wR
ee
>
>» woman and the car she had been driving, was radioed to cruisers
*< on patrol. ~
Asa first step, Kansas City detectives accomplished something -
-which Allen had not been able to do. They located the owner and
some employes of the beauty salon, which had been closed by
detectives established definitely that Mrs. Allen had arrived for
~ her appointment a few minutes after ten that morning. She had
her hair done, got a manicure, and left the salon a little before
noon.
“She asked me if I could cash a check for her,” the owner
» recalled, “and I said of course. So she wrote a check for $30. Her
bill was $5, and I gave her $25 in change—four fives, four singles,
and a dollar in quarters.”
“Can you remember anything else about her?”
The beautician reflected a few moments. “Well,” he said, “it -
was just starting to rain as she was about to leave. I offered her a
magazine to hold over her hair, but she said it wasn’t necessary—
her car was parked only a short distance away.”
From an employe, a detective learned that moments after this,
as he left the shop to go to lunch, he saw Mrs. Allen huddled in a
doorway nearby, apparently waiting for the rain, which had
begun falling in a heavy downpour, to stop. He was sure it was
Mrs. Allen, he said, because of the way she was dressed; he said
she was a very smartly groomed woman, and he had seen her
that morning, wearing-a navy blue skirt, white nylon blouse, a
light scarf, and sheer nylon stockings.
FBI men, was questioned in probe
year ay Sa ae
Arthur Brown, here flanked by
vin
tae. °
<t “>
of :
a
the time Allen’s salesmen began their search. Questioning by the.
~~ Detailed as these bits of information were, they were not, of
*. themselves, very helpful in determining where Mrs. Allen had’ yee
- gone after leaving the beauty parlor, or what had happened to Fee. g"s®
her. For the time being, police could only concentrate on the one yy.
" element which might produce the most immediate results, Mrs,
Allen’s blue-and-white 1955 Chevrolet convertible. -
It was not long before the car was found. With every officer in
* the Kansas City area searching for it, the Chevrolet had to be> -
located if it was anywhere in the vicinity. At 2:12 o’clock Friday $"%,
« morning, Patrolman Ronald Ehrhardt found the car abandoned
in a parking lot under the Broadway viaduct near Union Station. :
Minutes after Ehrhardt reported his find, a squad of detec-
» tives raced to the scene. é
A swift examination of the car’s interior disclosed nothing out #
of the way. Then they forced open the trunk. There, under the il-
* luminating glare of their flashlights, they found evidence which: Pr
confirmed everyone’s fears for Mrs. Allen’s safety. There was a #
white nylon blouse, buttons ripped off and torn at the shoulders; *
a navy blue skirt; brown and white high-heeled shoes; and nylon
lingerie which obviously had been worn. oe st
The blouse bore a profusion of bloodstains near the shoulders. ¥
“From a head wound,” a detective guessed aloud. a
By this time an emergency truck had arrived and under its’
powerful portable spotlights, a more detailed examination of the
interior turned up evidence which had escaped the first hasty
search of the car. oA SEN : ;
The rear seat revealed small blood spots, and similar stains had :
seeped into the carpeting on the floor. The seat had been pulled
forward about five inches out of its normal position. On the floor, 4rnq was requested by police and all media widely circulated the
partially obscured by the seat, they found a bloodstained 4 tiption of Wilma Allen: brunette, attractive; age 34; 5 feet 7
washcloth. There wasa smear along the chrome strip on the front }, hes tall: wejght 110. Via police teletype, officials in rural sec-
door on the driver’s side which looked as if someone had tried to ice Gear K pis City also were alerted; the foxtail grass found
wipe blood from it. “bn Wilma’s car made it seem likely it had been driven into the
Many of the findings made by the police examination of the ntry. But foxtail abounds in this region and there was little
vehicle at this time were purposely withheld from publication. pe of pinpointing the specific area.
This is a customary investigative safeguard which enables detec-4. There was a brief hope on Friday morning that the missing
tives to check the accuracy of information—and sometimes woman's trail had been picked up when an officer reported fin-
“confessions”—from cranks and tipsters. x a blood-soaked white bath towel on another viaduct in Kan-
i <
: ined a small pink change purse, which also was missing.
The aid of newspapers and radio and television stations in the
In this instance, no mention was made in statements to the City. Police swarmed about the scene and began a search
press about wisps of foxtail grass and other weeds found clinging diating out fron’ the point, hoping to find other evidence,
to the underside of the Car, which suggested it recently had been possibly one or more of Mrs. Allen’s still missing personal articles.
driven through tall grass in a field. Similar wisps of grass, in lesser § But this search was unrewarding. The bloody towel was dis-
quantity, were found in the trunk, as well as small metal patched to a crime lab for analysis, but there was no immediate
fragments, which might or might not be pieces of a bullet. The ‘way to determine if it had any connection with the young
crime laboratory technicians would determine that. * mother’s disappearance.
At this point, Major Eugene Pond, Kansas City’s chief of detec- | Scores of detectives and uniformed officers were assigned
tives, assumed personal direction of the investigation. One of his full-time to the case and the search was widened to include areas
first moves was to station a detective team at the parking lot jn Kansas, just across the Missouri River. Laundries and dry
where Mrs. Allen’s convertible was found. Their orders were to “eleaners eae asked to report on any bloodstained clothing.
interrogate all persons who regularly used the lot, in an effort to} Technicians working on Mrs. Allen’s car said an effort had
learn whether anyone had seen the person who left the missing ‘been made to wipe it clean of all fingerprints, but they had found
woman's car there. _ some evidence this attempt “was not entirely successful.” Police
The early results of this questioning were not encouraging. No would not at this time elaborate definitely on the cryptic state-
one who used the parking lot on Thursday remembered having ‘ment,
seen the blue-and-white Chevrolet there. A man who worked) Wi the opening of stores in Kansas City that Friday morning,
nearby said he drove out of the lot at six p.m. and he was sure the Gnvestigators swarmed through the business district, closely
car was not there then. "questioning employes. From this it was determined that Mrs.
There were few police officials at this time who held much WAllen had stopped in at least two shops and made minor
hope Mrs. Allen would be found alive, but the search for her had purchases.
to be continued, in the hope that she might be. Examination of) Detectives posted at the parking lot where her car was found
her wardrobe at home determined that she had taken no extra’ had, by Friday evening, narrowed down the time when her
clothing with her. Unless she had purchased a new outfit after her. Chevrolet could have been parked there. They had talked to five
beauty parlor appointment, it could only be assumed that~ ,
wherever she might be at the moment, she was without clothing. @ /
There was aslim chance that she might still be alive, being held ©
prisoner somewhere, for whatever reason. This was considered
unlikely. If she had been kidnaped for ransom, officials were
convinced her abductor would have been heard from by this 4
time.
Still unaccounted for were Mrs. Allen’s scarf, nylon stockings,
and a rectangular, navy blue straw handbag. The latter had con-
Searchers scoured death scene for clues to no’avail. But weeks later a prime suspect underwent questioning in car (r.)
men who were able to give positive information, and it was now
determined that the convertible must have been parked there at
some time in the two hours between 10:15 p.m. and quarter past
midnight.
Attention now was concentrated on the foxtail grass found on
the underside of Mrs. Allen's car. Interrogation of her family and
mechanics who serviced the car regularly nade it virtually cer-
tain the grass had been picked up some time after she left home
that Thursday morning.
Acting ona teletyped request from Kansas City police, officers
-in outlying areas made a thorough search of isolated secondary
roads and lovers’ lanes. They found nothing which could be con-
nected to the case. :
The widespread publicity engendered by the attractive young
matron’s ‘disappearance and the increased police activity in-
evitably brought a flood of tips, both from well-intentioned
citizens who thought they might have pertinent information, and
from the cranks and crackpots. All were investigated, however
far-fetched they might seem, but to no avail.
One of these, from a respected citizen living in a rural Kansas ~
area about 12 miles from Kansas City, occasioned a flurry of
~. police activity. He reported hearing a woman scream for help
near his house around ten o’clock Thursday night. He was asked
to tell about it from the beginning.
“We go to bed early,” he said. “It was around ten—a few
minutes after, to be exact—when I was awakened by a woman's
voice yelling, ‘Help! Murder!”
“I got up and went outside and I saw two cars parked out on
the road in front of my house. I started to walk out there, but they
must have seen me coming. Both cars started up and drove off.
The first one was weaving all over the road till it turned that bend
down there and disappeared. Do you suppose the driver could
have been struggling with someone in the front seat?”
It was a possibility, the officers conceded, but there was little
more they could do about it. The man could give only vague
descriptions of the cars; he was not (Continued on page 75)
(eee
MD DOUBLE-LENGTH FEATURE NO. 1
am grnees
id that
n 1947
» to 20
arson
a 1952,
ting to
-d that
y those
searing
iver of
“ederal
e legal
he was
looking
‘r arms
3. Mary
is from
learned
yn’t say
uttered.
ik with
in the
. Later,
-¢ with
id been
im
ed.
ig with
belief
roubles
be per-
then be
he said
vur had
and in-
laced in
uld’ not
he had
sa boy,
. family,
off and
sion, at
into a
) reason
presents
-requent
was a
tin, his
vho was
as on a
t she be
previous
hearing
irist who
s release
1 that in
psycho-
id of the
He came
ved very
2 in turn
is father
~ ome
here
and
nme of
nge as it
seemed, was very scrupulous about paying
debts and also about. telling the truth—a
fact that perhaps accounted for his blurt-
ing out the story of the Allen murder.
“His spells manifest themselves in ex-
treme agitation brought on by terrific ten-
sion,” the doctor explained. “All of us
suffer certain urges and tensions, but Ar-
thur’s bad moments’ were overwhelming.
“He may have slain Mrs. Allen in the
midst of. one of his impulses. ‘And at the
same time his. rigid conscience—and he
has an extremely rigid one—would have
been revolted at what he was doing. He
is a man of uncontrollable impulses. In
medical terms he is considered highly
compulsive, an obsessive-compulsive type.”
Clearly, there was something a great
deal wrong with Arthur Brown. But if
he was not insane, the fact remained that
he seemed to be guilty of a particularly
atrocious murder. On Wednesday, Novem-
ber 16, he arrived back in Kansas City
under heavy guard. That same day, he
took a procession of police cars on a tour
of the murder ride. He willingly showed
where he buried Mrs. Allen’s jewelry, in
a field by the Aubrey-Oxford Road about
three miles from the murder scene.
A few minutes of digging turned up the
missing jewelry., 7
Later, back at headquarters, Brown also
explained why he had shot Deputy Mar-
shall in Sheridan on’ August 31. He said
he knew the deputy was going to arrest _
him, and at that moment he had on his
person the pink leather coin purse he had
taken from Mrs. Allen’s purse. If that
had been found, he was sure, he would be
up for murder, so he grabbed his gun
and shot his way out. :
‘THE LANDLORD at the apartment
building where Brown lived with his
wife on August 4, the day of the murder,
remembered something. He happened to
recall the day because it was associated
with another event that stood out in his
-memory. He said that Brown had left
the place about 9:30 that morning, after
inquiring about street cars. He walked
east toward Main Street—a point where
he could have got a trolley to take him to
the Brookside Plaza shopping center.
Brown returned home about 4:30 that
same ‘afternoon, the landlord said. He did
not appear in the least excited or unusual,
and he brought with him a plastio toy for
his baby daughter.
Brown himself admitted that he went
to the shopping center with the idea of
looking for a woman to rob. He waited
there for what he described as “a long
time.” He saw a number of women, but
either they were accompanied or else
there were witnesses nearby. He said he
was just about to give up and go back
when Mrs. Allen—whom he did not
know—appeared.
How grim a thing fate can be! Had
Wilma Allen taken only a few more min-
utes shopping, she undoubtedly would be
alive today.
Although an insanity plea seemed his
only chance to escape the gas chamber,
Brown flatly denied he was insane. The
federal government went ahead and filed
kidnaping charges against him—a crime
that carries the death penalty on convic-
tion. Simultaneously, authorities in Kan-
sas announced they would press a murder
charge against Brown, since the actual
slaying took place in that state. This
meant that should he be lucky enough
to escape conviction on the kidnaping
charge, he would be tried again in Kansas.
But when he came to trial early in, 1956
on the kidnaping charge, Arthur Ross
Brown—a _ neat-appearing, curly-haired
young man—made it plain he was not try-
ing to escape from anything. He pleaded
guilty to the charge. He was assessed the
death penalty.
As he was escorted to the state prison
at Jefferson City on February 17, Brown
seemed resigned to his fate.
“I want to die,” he told his guards,
“because I couldn't live in prison with
this thing on my mind.”
A few weeks later Brown got his wish.
After ten minutes in the lethal gas cham-
ber, he was pronounced dead.
— - DID DORIS KNOW TOO MUCH?
s <
mh,
something—something rather serious—be-
tween them. ‘Turner was not the sort to
pass up any opportunity at romance, and
he had had plenty of opportunity to make
a play for Doris,
Questioned ‘about this angle by a re-
porter, Captain Milligan said: “Ten days
before her’ disappearance, Turner took
Doris to Erie to buy her a pair of shoes.
Two days later he took her to a baseball
game in Cleveland. He was even with
her the night before she vanished.”
It took some time before the gray-haired
@Mrs. Hatch could acknowledge that there
might have been a romantic interest be-
tween Turner and her daughter.
“I suppose Doris could have been see-
ing him . . . without my knowing it,” she
said. “He used to drive her home a lot,
but I never thought anything about it.”
Turner, who*was questioned countless
times during the course of the probe, tried
to minimize the importance of his relation-
ship with Doris.:
“She was a good kid,” he told Penman.
“I took her home, bought her a few drinks,
maybe a hamburger and coffee once in a
while. But that was all there was to it.”
Penman had an alibi for the afternoon
of July 27, 1953, the day of the disap-
pearance, but he couldn’t prove it. He
said he had spent the afternoon driving the
store’s truck and had made several busi-
ness calls in Erie. Police checked the
places named by Turner and did not locate
anyone who recalled seeing him. -
The suspect,also was vigorously inter-
(Continued from pdge 25)
rogated about a phone call made from
the hardware store to the Erie airport the
night. of July 27. Penman and his col-
leagues thought Turner may have tried to
arrange quick transportation out of the
state, but they were unable to prove. this
theory. Turner said he didn’t make the
call and didn’t know who did. No record
was kept at the airport as to the nature of
the call.
“Even if I’d made it,” Turner concluded
this interview, “I wouldn’t tell you.”
Turner knew full well that he was the
only suspect but he also knew the police
did not have a case against him. In Feb-
ruary, 1954, he was interviewed by a
friend, the editor of a newspaper in Erie.
He and Penman had worked together
as reporters, and he thought Penman
might talk freely to him.
Turner gave him the same story that
he’d given the police. He had no idea what
had happened to Doris Hatch. She’d
simply left his store and vanished. No, he
had not been in love with her.
When the editor pointed out that there
were things he had not fully explained—
the blood in his car, his relationship with
Doris—and that his alibi did not hold
water, Turner retorted:
“Where's the body? If I’m guilty of any-
thing, let them find the body.”
Though Turner appeared to be confident
enough, he must have been laboring un-
der a great strain. He had been drinking
more heavily than ever recently, and a
week after his talk with his editor friend
4
he entered a Veterans’ hospital in Erie. He
was treated for a liver condition, evidently
brought on by his drinking. He was trans-
ferred to a state mental hospital when he
suffered what was described as a “nervous
breakdown.”
Released from the hospital on May 11,
1954, he took his family to Massachusetts.
Before leaving, he told a friend: “For the
rest of my life, I’ll be a murder suspect
in this town. It’s not fair to us, it’s not
fair to our child.” More than anything
else, he added, he wanted to protect his
daughter from the ugly rumors that sur-
rounded him.
They settled down in the town of Man-
chester, Mass., north of Boston; in an
apartment close to the ocean. It was a
snug, quiet place and the change had a
good effect on Bill. He cut out his drink-
ing and got a job with an advertising firm _
in Boston.
At the same time, police in Pennsylvania
were going through many routine moves.
Thousands of circulars on Doris were sent
throughout the country. Drivers’ licenses
on file in a dozen states were checked and
women named Doris Hatch investigated.
A grave in a cemetery near Cambridge
Springs “which didn’t appear to be set-
tling right” was examined. The Park
Hardware Store was searched again from
top to bottom. It recently had been sold
and the new owners weren’t happy about
its notoriety.
“Tt wish they’d solve the case,” one of
the owners told a reporter. “Every time
eee
J agged flashes of summer lightning lashed the murky
Missouri sky far south of Kansas City’s fashionable Brook-
side Plaza shopping center. The ominous rumble of thunder
followed in seconds.
When the first misty drops of rain fell shortly after noon
. on Thursday, August 4, 1955, an inconspicuous, weak-
chinned man of about 30 moved from where'he had been
- leaning against a utility pole to the shelter of a sun canopy
over the front window of a dress shop. He wore a summer
sport shirt and khaki pants.
The unobtrusive figure studied intently the faces of the
smartly dressed women who passed without a glance at
‘him. His thoughts were violent—of robbery and rape.
‘The man’s eyes narrowed in speculation as a beautiful
young woman walked toward him. Two expensive diamond
rings flashed in the sunlight that broke momentarily through
_ the overcast sky at the exact instant that the shapely walker
;raised a paper to her head :to ward off the drops of rain.
*;A light pink scarf covered her brown hair, done up in tight
“seurls, | : ;
'> " The woman was alone and in a hurry. She stepped briskly
“ toward a 1955 blue and white Chevrolet convertible parked
at the curb with its top down. Displaying an attractive limb,
| »- the woman slid in behind the wheel and started the motor
“before raising the automatic top. She was completely un-
aware that her movements were being watched by a killer
in the making.
With determined strides, the man, a stranger to Kansas
City, walked across the wet sidewalk toward the convertible
and its occupant. ;
Reaching. the side of the car, he threw open the unlocked
door with his left hand. In his other hand there was now
a heavy revolver. ;
“Don’t scream and do what I tell you,” he commanded
as he moved easily into the car at the side of Mrs. Wilma
Allen, 34-year-old wife of a wealthy North Kansas City,
Missouri, automobile dealer.
“Come on néw,” he ordered. “Let’s get out of here. If
you do as I say you won’t be hurt. I need money to get out
of town. Those diamonds you’re wearing spell money to
me.”
Terrified, her mind clouded with concern for her own
safety and the welfare of her husband and two young sons,
the youthful matron complied unhesitatingly with the harsh
demand. She was ordered to drive south, away from the
Brookside area and from the thickly populated downtown
‘district.
Traveling south toward the city limits, Mrs. Allen was
confronted with heavy traffic. Into her mind flashed the
possibility of crashing her car into another vehicle; but it
0) wre <8, ye: inbred
de, authorities sgathes “around :
* butjed: sithiti'ypbsseisiot
for
$
ea ge
A ys =e J
‘ a. sg y
ae
“Jad wt!
\
ETRE Ls EOE eG ee
d tried
iled as
-ynolds
lin and
on had
‘k owe
ied. He
ig’s all
d him.
I can’t
ou that
ut any
ed. He
2 to, of
story.
in get-
Boston.
y at all
explain
idential
which
inbeat-
siness,”
at yarn
r, Car-
r heard
he
re=
arnegie
nection
illegit-
» Reyn-
‘en the
he was
1e vault -
ick de-
dwick,”
hat we
» to the
ck, but
se, Mr.
n there
ited two
k home
ant that
package
so long.
the spot.
to con-
-d noth-
strips of
y paid a
, but the
e fire for
country
: for the
eard
sical
_ _. was
‘him wher
he, and he died a few weeks later. The
failure of his bank had other repercussions,
for a number of students at Oberlin Col-
lege who had their savings there were
forced to. cut short their education and
go to work. H :
As for Dr. Chadwick, he was utterly
staggered. He had no knowledge of his
wife’s financial affairs, and he could not
believe that his lovely spouse was the
slickest female swindler of all time.
A number of bankers who had made
- Joans to Mrs. Chadwick were doing some
frenzied auditing. When all was said and.
done, it was learned that the lady had bor-
rowed close to two million dollars on the
strength of. her alleged connection with
Carnegie and that horrible little parcel of
newspaper.’ 4
It was known that Mrs. Chadwick could
not stay away from smart shops and circles
of fashion, and that was how she was
caught..She was nabbed in New York City
three weeks later as she shopped for dia-
monds at a.deluxe jewelry salon.
“It’s all a mistake!” she wailed as she was
returned to. Cleveland for trial. “Someone
!
SECRET TOO AWFUL TOO KEEP
virtually in the dark, without clues. They
appealed via newspaper and radio to the
public to report any odd item that might
possibly have any connection with the
case,
To spur outside help, the Kansas City.
Crime Commission agreed to administer
a reward fund. Many indignant citizens
contributed voluntarily to the fund, which ~
was to be limited to $10,000.
As a result, dozens of tips and sugges-
tions poured into headquarters. All that
seemed remotely logical were investigated,
with no-~success. An exhaustive check
was made on 1500 sex offenders against
the prints found in the car, likewise to no
avail, 2. p
Mrs. Allen’s car had only 900 miles on
it when found. Its approximate mileage on
the morning she left her home was known.
Working on this angle, the police deduced
that after leaving the shopping area, the
car had made the trip out to where the
body was found, and returned to where
it was found parked, with only about ten
miles not accounted for. These ten miles,
it was reasoned, might easily have been
driven’ aimlessly over side roads, or be-
cause the*slayer did not take the most
direct route. — é A
“We know the killer didn’t go very far
out of the way,” Detective Chief Pond -
admitted,-“but that doesn’t get us any-
where at*the moment.”
So Wilma Allen was buried in Indepen-
dence on. August 10, six days after she
had her hair dressed, and what had hap-
pened in: the ensuing hours was still al-
most a complete mystery. Detectives had
worked hard under able leadership, but
none of:them were clairvoyant. Some-
where a,killer walked unsuspected, lucky
because’ no one had happened to notice
Beata
“he climbed into the car, or ©
is terribly in error, and I’]l make them suf-
fer!”
It was indeed a mistake—a big one. She
Was now recognized as “Madame De Vere”
who had served a prison term for forgery
in Toledo. She was recognized as the 18-
hour bride of Dr. Springsteen, the operator
of a fast mortgage racket. The facts about
her early life came out, and her humble
beginnings in Canada.
W HEN CASSIE CHADWICK went to
trial late in February, 1905, it was the
most sensational court drama of the dec-
ade. Andrew Carnegie himself was a wit-
ness, and he testified emphatically that he
had never seen Mrs. Chadwick in his life
and knew nothing about her.
How then could her visit to his home
be explained? That came out too. Cassie,
knowing that Carnegie was away in Pitts-
burgh, knocked at the door and introduced
herself as a relative. The butler informed -
her that the master was away. She re-
plied that she was aware of that but was
sure he would return shortly. So—she
merely sat there and waited for 45 minutes
.- (Continued from page 53)
when he drove down a country road.
Either very lucky or very smart, because
he left no clues.
The days wore on, and the work on the
case settled down from all-out emergency
to routine checking. More scientific tests
were made on the murder car, without
additional discovery. More searches were
made of the ground over in Kansas. Men
arrested in connection with other crimes
were questioned closely about the Wilma
‘Allen case. One woman informant kept
calling the police persistently. She was in
touch with the spirit world, she said, and
the spirits had told her the crime was
committed by two men driving a car with
an Iowa license. Weeks passéd, and it
looked as if the Allen case was one of
those fated to go into the unsolved file.
N OCTOBER, another Kansas City
woman, Mrs. Jean Brown, began hav-
ing more trouble than usual with. her
husband, 30-year-old Arthur Ross Brown.
‘She had become estranged from him in
part because of his unpredictable tempera-
ment. With Brown, you could never tell
whether he would approach with a kiss
or a clenched fist, and what with one thing
and another the couple: had separated. -
When Brown telephoned her in October
and threatened to kill her, she was genu-
inely’ frightened because he seemed to
mean it. She informed the police and
asked for protection for her and her year-
old daughter. A couple of patrolmen were
assigned to watch her apartment on Jef-
ferson Street.
Nothing further happened until Novem-
ber 9. On that day, Mrs. Brown was walk-
ing up the alley toward the rear of her
home when she felt something jab her in
the back and heard her husband’s voice.
“This is a gun,” he said. “If you turn
before she told the butler she would come _
another time. '
The butler was also. a witness, and he
admitted that Mrs. Chadwick appeared to
him to be “a most charming lady.”
Cassie, who had made many a headline
in Cleveland, now made more headlines
all over the country. Now, however, the
news stories did not concern social tri-
umphs but told the tale of the most in-
credible con woman the nation had ever
seen. :
Cassie didn’t have a leg to stand on.
Nevertheless, she stoutly maintained her
innocence. Despite her compelling gaze,
the jury couldn’t believe her. She was
found guilty of fraud on March 11, 1905,
and drew a ten-year term.
She seemed unperturbed as she was
taken away. No one could say she had
not had a whale of a time while it lasted.
People in Cleveland were still talking
about her on October 10, 1907, when she
died in prison of a heart attack.
It was a real, genuine heart attack—the
most genuine thing she had done in her
madcap, fraudulent life.
around or scream, I'll kill you.”
He then forced her into his car, waiting
nearby, and took her on a wild drive
through the city. As they sped about
aimlessly, he kept threatening her.
“You’ve got to die,” he said repeatedly.
“I guess I might as well die too. Ill kill
you and then shoot myself.”
He was clearly in such a desperate mood
that there was no telling what he might
do. The terrorized woman pleaded with
him, at the same ‘time looking for some
means to escape. After a couple of hours
of this, Brown seemed to change his mind.
“You and I could make a go of it if we
really tried,” he urged. “Why don’t we
get out of here—go down to Mexico and
start out all over again?”
The nightmare ride lasted a full three
hours before Mrs. Brown got her chance.
Her husband had to stop the car for a
light at Thirty-second and Karnes Boule-
vard. She opened the door, fled before he
could stop her, and made her way home.
It happened that the police already knew
about the kidnap. A neighbor boy had
chanced to look out the window just when
Brown forced his wife into the car at gun-
point, and had reported it. Squad cars
had been on the lookout for the Brown
car without success, and now that the
frightened woman was safely home the
search was continued with no result.
(THE POLICE GUARD at the apartment
was augmented. However, a few days
later Mrs. Brown received a letter from
her husband, mailed in St. Joseph, Mo.
- Apparently by this time he had suffered
another change of heart, for he enclosed
$40 to aid in the support of their child.
There were further reports about Arthur
Brown as he continued on his erratic way.
It was believed that he had stolen a car
Zr ad Bet hs oe
See tpecaheese tS te
oe a a
ae:
-_
BO:
in Omaha and driven it across state lines—
a violation of the Dyer Act, which meant
that the FBI was now also looking for
him.
A scrutiny of the records disclosed that
Brown was wanted on still another charge.
On August 31, almost six weeks before he
kidnaped his wife, Brown was in a hotel
room in Sheridan, Wyo. Deputy Sheriff
Willard Marshall found him there and
began questioning him about a burglary
committed in Sheridan. The young man
answered readily and showed no signs of
‘Fesistance. Marshall was momentarily off
his guard when Brown suddenly whipped
out a revolver from his pocket and began
shooting. He fled, leaving the deputy dan-
gerously wounded.
By this time it was painfully apparent
that Arthur R. Brown was a bad actor
indeed. The FBI extended a determined
search for him. His description was on
wanted circulars in police headquarters
all over the country, along with warnings
that he was armed and would probably
resist arrest. On November 14, only a few
days after he had written his wife from
St. Joseph, Brown was heard from again in
a curious way.
Early that moriiing, the police of San
Francisco received a telephone call ‘from
a woman living in the Candlestick Cove
district. She said there was a man prowl-
ing around the neighborhood, and while
she was not certain, she thought it pos-
sible that it was her nephew, Arthur R.
Brown. She believed he was wanted by
the FBI. ,
The police checked the records. Was he
wanted! In Kansas City for kidnaping his
wife and threatening her with a dangerous
weapon. By the FBI on Dyer Act (stolen
car) charges. By the FBI and by authori-
ties at Sheridan, Wyo., for shooting Deputy
Marshall. If: it was indeed Brown, here
was a fellow who would have to be ap-
prehended with care. :
A couple squads of police and G-men
cruised the Candlestick Cove area. On
Blanken Avenue they came upon a parked
car—a car listed as having been stolen in
Omaha. A man curled in the back seat
under a blanket, sound asleep. An officer
reached in and shook him. He aroused to
find himself staring at several revolvers.
“Get out,” he was ordered, “with your
hands up.”
He got out with his hands up. Under
the blanket that had covered him lay two
loaded pistols, which were quickly con-
fiscated.
“Sure, I’m Brown,” he grunted. “So
what?” -
“We'd like to ask you a few questions,”
one of the FBI men said in a masterpiece
of understatement.
Brown was a blond, middle-sized young
man, very neat of dress. He was escorted
downtown, and a few hours later was
arraigned before U.S. Commissioner Jo-
seph Karesh on the Dyer Act charge,
which makes it a federal offense to trans-
port a stolen car across state lines. He
was held in $20,000 bond. Actually, this
charge was largely to hold him so that
he could be questioned in connection with
the more serious crimes. ,
Federal Agent Curtis P. Irwin and other
G-men then took Brown to their office
and began querying him about the shoot-
ing of Deputy Marshall in Sheridan. He
was noncommittal about this at first. He
seemed to have something on his mind.
Finally he said, “You know, I’m wanted
over in Kansas City.”
Agent Irwin knew that very well. The
man was wanted in the Missouri city for
kidnaping his wife, certainly. But Irwin,
trained in interrogation, did not take any-
thing for granted.
“Yes?” he said. “What for?”
Brown hesitated a long moment. “Well—
for the murder of Wilma Allen,” he replied.
[Ht WAS A SHOCKER to the federal
men. Although Brown had been wanted
on a variety of other charges, no sus-
picion had ever attached to him in the
Allen slaying. .
“Suppose you tell us about it,” Irwin
suggested, as if he were not surprised
at all.- tm,
Like a man who had a secret so terrible
that he could not keep it any longer,
Arthur Brown told the story.
He had been waiting at the Brookside
Plaza shopping center in Kansas City, he
said, early on the afternoon of August 4.
He saw a pretty young matron walk out
of one of the ‘stores. He followed her as
she headed for the blue and white Chev-
rolet convertible. As she climbed in, he
was close behind. His 38 revolver aimed
at her, he got in beside her saying, “Don’t
scream. Just get going.” He forced her
to drive southward from the city.
“All I wanted was her money,” he said.
As they drove into the country, the
foar-atricken woman pleaded with him
to spare her life, to let her go. White-
faced, she told him she had two children—
begged him to take everything but to re-
lease her.
“I was afraid she would identify me for
the robbery and squeal on me,” he related.
Some ten or a dozen miles out of Kansas
City, he shot her twice in the head. Taking
the wheel, he drove to the field. He
stripped the body, putting the bloodstained
clothes in the trunk for some reason he
could not explain. He made no attempt at
rape, he declared. He got to thinking about
the woman’s jewelry, and was afraid that
if he tried to pawn it he would be caught,
so he buried it. Then he drove back to
Kansas City, tossing out the empty purse
on the way, and abandoned the car under
the viaduct.
After telling this blood-chilling story,
Brown was promptly taken before Com-
missioner Karesh again. This time his
bond was increased to $100,000 on the
murder charge. His fingerprints and palm-
prints were dispatched to FBI headquar-
ters in Washington, to be checked with
the palmprints taken from the Chevrolet,
already on file. Brown admitted that one
of the two weapons found in his car, a .38
caliber pistol, was the gun with which he
had slain Mrs. Allen.
Soon ‘the wires were burning between
San Francisco and Kansas City. Execu-
tives in the latter city had been searching
for Brown for several weeks in the kid-
naping case, with no suspicion that he
might be connected with the Allen murder.
Major Pond and several other officers got .
aboard a San Francisco-bound plane.
-
In the California city, it was found. that
Brown was even then on parole. In 1947
he had been sentenced to from two to 20
years in San Quentin prison on an arson
conviction. He had been paroled in 1952,
and was still supposed to be reporting to
parole officers. Ae
Next morning, the FBI announced that
Brown’s palmprint matched perfectly those
found in the victim’s car. Now appearing
sullen and moody, he signed a waiver of
extradition and was taken before Federal
Judge Oliver J. Carter. After these legal
formalities were completed, and he: was
being led away, a matronly-looking
woman ran up to him and threw heriarms
around him. It was his mother, Mrs.’ Mary
Brown, 53, who had taken the bus’from
her home in San Jose when she learned
of her son’s arrest. fe
“My son!” she wept. fe
Brown looked embarrassed. “Don't say
nothing to anybody, Mom,” he muttered.
“It'll be all right.” the
MES. BROWN was ‘allowed to talk with
her son for a few moments in* the
office of the United States Marshal. Later,
obviously grief-stricken, she spoke with
reporters, declaring that her son had been
a mental case all his life. ~
“I remember having a talk with him
once when he was about 18,” she recalled.
“He said, ‘Mom, something’s wrong with
me.’ ” “s é yi
The mother left no doubt of her belief
that her son suffered from mental troubles
he could not combat. He might be per-
fectly normal for weeks, she said, then be
“ripped by one of his “spells.” She said
it was a great mistake that Arthur had
been released from San Quentin, and in-
sisted that he should have been placed: in
an institution—something she could’ not
personally afford. An only child, he, had
been taken to doctors when he was a:boy,
but they had been unable to help. #
So, although he came from a fine family,
Arthur Brown had been in trouble off and
on since he was 14. On one occasion, at
Christmas time, he had walked into a
neighbor’s home and for no known reason
had stamped in a fury on the presents
around the tree. There had been frequent
trouble at school, too, where he was a
pimple-faced boy, very shy. ay
After his term in San Quentin, his
mother related, he met the girl who’ was
to: become his wife when she was on a
visit in California. He insisted that she be
informed of his prison record and previous
troubles. old
Another person present at the hearing
was Dr. R. Milton Rose, a psychiatrist who
had studied young Brown after his release
from San Quentin. Dr. Rose said that in
his opinion Brown was clearly a psycho-
path but was not insane. A friend of the
family, the psychiatrist went on:
“His case violates every rule. He came
from no broken home. He was loved very
much by both his parents, and he in turn
was devoted to them. He lost his father
only two years ago, and so had a com-
plete family in his formative years. ‘There
was just something wrong with him, and
the sad truth is we know very little of
how to treat such cases.” a
_ Dr. Rose said that Brown, strange:
seemed, was very ;
debts and alse 2h:
fact that perh
ing out the st
“His spells mam
treme agitation bro
sion,” the doctor
suffer certain urge
thur’s bad momen
“He may have <
midst of one of hi:
same time his ri:
has an extremely
been revolted at \
is a man of unco
medical terms h«
compulsive, an obs:
Clearly, there °
deal wrong with
he was not insane,
he seemed to be
atrocious murder.
ber -16, he arrive<
under heavy gua
took a procession «
of the murder rid:
where he buried !
a field by the Aut
three miles from th
A few minutes o
missing jewelry.
Later, back at h:
explained why he
shall in Sheridan
something—someth
tween them. Tur:
pass up any -~~~
he had had }
a play for Di
Questioned avuu
porter, Captain Mi
before her’ disap;
Doris to Erie to b
Two days later he
game in Clevelanc
her the night befor
It took some time
Mrs. Hatch could
might have been :
tween Turner and |
“I suppose Doris
im... withor
said. “He used to
but I never though
Turner, who wa
times during the co
to minimize the im;
ship with Doris.
“She was a good
“TI took her home, b
maybe a hamburg:
while. But that wa
Penman had an
of July 27, 1953,
pearance, but he «
said he had spent t!
store’s truck and }
ness calls in Eri
places named by Ti
anyone who recall«
The suspect alsq
cH Sea
—
——~n 2D
ww
{
wed
BROWN, Arthur Ross,
“I'm glad I’m going to die. |
couldn’t live in prison with this on
my mind,” killer said, when he heard
the judge pronounce his sentence.
The worst fears of the law-
men searchng for Wilma Allen
were realized when her body
was found. Dr. David S. Long,
Jr. examines battered corpse.
HORROR DEATH
FOR THE KANSAS CITY
BEAUTY
CONFIDENTIAL DETECTIVE CASES
38
CONFIDENTTAT
ve T\y \OuToYy wh ie
WINE LUBIN PS Pid DETECTI VE 9 Ju ly 9
For violatior
Lindbergh Lk
penalty is d
whether it’s
kidnaping o
—or a sfunn
society wife
by WA
NE of the le
Homicide me
to wait for him to
of the crime. De
of that notion ar
readers and the
practice is unpop
derers themselves.
erally, is to put
between them an
as possible.
What the polic
look for—if all ot!
tips are exhaustec
the pattern or te
to the murder. |
havior patterns an
its, just like ball
singers and artists
of delivery or p
characteristic of
is particularly tru
been successful ir
once. He figures b
proof.
And so it was t
of Kansas City h
napping and terro
thur Brown on !
they started on a }
for the man inv
Mrs. Brown had
harmed. They re
pattern of perforr
ured that once t
would also have
identity had been
for more than fo
tiful socialite, Mz
Mrs. Brown h:
an automobile at
been compelled 1
city. As they dr
psychologically to
ing, cursing, talk
Siac
Wilma Alle
ously afte
parlor, wh
done in pi
ner date s
band. It t
ized sear
ever cond
find her t
all Haniasina pine ; ; eo eee
For violation of the
g to die. |
1 with this on
when he heard Lindbergh Law—the
his sentence.
penalty is death—
whether if’s for the
kidnaping of a baby
—or a stunning
society wife ...-->
by WALT LEEDS
ON of the least likely ways for
Homicide men to catch a killer is
to wait for him to return to the scene
of the crime. Despite the popularity
of that notion among detective story
readers and the general public, the
practice is unpopular with the mur-
derers themselves. All they want, gen-
erally, is to put as much territory
between them and the murder scene
as possible.
What the police are more apt to
look for—if all other clues, leads and
tips are exhausted—is a repetition of
the pattern or technique, leading up
to the murder. Criminals have be-
havior patterns and characteristic hab-
its, just like ballplayers, comedians,
singers and artists. There’s some trick
of delivery or performance that is
characteristic of each of them. This
is particularly true of a killer who’s
been successful in eluding the police
once. He figures his technique is fool-
proof.
And so it was that when the police
of Kansas City heard about the kid-
napping and terrorization of Mrs. Ar-
thur Brown on November 9, 1955,
they started on a hot nation-wide hunt
for the man involved, even though
Mrs. Brown had been virtually un-
harmed. They recognized the man’s
pattern of performance, and they fig-
ured that once they had him, they
would also have the killer, whose
identity had been a complete mystery
for more than four months, of beau-
tiful socialite, Mrs. Wilma Allen.
Mrs. Brown had been forced into
an’ automobile at gunpoint and had
been compelled to drive outside the
city. As they drove, her kidnapper
psychologically tortured her—threaten-
ing, cursing, talking obscenely, and
i cea
Wilma Allen vanished mysteri-
ously after she left a beauty
parlor, where she had her hair
done in preparation for a din-
ner date she had with her hus-
band. It took the best organ-
ized search party the state
ever conducted, four days to
JETECTIVE CASES find her body in a cornfield.
promising violation and death. Finally,
he stopped the car, and it was then
Mrs. Brown saw a chance and flung
open the door and escaped. As the
police had figured the Wilma Allen’
case, it fitted this same pattern—but
Mrs. Allen had not escaped.
ILMA Allen had a dinner date
with her husband on Thursday,
August 4th—a typical, sweltering Kan-
sas City day, which had seen some
relief with a light rain at noon. Since
Wilma’s usual day for the hairdresser
was Friday, she had to advance her
appointment a day, so she’d look her
best when she and Bill went out. Usu-
ally, she would have been home on
Thursday to get lunch for her two
boys, but if she had been at home,
she’d have missed the other date which
Fate was arranging with such un-
relenting punctuality.
All that was actually known be-
forehand of Wilma Allen’s plans for
that day was that she was going to
the hairdresser, and that she might do
some shopping, although she didn’t
mention where. It was her ‘practice,
when she was away from the house, to
phone her husband a couple of times,
but on this Thursday she didn’t. Al-
ways, too, she was home before five
p.m. And so when six p.m. came, and
she hadn’t appeared, William Allen
phoned around to their friends to find
out if they knew where Wilma was.
No one did, and by seven p.m.,
Allen was so upset that he called the
auto agency he owned and dispatched
a number of salesmen to cruise the
streets to see if his wife’s car was any-
where around the neighborhood. All
he was able to tell the men was that
she had been in a certain beauty shop
from ten o’clock in the morning until
eleven. The men fanned out from
there through that section of Kansas
City, but were unable to find the car.
It was ten p.m. when the last sales-
man reported in and, like all the rest,
he had not found a thing. Allen was
frantic. Knowing his wife’s punctual
habits made things tougher. He might
have attributed her delay to some
whim or fancy, if she had been a less
reliable type. He had to consider also
the fact that she was an extremely at-
tractive woman—a svelte, eye-catching
brunette—and an obvious target for a
sex-driven criminal. Though she’d
often said, “I can take care of my-
self, Bill,” these last considerations
drove William Allen to the phone to
call the city police and the Missouri
State Highway Patrol.
O a man in Allen’s state of mind,
it would have been almost a bless-
ed relief to hear that Wilma had been
in an accident; the alternatives could
be so terrible. It took the police only
a few minutes to get a broadcast out,
40
A JOLTING CLUE...
When blue straw pocketbook, which Sheriff Norman Williams holds, was found, hope vir-
tually faded that the vanished socialite would be found alive. Now police sought a corpse.
requesting an area search for the miss-
ing car. Allen next telephoned his
wife’s folks in Tulsa, Oklahoma, but
they hadn’t seen Wilma nor heard
from her.
The police checked immediately
with the proprietor of the beauty salon
and learned that Wilma had left just
before noon, after cashing a thirty-
dollar check and announcing that she
was going to do some shopping. No
one knew where. A beauty operator
had. offered her a magazine to hold
over her head against the rain which
had just started, but Mrs. Allen had
refused it, because she said she had
only a short distance to’ go to her
parked car. She was wearing, the
proprietor said, a dark skirt, a white
blouse, a babushka and carried a
purse. The beauty operator had gotten
the impression, as Wilma talked while
under the dryer, that she was planning
a drive out to the Allens’ summer
cottage on a lake not far from town.
It didn’t take long to check the cot-
tage, but Mrs. Allen wasn’t there. By
midnight, the police were beginning
to suspect that perhaps Mrs. Allen,
since her husband was well-to-do,
might be the hostage in a kidnap plot.
A lot of the cops were rightfully
kidnap-conscious, having been in-
volved in the big Bobby Greenlease
investigation a couple of years be-
fore. All they could do right away,
however, was find the missing blue-
and-white convertible, and to that end
a statewide alarm was sent out.
HE car wasn’t far away, however.
At two-thirty a.m., Patrolman
Ronald Ehrhardt discovered it in a
parking lot near the Union Station. He
summoned help from a passing patrol
car, and the officers cut through the
plastic window at the back of the
locked car and also forced open the
‘trunk. In the trunk they found a torn,
bloodstained white blouse and a spot-
ted blue skirt. A pair of shoes were
on the floor, as was the woman’s
ripped underwear. The front seat was
covered with bloodstains, and. there
was a crimson washcloth, evidently
used for mopping up, on the floor.
There were more bloodstains on the
back seat.
But there was no sign of Wilma.
After the car was brought into the
CONFIDENTIAL DETECTIVE CASES
police garage
ination, Majc
Kansas City
of foxtail gr:
side, indicatir
through a fi
Mrs. Allen
car and dur
somewhere. |
deed, consid
foxtail grass
T the star
than fift
men were pt
The sheriffs
Counties, in
dotte and Jo!
Sas, were ale
men on the «
Fingerprint
car, despite t
up with the
take time tc
were. The pc
most for cert
or assaulted °
gotten blood:
fore, cleaners
out the city v
receipt of bl
the shops in t
parlor were |
found two
stopped, but
of that knowl:
people who
cars in the |
found reveale
had left at
night, and th
and-white cor
Sometime,
fifteen p.m. a
man who had
what to Wilm
car and vanist
There wer
things the po
slim clues ave
work on then
radio and TV
information r
happenings tt
witnessed on t
and the police
the responses
Lieutenant
Homicide, ch
call from an
said he had se
woman out
Killer, cente
Penitentiary,
He is escort
deputy U. S.
Dennis, right
CONFIDENTIAL
Missouri and Kansas combed abandoned
buildings and checked roads, a Johnson
County, Kansas, farmer and his son set
out on a search of their own. The two,
Clifford Erhart, 39, and his son, Milton,
15, were looking for a cow and her calf
that had strayed during -the night.
They started their search in the family
station wagon and were driving east on
gravel when they spotted an open pasture
gate.
“We saw the gate was open, so we
drove in,” a horrified man told officers
a short time later. “I guess we had pulled
in about 50 feet when I stopped the car.
“J was looking up north and my son
glanced over to the east. I think as soon
as he saw it, he knew what it was. So did
I when I looked down there by those trees.
“We didn’t even get out of the car. I
backed out and drove down the road and
called the sheriff's office to tell them what
we had seen.”
Thus Wilma Allen was discovered,
unclothed, face up, scratches and cuts on
her face, and hands tied behind her with a
forlorn pink scarf.
The fact that the woman had been trans-
ported across the state line brought
federal agents into the case along with
the police. The breaks seemed to be all
with the killer. The only clue he had
left behind was a palm print on the
passenger window side of the car.
While the authorities plunged into the
investigation with renewed vigor, the
murderer, continuing his crime spree,
used part of the money he had taken from
the victim’s purse to purchase a train
ticket to Omaha, Nebraska. There, he
stole a 1955 Chevrolet car to continue his
flight westward. Although many details
of what he did during the next 60 days
remained locked only in his detailed con-
fession, which the FBI is keeping under
wraps until his trial, it is known that the
killer turned up at Sheridan, Wyoming,
on August 31.
It was in Sheridan that Sheriff Willard
Marshall sought out Arthur Ross Brown,
29, in a hotel, to talk to him about several
home burglaries in the city earlier in the
month.
“J waited in his room for him,” the
sheriff said. “He had a locked canvas bag
in there that was heavy as hell.
“It probably had a revolver, some am-
munition and burglar tools in it, and I
wanted to talk to him about that.”
Marshall took the man into custody
when he returned to the room, and started
down the hotel stairs with him.
“T started to feel in his back pockets
for a gun and there wasn’t any there,” the
sheriff continued. “I must have pushed
him a little, because he fell down two
steps.
“When he‘straightened up, he whirled
around and fired at me. He hit me twice
in the belly. As far as I can figure, he
must have had the gun in his belt.”
As he collapsed with critical wounds,
the sheriff blasted twice at Brown with
his own gun, missing each time. Brown
also turned and fired three more times
at the sheriff. He missed.
“You will never take me alive,” the
pock-marked man with the sagging chin
boasted as he fled through the lobby.
“Pm glad now I didn’t kill him,” Mar-
shall declared. “If I had killed him, they
might never have solved this case in
Kansas City.”
What the doughty sheriff did not know,
of course, is that Brown at that time was
still carrying Mrs. Allen’s billfold. He
made the break to avoid that discovery,
he admitted later to FBI Special Agents.
Sleeping in his car at nights, presum-
ably Nundeted as he traveled, Brown
drove aimlessly for several days. His com-
plete itinerary is still unknown in detail,
In Kansas City, meanwhile, officers piled
up thousands of hours of investigative
effort, tediously checking sex offenders
and reviewing their meager evidence. No
one suspected that the gunman who had
wounded the Sheridan sheriff had any
connection with the Wilma Allen murder.
On, November 9, Brown returned to
Kansas City and apparently went directly
to the lonely spot where he had disposed
of Mrs. Allen’s diamond ring and wrist
watch, to determine if they still were
there.
Then another mad scheme occurred to
him. He planned to kidnap and kill his
wife, Jean, because of her refusal to go
back with him.
Late that Wednesday afternoon the
— of a man in a gray topcoat—a man
who kept one hand in his pocket—did not
alarm several sg including an 8-
ear-old neighbor ngs who saw him
oitering in an alley behind the house
at 3210 Jefferson Street, Kansas City.
At 5:10 o’clock that chilly afternoon,
Mrs. Jean Brown, an attractive 30-year-
old woman, stepped from a bus on the
Southwest trafficway and walked toward
her home. The man walked behind her
for some distance before commanding
softly: :
“This is a gun. If you turn around or
yell, I’ll kill you.”
This time, however, Brown’s kidnaping
tactics did not go unnoticed. When the
neighbor boy, Pat Donaldson, told his
mother he had seen a woman forced into
a car at gunpoint, she decided to call the
police.
Before the authorities arrived, the
brazen kidnaper had driven off with his
frightened wife. The woman was later
to say that her husband had begged her
to “go to Mexico with me and start over
again.” She had refused.
‘Tf that is your final answer, you'll
never live to see the baby again,” Brown
had asserted. “You will have to die and
then I am going to kill myself.”
However, the double threat was not
carried out. A change of heart came to
the killer and he agreed to return his
wife to her home. All this occurred while
they drove around Kansas City, the route
at some places paralleling the drive taken
months earlier—a route that led to death
in Kansas on the first occasion.
About 8:15 o’clock that night, a tense
vigil by the police in the young woman’s-
home was broken by a rattle at the back
door. When the door was opened Mrs.
Brown fell inside, breathless but un-
harmed.
“He said he was going to kill me, but
I begged him not to for the baby’s sake,”
Jean Brown cried out. “Finally he agreed
to take me home and we were almost
here when he changed his mind again and
started to reach for his gun.”
Mrs. Brown said her husband parked
the car and looked to see if there was
any, traffic around. When he turned
away, she reached for the door handle
and* lunged desperately for freedom,
running four ‘blocks to her home and
safety.
Two days later, while the police were
scouring the city for the kidnaper, his
wife received a letter from him admitting
that “I am all messed up.” It was post~-
marked at St. Joseph. Again, no one
connected this latest crime with the kid-
nap murder of Wilma Allen.
Exactly a week after the second Kansas
City abduction, events moved swiftly to
bring Arthur Ross Brown to justice. The
startling developments began calmly
enough when a San Francisco, California,
woman, Mrs. Theresa Foppiano of 300
Tocloma Avenue, called the police to re-
port a prowler.
Mrs. Foppiano added that the shadowy
figure might have been her nephew,
Brown, wanted in Kansas City for the kid-
naping of his wife. Bert Bystrom, pa-
trolman, received the call to investigate.
He and other officers began a search of the
neighborhood.
Around the corner from the aunt’s home
two policemen flashed their lights into a
parked car and discovered the sleeping
ade of a man curled up under a blanket.
They threw open an unlocked door and
commanded him to come out with his
hands above his head.
“I guess you want me,” Brown said as
he blinked into the beg 4 flashlights.
Officers found under his blanket two
loaded revolvers, including the one that
killed Mrs. Allen and wounded the Sheri-
dan, Wyoming, sheriff.
Several hours later, when Brown was
arraigned before United States Commis-
sioner Joseph Karesh on a Dyer Act
charge in connection with the theft of the
car in Omaha, the officers were in for a
startling disclosure.
“What you really want me for is for
killing that woman in Kansas,” Brown
exclaimed to astonished officers, in ex-
haustion after a flight that had lasted
three months. .
While lawmen in San Francisco checked
his confession, Major Eugene Pond of
the. Kansas City police department flew to
the Coast to quiz the prisoner. Brown
readily described details of the kidnap
slaying of Wilma Allen that only the
murderer would know.
Painstaking police work immediately
went into action to close sgl jaws around
the morose man, who admitted having
taken the life of Wilma Allen because
“she came along and anyone without
children with her would have done.”
Brown was hustled back to Kansas City
by plane. Immediately after his return
there with officers he was able to retrace
without a single mistake the route that
had been taken on the day of the callous
August murder. All of the victim’s per-
sonal effects were in the roadside hole
still under a layer of dirt, except for one
of the rings, which Brown said he does
not recall.
' Mrs. Brown, never before aware that
her husband was a killer, collapsed after
receiving the news of his confession and
was taken to a hospital. Later she was
taken into seclusion by relatives.
A criminal complaint charging kid-
nae was filed against Brown by the
United States attorney for Western Mis-
souri, and he waived his preliminary
hearing before Charles H. Thompson,
United States Commissioner in Kansas
City. All other jurisdictions have waived
their claims against him.
“Ts this going to be another Hall and
Heady deal?” the prisoner asked deputy
marshals as they fingerprinted him. He
_ yeferred to Carl Austin Hall and Bonnie
Brown Heady, executed in the Missouri
Penitentiary’s ine chamber in December, .
1954, for idnap murder of Bobby
Greenlease, the six-year-old’ son of an-
other Kansas City automobile dealer.
Brown is being held without bond in the
Jackson County, Kansas, jail, where he
spends the days reading novels and sleep-
ing. He has had no visitors. A federal
grand jury convened Monday, November
28, to consider the kidnaping and murder
evidence leading to an indictment which
would supersede and strengthen the
criminal complaint against the accused.
raN 45
(22 6-SHOT kus.
REVOLVER $12.95
“WOLF KILLER
GIANT Cine
KNIFE
i MM 6, SAR Is GR is ERO al
FREE!
HOW TO GET
BIG .MUSCLES
- FAST -
A superb physique can be
yours in. just 7 WEE
Here at last are revealed the
combined secrets of all the
methods used today by top
instructors and authorities on
physical culture. No need to
spend ‘hundreds of dollars in
gyms, or for ‘‘quick-method”
quacks. THIS IS IT! The
sure positive road to FAST results. Write
today for FREE information.
SINKRAM BODYBUILDERS
KS.
a complete stranger to him, and that
during the rain on August 4th, he
saw her getting into the convertible.
He’d been scouting the downtown
area for a likely woman to mugg, and
he had a .38 revolver on him. Mrs.
Allen, he reckoned, would do nicely.
It was as completely capricious as
that.
He had followed her into her car
an instant after she’d slid carefully
into the seat to avoid the rain, and
had jammed the gun into her side.
He forced her to drive him to a lonely
area south of Kansas City, and there
he shot her in the back of the head,
stripped her, and dropped her into
Early in Jur
mants said, R
seven children «
and who ha
when she was
serted Garne:
They had gor
Ruby’s two bo
to one source, (
with Ruby ever
in one letter she
look after their
Ruby had r
about August
tacted her hus!
“vacation” plans
and soon they
ner’s station w:
ins dog Bog sete eagle the lonely field. He said that he had eer] PR racaiet ca
! pas aoa Canarsie Station, Brooklyn 36, N. Y. killed her only because she might Vise ‘alaven tae th
identify him.
.38 SPECIAL
COMMANDO 2” BBL.
REVOLVERS $29.95
i “Ss. by Smith & Wessun, these fine
Scone A eivices with swing out cylinder are
terrific buys. Fine’ cond. inside & out. Fixe’
sights with blue parkerized finish ond. beh
ment . $i
Write for folder Nosbs fires gy a
Institute of Hydraulic Jack Repair
, In your own base-
The next day, Brown’s story was
more or less verified in Kansas City
by the identification of a palm print
on the murder car. When he was
brought back to Kansas City and his
picture published, a witness came for-
ward and definitely established that
culated through:
with special at
Palm Springs ar
ESS than two
ber 1, two pi
Chevrolet bea
parked at a driv
ene: Fires "pop. American, made pecial @ P.O. Box 50, Bloomfield, N. J. _ Brown was in the vicinity of the spot ee vac
wae’ waraial’ amie Woe CG Gases OLAS where Wilma Allen was found on
ITALIAN
POCKET AUTO.
-25 CAL.—$19.95
Imported direct by us from Italy’s finest
“wun manufacturer. Brand new! Trim,
compact rion Fey fires powerful and easily
obtainable .25 Cal, American made ammo. Also avail. cali-
rs. .22 long, blue...only $22.50. Or!
blue finish 6-shot capacity makes excellent
tion ernie Fixed sights.
$19.95. ickel finish $22.50
ammo box of 25 $1.85.
Right out of the old West. Shoots
both .22 short and .22 lon;
ammo. Features single and double
action with slide ejector, adjustable
hammer and trigger spring, steel rifled
barrel, side gate loading. Terrific for plink-
ing or varments. oie re Bebe rk eee, rae
contrasting ivory plastic grips. Made in . r
$12.95. Tine leather basket stamped holster... $2.25.
PHOTO BARGAINS}
YOUR 1 CHOICE
2 8x10 ENLARGEMENTS (1 Colored in Oil)
: naikis:
or
4 5x7 ENLARGEMENTS (1 Colored in Oil)
26c for postage and handling.
QUALITY VALUES , Studio 637-D
2 East Avenve, Larchmont, N.Y.
August 4th.
N November 28th, Brown was
brought before a federal grand
jury on charges of violating the Lind-
-bergh Law, the kidnaping law which
carries a death penalty. Three months
later, he went to trial. Justice was
swift and sure. Arthur Ross Brown
was found guilty on February 17,
1956. He was sentenced to die in
Missouri Penitentiary’s gas chamber,
and the sentence was carried out.
“I’m glad,” he said. “I couldn’t live
in prison with this on my mind.”
EVERY MAN IN
THE HOUSE-DEAD!
parently waiting
destined to miss
officers had rec:
on the Arkans:
circled back to 1
up Ruby Garne
couple offered 1
Ruby, appare
being arrested, «
not giving ther
refreshments th
all,” she smiled
day. I’m twenty-
Backtracking
police located :
Palm Springs, :
Indio, who rep:
hocked a .32-ca
A check on
closed that L
five years ea
working his wa)
The officers fel!
hands on the we
Kings and, since
pletely cleared «
ene A, Be from LIPS ae. from (Continued from page 15) ih Meno .
YARD CHIN from ANY rectly with the
SPECIAL ‘ae warded to the I
2” Snub Finish $ 95
Nose Rich Blue
This quick-draw, double action revolver was the side-
arm of Britain’s famed Commando Raiders of World
War II. Exceedingly accurate, packs a powerful punch
with light recoil. Easy handling, thumb rest
PART OF YOUR
BODY!
Unwanted hair removed for good! ONLY
Hair roots are destroyed almost § 95
formant said, “and that’s who -she is off
with now.”
Questioning Ruby's relatives and
friends in Little Rock, the Arkansas offi-
cers pieced together a strange story of
the mixed up relationship between Ruby
and Garner, her legal mate, and Carl
parison firing.
Using the gun
tioning, the Ca
Ruby for details
Grants. For a
finally, overwhe
had been built v
instantly and without pain, leaving
the skin smooth and enrol by
the ugly hair which has been re- 5
moved. The miraculous’ LEMOS PERMAGON cost- || ‘THE two men had been friends for many
; ; from years, police were told. They had
ing only $9.95 complete, will ease the hair fro drifted around the country together
any place on your body gently and safely. Com- working hard and playing hard, rch
plete refund if PERMAGON'S SAFE, GENTLE ELEC- moving on to new fields for pleasure
‘ TROLYSIS METHOD doesn’t do for $9.95 what || ..q whatever money they could pick
242X, 4X, or 6X professional beauticians charge hundreds of |! up. They had worked side by side. in
| Rugged. durable, | dependable . ; and ubertorms anet dollars to do. No electric connections to plug cotton fields in the south, picked fruit to-
{o. dusk. Distortion-free,” color cor in. By following our accompanying safe, simple || gether, formed a wash-and-dry team
_ Sige Sant? elevation.” Easy’ "to "install. "Weizha ‘less "than instructions and avoiding warts, moles and other || many times in hash houses, shared grime
10 oz: mounted. handgun scope blemishes, you will be free of unwanted hair! || in garage grease pits, and even pros-
Order today. Send $9.95 and we ship pre-paid. || pected for gold in the wilds of Alaska.
TO ORDER: Send Complete ordering. info, Bhi pedo. For COD send $1.00 deposit and pay postman || Ruby, who had married Garner nine
rifles. ( + $9.95) ‘Now oh LE 1.4
bay Oe ODT TDANEDC balance plus COD postal charges on delivery. |]. years earlier, had stayed behind at their
SEAPORT TRADERS, INC. a
rips.
Good condition. Specs: overall te gth 9%”, bot Be
wt. 28 oz., capacity 6 rounds..A collector’s find. 4”
model $12.95, snub nose $16.95. For select models add
$3. 2” nickel plated model $26.95. .38 Cal Ammo box
of 25, $1.80. Holster, $3.95.
down and sign
murders. The st:
the authorities o1
King, who was Garner’s best friend.
N her confessic
Arkansas with
Carl King, the
called the fun
through the sou
almost like a |}
the fact her two
However, some |
when they ran o
ation, they had }
hoping he woul
solution had bee
the trailer home
foake tn ordering) Sh
Brian-Lloyd Co., Dept.pp-151, semi-permanent home in Little Rock
730 Third Ave., New York 17, N. Y.
1221 S$. Grand, Dept.SD4 Los Angeles 15, Calif.
58
while the two men headed for the Yukon.
CONFIDENTIAL DETECTIVE CASES
not appealed to
CONFIDENTIAL 1
ae a
She felt him clawing away her skirt and under-
things ... She knew what was coming next!
~
“LIKE
TAKING
CANDY
FROM A
BABY!”
By Carl Sifakis
T FIRST he told himself he was
just interested in robbing
somebody. but inside he was
seething with desires. He
watched people coming out of the
stores at the fashionable Brookside
Plaza in Kansas City, Missouri. He
watched for someone who had money
written all over him. Pretty soon he real-
ized he was only looking at women.
That was right, he reasoned. Women
are easier to rob than men. Then he
saw the one he wanted. She came out
of a store and walked briskly along the
long row of parked cars. She was a
brunette. about five feet seven inches
tall, and weighing around 110 pounds.
He liked her looks. He liked the way
BRO! a ae ’ 9 }
ROWN, Arthur Rose, wh, asphyx MO (Federal) February 24,
her white’ blouse hugged her bosom.
He liked the way her legs kicked up
the navy blue skirt. She wore a pink
scarf with red candy-bar stripes on her
head. This was going to be fun, like
taking candy from a baby.
As Mrs. Wilma Allen slipped behind
the wheel of her new blue-and-white
Chevrolet convertible, a strange man
opened the other door and slid in next to
her. Before she could even think of
screaming, the man flourished a gun.
“Just take off nice and easy, like noth-
ing’s happened.”
The frightened woman did as she
was told, moving onto 63rd Street. -
When the car hit Wornwall Road, her
assailant ordered her to go left. Later
they turned right.
“Please,” the woman pleaded, “I’ve
got two little boys at home. My hus-
‘ band owns the Allen Chevrolet Com-
YOUR POLICY PAYS $10
CONFINEMENT. HALF
If you don’t ag
there is, just re
h
MONEY BACK ceive your doll
. more hor
GUARANTEE = Carefully. No s:
to be complete
no risk,
VB FSD X
Don't let prolonged hospite
now are at an all time high
yourself and your family tc
sensible plan protects your :
you need it the most.
This policy helps you afforc
the kind that assures 4 fa
health. You may choose yc
Medicine and enter any hos
major surgery and providin
service. ;
Hospital benefits are paid
ing the day your policy
sicknesses are those origin
policy date; TB, cancer. hi
conditions, back impairme:
quiring surgery are covere
six months after the policy
The policy provides a full
You may renew this polic)
consent of the company.
ONLY EXCLUSIONS:
cover suicide, venereal
criminal acts, miljtary ris
dental treatment (unless
maternity (except by Mat
extra cost) and rest cures.
THE SERVICE LIFE
Gentiemen — | am er
insurance and | hereby
Omaha, for a Family
pendents, if any, whose
Full Name of Applicz
Address —_—_—___—__
City ——$—$—$$$$_$__
Occupation
ONE POLICY MAY IN
tions for 1 person may
of members whom you
FIRST NAME * MIOOLE
ary NF
OFFICIAL POLICE DETECTIVE, Cctober, 196):
ix inches from the ba
pai ck of her
aited a couple of minutes, then
back at the woman again to
re she was dead. Her eyes were
ving. He pumped another shot
head.
3 10:30 on the evening of Au-
955, when Major Eugene Pond,
City chief of detectives, ar-
the Allen home on Vivion Road.
Allen, Jr. was plainly dis-
as he told the officer of his
sappearance.
ife had driven back to town
eir summer cottage at Lake
a with their two boys, Bobby
‘, to spend a few days at home.
(rs, Martha McFarren stayed
children, Mrs. Allen drove to
clock appointment at a beauty
he had called home from the
ask Mrs. McFarren td have
‘ers come and pick up some
hes. That was the last heard
was Mrs. Allen’s health?”
asked.
he drift of the question.
said. “I know my wife
been missing a matter of
I know her. Something must
ened to her, or she’d be home
: a devoted mother who can’t
g separated from her chil-
tyone other than your wife
that focused search there.
Clues found in victim's car were later to prove invaluable in convicting Wilma Allen’s murderer.
contacted you,” Pond asked.
Allen shook his head. “I’ve thought
of the possibility of kidnaping,” he
said, “but no-one has telephoned.”
Major Pond obtained a full descrip-
tion of the missing 34-year-old house-
wife plus photographs of her and the
automobile to be supplied to television
stations. Pond also ordered an assistant
to have full descriptions carried on
all radio news broadcasts
By midnight, Wilma Allen’s picture
had been shown on television and all
radio stations had carried news of her
disappearance. oe
Shortly after 2 o’clock Friday morn-
ing, Patrolman Ronald Ehrhart was °
cruising along 21st Street near Union
Station when. he spotted a blue-and-
white Chevrolet convertible parked be-
neath the viaduct at Broadway. Quickly
the officer flashed a beam on the license
plates. It was number 1-585, Wilma
Allen’s car.
Within 15 minutes Chief Pond, Lieu-
tenant Lester Haupt, homicide detail
commander, and Detectives John Cun-
ningham and Joe McCormick were
on the scene.
There was blood on the floor of the
back part of the car and more splotches
on the outer part of the trunk com-
partment. Detective Cunningham pried
the trunk open.
Inside was a woman’s white blouse.
blue skirt. brown-and-white shoes and
pink underwear. All were bloodstained.
Since the parking area under the
viaduct was not a regular parking spot,
it seemed likely the two other cars
parked nearby belonged to railroad
employees.
Patrolman Ehrhart and Detective
McCormick returned with these two
men in tow just as technicians arrived
to dust the car for fingerprints on
the spot.
Both men had come to work about
8:30 and both agreed the convertible
had not been parked there that time.
“The motor was completely cold when
I found the car,” Patrolman Ehrhart
observed, “‘so that it must have been
parked there by midnight or earlier.”
Chief' Pond and Lt. Haupt agreed
that if a killer had abandoned the car,
he’d had more than enough time to
make a getaway. Unless prints on the
car produced a new lead, it appeared
the only hope for cracking the case
lay in checking on Wilma Allen’s move-
ments on Thursday.
Detectives McCormick and Cunning-
ham hit the shops in Brookside Plaza
as they opened Friday morning. They
soon learned that Wilma Allen had
left the Shears and Tears beauty par-
lor at noon. A clerk in the Coach Shop
at 6312 remembered that she asked
for a pair of Bermuda shorts shortly
after that. About 12:30 Mrs. Allen
had inquired about a jacket at Bill’s
Boys Shop at 6320. The item was not
in stock and Mrs. Allen had left.
The sleuths were unable to follow
the trail any further.
Meantime, fingerprint experts had
come up with a number of finger and
palm prints on the car. All the finger-
prints were found to match those of
various members of the Allen family,
but one palm print could not be
matched. Chief Pond ordered it for-
warded to the FBI in Washington.
The Chevrolet was to yield another
significant clue, however. Stems and
heads of foxtail grass were found cling-
ing to the front bumper and stuck in
oil and grease on the car’s underside.
“This means the car had driven
through a field recently,” Pond _ in-
formed the missing woman’s’ husband.
“Would your wife have had any occa-
sion to do that near your summer
place?”
Allen shook his head. “I can’t think
why she’d do that—unless someone
forced her to.”
By Saturday morning, radio and tele-
vision broadcasts and newspaper stories
began bringing in tips. Two boys in-
formed Sheriff Norman Williams of
Johnson County, Kansas, they had seen
a blue-and-white Chevrolet convertible
traveling south on Route 69 on Thurs-
day. A woman wearing a pink-and-red
scarf on her head was driving, and a
man was sitting beside her. They’d
17
“Like Taking Candy From A Baby!”
pany in North Kansas City. Take this
car and my money, but let me go to
my children.”
The man ran his eyes over the
woman’s body. When he spoke his voice
was soft and coaxing. “I know just how
you feel. I got a little girl of my own.”
He took out a billfold and showed the
brunette a snapshot.
“She’s very cute,” the woman replied,
her voice nearly cracking in hysteria.
“Now please let me go.”
The woman saw the way the man’s
eyes roved over her. She started to cry.
The man told her to turn south on
Route 69.
All the way, Mrs. Allen kept pleading
“i'm all mixed up,’ killer (I.) wrote wife, apologizing.
16
with her abductor. Soon they were
speeding past Stanley in Johnson
County, Kansas, 18 miles from the
Brookside Plaza. Driving on, they were
in lonely farm country. Between sobs,
the woman could hear the man cursing
because there were too many farm-
houses close together.
Finally the car came to a dirt road.
The kidnaper ordered her to drive west
along it. Some two miles further on they
came to an open field with a dense
thicket behind it.
Hardly had the woman obeyed an
order to stop, when she felt rough hands
pulling her from the wheel to the back
of the car.
Wilma Allen fought and screamed.
Her abductor moved away. He rolled
up the car top and closed all the win-
dows.
“Now scream all you like,” he
laughed, and moved closer.
Soon the woman could struggle no
more. The man tied her hands behind
her back with her scarf. She felt him
clawing away her skirt and under-
things. . . . It was a long time before
the man climbed back to the front seat.
He turned and looked down at her, his
gun in hand.
The woman knew what -was coming
next. She began ‘to scream, loud and
wildly. The man let her wail. Finally
she could go on no more and sank
weakly to the car floor. The kidnaper-
rapist brought the revolver down to
i
pie ee lla
about six inches from the back of her
head, and fired.
He waited a couple of minutes, then
looked back at the woman again to
make sure she was dead. Her eyes were
still moving. He pumped another shot
into the head.
It was 10:30 on the evening of Au-
gust 4, 1955, when Major Eugene Pond,
Kansas City chief of detectives, ar-
rived at the Allen home on Vivion Road.
William Allen, Jr. was plainly dis-
traught as he told the officer of his
wife’s disappearance.
His wife had driven back to town
from their summer cottage at Lake
Lotawana with their two boys, Bobby
and Billy, to spend a few days at home.
While Mrs. Martha McFarren stayed
with the ¢hildren, Mrs. Allen drove to
an 11 o’clock appointment at a beauty
parlor. She had called home from the
parlor to ask Mrs. McFarren td have
the cleaners come and pick up some
dirty clothes. That was the last heard
from her.
“How was Mrs. Allen’s health?”
Chief Pond asked.
Allen got the drift of the question.
“Perfect,” he said. “I know my wife
has only been missing a matter of
hours, but I know her. Something must
have happened to her, or she’d be home
now. She’s a devoted mother who can’t
bear being separated from her chil-
dren.”
“Has anyone other than your wife
Johnson County Sheriff, handbag that focused search there.
Clues fc
contacted you,” Por
Allen shook his he
of the possibility o
said, “but no one ha
Major Pond obtail
tion of the missing
wife plus photogray’
automobile to be su
stations. Pond also
to have full descri
all radio news broa
By midnight. Wil
had been shown on
radio stations had c
disappearance.
Shortly after 2 0°
ing, Patrolman Ro
cruising along 21st
Station when he s
white Chevrolet cor
neath the viaduct at
the officer flashed a
plates. It was nu!
Allen’s car.
Within 15 minut
tenant Lester Hat
commander, and L
ningham and Joc
on the scene.
There was blooc
back part of the ca
on the outer part
partment. Detectiv
the trunk open.
Inside was a Ww:
blue skirt. brown-
BROWN, George, white, hanged Nw York, NY (Fed,) 10-22-1819,
"MURDEROUSTRANSACTION, = EXTRACT OF A LETTER DATED AT HAVANNA, 19TH APRIL, RECEIVED
AT NORFOLK. = 'On the 16th inst, I wrote to you by the United S+ates sloop of war
John Adams, respecting the schooner Retrieve, and what had happed to her, and that
poor Captain Lewis was no more, A few days after the Retrieve left Cadiz, and being
very near the Madeiras, the Mate, with the schrs, tiller, killed Capt. Lewis by a
violent blow whilst he was resting MijxayxXwwXxZ :
himself on the companion way, or cabin door. The mrderer inmediately, called the
crew, and with their assistance threw QAK Capt. Lewis overboard, while alive, The
mate, assuming the comman, proceeded to the port of Truxilla, (a port in the Bay of
Honduras,) where the vessel %# was refused to be admitteds from thence they directed
XEMEZEXAAMRRE LEAN TANANX their course to Omog and to secure admittance there, they
pretended to be in great distress, for which purpose they made the vessel very leae
ky by boring a hole in her bottom. This vessel was then admitted at Omoa, without
opposition, but the government wishing to ascertain the real cause of their coming
into port, detained the HAEE3XX vessel, pretending that her papers were incorrect;
in the meantime the supposed C,pt. L. X#MM#MM loaded an English coasting vessel in
X the night with brandy, saffron and oil, and the following night 5 of the crew #8
Kd made their escape in the schooner's MMH boat, and the supposed captain had a
dispute with 1 of the #M2 sailors, who immediately disclosed this horrid deed, The
Spanish commanding officer near the landing, immediately ordered the supposed
captain to be arrested and secured in a dungeon, and the sailor to the prison of
the garrison, suffering the steward to remain on board under a guard of soldiers,
until the vessel was unloaded, and a correct account taken of her cargo, The
supposed C.ptain L,wis had already engaged an English coasting vessel to make his
escape the very HX same night. On receiving this informtion, I immediately laid
it before the commander of the U. S. sloop of war John Adams, who informed me that
his orders did not go to authorise him to proceed to Omoa to claim this vessel,
X but on his arrival at Norfolk, he would immediately inform the government of
this horrid transaction, and that no doubt the Government of the U.S. would
dispatch a vessel to go and fetch the prisoners and vessel home." RALEIGH REGIS.
TER AND NORTH EXRKEX CAROLINA REVIEW, May 21, 1819 (2:5.)
BROWN g :
WN, George, white, hanged New York (Federal) October 22nd, 1919
9
|
| az oo New-Yorn, Oct. 25." .
Mofe of the Ixecution. «-
“One of the spectators on board of theXe?
‘trisve, att he of the Execution. of Brown,
bi furnished us with the following particu-
ars: aU ik Te gig A Tara ’
Wien on bnard of the schooner, one of the -
mrt appropriate and ‘impressive prayers
was delivered, by a gentleman of the Me-
thodist persuasion, that ever was heard by
those who were present.—After the conclud-
ing prayer, the Marshal was told by the:
Clergy attending, that. they had finished their
exercises. ‘he Marshal then asked the un-
happy man whether he was rendy-¢he re-
plied, that he wished to sing one more ah-
‘them, . The anthem was sung, in which he |
taok part, tna verv clear and distinct voice,
The anthem concluded, he was again asked
by the Marshal whether he was ready; he.
Shite. NO (sAZET '
._
expressed f desite, which was acquiesced 11%
to udiress the spzctators. He thea rose from
the coftin, on which he bad been seated, end
addressed them in nearly the following words 3
| GenTLexen—You see before you a young
man; scarcely twenty-two years of ages about
to suffer death for afoul murder, committed
by him on buard of this very veasel, ] hope
that my Tate. may. be an example and a warn’
ing,to others. For myreif Dhave nothing to
ask of man—my petitions for myselt are ade
dressed to Heaven ; but, fur my aged, honest
and unhappy mother, wha is very poor, lre-
quest whatever pecuniuty donations eny af
you have to give, you will give her. For
my brother, an .honest, industrious young
man, Trequest, that my crime RTay. ot be
yisited on him $ though guilty, meet Dp is
‘mnocent, and. ought not to be disgraced by,
‘my crime. George Brown, the name by:
which I have passed, is nct my: real nDeme—
my real name is William, Tisdale.
- The unhappy. pan then took leave of. his
“spicitugl friends, and of the Marshal, whom
he thanked for his kindness towards him, and
expressed his readiness a6 meet his fate, and
instantly launchec.in’o eternity.
=
/[-G1419
CON a a i cae eM Mt aii ATA rN SS
BROWN, Henry, black, hanged Baltimore, Maryland (Federal) on 9-17-1921,
"REPUDIATES CONFESSION. = NEGRO CHARGED WITH MURDER MAKES CHARGES OF INT IMIDATION, «=
Baltimore, Md,, F,bruary 2, 1912. = Henry Ae Brown, negro, alleged slayer of Harriet
Kavanaugh, naval academny nurse at Annapolis, repudiated his sworn confession of euilt
today in the preliminary hearing before United 5,ates Commissioner Supples. Brown made
charges of intimidation against members of the crew of the U. S. S. REINA MERCEDES, where
he was confined after his arrest and against City Detectives Bradley and Hammerala,"
CIARION-JBBGER, Jackson, Mississippi, 2-381921 (2=3.
"Baltimore, April 2, 1921. = Henry Brown, negro, deserter from the U, S. Navy, was tried
and found guilty of murder in the first degree in the U. S. Court. He was charged with
robbing and killing Miss Harriet M. Kavanaugh} a nurse at the U. S. Naval Academy, on the
night of January 1) last. No criminal assault was attempted, The negro had deserted? from
the Navy and wanted money to pay his fare to Baltimore, The nurse was robbed of her
pocketbook containing $8, She was killed by a blow on the head with a piece of iron pipe
and her body was rolled down an embankment on the Academy grounds. Motion for a new |
trial caused the judge to postpone sentence, Under the federal law the verdict of the
jury calls for the death penalty," RAGLE, Dothan, Alabama, 1-2-1921,
BROWN IS HANGED
~ FOR KILLING NURSE
Negro Was Calm On Stand, Laid
Blame On Another And Asked
For Prayers Of All.
After making a statement which
might be interpreted an a confession of
| suilt, Henry A. Brown, 19-year-old ne-{
| ro who murdered Mise Harriet Kava-|
naugh. Naval Academy nurse, and who |
i wan refused @ commutation of sentence
by President Harding, was hanged at
7.5% o'clock this morning in the wire
shop in the yard of the City Jail. Ten
minutes after the trap was sprung
Brown wan pronounced dead from a
fractured vertebra after examination by
Coroner Jobn J. Morrissey and Lieut.-
Com. Willian J. Townsend, medical of-
ficer of the United Staten Naval Recruit-
ing Station here. |
Brown seemed calm when he went |
| upon the atand, and when Marsbal Wil. |
liam W. Storkham and his deputies had |
| trouble id getting gloves on the pegro’s
| bands Brown told them he would do it
himself and forthwith proceeded to fin- |
ish the task. -
Puts Blame On Another.
dJuat before the mask was adjusted |
b-own sald in @ very low tone of voice: |
_ “Anothe? man got me in thie trouble
aod I ain't afraid to die. _
“I want to thank all the people, white |
and black, for the interest they took in |
my case, and | want all you people here |
to pray’ for me. Will all you people
here do that?
mm Marw
trap, |
denying augh.
scaf-
ph Ayd, of Rt. Ig-
patius’ Catholie Church, who. ix the |
prison chaplain. Gis ees f
= Brown had been granted several stay«
of execution ‘since hin conviction: and |
nentence while the Departinent of Jus-
Henry Brown
(eedlural)
Executed at Baltimore on September 1st 1921
Reported in The Baltimore Sun issue of 9-1-2]
page 4 column 3
Tote
ERE BES
- Sts
mt-t 1
MURDER IN NORTH AMERICA
(hs dx
:
i :
|
i.
|
‘or the Missouri boarder towns the Santa Fe Trail meant economic
Survival. In 1843 a Mexican was found murdered on the trail and
isaster loomed on the horizon.
mule to get help. With lightning speed McDaniel
and his gang, not knowing of Antonio José's misfor-
"tune, rode toward the beleaguered party. The raiders
| averaged 30 miles a day, the servant, riding a mule,
» made less time. Both the servant and McDaniel's
gang were bound to meet each other on the trail.
The rendezvous occurred somewhere in eastern
Kansas. At first the servant thought these men were
coming to aid his master. He told them approxi-
mately where Antonio José was, and the quandary
his master was in. John McDaniel immediately took
him prisoner. The servant was forced to lead the
gang to the approximate place where Chavez and his
men were struggling toward Missouri.
On either April 8 or 9 McDaniel's gang encoun-
tered Antonio José's troubled caravan at Owl Creek.
As viewed from the air, Owl Creek was a small 10
mile long bush-covered gully. It was a tiny undistin-
guished crease in the earth that ran north/south,
crossing the Santa Fe Trail about 250 miles west of
Independence.
The caravan was taken completely by surprise.
Before they could protest, McDaniel's gang hustled
the Mexicans and the wagon off the trail to a se-
cluded area several miles south on Owl Creek.
Quickly the bandits ransacked the wagon. Argu-
ments broke out over how to share the silver coins,
gold and small furs. A whole day was spent arguing
and dividing the loot. In the end each gang member
received $500 per share. No mention was made
whether or not the McDaniel brothers received more
than one share, but likely they did. Never was there
mention of saving half the spoils for the Republic of
Texas. So much for Warfield's patriotic dream of ad-
venture; it had become a pedestrian crime.
At this juncture John McDaniel had a brainstorm
that would split his bandit band in half. He reasoned
if Antonio José were to be set free, the Mexican
would keep traveling east toward Independence and
not run home in shame. Once Chavez reached the
town he would report the robbery to the proper au-
thorities. Once the crime was known McDaniel and
his gang would be declared outlaws. So the best way
to protect his gang was to kill the Mexican merchant.
Dr. Joseph R. De Prefontaine headed the opposi-
tion. He was indeed a medical doctor as his title
suggests. But his expensive tastes led him into a dual
life. In public he was one of the prominent men in
St. Louis society; in private he was a scheming con
man. He had a taste for the good life and he didn't
MURDER IN NORTH AMERICA
MUR
Despite its sleepy town appearance, Santa Fe was Northern Mex-
ico's commercial center. Silver pesos and gold doubloons flowed from
Santa Fe along the Santa Fe Trail and stabilized the rural Missouri
economy.
realize that the life he was leading was already quite
good. The known Dr. Prefontaine was a man who
would work at the request of the Indian Department
for a peanut sized wage inoculating various tribes
against smallpox. The unknown doctor would pre-
sent false medical bills at the settlement of estates
that came before the court. Eventually this swindle
and his other scams ran out of steam. In 1842 he
found his house and belongings sold out from under
him to satisfy his creditors. Leaving St. Louis in dis-
grace, he migrated to the frontier. It has been as-
sumed that Dr. Prefontaine met John McDaniel at
Yoachim's Tavern later that year. The promise of
easy riches must have been too much of a tempta-
tion for the fallen doctor, so he joined the gang.
Now came the time for Dr. Prefontaine to take a
stand. He was a doctor; he was bound by oath to
save lives, not to take them. Dr. Prefontaine said that
stealing the gold, silver and furs were bad enough,
he would not add murder to his list of crimes. John
McDaniel loudly repeated his reasons for killing
Antonio José; if Dr. Prefontaine was so worried
about this crime then killing the merchant was the
best way to keep the crime and identities secret. Dr.
Prefontaine probably would have been shot by Mc-
Daniel had he objected alone, but half the gang
agreed with him. An argument broke out.
It turned out to be an acrimonious debate. When
night fell McDaniel told the protesting faction to
leave in the morning. This was fine with Dr. Pre-
fontaine and his followers, but there turned out to
be one unexpected hitch. That night while the gang
slept, the horses and mules stampeded. No one ever
claimed the animals had an opinion on the subject of
Antonio José's planned murder, they just acted as if
they did and fled.
A few hours after sunrise the gang split up. Dr.
Prefontaine and those that sided with him walked
back to Independence carrying their heavy plunder
on their backs. Those who remained at the Owl
Creek camp discussed who would do the dastardly
deed. Not everyone shared their leader's enthusiasm
for murder. Thomas Towson and the Searcy broth-
ers, Nathaniel and Christopher, objected to being
one of the executioners. McDaniel settled the matter
by deciding they would all draw straws to see who
would kill the Mexican. There were to be no excep-
tions. No one dared find out what the penalty was
for refusing.
The "winners" of the grotesque lottery were the
McDaniel brothers, one of the Searcy brothers and
William Mason. In the interests of keeping peace,
Joseph Brown offered to stand in for the Searcy
brother who drew the unlucky short straw.
The merchant's servants were taken behind a hill,
out of sight of the events to follow. John McDaniel
took |
other }
walkex
attenti
havin
gun a)
the cl
Anton
feet bi
and fi
versio
chest,
being
trial, t
or sh
states
with s
As
by T
trippe
groun
prostr
lets. }
the M
fear. }
man,
Be!
was Si
tainin
smilir
the m
ered «
over S$
Mc
of ger
sever:
docile
the se
India:
predi
the s:
serva!
Aft
Creek
Antor
thievi
wher«
amaz¢
freely
gang
muck
coulc
At
locati
But a
| MURDER IN NORTH AMERICA
oth
Dll
and seen
e 4 seen
Sam Houston, Texas' second president, thought the only way out of
his predecessor's mess was to annex Northern Mexico and divert
some of the commercial traffic on the Santa Fe Trail toward Texas.
J Underneath it all Houston wanted to show that Texas was not to be
a taken lightly. He believed Warfield's plan could easily accomplish
these goals. Houston got more than he bargained for.
n
leadership qualities and apathy for any patriotic cru-
sade. The other reason for this shift of focus was the
newly appointed captain's true interest, plunder. By
Christmas McDaniel was the leader of 14 desperate
men who relished the rather novel idea that their
criminal enterprise enjoyed the legitimate cover of a
Texas military commission.
It has been suggested by historians that sometime
during the months spent plotting and drinking at
Yoacham's Tavern the group learned a Mexican
trader, Don Antonio José Chavez, was due in Mis-
souri the following spring, and he would be travel-
ing along the Santa Fe Trail. It was widely known
that the Chavez caravans carried a considerable
'
j
14
MURDER IN NORTH AMERICA
amount of silver coins during their trading expedi-
tions. In 1840 Antonio José and his brothers had
carried over $60,000 in silver along the Santa Fe
Trail into Missouri.
The youngest of the brothers, Antonio José
Chavez, was a member of a long established and
prosperous Mexican family. They had been involved
in Mexican government and trade since 1598 and by
1843 their commercial empire included large tracts
of land with considerable investments in livestock
and other businesses. The Chavez family was closely
linked by a series of Marriages to several other
prominent families of the province. After Mexico be-
came independent from Spain, Antonio's father was
the first governor of New Mexico, Keeping with the
newly founded political tradition, his oldest brother,
Mariano, became the president of the New Mexican
provincial assembly and in 1844 he would become
the acting governor of New Mexico.
In a typical trading year the search for advanta-
geous prices might send the Chavezes traveling fur-
ther and further eastward. Their first stops in the
United States were Independence and Westport.
Both places offered merchandise at wholesale prices,
but often the selection was limited and far more
costly than might be found further east. From Inde-
pendence one or more of the Chavezes would take a
steamboat to St. Louis. On an off year even this
trading center might not offer a wide enough selec-
tion at the right price. That would mean a trip by
steamboat, railroad and stagecoach to the great East-
em cities of Pittsburgh and New York.
While they were away on the trip to the East their
crews, animals and wagons would patiently wait in
Independence for their return. Even if the Chavezes
did not purchase goods in town their eastward trav-
els were fine with the farmers and various craftsmen.
For they got to refit the wagons and feed the horses
and oxen, and most importantly the townsfolk
would be paid in silver when the Chavezes returned.
Early in the undistinguished year of 1843, the
Chavezes were preparing another trading excursion
to Missouri. In the fall of 1842 rumors began to cir-
culate in New Mexico about a newly formed band of
lawless men. Furthermore these distant rumblings
mentioned that these outlaws were masquerading as
Texans and were intent on raiding Mexican mer-
chants in the coming spring. In January the governor
of New Mexico learned from the U.S. Consul in
Santa Fe that one Col. Warfield, of the Texas army,
had taken command of this band and was preparing
a foray to sweep the Santa Fe Trail clear of Mexican
merchants and then invade Mexico.
Paying special attention to the rumors of raiders
along their route, the Chavezes decided to risk an
early March trip led by Antonio José to Indepen-
dence. Such a venture also ran the danger of either
random attacks by Indians or being surprised by a
spring blizzard while on the open trail. These major
snowstorms could decimate a caravan caught in their
frigid fierce winds. It happened, in November 1841,
to a small party commanded by the U.S. Consul
heading toward Independence. In this tragic mishap
two men died and all the pack animals perished.
Business was booming and the brothers expected
a very profitable year. The risk seemed worth the fi-
nancial rewards to the Chavez family. Antonio José
was to start out early, shoot past Independence and
make for St. Louis and points further east. Once he
had purchased all the manufactured goods that his
money could buy, he was to transport the wares by
rail and steamboat to Independence. All this was to
be accomplished in time to rendezvous with the
American caravan leaving for Santa Fe in May. The
strategy was evolved to avoid any confrontation with
the rumored "Texas raiders."
Whether McDaniel actually knew that Antonio
José planned to arrive early in Independence or he
found the Mexican company by accident is the sub-
ject of considerable debate. Most of the contempo-
rary sources believe that what happened on the de-
serted plains of Kansas was a cold, premeditated act.
To this end Col. Henry Inman, an experienced
plainsman wrote in his book, The Old Santa Fe
Trail, that John McDaniel sent spies out on the trail
to warn him of Antonio José's coming.
It was not exactly a secret that something was
about to happen. Several of the men recruited by
Warfield, but repulsed by McDaniel’'s personality,
left the gang and began spreading rumors of a
planned raid on an unnamed Mexican merchant.
After a while everyone in Independence suspected
that one of Chavezes would be the intended victim.
On April Fools' Day the McDaniel gang left
Yoacham's Tavern and unknowingly rode into his-
tory, albeit if only to become a footnote.
On or about March 15, Antonio José rode into the
Unorganized Territories with 20 men, a dozen mules
and two wagons. Somewhere in what is now Kansas,
between the Cimarron and Arkansas rivers, his small
caravan ran into a cold front accompanied by a se-
vere snowstorm. Fifteen men came down with bad
cases of frostbite. Most of his mules died. A majority
of the stricken men deserted Chavez and hobbled
back to Santa Fe. This left Antonio José with five
men and enough mules to pull one wagon. But he
was not deterred by this unfortunate occurrence and
traveled onward toward Independence and his ulti-
mate misfortune.
On April 1 Chavez sent one his servants ahead by
MURDER IN NORTH AMERICA
21
change his itinerary and land on the northern shore
| of the river. He agreed to take only 10 men with
their horses. Three days later the unexpected posse
' rode into town and with them came the surprising
truth of McDaniel's activities. Even the citizens of
| Liberty had a stake in the Missouri/Mexican trade ar-
_rangement, and they were quick to tell the posse
| where the McDaniel brothers could be found.
McDaniel was caught while crossing Liberty's
' main street. A small number of the posse, perhaps
two or three, rode toward McDaniel calling out his
‘name. As he tuned toward the riders, he started to
' reach for his pistol. At that very moment the rest of
‘the posse appeared with guns already drawn. Mc-
Daniel saw he didn't have a chance, so he put his
_hands up and was captured. His brother and Berry
| were also arrested the same day. All three of them
‘were taken to the Independence jail, where the
| talkative Mason was residing.
Maybe it was his proximity to Mason, but once
Berry was in custody he began talk. Closely match-
| ing his fellow gang member and jail mate's version,
Berry told his interrogators where the Prefontaine
_ splinter group buried their share of the loot near
Council Grove.
Rueben Gentry's cousin, Nicholas, took charge of
_ the posse that went after the plunder. "Old Nick," as
many knew him, was quite a character. His wry
sense of humor always served him well whether he
| was trading for himself or working for others. In
' Mexico he had another pseudonym. They knew him
» as "Old Contraband Gentry" for his incredible abitity
to smuggle goods past the customs officials. Nicholas
had searched for McDaniel too, but his group looked
for the gang leader in the country near Indepen-
dence. Now it was his chance to gain some of the
fame his cousin had gathered.
About 100 miles from Independence, Nicholas'
_ posse met two men riding toward Missouri. One of
them was none other than Dr. Prefontaine himself,
and his companion was the tavern owner, Daniel
© Yoacham. Quickly the errant doctor was taken into
custody. In his possession the posse found all of the
buried booty. It seems Dr. Prefontaine had no
qualms when it came to stealing from his fellow
| thieves. Yoacham was also arrested, but later re-
_ leased in Independence for lack of criminal intent.
However, Yoacham lived under a cloud of suspicion
that would hover over him for the rest of his days
Many believed there was no way that Yoacham did
not know what McDaniel and his gang was up to,
| and some even believed that he was part of the gang.
Less than a week after the search started, 10
members of McDaniel's gang were behind bars. Five
men escaped including the Searcy brothers. A little
over $7,000 in furs, gold and silver was recovered.
From the approximate amount outstanding, the sh-
eriff in Independence estimated that Antonio José
was carrying about $11,000 in valuables at the time
of his abduction.
Since the crime occurred in the Unorganized or
Indian Territories, jurisdiction in this matter fell to
the U.S. Circuit Court in the District of Missouri,
which was located in St. Louis. Everyone was anx-
ious to start the trial as soon as possible. Preliminary
hearings were held on May 3, even before the Mc-
Daniel brothers were brought to the St. Louis jail.
Three weeks later all 10 of the captured men were
together in the same jail. To the puzzlement of the
prosecutors and defense attorneys alike, the prison-
ers exhibited an unexpected confidence that they
would be released as soon as the truth were known.
Newspapers countrywide became embroiled in
the controversy. The McDaniel gang justified
Chavez's murder by claiming that they had commit-
ted an act of legal reprisal against Mexico. By their
reasoning, John McDaniel's commission as a captain
in the Texas army was all the excuse they needed for
the foul play visited upon the Mexican merchant.
The murder of Antonio José provoked a stormy
national debate. A chorus of broadsides, pro and
con, were published throughout the land. "McDaniel
and his party are innocent. They had a commission
and it was only a Mexican they killed. Chavez was
on American territory therefore protected by the law.
It was an act of undeclared war between Texas and
Mexico and therefore legal from the Texan point of
view. Commission or no, a crime was committed
and the gang must pay the price."
The most outrageous statement came from a New
York City newspaper. Its editorial claimed that it
should come as no surprise that such a crime was
committed, since as everyone knows, there were
many Missourians who made a living robbing Santa
Fe Mexicans and Indians.
The eastern portion of the country believed the
frontier was a wild and lawless place. No one ever
went to jail in that god-forsaken land, no matter how
villainous the crime. People in New York believed
this with an air of moral superiority. They held this
notion even though the worst American urban sewer
of depravity was found in Manhattan and it was
called The Five Points.
Just when it seemed as if McDaniel's trial would
involve some cut-and-dry issues, a new chorus of
disclaimers arose from the Republic of Texas. In
essence they said Warfield had no part in Chavez's
killing since McDaniel and his gang never joined the
colonel's raiding party. Some uninformed newspa-
pers even denied Warfield ever gave McDaniel a
24
MURDER IN NORTH AMERICA
When roused to action, the citizens of this prosperous little frontier
town moved swiftly to apprehend the McDaniel Gang.
fluenced the young man. He decided to pardon
David. The surviving McDaniel brother left Missouri
and was never heard from again.
After serving his prison sentence, Dr. Prefontaine
drifted further west. Sometime during the heyday of
the California gold rush he was discovered in the
lobby of the El Dorado hotel by Capt. James Hobbs.
Hobbs was employed at the time as a scout and
helped Nicholas Gentry track down the errant doc-
tor. To the former scout's amazement, Prefontaine
had become a prominent citizen and the editor of a
San Francisco scandal sheet. Hobbs kept Dr. Pre-
fontaine's crime a secret until the doctor's death in
the late 1860s.
Warfield's expedition met with disaster. The
colonel never received his expected reinforcements
from Texas and Missouri. Not one to be deterred, he
began his invasion of New Mexico with a small
company who had gathered at Point of Rocks. In an
amazingly ineffectual attack, Warfield managed to
disperse a small Mexican troop, killing five of the
soldiers in the process. A few days after the Mexicans
counterattacked, driving off all of the raider's horses,
he retreated eastward. Warfield's dreams of glory
ended in ignominy, and he retreated on foot 200
miles to the north. Several weeks later he arrived at
Bent's Fort where he disbanded his men.
For several years the Santa Fe Trail trade suffered.
The first year was the worst. Warfield's failure
prompted another adventurer, Col. Jacob Snively, to
attempt the same plan. This began a series of small
engagements on Mexican territory and the Santa Fe
Trail. Snively's "Invincibles" won a major skirmish
against the Mexican army. Commerce on the Santa
Fe Trail had come to a halt. Finally the U.S. Army
was sent out and disarmed Snively's bunch. The
economies of both Santa Fe and Missouri fell into
dismal disarray.
Eventually trade on the Santa Fe Trail returned to
normal a year later and wagons eagerly plied the
road once more. After that, the Mexican War trade
continued, although at a diminished rate. New Mex-
ico could no longer offer Mexican silver and gold be-
cause it was now United States territory. Missouri
would enjoy another economic boom with the
coming of the "Forty Niners." Tens of thousands of
the gold rushers wintered along the frontier waiting
to make their mad dash toward California in the
spring. Missouri was only to happy to take the Arg-
onaut's money for supplies and shelter.
One last word must be said regarding Owl Creek.
The honest folk of Missouri changed the gully's
name in honor of the slain merchant. Unfortunately
they did not speak Spanish and the name Chavez
became distorted over time: Chavis, Chauvey,
Charvis, Garvis and finally Jarvis. Jarvis is the name
it is known by today.
22
MURDER IN NORTH AMERICA
commission at all.
The political issues became murkier when it was
reported that 17 men were executed by the Mexican
army. These Texans were members of the party who
invaded Mexico in pursuit of the army that took part
in the short capture of San Antonio,
During the summer months, while the gang
cooled their heels in jail, the wheels of justice slowly
began to turn. Bail was denied to all of the arrested
men. The prosecutor in the case maneuvered to have
everyone tried for murder. He lost. On September
16 the indictments were handed down and those
who left with Dr. Prefontaine were only charged
with larceny. Both groups were charged with ille-
gally organizing a military expedition on American
soil. McDaniel and party were indicted for murder.
Dr. Prefontaine and those who left with him were
tried almost immediately in Jefferson City. He was
found guilty, and perhaps because he was a likable
fellow, he was sentenced to a year in jail and a
$1,000 fine. In the matter of the other men, the jury
was hung. It was decided to retry them the following
April in St. Louis. April was the same month that the
McDaniel gang trial was scheduled to start.
United States Attorney William M. McPherson
had one objective: to make McDaniel and his gang
pay for their crimes. McPherson was not about to
lose his prime witnesses, so his first action was to
have Chavez's servants comfortably held in the St.
Louis jail from September until April. To make their
stay more agreeable, the Mexicans were paid over
$350 for their time, and five cents per mile for their
return to Santa Fe.
In April McPherson dispatched Dr. Prefontaine's
gang with a round of plea bargaining. In return for
the guilty pleas, the thieves were each sentenced to
nine months in jail and a $10 fine. Berry was freed
after he testified against the McDaniel gang. Nothing
was going to interfere with the murder trial, all the
extraneous business was going to be cleared up.
Nothing was going to cloud the issues. McPherson
was going to get his conviction.
A parade of prosecution witnesses testified before
the jury. They included the Gentrys, various mer-
chants, traders, Dr. Prefontaine, Samuel O. Berry
and Chavez's servants. The Mexicans! testimony,
given in Spanish and translated for the court into
English, substantiated the eyewitness testimonies of
Thomas Towson and William Mason. Now it was
the defense's turn.
Edward Bates, McDaniel's lawyer, attempted to
use the Warfield Texas army commission as a miti-
gating circumstance, but the judge wouldn't allow
that argument. He had two justifications for refusing
that line of defense: the commission could not be
produced by McDaniel and acts of military reprisal
do not include homicide on U.S. soil.
With one potent legal weapon gone, the defense
turned to discrediting McPherson's main witness,
William Mason. Bates correctly speculated that if he
went after the mentally defective Towson the jury
would immediately turn on his client
Mason was successfully portrayed as unreliable by
the defense. The jury almost believed that it was Ma-
son who abandoned the McDaniel brothers aboard
the paddlewheeler and not the other way around.
Bates even attempted to show that it was Mason who
killed Antonio José. But this success was mitigated
by the other testimony given by Towson and
Chavez's servants because it corroborated with Ma-
son's testimony on all the crucial points. No matter
how bad Mason's character was, the jury believed his
story and the guilty verdict brought in against the
four defendants.
The McDaniel brothers and Joseph Brown were
sentenced to hang on June 14. Thomas Towson re-
ceived a suspended sentence, as the court declared
him mentally defective and incapable of making im-
portant decisions for himself. Because he turned
state's evidence, Mason was not prosecuted in return
for his testimony.
The energetic Bates tried every possible means to
overturn the convictions. His strongest argument
was that United States government did not have ju-
risdiction beyond the Missouri boarder. The appeal
was denied. Next he petitioned President Tyler for
clemency. This resulted in a series of presidential
stays of execution. John McDaniel and Brown had
their hanging postponed until July 12, and then
until August 16. David McDaniel's execution was
put off until June 27, 1845.
As all condemned men do, McDaniel and Brown
believed up until the last moment that they would
get another reprieve. But when the August 16 ar-
rived and no further word was received from
Washington, they knew their time had run out.
Usually a hanging was a family affair with picnics
and other entertainments. But it seems that many of
the townspeople also thought the murderers would
get another stay of execution, so only several thou-
sand showed up for the hanging.
At 2 o'clock McDaniel and Brown were led up the
scaffold and read their death sentences. Each man
gave a final speech proclaiming his innocence, and
then the pair were hanged together. They paid the
ultimate price for their greedy folly.
David McDaniel was luckier. Since his execution
was delayed for so long, President Tyler had time to
reflect upon McDaniel's age and the probability that
his older, recently executed brother had unduly in-
i
A COMPENDIUM OF HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY
FOR READY REFERENCE.
EDITED BY
WILLIAM HYDE AND. HOWARD L. CONARD.
ul
NEW YORK, LOUISVILLE, ST. Louis:
THE SOUTHERN HISTORY COMPANY,
HALDEMAN, CONARD & Co., PROPRIETORS.
i899
PUBLIC LIBRARY
BIRMINGHAM, ALA.
Alexander avenue police station in the
Bronx where District Attorney William
McGeehan and Captain Bruckman
awaited the pair. It was there that Fitz-
patrick first learned the police were in-
terested in learning what he had been
doing on the night of the Dolge murder,
The result of their questioning was that
orders for the arrest of John T. Leonard,
Walter B. Boltwood and John Dalton
were issued.
The newspapers learned of Fitzpat-
rick’s arrest as a suspect. A few days
later, they also carried the story that
Boltwood had been taken into custody,
but shortly thereafter, there was a story
in a Bronx newspaper that Fitzpatrick
had been released because police had been
unable to connect him with the Dolge
case.
It was a trick of the police who wanted
to get Leonard and Dalton. They knew
the quickest way to land Leonard was to
convince him that the “coast was clear.”
Then he would return to His home.
The ruse worked. On January 24,
Leonard came home. Police were watch-
ing the house when he entered and gave
him an opportunity to see his mother.
But, hidden 300 feet from the front door,
they waited for him to leave,
They did not have to wait long. As he
came out the detectives pounced upon
him, pushed him into a car and drove
rapidly away.
At the Bathgate avenue police station
he was brought face to face with Fitz-
patrick and Boltwood. Police Inspector
Henry Bruckman seated Leonard in a
chair and told him:
“Leonard, you were at the Hunt’s Point
station, January 5. You'd better think
fast and remember what you did that
night and the evening before.”
T WAS only a few minutes before the
three youths poured forth the whole
amazing story. A Springfield man had
been in the market for a second-hand
Packard car and Leonard has stolen one.
Fitzpatrick told Leonard to take the car
to Springfield. So Leonard, with Fitz-
patrick, Dalton and Boltwood, drove the
stolen car to Springfield, offered it to
Fitzpatrick’s prospect for $200, got $125
in cash and played around for a few days
in Springfield.
They didn’t like the idea of going back
to New York on the train.
“Okay,” said Leonard. “You came up
in a car and you'll ride back in one.”
Leonard picked up a car in Springfield,
a fairly new Packard, and on they sped
to the big city. As they drove, the four
were confronted with the discouraging
fact that there was little money among
them. Long before they were able to see
the glow of lights over Manhattan, they
had decided they must replenish their
funds, They had agreed to a holdup when
the opportunity presented itself,
They stopped their car in front of a
saloon at Union and Westchester ave-
nues and Dalton and Boltwood went into
the saloon. At the bar was Dolge, drink-
ing beer.
Dalton and Boltwood stood around and
had a few drinks. When they returned to
the car both were excited.
“There’s a guy in there with a diamond
ring as big as an electric light bulb. You
ought to see it. Nearly blinded me.”
“Let’s get him!”
Who said those words was a matter of
violent argument among the three telling
58 »
( /
the story to the police. Fitzpatrick and
Boltwood pinned them on Leonard,
At any rate, they all agreed to “get
him” and they sat in the parked Packard,
motor running, until Dolge emerged from
the saloon, Their prospective victim
walked to Prospect and Westchester
avenues where he took a taxicab, They
followed and the cab drove up in front of
the Hunt’s Point station.
Dolge paid and tipped the driver. As
he got out and even before the taxicab
pulled away, the Packard had likewise
stopped at the station.
Boltwood and Leonard followed Dolge
through the little-alleyway on which the
stairs leading to the station open. It was
Boltwood who approached Dolge and
accused him of failing to pay the taxi
driver.
They had wanted Dolge to become so
irate that he would go up and argue
with the driver who had presumably lied
about the fare. They wanted to get him
out of sight of the other passengers wait-
ing for the train.
They upbraided Dolge as he ascended
the stairs and he finally shot a fist out at
Boltwood. Leonard ran to the car, got a
revolver from a side pocket and returned
to the stairs. Dolge and Boltwood were
still struggling.
Leonard fired and the pair went back
to the car. They were then chased by the
police flivver.
From the station they drove to the
garage and fixed the tires which had flat-
tened when the car skidded into the curb-
stone at Claremont and Webster avenues
At the garage Leonard at first refused
to get out of the car because his nose
was bleeding. Leaving the garage, the
four drove down through Harlem to Man-
hattan. Deciding they needed a new tire.
MICHIGAN'S FIRST LAST MILE
ip
Oe
Under a new law the first death penalty ever given in Michigan became manda-
tory for Anthony Chebatoris, shown above shielding his face from cameras just
after his conviction for a bank holdup murder. Back in his cell Chebatoris tried
to cheat the law by slashing his throat and wrists.
. 0). r ;
tate Weleatine.
they stole on
at the 124th
garage. ;
Dalton lef:
patrick and
Turkish bath
received kne
to sleep and
on January -
_ They dre:
around for «
to find out 1:
been report:
story of D
thought it h
paper quote
wood had u
They tol:
the Pleasan
found the ¢
the police h
believe tha:
tricked th:
ordered th:
hangouts.
The car
But Dalto:
lieved his ¢
At this
Dalton put
and found
the other
taken fro
claimed.
“T took
“Get rid
hot stuff.’
struck in
certain th
mitted,
It was
1927, tha
streaked
police sta
got him
that he h
“T thor
because
her,” the
“At first
and wait
up to the
I opened
of it. S!
Detect
only as}
found t
Withers
alimony
put a sib
rent one
did not ¢
strange
marks t
were ine
be suici
iH
OV
the san
afterno
Mrs. W
trunk, t
was dis:
baseme:
Here
Mrs. G
rent. —
DARING DETECTIVE, November, 1938
ite
DARING DENTIST
.
(Left) Chebatoris is led
from the courtroom after
hearing his fate. (Above)
Cross marks Hardy’s office
(Right) The
daring dentist,
Dr. Frank L.
Hardy, whose
preparedness
paid dividends
(Left) Clarence
H. Macomber,
wounded bank
president, is
pictured with
his daughter
of the bank. My office is right over the entrance and I can der, causing him to spin before recovering his balance.
take pot shots at anyone who tries any monkey business.” Some two hundred yards now separated Dr. Hardy from
The Sheriff laughed. “All right, Doe,” he replied good- his rapidly moving targets. Deliberately the dentist braced
naturedly. “Tell you what—you keep your deer rifle up . his weapon against the window frame, took careful aim again
there in your office and I'll make you a deputy.” » and fired. The stocky bandit did what witnesses later de-
Sheriff Venner made good his promise and Dr. Hardy scribed as a backward flip. He landed face down, dead. The
brought the rifle to his office. During the three-year inter- doctor’s aim had been true, his bullet passing through the
val, however, the small-town dentist was the target for gunman’s head and killing him instantly.
much good-natured banter. The oft-repeated question, The second bandit, suffering intensely from his shattered
“Shoot any bandits today, Doc?” became an almost daily arm and smashed shoulder, was found nearly insane with
kidding of the dentist. fear and pain on the outskirts of town. Thoroughly subdued,
The time to make good had now arrived and Dr. Hardy he submitted to arrest without show of resistance. Later,
lost scant time in grabbing his long-range, high-powered rifle. while undergoing the agony of having his wounds dressed,
As the bandits roared down Main Street the dentist took care- he howled: “I wish that damn’ doctor had killed me too!”
ful aim and then fired. The bullet struck a rear tire and the The dead bandit was identified as Jack Gracey, a twenty-
machine lurched violently. A second shot from Hardy’s rifle eight-year-old Detroit hoodlum with a long series of arrests
caused the bandit car, now several hundred feet down the and prison sentences. His partner, the badly wounded
street, to careen and go out of control, then crash into a driver—who blamed his slain’ comrade for all the shooting
parked car. Out of the demolished auto sprang the two —proved to be Tony Chebatoris, thirty-seven, of Pittsburgh.
desperadoes, the driver holding his shattered arm where Fortunately for Banker Macomber his chest wound was
Hardy’s bullet had found its mark. Both sprinted down the found to be only superficial. Had the shot struck a few
street. As the two men ran they looked wildly about for inches to the left it would have pierced his heart. Cashier
some trace of the mysterious sniper. A stunned truck driver Bywater, shot while attempting to aid his employer, was
watched from the curb. He was Henry Porter, driver for a found to be more seriously wounded. The condition of
Bay City hardware concern. Porter’s headgear resembled a Henry Porter became worse and he died within a short time.
policeman’s cap and the bandits took him for an officer. A Placed on trial for the slaying of Porter, Chebatoris was
single shot cracked from the heavy-set bandit’s revolver and found guilty in federal court and sentenced to death.
Porter pitched into the gutter, badly wounded. Deservedly Dr. Hardy is the town hero. Located at his
The fleeing, would-be bank bandits were now a. block away home, playing cards with his mother, he modestly told_re-
and running at top speed. Dr. Hardy poked the screen from — porters: “Now, don’t you fellows make me out a hero. The
his office window and leaned far out. From this precarious job was easy because I was prepared!”
perch he again took careful aim. His rifle cracked. The Prepared! A erime-tormented citizenry might well ponder
heavy slug caught the already wounded gunman in the shoul- that single word!
57
bani
Jloused mur-
ioht is the
; of simi-
Aves from
yullet.
-oomed soft-nose
unrecognizable.
was visible from
s it sped through
xy husband. On
as found.
oner and com-
st.. John district
: to the mystery
ar he was ferried
he old Dunvegan
his point a tricky
t undue incident.
urder and suicide
had routed that
able murder.
who would want
not rich. They
were newcomers
g.
lose examination
>» task of forming
Mf them had been
two loaded 30-30
envelope. The
“w vestigated but it
it the bed and its
il positions. He
« hile she was clad
They had been
at happened.
table. It had
DARING
. morning a steady file of patrons
passed through the doors of the
Chemical State Savings’ Bank of
Midland, Mich. Cashier Paul D. Bywater
had been busily attending to the demands
of the men and women who faced him
across the grille while President Clarence
H. Macomber was busy in his office. |
Suddenly the bank doors swung open
to admit two strangers. One of them was
carrying a submachine gun. Swiftly the
pair crossed the lobby and ordere¢
Bywater and Macomber to put up their
hands. When Macomber was slow in
obeying the command, he was shot in the
chest; : a
Bywater sprang to his aid. With a
curse, one of the bandits fired again,
hitting the cashier in the hip. Realizing
that the burst of shots would arouse the
citizens, the bandit pair turned and fled.
_In his dental office across the street,
Dr. F. L: Hardy heard the gunfire. Lean-
- ing out of the window, he saw the holdup
men running from the bank toward their
car. ot
As a member of a secret viligante ot-’
ganization created to’'.check bank rob-::
beries, Dr. Hardy was prepared for just
such‘an emergency. Seizing his deer. rifle,
he fired at the’ moving car. ‘The.car. im-
mediately went out of control. Be
The bandits leaped from the machine
and raced down the street.. Dr. Hardy
fired again. This time his bullet killed
Jack -Gracey,’‘an ex-convict. A second
shot wounded the bandit’s ‘companion,
Anthony Chebateris, who was seized by
police. :
DETECTIVE !
>, "Brom his office, left,--Dr. F. L.
-.Hatdy saw two bandits fleeing
from the Chemical State Savings
Bank, Midland, Mich. Charles
Papas illustrates how the dentist
fired with his deer rifle through
, the window, killing one bandit
and wounding the other. Below,
‘Sheriff Ira M. Smith is shown
.questioning Anthony Chebatoris,
the bandit wounded by Dr. Hardy.
|
|
|
|
\
i
|
|
|
It was Evens. Evens, the livestock
seller who had been so eager to get
his check. Evens, the thief. Perhaps
Evens, the murderer.
St. Peter watched, striving not to
be noticed by the other man. Evens
hurried to the Drovers’ bank. He van-
ished within the doors. St. Peter ran.
Breathlessly he plunged into the
Farmers’ Union Livestock Commission
office he had left seconds before.
“Ehlert!” he called sharply, and
jerked his head and gestured. “Come
outside.”
They whispered. Ehlert started. Both
ran back up the hill half a block to
the bank.
“Do you really think it’s he?” Ehlert
demanded.
“I know it!” snapped St. Peter. “I
didn’t see him yesterday, but I saw
that picture forty-five minutes ago.”
Outside the bank they took up posi-
tions, fighting to appear disinterested.
If this was a killer they were facing
—and there was that chance—what
would prevent them from being at-
tacked if the man became suspicious?
Besides that, there was no percentage
in alarming their quarry. If he had
massacred once, he might kill again.
Both knew they were watching at the
risk of their lives—the risk, that is, if
Evens really were a killer. Of course,
he might be only a thief, but even
so they knew they ought to be careful.
Outside a few idlers strolled up and
down. Others, with pressing business,
scurried along. Across the street, Ze-
man of the live-stock firm chatted
with Congressman Elmer Ryan.
Then a figure emerged from the
bank. A figure walking more quickly
than before. A figure casting nervous
glances and tearing up some paper as
he walked into the sunlight.
Ehlert gasped.
St. Peter was right! It was Evens! —
OMETHING made Zeman _ turn
around, too. Zeman saw St. Peter,
Ehlert and the third figure. He
jumped. For he too had seen and
recognized.
St. Peter spied a police squad car
parked at the curb, but the car was
empty. He rushed to a drug _ store
across the street. Zeman and Ehlert
moved cautiously down the opposite
side of North Concord from the small,
wiry man. Evens strode toward the
maroon coupe, his pace quickening
with every step. Evens was getting in-
to the car. He was going to get away.
The maroon machine swung out
from the curb and started southward.
Ehlert snatched a soft pencil from his
pocket. He wrote down the first three
numbers of the coupe license on the
palm of his hand. The maroon car
was gathering speed. It swept toward
the corner of North Concord and
Grand.
“Police!” Ehlert cried.
“Police!” Zeman’ took up the cry.
Then St. Peter emerged from the
drug store with a _ policeman—big,
ready Ernest Whaley.
“There he goes!” the cry went up.
“The license starts with five-two-
four,” Ehlert shouted. After substituting
Radintz’ plates for Kenneth’s he had
taken no other precautions against the
vigilant highway police.
“It’s the maroon car with red wire
wheels!” Zeman called.
Whaley was lunging forward into
his car. The tires screamed as the
patrolman wheeled it into a U-turn.
From the automobile ahead fluttered a
little shower of pink paper.
On sped the automobiles—Grand
Street, a turn, Pitt Street, dodging
through traffic—but the police car al-
ways was gaining. Into Concord
Street. An opening in the traffic.
Whaley pressed a heavy foot against
the throttle and the floorboard. A des-
perate spurt; a cut in front of the
other machine.
Brakes squealed. Before his own
car had stopped, Whaley leaped out -
and ran toward the pale-faced motor-
ist who still was clutching the emer-
gency brake with one hand, the wheel
with the other. '
Whaley’s steel fingers gripped the
hand on the wheel.
52
“Careful!” Whaley barked. “Put.
your other hand—slowly—up where I
can see it.”
The prisoner obeyed. Whaley gripped
his captive by neck and arm.
“Your name?” he demanded.
“Evens,” the prisoner replied.
“Where are you from?”
“Why .. . from Anoka.” The re-
sponse was hesitant.
“I don’t think so,” said Whaley. “Get
out of your car and keep your hands
in the open where I can see them.”
Experienced hands frisked the sus-
pect. No knife. No gun. Was he only
a thief after all? Would not a killer
keep his weapon near?
Should Whaley march the man near-
ly a mile to the police station? Should
he call for aid? Or should he take
the possibly dangerous captive back
unaided?
Well, Whaley’s holster was on the ©
left ‘side. Driving, it would be pro-
tected from the captive. Whaley does
not think much of fear.
“Come on,” he snapped. ‘He. jerked
“Fargo, North Dakota, and Moor-
head, Minnesota?”
“Yah.”
McAlpine hesitated and glanced at
a sheet of scribbled notes. One phrase
caught his eye. It read: Robert Mc-
Leod, alias August Yaeger, once a
printer . . .” McAlpine looked up.
“Ever been a printer?” he asked.
‘No, no! No, no! I was never a
printer!”
“Take your hat off.”
The captive complied and his cap-
tors held up a police photograph of the
man McLeod. Evens and McLeod were
unquestionably the same.
McAlpine leaned forward. “You
know that-car you're driving is
stolen?”
“No. I bought it from a dealer in
Anoka.”
“What dealer?”
The prisoner was not certain of the
name.
“And you had stolen plates on it?”
“I didn’t know they were stolen.
* They. were on when I bought it.”
Timely
until May 11. ©
to serve from 25 years to life
capture of Salvatore Gati and
‘Timely Events, appears on this
REAKING a precedent of 108 years, during which time there
have been no executions in the State of Michigan, the United
States Department of Justice hanged Anthony Chebatoris on
July 8, 1938, for the slaying of H. S. Porter of Midland.
The killing occurred during a frustrated attempt at bank
robbery, related in full in the February 15, 1938, issue of
OrFIcIAL DETECTIVE SToRIEs, '
John Henry Seadlund, 27, fiendish slayer-kidnaper of
Charles S. Ross, Chicago manufacturer, and of his own partner
in crime, died in the electric chair in Chicago July 14 to expiate
the crimes he committed September 25, 1937. Inside details of
his career and his murders were related in OrriciaL DETECTIVE
Stories in the serial story, “The Twisted Career of the Ross
Kidnaper,” which began March 16 and.continued in each issue
For the slaying of his prison mate, sixteen-year-old George
Henry Coover, Carl Wells, nineteen years old, was sentenced
July 14, 1938. The. killing ‘occurred. March” 13, 1938, and was
described in the June 22 issue of OrriciaL Derective SToriEs _
under the title, Denver's Slaying Behind Prison Bars.”
Bravely .Patrolman John H. A. Wilson tried to prevent a
robbery in a New York city gold smelting plant September 23,
1937—was killed instantly by the robbers. Full details of the
York's Hot. Wax Killers," were revealed in the issue of this
magazine,’ ‘dated November 11, 1937. Both murderers, tried
during July, were sentenced to ‘die in the electric chair.
Eager to present the full inside detailed story of successful
investigations, Orricia, DeTEectTive Stories does not always
wait for the trial of the accused persons. This department,
our readers of the final disposition of these cases.
Events
‘This Crib’s a Cinch!”
in the Colorado penitentiary on
Charles Sberna, “Trailing New
page from time to time to inform
the prisoner into the squad - car.
“Here,” he told Chief E.. J. McAlpine
of South St; Paul, a few. minutes. later,
“is a man.we want.”
Whaley left and; with a ‘companion,
picked up the captive’s car, License
No. B524-644, the plates stolen’ from
Leonard. Radintz, -Kenneth. :Oswald’s
., “When did you buy it?”
“A month ago.”
~ Word had passed out to the news-
‘papers. McLeod was caught. News-
paper reporters and cameramen began
to fill the hallway outside the Chief’s
_ closed office. The Chief and his guest
‘could, hear .shuffling, the: murmur of
brother-in-law. Motor. No. 3242675 —...many> voices. McAlpine’s eyes nar-
Kenneth Oswald’s car.:’ ;
But at the South .St. Paul Police
Station, the captive was brazen. His
cold gray-blue eyes stared directly’ at’
Chief McAlpine. His: color: was normal;
‘he answered questions ‘nonchalantly.
Zeman, who heard him, began ‘to ‘won- '
der:.. : SERRA MRE AE Hd 7
“Have I made‘’a mistake?” ~
“You —haven’t ‘got’ nothing on “me,”
the prisoner said..'He seemed’ naive,
as he spoke—innocent. ~ We
Chief McAlpine ignored this air,
“Ever: live-in» North. Dakota?” “she
asked. ,
2 SNOPE ERC A Loa ft ‘ie
“Ever been ‘in Bismarck?” |. ;
“Well, through: there.” <..
“Valley City, North Dakota?”
“Yah.”
Hide
-rowed. This was something he didn’t
want to do—but with a case as im-
portant as this,’ perhaps it could be
forgiven. He decided to take a chance.
“Fellow, do you know where all
».those-people are from?”
Where?”
“Osseo!”
~’ The captive blanched.’ He began to
~shake’ violently. ‘
-“And,” added McAlpine, solemnly,
“they’ve come for you. Come for you
--with fifteen gallons of gas and a rope.”
“*-"This,was the moment for the test— -
; al test. Later -other evidence:
might verify it, but now was the mo-.
the?'re
ment when the police would know for
sure whether, they hgd taken-imerely:
~-a sneak-thief. or a.deadly killer.
usually are cowards. Take’ away a:
rat’s gun and he’ll sob for mercy. This
man proved to be no exception.
“D-d-don’t let them g-g-get me,” he
blubbered. “Yes, I did it! I did it!
I killed all three of them! I only in-
tended to steal a couple of cows,
though .. . I took a bus out there.
When I got to Osseo, I walked to the
Oswald farm. I—”
McAlpine interrupted: “Just a min-
ute. We’ll get the County Attorney
here and you’re going to put this into
writing.”
He summoned young Harold LeVan-
der, Assistant Dakota County Attor-
ney. The craven McLeod blurted out
a confession.
Yes, he had struck down the Os-
walds with the hammer. Then he had
gone upstairs and killed Kujawa.
Why? No particular reason. Perhaps
because Kujawa was likely to have
- heard what went on downstairs. Then
he had returned and shot Mr. Oswald,
then his wife. She was moaning just
as he placed the gun to her head.
It was. unbelievable—the coupled
cowardice and daring of the man. His
very audacity had aided him in es-
caping capture so far.
Why had he killed them? Was he
angered at them?
Well, there had been a little trou-
ble over a $30 wage item at the time
the Oswalds had fired him.
“You had no purpose in killing
them other than that you had a dis-
pute over the money you had com-
ing?”
“I guess that’s all.”
“And you never cashed the check
you received for the stolen cattle?”
“No. When I was in the bank I
saw the cashier making motions to-
ward me. I decided I was recognized.
I knew the jig was up. I tore up the
check as I walked down the steps, and
I threw the pieces away as I drove off
in the car.” :
Finally the statement was complete
and signed. He lied in some details.
He said, for example, that he had
thrown the murder gun away in a
field two miles from the Oswald.farm.
Guarding him heavily, our deputies
and Crime Bureau agents rushéd him
there. Again he showed his cowardice.
. A small knot of people collected in the
yard. No one made a move toward
him. No one uttered a threat.. But he
slobbered: :
“T-t-take me dway! Don’t let ‘them
get me!” Ws at o~seihlh
He led us around,-the field in a
search for the gun he knew wasn’t
there. Finally we found the weapon—
found it in a room he had occupied
the night following the murders in a
small St. Paul hotel. Foolishly, he had
signed the same name he had given
at the stockyards: “George Evens.” It
was in keeping with the entire crime—
foolish to the point of moronic, except
for its deadly seriousness.
XACTLY one week after he took
four lives, the law took Robert Mc-
Leod, alias August Yaeger and scores
of other names, to State Prison at Still-
water, Minnesota. He was sentenced
to three concurrent life terms.
If he felt any remorse, however, it
was only for himself. He said the kill-
ing “bothered” him a day after the
murders, but in his jail cell he slept
like a baby.
McLeod lied as nonchalantly—and
as brutally—as he killed.
We found the wedding book of the
Oswald couple who “had everything
to live for.” It was a volume bearing
the names of all guests at a wedding
party. Upon its pages, friends and rel-
atives had expressed their good wishes
-and had jotted sentimental poetry. Mc-
Leod was only their hired hand, but
they had invited him, too, to inscribe
a’ message in the book. And this is
what he wrote:
May all the health, happiness
and prosperity that He Who rules
ibove ‘holds in’ store for His best
‘people be’ yours throughout your
wedded ‘life. oo.
od. 4.055 (Signed) Robert McLeod.
Another illustration with this story
“may be* on Page 44.
Ney
at strategic points for the bandits to
. appear. All morning they crouched on
roof-tops, behind thick columns of
homes and buildings. They were
ready for anything. But a bandit look-
out must have discovered them. At
any rate the bandits never appeared.
The businessmfen—these citizen-depu-
ties—went back to work as_ usual.
Nothing was said about the incident
until months later.
The Sheriff knew he had a precision-
built trap, ready to spring in a split
second. He had staged a rehearsal,
but the question remained still in his
mind:
“Will it work in an actual holdup?”
He felt it would.
‘WO men who had not heard about
Sheriff Smith’s methods of bank
protection were Jack Gracey and Tony
Chebatoris. To them the Chemical
State Savings Bank was all that it ap-
peared to the Detroit underworld.
“This crib’s a cinch,” said Chebatoris
to Gracey, who listened eagerly to
Chebatoris’ plans for cracking it.
Tony was older and he had a more
impressive background in crime than
the Detroit youth. Tony was 39 years
old; he had been born in Poland and
arrived in the United States at the age
of six. He immediately began giving
truant officers trouble, but they kept
him in school as far as the sixth grade.
By that time he-was a big, over-
developed youth with pronounced
criminal tendencies. He quit school to
devote himself to his chosen career—
crime.
As far back as 1921 he began ap-
pearing on police blotters. He had
served seventeen of the past nineteen
The only picture ever made of the
bandit arms used in the Chemical
State Savings Bank holdup, right
years in various jails and prisons. He
was a convicted stickup man, robber,
forger, professional thug, who could
not get along even with other people
in a prison. He was completing seven
* years for armed robbery, in the State
prison for southern Michigan at Jack-
son, at the time he got the brilliant
idea of knocking over the little bank
at Midland. A professional gunman,
Chebatoris figured that bank robbery
in Michigan involved practically no
risk at all.
It was in the big prison at Jackson
that he first met Jack Gracey, 28, a
Detroit hoodlum who had begun his
criminal career as an adolescent by
getting himself sentenced to the Boys’
Vocational School at Lansing. He«had
done two terms for armed robbery and
was completing his second seven-year
term in Jackson. The youth was im-
pressionable, and he had a quality of
———— that Chebatoris found use-
ful. : ; :
Month after month, as they paced
the exercise yard at the mammoth
Doctor Hardy’s first shot thwarted escape in the bandit car,
above, and his second shot went in the side window, left
‘
Jackson prison, they were plannin;
every detail of this stickup. And dur
ing those same months, Sheriff Ir:
Smith was planning with his civilia
aids what to do if the bank was raided
Neither side had any knowledge of th:
other. It was a case of two well
planned lines of campaign, drawin;
closer and closer together toward a
ultimate explosion.
GRACEY and Chebatoris had plannec
their job with the usual careful at:
tention to detail that all successfu
bank robbers must use. Gracey ha
spent several days around Midland
looking over the marble railing at th:
‘kind old face of President Clarence H
Macomber, doubtless wondering grim.
ly what that charming gentlema:
would look like with a sawed-off shot:
gun in his ribs. He watched the bi;
clock in the president’s outer office
noting the time when the work o
checking and re-checking the payrol
was finished. He observed every de-
(Continued on Page 42)
sively that the writings are identical
or different.
It often is possible to secure impor-
tant information about writing by the
study of inks. This is more the func-
tion of a chemist than of a document
examiner. It was because he did not
know this that Colonel Pilcher in 1910
was proved a forger; he had produced
a will, supposedly written by his cous-
in, dated 1898. It was contested, and
chemical treatment of the ink on the
will showed that it could not be twelve
years old, which it would have been
had the document been valid. The use
of secret, invisible or sympathetic inks
is a study in itself.: By chemical, mi-
croscopic or fluorescence tests these
inks can be detected and often identi-
fied. A classical case was that of the
German, Captain Kuepferle, who used
lemon juice and formalin. He was a
secret agent and had used this means
of sending information to the German
staff regarding the movements of ships
in the Irish Sea.
Relative to the common habit of
forging by tracing over a genuine sig-
nature, this is one of the clumsiest and
most easily detected of methods. Yet
imateur or casual forgers still make
use of this method. It is utterly im-
oossible for two specimens which
"This Crib's a Cinch!" (Continued from Page 23) OFFICI
tail of the counting and stacking of
these envelopes. Then he drove his
var around the surrounding country,
dlanning the fastest getaway on record.
He and Chebatoris obtained another
rar, an attractive-looking Dodge. They
iad a complete change of clothing,
2ven to different colored neckties.
This car, with the different clothing,
was concealed near the village of Cor-
unna, more than 30 miles away. They
dlanned to walk into the bank, grab
the loaded cash boxes, and be far away
oy the time the alarm was out, Be-
‘ore the State Police could swing into
action, they would change clothes and
xars at Corunna and if a State Police
sruiser overtook them they’d be just
‘wo care-free youths driving merrily
along the highway. There would be
1othing to connect them with the de-
scription of the bandits or their car,
which they knew would be on the air
trom East Lansing’s high radio tower
within a few minutes,
It was a good plan. Simple, direct,
ind audacious. Such underworld at-
cacks had been successful time and
igain in the past. Chebatoris and
Sracey had every reason to believe
‘hey would be successful. The plan
iad only one flaw: the two bandits
iad not taken Sheriff Smith’s scheme
nto consideration. They may have
zone ahead with their plot in any case.
[he underworld was not familiar with
such tactics and probably would have
aughed at such vigilante organizations.
There was nothing to stop the in-
avitable. It was only a question of
which force would emerge victorious.
fach side—the Sheriff’s, representing
the Law, and Chebatoris’, representing
crime—had from all outward appear-
ances almost an equal chance, except
tor the fact that Chebatoris and Gracey
would, in any case, fail in the long
cun like all bank bandits do. Only the
mmediate question, however, was of
interest in this case. That question
was:
" OULD Sheriff Smith’s protection
ring work?”
On the morning of September 29,
1937, the payroll was ready. And so
were Jack Gracey and Tony Cheba-
toris. Furthermore, they were confi-
dent. There would be nothing to it.
Inside the bank, Cashier Paul D.
Bywater was supervising the last re-
check of the payroll before it would
be taken away. He glanced at the
clock and saw that it was 11:30 a.m.
He’d be finished, he thought, in time
for an early lunch. In his private
office, President Clarence H. Macom-
oer looked at the clock and decided to
leave for his home a few minutes early.
He rose from his chair, straightened up
his desk, and then sat down again. He
42
match perfectly, curve for curve, line
for line, to be genuine. The reason
for this is that, although we write our
signature the same every time we sign
our names, we never can do it exactly
and precisely as it was done before.
Make a test: Write your name in the
usual way on thin paper. Now take a
thinner piece of paper and place it
over your first signature and then trace
it with pen or pencil. Compare them—
they will be alike. Now repeat the
performance without tracing. That is,
write your name, or a word, on one
piece, lay it aside, and write the same
word on another piece, as nearly alike
as you can make it. Now place one
over the other and hold them against
a strong light. Despite your best ef-
forts, you cannot produce two untraced
writings which match perfectly. Hence,
any word or signature that turns up
and is found identical with another
specimen makes it absolutely certain
that one is a tracing. We even can
find out which is the spurious one by
microscopic examination. With this
method we find evidence of the care-
ful, slow movements of the tracer or
the forger. We find what are known
as “hesitation marks.”
An American classic of forgery by
tracing is the famous Rice case. Some
decided to wait a few minutes for his
attractive blond daughter, Claire, who
was employed by the bank as a clerk
on the mezzanine floor.
She’d be along any minute, he told
himself, and they’d go home together
the same way they had ever since
Claire began working there. He
chuckled. He congratulated himself
upon the fact that Midland was the
friendly kind of a town where people
always went home to lunch, and where
father and daughter could forge a
deeper bond between them than big-
city people ever heard of. He watched
her, fondly, as she came down the
stairs to join him in his office. She
smiled. He patted hershoulder.
They were standing in front of his
mahogany desk, almost side by side.
Claire was reaching for her bag and
gloves. Suddenly Mr. Macomber saw
a look of fear in her eye. It was a
look of horror. What he saw in her
eyes made him swing about.
Jack Gracey was prodding him in
the ribs with a sawed-off shotgun; a
murderous-looking thing with no stock,
so that it could be held in the hand
like a pistol. Gracey didn’t say a
word. He didn’t have to, The wild
look in his eye was enough. Claire
Macomber yelled.
She didn’t scream. She _ yelled:
“Father!”
Mr. Macomber acted entirely on im-
pulse. The gun-muzzle was pressing
hard against his ribs, and it was the
first thing he thought of. He grabbed
the muzzle of the sawed-off shotgun
and forced it downward, so that it was
pointing toward the floor. Gracey,
surprised, flung his body against Ma-
comber and began to wrestle. The
bank president clung to the barrel of
the gun, pushing Gracey off with his
elbows, shouting a warning. .
“It’s a holdup!” he shouted. “It’s a
holdup!”
Claire Macomber, blue eyes bulging
with fear, clapped her hands over her
mouth and backed against the wall.
Macomber managed to swing Gracey
around, and then he saw something
else. Another bandit stood silently in
the doorway, a pearl-handled six-
shooter in his fist. ,
Macomber’s brain worked like
lightning. He suddenly flung Gracey
off, took a step backward and tried to
gain some protection from the heavy
door-frame between himself and Che-
batoris, cutting off his line of fire.
Gracey leaped back upon him, fighting
like a madman to wrench his shotgun
free. Sounds of the scuffle and Ma-
comber’s shouts attracted the atten-
tion of two of the five women cus-
tomers in the bank.
Chebatoris: waved his revolver at
them, covering them should they at-
years ago Rice died in New York leav-
ing a $5,000,000 estate. He had been
dead only a short time when a law-
yer named Patrick produced several
checks for thousands of dollars, bear-
ing the signature “W. M. Rice.” At-
torney Patrick also produced a will
purportedly signed by Rice, leaving the
estate to the lawyer. There were two
trials, one in the civil and one in the
criminal courts. Several genuine speci-
mens of Rice’s signature (the exem-
plars) were produced, and under pho-
tographic enlargement showed many
minor variations which did not match
perfectly. Then the disputed or sus-
pected specimens on the _ lawyer’s
checks and the will were shown pho-
to-enlarged and they were identical!
They were thus proved forgeries.
The “fly in the ointment” is this: We
may have only a single signature and
be unable to find the original, genuine
one from which it was traced. It is
here that modern science must work
hand in glove with practical, routine
detective work in an effort to locate
the original. And so we have another
proof that science in crime detection
does not seek to do away with old es-
tablished detective methods. It docs
not. Science in crime detection is for
the purpose of supplementing, aug-
tempt to aid Macomber. His beady
eyes saw the bank president suddenly
dart out beyond the door-frame, grap-
pling fiercely with Gracey.
Chebatoris pulled the trigger. A
bullet crashed through the excitement.
It struck. Macomber in the left shoul-
der, just below the collar-bone. It
passed entirely through his body and
ripped a hole in the plaster of the wall.
The shot was the first warning to
Cashier Paul D. Bywater. He did not
hear Macomber’s first shouts, but he
heard the explosion. He came run-
ning from his desk to the scene of the
fight. He didn’t see Chebatoris at all,
and unknowing to him, Chebatoris’ gun
muzzle was following him as he ran
behind the line of tellers’ cages and
through a mahogany doorway. As
soon as he burst out of the door to help
his courageous superior, Chebatoris
fired at close range. It was murder.
The .38 caliber slug ripped its way
through Bywater’s abdomen, mush-
roomed inside his body. His intestines
were pierced in seven places by metal
shrapnel from the bullet. Bywater
spun around and fell flat on the floor
without a sound, bleeding profusely.
The five women customers screamed
and ran aimlessly around the banking
floor, Clerks dived for shelter under
desks; a pall of choking powder smoke
hung in the room. Everybody yelled.
The grand old man in the front office
was full of fight right up to the last
minute. He clung to that sawed-off
shotgun and fought off the desperate
Gracey even though his coat-sleeve
was sticky with blood from his wound.
He wouldn’t give up. He tore into
Gracey like a wildcat, even after
Cashier Bywater lay apparently dead
on the floor beside him. Then he re-
laxed his grip and fell to the floor in
exhaustion.
Chebatoris gestured with the muzzle
of his smoking revolver to Gracey.
The gesture said: ‘Come on, scram!
The job’s a failure; everything’s gone
haywire. We can’t get that loot now
because all this shooting and holler-
ing probably has awakened everybody
in town. Get out of here!”
Macomber was conscious. He lay
there, clapping his hand to his wound-
ed shoulder to stop the blood, not dar-
ing to look toward Claire. She wasn’t
hysterical, but on the verge of it. She
thought he was dead.
At last, after Macomber fell, Gracey
was able to grab his shotgun and run
for the door. Chebatoris was right be-
hind him. They pushed upon the
double doors, leaped for their car,
parked at the curb. They yanked
open the door. They were in a ter-
rific hurry. Doctor Hardy saw that.
When the clock below had pointed
to 11:30, Doctor Hardy, in his pros-
menting the regular detective work. It ~
makes detection twice as certain, be-
cause where ordinary detective meth-
ods fail, science carries on. And where
science strikes a snag, detectives carry
on. *
Our most important weapons in
handwriting identification are the
camera and the microscope. By their .
use we even can tell whether the pen
used was an ordinary steel pen or a
fountain pen. Due to the fact that when
the ink on an ordinary pen thins out
as the writing progresses, requiring
that it again be dipped into the well
or bottle, we can note a corresponding
thinning-out in the writing itself. With
fountain pens, where there is a con-
stant, even and steady flow, such thin-
ning-out does not exist. When a foun-
tain pen runs dry, it does so in most
cases suddenly and this is apparent, or,
it may result in a pen-scratch which
contains no ink and leaves a small
blank in the letters, all of which can
be seen with microscope or camera.
For scientific accuracy, “opinions”
are worthless; only demonstrable facts
are of value and all others must be
discarded. Nowhere is this more true
than in’ handwrit:. * examinations,
which are, nevertheless, important
corollary evidence. °
Read It First in
AL DETECTIVE STORIES
thetic laboratory, began making a
plaster-of-paris impression of a
patient’s jaw. He washed the plaster
off his hands, took off his white office
coat and prepared to go home to lunch.
He had his hat on, as a matter of fact,
and then took it off again. He had
remembered something. He went
through some files looking for data on
this patient’s case history. That was
the second coincidence in this startling
chain of circumstances. Macomber
had stayed behind a little later than
usual, too.
Doctor Hardy was reaching for his
hat again when he heard a shot. Then
another. He heard women screaming.
He recalled another voice, too— the
voice of Sheriff Ira Smith, saying
quietly to him:
tITRANK, I'd get to that window.
And I’d get there fast!”
Doctor Hardy reached for his rifle,
thumbed off the safety and yanked the
window wide open. Below him he saw
Gracey and Chebatoris just piling into
their car. In Gracey’s hand was the
sawed-off shotgun with the pistol stock.
Chebatoris had the .38 caliber revolver
clutched openly in his hand.
What happened immediately after-
ward is one of the most remarkable
examples of coordination on record.
Everything clicked; all the phases of
the Sheriff’s well-laid trap worked as
perfectly as a fire drill.
The two bandits started their motor
and backed out from the curb. Doc-
tor Hardy shot twice, rapidly. The first
shot smashed the gasoline tank. The
second went through the side door and
smashed Gracey’s left arm. Some
pieces of the second bullet later were
found in Gracey’s back. He yelled.
The car lurched off, out of control, and
rammed another car at the curb with a
force like a locomotive. Chebatoris
threw the revolver into the back seat
and reached for a high-powered pre-
cision rifle. The getaway was going
to be tough, he thought, but this rifle
would get them through.
Chebatoris jumped out and began
running down Benson Street toward
the railroad tracks. After him, Jack
Gracey was gasping and limping along,
trailing blood, calling out to his pal to
wait.
Doctor Hardy calmly and unexcited-
ly lined up his sights on Chebatoris.
Two more bullets whistled past the
bandit’s ears. They ruined what was
left of his self-possession. These mys-
terious bullets, «oming from the sky,
apparently, whining and singing past
his nose, wounding his pal, ruining his
getaway, changed Chebatoris into a
hysterical maniac.
He crouched in the street, looking
wildly for a place of refuge. He saw a
07
——“ the sill.
man dashing out of a filling station on
the other corner. The man had a uni-
form. It was blue, and Chebatoris
saw a bright badge on his cap. Was he
a ‘cop? Chebatoris didn’t wait to find
out. He raised his rifle and began
pumping bullets. The man fell.
He was Henry Porter, a truck driver
for the Nehil Lumber Company of Bay
City. Porter: had heard the shooting
and had run out to see what was going
on. He took a bullet in the abdomen
that smashed his hip-bone and literally
tore him apart. He fell backward, and
lay there.
There was Porter, bleeding out his
life on the ramp of a filling station.
There was Gracey, badly wounded,
stumbling along trying to keep up with
-his fleeing pal. There was Chebatoris,
with a high-powered rifle, feverishly
trying to locate the source of those un-
seen bullets, ready to commit more
murders as soon as he could find some-
one to shoot at. And there was Doctor
Hardy squinting at him through his
rifle sights.
Into this barrage of bullets came a
well-meaning housewife, in an old car,
driving to town for some shopping.
She drove around the corner right into
the fracas. She was unconscious of
the battle until Chebatoris caught up
with her car.
He jumped on the running-board
and yanked open the door. She yelled,
and grabbed for her small son, Duane,
five years old. Chebatoris growled:
“Go on—get out!” and pushed her
with his foot. She tore open the door
on the driver’s side and half fell out,
holding the child. She ran for. safety.
Doctor Hardy saw her. In his sec-
ond-story office he held his fire cour-
ageously until she could reach a door-
way across the street. While she ran,
e poked the screen out of his window
with the rifle-barrel and rested it on
He knelt down, resting the
barrel firmly to give him a better aim.
His targets were a block away now,
downhill.
The housewife, Mrs. Irene Stolz-
mark, had reached safety. She was out
of sight. Gracey limped to the side of
the car and begged Chebatoris to open
up and let him in. The car was in
the middle of the road, jerking along
bumpily in low gear. Chebatoris
couldn’t shift it. It growled along a
few yards and crossed the railroad
tracks. He wasn’t the expert driver
his partner was.
Doctor Hardy had a perfect bead on
the automobile in his sights, but he
was trying to save the car from dam-
age if he could. Gracey was on the
running-board. _Doctor Hardy’s rifle-
barrel swerved slightly from the car to
Gracey’s head.
E TOOK his time about the shot. It
was a beauty. It picked Gracey off
the car perfectly. The bullet caught
the fugitive bandit right in the fore-
head, picking him upward as if a mal-
let had: hit him under the chin. He
turned a back flip and came down flat-
ly on his faee and chest. ‘Probably he
never knew what hit him.
The bullet had gone through his
head and taken the whole rear side of
_ his skull out. And this was a range
’ of over 200 yards, downhill and partly
up the side of a bridge approach. Doc-
tor Hardy missed the side of .the car
about: two. inches ‘with that shot... It
remains one. of the finest examples. of
precision shooting under pressure in
Michigan’s history. :
Chebatoris abandoned the car in a
hurry when his pal was knocked off
the running-board. He knew it would
be his turn next. So he got out of
the Stolzmark car and ran obliquely
along the tracks toward another ma-
chine. Doctor Hardy waited for him
to get free of the car and then winged
him with a very pretty shot that went
clear through the deltoid muscle on
the left shoulder. It paralyzed his
whole left arm.
-In this condition, dripping blood,
brandishing a huge rifle, half dead
with fright, wild-eyed and hysterical,
Tony Chebatoris suddenly appeared
alongside the second car. There was
another housewife with a small child
in that one. She saw the horrible
apparition, and clutched her child.
oT
Chebatoris fumbled with the door,
slumped into the seat, and kicked at
Mrs. Gail Foster with his foot. She
screamed for her husband. The hus-
band heard her, half a block away, and
came running at top speed.
In the Foster car, Chebatoris could
have escaped. It was a new model, in
excellent condition. The motor was
tuned up, the gasoline tank was full, it
had a new set of tires. He could have
gone to southern Ohio in it before hav-
ing to refill the tank. It might have
been the way out for Tony Chebatoris,
except for one thing.
The car was a Terraplane, with an
electric gearshift device advertised by
that company as a “finger-tip control”
unit. It’s a small metal case about the
size of a tennis ball, under the steer-
ing wheel. It has a tiny lever hardly
more than an inch long which does the
shifting.
The mechanical gadget beat him.
That device licked the killer and
stopped the rest of his getaway plans.
He had jumped out of one car that he
“1¢ | were you,” Sheriff Ira Smith of Midland County, Michigan, said
“I'd have my rifle by that window.
couldn’t shift and into this one, which
he couldn’t even start, let alone shift.
He was weakening from loss of blood,
but still he fought. Frantically, he
turned all the levers and pushed all
the buttons he could find. He turned
on all the lights, turned on the radio,
rapped and pounded on the gearshift
box, yanked and pushed on it until the
strength of his desperation bent the
steel lever. But nothing happened.
The radio was emitting frightened
squawks and rattling with static when
Husband Gail Foster got there. He
came at Chebatoris with both fists, but
the wounded bandit covered him with
his rifle which he held in his one good
hand, trying vainly to pull the trigger.
He was too weak. Foster remembered
having seen Patrolman Stanley Sage
up on the main street a short time be-
fore. Mrs. Foster and the baby were
out of the car, and safe. . Foster looked
around for the Midland: police. officer.
_. Patrolman Sage had‘heard the shoot-
ing and -was running ‘down’. Benson
Street when he saw Gracey’s body. -
That ‘was where Foster: met him. . In
the few moments Foster was away,
Chebatoris. clawed his way feebly out
ofthat car and -stumbled along the
shore of the river toward the Pere
Marquette freight depot. Near a road-
construction office shack he saw an-
other car—a Chevrolet. He was get-
ting dizzy, and he hardly had enough
strength left to open the car door and
fall heavily into the driver’s seat, his
rifle still beside him.
The owner of the car was a burly
road-construction official named Ralph
Lubinski. He and his boss, Superin-
tendent R. O. Van Oden, saw the
gasping bandit enter the car. To them
it was just a case of an arrogant car
thief. They could’ take care’ of: that
themselves. Van Oden spoke first.
“What do you think: you're doing?”
he growled at Chebatoris. :
“Get the Hell out of here,” muttered
the bandit, “or I’l] kill you!” ae
Then he fainted. Z
Sheriff Ira Smith reached the car
within a few seconds. He opened the
door and yanked Chebatoris out by the
collar, but the bandit revived some-
what and again attempted to go for his
rifle. The Sheriff held him down on
his back with one ‘knee while the
others looked at the wound.
Sear: townspeople came running
up. Among the first to arrive were
Gail Foster and Patrolman Stanley
Sage.
“This guy stuck up the bank,” said
Patrolman Sage. “His pal is lying in
a heap out there on Benson Street
bridge. They tell me that he killed
Mr. Bywater and wounded Mr. Ma-
comber!”
“A bank job, huh?” exclaimed the
Sheriff. “Help me get this fellow to
jail. Call a doctor. So it finally hap-
pened, did it? Well.”
Gradually, one bit of evidence at a
And I'd get there fast... .’
time, the story was pieced together.
Chebatoris was in a state of coma
when the doctor examined him in the
jail, muttering incoherently. An un-
dertaker was called to remove the
body of Jack Gracey from the blood-
stained pavement. The Sheriff notified
the State Police post at Bay City.
Doctors from the Midland clinic car-
ried Henry Porter and Paul Bywater
upstairs and beg2n hurried efforts to
save their lives. Macomber’s wounds
were bandaged.
The doctors saw almost at once that
Perter was doomed. They gave him
intravenous injections of glucose in an
effort to keep him alive, and twice re-
sorted to blood transfusions to thwart
abdominal hemorrhages. But Henry
Porter, innocent bystander who looked
something like a cop, died in the Mid-
land clinic two days later.
For ten days it was a -day-and-
night battle to save ‘Cashier Paul D.
Bywater: The: valiant cashier lay
there, onthe brink of death, night after
agonizing ‘night; while the press -wires
of the world hummed with bulletins on
his condition. : His rugged constitution
finally: carried ‘him through, and he is
not only alive today but back in the -
bank. In his calm, patient face are
deeply lined marks of suffering, put
there by the bullet of Tony Chebatoris,
the bandit who thought he had killed
him.
Macomber, president of the bank, in
relating the circumstances to me im-
mediately afterward, said that he could
not be given credit for intentionally
grappling with Jack Gracey and thus
thwarting the holdup. He said he had
no intention of it until Gracey stuck
the shotgun into his body. If Gracey
had stood a few feet away and cov-
ered him with it,- the’ quick-witted
president would have had no alterna-
tive but: to hold up his hands and al-
low them to snatch the payroll. But
that’ feel of cold steel against his
body .... ‘ j
Doctor Hardy, who talked to me in
his dental office, told me that he no
sooner had finished his job and re-
placed his rifle than several other pro-
fessional men who occupied adjoining
offices came running in to tell him that
the bank had been held up. They
wanted to know where he and that
rifle had been hiding all that time.
Characteristically, he told them noth-
ing!
Calmly and without answering any
questions, Doctor Hardy went home to
lunch. He is a bachelor who lives
alone with his mother in a beautiful
Midland home, but he did not mention
his experience to her, either. He fin-
ished his meal, and on the way back to
his office he dropped in at the Midland
County Jail to see if his friend
Sheriff Smith had nabbed the other
bandit. He took a quiet look at the
raving Chebatoris, and left.
The Michigan State Police received
the call as soon as the Sheriff was back
in his office. Captain—Fighting Joe—
Kearney, the Commandant of the Bay
City district, piled his men into fast
cars and made the sixteen-mile trip to
Midland in twelve minutes. He took
immediate charge of the State Police
angles of the case, and within a few
minutes he had a report in East Lan-
sing. His men turned up Chebatoris’
reserve car and clothing at Corunna
and solved other questions connected
with the case. (The earlier history of
Gracey and Chebatoris in this story is
reconstructed from State Police
sources.) Chebatoris was taken to the
jail at Saginaw. When he heard that
. the Federal Government had indicted
him for murder, hé slashed his wrists
with a razor-blade in a suicide attempt
that very nearly succeeded.
The United States took over respon-
sibility for Chebatoris. United States
District Attorney John C. Lehr, at De-
troit, is the same man who, as a mem-
ber of Congress in 1934, successfully
led a Congressional sub-committee to
support an amendment to the Banking
Act which for the first time protected
banks which held Federal deposits.
The act stipulated that any homicide
resulting from an attack on such a
Federal deposit bank, or attempt to
avoid apprehension afterward, was
murder, punishable by death. By a
strange coincidence John C. Lehr, in
the United States Attorney’s chair at
Detroit, had an opportunity to test in
court the very law he had placed on
the statute books.
H's handling of the case has become
a legal classic. He systematically
ripped to shreds the defense bid for
sympathy. They pleaded with the
jury not to take Chebatoris’ life. They
quoted the Bible: “Thou Shalt Not
Kill.”
“Why don’t you teach Chebatoris
that commandment?” demanded Lehr.
“Why didn’t he think about that? How
can the defense ask for clemency with
Henry Porter lying dead as a result of
this killer’s bullets? This man must
die. The Government demands the
death penalty!”
“Guilty!” said the jury.
penalty of death!”
This is the first sentence of death
imposed in Michigan in more than a
century: This is the’first time that the
murder: provisions’ of the National
Banking Act of 1934 have been tested
in court, by the very man who gave
the country this: protection. It allows
G-Men‘to ‘track down a gunman who
kills a person during or after a bank
holdup. It guarantees prosecution in
Federal Court, before a Federal Jury,
with rulings on what is or is not ad-
missible testimony handed down by a
Federal Judge.
The law has teeth. The trial of
Anthony Chebatoris proved _ that.
Michigan is to inflict the death penalty
again, after a century of giving. killers
life sentences in State courts and see-.
ing them freed again, in some cases
after seventeen years. Chebatoris is
scheduled to hang in the Federal peni-
tentiary at Milan, Michigan, on ‘July
8, 1938.° :
’ There is scant possibility that Che-
batoris will appeal. f
“With a
43
COLLINETT & GADETT, Hanged Boston (Fed,) on 7-1-1831 - CONTINUED.
HOKEXN holding an axe and a knife, who took hold of witness and used threatening
language, Colinett came forward; said that witness had a great deal to say about
the murder, and ought to be killed with the captain, The captain was dead before
being thrown overboard, as his brians were beat out with the axe and scattered
around and upon the hen-coop,. The foregoing are some of the principal facts as
stated in the Court. Don John the Portugese, it will be recollected, cut his throat
before arriving at Havana, and thuse evaded summary justice, Colonett aided and
abetted, assisted by Gadett, the black, The rest of the crew were kept in the most
fearful : subjection, un til the brig was fallen in with and they were taken off by an
American vessel, The prisoners were committed to prison to take their trial at the
next term of the District Court, May 16," &#¥X COURIER, C,arleston, SC, 5-5-1831(2/3
_ them ot
‘Hedvory,
weeld wezer bets
ponseied. T
aud: Mr,
enett
the cominand uf} o
PON Spe
R- terdain:
ry,
aK,
ADELPH
Ly
LE
a "
ehall platy teclorg aur readere ay son aa coarentents
: os ses Mr." Dobeou was atabded (in the sioublar) ie} en :. yee
Nor . regeny agein disturbing the bile of the. ° heard the ¢ of Potter anid Spaeth Mc Oem Kiveneh J. BH. fre. Sits, 1 AW, Hail He} os UCADELEMEA,
Mercery.. By the way, Uiis treme Maxton O an, Potler, euctecded ii poaching the wale erosirtrees: Cogew 1 &.Co Gs Dougias, J. OW atker, TF, Bada: . BUSTUN PEYERS
aot inany weeta since, thought by the’ Mercury oh a3 Fook the fure-top, but very faint with Joss, of :¥9 nl, Walwer dO Kenzie, Sip th, Wright a ; BALTIMORE, SAYA
be a tery theser sr) ne & paper—bud twas then bee . ta nny sa nalioed inthe cabin; and as - See en &H wat: Sanit i Sythe AN
lveved to be with the Mercury in the sey feache:t thie without qticring a words | De tL. Boughton rao Mulliken, Catitaa dee CEW} So I
ne reabe of pps.) and fell from the inal heed overbaned , | MoBercelt, Waker. Grezory & Go. My de 8s. Cleve | 56 I
, 4 " ofan
Yon, Phe mitives of the Mercury i af ; 5 any
rs) Mee Molise “Mercury in ie occasional < az Sreten juaped overboard, and Mr. Robinson tert finds and 2A’ Durbaas” Onthe Tht 16st: sav 2 ships Diceinier DA oes
naums (to suit parch &
silussoe to the Courter and ila: contents, altheagh pat of th iat LAT EM Sg , 4 a ie :
we » aitheagh 4 cabin: window ; cng Of We olhtr | enka the Hook, supposed Unt drones FW Stead: art)
act always woderd or ae-noewledged br us, are,” ae deliber aiciy alabbed on coming out of the and Naftda, Jardine: Fries, AUIS Suit. of pos i Hite Rartuerey
neresthelom, weil understood and duty appreciated, ; k le, sor the uilere, with the cexeeption of the Courier, Beers, tor this port 15th inst, and fiue shijs od “4 tre
W only by dursolves, bul by this commeanity. Sona) tees and the other Frene: passenger { Mr. Express, Singtair itihe LU RMM gceeaoy NINY eens inc
hee sed were RES: Peo deren : ] alldilled ond thrown vyerbonrd <. -}) Schooner Faperiment, Weds. Baltiraare, and 6 hab been
Phe horrid Murder and Cirecy perpetrated og ~~ ‘ Be :
thine ¥
: Ms, Podeon's life waa praviited hin by Tard if | days from the Capes. Flour, Whiskers, Merchandize opie hove aan
board the brig Crawford, om her passage from Mas | le be would come doves on. deck, aul). Mr; D. “at firs |e. : Tot. Course, J. plone WV. Se entomtaae N OTIC Bag WY
ianeas to New-Vork, a0 related qader the Nort i oi eas Seated ment down tn deck, and then’ it mery.& Platt, SoM Lean, 4
Tardy (who now asiutigs th nd of | Le Free d Nurit abe eu gpa te ptt cited
Ke : ; uae DW ASHUTNY ie comme r mans and Nort, Arar ta pay first the legates
head, appears ta have been prajesied ty ae sitet the wand} abvelcped bis wes ah PRY tee Schooncr hulustcy, Lehue, Geo-zelawn @ day, 94] tance to be appreniite
cabling nimself ALexaNDER Tarn, teh reas <4 A) the vessel's papers, letters, colors, and whats ° bales Cotton. To Checsborough & Camnpbe, aod ass ditore who shail.
* : Seth oh ae eee iret daviol Get, res.
to be the same whe etiempled 6 ttaawopwith the |B troy obo fended w eve hae character, were det 1 a :
f : P 7 ; oe ‘ | Or. rownh overboard, anda new set ofpa pei eS CLUAARD. che ee oe ye Dan all Ure. sant Uirg titer
y reat, | pilot boat Core, of this purt, im the month of Novem. : v ase ai teades ut . papors, Shi , at mart Le ; oe ae ,
i : PRG) a. Nea ‘Kc. yt ine Spanish, were pros 1 >p Mouat Ve2ro7,Eizereall, Liverpool, O. est feldt PMNS COCINUEAN 64
«| bee, 1894, and to carry off with him several slams |i Bs ¢ Poy having brought bunting on board ith Brig Katharine, Halt avang-Sompayrac g-Petitpac present their plains a4
betooging to the Pilotege, For. ts crime he wae them Ale? made & Spaniel’ ensign. Capt. Tardy | Sloop Express, Stevens: Newpurtess, Mowry. je Pan erbelsce tbe dae)
sentenced to a long continued’ impriaenrecnt, tut faa cogk Protieus that his object wes lo proceedita Poster. 8 FP NIT ARG SLOT EAUA TH o0y barreshof alt be aede Os &
was pardoned by the fovemer, previgus to ite tert : be pues rien dit aed a if he | Sehr'Gen, Geddes, Morris a0, Key sVest: afores cid eat pe is
“wht nisi — ee) would tay jum, he shou dinBly con! | EARP ROM TBs FORT, ini sre seqitated bs rink}
mination, and proceed ed hanes. e Harta. Neate: eos ies. 2 Une eircom ‘ances he cue aut signee er etait: 1 dlr Tuayses . a Ata Mee ; i
‘Ww einen SEP yO . ative, Afr, BD. gave him the: required as- Sehr. Ale bok, No folk, via Deracoeks so ~ OROBERS gh
Sn eey rea idlans ened by s. Basti ot we ~ qarebes. MU, ras dound neceeiry ta i to touch: | Sehr: Zion. Jewkins,. 9 da 6 days. ©
Dv : » Bank 3 or provisions, an ardy suggested |°
qe
Ui State of Soath Carutina, out: of which bed been the dew of going tate St Mary's in evens observ- |. Elford's Observatory. rx parts a aquarcrigzed vesset a
tered aa Hyadred aay Dylans, aad the other ta. Ten Oy pha like to go Savannan-or Charleston, |" the Hing ab sun-set lastevening. NEOUAMS tee tees
Doatlere, As the¥ nets of the Ted Delise Bille a dinate oan own. (Me. D. aawhis ‘The brig Carcoll, Piper, hence forthe Nertls ot Fe. cya ne had east
ess
yet ey ncaa OF & of nataratization, which was issued’ in rope, Was spoken t6t mal. in fate-314, longetd, O06-2) Nod i de ee Oe bake tb
fer Crom those the ebove were. istended lo represent, : P-bat the winds cing rather aii qicte; they daya out. beh are : : = en tuMeeR ie ng
in expertenced bands the importion would be. easily. . 5. concluded lo stnnd fer Cape Henry.) where Tardy The sehr, Merilign, Cowart, for this, port, was up wey via fut fe Wei? paseo!
detected; bat persons nat accustomed’ to. hendtl = he cpuld go into the Chosapeake,and then take at Baltimore 4th past” ek, eee per
much money @anld probably de dootived ; | SA Ey af gad co to Nerlolk, where he was also wcqstaid- The echr, Aiert, Rook, lence st Noriotk,. tthe} Ja: Pa ans
augh p trate te tam godenk pond oh pA ly dana ee | gals of the Clic tet: was tito'eheg ber beam ends, | - pence KS
euch persces pen (2 Feed ty the whjest ome Of Ure Capes uf Virgtits, they were mpd reaegived ja that etturtign four ovate bul. “ef Situate
erin hae ed ey eae ‘bearded by 8 pilot, who endetstanding their object | TheePhr. John Alexander, Cullis 15 days from th» ¥ a Young Man
We understand the above were received yeotorday i to be to odtain- proviiony sith the least possible de-: port fer Baliimores went op the Chesapeake 12th I Arcee oth 8
‘ty the ehip President. ine was detected ty News ©: - ‘fay, advived them tu pat in. al- Old Point Comfort as pinstauh > % ms US st Gouds Stote> bei ah au
' York gnd the ether oi Phil xfs pores the most convenicn’: place. 4d they accurdingty, i: + By the Li ey paes can e: oh tan, Aline 10 4
SEA ole Paeey eS oh eiphia. ieee aie 0 not withsut some refuctsnce on the part of ; _ [By the line shay re siden. avait prdeda yet meh erclaott
SSS" my che Ele Sup Proiaaly Tardy, auchored at the Point, wun astone throw | pra theta Reda: ed ws a Acts: shipis Pocahontas, Apett 2055
Rete ae “ NBW-YORK, J Shi & aint, Tuemlay evening ai Cu’ch as. Soon vads, Gibraitar 46 day, ; Lafaxetic, Fanting, Nop oe oer set ee :
othe Wen. Bayard, from Curthegena, Sine's ve anchoring, Tardy directed the msie to have the Oreans, May 25th, ant 16 days fron the Baliee b 80 At Pn
ees 'othe 12th ult. President Bottvan : alte erered and brought along sule, saying he in- mpress, Sinclar, Charleston 7, bigs Loutine, Jens fg SMALIO PLANT
® . a Tah wes Cepect ae mo) o ‘ashore at the Puint ~ The boal was pings, Havana 16; Expl i, Blauevard, vo. bay Els 4 ny att aay, ee
accordingly lowered with the mate init, who avait. be, Aukin, Pecoaubucd 33; Win Bayard, Hamiltay, > Saige and i Seektss
SS Be ing bimasif oo” v favouradic. an opporanity (9 free Carihazen) May 12; Ariboneitn, Magny, Port-au-} a BARN
the British Mf isle : himset{ from. ar) association wilh these bloudy mofts-| Prince ; sctirs, Lelses, Rhodes, Matanzas 16 ;-ONn->o> June 20
Vemerate | ’ Bade rcenin PR ee, ere tera, cast off the tackles, se.sed Ari oar and skulled | ly Sun, Bawly, St, Johnay P. R19; Pizarea, phate | een em oy
bet} Mr. Wane, the British Minister to Mexico,” =e for the beach ‘Tardy perceiving this movement, be- | n0n, Motile 28; Supenor, Hopkins, St Thomas. |. rant W
arrived bere ca Mieriay in the Primrose sloop of Bes came grealty alarmed, end called vat tv the mate *May 19:h; Eqngratit, Eustis, S¥ Johns, BeBe 8 Lee yO: Purchase, o¢ 19 t
esterday for Af apes City, age _pepegecbfalty, ‘Are you going to betray ice 7” He; Cleared, sty Mary Lord, Hosstter, Cantos. veeepat b Nod SEK
apt. Yernen, We tearm. they coutinend to watch the mate. will great apparent) Sai'ed yesterday. fr. brie Malis, Liverjrool; CARTIAGES, A t 2
nd .re-ern’ ‘on. Tuesday. trepitstion ; saw him jand, Le curbeaat earsbne: brig Fame, Margit, Norfolk. —* » ~ a Rea von aces Adi
iv propted for Porta > Ee (some ef them officers of the Fortress.) cather round | Brig Sea Nyoipl: wus at Tampico, May Uthifor) sere ye
the “me meath, ad en Cohn as ll hice, vei}: « crowd had collected, vo wham tic this port, waiting the arrival of specie. The coovay | -. oe Privat
N ; “ : beiretating !is atmos! increlible from Mexico was cxpeeied to arrive alout the dui. oe Pay tae B
jj aecoua Mtr, an © - adeen| 4 W sgiisted thatial! was! Arr. at Boston, on Sunday, J0'ty inst. brigs Hover, BY WT
‘ee ...<6} mony a pmnery) Havana 23 days; Laurel, Reed, 5t. Crom wr an Mt dae «2:
ee there i B oe 10 days, Lottora had been recetred = tended
Passing erospraed aE that he wuald salt Ne Thee
ra Druid, Br, Frigate, ne -
that. +) Cocklurn gfe Spe es
hick ~ = 16. are : 2 acuta ss ste
Hos.| May. The 0.S m6 Uf © Quebec, Jared —The sehre Francie & Elizabeth, be supplied, wiih tive bs » ie
belween f public justice. : Heweson, tran Trindad, wilhrum amd sugar, gates erate Lec ibe ©
hee mate could ¢ nvince | kroved Cae rock an the, Raver St, + harles, on Thus: caGiraenvidie Cote U4
bie so incredible | day nightyand fell over with the eb tides | The care] * - * ie
gid go has been taken out, but the greater part being ust” RED: g
ques: | lowing a ger isso much damaged aslo be almost « totallusscc:)” ae “oh wate
iat is, RY adie se aa ae 9 aa Fae ot H De RCH
> $8, 10, rR Say _SAVANNAL, June 1d saled, sips Bengat, | ** regaeetesy ieatall
Neture of Massarhuselts, 9 > : Garwood. New-York 5 Jomcs, Daze, Havre). vabyae ene tormard and insk:
re ny 0 inapotny SLL : Alerald, Gotdie. Aberdeen; brig Adeline. Brown, fannie azunet toe ¢ 26
quiar decton and Havanay sche, Gide, Berean NewsVaek Tahoe cased for paying at, Gr -
Ht pool es BALTIMORE. Jane 14.—Arcr: ship Henry Clay, pot SAMESOE YS
The ; however, Purker; Bremen 53.aays; Bremen. bre Germania, a The cegvert 4
* | toan of $960 dott be . captain had Hymaniss “Landon 46.5. score. Cieero;,, Raua, Port ELLERY, SEV PK f
farther ec G side and plac au Claw es a pe & recite; i oied Mataty do datsig nth hy at
Aock to bearan if zse 42: Leaders Hugs, Stdohns, Pome Sf Dd OM Late Wer ead Cee,
in 1850.0 ty. sbe Stirs Cisarcdachr Lea en i Very Crag oy ane & a
Paes a tec Spent PHILADELPUIA.June Wie Arrived: brig Eriés{
Sebdeghtonde + aoa soak : ee wore going, fa Teal, Manisaes 3 rade ef: Apeil 4, Us. ae Ae Sudliv:
— ca some gate Macedontan, (on, idle, waning The asremad poe © Ca hte
PORTSMOUT weet we ee ertaal mwblak ner. meade Wine [oh pati iceae te nae the will proceed | yg bwollok
; esegpe from the briz, and landed on ti ¥ to Rode dance ae ee ee ee ee er
‘City Spores A ue nndery wae ey raed Schrdohu& William, Stratton, Mobite 2 Bn: Go aL
alrsid ta. the wigele country eu. in is of thein, though |, Ustows a.6t (srppoacd the Telegraply Borys | pur SRE fs oie
Aber heme. had sot been apprehended 4s late as Wednesday [ireph nal A 3} bag kinity, Cupelands teu Mera) vik ac Mi hte. we ,
' oe y wie wz: : , sy ONE TE BA se nadne 6 Ke ss
at Y harbor-eq: 3 Bo Hays caste however for them to ef Cleared, brigs Heroine, Storer, 8¢ Jago de Cuba, \
“A the. Aer eee An tnquegwes Weld oa the body of Tardy, and Mary Ann, Ragas, Lazuira , Experiments Cayetano a ene
hae ee it was interfed ao tie beset et Old Point, on Wed- {Br } Liserpoot;, sehr. Pair Biay, Se iyAushered Wy Rout. on
nesday~ Hg te said to have been about] os ee a ee ee Sahat fo
ap sty fs ahd ealber small of stature. ' go For We Fork. —Vachet ship Line. two Mex
‘ TORIPT — ates learn, that the three | The { stseiling coppercd Ship CUMS PERRY. Joe’ i
were appr on Weduesday + vening Thorp maser, ius anavosdably de.pined, webaatt
vp get,at Sleepy Hole Ferry, in Nansemond cou? | un Friday, the 22d iiet” wind and! weati. © perry
phereg 2 pet sexone anes fiver by d couple of }ting Por Freinht of Passage, apple on tomd, oh rai
ro. in & cance. y Were traced to the | Privy = wiert, oF vo ee Ne a i Phe thea.
pace of iow capture by agiac gbrvemen cho were} P&T FREET & CO. 128 Bait Bey Huscis tins’
an at Of them. taken to Hampton, where | 9 C27? The Ship Y SUELLO, Captaid Socehh, wets :
4 the} werd lodgedin jal. succeed che Commodire Berry .
ORrICes ha SAE SN Tad a cted that the enlprits would be Prought) Jue 19 ‘ ‘ ‘ Fhe
t Vard,- Q ' fe ; ight freai Hampton and cominitted (a the bo on Nee, Sd ae oT ene aoe
VILLIAM:, SOBANY,. sion Borgugt; the Deputy Moraial Wai. Bor Passage fur Uremen.-~ A few Yas | 4 pani
f their: te s rote een i, Bae beving gone over in the af erziodn, to | seagers can be wetl aces mama ed 8 the bis LAX) .
wall wee, ing nade bet the civil’ authority of Hapton, INGTON, Capt White, ta pert foc toe aliases ast mi
: ; . ae ae
“June, 24>
Leia
dgebned: giviog then up forthe present. )8 oc 20'dage. For terme, aply to the captain ony
4
a4 < To the competes who . 7g PAS es ksi : board, at Vardertiare.'s wher, 4 (are
vlo-’ TH, rahe 2 ky COLUMBIA, JUNE 15.—Bridze Slo. t.—B ce as ° 2 TRAPMANN |
, eo eg : se _ of the Cohinisia papi ibe recetpts Sune Ve ae ey TNS |
save far exceoded the expectatinas of ils most eat) pwr tn RP PT LOPE DR Ei NE
} advocates. - Shares have bevo readsy disposed . BP SHERit bald ¥.—Vhe Subacri it
par, t be sci 33 agjeare bisgort hat felhrwre:tizers, aoa candidate | Quangiog, 37
8: Gtiaxaep, Beg. and Mr. Davip Ea por the Office OF SHERIFF: of Chatcetan, Didert sglempeiN &
ivebeen « ated Directors of the Branch ahich clecthon will take plale in Janaary ‘neat. Hevigyig The ever ts
ue of the Tateot South Caroliua, al this had devoted the wheols ol vasa Inmet, os Chief Clore? peur img nc orede dears
the daties af the vftce, elmee che present Sher hyrege mtg «ih Se
arpecoranynenmintn ache WE eteeicl (9 th tik “k Pb dregs et aet
; + Ne phe Latiers inmset, (aw {Kinks ak will at. be Jeet with Deep peie, More
rsons having any de. nied) svat he ts cham pe tent 19 hit ‘he geine . Poe ® ie ie GMa
He cespec fullg sohcns he siflcages ol bea Fetow 5 6 kes ae be
eiuzent ‘ wifi ? Pad tert he wee ak. 8
é to make payment “ PHIGIP BATBICK, © | entuety caret | Tie
3 Petiny ~ Cat Clerk 2, Wangs Ode 4 iat foe peat
ROBERY M. ALLAN, May 2t i Pee od 1% s ote ey
q
Pak) 2s el cst ae acne Yen eons ‘
: ; q LPT OD pa tiang TOpeet ) wai
sa
berets ooh ¥ er a
et
PaEN eo tay
See SAN Sata
‘ :
ee ast <4
7 ae eg ov
. ag % bin treapr gee
Sabor Bite Pg te 10
wie phy erange
a reyragae
Nh hail a i ae Sane:
i alt
COURO, FELIX & PEPE, hanged Richmond, Va.,
8-17-1827 (Féderal.)
PAUL W. KEVE
THE HISTORY OF
Corrections in Virginia
University Press of Virginia
Charlottesville
eee ‘ i *
A. # Mah Shee ak
i ab
bg
eS a eae |
hae
+ ¢ $,
ue nm whey ge pw were
‘
7. fy
© unt
7 : :
ry ' ‘
,
/
t ' od
t ’
ns 4;
nt
. : ' ‘
s
Teal ratine 4
-
/ ;
rat fiw
. , ’
“anata gre as ony Rate ot
* a See a Pa
en
4 Y 4
Ps, “ee
a .
ot
i
A ie AP te ae :
“
bss
Ws ,
td
.
U OU g ' '
d up m at
‘ ‘ o
Ou
’ 5
t ‘ :
D
D
D c p q
‘ G
g Ly}
00
p 0 h
: d 0
0 Pr Pro Ge: hy 5
o 6 aD .
0 7 v7 5
#4 : 6 n
m th y
* Pt y
aN Ca a +
ard mledved m
: g 0 d
D Ufizi SP . +
u . :
em g 0
. *) m)
> d "
0 h
plo
U 000d
§ D0
t 5
tn ie Pen D
G ‘
‘Be
D a nd ©
0 d ’ 0 -
0 af on 2 "
ore, 1
tnt wie ‘
Gg ‘ ' 0
J
g "
sl ‘ .
r : en i
d ‘ 0 rat:
old
d n 7
0
acl 4 om e
4 0 + r]
n be :
’ ‘ 4 ‘
: d
‘ ‘ G Od
he prison r
A ’ , 0 n
DI n 1)
no
Te d nine d
n ;
ofh 9 m to
C : 2° ‘ 0
r 0 ’ d eon
OL a cond
aD d to b
0 d oin g
0 t ff
ds of th
* . oth Ms
oo ‘
S 1 .
a 8 OnD
oved
| Rn G Pc
' ' :
: t
h D
D Q
et be m m ©
G «7 0071
om 1 0 0
he po 00 :
off
d 0
9 ibe fmeprot
; ’ ; d
the no ‘
pAsION
ph ah d
nad n
9 t ;
J 1"
2 h
i! .
ae
2 :
7
. '
. .
ee
;
yy
Dep)
+
+t
*
y
od
b °
6.60
q
on ta
bas
pd
¢
:
;
=
aseres in them
the C
: sooae ard cof.
3 : e z of. the brig Craw-
‘until he took his passa on bo: of her “a B
pantards, respec
nd time ‘of sailin yooh ch expe
tri
overboard: Hel ca ; i hom B pray:
near whic’) beat
-weéll distinguish thing
ling, two or.three yarda (re
‘He did not know. who tt
: ala are he himoel€ kit
wert
the bra
vated by theh
i Gn ap
thea alto
ft
taut that
Uy him
ve
sod. Pe
une tive Aim:
d ounced him be
Necessary meaoures were
COX, Abraham, and WILLIAMS, Peter,
August 27, 1858,
Raaite)
~
4
NEW YORK "EMES ACCOUNT OF &
XECUTION - Not dated. (sent by Van
seein
1
- a
& Pouble Rxceation.
PRIZE WILLIAMS ABD ABRANAM COX, THE “ AL-
BIOR COCPER” MURDERERS HUNG. .
fg Prem the Boston Herald.
P Lawiron, Me., Friday, Aug. 27, 1658.
Earty this morning the pe-ple of the coun-
try surrounding this locality began to flock into
Le Falie and Auburn to witness the terrible
spectacle of the judicial homicide of two crimi-
nals. From the Lewiston side the people thronged
in crowds acrose the tull bridge to Auburn, and on
the court huuse side of the town, the gathering
wae as rapid towards the fatul epot. The gallows
wan erected early this morning. It isa plain and
substantial structuie, twelve feet square, with
thirteen feet fall from the top of the drop to the
round, The trap-deor or drop, is five feet and a
af long by four and a half wide. The ropes
were mace in Boston especially for this occasion.
and their diameter is as smal! as is consistent
with their required strength. The ropes were so
adjustéd as to give the banged persons a fall of
about nine feet ;
_ Yesterday I visited the jail and held a conversa-
tion with the prisoners. The negro, ANRAHAM
Cux, was quite cheerful and contented with his
fate, and Pater WiLttaMs, the white man, was
mould be presented . eT belief that his executiun
reven y¥ divine interporicion Cox
said that he knew he must . die, and he would try
tu meet bis doum likea man He expresses, gen-
erally, an acknowledgment of guilt in the bloody
affair, but when presred upon the sunject he enters
into 8 justifice'iun of the act on the ground that |
he was cruelly treated. He is a medium sized |
man, 68 years old om the 28:hof July last. He :
received his sentence of death on his sixty-eighth |
birthday. ‘ {
WitblaMs was eating an orange leisurely when
Lentered into conversation with him. He had |
several buuquets near his cell window, and en- |
tered very readi'y, even eagerly, into conversation.
His talk wae a mixture of ignorance, fanaticism
and insanity, although there was no raving about
& He sait his age was 28 years. Tne conversa-
tion was as follows :
Reporter—How do you feel, to-day, Williams ?
Wulame—Oh. I feel very happy ; (with anima-
tion ;) I never feltso happy in my tife' The Lord
, God Almighty make me tee) sppy Toe Lord
ne
Jesus Corist mase ire feel happy ! Holy Ghost
make me feel happy !
te—Do you feel as though you could meet
your fete like a man ?
Wallkame—Feate ? What fate? The Lord Jesus
Christ bes washed away my fate. The Lord Je
coe et has washed away my fate with his precioas
Reporter Do you fee) sorry for what you did on,
beard the alnoh Cooper ? id : 1
Walssams—I did feel sorry, but the Lord Jesus
Christ has wasned all my sorrows away.
Reporter— Do you hop for a pardon to-morrow ?
Waluame— The Lord God, he will pardon me. The
Lero Jesus will parcon me.
Revorter—Then you believe that Jesus Christ will
mot let them hang you.
W télseuma— He will not let them ; there is no power
en earhtohasg me;t> beng me is tw hang the
Lore Jesus (hnst, he suffered ouce and he cau’t suf
fer agein. Ob. you shall see great things to-m»rrow!
You -hall see the greatest wonder of the wurid to-
mR. purt Which of you proposed th der at
porter— ch of yo e murder
Gret
Williams—It was Apmanam (Cox.) He was the
fire', ano be can’t sleep because he won't confess it.
The Lord wudldn't jet nim slecp iast Light because
he eoulds.'t own it.
Reporter—W no gave you these flowers?
Weitoms—Mre Crank and some girls. (Imme-”
disieiy afterward.) Tne Lord Gud Almighty it
the m ail).
As i-was about to leave the cell, Witttams said:
s Have you taken down what i have beeu saylog'?”
Irepheo,* Yes” ** Read over the last,” said ne/ I
@: mplied, and he said: “That's ngnt; and now I
wan! yuu to put down something else. I want ‘you
tu @rite thut a utve girl did teaca me to the Lurd. A
ry e hat little gir: shall get @ great vless-
hanséd Lewiston, Maine
(Fed)
286 Notes
76. Governor's Message and Annual Reports of the Public Officers of the
State, 1853-54, doc. 14, p. 3.
77. Journal of House of Delegates, 1832-33, Superintendent's Report, Peni-
tentiary of Virginia, doc. 1, p. 28.
78. Journal of House of Delegates, 1833-34, Superintendent's Report, Peni-
tentiary of Virginia, doc. 1, p. 128; ibid., 1834-35, doc. 7, p. 4.
79. As shown on a map drawn for the purpose in 1835 by Micajah Bates,
surveyor of the City of Richmond, VSL.
80. Calendar of Virginia State Papers, 9: 140.
81. Timothy Chandler, Commonplace Book, 1818-23, kept at Broomfield,
Caroline County, Virginia Historical Socicty (hereafter VHS), Richmond.
82. Virginius Dabney, Virginia, the New Dominion (Garden City, N.Y
1971), 331.
83. Virginius Dabney, Richmond: The Story of a City (Garden City, N.Y
1976), 57; Richard Young, A Plan of the City of Richmond, 1509, map, VSL.
84. Chesson, 123-24.
oy, 85. A Brief Sketch of the Occurrences on Board the Brig Crawford, Hugh
Blair Grigsby Pamphlets (Richmond, 1827); Richmond Enquirer, Aug. 21, 1827.
86. Christian, 67.
87. Matthew L. Davis, ed., Memoirs of Aaron Burr (New York, 1836), 4009.
“9
,
oF
Chapter Four
1. Journal of House of Delegates, 1861-62, 293; ibid., 1862-63, 242, 251.
2. Edward Younger and James Tice Moore, eds., The Governors of Virginia,
1860-1978 (Charlottesville, 1982), 30.
3. Journal of House of Delegates, 1865-66, Dec. 4, 1865, pp. 21-22.
4. Harper's Weekly, Nov. 18, 1865.
5. Executive Journal, Secretary of the Commonwealth, May 11, 1864, to
Dec. 31, 1867.
6. Official Records of the War of the Rebellion, Union and Confederate Ar-
mies, ser. 2, vol. 4 (Washington, D.C. , 1899), 366, 375, 528, 862.
7. Chesson, 111.
8. Calendar of Virginia State Papers, 2: 499.
9. Shepherd, 2:415; Journal of House of Delegates, 1833-34, Superinten-
dent’s Report, Penitentiary of Virginia, doc. 1, 128; Annual Report of the Directors
of the Penitientiary . . . for. . . 1871 (Richmond, 1871).
10. Records of the War of the Rebellion, ser. 1, vol. 42, Pp. 1243.
11. Annual Report, Penitentiary, 1881.
12. George Washington Cable, The Silent South (New York, 1885), 120.
13. Journal of House of Delegates, 1866-67, Annual Message of the Gover-
nor, Dec. 3, 1866, doc. 1, Pp. 10.
14. Annual Report, Penitentiary, 1871.
15. Cable, 120.
16. Unless otherwise noted, these reports of contracts are taken from the an-
nual reports of the penitentiary.
17. Wayland F. Dunaway, “History of the James River and Kanawha Com-
pany,” (Ph.D. diss., Columbia University, 1922), 230-31.
The Penitentiary 61
the twelfth instant, at the usual place of execution.”” Many ac-
counts may be found of well-attended local hangings such as one in
a Caroline County murder case wherein two men were hung on
separate days. In September 1821 the men had broken into a home
and attacked six people, killing two of them. Three months later a
local resident noted the concluding event in his diary: “Dec. 7th,
1821. This day, agreeably to the sentence of the court, John Gill-
man was brought to the gallows by the sheriff and at about 3 o'clock
PM was hung by the neck until he was dead, in the presence of
about 3 thousand persons. Dec. 14th, 1821. This day, in pursuance
of the sentence above mentioned, William Reid was brought to the
gallows by the sheriff of this county and hung by the neck until he
was dead in the presence of many county people.”
Many localities may have a fairly regular place of execution, but
often it was up to the sheriff to erect his gallows each time wherever
he chose. The execution of a prominent local citizen of Norfolk
during the Civil War drew a large crowd of spectators to the Norfolk
fairgrounds where the gallows was set up in the middle of the race
track. In Richmond, hangings were frequent enough to result in
the use of a “usual place of execution. This was a small clearing,
surrounded by pines and undergrowth, just north of the intersection
of today’s Fifteenth and Broad streets.” An early map of the city
shows the gallows sharing this site with the “Negroes’ burial ground,”
an indication of the race of most subjects of this penalty.” Other
sites in Richmond also were used, including an area near the peni-
tentiary wall where there was a shallow ravine. “At the head of this
valley stood the state penitentiary and execution grounds, imme-
diately surrounded by a poor black neighborhood known as Peniten-
tiary Bottom, where convicts on the chain gang dumped their street
sweepings.” * Apparently it was here that Richmond’s most memo-
rable execution was carried out, the result of a vicious episode of
piracy and murder committed off the Virginia coast.
In May 1827 the brig Crawford left Cuba for New York and en-
route four passengers aboard conspired to take over the boat. ‘They
started by poisoning the food of the crew, but the poison only made
the crew sick. ‘The conspirators then resorted to knives, stabbing and
throwing overboard several of the crew, including the captain. ‘he
cook and the mate were spared to help handle the ship, but rough
weather came up and the boat was brought to shelter near Old Point
Comfort. With the ship anchored close to shore, the mate was able
62 CORRECTIONS IN VIRGINIA
to escape and put out an alarm. At that point the mutiny quickly
expired. ‘The instigator died on board, having cut his own throat,
while the other three conspirators went ashore and tried to escape.
They were pursued and soon captured, then brought to trial in a
special federal court session in Richmond with Chief Justice John
Marshall presiding. ‘The three men, Casares, Barbieto, and Couro,
were convicted of piracy and murder.
On the morning of their execution day the three were taken from
the Henrico jail and transported to the specially built gallows by way
of Main Street, with spectators along the whole route. ‘The wagon
on which they rode also carried their three coffins; cach man sat on
his own coffin wearing a hood and with a knotted rope around his
neck. When they arrived at the gallows, prayers were said by a Ro-
man Catholic priest, a Presbyterian minister, and a Baptist minister
who also used the occasion to deliver a sermon to the estimated one
thousand spectators. The sheriff had arranged to perform all three
hangings simultaneously instead of using a smaller gallows for three
successive hangings. The men stood on a single hinged platform
which dropped all three at the same time. Hanging is an easily
bungled process, however, and the ropes were not adjusted cor-
rectly. When the trap was sprung, Barbieto was successfully hung,
but the ropes for the others broke and the two men were dropped to
the ground. Both Casares and Couro, though nearly strangled, were
able with some assistance to climb the gallows steps again. The trap
was returned to its raised position, with Barbieto’s now lifeless body
half hanging, half reclining on the platform. The ropes were again
made secure for Casares and Couro, and the trap again was dropped.
This time the hanging was successful. The three bodies were left
suspended for an hour or so to give everyone the sobering benefit of
the macabre view.
There was an odd sequel. The three bodies were placed in their
cofhns and buried at some spot nearby, but not to stay. There was a
growing interest at that time in the properties of electricity and some
speculation that a recently dead person might be revived by use of
electric current. This seemed to be an opportunity to test the theory,
so later in the day the bodies were dug up and experimented upon,
with no success. They were returned to their graves, giving two of
the condemned men the distinction of being twice hung and twice
buried in the same day.”
Bs
4
+s
kt
Ps
i
vy
r)
f
*
WsLLIaMS was eating an orange leisurely when
Lentered into conversation @ith him. He had
several buuque's near hie cell windew, and en-
tered very readi'y, even eagerly, into conversation.
Hie talk wee a mixture of ignorance, fanaticism ,
and insanity, aisthough there was no raving about
& He pai. his age was 28 yeare. The conversa-
tion wae 96 follows :
Reporter—How do you feel, to-day, Williams ?
Waulame—Ob I feel very happy ; (with anima-
tion ;) [never felteo happy inmy life' The Lord
God Aimighty make me teel sppy ! The Lord
Jeous Corist mate wre feel happy! Tne Holy Gnost
make me feel happy '
Reporter—Do you feel as though you could meet
your fete like a man ? *
Wallame—Fote? What fate? The -Lord Jesus
Christ has washed away my fate. The Lord Je
ove Christ has washed away my fate with his precious
lood.
Regorter- Do you feel sorry for what you did on
beers tbe alboh Cooper ied :
?
Weltsams—I did tee! sorry, but the Lord Jesus |
Christ has wasned all my sorrows away.
Reporter—Do you hop fur a pardon to-morrow ?
Weluame— The Lord God, he will pardon me. The
Gero Jeaus will parcon me.
Reoorter—Then you believe that Jesus Christ will
mot jet them hang you.
Wtilome— He wiil pot let them; there is no power
en earhtoha:g me;t: beng me is to havg the
‘Lov Jesus (hrst, he suffered ouce and he cau’t suf
fer @gein. Ob. you shall see great things to-m»rrow !
You hall see the greatest wonder of tne wurid to-
ma: por Which. of you proposed the murder at
Grett .
Wilhams—It wae Appaniu (Cox.) He was the
Gre', ano be can’t sleep decause he won't contess it.
The Lovo wouldn't set olm slecp last night because
he eoulds/townit.
Reporter—W no gave you these flowers?
Wirliam—Mre Ciaak end some girls. (Imme-
d@istely ufterward.) Tne Lord Gud Almighty seuds
them ail.
Asi was about to leave the cell, Witutame said:
S Have yu taken down what i have beeu saying ?”
Trephieo,* Yes” ** Read over the Jast,” said'ne. I
6: mplied, and he said: * Tuat’s ngnt; and now I
‘wan ycu to pul down something ejse. I want you
tu erite thut a tutte girl did teaca ae to the Lurd. A
very tittle gici. That little gir: shall get a great vless-
ig to morrow. Sve shail be made the sister of the
motBers of the Lurd Jesus Christ. Sne‘ snali be
calles of all the worla the siste: of Mary Magda-
ne.
I ashed bim the name of the little girl and he told
me | akeo bim her age, Ob,” said ne, * she is a
very emul: little girl, abuut a year old—a little baby.
Sbetesch we to God = Luok here, 1 have a vidte to
my hano; (exoloittiig a small aud very beautiful
claece: Bibie)it is a present from the ma snal whois to
hong me | shall give this ofdle to the litde girl wnen
Leome out of the jell toemorron. Tne Lord God
enall open her a outh to-ino: row,so that she shali read
ittomorow. Have you got all tust down? (I re-
piied in the sfir:matve ) ‘ Weil, write taois do an. |
A Re men Catholic Priest wascome tere to day,and
the spirit of the La:d God told me to call bim an ny-
pecrite anv Tctu.” _ |
* 2 canuet tell you more to-night but will more to-
meorr-w. Ibave may things in my head to say, but |
tae Lord tetls me not to say m>-e now.”
Suosequently he repeated the whole of the Sist :
Pearm wrtcb he bes committed to memory eniirely
from hearil g it read, he not belug able to read a word
ef Eugirb.
Ve clergemen knelt with tne prisoners, and Mr. |
ABBuT preyed Must ferventiy and affectingty for
th-m, to Hiue @ho is able to 4ash a vay the guilt of
ever thre whu have stained their hinds to dleod, to
have meny upon ineir evuls He aso vrayed that
the: ffi evs might be eustained tn the dtecharge of
theircuty uth prisun-rs responded * Amen.”
Du:ing the prayer ABsauam held his grey head
meekly Oowed down, wove Parse iovked upward to-
ward Heaven, Dis ever wia-ing with an intense tire of
Gevotun, sin eyelids quivering, his unver jaw work-
isg aco his whole f ame agitated with nervous ex-
ciemen'. After the prayer the negro sat down upon
a cot by the sive of Mr. ApBot, ard spoke to him very
Bindly. 1p 8 0W tone af voice. In the meantime,
while they waited for the sw'ul summons to cyine
Paren pxced back warde and forwerds, wi'h his ead
gull elevated ond his lips moving The gilt Bible |
preserted tobim by the Marshal, was stuck fn the |
Petethand of hie pantaloons, in tront Apeatam
Inu d to the Bible, and made some remarks to |
Serotion, tis eyelids quivering, his oder jaw work-
isg ovo his whole f ume agitated with nervous ex-
ectement. After the prayer the negyo sat down upon
8 cot by the sice of Mr. Appor, and spoke to him very |
. BipAly. 12 8 /OW tone af voice. Io the meantime,
while they waited for the aw'ul summons to come, .
Paves peced back warde and forwards, wi'h his head ;
subi elevated and his lips moving The gilt Bibie |
presented tobim by the Marshal, was stuck in the |
Patethand of his pantaloons, in tront Apgatam |
intd to the Bible, and made some remarks to
Bin a low tone, but Pastas shook his head and
peces on.
Jus: as the tower clock was striking 11 the Marshal
Qnd his arsistants entered the ceil and placed the
bieck caps npon the heads of the murd-rers. The
Rev, Mr. Baigam took the arm of AssaHam, and the
Rev. Mr. Appor thatof Paetzn They were preceded
be the Morenal and his first Deputy, Mr. Quimsy, and
followed by two uthers, and so they walked forth
from the prison to the sc«ffold to meet Death.
At soon us they were placed upon the drop Parse |
fe] upon hie knees, and fur several minutes prayed
frantically that the Lord Jesus wouid come down |
and show his power then and there, by delivering
bim. He acknowledged his guilt, but claimed par-
dop 81-0 deliverance on the ground that he had given
Bia heartto Christ
@Tpe Marsha) then sald: “ Apranau Cox and Perens
.*iLLiame, in obedience to the laws of tha United
States. 10 becomes my painful but imperative duty to
execute you accoroing to the warrant which I hold
fo my hand” -He proceeded to read the warrant,
which was iesued by the highest judicial authority of
the Union.
When the reading of the death-warrant was finish
ed, Wittiame, who had rematne’ on his knees. with
his evee elevated in religious frenzy, agsin bruke
out ip another prayer, in the Course of which he re-
pested mort of the fitty first Psalm, intermingled
with bis own incoherent language, elevating the
Boole, occasivnatiy, in front of him in an excited
manner ‘
When this was finished the Marshal addressed |
ABRabaM 910 asked him if he had anything to say te-
fore the sep ence of she law sbould be executed
upon him. He signified that his sp‘ritua! adviser and
comforer. Mr Bargam, who stovo at his siJe, would
read sumetiyng frum vim Mr. Batam then read from
& paper the ins! confession and dying speech of the
aubappy men. whicn he hed written at his dictation.
ip this +peech Cox acknowleaged what he his never
Gone betore sirce his arrest, and what he denied to
your reporter yesterday a‘ternoon after the speech
Was prepared viz: toa’ he was the instigator of the
mulder Bis stury now corronorates the statements
toxnde by Witttams from the beginning.
Marchal Kimpar, next ashead Wittiams if he had
Qnvtring further to say. He rose w his feet and ut-
tered afew words, He sud: “Wy frends, I have
deserved to gand he:e a ‘ong time ago. I have neen
Overy gusity sister. 7 have hetled trem all. lL katled
eli four ef them myself I fope the Lord Jesus Christ
will pa‘don me ana bave mercy on my su).”
The clergymer ard the prisoners now kneeled,
andthe Rev Mr Baran offered a fervent and appro-
priate prayer. :
The Marsha! ane clergymen then shook hands with [|
the doomed men and ace them goeud oye. and toeo
Came the tying of the aras benind them aad stravping
the feet tu gether. AS Marshal Kimnact was avout io
Graw the black cap over the face of Patea, he signi-
fieu that ne wanted to say Something, ana repeated a
urlef prayer ¥
The caps were then drawn down over their heats,
gburong out forever irom their g4ze the sea of human
facet before thew and the sky wove then laa tew
mrues the noose was adjusted upon the throat of |
each, the attencuais of the marshal stood back fron |
the dcp, ura by a gentie touch of aspnug with his f
fcot the bodies fell, and al: was over.
There wostctas reggie, ora visible contraction
of a muscite in citrer of che hone’ murderero—tne
work of the gptsters of the jaw had beer perfect
Ip 18 minu‘es wll the mechantest motion of the heart
anc arteries hao ceased, and at 120°. lock—25 min-
u esaf er the uroy fe!}—the “odicg sere iowered into
the cc fins when had been placed under the gallows
to receive then
A weuien! ex.minaticn disclosed that the neck of
Cox war brakes by he fail ani that Witttams died
Of stra: guleti re.
At the moment when the crop ‘el! there was aaway- ff
ing to ane fro otythe crowd «6 1f'a eniversal shudder
rab throvel the whole assembly. Some lege red long
QoL, bet the mj ity soon dispersed, satisfied, 1 |
is to be Norgd, wethont cesning to witness another
exzecutryp, °
At the camp meeting fa Kennebunk, vesterday, the
@x€CWlOn Whe mace tus satject of a disc-urce, C m-
meter a db eteleck ASM. When tne exnortation
Wee Gridked ihe ward was civen to tre brethren td
OOPARe OD Beaver for the souls. of the two crimmals
When ateutto tame Aight from their morta, tenements,
hi te a come cece euffieler th, cunts ts those tute
petted Mh tel amtte:s that those pravers co.umenced
at the exact moment when ‘he drop feil acd tre al-
un Cover Ute ke: ® Aere cent ino etermly.
11 SUPREME COURT 355
CRUMPION, Boudinot ("Brood"), white, hanged Fort Smith, Ark, (Fed.) on June 30, 1891.
"Fort Smith, Ark,, June 30, 1891-Boudinot Crumpton, alias Bood Burris, was hung by the
United States authorities in the jail yard this morning at an early hour, The condemned
man was shaved and dressed in a new suit of clothes. Relatives called and bade him goodbye,
and at 10 o'clock the death warrant wasread to the prisoner in his cell. But few specta-
tors witnessed the hanging. Crumpton made a statement on the gallows, saying that whiskey
has brought him to his present condition and warned those present when they took a glass of
liquor to look into it and they would see the hangman's noose. He protested his innocence
to the last, saying that his enemies had sworn his life away and that the real mrderer
would some day be apprehended, His spiritual adviser, the Rev, Williams, pastor of the
Methodist Episcopal Church, read a few verses from the New Testament, and offered a fervent
prayer for the deceased man, The black cap was adjusted, and at 10:23 the trap fell and the
citim shot into spaces His neck was broken and in six minutes the attending physicians pro-
nounced life extinct, The body was datken down and placed in a cheapmpine coffin, The
relatives took charge of it and will enter the remains at Bragg, I, T., in the family burying
ground,
"The Crime
"Bood Crumpton committed thecrime for which he today paid the extreme penalty on the 3rd day
of November, 1889, near Muskogee, Creek Nation, The evidence upon which he was convicted
was purely circumstantial, but was strong enough to warrant the jury in finding a verdict
of guilty against him, Crumpton, in company with his victim, Sam Morgan, started out on
horseback on the day mentioned, Sunday, for the purpose of visiting some young ladies several
miles distant, The horses ridden by the young men belonged to Morgan who had a large crop
in that vicinity, late the same evening Crumpton returned, lsading the horse that Morgan
had ridden away in the morning. Crumpton also had in his possession the overcoat and gun
of the mrdered man, The story was that Morgan had met a man in a buggy who had employed him
to go to the Pawnee agency to work, and that Morgan had delegated him (Crumpton) to take
charge of his horses, crops, etc, and to take care of them until he returned, Almost seven
weeks after Crumpton's return, Morgan's dead body was found, quite a distance from the road
traveled by the two men on the fatal Sunday, in a deep hole made by the uprooting of a large
tree, He had been shot in thehead, and it was evident, judging by the range of the bullet
and the position of the body, that he had been shot after getting into the hole, The friends
of Morgan had Crumpton arrested, and he was lodged in jail at this place in December, 1889,
The prosecution succeeded in tracing Crumpton's every movement from the time he and Morgan
started out in the morning up to the return of Crumpton the same evening. On June 2, 1890,
he was convicted and senteneed to be hung August 2 of the same year. An appeal was taken
to the U,. S, Supreme Court and the judgement of this court affirmed, Crumpton was resen=
tenced the 25th day of April this year. The attorneys for the condemned man have sought
executive clemency, but accomplished nothing.Crumpton has all along asserted his innocence,
claiming that he was the victim of circumstances over which he had no control, Immediately
after receiving his last sentence he prepared a statement, giving an account of himself durng
the entire day on which themurder was committed, which was published in the papers of
this city. He has conductedhimself in such a manner during his imprisonment as to gain the
sympathy of all those connected with the jail, Crumpton was only 22 years old and a
splendid yooking young man," NEWS, Galveston, Texas, July 1, 1891 (6=3)6
g
"Crow was a large mlatto, 30-yearseof age, born in De oto County, Misse, but
lived in southern Texas most of his life, recently moving fo the territory, where
his wife and several childr@én now live," Sms source, immediately preceding.
CROW, Jack, half-breed, hanged Fort Smith, ark, (Fed.) on )-27-1888,
"April Qf, 1888-Advices from Fort Smith say that three men were hanged there this morning
for crimes, committed in the Choctaw and Chickasaw nations, The men - “eorge Moss, Jack
Crow and Owen Hill = were all colored with part Indian blood, The condemned men spent
the night in crying, praying and shouting, Neither of them selpt but a few moments here
and there and ate nothing at breakfast. At 7 o'clock the crowd of morbid sight seekers put
jim their appearance, and an hour later the jail yard was filled with a miscellaneous group
of men, wmen, and children, The jail corridors inside were filled with, friends and rela-
tives of the condemned men, who shook hands with them and madethe walls re=ccho with gospel
hymns and prayers, led by a group of colored clergymene Each of the mean leaned against
the bars, the picture of utter despair. Hilled acted like a half-crazed man. He bade
his relatives goodbye, one by one, uttering his farewell words in a dreary MAKAXSAUSY
XMAKXKAXKWAXEXKAKA monotone, shaking their hands and jumping about from one place to
another. ‘The parting with his sister was very sad. She is a tall, very neat looking
colored girl, and wore a heavy crepe veil, through which her face could be scen distonted
with grief, Hill kept repeating continually that his faith was with the Lord, and that he
knew he would be saved, to which the crowd would fervently shout "amen," The other men
had but little to say, and leaned against the bars as though too weak to stand, Occa-
sionally the crowd would sob aloud, and Moss wuld move nervously about with wide open
eyes that showed the abject terror he felt at his impending fate. BXAKAXKXMAXAK Captain
Maledon, the hanpman, had made the final preparations before dawn, and everythins was
in place long before the march to the scaffold began.
"when Deputy Marshal John Carroll came in to read the death warrant, Moss was engaged in
listening attentively to spiritual advice offered him by fellow prisoners. His brown
face seemed blamched with terror, and he glanced nervously about him as though he esoected
the drop to fall any minute, Hill did his best to be cheerful and SBmKRSKAYHKAIAS AH
composed and although he was extremely nervous he answered all questions put to him and said
he was very happye On his breast he wore a white card with the letters M, S. B. made of
the hairof his mother, sister and brother, which, he said was the last token of love he
hop d they would ever remember, Crow at the last moment showed tlat he could talk English
cuite well, and conversed with a reporter as well as the rest of them, He said goodbye and
asked that nothing else be published in the papers. During the reading of the warrants,
the three men sat side by side, listening attentively, Hill kept tappin on the ground with
his feet, singing in his d reary monotone, 'God have mercy.' ‘Let not your hearts be trou-
bled. It is God's well.! He smiled continually. Moss and Crow Z&&K@H# looked stolid and
indifferent, On the scaffold Hill seated himself and began shouting 'We are on our journey }
homes! He could not stand or sit stillk but drummed with his feet, clasped his hands and
rolled his eyes wildly about as though half dead with fear. Kis spiritual adviser shook
KHKRXXAKAXKAXKBA hands and wished him roodbye, thilcHangman Maledon arranged black caps and
noosese Moss and Crow looked straight out into the space below the gallows and did not
move their lips; they seemed quite composed at the last moment, but Hill shouted incessantly.
When led to the trap Hill kept up the same crazed harangue and Moss and Crow trenbled vio-
lently, but said not a word, The noo es were adjusted, The last prayer was said and the
black caps were slipped on, The drop fell with a crash, and the three wretched victims were
suspended in mid-air, Aftbt the drop had falled for 13 minutes, the attending physicians
pronounced them all dead. Moss'&pulse stopp d first, and then Crow's and lastly Hill's.
In thirty minutes the bodies were cut down and subsecuently buried in Potter's field,"
"Jack Crow, a half-breed negro-Choétaw, was convicted of the murder of Chas, Wilson, a promi-
nent Choctaw politician during the last election excitement two years ago in the Choctaw na-=
tion, Wilson insisted on wearing a revolver, The Choctaw police of opposite political be-
lief determined to enforce the law, and four of them started in search of Wilson, On the way
themet Crow and compelled him to Xé#ARAAM accompany them, On meeting Wilson a fight ensued
and the policitian was killed, All five men were arrested, but the four Indian police were
turned over to Indian authorities, who dismissed the case against them. Crow, being part
négro, came under the jurisiliction of the federal authorities, and in his second tril, he was
convicted. He protested his innocence throughout, but was unable to set up a stpyong defense
as hecould not speak English and one of the police appeared against him in the trial, swear-=
ing that Crow fired the first and fatal shot, Many doubt the justice of his sentence, He has
been very unruly and often asked why others escaped." NEWS, Galveston, Texas, )|-28-1888 (1-3)
'
THE ANARCHIST
ASSASSIN
WHEN LEON CZOLGOSZ SHOT
PRESIDENT MCKINLEY, HE
PROFOUNDLY CHANGED
HISTORY AND SPECTACULARLY
FAILED IN HIS MISSION
Leon Czolgosz, shown above, was the second
presidential assassin to be executed in the United
States. On June 30, 1882, Charles Guiteau was
hanged after slaying James A. Garfield. The first
presidential assassin, John Wilkes Booth, Abraham
Lincoln’ killer, was apparently killed in the process of
being apprehended.
“SEPTEMBER 1901
Leon Czolgosz (pronounced CHOL gosh) was the son of Polish immi-
grants who worked on a small farm in Ohio. Leon was a moody, intro-
spective child. He was prone to pondering, but rarely produced any
great thoughts. He was restless and forever searching for something
to believe in. At the age of 20, in 1893, he was laid off from his job
at a wire factory during a strike. This event had a profound effect on
him, as he never got another job. Czolgosz stayed on his parents’
farm, reading and learning about many radical philosophies, but
gravitating towards the anarchists.
In 1900, when Leon read of the exploits of Gaetano Bresci (see
the accompanying sidebar), he was galvanized. He kept the clipping
about the assassination of the king of Italy, and read it over and over.
He started telling everyone that somebody should shoot an American
president. He made trips to Chicago and Cleveland to hear speeches
by the well-known anarchist Emma Goldman and to meet other anar-
chists. In Chicago, the anarchists he met were suspicious of him. On
September 1, 1901, the anarchist newspaper Free Society printed a
warning about this oddly behaved Polish visitor, stating that he might
have been on agent provocateur or spy. This warning might have
goaded Leon Czolgosz into trying to prove his credentials.
Five days later, on September 6, Leon was standing in line at the
Pan American Exposition in Buffalo, New York, waiting to shake
hands with President William McKinley. Czolgosz had a white hand-
kerchief wrapped around his right hand, as if it were injured. When
Leon got up to the president, McKinley reached for Czolgosz’s free left
hand. Czolgosz swatted the president's arm away and fired his pistol
twice. One bullet hit one of the president's buttons and bounced off.
The other bullet struck President McKinley on the left side of his belly
and came out through the back. The action of the gun set Leon's
handkerchief aflame. As police and soldiers pounced on Czolgosz, he
mumbled, “I done my duty.”
CRIMES OF THE 20TH CENTURY
‘
: ;
“i
1
i Ei
Be |
Be at
OF THE 20TH CENTURY
~ A CHRONOLOGY
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS:
: o BILL G. COX
} BILL FRANCIS
a WILLIAM J. HELMER
% @ GARY C. KING
JULIE MALEAR
> ia DAVID NEMEC
SAMUEL ROEN
BILLIE FRANCIS TAYLOR
Crescent Books
ai
ie
0
ee
.,
wa
Fe
An artist’ rendering of the McKinley assassination at the Pan-American Exposition in
Buffalo, New York, on September 6, 1901. McKinley was the third U.S, president in a
36-year-period to be slain while in office. Since his death, only one other U.S. president,
John F. Kennedy, has been assassinated.
President McKinley lingered for eight days before dying of gangrene
of the pancreas. With hindsight, we can say that McKinley’ doctors ill-
served him. He should have lived and recovered from that wound.
If Leon Czolgosz thought he was going to become a national hero like
Bresci did in Italy, he had the wrong country. Even anarchists condemned
his deed and tried to dissociate from him. For most Americans, Leon
Czolgosz’s deed succeeded only in cementing a distrust of foreigners and
their new ideas. In a sense, the Red scare of the 1920s that cost Sacco
and Vonzetti their lives can be traced back to him. Even more ironically,
the line of succession that put Theodore Roosevelt in the White House
meant that Czolgosz had replaced a relatively inactive and ineffective
president with a dynamic and expansionist one, Czolgosz’s last words be-
fore going to the electric chair were, “I am riot sorry.”
CRIMES OF THE 20TH CENTURY
THE ASSASSIN’S INSPIRATION
Leon Czolgosz was inspired to shoot President
McKinley because of a similar assassination in Italy a
year before. Gaetano Bresci was an Italian weaver
from Paterson, New Jersey, which was a-hotbed of
anarchist political sentiment: Many people there
talked openly about assassinating government
leaders. King Humbert | of Italy was an obvious
choice because most anarchistic Italian immigrants
considered the monarchy to be even worse than
elected governments. Bresci saved up his money for
the trip back to Italy as if it were a long-sought
vocation. On July 29, 1900, Bresci shot the king as
he was handing out prizes to athletes. Bresci’
hometown gang in Paterson was ecstatic. They sent
Bresci a congratulatory telegram in his cell. There
were many others across Italy who stepped up to
applaud Bresci’ actions as well. But the government ”
was not amused. Bresci got life imprisonment—not a
very appetizing prospect for an anarchist. After a few
months in jail, Gaetano Bresci killed himself.
