: "Associated Pras
3 saree sae UTE TA RTT Be a8 EN pe et ta
eee
or You
oods Section
ull ‘ot the newest fabrics
s Pe pone ee
Pace ars
fests AG OF aaa
meee ve Me rani AS OT Cw RE aE pare ee as one *
Sum,
a ee
ae
a ~
ayy
the major part: of the: Une ©
been | * Tae D con depute ae :
a “te Mleatestppl: AL
Wtte: ‘has been &. “eitteen | of Graysuy [0,3
county for about’: 3. years. ong had | :
it enables us to pass them .
ce te
Prog
Best poe : puty sheriff. under Se ‘Bir ‘Rue ae
ASSASSINS 1 BULLET 'BNAPS Ire
a are looking for heavy _ nell, oF e Poe ‘was city [SHER ae
adcioth, wer aids, OF ‘goon. MAN -AND GOOD - marshal of Howe for four. years. |. KREPS OFF
- pee oe poo ras ee been. helping keep’ guard. fen} RALL LAS
os e ae rf em stair * steppes net rerarroeen the-ergines-of o-ti.--4 et comer aeerear
x ee : ...falghts for qererak wean, s since the}
g. . oe, ae es om _ bollermakers of that - Pond ~- havepo 0.
iM SERGE—With ae 2 es been out. on ‘a “atrike: and. that. aes foo
23 (new), 50 and | | } counts, in part, for bim being” fa the 7
‘» wide, per yard tT DY IN CENTRAL YARDS! yards last evening. : Sas
The body wag taken in’ charge by — ‘
and
SU¢ $1. oo Haynes & Sporer,” funeral directors, | ...- pene
cy IMEXTURES Flaked, Soe ee we + ow fund the funeral..will be at the rest- | one =
x cheeks, stripes and pias Say That a Youn Nears dence, 1001 ‘Bast Lamar ‘Btreet, embers of Shen
aniee fine. ce ; Fired: Fatal | ‘Bhot—Negro Captur- time cannot be: ‘btated as PEE “Get-Together*
eo ard ed This Afternoon. are expected..- Interment will be at
Or ITNIGS — - Fancy
s, shepherd checks and
Jad galatea - cloth, per
Der a 15¢
3 to the end, there would
ings that each day’s ex-
It would be time well
i be pleased to show and
in hiding
he
He had been
esterday at noon when
ee a 2 erent = ane
ome for dinner and fis
e
et.
mel
al-
to e grabbed a shotgun,
at the tragedy. or 18 years of age was in the car
———_—-—___~4.—— The negro asked when that drag
Texas Co-Operative’ Invest- {Of cars would go south and when
‘“ompany has opened head- asked where he was going replied
8 at Fort Worth. This. com-
U8 @ capital stock of two
-pabout-twice as long as-the other. -A}
“Inegro was.in an empty box
jare about.as follows:
They were at work
_{and. Mr, Myers put his Jantern wu
to Dallas.
a eae
Last night about 14 o'clock Dep-
uty Constable Fred Mounger was.
shot and instantly killed in the H.
& T. C. yards in this city. The kill-
ing Occurred just east of the north
end of the wharf of the * & T. C.
freight depot.
There were two drags of cars on
siding tracks, one cf them eing
car
about the middle of the longer drag,
of cars. Mr. Mounger was shot in
the back just as he went up to ar-
rest the negro. The negro made his
escape.
The events which led up. vs the
tragedy, so far as could be learned.
Ed. Stanford |
an@ Tom Myers, car inspectorg for
the H. & T. €., were inspecting the
cars and made the discovery that a
negro was in car 33597 M. L. & T.
about the car
West Hil cemetery.
“ttter—tt—was- ‘tound—that—the—eatdic;
descripton-of the-murderer and—ad-
& Ah Addresses .
~ Fred Mounger made many friends
in Sherman ifn his conduct aa a
citizen and as an officer and the en-
tire eity is in mourning today as a
réeguit of his untimely déath.,
NEGRO CAUGHT.
of City—Says He Fired Shot.
aD
At 12 o'clock. ‘noon today. _the
hunk ‘belonging to-Jack- Rylant; Te
ported to have been stolen, and was
thought to have been taken by the
murderer last night, returned. ‘The
horse came? in In a tred and worn-
out condition, with a few’ wire
cratches' on him, Upon investiga-
had not been taken.
-Shortty before 1 oe this “AL
ternoon Sheriff Lee McAfee and par-
ty arrived here with a hegro, Sell-
ers Vines, aged 18, who filla the
mits having fired the shot. He was
capiured._while. the officers were |
in the car door and saw that @
negre who seemed to be about 17
searching a yavine aboyt four miles
tn r
we. &
the officers he: began. un and
threw down hiy gun, but he was
captured and is now ta the county
fail. The 45 Colts pistol was found,
It haus one load in it. The negro
Mr. Myers. noticed that the negre
x. = Fore Tattoo Pyar)
Found in Ravine_Foyr Miles South j.
south of here. When thio Negro Baw |
. The open meet
Labor Union. hek
evening and atte
business men, wW:
success, .
PB. Balloch.
union here; presi
ing. A number
Were. made. and.
jing tiat. the la
and the business
closer relation.
Joe F..Etter w
of the evening,
viewed the advan
has and what is
Midin theme or ¥
to impresa the f:
tUmeut of the 1
Occupations {fs or
features in bduil
teld of the many
here: then he at:
need of more f:
reads and of th
roads. Mr. Ett
things are not ‘
tlons, But that |
the entire citizen
the work. He sa!
ities of the city
great thines car
fain that houonly had two
MAL I
Hay getting-—thet
VINES, Sellers, black, hanged Sherman, Texas, 8-9-1912.
AC (214) 892-4545 =P. O. BOX 1106 » SHERMAN, TEXAS 75090
SHERMAN
.
FEET py IPT re wereer. wr mower 9 ePaper coRerane acer aa
s
— | LIBRARY DEPARTMENT
March 5, 1987
Ronald C. Van Raalte
i Law Enforcement Historian
P.O. Box 72883
by Roselle, I1l. 60172-0883
Dear Mr. Van Raalte:
Enclosed are copies of information located on the
shooting of Fred Mounger. Evidently the August 9th news-
Paper was not available for filming. The August 10th paper
and following dates do not discuss the hanging. The cost
for copying is $2.50. If we may be of any further assist-
ance, please let us know.
Sincerely,
Jacqueline Banfield
Assistant Library Director
Sherman Public Library
JB/sdr
€ sPy-OK
SHERMAN, TEXAS ALL-AMERICA CITY
ABA ' A Woere lie
to Dallas.
Mr. Myers notleed that the negro
Wiad SOLIS ber praae te
pany has opened head-
t Fort Worth. This com-
@ wapital stock of two
jail,
tt
The 40 Colts pistol was found,
has One loud in it. The nagro
said. that hbo only. had two. care]
{ties of the city are
great things can be
by getting the-right
boots must
nall buttons
ect will be
women—and
ble costs.
1 CO.
cars they: went over to the “shanty”
after. some bolts. They found Fred
Mi8unger there and told him of the
negro. Mounger went up to the car
in advance of Stanford. He was car-
rying his gun in one hand and bis
searchlight in the other. When he
came up to the car dorr he saw
the negro had the drop on him so
he dodged down and just at this
time Stanford passed him and = Afeun-
ger said: “Lookout,” as he puncled
Stanford with his arm.
Stanford not thinking of the
mediate danger walked on and
just gotten a few steps away when
the shot was fired. The report of
the gun put the lantern that Stan-
ford was carrving out. He rushed
up to Elmer Smith, engine watch-
man and told him that Mounger had
been shot. Smith tdok his lantern
and rushed the scene where he
found Mounger dying and the negro
Zone.
The deceased never spoke
heing shot. The bullet was of
ecaltber. [t entered the back just below
im-
had
to
after
the left shoulder blade and went
through the body coming out just
above the right side.
ey
Officers were notified at once and
‘}have been diligently at work on the
ease.
A horse, brid!e and saddle be-
longing to Jack Ryant, who rosides
at the corner of Wells avenue and
i Maxey street was found to. be. miss-
ing this morning and It ts believed
by some of the officers that the ne-
gro is accountable for that.
The other shoe, to maten the one
that was found in the box car, was
found by Tice Wilkins this morn-
Ing, east of the cotton compressa.
It is reported that a negro
answering the description of the one
supposed to have done the shooting,
was seen in the Cotton Belt yards
last evening just after the affair
and that he shot at a brakeman,
Tbut missed. It is also learned (hat
there was some trouble about Wood-
Ss
hundred
4
45
him, away so he could eseape and
that he: would have never fired had
{it not been for the fact that he was
already charged with having broken }
jail, with four others, at Dallas
about throe weeks.ago. He was
charged at Dallas with highway rob-
bery, he gays. It was found that
the negro had broken into Mr. Ev-
ans’ residence and stolen a pair of
thoes, a pair of pants and four
plugs of tobacco. all of which was
recovered. Vines also admits that
he took the horse and rode him and
finally turned him loose this morn-
ing.’ He says he is a native of Dal-
las, that he came in here yesterday
afternoon, and that he was trying
to get back to Dallas.
4
H. & TT. C, Offers Reward. ;
Morris Kahn. special agent of the
HH. & T. €, Ry. an behalf of the
management of the re ud, offers one
dollars reward-for the ar-
rest and cenviction of the negro who
killed Fred) Mounger last night.
TO EMPANEL GRAND JURY. |
*
Body Will Be Catled Together
Monday to Investigate Killing.
Tistriet Judge Jones
this afterneon that the grand jury
will be called together next Monday
morning to especially investigate the
sling. Officer Mounger. 4
o> oo __..
GHILD FATALLY BURNED
LUT.
MILDRED THOMPSON.
ACCIDENT COSTS LIFE OF
TLE
pene oe ae
2
Sets Fire Yo Powder In Home
Was No Radly Burned That
Death Resulted. —
we ee .
and
annountes |
had ene shoe and kis belt off, Tyese
ad ao. excl} were found.in the ear after the oe A, Feeor oben alzo found In |eration between the
oon pein, Mr. Myera) says the nesro} estos attr on ey {ing man and the %
a was a stranger to him. ites “ways: thaw He itd not fr nati,
After Mr. Stanford and Mr. My-|'€d to kill the officer, that he fired): ©, 4. Banford
ers had worked some time on the] '™ the dark and intended to 6c@re! sneaker, While Mr.
may be said to hay
bor and its relation
Mr. Sanford's talk -
have dealt with lah
tion to the Individua
generally. One of th
talk was that Itisb
object of any man te
living for his family
make a life for his’
that the secretary
Men's Business As
asked him to make
at the meeting that
any one that was a
iabor union and no
BR. A. for tham to «¢
with fhem in helptn
He sald that a bette
bullt by the co-oper:
zens, and that thes
of securing that.
Short and interes
made and as the p
Bulloch said, ‘the om
ed several different
which tended to a
general union of eve
clan of peeple int!
their work for city
Unele Tohe Mitche
good points, one of
the good roads mov
to materialize im th
that he hopes that (4
be like\france alon
jthat there -wtit be te
good roads. He said t
ple of Sherman will #
moral eupport to an
would get behInd it
more improvement
Mr. White of the ¢
made a good talk. R
Y. MM 8B. A. made a
union for support in
HB. C. Sevier of th
Union made a brief
union Us:a. Then ke
vil spoke for a min
thére were. three w
a lot to him. They
aud Greenbacks. He
wi Gente Wane weak ‘lako with negroes last night. A Yesterday about fl-a om. the ree- cance of each and %
hy . ee _jthrough | freight crew that passed idence af Tom Thomann of tda. that a city da judge
: ithrough here on the Tk DP. yester- about, weven and a haif miles south. | bulldings, stréeta ar
m1 betrer than that i day just after 12 o'clock noon re-least of thia city. was burned, ToRev. C. Cl Metloy
is nO comparison, ported that a negro with « gun had The fire artginated when ths dit-[ which he said that
a erolatccs<aivicee: tune boarded the train at Bonham,and | tla four-year-old daughter, Mildred, | seat.”
: 7 when dlecovered trving to stcal out! set fire to somo powder that was After these talks
of a merehandise car on the train ‘in the house. The powder exploded dismissed and cvery
er yvoryve treed dt well had shot at a brakeman. The ne- and get the house on fira and an) themgelvts as opting
. ae et PRN bet ee TAM emi ce de Ver cab these v hotet eter ote Prenat that shiovegbet:
rare, ‘Lne Cora, lugetuer eevaee™ | opesewseee pew is ee + e a
le plantation, are owned ts aloo nl developing’ th \Harris, a prominent citize La Crosse,”
E anting aud Maputac: in quantities that woul ‘took eight ounces of laudanwm late last | ¢
n incessant rains lately, | ment, but not jenough| of the night, and died ja few hourg later. He
to injure the late corn make any man’s fortune in a was affected with paralysis, nd at times
arly crops are in better There js a fair production of go was subject to convulsions. cently the
ey have been for two or and ealstern capitalists} have yecently ac- |. yOuok man’s mother di¢d,) and it is|| -
eane cropé are nearly | Guired|control pf a latge amquut of the | thought this unbalanced his |mind, as he
‘hig séction, and where} copper lands. | ' was very Paid to net The whole
‘ainage are yet in good served to drive him to suicide.
penne “=e 2 SAN A __Balr ‘T. Barnett, a well-knpwa railroad |
or an entertainment at} P i : | |{'man of this clty, was dro ned to-day)}.§
‘all, on July 165, are being romjnent Ranch nan Wa fered while taking a swim: in/| aj creek near|] }
benefit of the Catholic _ by Mext a ae Be, as ar with eres i
that is possible Js being z= while in'the water, an companions
2 interecting programme, | san SS DRCID, (LER —-The dead | were too excited to rescue him. |
‘3 in charge. will spare body of Henry, Votes, a wealthy | stock- a
ike it a success. man, Who has|been missing jfor| several TENNESSEE. :
-. » | days, fwas found concpaled upder!a hay 7 |
ESVILLE. an, Te el gtils oe in . a Green| ¢ounty CHATTANOOGA.
og Checks for Work | of Mexican va ueras, ho * is ae American Association for the Ad-
Unconstitutional. | Dosses not os e and] who were vancement of Osteopathy.
July 6.—The district | vote. [rhe body had s eae gets or Chattanooga, Tenn., July) 6+The Ameri: | ,
a to-day, after an inter-| on it, |and from these| the o cers |gained | can Association for the Advancement of | :
| days for the Fourth of | ‘the impression [that Votes must have been | Osteopathy to-day selected Kirksville,
Last week an interesting | Cut to death while asleep } Mo., for its annual meeting next year],
the court. The district LUFKIN Other places in nomination were: Mil-
FRKIN. 1 waukee, Cleveland and Putjin-Bay. An
ted all the saw mill own.
rs ft Tola tlc ‘important transaction of, tthe morning
‘rs for violation of law awyer Killed) by a
ks or what is. called onstdble. | session was the organizatign of a com,
laborers in payment for ]. an mittee to confer with other schools of |
3 quite array of coun- sBERIN, ‘ex|, July] 6.—Atitorhey Joe | osteopathy on matters 0 mportance tha
q an. y _Lofkin, T July} 6.—At ey t th tt f | L th |
constitutionality of the. Borden, one off the youngest jmembers of may arise. |
Judge O'Bryan, of Beau-| this bar, was shot to death by Constable — =
is, of Lake Charles, a-; | pred |Scrogging, of Homes Srden's CARROLLZON BAPTISTS
»9f Shreveport, and J. KR.
lle, La., as against A. L..
representing the. state.
the case under advise-
morning rendered a de-
law is unconstitutional.
up to the supreme”court
brother sone time sinte killed Ben Scrog-
gins, i r of the constable’s, and
‘since that time there jhad been bad blood
chara
|
Have a Delightful Entertainmen
for Their New
Last night alvery pleasant and enjoy
able lawn party was given at the reci
_
Vy
wo: families. urch,
tting in front jof /al saloon
ppr aching.
y Scroggins
tion. Without any! preliniinaries| both en 3
wena | |” a ne th ar espouse im are ‘| dence of Mrs. Gregory, on |Maple street
ceeded in g bis gun and |fire : . ; —-
ARTINVILLE. ithe bal aac Boiden lin. the mear Cherokee,| the affal elng superin
s Suit to B neck and killing him, ended by the Ladies’ Ai oclety of th
“ee a Be Bectded, ——— ae Charles Avenue Baptist church.
ro-Day. | | RUSK. ‘ | ll admittance fee was |charged and re
, La., July 6.—The -
nst Major H. P. Foyrnet
since yesterday in the
rk of court. Hon. T. D.
f this district, has fixed
‘ » as the time said
aided.
the gener
nd being raised for the |payment of th
church lot, which. has recently been pu
chased on St.| Charles avenue and Hil-
. hich place jthis congrega
| tion propose in| due time [to erect quite
i
affairs of this corpora-| put the : es ray
y were| too! far away [t terfere . in: ie. ete., las
Petts Decca, hla Being Waggpner was|originglly séng tothe pent. alent re iss S ae BNers.| Hackett, Miss
oa ors refusing to recon tentlary for murder "To-day |he |was very | Lang Miss Tyrentine and others being
thie majority of ats -1 coul, and declined |to permit any veligious | tno ¥Wsho so Kindly lentithéir: assistanc
“vy | ceremony whatever. J Ae ~ | tog@he general entertainment. The ladies |
o Pe Te | / d refreshment tables scattered through-
ere LWORIDA Out the beautifully lighted grounds, an
RBROTH. Se at in one corner there was the mystery bo
il Reward for Noah ENS SOLA: stand, presided over by |Miss 7 Bier
ritehard.
July 6.—At a meeting of
of the parish of West
leld yesterday, a reward
tered for the capture of
, allas Richardson,, who.
ler at Deval].someée weeks
upled with the reward of
the state, making $500,
lt be quite an incentive
‘apture. .
RANOISVILLE.
District Conference
n Session.
gat De F
night!
Agdjptant Ge
onel Raymond
} and
local tompante:
to-night.
ing of Democratic;
they organized Are
and Stevenson Clubj with la large
active membership. — ie
olonel ‘T.
neral|
Cay, ;
¥..
8 of th
thembelves dint
. | Charles Avenu
, }posed of. quite
Misses Crouch jand .Dickinyon
of the lemonade stand and) we
by Miss ehott, Miss
others, Mr.. ‘tioneér and e
e highest bi
3.jhad) charge C
|. Mrs. Willian
Holmes, Mrs.
Kate Terry, -
Miss Eddy and o
Phe » Ladies’.
of the St.
areh is ¢o
astic ladles of} Carroll
j been yery.enengeti¢c in r
¢he church improvement
“bad ona. Aanht
he ather 1
f the enthusi- |
N.0. Times - Preayune 1-9-(900 (5:8)
ll sai
“bein youpg, was so tired he could not run anymore, A telegram was sent to Calvert for Jd,
WALLIN, Fred E,, hanged at Franklin, Texas, on March Aa gs as VT EMRE 0 ee
U3 Tide Cosnecuall Aygperle (67
"Franklin, 3-23-1883-At 1:10 o'clock pm today, Deputy Sheriff Reynhardt cut the rope” and
drop fell that carried Fred, BE, Waitcto cternity. An immense crowd assembted at the jail,
remining until theprisoner was brought out, dressed in a new navy blue suit, handcuffed,
smoking a cisar and very much composed. He was placed in a hack, surrounced by a strong
guard, and driven rapidly to a spot near the cemetery, a half mile from town, where the
gallowshad been erécted by Aaron.Davis, of Calvert. The crowd followd in great confusion,
smashing two buggies to pieces in the rush, “‘aite ascended the scaffold with Sheriff Jac!
Jones and Deputies Tom Jones and Reynhardt, requestine thatno ministers be permitted to
ascend with them. He made'a lengthy speech saying: 'I do not know where I cam from, nor
where I am going. I would do the same thine over again were I situated the same way. _I
not- intend to kill Wyser, but only to escape from jail. 1 was a thousand miles from home,
with no money nor friends, If if had had money I would be a free man today,, but I never !
a cent and the prosecution had plenty.' He.spoke in bitter terms of the lawyers for the
prosecution. and also of ex-Sheriff ™ 4 Vyser. he then read his will, which was that
should bury his body, although he had heretofore sold it to Dr. Baker of Bremond for $25
eaten, drank and smoked up the moneye His body, hung just 18 minutes, His neck was broke:
Dre. Britt, Carrington and Patterson, of Franklin, and Dr. Meade, of Calvert, pronounced !
dead. Sheriff Jones refused to deliver the body to Dr, Baker, but interred it, r. Bak
will not have it disinterred. ‘Two thousand people were present, Dr. W. B. Morrow andoth
ministers Labored with Waite, but he persisted in the belief that death was the end of ma’
“hile dressing this morning, he said: 'It looks damned hard for, a man to have to prepare
his own funeral,' ‘ |
"Banks, the negro, has been respited for 30 days by the governor, Sheriff Jones received
official notice Late this evening from Governor Ireland, that he had investigated Banks!
case fully and would not commute his senvence, so Banks will hang on the 23rd of April,
The intelligent and law-abitiing citizens think these executions just and right.
"Tih, CRIME . ; ;
"On Sunday morning, May 28, 1882, at about 9 o'clock, the quiet little town of Franklin wv
thrown into the wildest state of confusion and excitement by the alarm that Jailor Ad.
was killed, and that theprisoners had broken jail and made good their escape. Those who
arrived at the jail where shocked at the ghastly sight thatwas presented to their views
Ad. “yser, thejailer, was lying in an unconscious state inside the corridor of the jail,
face pale, his head covered with blood, and his prostrate form robbed of his splendid gol
watch and chain, and pistol. Jordan Scott, .a stalwart burly negro, who was under senten
of 15 years in the penitentiary for arson, was pouring a cup of cold water on the pory he
of the unconscious victim,’ The fooors of tie jail all stood wide open and all of the othe
prisoners were gone, The enraged citizens turned out en masse in hot pursuit, and in le:
than half an hour all except Fred E, “aites and “yatt Banks had been recaptured and retur
to the jail. A young blood hound was put on the trail of Barks, and after following it
through field and park, wood and dale, for about 8. miles, halted at a nesro cabin and be
ed at the door, which was closed and no living .soul visible on the premises. The dog re-
fused to vo further, and the posse called until finally a negro woman stuck her head out
the door. She was-asked if Banks was in the house, She replied. that he vas. He was thx
aprestedeand brought to Franklin and put in jail. It was now about 1 o'clock pm, and the
1
WW, Herndon's pack of blood hounds - Sheriff ™ L. “lysery a brother of the murdered man, wv
a large number of citi,ens, .in the meanwhile keeping up the hunt for “aite, (bout sundo'
Herndon and his dogs arrived, (‘They took the train and run about ), miles, but there Lost
It was then after dark. Lhepotsee halted for some time, when a centleman named Dave Hodr
‘met them and told the party that Mr, Lucien Wilder hnd himself had come across Waite on
Beck's prairie, some &@ 9 miles from Franklin; Lhatl ‘Jaite was on foots that ‘“ilder ordered
him to halt; that “aite turned in the drakness and,fired, the first shot kxcktstriking Wil
der'ts horse between the eyes , killin: the horse instantly, Wilder's mun refused to fir:
Waite kept firing in rapid succession, until his pistol was empty the other shots not tal
effect, te then jumpedinta a field and ran off in the darkness. Mt the firsr fire Hodge
ran away and “ilder was left in the road with a dead horse and a pistol Lhat would not fi
The dogs were then brought to the place where the horse was killed, and took the trail :
followed it rapidly about 14 miles invo a field, where vaite had lain down to rest on the
wrasse he was eapbured without difficultye Ad. “lyser's watch and chain KKXE and pisto
were found a few steps aways covers d up in grass and Leaves, all the barrels of the pist:
heine omntv. The party arrived at the jail with 'laite about & o'clock in the morning.
Bs: hee peer Ne ce ° a
4 "In June, L882, Fred. BE. Uaitey Dan Compton and &yabb Bonk were indie ted pu
of Jailer Ad yser. The above faclbocverc prov dat Lhe trial, Sam ‘ebb and Austin
Brown, both nevrousy who vere in Lhe jail for minar offenses ab the time of the fatal
tragedy, vwostilied to the followin faebs:, There vere only aboub 4 prisonersin jail and
they vere kept in eells number Lo end ? ain the Lower part of vhe jail, which is arraneed
9 six cells, threcimmediately over the othr Lhreee The woper cells vere empty, and
of the lower cells was also tmpty, it) being sbyled lover cell No. 3... Lower cell No,
lewas next to the outer jail doors No, 2.vas in Lhe middle, next to No. gs and. No, 3 wag
furtherest away from the jail door, There is an iron corridor on the soulk side of the cel!
so that all the cell doors open outinto this corridor, which is the same width as the
cells and enual in length to all threeof the cells. Tt. was the custom of the jaik r to
let the prisoners go out into this corridor and exercise every evenin’, and go back into
the cells beforenight. On Friday before the killing, when “lyser ordered the prisoners to
go back into the cells, Waite went into theemply cell No, 26 he, otherprisoners went back
into NS¥XX Nos, 1 and 2 as was their custom, Ad. “tyser threw on the brakes which locked
Cells 1 and ?, but the door of No, 2 where Madtehad, gone and concealed himself, was open,
and it was not locked, but let “rite so he could et out into the corridor, ‘ysery thin k-
ange that all prisoners. were in Nos, lL and 2, went our ane Locked the oubLer door, Waile the)
came into the corridor and talked with Compton and Banksabont a plant to set out of jail.
The three then entered finto the folloviny conspiracy: Maite was to conceal himeelf in Lhe
‘open cell No, 3 and Compton and Panks were to sweep all the trash out of their cells into*
the corridor, soiliny the floor, thus giviny them an excuse to. ask “yser to set their vic-
tuals back on the washstand, opposite cell No, 3, when he came in to fecd them on Saturday
morning, instead of at their cell doors as was customary. Commton procured, a picce of
iron pipe bwo fect long and about one inch in diameter from the waterworks in the upper
corridor, He gave this to Vaile for a weapon, If anyone came in the jail wilh Yyser in
the mornine when he cameto feced the prisoner, Compton was to say yes. If “yser came alone
then Comptonws to say no, This was bo be the sisnal for Waite to make the attyck on "yser
if he came alone. “aiie, from where he was concealed, could not see Vyser as he came to th
jail, so Banks and Compton were to watch and rive the signal. Qn Saturday, ‘'aite was
suched down in Cell No, 3 with Lhepipe waitins for th sienal, Threemen came into the 1a3
h Wyser and Compton said yas, so 'yser renpined concealed until the prisoners were Let
into the corridor, when he cameoutb and joined the others, hat evenine, when put into the!
cells, Waiteagain slipped into the empty cell, The sam: plan was perfected for the next
morning with Lhe exfeption that if “yser cane alone all were to remain silent, hub if he
was accompanied by others, Compton was to whistle, hile they vere discussing, someone in
thejail remarked to Waite that he might kill Vyser if he used the iron and Waite replicd:
(I don't care if I do if I can get out.' Barks said: ‘No, I don't care if you do kill him,
God dann him, he called me a yellow Son of a bitch, and that sticks to .me yetl.' Compton
said: 'I don't care either if I can eet ont of here,! ‘Vaite said he did not plan to he
captured alive, Waite announced plans to go to Chicago; Banks siad he would 79 and kill
a guard who had shot him and then leave tte country and Compton was bo hideout until he
f5und out whether or not he could eive bail. Them xt morning “yser came alone and, after
he had set food on washstand and turned to walk ont of corridor, “aite crept up behind him
and struck on-head. ‘“yser fell to knees and prabbed for pistol when “nite grabbed him by
shirt collar, pulled head back and struck six more tines, infltcting fatal wounds, After
taking watch and keys, went out and threw brakes, opening other cells and all prisoners ex:
cept Jordan Scott fled. After his arrest.and being cautioned, “aite confessed, telling |
substantially same story as the two negros tosbifed, At trial, the prosecttor, District
* Attorney “ash James, County Attorney de Ke i985, Ex-edJudgo T. J. Simmons and County Judge
John E&. Crawford, prosecuted with great vipar, Court anpotntcd Col, Champs Carter,
Capt. WO, Campbell, and Capte A. 5 gaith to represent prisoners and they did so carnes!
and ably, demanding a scverance.s aibe tried first, convicted and senbenced vo hantte
Banks convicted next with same scntence, Compton, last tried, convicted and sentenced to
Lifeimprisonment.un
WWuite was young /married ran, 2?-yearseold, no beard, Light hair and bluc eyes. Veieht
S pounds, 5' 7" tall; was: from north, haviny Lived in Chicago, Ill., Nebracka, ctc.
He had only been in Texas about 2 months when themurder was committed. Had no relatives
in Texas and said his mother lived in Nebraskae Banks a ?5=year-old milatto, vith a litt!
beard on chin and face and long bushy haire ( barber, veighing 10 pounds, Banks vas ate)
ad oe i . y y AN we « at ACh Me\e 4, ~ oh el ‘AS 9 Ld¢ : ie) Wows Nees
a gambler who knew how to read and write and had a wite and baby’s cBiipbons HOTT Ss out iahs
yhad been in Texas 8 years, with brown hair and eyes and weighing 145 pounds, was a farmer
a
He is onic have left considerable
© following very fally illustrates
er: About three years ago a hard-
twee arranged between ¢
Toronto, and Frank White, of
ite na nephew of Geoghan's
acted as his second. The men
o Righth avenue, and there was
dance of all classes, . thu
pete, gainblers, politicians an
PE Up the spectators, Pul
ne «best of the battle from
od was apparently winning
reOghan began to wrangle with
Some f the spectators shouted
keep still, and this infuriated
rou wee fought with no
for hite ami at it con
bar sprang to the middle
and shouted Ul tight any
ase With «a knife or a pistol,”
rawWiing under chairs and ea
f timid spectators, while
mn. the place sat qaiet and
n tnepector of police, who
fered the pugilists and’ their
nd thus prevented what was
espe al sCeTe
» Ateerica was with Ed
bn the early years of the
i not to fight, stati
i would have to ki
fought Geogbhan, neverthe-
that astonished Owney,
winning. Geogban was
beggen, in Westmeath
S @ strict teefotaler, and
mpany om Ais arrival in
been a usefal member of
» his time, the proprietor
gin-mill on the Bowery.)
i auaall et.
> foretells a storm, so doss a
he buman body indicate health-
ie ip the blood, which can be
d expelied only by Dr. Harter’s
RA —
ot Net be Distarbed,
hiladelphia Call, }
Ma—‘' Children! childrén! stop
it down and keep quiet ”
Why, what's the matter, maf”
rie ia taking bis nap.”
ee
Sweet Gam.
m you see clinging to the sweet gum
uommer months sclestifically com-
made from the old fleid mauillein
faginous principles so healing to
nts ix Taylor's Cherokee
» and Mollein «a pleasant
w Croup, Whooping-Cough, Oolde
m. Sold by all druggists at 25c and
tenn ' supposed to
:erican judges are
tain strict tempartiality as be-
Wend defendant,
he with ome or the other, as their
te
cman a
‘Ris the Oost Smoking Tobaceo
“coins bh
bave to
county jail for thirteen months, I am 96 years
old, All my life I have lived 1, quiet
life. Before the white men I will say I was
led astray, and in this court I ask my friends
to fergive me I have some now to say in
behalf of the sheriff of oor county jafl. There
stande my jailer; he pever had-a hard word:
be never has any trouble or d te; and |
will eay Mr, Perry did the me. I know that
there is not a man in this court what some one
speak evil of them. Being a man 96 years old
one year has been more treuble than thirty
five, and I belleve you the
I have to say
to suffer; perha
have some frie
hearta,
i
may to
white and colored, I make this
friends, even the Hittle while to
to aid me; pat a nickel,
the time
and the
Fd
4
ge
23
His
ef
i
f
li
=
j
8
g
.
:
i
f
‘of
Hr
flit
al
ae cron of endo ier
ymen u ter.
marlanee bonds of the Tall weey
nasrel Gewese
ind as Oentr oom-
to fits earningr for thelatter
were not on account
ratively small cotton crop and
m rates; 60 that of the €6325,000
by the Southern Development
$70,000 of it has been repaid,
mination as I was able to give
subsequent to the acquisition by
levelopment company of the con-
in the stock of the com-
spber last, I became es not
ay com
om for
velopment compesgy nor myself
legal obligatiop to provide for
nterest upon see Airst mortgage
emech as neither that compaay
bad been concerned in the
he road or the
seemed equally clear to
in the owne p of the
might be many persons
bonds of the railroad
ote, and to whom it
& personal inconv
to obtain the interest
January, 1585, or any.
circumstances,
r the South in the
F
&E
i
;
i
:
a
&
;
rt
s
5
:
f
ent company th
xe, that company
instance, upon the repay
reture the coupots.
f ralilwey of the Houston and
«| Rellway cempeoy bas never
we merged or consolidated with
ted into our system of lines from
to Ban Francisco
eredit to myself for the careful
hich lhave uniformly sought to
perties with whch my Rage was
| bave been and am wholly aa-
bunds of a railway company
lhad become connected oaly in
way which | bave mentioned, and
ecunstraction of its road and the
f ites securities bad taken place
es mauifestiy bardened by an in
far greater then ite resources oF
id pussitdy provide for
P HUNTINGTON
January }
ome
#T OF UWSNEY GEOUHAN
ough Givee ip the Greet at Met
Sprisge, Ar
St. Lewis hl Demoorat
Owney Geoghan
l
HE PAYS THE EXTREME PENAL\Y
AT MARSHALL.
Execution of Anthepy Walker—The Story of the
Crime— The Murderer's Statement—
910 and a Piag of Tobacco
the Price Pelé Him—
Bte , Bte., Rte.
(Breet. om Tree News.)
sep
me
gs
9
rf
is
iis
;
atte
g
7
were after bim for stealing
severe! different tales, but did
country. He —_— went to the resi
Hens y, the next night after the killing, and the
woman whoe husband he had jast murdered
received him and gave him a bed jo a separate
room. During the night be called for Mra
Henry and said he bad something of great im
portance to easy to her, and the went into the
z
H
not to look
| ey
ET ee
:
87m FES
ith
“ES Sy
bibl
§
ot
if
bh Thad become connected onl
bt way which I have mentioned, and
thecomstroction of its road and the
' ite seourities bad taken place,
manifestly bardened by an in
ar greeter then ite resources a:
possibly provide for
©. ? Huxtiveros
anuary 16, 158
oo
T OF OWNEY GBOQHAN
mah Gives Up the Gheet at Hot
Spriegs, Ark
1 sti De eat
Owney Geoghan
Among the
“ting fraternity of
t New York,
t were more familiar,
t Springs
arly
t was synoaymous of
in civilized
with a powerful phy
jomitabie pluck, he waa instinct
reand brutal. He was a warm
nt a bitter unrelenting enemy,
to roughs as well as peaceable
© ever felt an emotion of fear ls
those best ecquainted with
he was dartug even to desperation
v bis career. Broaght up io
* naturel aseoctates were ug-
and twwutal
Lei ftext
f the lower olees, men who
rop of a . bes or garrote a
pportanity, Becoming a
elements, be ‘also became a
After figuring as a middie
wt, be gradga@éd as a saloon-
sithough he ts said to have never
any kind, his placeon the
me of she worst resorts In the
mber of pears the board of ex-
grant bim a li bat, owing
~oce, he rem his place, openly
awand the officers of pre-
roedly intimated that the cap-
“inot dare ‘pot arrest him for
his position. He was arrested
me, bat no case was made
until about two years ago,
ety for the Prevention of Crime
nviction, and he was fined $500
ite close up. Finding he could
e be pleased in’ New York, he
ranciseo, where he was stricken
ae. Thence be went to Hot
| re be remained for several
ond stroke of caused
e is endd to have 00 - :
following very fully illustrates
About three years ago a hard-
bet ween
ordered the pugilists and
bp, and thus prevented w
a desperate scene.
bt in America was with
ooklyn, in the early years of
adv Ed not to
bability he would have to
hey fought Geoghan, neverthe-
havim that astonished Owney,
owever, winning. was
wn of Kilbeggan, in Westmeath
od, was « strict teetotaler,
d bed company on his arrival in
ht have been a useful member of
d of, in bis time, the proprietor
t gin-mill on the Bowery.)
ome ”
rop foretelis a storm, so doss a
the human body indicate heaith-
irus in the blood, which can be
nd expelled only by Dr. Harter’s
- oe eee
uat Not be Disturbed,
tack |
Anthony. W
the fatal shot
ralker "as
alker
houses in the
neighborhood, and told parties that the officers
were after bim for stealing cotton, and tol!
severe! different tales, but did not leave the
country, He finall
Henry, the peata
¥oman whore bus
received him and gave him @ t
During the night he called for Mra
Tocme
went to the residence of .
ast mardered
in @ separate
Henry and sald he had something of great im
por tance to gay to ber, and the went into the
room where be wee and remained the balance
of the night.
Thie te a brief resume of the
teetimony of witnesses on the trial.
These and other ciroumetantial matters led
to led to the arrest of Anthon
murderer, end he wae indi
Walker as the
the grand
jury for the merder of William 7, oa the
Sth day of Nowember, 18%), jast sixteen
Mra. Hi
after the killing.
reste dasan
e
a1
Fr
i
ge
ef
in
i
E
8
i
4
A
Ai
s
re
jl
| 4a
judg ment,
this
regards to sey
tr
was also ar
i
3
58
is
i
Hoe
i
sigs
trouble about thirtewn
to preaching, I ha
— ~~
crying and
lock to,” and pulied out $10
hat I would
» of ous Gear
ae saltenstanilgy how
iJ
7
oe :
bed
« ng t tes
Oy 4a
i]
iKiae
iitettal
a
“ALLE, Fred, E,, Texas, Continued
with a thin beard,
"Prior to the murder, ‘Jaitewos in jail, charged with the theft of adrummer's valise at the
Junction Hou se in K@ARKKAX Hearne. he was arrested in Tllas and convicted in the County
Court there for the theft of a gold ring, and brought from there to the jail here to answe
the charge for theft of the valise,
"Banks was in jail charged with the theft of a horse, and also in defablt of payment of a
fine for gambling, ™e had been hired out on the county farm and escaped fromthe guards an
was slightly shot inthe shoulderg was recpatured and placed in jail. He was just about
well when the murder was committed,
"Compton was in jail charged with ircest. He van off with his wife's daughter, a girl
about 15 years old, went to ‘Jaco and was arrested, he had a wife, two children, a mother
and sisters living here, ‘the step-daughter is here also, He has been married twice,
His children are by his first marriape.
"The deceased, Ad, “yser, was a native Texas, about 3/-years-old, and unmarried, "
THE DAILY NYS, Galveston, Texas, 3-?))-1883 (1/7).
Zuko hanged on Ws, GIFS,
Dan WALKER, Black, hanged, Bonham, Texas, May 28, 1897.
""5~28=1897-Dan Walker, the wife murderer, is deade At 1:20 Dan was brought out of
his cell into the jail office, were Sheriff J, J, Riddling, in the presence of a number
of witnesses and newspaper reporters read to him the death warrant. He also read three
telegrams, two graning a respite, the third ordering him to executed the sentence of
the court, after which Mrs, W. Nichols, wife of Rev, % Nichols of the A. M E,
church, pinned a buttonhole bouquet on the lapel of his coat.‘ ;
""Dan was then conducted tbhthe scaffold which was built in the jail yard, inclosed
with a high fence. He ascended the stoirs with a firm step and took a seat on the
scaffold, A song "Dark Was the Bay and Cold the Ground, Where Once Our Saviour Lay"
was sung, Reve Nichols then read the third chapter of John and Elder Jones, colored
offered prayer, anfter which there was more singing and another prayer, and Dan was
led forth and told that he had a right to say anything he wanted,
"tHe spoke for about ten minutes, giving good and wholesome advice, saying he was
prepared to die, then abruptly Closing, said that was all he had to say, He was
bound, and just before the black cap was placed over his head, he said: "Goodbye,"
The noose was placed on his neck, Rev, Nichols pronounced the behediction and at
2:15 Sheriff Riddling sprung the trap and Dan shot down into eternity.
"His neck was not broken and he died from strangulation, His struggles‘ were pain-
ful to see, and it was 17 minutes beffére he was pronounced dead and the body cut
down and taken to the poor farm for burial," _ *
. ttHT STORY OF THE CRIME,"
"On thenight gf July 30, 1896, when the hour was nearing midnight, in Sauktown,
a western suburb of this city, inhabited princippaly by colored people, Dan Walker,
colored, murdered his wife. ,
"MAt the Abbust term of the district court of Fannin county the grand jury returned
a true bill, charging Dan Walker with murder. During that term of court was was
tried, found guilty with death punishment, from which verdict Dan appealed to the
Court of Criminal Appeals and there the judgement of the lower court was affirmed.
(38 SOUTHWESTERN 788), :
"The history of the crime follows: Dan Walker was engaged in farming four miles
east of this city. His wife left him, came to town, and for awhile lived with her
mother, but afterward began cooking for various parties in the city, Dan came to
town and tried to get his wife to go back to the farm and live with him, She refused,
whereupon Dan sued for a divorce, which was granted him, Some months élapsed and Dan
sadly came back to the city, hunted up his divorced wife, wooed and won her affections
once more and they were again married, Dan taking her home to his farmywhere they
lived together for a whileés °
"One day Dan's wife came to the city, presumably on a visit’ to her mother. Dan wasted
three or four days and when his wife did not return he came to the city and found she
had hired out cooking for a family. Dan went to the residence arid tried to persuade
her to return with him to the farm, She flatly refused, and Dan remained in the
city for several days, staying with his wife at her mother's in Sauktown,
"tOn the night of july 3, 1896, Dan and his wife, retired, occupying one of the rooms
in her mother's residence. His wife's mother occupied an adjoingng room, About ll
o'clock she heard Dan and his wife quarreling about something, Instantly Dan's
wife came into the room, where her mother was, remaining a few moments, Dan called
to her to come and get his clothes, She did so, and threw them to fim, which he
donned, Some more angry words occurred betweenthem with regard to some other man,
who Dan claimed she was intimate with, Dan became very angryand, returning to his
room, procured the pistol, and, as his wife was staring to leave the house, he began firing
firing at her , He fired two shots, one of which struck her ihn the back. Sorely
wounded, she ran out of the door and in her terror the endeavored to escape from her
husband by crawling under the house, Dan followed and, crawling to where his wife lay,
placed the pistol against her left breast and fired, the bullet penetrating her heart ,killing
her instantly. So close was he that the flash from the pistol fired her clothing
and were burning rapidly when a few minutes later she was pulled from under the house by
colored people. . . . . :
Dan fled and wert to the northern part Of te CEH enereiting to mint fanselt, nevahbe®
pistol to his breast, he sent a ball g hirsty from the wound and returned to
more leads in his pistol, he grew sick and thirsty
to the city. He entered a coléred man's house, were Sheriff Chaney soon appeared
and had him conveyed to jail, where his life trembled in the balance for weeks, but
by skillful medical treatment he récovered, ‘ e
"NtTALKER'S OONFESSION." C :
"WA News reporter visited Dan Walker before he was first respited for the purpose of
getting a confession or statement. tn answer in questions, he said: 'I was born in
Howard’ County, Arkansas, Nove 22,°18653 moved with my father, wile young, to Hempstad
County, Arkansas, where I lived. for twenty years. J first came to Texas in 1881;
stayed but a‘short while, during which time I worked on the farm of J. W. Herringe
About July, 1882, I returned to Hempstead County, Arkasnas; stayed there vant 1885
when I returned to Texase
'In 1890 I was married to Alice Golden. We were afterward divorced, We were re=-
married in 1896 and my wife continued living in the city. About two weeks before I
got in this trouble ny wife moved to her mother's in the west end of the city. I
still worked on my farm, coming backward and forward to see my wife, The day when I
got into this trouble was the happiest day of my life, We were living happilty to-
gether, JI stayed in town all that day and did‘not return to my farm,‘ Expecting
yo have a good time, as‘ my wife's cousin, Gus Walker, was coming from Sulphur
Springs and my wife was cooking for the occasion, I* went to town, secured an ice
cream freezer, intending to make Some ice cream for the occasion, That night, after
all had retired to bed, about’ 1l o'clock, mywife got up and said she had to go off
for a while. I asked her where she was going, and she said it was none of my busi-
ness. I then told her where I thought she’ was going, She at firstdenied it, but
finally admitted that she was going there, and I couldn't help myself, From that
we got to quarrelling pretty loudly. Her mother arose, came‘ in, and asked what was
the matter. I told her Alice said she was going off, ahd remrarked that it was a
pretty time of night to get up from my bed and leave me, Her mother tried to‘ get
Alice to go back to bed, but she replied that she was grown and she would do as she
pleased. I told her mother to let her ‘alone; that I would leave the house myself,
I told my wife to give me my clothes in her‘ trunk, She gave them to me and E put
them on and started out of the house, Her mother tried to keep me from going,
""T was. about to open the door when I thought of my pistol. I went back to the bed
and secured it. I was then so mad I could hardly see. I put thepistol in my
pocket, entered the other room and her mother was still begging me not to leave
when my wife spoke up and said: 'Let him go and stay. I don t care where in the
~ devil he goes,' I never exchanged any words, but pulled my pistol and wast to
shooting at her. I have no recollection what occurred, Tf don't know whether I
followed her out of the house or not, J could hear the report of the pistol, but IT
could not tell whether I had it or who had it, ‘The next thing 1 remember, I ran
ante a barbed wife fence. I struggled around and got out of it. I knew I was hurts
was sO Crazy made I don't recollect when I shot myself, JI returned to the city
in a half-dazed way. es et at Wade Reynolds' house; went ins; lay down and became
deathly sick, and I don't recollect anything until I found myself in jail,""
GALVEST ON DAILY NEWS, Galveston, Texas, 5-29-1897 (3-5 = Woodcut likeness).
e
4
43 ae we fe " {
4 a 1 Yen eae “+ ‘ ; .
se ' +3 Letts ; a ae ; | '
ed payeisrtynets oe Le ee Oe Mie at ah aE sigs” oot 4 or feat ay fiatlert ‘ter: ;
“Tevoryieffort had heen indde. jo ebsi paper. raporlare: Hel te deciereds fated (fe) sitath iis: rearlaye
Stal ne ote of ‘exauution, “Af. _ wha. note thea, stacy fyb Taek. total” bie y Dew speepe pope penton on a tenet
2 TO Ouse, Be: turnkey nnounged to. hie ‘vourt for thd reasot t rat hes Gyal WHOL { fet Hadinter leet nictt tee
ra ‘Bherift; that no “word hind: bean ree wie 09 Involve his familly. en A gebeeatl eer rite beesyedt
iV eatvad At. the offide: fram Gavarnher| vane, |” . ; ae ee We ee ee ite,
Netty The Sheriff then led Walker} A copy of thin Nintemont wis dine (iiegn hate te had oer heen x4
\eepan the. death: cell. th the KAllows,. fiatehed to Goveritoer| Neth, wats bt fal, ; -
eT
{a
YD
ectad on the: nedond,
i
it, e
Ih
Wa
{strict Court Ire
r War conv
ra
floor ot..tho
lcted in Criminal
two. yaats ake
|
all for! the: murder of Henry L. Otters
isa LM eee Camp’ Logan, .Yoxterdsy
JORG “SE Walleor mathe i, rtatament 10 ne ws-
ut off: terry EE sat
knowrb te oY
sO ot geticafiy
aot. the | ote
wg the pou [beh
4 J : . eS eae So -
Utelldo wa ote poy
welto yulenm fen
anted = printhha® |o3.4
faouK mak et yl} +
ote. Don’ Quixcte! ne
(Miseradlan 2 W.
oe Padtifien |
y Whit:
a ca think -up oany
4a-Frenc
. ae
Le WwW Ker wes nye in the }frar-
nh Criminal Diatriet: Court two yéurn
ago. for the mutder ot Henry L, Ot-
tersky) on. April
the firat white
4
risy Sounty jaltint 2620) o'clock thin]
a fernoon; follows fe hin eonvicUen
86.1919. Flo Was |
Iman to hang In this}.
May {0,—Harry, arts
plait yoarn..-
larrant wae read to
Iq“ A. Binford, afte
fail in .twenty-
“Tha death w
Auman’ by Sheriff
= |
r /
WALKER, Hubert L., white, hanged &2¥% Houston, Dexas, May 10m 1920
‘Refuses Respite
hecclatca Frese Dispatch.)
Hlousion, ex., May 10.—H. L.
Watker;-first @hite man tog be hinged
in Harris county in 28 y®ars, was ex-
ecuted at 2:16*this bfternoon in the
county jail. caer \ , f
Walker went calmly t his death,
retaining the same stoicismm he. hasf
maintained for: two years since he wag
convicted of the murder of his friend,
Henry Ottersky.
Walker was convicted, almost two
years ago of the murder ¢
tersky, traveling sal
Antonio scales house.
was employed -by that
tersky’s body was found nea Camp}
Logan on Oct. 27,:@ day after he was |
i killed. Several days later Walker was
| peted, later indicted and convicted |
‘on the charge of murder. :
, A two years fight began in the
higher courts, two motions being lost
‘hy Walker's attorneys and about two
MONE BES, the court of criminal ap-
‘pegie finally affirmed the decision of
the lower court that Walker must
sme hap tye sh he pe ab i ila at
; “May. 10.—Governor
Nett refused again this morning to}
‘grant a respite to H. L. Walker, sen-]
teonced to hang in Houston at 2 o'clock]
this afternoon. Attorneys for Walker}
have vainly tried to induce the gov-|
Lernor to. grant the respite since his
irefueal to commute the sentence to
life imprisonment. Walker was con-
victed for the murder of Henry Otter-
feky near Howston over two years ago.
~
MOVING PIOTURES
~
QUEEN,
NOW PLAYING :
AMERICA’S BWEETHEART
‘Mary: Pickford
e—in—
“THE LOVE . }-
~ ALIGHT”
‘and that original funster
* Buster Keaton
—in—
“NEIGHBORS”
Aerts tito
WAR TROPHIES WILL BE.
DISTRIBUTED TO STATES
Malt Special te The News. tap etae
Washington, May 10.—The aepete _/ ~
has adopted the Wadsworth bil) ap- ~
portioning the captured cannon and —
other war trophies to the states,—to
be diutributed by the governors of
the states to the cities and towns,
The bill appropriates $400,000 to pay
for the distribution to the states, but
no Gost attached ta the local eme-.
wreidery, such as monuments or em-
placements, is ta be charged against
the federal government, , The house.
bill on ‘the subject leaved the dia- .
ibution to be made by the penators _ -
ad representatives, whe bave intro-
deced ills to the number of several
thennand since the session opened,
ait:er captured cannon to favere
esminr nities, .As a result of the
nate’s action, the distress of patis-) ~
ing all communities je transferred. :
weverpora of the states. .
»
o
-_
ty
to
sPiad oe oo 4
a oe
SS1ONARY SOCIETIFS 9
me OPEN. THNAES-DAY SESSION.
Gal ves Ton Dail Y
~
- Just decision according to law and
_ Youa,
_ ao few
News S--l7al (3 1)
THE GALVESTON -DA
floor),
other matter will receive prompt a
signed by the writer.
paper ta not delivered by 6:30
Hush H. Chrimopher, Correspon
spondent; Ralph H. Cahoon, Cire
HOUSTON ‘NEWS
The Houston Bureau of THE GALVESTON2DALLAS NEWER and THE DALLAS
JOURNAL to located in the Turnbow (formerly Hoffman) baiiding (third
roome 363, 304, 396, corner of
(phone Preston 198), where subscriptions, ddvertiaementa newa iteme ang
Babecribers showld complain to the circulator if thie
Preston avenve and Fannin street
ttehtion. All communications shoald be
. - P. Veughan, Business Manager;
t; Nagent KE. Brown, Assistant Cerre-
tor.
nny LAER
FAGED AT HOST
‘ = . _
CONDEMNED MAN IS NERVOUS
' AS HE GOES TO THE
’ SCAFFOLD.
Special to The News, - .
Houston, Tex., May 10—Harry L
Walker was hanged in the Harris
County jail at-2:20 o’cldéck this after-
noon following his conviction in
.criminal district court two years ago
for the murder of Henry L Otter-
sky on April 26, 1919. . He was the
first fhite man to hang in this jail
in twenty-eight years.
The death warrant was read to
him by Sheriff T. A. Binford, after
every effort had been made to obtain
B stay of execution. At 2:15 o’cloek
@ turnkey¥®announced to the snerift
that no word had been, reretved at
the office from Governor Neff. The
eheriff then lead Walker from the
Geath cell to the gallows erected
on the second floor of the jail. °
Walker was convicted in criminal
Giatrict court here two yeara aro
.for the murder. of Menry L. Otter-
aky in a wood near Camp Logan.
Yesterday Walker made a statement
to newspaper representatives which
he. declared was not the story he
haa told in court for the reason
that he did not wish to involve his
family in the case.
A copy of thin atatement wad dis-
tched to Governor Neff, but it
alled to obtain the reprieve. A
Newspaper reporter on a jocal paper
left Houston last night for Auatin
to plead for the doomed man, but
word was received this afternoon
that he had not been successful.
The foreman of the jury that.con-
victed Walker, -Frankiin P. Davia,
also sent the governor a. telegram
but it asked that a reprieve be not
ranted as the jury had reached a
that justice had bee
already. e m
When Walker emtreed from the
Geath cell, he leanegeon the support-
ing arms of the sheriff and one at-
tendant. At the foot of the atair-
way, he took the lead and walked
alone, turning only once to" pay
Kvod-by to one of his favorite at-
tendanta, .
He wan Greased in a black mohair
sult, white soft shirt, black scart,
,black shoea and black hose. He
was pale and obviously very ner-
Up to the last few minutes before
* was jiead from the death cell,
Walker had hia felasives with him,
hia father, mother, ns, daughtera,
nephews and nieces. A song -serv-
fice wae held and Walker Joined in
the pinging. Rev, Jack Clark read
lines from the Bible and the
service’ ended. °
. the scaffold on the
floor the black cap was adjusted bey
‘Rhert{f Binford, Walker'a nan-ls tled
behi him, end his legs beund to-
ether by a strong cord. The sher-
{f then walked behind Watker ond
Pulled the lever, the trap -Joor feil
alow, and
the map.
© ladd’r¢
n long delayed
necor.d
Inutes he was reexamine! and
prefhounced dead, His body was then
cut down and prepared for burial,
ca)
. St
~
_-jud&e expre
—— vr
HOUSTON JUDGR BACK FROM
SECINTIAT
WL SHE $10.00
NEW BONDING SYSTEM WILL
SOLVE PROBLEM AND
AID SCHOOLS,
*
Special to The News :
Houston, Tex., May 10.—Drainage
district No. 9 has saved more than
$10,000 by awarding @ new contract
Yor work near Houston Heights dnd
Sunaect Heights and by financing the
work through the county’s perma-
nent -echool fund.
The first contract let in this dis-
trict was contested by the county
Buditor on the grounds that it con-
stitute@ selling county bonds below
ar. This was upheld by Cdunty
udge Chester Bryan before the
commissioners court. The contract
cdiled. for @ total expenditure of
$16,927.62,
A new contract now before the
county ages ia provides for an ex-
penditure o $6,290, which has heen
awarded to WilliameBates, contrac-
‘tor, whe claima the work can be
done for 20c and 2c a yard of dirt
excavated, ‘
Judge Bryan said today that un-
less the new contract should be
contested, which does not seem like-
ly, he will approve it.
This is also a new system = of
financing drainage work, the county
auditor said. Under this arrange-
ment Hatris County restores a cer-
tain amount of its 3 per cent bonds
held by the- county’s permanent
achool fund, and. purchases the
drainage district bonds. These bear
6 per cent interest. inthis way the
district ts financed and the achoo!
fund income js doubled,
TEXAS PRESSWOMEN MEET
~ FOR ANNUAL’ CONVENTION
Special to The Newa. aad 4
Houston, Tex., May 10.—The Tex-
as Woman's Press Association meets
here tomorrow morning for the
twenty-elghth | annual convention.
The business pseasions of the con-
vention will be held at the Rice Ho-
tel beginning at 8:30 o'clock a. m.
Mra, agen? McClellan O'’Hair of
Coleman will give an addreas on the
conditions in the Orient, basing it
on her recent travels in the Orient.
Mrs. Fred Scott of Austin will lead
in the “shop talk.” Among those
registered at hotela today for the
purpuse of attending the convention
are Miss Annie ebb Blanton,
atate superintendent of public in-
struction, and Miss Decca Lamar
West of Waco, a prominent club-
woman,
The visitors will be. entertained
‘In the afternoon by a tea at the
tives of the local newspapers,
WRITERS OF PRIZE THESIS
Bpeciat to The iowa, 1) Bi:
=’ Houston, Tez.. May 10.—Ae a re-
ward Mr having the best project and
the written thesis on any-sub-
' two Harris County club,poys,
FREIGHT RATE CONFEREN
railroad commission yeaterday on a
Gecreasetof 40 per cent asked by
the a juédgce in freight rates
on vroed-building materiale, The
himeelf aasconfi-
Gent that the lower ratea will be
obtained. HKoad-building materials
often cost as much for the freight
as for the original cost of the ma-
teriala, the Jjudwe sald. .. ., . ‘
‘BOARD OUTLINES PLANS TO
IMPROVE SCHOOL GROUNDS
BSpectatte The Newa . ‘ ve
Houston, Tex. May 16.-_Piane
ularly enrolled in one. of the
ourteen boys’ clubs of the county,
will receive each a $40 scholarship
to the special course at College Bta-
thon in July. The acholarships will
bea given as 4 Henry Ford and his
gon, Edvel Ford, of Detroit, Mich.
according to plane worked out by
William M, cDonald, manager of
the Houston branch of the ord
Motor gra PY in connection with
William L. Bta lings, manager of the
egricultural Gepartment of: . the
Chamber of Commerce.
The winners, who must be at Jeast
14 yeara of age, will pe sent to Col-
lege Btation, Tex. in July ¢t he
the apecial course for club bore, all
necessary expenscs to id
out of the $40 acholarship, * . i
HOUSTON BASING POINT’ ~~
~< FOR EXCURSION RATES
“| tom crops, ae the only remedy in the
Cowntry ng given by representa-|'
DIVERSIFICATION OF
é
CHICAGOAN TELLS BANKERS
SMALL COTTON FARMERS o
ARE SLAVES, 5
Special te The Newa ‘
San Antonio, Tex., May 10.—Bank-
ére in attendance at the first day's
session of the thirty-seventh annual
cunvention of ‘the exes Bankers’
Association- here w urged tu posl-
tively refuse farm loans on all cot-
Prevailing grave situation in agri-
cultural interests of the state, in a
spirited auaress by A. KR. Aroh of
lu@ Wooayear ‘sire Cuunpany of Chie
cago,
wt. Kroh, who is one of the recog-
nizea agsiculiural jlecturers of aimes=
ica, Bpuxe Ww an audience of avvut
& Uhuusand deéiegutes in the Noyal
Theater, who eapresseu thémseives
in accord with hie opinions by p.o-
songed applause from time to tifue.
in no uncertain terms he declarea
war on the old-time method of rai
faims, urging tn its stead a practical
diversification of crops. Therein lies
the solution of the vast agricultural
Problem of the state, a protlem
which reacts directly on the finan-
cial prosperity and pemeracs of the
syate. The power to bring about this
sbtution lies with the bankers and
landowners, he said. The vety wel-
fare of the state is menaced by a
constant emigration from the farma,
which means a consequent increase
in consumers of food supplies.,and a
decYease in the number o producers.
““And landlords and bankers have
got to wake up to the fact that it
can’t be done by cotton alone, but
by diversification.” he declared.
Taking up eocial conditions of
the small farmer Mr. Kroh declared
that the “white cotton grower in
the atate of Texas is a alave to as
Kreat an extent as ever was @ negro
in the South.”
“ " DLivesteck Geed Substitute,
By way of practical suggestions
for substitute crops for cution,: Mr.
Kroh ed the bankers in session
here to back up farmers and farm
boys and girls in stucking Texas
farms with thoroughbred live stock.
Emphasia was laid at all times on
crop divetsification and Colin County
cited as an example of the prosperity
that followa. ‘
After urging local co-operation in
thia plan and receiving a promise in
the form we hearty a ause the
meeting tWén assumed the character
of a round table, in which market-
ing of farm products waa discussed.
It is probable that the bankers will
take some action on the cetton situa-
tion by the introduction of a resolu-
tion, . ¢
The first ‘speaker of the after-
noon session was Chester Harrison,
vice president of the Citizens Na-
tional Bank of Brownwood, who dis-
cussed “The Banker in Politica.” Mr.
Harrison urged bankers to take a
more active interest in politics, as a
eneans of safeguarding their own in-
on by and the genéral -prosperity
of the state. : '
L. T. Youngblood, president of the
State Chapter of the Banking Inati-
tute of America, and also president
of the First State Bank of Black-
well, gave a resume of the educa-
tional courses and work of the A. L
B. in Texas.
Women in Banking Outlined.
' One of the features of tire after-
noon session was a discuasion of
“Women in Banking.” by Miss Lef-
Mer Corbitt, assistant cashier Austin
National Bank. Miss Corbitt showed
that the entrance of women into
banking has meant the Infusion of a
personal interest in what heretofore
was a cold buniness | dpm ins ars, Bhe
Gwelt at some jength on what this
added s@rvice an courtesy will
mene in banking. :
~The morning seasion oe fh
régular order with the formal open-
ing of the thirty-seventh annual)
te ge with President McKin-
non q@n the chair, After the ex-
change of amenities, President Mc-
Kinnon gave hi annual report,
which in the main dealt with the
routine work of the. association,
President McKinnon urged a greater
interest on the part of the bankers
im the agricultural interesta of the
state; alsoagreater activities of the
association, particularly its group
meetinga, eo fy bs
Thee Price Speaks,
. Comparing a bank and its fune-
tion in the y fommereiel to: the
heart tn the-physical. body, Theo H.
Price, efitor of Commerce and Fi-
nance, New York, pipette for a
Greater extension of credit in his
discussion of the “Physiological
Factor in Banking.” p
Ben Johnson, president. of anf
Bank of Commerce and Trust Com
TBAAS CROPS URGED
K
ing cottun and cotton only on Tekss |.
SS
INSTRUCT
Tes
ORDERS MAILE
-NARY TO AN}
MENT A’
Special to The Newa
Austin, ’ Tex.,
ons preliminary
campment and ta:
Texas national gi
Camp Mabry, nea
26, inclusive, are
various guard or;
sistant Adjutant «
Crawford. Betwe
officers and men
encampment, In\
extended the nati
exiwo and Color
to the Texas) ca:
come that the inv
accepted, because
ment is of the o;
not be practicab
Mexico and Colo:
camp in Texas,
A / ppg Gener:
an effort td secur:
of the guard, ha
mercial clubs in t
which military, co
ed to co-operate |
ness mento giv
who are member
guard two weeks
they may attend :
‘Ne Unit
Orders have gor
jutant general's ¢
organization wil)
attendance, witho
ity from thé secre
company is to de}
station at such t:
it to arrive at G
noon~June~12--""
questa: will be fi
pany commander
to depatture of |
camp, which will
him for» railroad
subsistence is; ar
listed men only, a
the rate of b3e¢ ;
enlisted man for
day. « Company
make cash purch.
Loe peyichead entlistex
mbursed upon
N6.allowance‘is :
ernee paieony 4
a
sinernthcn rom
from home atatior
thereto, both date
x Detaits Caret
> Officers and en!
ceive the pay o
es as au i
pany of Manafield Tn followed Mer
he regular army
Nlehed teanmenirets
hous On
9
(At le.
vestigat:’
examine
waters
and its
the refuse left from a picnicking party. But the picture of
that mound in the clearing kept recurring to him through-
out the day as he swung his sharp axe vigorously.
search
weapon
he sum
nickers who
of long obst
he conclude
to rake loo:
be so thoug
He apprc
He realized
the surface
filled it up
In recent months, Driver, as well as other farmers in the there was s
vicinity of the U. S. Army Cantonment at Camp Logan, Driver st
| had been losing cattle with aggravating regularity. The Better lea\
\) HARLEY DRIVER noticed the mound of fresh method of the rustlers -was simple and effective. They thought.
i} earth on the edge of the clearing as he drove his would kill a cow in the woods, skin it and bury the hide. He clim!
i! empty wagon deeper into the pine forest. But no Without the identifying brand burned into the hide, no one drove to
one would have attached a sinister significance to could prove ownership of the meat from the slaughtered “Katy” ra
| a pile of dirt in that serene spot on such a peaceful animal. away. Ag:
} Spring morning. It was April, 1919. Tragedy seemed as Farmers had found several of these hides hidden beneath down. He
| remote as the rumbling confusion of a city’s traffic. piles of dirt, but the marauders were still at large. and place
| Driver, a Texas farmer, who lived eight miles north of Perhaps the mound in the clearing concealed another shell-surfa:
| Houston, paid no particular attention to the mound as he cow-skin! Driver paused abruptly. in his wood-chopping as pointing d
4 passed. His mind was intent on gathering his year’s supply __ this notion occurred to him. ; mark.
of fire-wood. Pine timber, collected in the Spring and left It was late in the afternoon when Driver started for There
| in the open to dry during the Summer, makes excellent fuel home, his wagon loaded with fire-wood. He halted his team ber, and
| for the Winter. as he reached the clearing and clambered from his wagon. Driver, of
| Picnickers from Houston frequently came to these woods Carefully he looked about him. . them.
for their outings, and it occurred to Driver that someone At the base of a pine tree that fringed the clearing he One of
with rare thoughtfulness had raked some loose turf over saw a man’s felt hat. He knew then that it was not pic- a oe
. near by.
28
Moet. Mote dice. P80 9E =
30 The Master Detective
Look at the mound, in-
: dicated by arrow. That’s
: what Charley Driver saw
fas he drove by. Hef
examined it, decided to
dig in it, and did—with
sinister results
pftic’ ae,
ioe pe
after a day’s duty on the Houston force, Driver was there
waiting for him.
“Bill, 1 think I’ve found where a thief has buried another
hide,” said Driver. “I saw a fresh mound in a clearing over
in the woods today. I didn’t disturb anything, but waited
until you got home. Maybe we can find out who the
rustler is this time.”
John Williams, a farmer whom they encountered en
route, was recruited to help. Armed with spades and a
flashlight the men set out for the clearing in the pine trees.
Even though it was dark, they found it readily after they
had located Driver’s landmark.
The newly-made mound was soft and their shovels sank
deeply into the earth.
Officer Slack’s shovel struck the buried object first. He
knew immediately that it was not a hide. If the tip of his
shovel had come in contact with the inside of the skin it
would have slipped a bit on the tallow-greased surface.
And if his spade had struck the hairy side of the hide, it
woulc have skidded as though it had hit a flat and un-
vielding piece of glass
But the object benv<ih his shovel was solid. Slack didn’t
know what was hidden there, but he was sure it was not a
cow-hide.
Slack, who is now a detective attached to the
Brunner Street Station, continued to dig.
“Here’s something,” he said at length, bend-
ing low over the darkly ominous hole. “Hold
that torch-light closer.”
Three heads bent lower over the pit, eyes
peering intently at the white object they had
uncovered,
It was the collar of a man’s shirt.
And the shirt was enshrouding the form of a
dead man!
Startled faces, ghostly white in the light of
the electric torch, drew back from the open
grave with one accord.
Heavy breathing disturbed the black, pro-
found silence of the pine forest.
They dug no more.
Slack dispatched Driver to the Eureka signal
tower at the intersection of the “Katy” and the
Southern Pacific tracks a mile away.
“Telephone the desk sergeant at Police Head-
quarters,” he instructed. “Ask him to call
George Andrew, investigator for the District
Attorney, and Leon Lusk, Justice of the Peace.
(Above) Detective
William Slack. It was
his shovel that struck
the mysterious bundle
which revealed a start-
ling crime
(Right) Judge Leon
Lusk, who made a mid-
night examination of .
the mysterjous body
in the pine forest
Then call
with the
lantern a
Then you
] was a
me about
and two «
ington A:
signaled -
Slack a
It was
the body
the grave
He was
about on
brows we
If any
was estal
were clea
been fire
powder t
The m
with hir
when kil
The p
--inside ov
have bee
slayer se
cealing t
Recall
base of
Driver |
aid of m
dimly or
The hat
in Brow:
The r
that it h
_ Exam’
found t!
dead m:
small m
pocket,
tightly-f
Christi,
In ad
covered
partmen
* June, 1935
iS
cry. NINETEEN
1 below.
n addition award
. after identifying
cted co-operation,
service which has
MASTER DE-
ictures and de-
cation through
those who are
‘y civilian reader who
cDonald of the Cleve-
Sgt. McDonald
ur $100 reward
4
Vanted for larceny by
lice. Identified No-
»y civilian reader on
‘rville, Mass., Police,
irke there same day.
2
‘anted for embezzle.-
. Colorado, authori.
1934, LINE-UP by
tes. Assistant Chief
irthy, Buffalo (N. Y.)
ind captured Brill at
vember 27th, 1934,
he reader,
-
! for rape by Eurek
ified December 21st,
ho notified Ogden,
him following day.
Wanted for for er
‘es. Identified ‘Se,
ivilian reader, who
iniel 1. Kean of
Sheriff Kean ar-
$100 reward paid.
inted for bank rob-
Durley of Ventura
d by Constable W.
Line-Up who made
gordon, on January
paid to Constable
OLL. Wanted for
«9S Angeles police,
-Up by Sheriff w.
‘ty, Ohio, who had
ition in July, 1933.
him and brought
‘is, Ohio, on Janu-
n established and
ft Police James E,
ornia. a January
June, 1935
There’s no such thing as a hot shave for any man
Shaving Cream and a good
who uses Ingram’s
blade. Every shave is cool.
Three special ingredients of this rich, foamy
lather take out all the stings and jabs, tone the
The Master Detective
skin, and shield it against scuffing and rawness. Ma
No burning, no smarting, no need for a lotion.
Your face feels fine without it.
Your first tube or jar will convince you that an
57
TRY THE WORLD'S COOLEST SHAVE
IncRAMm’s
SHAVING CREAM
BRISTOL-MYERS CO., Dept. G-65
110 Washington St., New York, N.Y.
I’m hot about cool shaves. Let me
a 10-shave tube of Ingram's, FREE,
Ingram’s shave is the world’s best. Inexpensive,
i Name ieee ent oh ry emnprerereniigas
, TUBE |
too. Ingram’s lathers so freely that you need far Sais eal
less cream to tame your whiskers. Try it.
City __. State
The Murder in the Pine Forest
Houston, for a $1.10 purchase. The
ticket was dated April 16th, which was
Saturday, two days earlier. From this
ticket we surmised that the man had
not been dead more than sixty hours.
Ottersky, if that were the dead man’s
name, was a methodical person. On
the stubs he had kept a record of the
person to whom each check was issued,
the amount of the check, and the
amount remaining in his bank balance.
After he had paid the last check of
25 to a Corpus Christi doctor, his
balance was about $400, it appeared.
It was three o'clock in the morning
when we started back to Houston. For
some reason | do not now: recall, -I
seated myself inside the ambulance
with the dead man; while the other
officers and newspaper men returned to
town in automobiles. ~
Half-way to town we broke an axle.
The driver had to walk a dozen blocks
before he found an all-night restau-
rant; from there he telephoned for an-
other ambulance. For an hour I sat
alone in the dark, close to that grim
body, expecting every minute to hear
the driver returning.
It was daylight when we reached the
city morgue, and turned. the body
over to the County Physician, Ernest
Wright. Doctor Wright verified our”
estimate that the man had been dead
less than three days. He found that the
bullets had been fired from a position
(Continued from page 31)
above the victim, as he was able to
trace their downward course. He said
the man was about forty years old.
From the beginning, | was convinced
that we were facing a difficult task in
solving the mystery.
Our first move was to call the Corpus
Christi doctor who had received the last
check that the dead man had drawn.
The medico remembered his patient
distinctly, and positively identified the
dead man as Henry Ottersky by the
description we were able to give him.
But the doctor didn’t know his family,
friends, business or home address.
THE Officials of the City National
Bank of Corpus Christi were as in-
definite in their report. Henry Ottersky
was a client who only occasionally
visited the bank in person, they said.
Since he was in the habit of issuing
checks in various South Texas towns °
they assumed he was a traveling sales-
man. But they did not know what sort
of goods he sold or for whom he
worked, :
Neither the merchant in Brownsville
who had sold the hat, nor the store in
San Antonia from which Ottersky had-
bought the gray. suit, could help us in
locating the family or employers of
the dead man.
We hoped. that the ‘big play -the :
morning papers gave the story would
bring us some valuable tips, and we
were far from being disappointed.
The first’ of these came from a sur-
prising source!
Dave Henry, Captain of Detectives
in the neighboring city of Galveston,
called Houston Headquarters by tele-
phone.
“I’ve just read in the morning papers
of the discovery of Henry Ottersky’s
body,” said Captain. Henry, “and I
have a remarkable thing to report.
Yesterday I received by parcel post
from Houston a suit-case containing
some papers and personal effects be-
longing to Ottersky. I was perplexed
yesterday when | received it. I had
never heard of Henry Ottersky, and
there was nothing in the package that
ordinarily would interest a detective.
“And now that I’ve learned that Ot-
tersky has been murdered, I’m more
bewildered than ever.”
Houston police were as much mysti-
fied as Captain Henry. -
Was the killer crazy, or was he try-
ing to taunt the police? Had a maniac
committed the -vicious crime in the
clearing in the pine forest?
“I'll bring the suit-case to Houston
immediately,” said Captain . Henry.
“Maybe. oP apna of why it was
sent to me will be given later.”
Tuesday morning, throngs began to
gather at the city morgue to view the
body. Most of these people were
merely curious, but some were actuated
the picture of
him through-
ously,
tarmers in the
Camp Logan,
gularity. The
fective. They
ury the hide.
e hide, no one
1e slaughtered
idden beneath
large.
ealed another
d-chopping as
‘r started for
alted his team
n his wagon.
ie clearing he
was not pic-
(At left) Special In-
vestigator George Andrew
examines the muddy
waters of Buffalo Bayou,
and its banks, in his
search for the lethal
weapon; and (at right)
he sums up the evidence
in the mystery
nickers who had made the mound. With the wisdom born
of long observation of the ways of city folks in the woods,
he concluded that no one who would be thoughtful enough
to rake loose dirt over his rubbish would at the same time
be so thoughtless as to forget his hat.
He approached the mound and kicked at the loose turf.
He realized then that it was not merely a knoll raked from
the surface of the ground; someone had dug a pit and
filled it up again, His suspicion that a hide was buried
there was strengthened.
Driver started to pick up the hat, and then he stopped.
Better leave things as they were and call the police, he
thought.
He climbed back on his load of wood and
drove to the county road that parallels the B
“Katy” railroad tracks, a quarter of a mile ry.
away. Again he halted his team and scrambled
down. He took a stick of wood from his load l I
and placed it carefully on the edge of the Sp e Cc 1 a n V e Ss tig a to r
shell-surfaced highway, one end of the stick
pointing directly toward the clearing as a land-
mark.
There were many such bald spots in the tim-
ber, and even as experienced a woodsman as > . e
District Attorney’s Office
Houston, Texas
Driver, often was unable to distinguish between
As told to KELLY COUSINS
them.
One of Driver’s neighbors was William Slack,
a Houston police officer who lived on a farm
near by. When Slack reached home at dusk
29
mound, in-
row. That’s
’ Driver saw
2 by. He
decided to ff
id did—with
results
wo
e, Driver was there
has buried another
din a clearing over
iything, but waited
find out who the
ey encountered en
with spades and a
ig in the pine trees.
readily after they
their shovels sank
ed object first. He
e. If the tip of his
iside of the skin it
»w-greased surface.
side of the hide, it
hit a flat -and un-
solid. Slack didn’t
3 sure it was not a
ive attached to the
nued to dig.
d at length, bend-
iinous hole. ‘Hold
over the pit, eyes
e object they had
s shirt.
ding the form of a
ite in the light of
-k from the open
d the black, pro-
“st. .
- the Eureka signal
ne “Katy” and the
> away.
nt at Police Head-
Ask him to call
for the District
stice of the Peace.
SO ae P02. cat
ee - ee eee ee amen pene uote
Then call an ambulance. Williams and I will remain here
with the corpse. Tell the officers you'll flag them with a
lantern as they come out on the Houston-Dallas highway.
Then you bring them here.”
I was at my home when Desk Sergeant Kuykendall called
me about ten o'clock. I quickly joined Judge Leon Lusk
and two deputy sheriffs, and together we sped out on Wash-
ington Avenue, past Camp Logan and to the sentinel, who
signaled to us with a lantern.
Slack and Williams were waiting for us in the clearing.
It was an eerie, but not a difficult task, to finish exhuming
the body.: Soon we were able to lift the dead man from
the grave and place him on the stretcher of the ambulance.
He was around five feet, eleven inches tall and weighed
about one hundred and ninety pounds. His hair and eye-
brows were blond. In his upper jaw I found five gold teeth.
If any proof were needed that he had been murdered, it
was established by four bullet holes in his chest. The holes
were clean and sharply defined, indicating that the gun ‘had
been fired from close range, not so close, however, that
powder burns were left on the white shirt.
The man wore gray trousers, and a gray coat was buried
with him, but apparently he had not been wearing a coat
when killed. We could find no vest.
The pockets of his clothes were turned
inside out, indicating that robbery might
have been the motive for the murder. The
slayer seemed to have been intent on con-
cealing the identity of his victim.
Recalling the hat he had seen at the
base of the pine tree that afternc on,
Driver now brought it forward. By the
aid of my flashlight I saw a name written
dimly on the sweat band, Henry Ottersky.
The hat had been purchased from a dealer
in Brownsville, Texas.
The merchant’s tag in the coat revealed
that it had been bought in San Antonio.
_Examining the coat more carefully, we
found that in rifling the pockets.of the
dead man, the killer had overlooked the
small match pocket inside the larger, side
pocket. In this hidden pouch we found a
tightly-folded check book on a Corpus
Christi, Texas, bank.
In addition to the bank checks we dis-
covered a sales ticket from Munn’s De-
partment Store in (Continued on page 57)
Charley Driver,
(Left) At the right stands the late
whose woodsman’s
intuition led to the dramatic discovery
With him is a neighbor
(Above) The mur-
der spot. Here
two men_ spent
an evening,
quietly drinking
beer. Here a
passer-by saw a
man flitting
among the trees.
Was he the man
who . dug the
gravé, or the vic-
tim found with-
in it?
(Left) Charley
Leach, court
stenographer at
the trial. He
noticed the shoes
of a witness and
madé¢ a_ sensa-
tional discovery
which pinned the
crimé on the
guilty man
TRIAL
APPEALS
EXECUTION ‘i
Ufa 45: Lapiligee] alla 7, prsae lips. J 000 iprrabrts pet aend,
Aasotly binch. Dbisly Went oolnly
Lew. Lodnss Yih, tyr ege TPUYIL/
eal, | | ERR dh ee i aed CCI 1) Rt) 9h da pre dere merctrad Penente arearade
“S .
0 fee: eee
/ ig ISAIAH WALKER
From Criminal Docket District Court "BY - 1873.
/ : State of Texs vs. Isaiah Walker - Jury verdict of guilty and pen-
. alty fixed at death,
From Keyser oie Register - March 18, 1881. |
The appelate court affirmed the death sentence on the negro Isaiah |
Walker for murdering his wife.
From Keyser House Register - July 20, 1851. | aan ~
Isaiah Walker, negro, hung at 3 o'clock P. M., July 28, 1881 for
murder of his wife (strumpet), died without a struggle. Neck broken.
‘District Court met Mar. 18, 1881.
4 Judge Everett Lewis presiding.
= == Clerk was B. R. Abernathy.
3 a Sheriff was Alonzo Bass.
From Gonzales Daily Inquirer (Condensed) - July 30, 1882.
| Last Monday the case of Isaiah Walker, freedman, for murder of his
wife in Feb. 1873 was tried. He ran away and eluded officers for 7 yrs.
Walker assaulted Rena Walker with a gun, did shoot and kill her. He
shot her just below the heart Tues. night. Wednesday she was dead. She
was deaf and within 3 months of child birth. He had whipped her pre~
viously. |
The gallows were constructed adjoining the platforn at the head of .
the stairs and one step leads from platform to the trap door, not more
than 2 yds. from his cell. This was first gallows constructed inside
ce Jail. Walker was baptized in jail by Rev. Greggory. Deputy Sheriff
Anderson adjusted the rope around his neck, tied his hands and feet and
drew a black cap over his head. The trap was sprung. Fourteen minutes
later he was taken down and placed in a coffin. The jailer was D. Boyd.
WALKER, Lee, black, electrocuted Texas (Freestone Co.) 6-30-1939
, e bea 5 goon’ 6
) 4
| -
cD :
a ei :
hcg = = we ~
a 8 rr 24 - :
.
See, ~
Cees “I \
< & | & Sa
ris -
St [te Ps
4 > § #:
Ee SS ;
THE STATE OF TEXAS
'
eeercoee
Rafo Lee Walker alias
Rafe Danka.
day of ADEM I. crsrconecnnersen 193. 9..
‘s day this cause was enlled for trisl, and the State appeared by her .....COUntY
7
Attorney; and Defendant ...RAaL9. Lea. Walker alias. Rafe...Banks appeared
in person, his ¢ounse} also being present, and having been arraigned in open édart, both parties announced ready
- fot trial; and the Defendant Waliker.@lias. Rafe. Banks... in
open Court, in person, pleaded guilty to the charge contained in the indictment, thereupon the said Defendant was
_, admonished by the Court of the consequences of said Wik, ditt on ental Defendant pivelsted in plenting gaiite: and
it plainly appearing to the Court that the said Defendant is sane and that he is uninfluenced in making said plea by
any consideration of fear, or by any persuasion, or delusive hope of pardon prompting him to confess his guilt,
—
the said plea of guilty is by the Court received and here now entered of record upon the minutes of the Court as
the plea a of said Defendant; thereupon a jury of good and lawfully men, to wit:
e
and eleven
others, was duly selected, impaneled and sworn, who having heard the indictment read and the Defendant’s plea
. \ of guilty thereto, and having heard the evidence submitted, and having been duly charged by the Court, retired in
charge of the proper officer to consider of their verdict, and afterwards was brought into open Court by the prop-
er officer, the Defendant and his counsel being present, and in due form of law returned into the Court the follow-
ing verdict, which was received by the Court, and is here now entered upon the minutes of the Court, to-wit:
'.
i :
"we the jury find the defendant guilty.as charged in the
indictment and agsess his punishment at death.” ,
hdc as 3. 4. mr 4 2 24
» aa ee ee
Porstnalh, ,
IT IS THEREFORE CONSIDERED AND ADJUDGED by the Court that the Defendant
» is guilty of the offense of
otad iqceterotes och IO -cveseress re as confcssed by him in his said plea of
dea
- th ,
guilty herein made, and as found by the jury, and that ho he- punished by/ ora fimonsotsim xthecxStat ec xLonitondarx
incl the? the stato
Yo Lor mol nots long Ahr AXA AAR AXA AR MMAMOK AOKI XH AAKAXRARAX KAM -UBK Matha S of Texas do
War
have and recover of the sald Defendant ROO 100. biant-alias..wafe.Banks » all
conta in this prosecution expended, for which execution will Issue.
_
Te
f
en ne
ee es a
SEMA g her tne Ty LOOT WR rey ener, ORT RIE ae aE he Pm eR
50 HEADQUARTERS DETECTIVE
Salemi could never be broken down. )
O’Dwyer had him returned to his
cell. As a last resort, he had decided
upon a little melodrama with Salemi
as the villain and himself and the
cops as principal actors. He sent one
of McGowan’s men to Salemi’s room
with instructions to search it thor-
oughly and bring back anything
that looked interesting. A half an
hour later, he returned with a pair
of muddy shoes and: a pair of pants
which were still slightly damp from
washing. ‘
Salemi was brought back to the
examination room. The moment he
saw the shoes and pants he turned
white and his eyes popped. They
shoved him into a chair and O’Dwyer
said, “Salemi, we're going to put on
a little show. Just for youalone. We’re
going to show you how’ modern
science puts the finger on a killer.”
A door opened and several men
in laboratory smocks entered, carry-
ing an array of test tubes, retorts,
microscopes, mages glasses,
scales and chemicals. Before Salemi’s
bewildered eyes these were spread
out. Then one of them grabbed his
hands and began scraping his finger-
nails with a nail file.
“What—what’s that for?” Salemi
demanded, trying to pull his hand
away.
“Oh, just a special kind of manicure
we give around here,” said McGowan
with a smile. “We just want to find out
if there’s any blood—any human blood
—under your finger nails.”
They laid out litmus paper and
acid, and explained to him that if the
litmus paper turned blue from the
acid it indicated the presence of
human blood.
Salemi trembled all over as the acid
dropped on the paper. “Please—please
—I’ll talk! Just oe a chance!” he
pleaded. “I'll tell the truth now!”
But O’Dwyer wasn’t going to
gamble with any halfway measures.
This time, Salemi was going to come
out with the truth. He signalled to
HEADQUARTERS
DETECTIVE
slumped down in the passenger’s seat.
“Don’t open it!” Harold Lee cau-
tioned Oscar Arthur as the latter
reached for the car door. “There’s a
man inside asleep. Or maybe he’s
drunk. Let’s tell Dad.”
They had pg Seg) to tell their
father, however, but Harold Lee men-
tioned their experience hours later to
his older brother, Bill Noe, 15, and
Bill went to his father, W. F. Noe, 36.
Noe, recalling that he, too, had no-
ticed the car earlier in the day, de-
cided to investigate. It was then the
murder was discovered and Deputy
Parker notified.
T was thus my office was drawn into
the case and the investigators from
my staff, the deputies of Sheriff
Schmid and the Dallas Police Depart-
ment were required to curtail their
Christmas activities and launch a
search for a ruthless slayer.
I assigned Denver Seale, chief in-
vestigator of the District Attorney’s
the men to go ahead and proceed
with the examination.
So, Salemi was forced to watch
them go ahead with their mysterious
tests, tests which threatened to spell
his doom. Finally, as he saw the
damning evidence with his own eyes,
he screamed at O’Dwyer, “All right!
Y’ll talk! I'll talk!”
ND talk he did. Plenty. A police
[\ stenographer was summoned and
took down every word of his con-
fession.
Salemi told them of his hopeless in-
fatuation for Freida and how she had
spurned his advances. Time after
time, she had turned down his in-
vites. She refused to make any dates
with him. But on Monday night she
agreed to go for an auto ride, pro-
vided he’d let her bring a girl friend
along. He had agreed, but she came
back after a few minutes and said she
couldn’t find anyone to go with her.
“It started to rain,” Salemi said, “so
she got in my car. I drove to Canarsie
Beach, but on the way we stopped and
got a can of beer. I drank it alone.
When we got out to the Beach I tried
to make love to her, but she wouldn’t
let me. We stayed there about an
hour. When I kept telling her I loved
her and wanted to make love to her,
she just laughed in my face and said,
‘Why, I’m surprised at you,
“So, I started back along Flatlands
Avenue. I started in telling her I'd
heard she wasn’t a ‘good girl.’ I was
trying to wear her down. ut she got
mad and jumped out of the car. I
drove ahead about three hundred feet
and waited. I thought. she’d call me
and ask me to come back, but she
didn’t.
“T turned the car around and drove
back to where she was walking and
she got in again. From there we drove
to Dyker Park.
“T ‘stopped there and tried to make
love to her again. She kept saying
she was surprised at me. tried to
grab her in my arms. but she jumped
out of the car and ran into the field.
I ran after her, kept begging her to
come back. She screamed and began
running again. I guess I got crazy
mad then. ;
“I picked up a rock and heaved it
at her. It hit her in the head and
knocked her down. I ran to her. She
was still screaming. I had to make her
stop. Even then, I still wanted her.
I wanted to love her. But she wouldn’t
let me. She began to struggle and
fight. I hit her with my fist.
“After that she moaned a little. I
was too crazy to remember just what
happened for awhile.
“But I do remember thinkin that I
didn’t know what she’d do after she
regained consciousness. I got up and
went to my car. got a tool from
under the front seat. I hit her with
that.
“When I saw what I did, I got
scared. 1 wanted to make it impossible
for anybody to identify her. So I
spilled some gas outta my tank onto
the body and set, fire to it. The flames
blazed up all around her. Then I got
sick to my stomach.
“Tt drove home and washed out my
clothes. But I never wanted to hurt
Freida. I only wanted to love her, but
she said she was surprised at me and
laughed in my face. If she hadn’t
laughed, this wouldn’t have hap-
pened.”
—Jess than thirty-six hours after
Freida Olsen’s body was found in
the weeds of Dyker Park—Peter
Salemi was arraigned for her murder
before Judge Edward L. Gavin in
Kings County Court. Since it is
illegal in the State of New York for
the courts to accept a plea of ilty
in a first degree murder case, udge
Gavin was compelled to remand the
slayer to the Raymond Street Jail in
Brooklyn to await trial..
Peter Salemi killed because a girl
et Perhaps Freida Olsen will
still have the last laugh.
0* the afternoon of August 22, 1940
RUIN RIDES WITH CUPID
CONTINUED FROM PAGE (7
office to join in the search, and he and
the other investigators immediately
endeavored to learn how long the
Dodge coupe had been parked at the
roadside.
Russell Singleton, of Farmers
Branch, told them he had driven past
the coupe at 9 o’clock the night of
December 23.
David Wilson, a neighbor of Single-
ton, said he had_driven past the car
about midnight. Numerous other per-
sons had passed it on Saturday, but
none had investigated.
At the mortuary, it was learned the
two slugs which entered Mayfield’s
body passed from right to left and
that he had died of an internal
hemorrhage caused by the bullet in
his chest. Either bullet, however,
would have caused death, the investi-
gators were told.
The bullet Deputy Decker had
taken from vg ioe ’s car was turned
over to Jack Tanner, of the police
bureau of identification. His tests de-
termined it came from a_.32-caliber
revolver. The course the bullets had
taken convinced the investigators
Mayfield was shot by someone at his
right., That meant someone who sat
in the passenger’s seat, or stood out-
side his car, opened the right door
and fired.
We were convinced the murder had
not occurred in the vicinity where
his body was found, but that he had
been transported there after he was
slain. We also were inclined to be-
lieve the motive for the crime was
robbery. But why was he slain? Chief
Deputy Decker pointed out that he
never carried a gun.
Since we felt there were few who
-would wantonly slay to rob, we were
left with the thought that Mayfield
knew the person who held him up
and that individual believed it was
necessary to kill his victim to avoid
arrest.
Leads which at first promised clues,
were followed and proved to be
worthless. We
shops, with r
whether there
sales of .32-ca
that used by
investigation
when the tel
Deputy Decke
“Bill? This
marshal at Fi
“T think I’ve
on that Mayfi
some talk at <
which seems
boys out here
it. I think you
ORNEY is
man Count
miles east «
arrived there,
on a street cc
“The — boy:
brothers,” Ha)
name is Free)
home this mc
better go ove:
Decker an
brothers, Fran
The officers
they sat on th
bing knuckles
shot a questic
“What do
the murder
Dallas?” he <
Both officer
exchange of
brothers. T
denials of any
der, so were
20 years old,
“We think,’
Otto may knc
In respons
brothers iden
Bob Walker
they said, loi
the Mayfield
Grove and’ H.
“The reaso)
know somett
Freeman inte1
Walker tried °
him rob Mr.
chums arounc
Decker wai'
obtain the ac
Currie befor:
Dallas and gi.
uties to pick
them for que
return. The
4111 Keating
brothers said
Travis Street
within a few
station where
seen.
Frank Fre
plied a_ pos
slayer’s actior
the slayer—\
knew Walker
Later, Fran
Walker had
him to aid
Mayfield. Ti
said, was ma
Decker toc
Dallas, whe:
statements. \
definitely lir
slaying, but
pect in custo
to their ho:
Currie were
to know wh:
they would
Sheriff Sc
to watch t}
) the field.
ing her to
and began
got crazy
heaved it
head and
o her. She
9 make her
anted her.
ie wouldn’t
-uggle and
t
‘a little. I
* just what
king that I
» after she
sot up and
tool from
t her with
did, I got
impossible
her. So I
tank onto
The flames
Then I got
1ed out my
ted to hurt
ve her, but
at me and
she hadn’t
have hap-
ust 22, 1940
hours after
as found in
-ark—Peter
her murder
Gavin in
ince it is
w York for
‘a of guilty
case, Judge
cemand the
reet Jail in
‘ause a girl
Olsen will
.32-caliber
bullets had
nvestigators
1eone at his
me who sat
c stood out-
right door
murder had
inity where
that he had
fter he was
lined to be-
» crime was
slain? Chief
out that he
‘re few who
ob, we were
iat Mayfield
ield him up
eved it was
-im to avoid
ymised clues,
oved to be
HEADQUARTERS DETECTIVE 51
worthless. We turned to the pawn-
shops, with men assigned to learn
whether there had been any recent
sales of .32-caliber revolvers such as
that used by Mayfield’s killer. That
investigation still was under way
when the telephone rang in Chief
Deputy Decker’s home. ”
“Bill? This is Elvie Hamm, city
marshal at Forney,” the caller said.
“TI think I’ve got something for you
on that Mayfield killing. I overheard
some talk at a garage here last night
which seems to indicate a couple ‘of
boys out here know something about
it. I think you’d better talk to them.”
ORNEY is a small town in Kauf-
man County and is about twenty
miles east of Dallas. When Decker
arrived there, he met Marshall Hamm
on a street corner.
“The boys I mentioned are
brothers,” Hamm told Decker. “Their
name is Freeman. They haven’t left
home this morning, so I guess we’d
better go over there right away.”
Decker and Hamm found _ the
brothers, Frank and John, still asleep.
The officers aroused them, and, as
they sat on the edge of the bed, rub-
bing knuckles into sleepy eyes, Decker
shot a question at them.
“What do you boys know about
the murder of John Mayfield in
Dallas?” he asked.
Both officers observed the startled
exchange of glances between the
brothers. They had _ anticipated
denials of any knowledge of the mur-
der, so were surprised when Frank,
20 years old, answered.
.“We think,” he said, “that Bob and
Otto may know something about it.”
In response to questioning, the
brothers identified Bob and Otto as
Bob Walker and Otto Currie, who,
they said, loitered in the vicinity of
the Mayfield filling station at Oak
Grove and’ Haskell Avenues.
“The reason we think they may
know something about it,” Frank
Freeman interrupted, “is because Bob
Walker tried to get both of us to help
him rob Mr. Mayfield. And Currie
chums around with him a lot.”
Decker waited only long enough to
obtain the addresses of Walker and
Currie before calling his office in
Dallas and giving instructions to dep-
uties to pick up the pair and hold
them for questioning until he could
return. The Walker home was at
4111 Keating Avenue, the Freeman
brothers said. Currie lived at 4043
Travis Street. Both addresses were
within a few blocks of the Mayfield
station where the slain man last was
seen.
Frank Freeman unwittingly sup-
plied a possible motive for the
slayer’s action—if, indeed, Walker was
the slayer—when he said Mayfield
knew Walker.
Later, Frank Freeman told Decker,
Walker had again tried to persuade
him to aid in staging a holdup of
Mayfield. The second attempt, he
said, was made on December 20.
Decker took the two youths into
Dallas, where they made written
statements. We felt their information
definitely linked Walker with the
slaying, but we didn’t have the sus-
pect in custody. When officers went
to their homes, both Walker and
Currie were gone and no one seemed
to know where they were or when
they would return.
Sheriff Schmid assigned deputies
to watch the Walker and Currie
homes, and investigators from my
office and the Police Department be-
gan making inquiries concerning the
wanted pair in the neighborhood: of
their homes.
They learned that Walker, 25 years
old, was a radio repairman, but had
been unemployed for some time. He
was older than the other youths who
loafed in the neighborhood of Oak
Grove and Haskell Avenues and was
something of a leader among them.
He and Currie had been pals for
several months. Currie was 19 years
old and was said to be a_ steady
worker, but permitted himself to be
dominated by Walker. The latter
MURDERED
June Marie Doggett, 18-year-old
Chicago student, was shot and
killed by Albert Adellizi, 49, a
spurned suitor, police charge.
drove Currie’s new Plymouth con-
vertible coupe during the day while
Currie worked as a truck driver for
a Dallas cosmetics concern.
Whoever had killed Mayfield ap-
parently had driven out to the
Farmers Branch road in the slain
man’s car. How did the slayer get
back to Dallas? Had he been picked
up by someone who followed the
murder car? We could account for
Mayfield’s por being so far from
home only by believing he had been
forced to drive there, or that. he had
been killed in Dallas and his slayer
had transported the body to the point
where it was found. Was the slayer’s,
transportation problem solved by
having Currie pick him up for the
return trip?
At the cosmetics concern where
Currie was employed, we learned he
had worked all of December 24.
None could be found who would say
he appeared to be in the least agi-
tated over anything that had hap-
pened the preceding night.
From the automobile company
where he purchased the Plymouth,
we learned that the second payment
on his’ car was due the same day
Mayfield was killed, and he had been
unable to meet it.
Currie, we learned, had supplied
the funds to cover expenses incident
to the entertainment he and Walker
seemed to demand nightly. We turned
our investigation toward the two girls
with whom he and Walker were said
to have had dates the night Mayfield
was killed. Eventually, we found
them. They were Elsie Horton and
May Smith, each 16 years old. Elsie
Horton made a statement which we
considered rather significant.
“Otto called me about 8:45 o’clock
the night of December 23,” she said.
“He told me he and Bob Walker
would be right over. They arrived
about 9 o’clock and then we went
over to May’s home to pick her up.
Bob was driving.
“After we got May, we went over
to a stand on McKinney Avenue and
had some sandwiches and beer. Otto
seemed to be a little nervous and pre-
occupied. About 11 o’clock they took
us home. On the way, I started to
reach into the glove compartment of
Otto’s car and Bob Walker said, “Stay
out of there! Don’t put your hand in.
There’s a ‘play-pretty’ in there!’ He
was rather cross about it, so I shut
the compartment.”
May Smith’s story was similar. She
had been dating Walker for several
months, having been introduced to
him by Currie and Miss Horton.
Walker, it developed, was married,
but separated from his wife.
ITH the information we had ob-
tained, we felt warranted in broad-
casting the description of the two
suspects and of Currie’s Plymouth
coupe over the state. Law enforce-
ment officers were urged to keep a
sharp lookout for the car and the two
ins men. And deputies, in relays,
ept the Walker and Currie homes
under constant surveillance.
Eventually the vigilance of the dep-
uties was rewarded. A Plymouth con-
vertible coupe pulled up at a curb
near Haskell and Keating Avenues
and two men got out to inspect a flat
tire. While one bent to the task of
changing the tire, the other began
walking up Keating Avenue.
Two blocks away, Deputies Pete
Ballard and Billy Parker, watching
the Walker home from the opposite
side of the street, saw the coupe stop
and. evinced interest as one of its
occupants moved away from it. They
began walking toward him.
“All right, Walker! We’re taking
you with us. You’re wanted at the
sheriff's office.”
Without protest, Walker turned and
accompanied them down the street
toward the convertible from which
Currie was busily engaged in remov-
ing the deflated tire. He straightened
uP, surprised, when Parker spoke to
im:
“Come on, Otto,” the deputy said
brusquely. “That can wait awhile.
You’re going with us to the sheriff’s
office.”
Currie made no resistance. His face
had blanched when he saw Walker
with the deputies, but he made no
comment and accompanied them
auiétly to Sheriff Schmid’s office.
There, the Sheriff and Deputy Decker
. took the suspects in hand, separating
the pair while they launched a bar-
rage of questions at Currie. In con-
, trast to Walker’s calm, cold demeanor,
Currie was shaking with fright.
Currie stared unseeingly for a few
moments, then began to speak. “I'll
tell you about it,” he said. The de-
cision seemed to lift a great load from
his mind. “Some time ago,” he said,
“Bob said we ought to hold up one
of Mayfield’s trucks on the Forney
road when the driver was going to
East Texas to buy gasoline. He said
a tank of gas cost quite a bit of money
52 HEADQUARTERS DETECTIVE
FALLEN OVERLORD
and we could make a good haul. We
talked it over several times and then
decided to hold up Mr. Mayfield in-
stead of the truck driver, because it
would be easier and we thought we
could get more money when he was
out collecting from his filling stations.
So."
“You knew the route he took?”
Decker interrupted.
Currie nodded. “For about a week
we watched him and knew just where
he went each night and what time he
was at the various places. Several
days before the holdup, Bob Walker
said we ought to have a gun. He said
he didn’t have any money to buy one,
so I handed him $5. Then we went .
to a pawnshop on Elm Street and
bought a_ .32-caliber revolver for
$4.50
Currie then told of Walker’s efforts
to persuade one of the Freeman boys
to commit the actual holdup because
Mayfield probably would recognize
both him and Walker. “When he
couldn’t get anyone else to do it,” he
continued his recital, “I agreed to go
with him. I didn’t want to do the
actual robbing, so Bob said he would
do it himself. We decided it would be
on December 23.
“That night we went to a soft drink
place and got a chaser for some
whiskey we had, then went over and
parked on Oak Grove Avenue where
we could watch the filling station.
That was between 7:30 and 7:45
o’clock.
“We sat there and had a couple
drinks of whiskey while we waited.
When we saw Mayfield drive into the
filling station, Bob got-out and told me
to drive around the corner and then
stick close behind Mayfield’s car after
he got in.
He stood on the corner at first and
I waited around it until I saw him get
into the Dodge with Mayfield. Then
I followed as they drove on. Mayfield
went down Oak Grove to. Bowen
Street and turned north. We went
out Cedar Springs Avenue, turned
over to Denton Drive and started to-
ward Love Field. Just south of Love
Field, Mayfield’s car turned right on a
gravel road, followed it a short dis-
tance and stopped.
“I was slowing down just. behind
the Dodge when I heard a shot. Then
Walker got out of Mayfield’s car in
a hurry and Mr. Mayfield was trying
to get out, too. Just then I heard
more shots and saw flashes of fire
from the gun.
“Bob came running back to my car
and said, ‘We’ll have to get out of
here in a hurry.’ He turned then and
ran back to Mayfield’s car, shoved
Mr. Mayfield over and got behind the
wheel of the Dodge. He drove down
the gravel road until he came to a
filling station. There he turned
around and we went back to Denton
Drive and turned north. Bob drove
out Denton road for some distance
and made two left turns onto gravel
roads.
“A short way down the last one, he
pulled to the side and stopped. I
pulled up beside the Dodge. Bob got
out. He searched Mr. Mayfield for
his money, then got in with me and
we started back to town.”
“He kept the money?”
“No,” Currie answered. ‘On the
way in, he counted it. There was only
$27.75. That surprised us, because we
knew Mr. Mayfield usually carried
much more than that. Bob stuck
$3.75 in change in his pocket and
George Scalise, former president of the Building Service Employes Interna-
tional Union, is shown between two deputy sheriffs en route to jail after con-
viction on charges of embezzling union funds. He now faces a lifetime in
prison.
handed me $24. I gave him back $10
and kept $14.
“Bob suggested that we get dates
and have some beer. I called Elsie
Horton and he called May Smith.
After spending some time with the
girls we took them home about 11
o’clock and then I took Bob home. .
He carried the gun with him. Then I
went home to bed and went to work
the next morning.” ~
“Bob had a girl in Galveston and
wanted to see her. He said he’d get
me a date, too. That’s the reason we
left Dallas. We reached the home of
Bob’s girl friend about 8 o’clock in
the morning. Then we picked up an-
other girl and went to Rosenberg,
Texas, for dinner. We came back, not
thinking anyone was looking for us.”
EANWHILE, Walker, questioned
M separately, had vehemently de-
nied any knowledge of Mayfield’s
murder. But when he was confronted
with Currie’s confession, he broke.
He said he had gotten into May-
field’s car when it drew up at a stop
sign. He told the filling station owner
he was leaving town and wanted to
go to Love Field. He asked Mayfield
to give him a lift that far and May-
field consented.
“Out near Love Field,” Walker said,
“I took a revolver out of my pocket
and asked Mayfield how much money
he had. He pulled his wallet out and
said, ‘This much.’ Then he saw the
gun. He kicked at it and it went off.
Then I saw he was hit and knew
I was in for it, so I kept pulling the
trigger. I didn’t mean to shoot him.”
n information signed by Sheriff
Schmid, I filed complaints in the
court of Lewis Sterrett, justice of the
peace, charging Walker and Currie
with first degree murder. The Dallas
County grand jury indicted them on
January 7.
Sheriff Schmid, not content with
the evidence we had, went to Galves-
ton to interview the girl Walker had
visited there. He obtained from her
seven letters and two postal cards
a
Walker had writte
professed his lov
her that “you are
love.”
We felt he had :
an ally of Cupid.
With so comple:
two men, I annot
ready for immedi:
tained a severan:
February 6, Walk
defense being tha’
HEAD(
DET
complainants.
By now I gues
where I came in
of us girls on Joe
were used for tw:
First, when th:
citizen—a small
someone whose p
cluded such raw
handed out by J
us girls was sent
resentative of the
Our job was tc
“nice” I mean exz
Our first move
discuss the matte
we avoided the st
long as possible.
liquor had been
this client a little
self being taken ©
ments. Then, ai
would signal thr«
Joe’s private dete:
on the place wou
The other chore
called upon to f
prospective borro’
a lot of connectic
connections made
for a commission-
a small business
take out a bank |
one of the more
panies.
At that point J
where we girls w
business man and
Each of us was
pletely filled-out :
job was to see th
that loan. When o
erly drunk and i
we whipped out t
our blandishmen:
ture on the dott
we had to go the
But Joe Seifert
about that.
to date had occi
before the day
old man Jensen.
still kept me aw
my bitter speech
sick of the whole
Len Wakely w:
liant lawyer. He
to make money.
girl well up in th
was working for
money upon whic
One of Joe &
handed us the tip
to borrow mone’
order to buy and
Tic toughest ass
interna-
ter con-
time in
at a stop
ion owner
wanted to
1 Mayfield
and May-
alker said,
ny pocket
ich money
et out and
2 saw the
> went off.
and knew
ulling the
aoot him.”
oy Sheriff
ts in the
tice of the
nd Currie
The Dallas
i them on
itent with
to Galves-
Jalker had
from her
stal cards
HEADQUARTERS DETECTIVE 53
Walker had written. In the letters, he
professed his love for her, assuring
her that “you are the only woman I
love.”
We felt he had employed murder as
an ally of Cupid: i
With so complete a case against the
two men, I announced the State was
ready for immediate trial. Currie ob-
tained a severance of his case. On
February 6, Walker went to trial, his
defense being that the killing of May-
HEADQUARTERS
DETECTIVE
complainants. :
By now I guess you’re wondering
where I came in. There were three
of us girls on Joe Seifert’s payroll. We
were used for two purposes.
First, when the client was a solid
citizen—a small business man, or
someone whose position in town pre-
cluded such raw dealings as were
handed out by Joe’s gorillas, one of
us girls was sent to see him as a rep-
resentative of the firm. :
Our job was to be nice to him. By
“nice” I mean exactly what you think.
Our first move was to get him to
discuss the matter at dinner. There,
we avoided the subject of payment as
long as possible. Later, when enough
liquor had been consumed to make
this client a little hazy, he’d find him-
self being taken to one of our apart-
ments. Then, after undressing, we
would signal through the window to
Joe’s private detective and a fake raid
on the place would follow.
The other chore which the girls were
called upon to fulfill was lining up
prospective borrowers. Joe Seifert had
a lot of connections in town. These
connections made it their business—
for a commission—to tip Joe off when
a small business man was about to
take out a bank loan or borrow from -
one of the more reputable loan com-
panies.
At that point Joe arranged a party
where we girls were sent to meet the
business man and some of his friends.
Each of us was all set with a com-
pletely filled-out note in our bags. Our
job was to see that Joe Seifert made
that loan. When our sucker was prop-
erly drunk and inflamed by us girls
we whipped out the note and used all
our blandishments to get his signa-
ture on the dotted line. Sometimes
we had to go the limit to get it, too.
But Joe Seifert never gave a damn
about that.
HE toughest assignment I had drawn
Tic date had occurred only the month
before the day I went to work on
old man Jensen. The memory of it
still kept me awake at night, caused
my bitter speech to Joe about being
sick of the whole racket.
Len Wakely was a young and bril-
liant lawyer. He was just beginning
to make money. Engaged to a lovely
girl well up in the Social Register, he
was working for a home and enough
money upon which to get married.
One of Joe Seifert’s connections
handed us the tip that Len was about
to borrow money from his bank in
order to buy and furnish a home for
field was accidental. But on February
10, after only 15 minutes deliberation,
the jury returned its verdict.
“Guilty!” it announced. The penalty
was death. :
Currie went to trial on March 1
and on March 4 was found guilty. The
jury fixed his punishment at ten years
imprisonment. The boy had been a
good boy, led astray by a bad com-
panion, and several highly respected
and influential citizens of Dallas testi-
fied in his behalf. He asked that his
penitentiary sentence begin at once.
12:01 o’clock the morning of
April 19, 1940, he was led to the
electric chair and there paid with his
life for the one he had taken to
finance a trip for Cupid.
Eprror’s Note: For obvious reasons
the names of Frank and John Free-
man and Elsie Horton and May Smith
as used here are fictitious.
SHYLOCKS TURN TO SEX
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 37
his bride. Because of Len’s reputation
in town, the loan was to be a substan-
tial one, we learned; the repayment to
be spread over a long period of time.
When Joe heard of it, he decided to
make a play for Len’s business. Len
Wakely was just the type of guy Joe
loved to get his dirty hands on. If
Len could be sucked into borrowing
from us, he could be bled freely. A
large part of any lawyer’s business de-
pends upon his reputation and with
that reputation in Joe Seifert’s hands,
Len Wakely would pay for the rest of
his life.
Joe realized, however, that Len
would be smart enough, under ordi-
nary circumstances, never to sign our
standard note. A far lousier lawyer
than young Wakely would know bet-
ter than that. And there was where
I came in. Joe sent for me and an-
other of the girls he employed from
time to time, Ruth Murray. Ruth was
a cute little blonde whose fair love-
liness was a strong and seductive con-
trast to my own dark features. She
had a figure that had caused more than
one guy to forget all the business
knowledge he had ever learned and
sign his income away on one of Joe
Seifert’s usurious forms.
About this time Joe found out that
Len Wakely’s friends were planning a
bachelor dinner for him. Through a
pal of his, the agent that booked “tal-
ent” for such impromptu affairs, Joe
had no difficulty in planting Ruth and
myself as entertainers.
Ruth Murray came along in reserve
—in case I failed or Len Wakely
showed a. decided preference for
blondes.
The show was straight stag stuff.
Raw, dirty, and obvious. After a cou-
ple of strip teasers had gotten all the
way down to fundamentals, two girls
walked on stage, undressed and pro-
ceeded quite matter-of-factly to per-
form an act I had seen done in the
Chesterfield Club in Kansas City the
year before they put Tom Pendergast
away.
By the time I went on for my own
act, Len Wakely was pretty drunk.
Now he seemed to more or less enjoy
what was going on. For my part, I
walked on stage clad in nothing more
than my stockings and a few yards of
quite transparent gauze, reached down
into my gutter repertoire of dirty
songs which lyrically called a spade
a spade, a sewer a sewer and a phallic
symbol something quite different, and
let them have it.
I passed Ruth Murray in the wings,
coming on to do her strip act. I hur-
ried into the dressing room to get my
clothes on again so that I could go out
front and make my scheduled pass at
Len Wakely.
I was returning to the dining room
when suddenly I heard a scream. I
recognized Ruth’s voice. I ran into
the room. and stood in the doorway
staring at the stage.
Three men, drunk and leering, were
standing before Ruth Murray. Almost
naked, she stood with her little hands
pressed over her breasts. The trio
of drunks pawed her to the laughter
and shouted encouragement of the
mob. Suddenly one of them lifted her
up and carried her, kicking and
screaming, off the stage toward the
dressing rooms. His two companions
followed along, one of them making
an obscene gesture as he disappeared.
The audience howled with laughter.
WALKED across the room and sat
down next to Len Wakely. I gave
him my _ thousand-candle-power
smile and said, “How about a drink
for a thirsty little girl?”
He blinked as he looked up at me.
His eyes were glazed and I judged
there was at least a pint of pure alco-
hol flowing through his blood stream.
From his condition I guessed my job
was going to be a lot easier than I’d
expected. All his decent inhibitions
had gone by now. He smirked like a
dirty-minded school boy.
“Sure,” he said thickly. “Drink as
much as you like. You the dame was
singing those songs, eh? Maybe you’d
like to step out after this brawl and
give me a private recital. Just th’ two
of us.”
_“Why wait, baby? This jam’s over
right now, far as I’m concerned,” I
answered with a laugh. “Let’s get ina
cab and run up to my apartment.”
Less than an hour later Len Wake-
ly sat sprawled in my easy chair, his
clothing half off, his eyes closed and
his mouth gaping. I was swabbing his
forehead with a wet towel and hoping
to God that he’d revive enough to get
out of the place before daylight.
Snugly concealed in my brassiere
was Len’s note for $1,500, and in his
pants pocket I’d put a check, signed
by J. Seifert & Associates and made
payable to L. T. Wakely, attorney, for
that sum.
But that was one deal on which my
employer lost money. A week later,
after Joe had called the youthful law-
yer to his office to “discuss terms of
payment,” Len Wakely returned to
his modest flat and wrote a brief note
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“Sure, there were a couple of fellows
from Dallas in here last night,” the pro-
prietor told him. “One dark and the
other light. They were with a couple
of girls. The dark fellow kept playing
one record over and over on the juke
box, but I noticed they didn’t do any
dancing. The girls were steppin’ aroun
together.”
Decker strolled over to the big auto-
| matic phonograph and scanned the list
of tunes. Selecting Nobody’s Sweet-
heart, he dropped a nickel in the slot
and pressed a button.
“Was this the number?” he asked.
“Sure, that’s it!” exclaimed the tavern
man. “How’d you know?”
Decker passed this up. “Do you know
the women those fellows were with?”
he shot.
The roadside stand operator nodded.
“Sure thing; they come out here all the
time. Name's are Rosie Pitts and Dottie
Brandt. They live in town.”
Decker went to the telephone booth,
marked off all the Pitts families in the
book, and began making calls, in each
ease asking for Rosie. As he called the
fourth number a smooth feminine voice
replied, “This is Rosie.”
Decker had his spiel ready. “Say,
I'm a friend of Bobby, the fellow from
Dallas you were out with last night.
He told me to get in touch with you—
wanted me to give you 4 message.”
He held his breath, not knowing how
his approach would be received.
“Qh, yes, Bobby,” she came back, a
note of gaiety in her voice. “He’s gone
home, hasn’t he? What did he want
you to tell me?”
The chief deputy stalled. “Not over
the phone, Rosie. How about me run-
ning down to the house?”
The girl hesitated. “All right,” she
finally said, giving her address, as
though Decker hadn’t already obtained
this from the telephone book.
In 15 minutes he was seated in her
parlor. Rosie Pitts was a heavily-
rouged, sultry-eyed young woman of
the type frequently seen around road-
houses. Decker knew there was no
point in beating around the bush. He
let her have it with both barrels.
“Killers?” she echoed, her face paling
under the rouge. “Gee, we had no idea.
But, say, they did act kinda funny at
that. Very nervous. They wouldn’t
dance all night, though both of them
are real jitterbugs.”
“You don’t know their names?”
“No, only as Bobby and Blondy.
That’s what they told us to call them.”
“Where'd they go after you left them.”
“] heard them say .they had rooms
down at the Savoy Hotel.”
Warning the girl that he might want
to talk to her and Dottie Brandt before
he left town, Decker hurried to the
hostelry, a cheap place where rooms
cost only $1. However, the proprietor
kept a register, and after Decker flashed
his badge he brought it out for the
officer’s inspection.
“Yeah, a couple of lads from Dallas
were here last night, but they checked
out early this morning,” he said.
The deputy discovered that both had
been assigned to the same room, regis-
tering as Robert Walker and Robert C
Currie.
The Dallas County officer went to
the phone and called Sheriff Schmid.
“Those names are probably okay,” he
told his superior officer, detailing the
events of his search. “Walker is dark
and Currie light. He wears his hair
long, like a woman’s.”
“We'll get their home addresses and
stake them out,” Schmid said. “Better
get depositions from those girls before
you come ck.”
At 7 A.M. on December 27 Deputies
Ballard and Parker, hiding across the
street from Robert Walker’s home at
4111 Keating Street, saw a dark youth
of about 24 coming up the street. They
nabbed him without a struggle.
“Where's Currie?” Ballard demanded.
Walker assumed an air of non-
chalance. “Oh, he had a flat tire down
on North Haskell. He’s trying to get it
fixed. Say, what is this all about?”
Both Confess
A pair of clicking handcuffs was the
answer. When the youth was place:
in their car, Ballard and Parker went
to where Walker had left his companion,
and seized Robert Currie changing a
tire on a Chevrolet roadster with a
canvas top.
In the sheriff's office Walker and
Currie were confronted by Sheriff
Schmid, his deputies, and District At-
torney Andrew Patton. The charges
were quickly made known to them.
Walker, a radio repairman who hadn’t
been employed for three months, and
Currie, a driver for a cosmetic firm,
protested their innocence. But Currie’s
denials were halting and tinged with
guilt. .
“That fellow will break,” Patton told
Schmid. “Let’s go after him separately.”:
Currie, only 19, whose home was at
4034: Travis Street, talked after only a
half hour’s interrogation, confessing
that he and Walker had slain the aged
oilman for the money he carried. Their
loot, as it turned out, was only $27.75.
They had overlooked the $22.43. In the
division of the money, Walker took
$13.75, Currie $14. But Walker insisted
his blond companion, who had not had
nodding acquaintance with a barber for
months, fired all the shots.
Deputies Ballard and Parker visited
Walker’s home and found a .32-caliber
gun under a mattress in his bedroom.
It was then that Walker, discover
to have been a former employe of John
J. Mayfield, cracked wide open., But his
attitude was the exact opp site of
Currie’s. While the young blond slayer
was fully penitent and told his story
with tears coursing down his cheeks,
Walker waxed insolent, even defiant.
In a callous manner he told of trick-
ing. John Mayfield into giving him -a
ride to the airport on the pretext of his
having a job in California and needing
to catch a plane to get to it on time.
Mayfield who picked the youth up at
the corner of South Haskell and Lem-
mon, suspected nothing, Walker said.
Currie followed the oilman’s Dodge in
the Chevrolet and picked up his pal
after the slaying.
The r
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stop at the
and North }
him at the
to visit, bu:
I told the
soon as he
than an hov
are only ty
afraid——.”
“IT wouldn
the sheriff ;
Mrs. Mayfie
before Chri:
band may }
prietor,
yfield,”
1e con-
himself
money
“Yeah,
of kids
1e other
Mayfield
ee
ice in a
uke box
yer worn
: Sweet- .
s a jazz |
ust ordi-
20s. One
was light.
about the
those fel-
that same
source an
inner.
Forney, 2
was having
na restau-
youths was
‘er in Dallas
eried.
. “ce
ice,
i, “Glad I
nurder rap
. midair. It
at he man-
and eat the
e sauntered
»sk and paid
: he stole a
and saw the
ig youths.
imm phon
what 0 ge
to know
concluded.
>» a look into
Chief Deputy
s car in e
ng it all the
ing the town,
few minutes,
ant. The four
Jp
i a drink, car-
ent booth, and
ag said. It was
10W, having no
id crime. The
his next move.
iw an elaborate
r a nickel, he
ee
ore ge
strolled over and inspected the list of
tunes. Soon he was back in his booth.
The strains of Nobody’s Sweetheart
filled the bar.
“Hey,” cried a voice in the next stall,
“that’s Bobby’s number! Boy, how he
goes for that! He’s had family trouble
—his wife ran out on him, and he
always plays that tune when he’s low.”
The officer rose, singled out Harold
Porter and Ralph Lang, half-brothers,
and lugged them off to Hamm’s office.
“Who's this Bobby?” he demanded.
“And what do you know about John
Mayfield’s murder?”
The youths, both in their teens, were
plainly frightened. “Gee, I doh’t know
nothing about that, only what I read
in the papers,” said Porter.
_ “That's right,” chimed in his half-
brother, sensing a good out. “We read
it in the papers.”
But Decker was not to be put off.
“Constable Hamm heard you say you
were supposed to be in on that crime.
Ow come across.”
When both youths continued to pro-
test their innocence vigorously, the
deputy put them in his car and left
for Dallas. Roberts, the tavern man,
was brought to the courthouse cell-
block where he identified both boys as
having: been in the ‘group in his Mc-
Kinney Avenue place.
All courage died in both youths. They
began pouring out a story which, while
not sufficient to bring about arrests, at
least gave Schmid and Decker a clear
picture of what had happened to John
Mayfield.
“Sure, we were in the Crystal Tavern
about a week ago,” began Porter, as-
suming the role of spokesman. “We
met two fellows in there. Neither of
us know more than their nicknames—
Bobby and Towhead, This Bobby fellow
was telling us that Old Man Mayfield
was a soft touch for a stickup. He asked
us to go in with them.
“A couple of nights later they showed
us a gun Bobby had bought for $4.50.
We got scared and backed out. And
that’s everything we know.”
Lang nodded his head in affirmation.
“What kind of a gun was it?” Schmid
demanded.
“A Harrington & Richardson 38,”
Porter replied. “It fired good. We tried
out a couple of shots,”
“Where?”
The boy named a billboard off Mc-
Kinney Avenue, saying he could point
it out to the officials,
“We'll give you that chance,” Schmid
replied. “But tell me, did either of those
fellows own a car?”
“They both did—that is, one car
between them. They were buying it
together. That’s why they had to stick
up someone. A payment was overdue,
and the man was around for the car.”
Bill Decker put a question. “Was it
a roadster with a canvas top?”
Porter nodded. “Sure—a Chevrolet.
But how did you ‘know?”
The question went unanswered, but
Sheriff Schmid posed a final query.
“This Bobby and Towhead—was that
the last time you saw them?”
The boys eyed each other. Porter
shook his head. “No, they went through
Forney last night—on their way to
Galveston. They wanted us to go along,
but we wouldn’t, ’cause we knew about
the murder then,”
Galveston was 200 miles south of
Dallas. Were the slayers of John J.
Mayfield fleeing from justice? ,
“I don’t think they’re on the lam,”
Porter said. “They were just going
down to throw a party with some girls |
they knew.”
“On the money they stole from May-
field?”’
“I wouldn’t know about that.
they seemed’ to be well heeled.”
Bullets Matched
But
The half-brothers, after pointing out |
the McKinney Avenue billboard, where
one perfect slug was extracted from a
crossbeam, were jailed as material wit-
nesses. Ballistics experts of the Dallas
police force compared the retrieved
pellet with bullets taken from May-
field’s body and réported that all had
been fired from the same gun.
Sheriff Schmid and his chief deputy
went into a huddle. “That’s the pair
we're looking for,” Schmid said, “and
they’re likely to light out from Galves- |
ton for parts unknown. As things stand
now, we might be able to overhaul
them before they get through with their
spree.”
Decker agreed. “But that’s going to
be a tough job, sheriff, without. their
names or complete identifications.”
“Yeah, but we know one was dark
and the other light, and that they’re
riding in a Chevrolet roadster with a
canvas top. With the Galveston police
helping, you ought to get a line on
them.” .
“It’s |
worth a shot.
blonde woman who was seen in’ the
Schmid thought a moment, “That
could have been the fellow they call
Towhead. That.dairyman witness might
have mistaken him for.a woman in the
k. Maybe he wears his hair long.
The way I figure it, there were only
those two fellows in the case, and
one of them had at least a speaking
acquaintance with John Mayfield.”
Decker slapped his knee. “Chief, I
think you hit it right on that woman
angle being a mistake, [’ll get going
right away.” :
The morning of December 26 saw the
chief deputy speeding toward the
_ southern Texas metropolis. He was at
his destination before noon. Decker
knew the city well, so he decided to
play a lone hand before enlisting the
aid of the Galveston police department.
The officer began making a tour of
the downtown bars, but was unable
to pick up any information. Finally the
deputy began to take stock.
“I’m on the wrong trail,” he told
himself. “Those fellows have a car, so
it’s likely they were making the road-
side joints, some place where there'd
be music and bright lights.”
He turned back in the direction of
Dallas and swung into a joint called
“Pop's.” Briefly he stated his mission.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A “Dublin” shape
Kaywoodie, $3.50.
“1 Smoke
a Kaywoodie’
I don't believe any man ever owned more
different kinds of pipes than I have.
I have three Kaywoodie Pipes, and could
do without all the rest. There's a difference
in the way a Kaywoodie smokes, and tastes.
The war hasn't stopped Kaywoodie from
using real Mediterranean briar-wood
(which has been used for 100 years in the
finest pipes), Kaywoodie had enough in
this country, *
No pipes are prettier than my
Kaywoodies. Take a look at them yourself,
.
Kaywoodie Co., New York and London .
In New York, 630 Fifth Avenue, New York 20; N.Y.
45
charges
) them.
‘ho hadn’t
mths, and
netic firm,
it Currie s
aged with
-atton told
»parately. °
me was at.
‘ter only 4
confessing
n the ag
ried. Their
only $27.75.
2.43. In the
talker took
ker insisted
aad not ha
a barber for
irker visited
a 32-caliber
jis bedroom.
r, discovere
loye of John
ypen. But his
o posite of
_plond slayer
old his story
a his cheeks,
even defiant.
told of ere
iving him a
Sretext of his
a and needing
to it on time.
e youth up at
kell and Lem-
” Walker said.
nan’s Dodge in
ced up his pal
The robbery, Walker admitted, had
been plotted for weeks, with Porter
and Lang in on the original plans.
“Those guys were yellow,” was Walker's
contemptuous appraisal of his former
acquaintances whose loose talk in a
tavern had given Constable Hamm a
. lead to the murder -plot.
Quickly indicted on charges of first
degree murder, the two killers were
tried separately. Walker was first. On
February 6, 1939, he was found guilty
as charged and sentenced by Judge.
Grover Adams to death in the electric
chair.
Currie was found guilty of murder
in the second degree on March 4, 1939,
because of his plea that he had been
led astray by a bad companion and had
fired none of the shots. Judge Adams
gave him ten years in the Texas
penitentiary.
On April 11, 1940,:-his appeal having
been denied, Robert Walker paced the
last mile. As the electrodes were being
strapped to his limbs, the youth who
killed that he might spend ill-gotten
loot on a short whirl of gaiety, curled
his lips into a defiant sneer. The tune
Nobody’s Sweetheart could have been
whirring in his mind appropriately
‘then; but all the witnesses heard was
the whine of the dynamo and the thud
of his body against the leather straps.
Eprtor’s Nore: To spare possible em-
barrassment to innocent persons, the
names Harold Porter, ‘Ralph Lang,
Rosie Pitts and Dottie Brandt, used in
this story, are not real but fictitious.
5 MURDERS
(Continued from page 21)
that “I did not really like him as my
father. When I was about 3 my grand-
mother and grandfather adopted me
because my father was leaving my
mother, and he did not seem to want
me. Several times when he had been
drinking, he was mean to me.” .
There were other things the youth
was to reveal. He was to admit that his
father was “more or less sort of a
friend,” but “he was never like the
other fellows’ fathers who took their
boys hunting and different places. My
father never did me. Anyway, he was
all right when he was not drinking.”
Amos leaned over his rabbits, but his
attention was fixed on his father and
foster mother. He wished they would
forget their troubles, and kiss and make
up. ‘His father had married Olive when
the lad was 9. Amos rather liked her.
Gets Dad's Gun
She had been nice to him, although
he missed his real mother. Nevertheless,
his stepmother and he had had grand
times together; she had taken him to
shows and picnics, and they had had
much fun. °
Amos stood up suddenly. He was
tall, five feet, 11 inches, and very
slender. His blue eyes blazed momen-
tarily, then his expression became one
of complete and foreboding calm. He
had just seen his father strike his step-
mother.
For long minutes the boy stared in
the direction of his parents, while
frightful impulses hammered in his
brain. Then he turned deliberately on
his heel and hurried to the house.
If ever premeditation existed in the
heart of a killer, it was being pumped
through the veins of Amos Raymond
Latshaw. Over and over he told him-
self that he must kill his father. There
must never be a repetition of that
barnyard scene!
In the house Amos passed through
the dining room in which sat his half-
brother, Charles William Latshaw, 8,
lost in a book of adventure. In the living
room, he knew, were his paternal
grandparents, Charles Clarence and
Bertha Belle Latshaw. Both were
nearing their 60s.
In his father’s bedroom Amos found
what he sought. On the dresser lay a
fully-loaded .38-caliber Colt automatic
pistol. From a drawer in the dresser
he scooped up a handful of loose cart-
ridges and dumped them into a trou-
sers pocket.
He marched from the house, a trifle
stiff-legged, but as cold and self-mas-
tered as an executioner. More than a
half-dozen capable- doctors subsequent-
ly were to testify as to his self-control.
Amos ‘Raymond Latshaw, both during
the commission of the crime and later,
was “sane, steady, calm, deliberate,” the
experts declared.
The youth strode into the barnyard
and stopped. His stepmother was on
the ground on her hands and knees.
Looming above her belligerently was
his father.
Amos moved forward, the deadly
weapon concealed behind his back. He
heard his stepmother’s suppressed sob-
bing. The boy drew closer, less than
ten feet from them, then five, at last
one. He raised the automatic swiftly
and squeezed the trigger. The elder
Latshaw never knew what hit him. A
neat hole blackened on his temple, and
blood spurted from it. He slumped like
a felled beast to the sun-baked earth.
Amos later was to testify that he
planned to kill only his father. But as
he stared at the lifeless form at his feet
a great fear stormed his brain. He
must get rid of the others, too, or they
would tell on him. Now that he had
killed once, he must kill again and
again in order to cover up his initial
crime. $
.In this moment of stress it never oc-
curred to him that, even if he did wipe
out every other person on the ranch, it
would be impossible to keep the grim
finger of suspicion from pointing di-
rectly at him.
Amos Latshaw stood regarding his
foster mother on the ground. So quickly
had the slaying of his father been ac-
complished that she was still on all
fours, unaware of the full import of
what had taken place.
He hated to do this to her, but there |
was no other way. He placed the gun | aaaress
close to her head and fired. She flat-
tened out near the body of her husband, |
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ae dt LL g
OLORED lights glowed gaily on the huge Christmas tree in,
} the living room of the big brick house, and festive wreaths _
of holly hung in the tall casement windows. But there was
_ no holiday cheer in: the heart of the little gray-haired woman .
;; who peered anxiously out into the winter darkness. - re
at 7:30 that December evening, John J. Mayfield had left his
home at 5211 Mercedes Street, Dallas, Texas, to make the rounds .
‘of the eleven filling stations he owned, collecting the day’s receipts.
Because his wife worried for fear he might be robbed, the 56-year-
old oil magnate made a habit of calling her several times in the
course of his collections to reassure her. But it was now after
nine o'clock and Mayfield had neither called nor returned home.
». Mrs. Mayfield went to the telephone and called Sheriff R. A.
A EK at his office in the Dallas County Courthouse.
vem so worried about John,” she said. “I learned from the ,
bs “manager that he made his first stop at the station on Oak Grove
‘and North Haskell. Then I tried to reach him at the second sta-
‘tion he was to visit, but he hadn't arrived there. That was more
than an hour ago, and the stations are only two. miles apart. I'm
afraid something has happened.”. a Fh 20 SR
“Don't be too concerned,” the sheriff advised her. “After all,
“Christmas is only two days off, and your husband may be shopping
for a gift.to surprise you with.”- He pice eho 0 a
jou're right,” the oil man’s wife said, “But I don't think
4
*,
Cc
eae
: Os eli we he cs aie
penne Caney wae
ee age 0 ab tmgaean Jalon nai a
Pa She
} Sagh o g hee ee
Rios aria Sy
at
a *
‘office, standing beside his son, Harold. Bey point, to
_spet ound the bedy. .)
of aod Pg . A
UE Pans
igs Seth
i AS
you know how John is. He’s never late anywhere—not. even a
minute. If he'd been delayed, he surely would have called me.
There’s something wrong!” = * .
. “What could happen to him?” Schmid asked.
“John usually carries a lot of cash in his pockets when he’s col-
lecting. Sometimes he comes home with more than a thousand
dollars. He could have been held up and robbed.”
“That’s possible,” the sheriff agreed, “Give me the address of
the filling station where your husband failed to arrive. We'll look
- into this right away.”
Schmid pushed away his phone and turned to the clean-cut
young man who sat beside him, Chief Deputy Sheriff J. E. (Bill)
Decker. The keen-eyed, tanned Sheriff quickly related what Mrs.
Mayfield had said and asked: “What do you think of it, Bill?”
“Something could have happened to hint, all right,” Decker
‘ seplied. “Think his wife was holding somthing back?”
“I don't think so,” Schmid said, “but we can check on that
later. Right now you'd better get over to that station where
Mayfield didn't show up. Then go talk to his wife.”
DECKER went out to his car and drove to the corner of Hall
and McKinney Streets, the address given by Mrs. Mayfield.
There he found the manager, R. O: Smith, and asked: “Where's
roe " us F = Ae a i ‘Shagns ae |
- “ mi & ef” AS 2 ¢
BS
r
2 laters
et so eae
ie ore
Kt iS pe
pa’, - f
’ ‘8
f » °
¥
@ i
Sa da a
th IE Ae ts
rye
7 i
‘
Be we whey) é ‘
telephoned sheriff's
aif
Saat
marked by cress) where he {
Saeko
ri tees
ft r
a
~ Ss
a ‘Le (‘OE eeaiKa Ly
“You mean
night. I don't
“Did you tal
‘dot. Fifteen n
Haskell statio:
This is the fir:
“What will
Smith shrug
There’s two hi
to be responsi
Turning to
the sheriff's off
deputy drove |
and North He
had told him.
“Yes, sir,”
station, “the b
of eight tonig!
SES
-not.even a
: called me.
ren he’s col-
a
: address of
We'll look
1 clean-cut
J. E. (Bill)
4d what Mrs.
it, Bill?”
ht,” Decker
eck on that
ation where
mer of Hall
‘s. Mayfield.
d: “Where's
ie
a sheriff's
7 points to
the bedy. ...*;
a of eight poole, ° as regular as Seckwork 4 a
“You mean Mr. “Mayfield? a he hasn't been here yet to-
: night. I don’t quite know what to make of it.”
“Did you talk to Mrs, Mayfield?”
_. The manager ‘nodded. “I'm worried about the boss, and I told
his missus so, too.” ;
“But Mayfield hasn’t been away from home more than two
hours,” Decker pointed out. “Why should you be so concerned?”
Smith frowned. “Mayfield probably never was late anywhere
in his life. Every night he leaves his house at seven-thirty on the
dot. Fifteen minutes later, he stops at the Oak Grove and North
Haskell station. Then, exactly at eight o’clock, he comes here.
This is the: first time he’s ever been late.”
“What will you do if he doesn’t come?” :
Smith shrugged. “I'll have to take the cash box home, I guess.
There’s two hundred and thirty dollars in it. That's a lot of dough .
to be responsible for, Mister.” f
Turning to leave, Decker asked the manager to be sure to call
the sheriff's office if Mayfield should finally appear. Then the chief .
deputy drove to the Mayfield station at the corner of Oak Grove
’ and North Haskell. There he found ne of what Smith
had told him. °'
“Yes, sir,” said John Linxweiler, mange of the Oak Grove”
station, “the boss drove up here in his big ben beeen at a Doerner
ee nt ce ey eaten TT oh bt anne leat ge rete sare, rem aT e co menage Pap me ia aH te
"y: “8 6, LNCS C0 4 eae ae ad ih its rt Bite rr ¥ BY Mh 9%, y
“7 m 4 Ren ; ‘ ‘ ™ : acl’ ‘ ’
‘ cr a x Re Bg GS : ; Ante ¥y j :
- : pth ‘ 5
‘DECKER pondered a number of questions as ‘ke aa the Oak.
’ why hadn't he told his employes and his wife? Why had he left:
_ greeted at the. door by a dainty blonde maid,. her eyes.
mouth, . She was sobbing softly: 4.2
5 How mich money di you fun over 1 Bin at that si?
Decker asked. are Men,
“Mr. Mayfield didn’t take any cash at all tonight.” tins!
“Why not?” - hed
. “I really can’t say. Maybe he didn’t think it was enough “to
bother with, Sometimes he lets it pile up until the next night,
Our business hasn't been any too good this week." sat Pugh
aN a
he
Grove station and headed his car for the Mayfield homie. tie sid
oil magnate apparently had made punctuality his byword. . Wh woes
would he suddenly ignore it? If something unforeseen had arisen,
the money uncollected at Linxweiler’s station? Was'he afraid. hes...
a be robbed? Or did he have a premonition of some other 4:
pe. % Li
Lights shone trom ever) window ia: iad fetamise ade 1, a
house as Decker. pulled his car up to the curb outside;. mt
..with tears. She ushered him into the duplex. living
‘the ‘oil man’s wife sat on the sofa, a tiny handkerchief he.
“tm
| Decker of, the Sheriff's office, the ‘chief «
The alibi of the killer !
‘didn't stand up. so he
sat down = in the chair!
By JIM FERRIS
32
Mrs. Mayfield nodded, and asked the officer to sit down, adding:
“I do hope you can help me find him!"
“We'll do everything possible,” Decker assuréd her. “But your
husband has been missing for less than three hours, and you seem
unduly worried about him, Mrs. Mayfield. Perhaps you didn’t tell
the sheriff all tke facts. Did he have any business difficulties, or
any special enemies?” ;
“Absolutely no business troubles,” Mrs. Mayfield replied. “And
I don’t believe John ever had any enemies. He’s a good friend to
everybody, and he’s been an ideal husband.”
“What about his friends,” Decker asked. “Could he have dropped
in to sce some of them?”
“No, I’ve called them all. They haven't seen him. I’ve even
called the hospitals on the chance John might have been .taken
ill or had an accident. But he hasn't appeared at any of them,
either.” ’
Mrs. Mayfield’s concern over her husband still seemed premature
to Decker. Why had she started so soon to call the homes of
friends and the hospitals? But perhaps she was just the worrying
type. A woman's intuition was an uncanny thing.
“We'll send out a radio alarm for Mr. Mayfield,” the chief
deputy reassured her; “just as soon as I get back to the office.”
“Please hurry!" the oil man's wife begged. “If you don’t, I'm
afraid it might be too late!”
Decker met her gaze squarely. “To late?” he repeated. “Then
your husband had been threatened! You'd better tell me, because
that's the only way we can help you.”
Mrs. Mayfield bit her lip hesitantly. “I wasn’t thinking of this
when I said that, but I do recall now that he had some difficulty
with two of his men. He had to let them go in October because
they held out some cash from their receipts, and he said they'd
tried to make trouble afterwards.” é
“Do you know their names?” Decker asked.
“No, I don’t. As I remember, I don’t think he ever told me who
they were.”
“What about that cash your husband was carrying? You told
John J. Mayfield (shown in
the photo above) was shot te
death by a man after money.
‘His slayer (hatiless) in photo
at the left glares at Chief
Depaty Sheriff Bill Decker.
Sheriff Schmid he sometimes had as much as a thousand dollars
on his person.” ;
“Oh, he couldn’t have had that much tonight. He had just start-
ed his collections.” Mrs. Mayfield’s eyes widened as she added:
“But no one would know that. They might have thought he had
more—enough for them to rob and kill him!”
’ She broke into hysterical sobbing ‘as the maid came up and
placed a comforting arm around her shoulders. Gently reassuring
her that everything possible would be done to find the missing oil
man, Decker left the house and went out to his car.
Driving downtown to the courthouse, the chief deputy pondered
\ the information Mrs. Mayfield had given him. Could the two dis-
charged employes have sought vengeance against the former boss?
Or, knowing he carried large sums, could they have kidnaped him
for ransom? Who were these men?’
Decker found Sheriff Schmid pacing the floor of his office im-
patiently. Quickly the chief deputy related what Mrs. Mayfield
- had told him, adding: “The only theory that makes sense is that
Mayfield was kidnaped. But the whole thing still looks strange.”
“It might be a snatch,” the sheriff conceded, “but we're not go-
ing ‘to wait around for any ransom notes. Let’s get busy and dig
up a lead.”
WHiLe Sheriff Schmid called his deputies together to map out
a plan of action, Decker relayed a description of the missing
man and his car to Dallas Police Chief James M. Welch. Soon
the general alarm was broadcast from the police short-wave sta-
‘tion, KVP, to all departments in the Southwest.
The sheriff and his deputies then went to work to try to identify
the two discharged men that had been mentioned by Mrs. May-
field. They questioned every man still in Mayfield’s employ and
searched his files and records. In all, they learned, seven men had
left their jobs since the first of the year. Of these, three were no
longer living in Dallas, but -had left the city without forwarding
their addresses.
The officers worked all night, and were back at duty shortly
* Mayfiel
round
Bat son
after daylig
Checking
with some di
any word of
“There mi
told Decker
no hidden r
we ought to
away of his
“It isn’t li)
been a happy
ly as Mayfiel
Schmid ag
noon he had
missing oil 5
their neighbo
Patiently, .
questioning |
Mayficlds, th
anything unu
the Mayfield
The answe
or anything
spectable pec
about them :
Schmid wa
land at 3:15
The sheriff ¢
The caller
ally. “You'd
“I think we's
Schmid ha:
(shown in
as shot to
or money.
) im photo
at Chief
i Decker.
thousand dollars
ie had just start-
das she added:
: thought he had
id came up ‘and
Gently reassuring
id the missing oil
car.
deputy pondered
ould the two dis-
the former boss?
ive kidnaped him
of his office im-
at Mrs. Mayficld
akes sense is that
ll looks strange.”
‘but we're not go-
get busy and dig
ether to map out
ion of the missing
M. Welch. Soon
ce short-wave sta-
(
< to try to identify
red by Mrs. May-
field's employ and
ed, seven men had
ese, three were no
vithout forwarding
ck at duty shortly
‘Mayfield drove from this station on his nightly
round to visit branches and gather day’s reeeipts.
But someone else was interested In those receipts!
after daylight. The date was now December 24th, 1939.
Checking over the progress of the investigators, Schmid noted
with some disappointment that the radio alarm had caer to bring
any word of Mayfield or his black sedan.
“There must be some angle we haven't Gevcisped ” the sheriff
told Decker and Rowland. “Mrs. Mayfield has assured us there’s
no hidden reason for her husband’s strange disappearance. But
we ought to consider that he might suddenly have decided to go
away of his own accord.” :
' “It isn’t likely,” Decker insisted. “Thé Mayfields seem to have
been a happy couple. And a man who took his business as serious-
ly as Mayfield did hardly would run away and leave it.”
Schmid agreed, but for the rest of the morning and that after-
noon he had his deputies concentrate on the past activities of the
missing oil man and his wife, their background and associates,
their neighbors and their friends.
Patiently,. the officers canvassed the area in which they lived,
questioning the occupants of the fashionable houses about the
Mayfields, their habits and reputation. Had the neighbors noted
anything unusual? Had they seen any suspicious persons around
the Mayfield house?
The answers invariably were the same. None had seen anyone
or anything suspicious. The Mayfields were known as highly re-
spectable people who lived comfortably, but quietly. Everything
about them was above reproach.
Schmid was holding another conference with Decker and Row-
land at 3:15 p.m. when the phone on his desk rang furiously.
The sheriff grabbed up the receiver, eager for word of a break.
The caller was a man who asked to speak to the sheriff person-
ally. “You'd better come up here right away,” he said excitedly.
“I think we've found that missing oil man!”
Schmid hastily wrote down the caller's name and the address he
; gave. “Come on, men!” he called to Decker and Rowland, start-
ing for the door. “Looks like this is it!”
Picking up four other deputies on the way, the officers climbed
into two cars and sped away from the courthouse. Weaving
through the heavy traffic, sirens screaming, the cars swung north
toward the outskirts of the city. Just beyond the Lovefield Airport
they turned sharply off on a dirt road. Swinging right and then
left, they finally came to a stop at a lonely spot on Old Dallas
Road.
At the roadside ahead, a little crowd of people stood around a
dusty black Buick sedan. Schmid and his men hurried to the scene?
“Where’s the man who reported this?” the sheriff asked.
A tall, husky man with a cap stepped forward, pale and excited.
“I’m the one who called you,” he said. “I’m William Noe.”
Schmid strode closer to the car. The numbgr on the license
plate was that of Mayfield’s sedan. .The sheriff, handkerchief in
hand to avoid smudging possible prints, grasped the handle of the
left front door and tried to yank it open. But the door was locked.
Leaning up against the window, Schmid looked inside the car.
Propped up behind the wheel was the missing ‘oil magnate, his gray
head still erect, his glasses still in place. ‘The stub of a cigar
jutted from between his pale lips and his sightless eyes stared
vacantly at the road ahead.
“Look!” Decker called to Schmid, pointing to a neat round hole
in the car door from which a shiny bit of lead protruded.
“A bullet,” the sheriff said. “Get a crowbar from our machine.
We've got to get this car open.”
. The door quickly gave way to the pressure of the bar, and the
officers studied Mayfield’s body. Blood oozed from a small hole «in
his white shirt, near the base of his neck. A second bullet had
entered his chest over his heart, and a third had gouged into his
stomach. Pulling back'the victim's clothing, the investigators
found powder burns.
“The ‘shots were fired at close range,” the sheriff observed,
studying the slug Decker had pried out of the car door. “From
the looks of this bullet, I'd say the (Continued on page 43)
»
eS
—rs.
“No.
enough.”
Asked where Tommy Lee lived,
Wright shook his head. ‘
That same night three men pulled ~
guns on Paul Wright in the driveway of
his home and took his metal box con-
taining several hundred dollars.
This box, in which he carried his day’s
receipts home with him for safekeep-
ing, was carried in a special rack built
under the hood of his car. Only the
men who had worked for him could have
known it was there. ‘<
The detectives renewed their ques-
tioning search with new zeal. A name
and a definite description made their
task easier. Two days later, on January
31, 1954, they had trailed the young,
I guess he wasn’t earning
“Where Did You Leave Myrtle Monday Night?" (continued from Page 36) 7 '
“Duck!” he whispered. “There’s a
Prospector’s shanty in the gully.”
Peering cautiously over the hill top,
Ruiz saw a rough slab shack with a tin
roof. No life was evident, but Nichols
pointed wordlessly to a line of tracks
that led down the hill.
“Somebody just went down there,” he
said. “And if it’s the guy I saw, he
has a rifle.”
“Do you think he knows we trailed
im?”
“That's hard to tell. Let’s just watch
from here for awhile.”
Huddled in the brush, they waited for
what seemed hours without seeing any
movement whatsoever in or near the
shanty. ‘
“Let’s shake it down,” Nichols said.
“You circle around through the brush
and come up from the other side. I’ll
take it from here.”
After giving Ruiz time to get in posi-
tion behind the shanty, Nichols slipped
cautiously down the hill, keeping a
sharp eye on the closed door of the
windowless cabin.
He reached the shanty, edged along
the wall to the door and flung it open.
Ruiz appeared at the corner with his
hand on the butt of his pistol.
“Come on out!” Nichols called.
No sound came from inside the pros-
pector’s shack. Without waiting, Nich-
ols stepped quickly through the door-
way. The place was empty.
“It’s okay,” he said. to Ruiz. “No-
body home.” .
The cabin contained the usual pros-
pector’s .effects. A bedroll was on a
rusted bedspring, picks and shovels
were scattered around the room and
- Old newspapers and magazines littered
the place.
Nichols put his hand’on the rusty
old stove in the corner. It was warm.
The smell left by hot grease was still
in the air.
“Somebody's been using this shack,
all right,” he said. “He was cooking
here early this morning.”
“Do you think it’s the guy you saw?”
Ruiz asked.
“It must be, judging from the tracks.
Maybe he saw us and headed for the
hills.”
“Should we wait and see who shows?”
“No,” Nichols replied. ‘Not here,
anyway. If he’s watching us from the
brush, he never will come down. We'll
head back together, then when we get
out of sight over the hill, you can stake
out the place in the brush.”
“You mean I've got to squat up there
and get some more cramps in my legs?”
Ruiz asked.
NICHOLS grinned.
before long.”
At the Sheriff’s office, Nichols was
brought up to date on the morning’s
developments. Jones had requested a
rundown on missing persons through-
out the state. Doctor Daniel J, Condon
of Phoenix, Maricopa County Medical
Examiner, had reported that his au-
topsy showed the victim had been mo-
lested before death. Apparently an
attempt had been made to throttle the
woman manually, but blows from a
58
“T’ll relieve you
dark-haired man who had changed
rooming-houses five times in- three
months, to a frame rooming-house on
Caddo, in a rundown section along
Central Expressway at Hall Street.
A terrified look came into the youth’s
eyes as officers burst into his room with-
out knocking. “I see you know why
we’ve come for you,” said Cunningham.
“You're under arrest for robbery.”
“Of who?” asked Tommy Lee.
“Of Paul Wright. You knew where
he carried his'money box. Who else
helped you?” °
“I don’t know nothing about it.”
“You did work for him?”
“Yes, Sir, but I ain’t been out of the
house in days; I’ve been sick.”
Cunningham noticed thin scars on
heavy, blunt instrument had caused her
death. He had fixed the time at about
36 hours earlier.
While the men were talking a phone
call came in from the Police Depart-
ment in Mesa, an agricultural town
about 75 miles west of Globe ‘on High-
way No. 70.
“We have nobody like that reported
missing here,” the Mesa officer informed
Sheriff Jones, “but the name Allen rings
a bell. Are you sure the middle initial’s
an ‘R’?”
“Pretty sure,” Jones replied. “Why?”
“We booked a woman named Myrtle
Thelma Allen here on November six-
teenth.”
*\VA/ Hat did she look like?” Jones
asked.
“Well, the description fits. Brown
hair; five feet, four inches; medium
build; burn scar on the right arm.”
“Did you get her prints?”
“Sure. Should I send them up?”
“Not right away. Try her home first
to see if she’s missing and call me back,
will you? She is a Mesa woman, isn’t
she?”
Myrtle Thelma Allen was missing
from her home in Mesa, a return call
revealed five minutes later. She had
left her home Monday morning and
hadn't returned. This was Wednesday.
__ “Thanks. Thanks a lot,” Jones said
into the telephone. “How soon can
you get somebody up here to make an
identification?’’*
A moment later he cradled the phone
and said to Nichols, “They'll bring a
relative up here this afternoon, along
with finger-prints.”
“While we’re Waiting,” Nichols said,
“Tl take a run back on the Trail to
see how Ruiz is making out.” ms
“Do you need any help out there?”
“I don’t think so. Right now we
don’t know quite what we're after. If
it looks like trouble, I’ll radio in.”
Back on the Trail, Ruiz still was
squatting in the brush on the hill over-
looking the prospector’s shanty. The
deputy held his finger to his lips as
Nichols approached.
“The bird came to the cage and flew
out again,” he said in a low voice.
“Do you think he’s going to come
back?”
“Looks like it. He left his rifle, any-
way, he carried it in when he first came
back to the shanty, then slipped out
again without it. He was carrying
something else, too.”
“What was it?”
“I couldn’t tell.
his arms?’
“Does he act like he knows he’s be-
ing watched?”
“He’s mighty scared about something;
I can tell you that.”
“How long has he been gone?”
“Just a few minutes. Shall we go
inside and wait?”
“Yeah, right now.”
The two men moved as quickly and
silently as possible to the shanty. In-
side, they waited in opposite corners on
the same side of the tiny, dark room as
the door.
Five minutes or so later, furtive foot-
A small bundle in
the man’s face and rolling up his
sleeves he found more red Scars on his
arms, as if made by scratches. After
clamping handcuffs on the youth’s
wrists, the detectives began a thorough
search of the room. In a closet they
found a long-bladed knife, honed sharp
as a razor. In the ceiling of the closet,
Cunningham noticed a trap door lead-
ing into the attic. Climbing up, he
found some blue-jeans rolled into a
bundle and matted with dried blood.
Hastening back to Police Head-
quarters, Cunningham called in Captain
Fritz. Later Fritz claimed that Tommy
Lee had confessed slaying Mrs. Parker.
District Attorney Henry Wade took
the case before the grand jury and on
February 15, 1954, an indictment was
steps approached. The door creaked
open and a figure was silhouetted in the ;
light.
“Hold it!” Nichols ordered.
The figure whirled, then stopped as
Nichols stepped into the light with his
gun drawn.
Ruiz quickly frisked him and found
nothing but a jack-knife, a few coins,
a worn wallet and a sack of tobacco.
The man stood in a half crouch, like
a wild animal ready to spring.
“Take it easy,” Nichols said. “You're
not going anywhere.”
He glanced wildly at the corner
where his rifle stood, then thought bet-
ter of it and relaxed a little.
“What d’ye want of me?” he de-
manded. :
He looked like a prospector, all right.
A matted beard showed that he hadn’t’
shaved for a month and his worn denim
clothes were almost hidden by dirt and
grease. Gray hair stuck out from his
at.
“What are you doing here?” Ruiz de-
manded, ignoring the old man’s ques-
tion.
“Looks like I’m prospectin’, don’t it?
Any law agin it?”
“No, not against prospecting. But
what were you doing in Devore’s Wash
the other day?”
Hesitantly, the old man said, “How
did you know about that?” He glanced
involuntarily at his denim trousers
where they were tucked into his boots.
Nichols stepped closer ‘to see the
denims better. They had dark splotches
on them that looked like blood.
“Where did you get that blood on
your pants?” Nichols demanded.
“None of your business.” The old
man had become surly. “You got to
prove it first.”
He refused to talk any more, so
Nichols and Ruiz headed for Globe with
him, putting him in the front seat with
Nichols while Ruiz kept him. under
guard from the back. :
The officers found Sheriff Jones
about to leave and reported to him.
“He'll talk,” the Sheriff said con-
fidently. “We'll let him think it over
for awhile. He’ll talk when we tell him
we're having that blood on his pants
analyzed.
“But right now the officers from
Mesa are waiting with one of the Allen
woman’s relatives at the mortuary in
Miami. Let’s get over there.”
They met the Mesa officers, Sergeant
Norman Arrington and Patrolman
Carol Bollinger, at the mortuary. With
them was Francis E. Riley, husband of
Myrtle Thelma Allen’s stepdaughter.
One look was enough for Riley.
“That’s Myrtle,” he said, turning
away.
WHEN the man had regained his
composure, Nichols said to him,
“T understand she’s been missing since
she left home Monday. Was anyone
with her when she went out?”
“I don’t know for sure. Some of the
folks in Mesa told me she was gone and
asked if I’d come up here. It would be
a little easier on me, maybe, than a
closer member of the family.”
nek charging Walker with mur-
er. Z
But is Tommy Lee Walker the man
who spread fear throughout Dallas and ©
became known as The Terror? Has
this reign of horror been ended with |
his arrest? F
Authorities will not say. On Friday, 2
February 19, District Attorney Wade
told a representative of OFFICIAL |
DETECTIVE STORIES, “We have j
confessions implicating Walker in this “4
case and no evidence indicating he is a
involved in other offenses.” be
As this issue of OFFICIAL DETEC-
TIVE STORIES goes to press, further ©
legal action against Walker is pending. °
The name Ray Lenning is fictitious. -
“Why hadn't she been reported
missing?” Jones asked. .
“Well, I think they were just about
to’report it this morning when the
Police called.”
“What did you book her for in
November?” Nichols asked, turning to
the Mesa officers.
“Vagrancy,” replied Arrington. =
“Then we changed it to drunkenness.
She’d been cutting up a little.”
Questioning Riley about the Slain
woman’s family and background,
Sheriff Jones and Nichols learned that
her husband, Horace Allen, was a
plasterer employed by a Mesa firm and
that she had two children, a daughter,
fourteen, and a son, seven, in addition .
to the stepdaughter, Riley’s wife.
“What about her acquaintances?”
Nichols asked Riley. “Did she run
around with anybody who would do a
thing like this?” ;
“Not that I know of,” Riley replied.
He shuddered. “No, I’m sure she
didn’t.” ‘ ‘
“Did she have a car?” Jones asked.
“Not one of her own. The family has
one.” .
“Ts it missing?” ”
“No; they'd have said something x
about it if she’d taken it.”
“Well, Charley,” Jones said to
Nichols, ‘!it looks like you’d better go
to Mesa with these officers and try to
trace her movements from there.” j
“Shall we have a crack at that E
Prospector first?” Nichols asked. * 2
“No. From what you say about him
he'll need a long time to loosen up. You *
go on down to Mesa. Later on, I’ll bring
him over here to the mortuary. I think
he'll talk when he sees what we're 2
driving at.”
REACHING Mesa, Nichols went with
Arrington and Bollinger to Myrtle
Allen’s homé. Her husband, Horace,
answered the door.
“Was it—was it—”’ He left the
question uncompleted.
Sei Seine ts A SP
ki a il ao coin nat
Nichols nodded. Allen sank into @ #
chair. .
“I know it’s tough,” Nichols said,
“but I’ll have to ask you some ques-
tions. Mrs. Allen left Monday?”
“Yes, some time in the morning.”
“Alone?”
“I wasn’t here, but the kids said she Z
drove off with my nephew.”
“What's his name?”
“Bruce Hancock.
Bruce Bennett %
Hancock. He’s a plasterer like me since 3
he got back from Korea not too long .@
ago.”
left?”
‘Why, no, I haven't. But he wouldn’t
do anything like that.” eS
Hancock lived in Phoenix and Nichols - a
drove there, about fifteen miles to the %
west. His first stop was at the Maricopa
County sheriff’s office, where Lieuten-*
ant Vernon LaMore was assigned to the 4
case. : 4
They drove to the Hancock home and
talked to Hancock’s nineteen-year-old 4
wife. She said her husband was work-
ing but she didn’t know exactly where F
or on what project. x i
“Have you seen him since your wife #
wh:
Nic
eas
he’:
firs
she
arr
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rele
wit
abk
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rece
furt
brot
F
Mo
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way
bety
four
bi
man
nigh
Phor
that
Durse
“No
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frey
Wasn't
before
Nip;
tne
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WB Hunting the Rapist Terror of Dallas
i
and badly in -
x was hustled
ym and taken
Drum. dis-
to the scene
‘d Chief Niel-
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sioner Adams
icials went to
sioner Adams |
had admitted
a .22-caliber ©
r gave no de- 4
iter, he an-
nad admitted
ag to Adams,
immediately,
sly and even-
‘e, Maryland.
»vernight and
a with which
room in that
1e address, he
vent to Balti-
hich he killed
- claimed he
dut didn’t re-
o had gone to
ound a hunt-
well-polished,
sen two rocks
sturned to the
d sought ref-
nent. ;
e killings, po-
veral conflict-
iven the most
| ink-
en who
id maa were
) stay, accord-
she asked if
:’s place, add-
ottle of wine.
ce, when the
| onto the bed
) the floor and
ckberry wine.
t about Max
ied for Wein-
as a scuffle in
s cut. Wein-
the arm and:
this version,
ym his stupor
ntinued. He
Commissioner
said, and to
x grabbed his
ught recently
shot Boden-
tried to leap
at Weinberg,
In the melee,
is saying, he
stabbed Ruth
ss the bed he
iake it appear
imitted.
ook the “I Am
ad not Boden-
1andling—and
d with homi-
morning, Feb-
ired in Felony
Louis A. Pag-
a demonstra-
should get a ?
Communists,
Star Spangled
aagistrate and |
1 Aid Society 4
lim: ;
LW man 3
re] a the;
wt._ ..--2 sent
' for tests for 4
his 26th birth-.
iday, February:
tric examina- 7
i. or:
rther legal ac+
ding. Fen? }
trembling and frightened, afraid in
spite of the presence of the police, to
face The Terror again. A line-up of a
dozen men Was paraded before them.
And one by one they shook their
heads. The Terror was not in this
line-up. Ray Lenning was not the
man
Captain Fritz pointed him out, al-
though he knew that. this could not be
a proper identification. Again the
women shook their heads. They were
more positive this time. Ray Lenning
was not The Terror.
He was taken to a cell where, finally,
he realized that the slaying had been
on Wednesday night, not Tuesday, and
he came up with another alibi. This
one was verified. Lenning was not in-
volved in the slaying although he was
held on other charges.
Another day went by, another night
came and as the police had no: results
to announce, the city’s fear grew.
Armed bands of men patrolled the
streets; lights glared from every porch.
More than 500 telephone calls flooded
Police Headquarters. Tension was
mounting and, at ‘any moment, it might
explode. .
It did, at ten o’clock. Frantic calls
came in, reporting a shooting on a
South Dallas street. The Terror had
been cornered, the callers said.
Fritz and other officers rushed out
there. But the man, who had been cor-
nered and shot by a householder, was
only a prowler and he did not answer the
description of The Terror in any way.
At midnight a radio alarm sent
Deputy Sheriff E. L. Judkins screaming
to Janet Street, just outside the city
limits. On the street corner there, he
found three men pinning another one
against a car. The prisoner was six
feet tall, wearing soiled overalls and a
battered hat, and blood was trickling
from a gash in his forehead.
“He tried to curb a woman’s car and
lost control, crashing into this tree,”
one of the other men told Judkins.
Tx= woman, pretty, dark-haired and
only 21, was called from her near-by
home. She was still in a state of near
hysteria. “I was driving out South La-
mar,” she related, “when I saw this car
following me. I turned east and he
“followed me right onto Murdock Road.
I drove as fast as seventy-five to eighty
miles an hour but he kept right behind
me all the way.”
As she neared her home the man ran
his car into hers, she declared. “Then
he crashed into the tree. I screamed
and people ran out to help me.” -
Judkins found a butcher knife in the
back seat of the tall man’s auto and
also a knife with a Jong spring blade.
In the man’s pocket was a third knife,
with two blades sharpened and recently
8round.
Judkins placed the man in the county
jail, despite his protests that his pur-
Suit of the young woman was a case of
Mistaken identity. Sheriff Bill Decker
immediately called Homicide Captain
Titz into the investigation. Techni-
clans announced that one of the knife
blades was about the same size as that
Pare in the killing of Mrs. Parker, but
ing hesitated to build his hopes too
aoe For one thing, the man was
oe six feet tall, his nose too sharp,
: he had a sharp, high-pitched voice.
pn of these features fitted Fritz’s
4, ception of the slayer who was ter-
Tizing the city.
nia} ae man was vehement in his de-
three Tred crime and later in the day
Im ar omen victims failed to identify
? 4S an assailant
Captain :
screening Fritz was in the midst of
fr other suspects brought in
ag Row when he received a tele-
Methane from Police Chief E. G.
Rockene Shreveport, Louisiana. ”
Arrested Y spoke excitedly: “We've
2 Man who says he killed a
€r in your city.”
Mrs. Par,
was amazed. It seemed almost
too good to be true. He and Inspector
Loe set out immediately for the Louisi-
ana city, 188 miles to the east.
Upon arrival they learned that the
man under arrest was small and slen-
der. Huckaby explained that he had
tried to enter a woman tourist’s car
forcibly at a drive-in drink stand on
Highway No. 80 just east of Shreveport.
He said he was hitch-hiking to Alexan-
dria, Louisiana.
Huckaby said the man had acted
strange. In a search of his farm home
near Shreveport, officers found a blood-
spattered shirt. He was then questioned
about a number of slayings, including
that of Mrs. Parker.
~ Captain Fritz sat down and faced the
man. “Go ahead and tell us all about
it.”
Ts man’s story in substance was
this: He had seen the slender, pretty
woman standing there alone by the bus
stop. He grabbed her by the throat and
dragged her into the shadows of the ad-
joining railroad bridge. He said he took
nothing from the woman, but noticed
she carried a black purse. He recalled
a filling-station a block away. He said
he burned his bloody trousers on “the
other end of the bridge”.
Fritz arose, a glum look on his face.
“Impossible,” he said. ‘The woman was
stabbed in the neck, not the chest; she
had a white purse and it had been
looted. What’s more, there is no service
~ station within a block of that bridge.
‘fhis is not.our man.” .
Captain Fritz proceeded to tear the
man’s confession-to shreds. A cafe the
man described as three blocks away was
more than a mile, and the man’s de-
scription of Mrs. Parker did not go be-
yond the newspaper reports.
Further investigation proved Fritz
correct. The man was shown to have
been in Shreveport the night of Mrs.
Parker’s death.
Another promising lead had fizzled.
Fritz and Loe returned to Dallas, grimly
resolved to stay on the trail of Mrs.
Parker’s slayer. The reward fund for
the man’s arrest and conviction had
grown to $8,000, and a Parker family
fund to $6,720.71.
-Residents were still fearful, although
the hysteria was subsiding. Men con-
tinued to patrol the neighborhoods and
women slept with pistols under their
pillows. The police employed the use
of a helicopter to search open areas
where there are no houses and they had
assigned 215 radio-equipped cars to
patrol the city by night.
HEN for two weeks no Dallas woman
was attacked.
Fritz’ vigilance and constant round-
ups of vagrants and ex-convicts was
paying off. But Beanie Parker’s slayer
still eluded him.
On the cold, drizzly night of Decem-
ber 27, Patrolmen J. H. Dorris and C. H.
Cavender, keeping a sharp lookout in
South Dallas, heard a woman’s scream
and saw a lithe man run out of a house
and speed off in his auto. Fifteen min-
utes later they curbed him after an
80-mile-an-hour chase and arrested
him at pistol point. :
The man was a mill worker who got
off duty at eleven p.m. Back at Police
Headquarters, he was questioned around
the clock. At one p. m. he signed a
statement admitting two burglaries
that led to his capture. But he denied
all attacks and threats to women bur-
glary victims. .
Mrs. Walter Lang of South Harwood
told detectives she had been awakened
to find the man with a flashlight by ©
her bed demanding money. He threat-
ened to cut her throat, she said, but
fled when she screamed for her hus-
band in the next room.
Detectives put the man on their lie
detector, operated by Detective Paul
Bentley. Bentley found the polygraph
registered anxiety or guilt as the sus-
pect was asked about six attacks in
(Continued from Page 19)
South Dallas, but indicated innocence
during questions about the Parker kill-
ing. A flashlight had been found in
the man’s car but no knife.
“He looks like the best suspect we’ve
had, but he denies the Parker killing,”
Cavender told Fritz.
Detectives Joe Fields and F. I. Corn-
wall, after interrogating the suspect,
were sent to investigate the man and
to search his room.
The man’s employer looked over his
payroll records and found he had been
at work on his night job at the hour
of Mrs. Parker’s death.
Ta months had now passed since
the killing. More than 100 men had
been questioned. ‘
Fritz called his men for a conference.
He pointed to a map of the city where
he had circled in red a two-mile area
with the Parker death scene marked X
in the center.
and dragnet roundups and hoped for a
break. We didn’t get it. The Terror
leaps around over the city, but most of
his assaults have been in this area.”
Fritz pointed to the circle he had drawn.
“We're going to assume he lives in this
circle.”
The Detective Captain, a veteran of
scores of tough homicide cases, then
began to outline a methodical search,
the tiresome details of which made his
men wince. Each man would be as-
signed to 20 blocks for a house-to-house
inquiry; stores selling knives and pis-
tols would be canvassed.
“Remember, the man’s presence at
the bus stop indicates he probably had
no auto. Get the names of all men not
owning cars. Ask a thousand other
questions. We must dig and dig deep,”
Fritz counseled. ;
Some of the detectives flippantly re-
ferred to Fritz’ order as “the needle in
the haystack plan’, and thought it a
futile waste of time. But at least two
of his detectives took it seriously. They
were C. C. Wallace and E. L. Cunning-
ham, both persistent, methodical work-
ers. With the patience of Job, they
began to ask questions and to describe
the man they hunted.
They centered their search in an area
of small, wage-earners’ homes, all bus
riding residents, and began to inquire
about the habits of thes¢ people. They
even made test rides to spot the persons
they inquired about. Everywhere they
went they talked about the Parker case.
They asked scores of people, ‘“‘Who pos-
sibly could have committed this crime?”
They reminded their listeners that the
$8,000 reward was a lot of money for a
little information.
But still they remained in the dark,
fearful with each passing day the
terror would strike another victim.
Then one day in mid-January, 1954, -
a teen-age girl who rode the bus each
day told Cunningham: “There used to
be a man who rode this bus who’d stare
at me in a way that frightened me ter-
ribly. I’m glad he quit riding this bus.”
The man had never spoken to her, the
girl said; it was just his stare.
Her description of the man tallied so
exactly with his preconceived idea of
the slayer’s features that Cunningham
began to wonder. As best the girl could
recollect, the man had quit riding the
bus three or four days after Mrs. Par-
ker was slain.
overalls like that of a filling-station at-
tendant or a garage mechanic. He al-
ways caught a Lemmon Avenue bus west.
Wallace and Cunningham began a
canvass of gas stations and garages in
the area and found the one closest to
the bus stop was Wright’s Service Sta-
tion on Denton Drive.
Paul Wright, owner of the station,
recalled that he did have an employe,
Tommy Lee Walker, a slender young
man he judged to be nineteen or 20
years old, who quit his job in early Oc-
tober. “He gave no reason,” said Wright,
“just walked off and didn’t come back.”
“Did he own a car?”
.
“We've tried patrolling .
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In the hospital the next day she had
sobbed out the description that was
matched so many other times. The man
was young, slender, with thick lips and
dark hair, about five feet nine inches
tall. j
Clothes?
“He didn’t have any on,” she
whispered. ‘None at all. Even when I
first saw him.”
’ The same man, in the same lack of
costume, had appeared at a hospital.
Then in South Dallas. Then near the
Fair Grounds and the Cotton Bowl,
then in the scrub brush and shadows
along the Trinity River. Each time an-
other woman was left sobbing and
shaken and beaten.
The detectives had done their best.
Every possible physical clue had been
found at the scene of each crime. Crim-
inal records were dug out; men with
records for this type of crime were ar-
rested, and re-arrested, and arrested
once more. The neighborhoods were
canvassed again and again. Extra po-
lice cars were given all-night cruising
assignments; private and personal cars
were mustered into service.
But still the man struck, and got
away.
Now he had killed. Could he be
caught?
First things first, though, for the in-
vestigators. Who was this slain woman,
Mrs. H. C. Parker? Would her back-
ground in some way give them a clue
to the man who had killed her?
She lived east of Love Field, on Lip-
sitz Street. A bus passes by the spot
where she had waved down the startled
motorist, Clarkson, and at first the de-
tectives thought that she might have
been waiting for a bus when she was
seized.
But that bus runs southwest into
Dallas, away from her home. Why
would she have been going in that di-
rection, at nine o’clock at night? Why
would she have been alone on this dark
corner, with The Terror at large?
18
They sped to Lipsitz Street to find
out. The house was dark and empty:
a tricycle stood lonely and silent on the
front porch. From the neighbors, then,
the detectives got their first informa-
tion about Mrs. Parker. \-
They knew her as “Beanie”. She was
married and her husband, Harry Par-
ker, had been in a hospital for months.
Beanie worked as a dime-store clerk in
a shopping area on the other side of
Bachman’'s Lake from her home, almost
within walking-distance.
Each morning, the neighbors said,
Beanie would take her four-year-old
son, Joe Bill, to her mother’s before she
went to work; each evening she would
get him and bring him home. Perhaps
that was where she had been bound
when she was killed, and she had been
waiting for the bus en route to her
mother’s,
But none of this pointed toward the
man who had killed her. None of the
neighbors had been near Lemmon Ave-
nue and Shore Crest Drive that eve-
ning. They couldn’t help.
BY THAT time of night the dime store
was closed but Captain Fritz soon
was talking to the manager, J. B.
Crump, at his home. Horrified, he could
tell the Captain only that Mrs. Parker
had been a good employe. “She always
had a smile for everybody,” he said.
He didn’t know why she might have
gone to the bus stop. Usually, he said,
she got a ride after work from Polly
Kirk, another employe. Crump had not
seen any suspicious-looking or suspi-
cious-acting man in or near the store
that day, or on any previous day. Just
the run-of-the-mill customers. And
he was sure that Mrs. Parker had not
had any trouble with any of them.
Captain Fritz talked to Miss Kirk,
too, and eventually to all the employes
of the dime store. The evening before— ‘
it was now past midnight—Beanie had
been let off early and had decided to
take the bus, rather than wait for a
Det. Paul Bentley examines ‘a
suspect's lie detector graph
ride with Miss Kirk. She could have
caught a bus almost in front of the
store but that would have meant an
extra five-cent fare; she had walked the
few blocks to save the nickel. And for
that reason she had died. ™
But Miss Kirk did not know of any-
one who had been pestering Mrs. Par-
ker, nor of anyone who might have com-
mitted such a crime. She had not seen
anything worth noticing in the neigh-
borhood that day or that evening.
No one had—none of the employes,
none of the persons who lived not too
far from the lonely ravine, none of the
workers or customers in the other stores
of that shopping-center.
And there went the investigation.
There went the vague possibility that
by learning all they could about this
victim the police might hear something
about the killer. Apparently Beanie,
too, had been chosen at random, as the
other victims had. The big difference
was that Beanie had died.
Once more Captain Fritz ordered that
all previous offenders be arrested—in-
deed, all men who had shown even a
tiny evidence of aberration. Once more
he had detectives dig out the record
books and show them to the women who
might beable to identify this man.
Then, with the next day, came the
wave of revulsion and shock and fear
sweeping through Dallas.
The influential Dallas Morning News
and its radio and television stations,
WFAA and WFAA-TV, tried to keep it
down. They offered a $3,000 reward for
capture and conviction of the culprit
and a front-page editorial read in part:
“A dangerous situation has developed
in Datlas as the result of a series of
night assaults upon women. Women
live in fear. Men feel helpless to pro-
tect them within the law. Police in-
vestigation is seriously hampered by a
near state of panic.
“Such hysteria can break down law
and order, bring death to innocent per-
sons, defeat justice and write a red
page in the history of Dallas. The
Situation calls for studied calm and
caution...” :
But the editorial did little good.
Capt. Will Fritz investigates
death scene for possible clues
Gun stores, locksmiths, dog pounds and
kennels did a landslide business.
Neighborhoods formed vigilante groups
to patrol their own areas and through-
out the night police noted porch and
yard lights burning brightly. Newsboys
and milkmen frankly admitted they
feared for their lives making pre-dawn
deliveries. .
To meet the public clamor, Police
Chief Carl Hansson mustered all avail-
able men, motorcycle Patrolmen, spe-
Cial-service officers, constables and
even thirteen rookies, to patrol the city.
Hansson urged the jittery citizens
not to let their emotions and itchy
trigger fingers lead them into rash
action. “Let the police handle the
Situation,” he advised. “It’s still a
violation of the law to carry pistols.”
“Be sure, if you do fire, that it is only
at someone known to have killed,
assaulted, burglarized or robbed, and
who is fleeing from the scene of his
crime.”
Dallas was a city of fear. In despera-
tion, Fritz enlarged the canvass of the
Love Field area.
And then The Terror struck again.
Neighbors, hearing a woman scream,
found a 35-year-old housewife un-
conscious in her yard. Her dress was
ripped and her body covered with deep
scratches and cuts. She had fought off
the man, however, before fainting,
breaking three fingernails in the
struggle. He had struck her with a
bloody two-foot length of iron pipe be-
fore he fied. ‘
In the hospital she told police that
she had heard a noise in the back yard
and went to investigate when a man
grabbed her, knocked her down and
dragged her behind a shed. He slashed
at her with a knife, but her screams
finally frightened him away. She de-
scribed him as a small, slender man in
his twenties and about five feet, eight
inches tall.
Not long after that, a slender man
attempted to coax four schoolgirls into
his car near Obadiah Knight School,
‘Anson at Maple Avenue Road. They
were nine, ten, eleven and twelve years
of age. Hei's
The police were stumped. Captain
Fritz ordered everyone into patrol cars,
executives and rookies alike, hoping to
trap the man. ;
Thus it happened that he and In-
spector Dal Loe were in a squad car
patrolling the area of the attack on
Mrs. Parker when the Inspector caught
sight of a man crouching in the under-
brush along Bachman’s Creek.
Alighting from their car, they crept
toward the man, careful to keep in the
tree shadows. He had taken his clothes
off, they saw, rolled them into a com-
pact bundle and was tying it with his
belt.
“Let’s see what he does next,” Fritz
whispered.
Boldly, the man strode toward the
nearest house, some 200 yards away.
He circled the darkened house twice,
then slipped up to one of the windows.
The officers leaped out and seized him.
He was a small man, lithe and mus-
cular. The officers handcuffed him,
marched him back to Bachman’s Creek
and told him to dress.
At Headquarters he said that his
name was Ray Lenning and his home
a rooming-house in South Dallas. —
“Your face is familiar,’’ Captain
Fritz declared. “‘Ever been in jail?”
His gaze on the floor, the man did
not answer,
“How often?”
This time he shrugged. Often
enough, the shrug indicated.
“You know, Lenning,” the Captain
Mrs. Parker, heading for the bus stop marked X at left, was seized at the X at right
and dragged into the bushes. She staggered to the center X where she was found
}
said, “a woman was cut up pretty bad
the other night, almost at the spot
where you hid your clothes.”
“You got me wrong, Captain!” the
man cried. “I didn't do that! I never
hurt no one!” <
“It was a Wednesday night,” Fritz
went on. “Suppose you tell me just
where you were.”
“I was right here, Captain! Right
here in the hoosegow! Honest!”
T WAS an unbeatable alibi. Baffled,
Fritz had him taken to a cell.
“I can hardly believe we’d have two
men like that running around loose in
Dallas,” he said to the Inspector. “Just
to be sure, let’s look it up.”
They did. Lenning had a record of
arrests for drunkenness and vagrancy.
And he had been in jail on September
30, all right. .
But he'd been released by ten a. m.
that morning! He'd been out on the
streets again at the time Mrs. Parker
was mortally wounded!
The record showed that he had been
picked up as a vagrant on the evening
of Tuesday, September 29, and dis-
charged the following morning.
Captain Fritz breathed a sigh of re-
lief. “All we need now is an identifica-
tion,” he said. “We'll put him in a
line-up in the morning and have some
of those women look at him. That’s all
we need.
Three of the women were brought in.
(Continued on Page 57)
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4
iM LAIN
VAI
Pu
issoclated Pres Pres
ie SHERMAN, TEXAS, AUGUST 8, 1912
fe out all Sum-
4 go—we need
daily.
line of Prancit
‘ve
“chee kx and
- regular price,
ee ORE oe
|
ould feel good.
). different; ma-
"@® $12.50
WURBLE TO
LTS FOR
a
NCA gh Rel att ed
Seg SS een
IND JOHNSON
WALLY NOTIFIED
ee teem
ee
‘hough jnfor-
hts nomination last
wits piven formal
is honination °° this
Ohnson at the sane
‘of his
qo formally
COMMUTATION =
a3) 5 sahearee ee aay
TRLEGR. AM FROM. GOVERNOR
i COLQUITT REGARDING. THE xt
: fee hb is alae ai
‘ A
' ? ” we
* : -
= NEWS” BRAVELI
Vines Declares He Will Not Now
Al-
low Anything to Bother Him—
Both Men Bearing up Well To
day, °
“Sellars Vines ant Wood Maxey,
the negroes who are to be hang
at the Grayson county jail teumorrow,
are spending their last day on earth
about a3 they have the. last several
days—writing, reading the — Bible,
singing, praying and conversing with
callers.
Yesterday afternoon two ¢o'ore
preachers and several relatives cor
MANE Y Visited the jai and spent |
peome time at the death cet!, holding
brief religious service and consorng
the condemned men,
fast night the pri- ‘oners did aot
go tu bed until about midnight but
from that dime until morning they
slept well»
“This morni: ig a ftolecram f-om
the governor saying’ the Jaw should
take fits course in the Vines case wes
read to Sellars. Vines. The. «(fect of
the message was appreciably nouice-
able on Vines but fof only-a “Tew
seconds, for_after burying hia face.
in his pillow for an imstuni, he leok-
ed up and sail he had not allowed
anything << to bother him and he
woud not now allow this news to do
ge,
. Vines ald he had had a isthe
hope that the governor would —at
least give him a few months to live
as he dij Wood Maxey but now his
entire hope was in Jesus.
Vines said when the tinte came ta
NOT GRANTED’
og lin the assembly hall of the associit-.
+a tioned iy,-H--bas--boen steadily ine |
FOR- OPERA MEETING
¥. M. K. AS: MAKING SPECIAL
SARRANGE Mt N’ Ps.
35
aes, ct
| shouta Re eather: Re Too ‘Tucement
Meeting Wit ‘Be. Hebt : AL the.
~ Association Headquarters,
a of,
Juitging aon ited responses
which are being received: at fhe of-
fice of the Young Men’s ~ Bus. ness
Association the attendance at. the
open air meeting tomorrow |. hight
will be Jarge and enthustastic. Re-
plies have been received from most
all the membership of the association
and excepting a few cases where out-
of-town engugements. insterfere, prac.
tically the entire membership “will
be present. The committee ts proceed-
ing with its arrangements for the
outdoor meeting to be held Ox
Houston street between Travis and]
Walnut. Arrangements are. being
made, however, to hold the meeting
thon at the Binkley hote’ . provited
the weather i, not pleasant enough
for the outdoor meeting.
Chairman Rogere anl his social
committee bave outline! a full pro-
gram which will be of sperial inter-
est to every citizen of Sherman.
The Young Men’s Businew Asso.
ejation stands -forsevstensatic, intel-
HHipert——detiy ity, —eanrnerctablly bread
dustrially, agrieultucally cand edu-
creasing its efficjency since its: in-
ception. on Aptirbels, Utd, untiy it
now stands for frexressive develop-
ment aloug all dines. Tt bas shown
conclusively beyond any, question ot
a dowbt. what -can be accomplished
by energetic -effort ati it, deserves
and must have’ the hearty “vo-opera-
tion and support of every” busines?
man in Shernran if it isto ‘aécom-
plish Jarger- results in the” future.
very niember of. the: -astaciation
‘should be in atiendanee upon thts
Important meeting tn order that he
may become famitiac with what ts
already being accomplished and what
the proposed plans are for the fti-
ture. He should bring suggestions
that will help and ought to come pre-
pared to enter beartily into the dis-
crésion of the plans for the building
of a greater and more progressive
Sherman, eta Pesach:
MEN: THOUGHT TO HAV
ee LOST IN MEAIOUD Ht
: ~ FROM, >
Fa)
yes 7 I
When Joined by AU Mo
Northern Mexico Will 1
Arizona, Thence to ELE
- Stooting Reporteu.
————
Associated Press Dispateh]
IE} Paso, Tex., Aug
weeks of anxious waiting
mons here heard by cout
from the band of Mormo:
took arms an{ defied th
week azo near Colonia D
atl are safe. The band is
in the mountains near |!
Hine waiting for: tire taste
THOTT MOT Tr NOTTNCTI a
join. then, after which the
“to “A rizoira:—thenee -to eb
Mormons had one. skirn
rebels, None were hart,
a
-More Shots. Kir
dso hated Press olepateh
WwW gehinztan. AU ps8
fired again Last night fra
ican-side of the worder a
troops in’ El. Paso, “aeco
w ar depart me nt feORS
ONE HUNDRED HIN
—KILIED BY 3
A3 sociated. Presa “Tepatend |
Hoghur, “Germany, AW
feared move than one he
ers were killed in alo
Vata throrubag a tegecpain eiin |
‘ . a) . thes Lyi { \ , ‘
Cee osovernor saving the law shomit {Oy eherseck Ohtare ey ate beeen ts | Wits diate, kas
¥ J } i ; ‘s ° : BI ‘
take its conse jh the Vigieodne® wre} abd noust have the hearts co oyert- Pred) acsadth it st nis ora
read to Sethars Vines. The oetfect of tion and support af every business | tea side gh the Herder on
the message Was apprteciahl’ fotire- | Miah in Shernyanm tf ios ta wmeeome | Tvotps ony Ka Rasa At pe
m ‘ . ' . »
AED able on A? hres Iyutt for only + lew plish lurger resettifs Lik the futuse Var lst ckt alae pactegpet
seconds, for after hurving dis faces Livery member of Cae asso iaton wee ee en
in hits pillow for an instant, he look- should be in attendances pon thts
ed onpoand sail he had not allowed | ervortant meeting ia order tat he ONE HUNDRED MINER
wnsthing to bother him and he fimay become familias with what os
hough ainfes-} Weud not now allow this news to do already being accomplished and wist !
Se, the proposed plans are for the rir | KILLED RY EXP
po een Ne Vines sald he had had a title} ture. He should bring suggestions
wiven formalt> hope that the governor would at that will help and oweht to coure pres pees
nomination this} feast give him oa few months to tive pared to-enter heartily inta the dase] ceetated: Tress de patent
wean af the same an he dij Wood) Maxey bur now hits et cee ea hee ne si i — Roghum. Geimapy, Awe
entire bope was in Jesus, ofa greater and move progressiV@) yo ad mace than one hum
4 . ally }
ortually oO hi - cai shermi
. ally of a Vines said wheu the time came ta} Sherman, ers were Kilted dn a dares
‘ ue o ; t ‘ . atk ‘ . of
primal tau, The} die he would not give the offteers explosion here this moscnins
<s ee
or | « » e ry se? ‘ > + ve , ©X¥e im
riotm aw hotel wna} the least trauble ind would try les bodies have alresdy bees
kings die Pika a nian rs | ie aa | ' Qn : eres
_ Manes said he feft good this nrora- Wrest LinG CHALD
. aaa ; ing. that he Dad no fear and tina be f scticloassesiaseacc
i ce bravely to the gallows. The ] {| DS stitatess eiene Wiarnts a Mia
even hietd up his hi Ming . ;
hhetd up bis hand this mornaies Good Man in Sherne
yi" show those who were mear that ————— >
: Sher Wats «mnbling j » de * ~
" . iwonet trembling in the '¢ ast. Newoeratedd Pres de matet | The Democrat tras hail
toth men went if published te publie’ the following
“ae ‘ ) y >} « Eber { 4
that they had no resenthrety agaist Houston Pixs. Niigust os The i
’ any one. that ches had forciven eves pNaetagorda opeee tiedds ane in dane! 1 Oe eee ee
‘ ‘ . treet Ma Twat . < oi a
one and hoped that every one tat ee EE OA ae oer cake
} complete. eeu vie Pion keep oof preducing Traut teacby oa Ainede fntwer bois tm obs
After the message tramp Sire 2a - it Ba! oe Se a rie Heo Ot there te get a mate with s
“uced prices: Ie tae peal \ hea askdel het ee a e eT foe Soe | mvdiliesetean 5 Heiaei @
hin sister, Bila Amderson ef Dales. ee j1Oap Per Geet RY SE ae
be ogotatied and that stre be TOL) Speedy Pustice Fin Coucd Pdeonenaeerenn, pe Hee J oe fe 3
that if Was hin desite that she come oe prormser COMP TOn TV tee
mod spend fire dt tee pvenwad ping ys ]iace Roe disecid Ya Nate. \ See i rostier Of Coormianys and
wires heim Piris wae cdotie thing of goorecerqg for oswit mystiver Reet stay EN Chis ocnitey
The exccution will take place foe fin Vargumia wi be establisted teye | ret Fou OP The best em
morrow afternoon abent voaetoek. ~Pmorraw wien oo Lyn ohburg tegras ts AUTOS teosiay thar fo Thase
wn 1 he beri hom taal Ghee neater poet PUP ai el ol! te, Nae
Pet Law Take Pts Course, tentiary tere car cerdamdiad assualt clase Pain absians tom
Late dast evening the totlowtag The orbics wae committed on ame freer cain fier: 2k, ae cee
telegram from Austin was received [oth last The degre was captured Pael® GP soe tein iibsste s
at the ofiiee of Sherif Lee Mee Pend inmdited tie next day ated on back mp wihtr vor sav Seg
Afee: the second diss one was tried. cote CiLAR. RRS
bar
Viefed ated sentenced to deall
ease) “ees “ -2=? eo -.... ---_
“Toam direetod by the pavernor
te adSise vou fhat after ao careful
ooo
Ie law ehoatt tke its coarse in ORIENT ROAD BEGINS SENATE M \Y HELP |
‘the Sellars Vines case. Appiieation
FoF comesnHtaion Mas Bova refuse ACTIVITY IN TEXAS) == EXPENSES OF |
Secretary to the Governor,
PO] Bex tia
Vines) Father Writes: Gover nor, —
Associatest Press Do~pateh J N cstnessetered Pores. dt spate did : Qe anreatead bre bo, peated
Austin, ‘Tex.. Aug. S.--Gev, Cot} bert Worth, Texas. Aiauust So Washington, Aus. S$
a quitt refuses to comminute the sean- Morris 400 Wosuin. a pioneer Pare pe. or otharty-tive: fa for
mmm FULL G RUBS COLE | Mines Tie eg RD Poet tebe wal Lie southwest. O° tang dollars may be mide
| who hangs totmorrow for the mur- day signed a rantract Lo biulid: 3 aD cenate too help fvortimer
' der of Officer Mounger at Sherman Miles OF rariroad for the Orient Tay nenses of dus lites sea
last Septeniber, ALO ty the letters from Fort surktan to Aipine. his tor his secu:
i . arkithg commuration Was one from |inarks the Tesumption of the Ore ars om
Vines’ father, Charles, who has spent fents buildin iy activity in Texas. VISITS IN SHE mo
the lust seventeen years in the jen ; ne ee ene eo
~ wale amma for murder. The father bad ten Ino svinth Virginia | District. Superincendent Netf of th
sentenved to hang but Gov. Hoss eames i Belt Spends Some Tim
Lvnehours Vai. Ang, Soe. Pal ee
commuted the sentence,
0 of : —_———_--—_ = ¢= fowimye aosporit)e do eampaign a demas Mew WON Nett) etre t
eo . cfath: weimary ix in: progress fo-ftintendent Of tire Certtat
CREAT PREPARATIONS day for the qemuanation of a cathedie p> Way, Wets in tthe oiiy ork
date for conaress im the Siath Vir pear iast hight aed Was
ginia distrie: Carter @dass, whoay by some of the tora. ta
FOR J J ASTOR HEIR represented the district for teu dating the evenini Mr
. ' Years, is ooa andidate for reduotirie | borat Nrrawerttheuts tratal
nation aha is apposed by TO OR Pie]
Tart of Rearoke and Don be phate | Wem sevvrer 4 "Yer Coombes
Feeted: Tor Che tagcat
- a“
.
© OOO w-O o-oo
Puny- it. could be for ofe to be ay dred early ted 1s at Puss Cristian. i senior Rep nll ‘van. Con i e prone P
vietim 4F clrenmatantial evidence} Miss. He was prominent in building To Canp Hell ieintg renominat od. re
‘ * as H t
and it ts more forceful at this} the Morgans, ia... and Texas line ang hee hae nates
time since the condemned man re-}| the Houston and Texas Central ant OFF TO ENCAMPMENT.
alizes that he must die In a very Sraach Hines, :
short time. <. ror marae? eens Sher nares Rifles Lert. Today for Ale],
Vinep-ald he was at work jn Wisconsin Volice Chiefs, an: Se} eaandria, Lal : va
Dallas, driving a team: that the Milwaukee, Wis., Ange: T.-<The , -
wagon ran over his foot, hurting annual convention of the Chiefs of This. afternoon the Shermun Ri-
phim so badly that, he was compelled Police Association of Wisconsin’ be- flew military company, fitty strong,
‘to quit work for a few days. While gan in this city today, ‘with head. | left. for the summer camp at Alex-
he was laying off a negro named] quarters at the. Charles Hotel, |#dria, Ta... to spend ten days in
re Tim Brown came to his house and The meetiong or “jane two | days. | lela practice," The company” teft
ce asked him to go up town, - Vines! parry Ce Baker, chief. of police of on the Texas and Pacific in a spe-
iF sald he was) then getting better: acine, As ‘presiding over Mie “Bes- cial touriat slr eper and will arrtve
hg that he asked Tim: Brown ‘to © lend sions. ay aa Soop a fabotamp tomorrow.
ee him. his knife. > He got the - knife ras Tine 4 wee es ney The tollowing men make the trip:
ES from Brown cand ‘eut his choe °so a | Captain Jobn Wakelield. Lieutenant
{Ton Wright, ‘Rergeants © “Chester
he could wenr. it without. hurting -his ALEGED ‘OUTLAW Johnston. Bogart. G amblin: Poole
foot and while talking — forgot .to
and Tie kerry: ‘ Misicians ‘Satterticic
Feats relies Deck tas eee rol ~- CAPTURED BY WOMAN and Kirst: Aritficer Clark: No J.
Re
then went up town and Brown was Burns, sok: Clark. Smith? Frazier,
arrested charged ‘with highway robs]. aoe | Gerdon and Shelton, corporals. The
bery. Vines sald he was also ar- Pen eo “| following privates: °K. Blair, BK.
rested and when < searched they Craig. Colo. Aug. 7%, ~=Atter sue? Blalfo Tov, Burns, Boatman. Frank
faand Tit his - pocket the knife he cessftHy——ehrding hewvile —-arimed ty Haste}. Reekay. (‘Jody Wagioton
had bocrowed from > Brown. ° This} Posees from three counties for Uy bres. tlasscock. Hawkins, Haynes.
Vnife afoved ta be the one taken] Week William Sarteile alias William Hicks, Howard, Johns, King. Wili
from the man who had been robbed] Morgan, said to be the leader of a} Lankford. Royce. Loving, Jesse Me
and because it was found in his desperate Sing of outlaws from the} Elroy, John Sherman, Modratl.
(Vines') pocker the letter was held “Hole In the Wail” country, W Acok Moore, Nall. ‘Pierce, Rhodes, Rob-
on a charge of robbery. RE. and who es: aped from the jail ertson, Shelton, Simmons, Simpson,
That was the circumstantial evi- here last Tuesday, was ade AN. Ro Smith, C) Suiith, Spencer,
dence, according to Vines’ state- NE by a rouen. As : | Yeung. cand MeCurty,
went. oes Annie Decker, wife of — 4 ai ce eee
Vines said that. one day his cei] Make River ratchman, ceoveced '
sablicdcere td " en } the oullaw. with a revolver witie OWEN 1S NOMINATED
door was left open ani that ae he: was eating a meal which’ she hat
walked out... He said that it waa prepared for him at the roint of x
his intention to pick cotton, earn
; . 5 . . Te : . . .
' : ‘tgun. The won disarmed the bart OVER GOV HASKELL
enough money to employ ai lawyer ; Y,
dit then hog-tied him,
and go bac to Dallas -- fa rrond Afterward she telephoned Sheri
trial. It was while on- his wav hack Davis of Carhen ‘county, Wyo. ane Ksiecketcc. Peece Dikeabbt
to Dalltx. he says, that he got into until is arrival the woman wae :
the frouble here, He says he did} atone with jer prisoner, Sartelle ia} (Ok’ahoma City, Aug. 7. -Unof-
net have arvthing against. Mr.{ now jn jail at Dixon, Wyo. ef ficial returns fron vesterday’s pri-
Moungar, that fe had ‘never seen Fe ree —— om maty indicate that Se Vator Owen
him. and that—he shot -to seare him | has wereated Tevirer Governor faa
so he (Vines) conld escape. — | MEXIGANS AGAIN FIRE kell fle Valted’ States senator ae
. ; 9 . from twenty to forty thousand.
Viney sass he fa just years
Toston, itn: Rawls cGanpeg and that bi ON AMERICAN SOLDIERS aaa
his motderornd father are dead. zinta 6 Satie teed Senet ROSE ae
He says 3: hag sémie Wtilos. “auntal” © pimerrertsenrse es _ WITHTHE BOXERS,”
and cousins. — One aunt, he saves. is} Associated Pres« Dispatch prot t wre 2 ; , .
é ee , PNG
a traveling ‘Christian , missionary, El Paso, Tex,
who preached on the streets and} 4... i niah sep bo aes ex. | Tao 2
that she was: here. to: sec. him last ed. aaain Jas nt on the United)” The McMahon brothers. boxing
she States troops guarding the border. promoters: bavejeased — a club du]
om ape: Sond Nx os LY rae ES bf] re tiring: “this the” océirred ~“al- New-York. ant. will lve. their first
POG AIAN ye Ts 0 ®|most opposite the El Paso Smelter, show Sept. u Bees
wag born in ealea and. bis moth: ‘three or four’ miles from: the “place fede eat a, So ;
or and eee eee haa ee where the shuts were © exchanged Ww iliiee Law is. would like to” pet
pane last’ week, The shots appeared tal another erack at Bill Papke,-“but
Spit Sto feel aes have Joined the be aimed at American ™ ‘soldiers | Dili has agreed to meet Padie Me-
church ant oe ‘hele ac} he Sart “DSicamping ne near. the. ~amelter. : ~The Goorty. in: Kenosha on Labor Day.
: pha Abed MAYE the Seri Js. peep fone ‘wag hert-s0 Tat ay knows. | “Freddio Welch, former | = TigNut-
nee ed Ix Oren tow trying ‘very i weighe champion. ot.” England, and
hard to get him. Vines says when AV hen ‘frying oysters wipe them Johny: Summery have signed for Yh
he goes to pray bis. .mind jsome-}with a clean cloth,-then dip in may-t S0-round bout sc cheduled for € -ardithy
times wanders off. ta some Wordly ‘onalsse and theo tn ‘cracker crumbs Wales, August 15. . oe
and fry In -hot. fat-—Phe--dresaing |" ~ presses
[sive them new aad Piguant fla: A man knows more at. 2L ‘than e
y zf x neon sulsere.. between. that and iat
Aug. 7,— Mexicans
ss
4
t
OE , e
Speed tttuge Ix exceptionally COPrect, Peer Vi NEW Oo A ota et Laake) Le . ;
: HECONIUS HeUdS GUL Of The pockets
» Y ¢) ’ serting é ‘Ve - j
Maxey ‘gald he ow was fee ling very we ll Wns that Rooseve it would re ef the Agneri¢ an peeple.””
and that he would have -another| ¢elve twenty-five to. thirty per: cous The motto “The ey
> ut shalt not steal
Statement for publication in the lo-]| of the Tammany yore in New York. Was 3 vMgtarism ‘frome: democratic
ca} papors Thursday. later the rules were changed to faith, Mr. James said, and he ex-
Vinescsaid he did uot think he} W#ke the basis of extra representa- tessed belief the ch both
tion’ five thor anit instead of presse in the charges bot
would have a statement for hublica-| Boe tthe kee Terealdent ‘Talk and torises President
ton’ as ie had nothing to say, but] thousand votes. jn: the Ererious Raosevelt.. have. ‘Wade, against, each
that he cid expect to make a talk | lection... ee "
on the zallows before he was hang-[ The rules. complttes adte} four |? eee Governor Wilson's- speech
: women \_tot the tat or Sit unit seen .
oh ot: Vingg’ has tearned to read and ‘ onal Cor fee. | Hoyt AvEEPTANCE Appears on “page & of
write since he bas «been in the Loney Ss pemacrat.). Pcp
Grayson county jail and his teach-
er has been bis cell mate and fel- PIONEER RAI LROADER
low -‘couademned © prisoner, + Woed _{stuss HAS DEFEATED
Maxey.ss. Roth of the negroes nre DED THs !
quite artistic’ andthe Hrawing: “of wan ee
Maxey ig “wnusually good, os : ee CURTIS FOR SENATOR
“Vines related the story of haw. ihe :
rame to he a prisoner in the Dallas sieht Cheese Teas Fa
county $eil from: which: he: escaped 2 “Houston, Tex. “ang. 7 oe : He : Fee paca
a few ‘days before killing © Deputy wanson, aged eighty- four years, aS¢ sr pcehes Se ad oe
4Constabla, Mounger, -. f one of the Jasxt remaining seat ac renky Kats, re Auk Gi Genk
Vines’ story shows at eam Show] of Texas pioneer railroad "builders, tor C harley Clirtis for United State
s@nator. Republican Congfessinan BP. ]
ES Can: poell seems renominated,
Ammttates Press. Drea
Pt ee
easy it could be for one to be af died. early today at Pass Christian.
victim 45F cireumatantial — ‘evidenco| Miss. He: was prominent in building
SP OUTST we en a
Petiede be t coo - nae 6a SAE Xe “g ak: 4
. and it is more forceful at this} the Morgans, ia.. and Texas line ang Ee es Roane ok tr
time sines the condemned man re-] the Houston and Texas Central ant OF ‘ TO “ENC “AMPMENT. 2
wlizes that he must die itn 4 very branch ines, ieee canta
short time, ' atia _ Shermer KRifles Lett Today tor Al- 2
Vines ssid Ne was at | work: in Wisconsin Volice Chiefs, — * eaandria, La. is
Dallas, dviving a team: that the Milwaukee, Wis. erry - The ae Sihioncerracs a
wiqon ran over his foot, hurting antual convention of the Chiefs of This wternoon the Sherman Ri-
him eo badly that.he was compelled) Police Association of Wisconsia be. | {lee military company, flity strong.
fto quit work for a few days. While gan in this city today, with head. {left for the summer camp at Men- ee
he was laying off a negro named} quarters at the Se. Charles Horey, f8ndria, La. to spend ten days am pl
Tim Rr Wn came to his house and The meetieng will last two dave. field practicp, The COU uny left _
asked him to go up town. Vines! Harry (. Baker. ehief of volice: of on the Texas’ and Pacific in a spe- A
sald he was then getting better: eacine, is presiding over the ses-[Clal Courist ‘sl eper wos will arrive | F
that he asked Tim Brown to lend sions. at camp temorrow, a
fhim his knife. He got the knife cormenneeartewnarses tt A ens see vereeg ae. The tollowing men make the trip: fo
from Brown and cut his choe so Captain John Wakefield. Lieutenant {am
he could wear it without hurting his ALLEGED OUTLAW Ton Wright, Sergeants Chester! pi
i Johnston, Bogart, Gamblin, Povle |e}
foot and while talking forgot to
and Tucker: Misicians | Satterticie fo
give the Knife hack to Brown) and a
| eee mit ft hn his own pocket. The two CAPTURED RY WOMAN and Kleen: Avitfirer ( lark: x. ¥: h:
. ’ ’ e * »t- : ‘ Se .
then went up town and Rrown was Rurns, 00k: Clark, Smith, Frazier,
wrrested charged with highway rob- _ Barett. Sui Sheen. “corverats, The ra
bery, Vines said he was also ar- nie : | following privates: KE. Blair, EL Kopp
rested and when searched — they Craig. Colo) Nig. Ti--After sue- Blair, J WV. Burns, Boatman, Prank Za
YY freund tn his pocket the knife he rersttry——ebrd ite heavily ——-arnied | castaat: Réiekee——Chule Bavletou |
had borrowed from Brown. © This} POsses from three counties for ty teres, Glasscock, Hawkins. Hayues,
) Vnife “Fav af to be ‘the one taken week William 38 Saurtede alias Ww illiain icks,° Howard, Johus. King. Witi
ee from the man. who had been robhed Morgan, sald to be the leader of a Lankford. Rosee. Loving, Jesse Me-
an and because it was found “in his deeperate gang of outlaws from the} Elroy, John Sherman, Modral.
= (Vhawets pocket. the latter was held “Hole fn the Wail’ country. W YOM- | Moore,” Nall.” Piere ‘e, Rhodes, Rob-
on a charge of robbery. ing, and who excaped from the jail ertson, Shela: Simmons, Simpson,
Ss > That was the: ‘circumstantial -evi- pe last. Tursday, was made a ACG "Smith, Suiith, Spencer,
r é rt We t= ee
dence, according to’ Vines’ _state- P Afra: oy Decker wife of ea Young. ‘And | Aecarts,
mene ce Snake Ri : :
> s 2 iver rane hain, “covert ed ;
vine ant AB at one day ; Angee aa the outlaw. with a revolver © wit OWEN Ny NOMINATED
dock mrat loft pee ia hat. tee : he: was cating a meal which’she hat
walked out.:: He said ‘tha was prepared for him at the polut of a
his inteution. to pick? cotton. earn etn. The -weninn’ aisarmied the: bare cs
enough money to employ ne aawyes dit then hog: sted bites 2 =
trial, aT was. “while Bn, a. may. pac Davis of ‘Carbon-crounty, Wy Vou: “eta Axcaclated Press Trispated = ed
to Dallas, “he ‘save. “that he “Rots into anti is arrival the woman — > was gee lb,
the trouble here. - He Rays he did! atone with her prisoner, Sartelle in “Ok hota” re ity. Aug. 4.--Tnof-
nat. zaee arvthing against Mr. now An jail at Dixon, Wyo. oa | fir jal returns from yesterday's 5 pri
Mounger, that he had ‘never seen ——_--- + mary tndicate that Senator — Owen
hii. and. that he. shotto-seare tim Phas" Uefeated TONNER Govertior His-
so he fVines) could escape, ©. > ° MEXICANS AGAIN FIRE hell for United States senator by
19 z from twent y to forty thousand.
Vine¢ ie: he ta just years
te
rotons Roccram, emt! ON AMERICAN SOLDIERS|*———— "+
hiz mo! her: and father are dead. PRESS OLSEN AF eee aoe ae ; Pee Bites Sethe
Ma enve to fae sane Vhelae- ante WITH THE BOXERS, -* > }
i i i i i i a i i i i a i i
and rabbits over .
Saturday after-
0 school.
there were three
10n, a pause, and
ight, when | got
‘re I’d taken my
show, I saw the
‘arked over there
rough the trees |
mal glimpse of a
me the details
the picture of
(ructed it in m
nown friend had
lat remote spot,
it Warning and
dy In the brush,
‘ky’s pockets for
‘s that “were as
that the dead
d. the killer had
the murder late
light of the car
nd tumbled his
‘ed the man’s
he open grave.
In the darkness
Ottersky’s hat.
of this hat in
“="" the sus-
it all was
-vea I found
t Ottersky had
1, had checked
he Milby re-
gistered there
not a regular
le clerks knew
r private life.
out, although
‘ccupied since
ound — officers
"of the suit-
had brought
1 Why had
package con-
some of the
if Detectives
‘0 One could
bag revealed
holster and
‘ich matched
dead man;
monogram:
forms with
»bled on the
lirm’s name
s the South-
’ Company
s
e of Otter-
Person who
VY poor. As
sons, a re-
n a corner
‘andle-grip.
H. L. Wal-
merely as
‘ctory
ng in
sald.
:
}
fie
June, 1935
While the other men were. telephoning
every Walker listed in the telephone
book in an effort to locate the mys-
terious H. L. Walker, I put in a long
distance call to the Southern Refriger-
ator and Scales Company at San An-
tonio.
Mrs. B. F, Morris, a clerk in the
office and the wife of the manager of
the company, answered the telephone.
“I have just seen in the papers that
Henry Ottersky’s body has been found
near Houston, and that police are sure
he has been murdered,” she said. “Ot-
tersky, Who was our best salesman, tele-
phoned late Friday from Wharton that
he was going into Houston to visit
Hubert L. Walker over the week-end.
Walker is our representative in the
Houston territory, and Ottersky, who
recommended him to us, was very
proud of his friend’s success as a sales-
man of scales. Ottersky had spoken
to my husband about Walker’s’ son,
Max, whom he intended to train by
taking the young man with him on his
trips. My husband promised that he
would give young Walker a sales ter-
ritory as soon as Ottersky said he was
ready for the job. Max Walker lives
somewhere in Houston.
“MY husband received a letter from
H.L. Walker yesterday, but I didn’t
read it,” continued Mrs. Morris. “As
soon as Mr. Morris returns to the office
I'll tell him that you want to see him,
and suggest that he take the night train
to Houston,”
Another look at the city directory
showed that Max Walker’s name was
listed. His address was given as 1502
Hooker Street.
It looked as if the trail were getting
hot. Accompanied by another officer
| hurried to Hooker Street.
From a woman who lived across the
street we verified our information that
Max Walker was the tenant of the cot-
tage at 1502. Yes, H. L. Walker had
been visiting his son, the woman said,
but she didn’t know whether he was
still there or not.
Not wishing to reveal the nature of
our call we thanked her and left. As
we turned from her door we noticed a
medium-sized man on the sidewalk near
the Max Walker home. Casually we
crossed the street, and as the man
started to open the gate to Walker’s
front yard we hailed him.
I died him if he knew H. L. Walker,
“That is my name,” the man an-
swered readily.
“Were you a friend of Henry Otter-
sky?” I asked.
“Yes, a very good friend,” he re-
sponded. “I have been greatly grieved
to learn of his death.”
“When did you last see him?” |
asked.
Walker said that they had driven
around in his car early Saturday after-
noon, and that about 4:30 he had taken
Ottersky back to the Milby Hotel. His
friend got out of the car and he drove
off. He hadn’t seen Ottersky since,
Walker declared.
The man appeared to be a law-abid-
ing citizen. His answers to my ques-
tions were given frankly, and he
The Master Detective
seemed to be genuinely distressed by
the death of his friend.
“I want you to go with me to the
morgue, where you can positively iden-
tify the dead man,” I told Walker, and
he agreed at once.
But instead of taking him to see
Ottersky, I took him to jail; explain-
ing to him that he was under suspicion
as the killer. He was surprised that
anyone should suspect him of the crime,
he said, and asked that he be allowed
to retain a lawyer. Dixie Smith, who
later was elected District Attorney,
was selected by Walker.
At the station we were a bit more
pointed in our questions. First we
wanted to know how it happened that
a suit-case had been sent by Walker
to Detective Captain Henry at Galves-
ton. The purpose of that unusual move
had baffled us.
“TI addressed that package and mailed
it myself, putting my name on it as
sender. Common sense ought to tell
you that I wouldn’t have done that if
I had murder. on my conscience,
“But I mailed that suit-case to DAN
Henry, and not to DAVE Henry. |
didn’t know the Chief of Detectives
was named Dave Henry. But the postal
clerks who were familiar with the name
of Dave Henry delivered the suit-case
to the Captain. My handwriting is
not very plain, anyhow.
“The name Dan Henry was fictitious,
I just picked it out of the air, you
might say. I had no idea that anybody
in Galveston had a name that remotely
resembled it.
“Ottersky told me Saturday that he
was fed up on selling scales, and that
he was going to Mexico,” continued
Walker. “He said he was oing to
Wharton to get his car and sell it, and
he didn’t want to lug a_ suit-case
around. So he asked me to mail it to
Galveston. We made up the name
‘Dan Henry’, so nobody could trace my
pal. Ottersky expected to catch a boat
for Tampico at Galveston, and he was
going to call at the post-office for his
bag before he sailed.”
So that was how Captain Dave Henry
happened to receive Ottersky’s
suit-case! None of us would have ever
guessed the surprising explanation. It
was eruly a miracle of coincidence.
We called in Monroe Fox, the garage
owner, who identified Walker as Otter-
sky’s companion when the two visited
his place Saturday. Fox also declared
that Walker was the man he had seen
late in the afternoon, driving a Ford
touring car toward town in company
with a soldier and a civilian.
William Court and J. L. Horn de-
clared that Walker was the partially
intoxicated man who had driven them
from Camp Logan to Houston, and
who had bragged about the money he
had in his pocket, the result of having
“skinned” somebody.
It looked as if the net of circumstan-
tial evidence was securely enmeshing
Walker. While he seemed to realize
his serious predicament, he was not
dismayed.
“You knew this morning that Otter-
sky had been murdered,” | said to Wal-
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60
ker. “Why didn’t you come in imme-
diately, if you are innocent?”
The man was silent a moment.
“Because I know: who killed him,”
was his unexpected reply.
“I didn’t want. to: hurt Ottersky’s
reputation, now that he’s dead,” Wal-
ker continued. “But I haven’t got any
choice now. I’ve got to talk.
“You see, Ottersky was a dope addict,
After we had been drinking for an hour
or two Saturday, he said he wanted
dope, not alcohol. I tried to dissuade
him, but he was in’ no mood to argue,
so [| brought him back to town.
“He must have located a dope
"epagen somewhere, and when he flashed
is money, he signed his own death
warrant.. Some louse of a narcotic
vender robbed and killed him.
“It was because he was a dope addict
that he wanted to go to Mexico. He
thought he could get it cheaper and
. more easily there than on this side of
the Rio Grande.”
Walker explained that he had sold
a set of second-hand scales to a country
merchant north of Houston, receiving a
cash price much larger than the actual
worth of the scales. He was referring
to this deal when he told Court and
Horn that he had “skinned” somebody
out of money.
THE next morning B. F. Morris, em-
ployer of Ottersky and Walker, ar-
rived from San Antonio. He brought
with him the letter Walker had written
Monday, several hours before the dis-
covery of Ottersky’s body.
It read in part:
“Dear Mr. Morris:
.. . Henry is doing as usual, only he
is getting worse. He has a doctor with
him, and is hitting.the dope. I am
afraid he didn’t enjoy his visit much,
for he said he was quitting the scale
business and was Mexico bound.
“IT hope I.do as well next week as |
did last. It was a big week for me.
(Signed) H. L. Walker.”
“It. was a big week for me.’ Was
Walker having a bit of sly but ghastly
fun in that letter? Had he murdered
Ottersky, and then written that his
friend “didn’t seem to enjoy his visit
very much”? Did he have somebody
else marked for slaughter.. when . he
wrote “I hope I do as well next. week” ?
Morris didn’t think his salesman was
the killer, and others believed that
Walker’s contention that Ottersky had
been. murdered by dope peddlers was
correct.
For a week Walker maintained his
poise, and we were unable to trap him
into: making any damaging admissions.
It was with calm. confidence that he
faced .the examining trial in Judge
Leon Lusk’s court ten days after the
murder. ae. ae
But sensational evidence -from:: a
source .as” unexpected asthe suit-case
incident was at hand. .
The State began its case by callirtg
Monroe Fox, the garage owner. Fox
testified that Walker, by his own ad-
mission, had but. four dollars in his
pocket when he and Ottersky bought
The
Master Detective
gasoline from Fox at two o'clock Sat-
urday afternoon. William F. Court, the -
Camp Logan employee, declared from
the stand that Walker had a big roll
of bills in his pocket four hours later.
Detectives, looking over bank records,
found that Walker on Monday had
cashed several checks payable to Otter-
sky. Handwriting experts testified that
the signatures of both Ottersky and
Walker on these checks were in Wal-
ker’s writing.
In order to refute Walker’s claim that
he let Ottersky out at his hotel at four-
thirty Saturday afternoon, Milby Hotel
clerks were called. They declared that
Ottersky hadn’t called for his key since
Saturday morning, and that they
would have noticed him had he been
The house where the killer was cap-
tured at 1502 Hooker Street,
Houston, Texas, now called Randow
Street. The fence that once sur-
rounded the property has been
removed
about the lobby in a partially drunken
condition.
The woman, who lived across from
Max Walker on Hooker Street said
from the stand that the elder Walker
had returned to his son’s house early
Saturday evening, but had gone out
again in his Ford car about ten. The
woman didn’t know when he returned,
as she was asleep. But she hadn’t gone
to bed until about midnight.
. H. BARNES, the farmer, testified
that he had seen a man moving
about the clearing in which Ottersky’s
body was found between ten o’clock
and midnight Saturday.
The State introduced this evidence
to prove that Walker had the opportu-
nity to return to the murder scene to
bury his victim.
Dixie Smith put his client on the
stand, and Walker was a convincing
witness. He refuted all the State’s alle-
gations, and maintained that he knew
nothing of the killing. Ottersky was
his best friend, he protested, and he
would never have harmed him.
Then came the most dramatic event
that Judge Lusk’s court ever knew.
The witness chair in which Walker
sat was on a raised platform. Directly
in front and below Walker was a table,
at which sat Charley Leach, the court
stenographer. Walker had his right leg
crossed over his left knee, and as he
talked he idly swung his right foot back
and forth.
Suddenly Charley Leach’s gaze was
riveted on the instep of Walker’s shoe.
. Quickly he summoned the Assistant
District Attorney and whispered ex-
citedly into his ear. The prosecutor
looked intently at the shoe, then smiled
in grim satisfaction.
He asked the court’s permission to
take charge of the witness.
“Mr. Walker, is that the pair of
shoes you wore the Saturday of the
murder?” he asked.
“Yes,” was the reply.
the shoes [| own.”
Suddenly the attorney sprang for-
ward. He grasped the right ankle of
the surprised witness, and held up the
shoe.
“Here,” he cried triumphantly, “are
positive proofs that this man is the
murderer. See those deep impressions
in the sole at the instep of this right
shoe? Those are the marks made by
the spade as he pressed the blade into
the ground with his right foot. A man
always digs a hole in that fashion.
That’s the way this man dug the grave
in which he buried the friend he had
murdered. That’s why those marks are
on the bottom of the right shoe and
not...” here he held up Walker’s other
foot ... “on the left.”
The dramatic revelation completely
unnerved Walker. He had answers for
the other questions. But. this unex-
yected evidence startled him. He
lushed and stammered.
“Why ... why... [I guess those
marks were made by the pedals on my
model T Ford,” he finally said.
But it was proved that the gear and
brake pedals of his car were covered by
rubber pads.
The court was convinced. Judge
Lusk bound Walker over to the grand
jury, which indicted him for the mur-
der of Henry Ottersky.
Walker never recovered his pretense
of innocence, and before he went be-
fore a jury in pidge Robertson’s dis-
trict court he broke completely and
confessed that he killed his friend
almost exactly as I had pictured many
days before. He said he had thrown
the murder gun into Buffalo Bayou,
and that the holster found in the suit-
“These are all
case received by Captain Henry at Gal- .
veston was his.
We dragged the muddy bayou
waters, but did not find the weapon.
However we didn’t need it after the
prisoner confessed his guilt.
W ALKER admitted that it was he,
not Ottersky, who planned the trip
to Mexico. He intended to sail from
Galveston after he had picked up the
suit-case mailed to the fictitious Dan
Henry. Walker also said that state-
ments accusing Ottersky of being a
dope addict were untrue.
The jury found Walker guilty as
charged and Judge Robertson assessed
the death penalty.
The case was appealed on the ground
that Walker was temporarily insane,
due to excessive drinking. But as
drunkenness is not a legal excuse for a
crime, the appeal was denied.
On February 18th, 1920, Walker
went to his death on the gallows. T.
A. Binford, just beginning a long career
as Sheriff of Harris County that has
continued uninterrupted for fifteen
years, directed the execution.
June, 1935 ¢
wr
“
feet of tl
as ne 9
lone fool
apartm@r
was alme
number ¢
The jo
had the
he didwt
the name
dark-eye:
However
discussed
over the
knew. the
the past
Suttor
not. If
of imper
to shoo’
death h
than ca)
through
and Cre
ment ho
The lob
ored ele
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right ti.
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the hal
opened
pushed
behind
“Wer
Malone
credent:
sc
Apartm
His nai
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i The
“We h:
he said
vacated
Mal
den, the
“The
it seve
he
neen oO}
pulled
pocket.
man?”
The
picture
slowly.
Mr. C
As \
asked:
“Td
dent.
ago an
Ayd
openes
glance
Wad LKER * Hube rt Lis
“This man really dug his
own grave when he buried
the body of the man who
had been his benefactor!’’
& iS
Examination of the corpse by Dr. Ernest Wright (phot
above) proved that Ottersky had been shot while h
was lying down, probably by someone he knew wel
URING 1918 and 1919, there wa
an epidemic of cattle stealin
near Houston, Texas. The oper
ations could not be compare:
to the rustling conducted on th
big, open ranges. There, steers wer
cut out by the dozen, brands obliter
ated or converted, and sold on th
hoof. Here, it was a matter of a bee
here, a beef there. Nothing was eve
discovered of the vanished creature
beyond a buried hide occasionall:
found in the pine forests. Th
method of the thieves seemed to bi
to drive a steer into the woods
' butcher it, bury the hide, and trans.
port the meat to the wholesal
markets in Houston or towns furthe:
afield, The ranchers had become al.
most resigned to paying toll to th:
unknown malefactors.
So when Charles Driver, a farme:
living some eight miles north o
Houston, entered the woods anc
passed a freshly-made mound in :
clearing, he paid no more than pass-
ing attention to it. Driver was in-
tent on gathering a supply of fue
for the winter. This was April, 1919
In spring the pine timber was cut
4 L. laid out to dry all summer, anc
=, wurert shedded in the fall. M
ech ot a mist? a Driver, having found a promisin;
4s¥'S en made guiteo® clump of pines, got out his axe anc
\kers ne pe ba Sy: Ae set to work. Rhythmic mechanica
When he swiP Ast zs effort does not conduce to sustainec
w Henry O ttersky (photo thought, but to random recollection:
: of things snatched from the air
above) was a victim some old, some new, some worthy o/
of his own generosity. note, and some _ inconsequential
They flit, and pass. But the low
mound persisted in obtruding itsel/
: on Driver. He mentally brushed the
thing aside. Yet on his return
toward the road with his wagon
filled with firewood, he involuntarily
20
pees
CLIL0WP , a Ae sy ee
June, 1935
58 The Master Detective ’
‘|i by a desire, to aid the police in their “It was shortly after six in the eve- rifles at squirrels and rabbits over While the «
; difficulty. w2c# ese . . ning when we saw a Ford touring car there, ’ especially on Saturday after- every
Monroe Fox,’.a recently: demobilized..: coming through the camp, headed for noon, when there is no school. book
army officer who.shad'read the descrip- Houston,” Court told me. “Horn. and “T recall now that there were three terious -..
I wanted to go to town for a little re- distance ca!
Sa ee
tion_of.the:murder victim inthe morn-
ing. newspaper, was one’ of those. who
ee ieved he could give the detectives a
ead, -
One glance at the corpse on the mar-
ble slab, and Fox was sure.
“I saw that man, Saturday, shortly
after noon,” said Fox, who later was to
win fame as a captain of Texas Rang-
ers. “It was at a garage I have re-
cently opened at 5032 Washington Ave-
nue. He and another man stopped there
to get some oil and gasoline for their
Ford car. :
“Both of them had been drinking,
and were in a happy, talkative mood,”
continued Fox. “They asked me where
they could find a quiet spot where they
could: do some serious beer drinking,
without fear of interruption. I sug-
gested that they drive on, out Washing-:.
ton Avenue to Camp Logan, and then
drive. through ‘the Army post. Be-?
yond Camp Logan there were numer-
ous clearings in the pine timber where
they could drink and shout, without
disturbing anybody and where no one
would bother them.
“WVHEN they started to pay for the
gasoline, each man_ offered to
settle with me. But Ottersky, the dead
man, insisted that since he had a lot of
money and his friend only four dollars,
that he should pay. Ottersky took a
large roll of bills from his pocket and
gave me the amount of their purchase.
At the same time he bragged about
having a number of checks in his pocket
that were as good as cash if he and his
partner spent.all his roll.
“Ottersky then told me—they both
talked volubly, as men who are drink-
ing freely. usually. do—that they were
salesmen for the same company. Hous-
ton was in his friend’s territory, Otter-
sky said, and he had come here to ‘visit
his pal to see how he was getting along.
It seems that Ottersky was the star :
salesman of their company, and the
other man was a sort of protegé of his.
“When they: left. they seemed to be
on the best of terms.
“That was the last time I saw Otter-
sky, but I saw his companion again.
“About six-thirty that evening I was
standing in front of my garage when
the car passed, going toward town.
Ottersky was not in the car. However,
there were two men in the auto in addi-
tion to Ottersky’s friend, who was
driving. One of the passengers wore a
soldier’s uniform, and the other had on
civilian clothes.”
Although the war had been over for
six months, Camp Logan was still
crowded with soldiers. Army officers at
the camp gave us valuable aid.
After interviewing many dozens of
soldiers who were on duty Saturday
afternoon, we finally discovered the
men who had been in the car. They
were William F. Court and J; L. Horn.
Court was a civilian employee of the
cavalry remount station, and Horn was
a non-commissioned officer in. ciiarge of
the corral. os
laxation, so we hailed the driver and
asked him to let us ride.
“He stopped for us. As soon as | had
taken my seat next to the driver |
could smell corn whiskey and could see
that the man had been drinking. |
asked him if he had any more of that
stuff in his pocket and he pulled out a
quart bottle that had about two inches
of corn liquor left in it. The three of
us split it.
“The driver was in fine spirits. He
told us that he had a lot of money on
him, and that he intended to step high
and handsome that night. He urged us
The man who finally confessed to
the murder in the pine forest, and
who was hanged for the crime
to join him, promising to show us a
good time. But-we had made other
plans, and had to decline. He con-
tinued to gloat over the money he had,
saying that he had just ‘skinned’ a fel-
low out of his roll.
“When we got to town Horn and I
got out and he drove off. Neither of
us had ever seen the man before, nor
have we seen him since. He was a mid-
peages man of medium size with dark
air.”
IN order to get a daylight view of the
clearing in the pine trees, I returned
Tuesday afternoon to the spot where
the murder victim had been found.
Near the grave I found a pool of dried
blood. I knew that it was at this spot
that the unfortunate Ottersky had been
shot, presumably, as he sat unsuspect-
ingly on the ground, drinking beer.
Confident that the scene of the mur-
der offered no other clues, I started to
scout around the neighborhood to see if
I could locate any witnesses of the
drinking soirée in the woods. Perhaps
‘some of the truck farmers actually had
seen the killing, but hadn’t advised the
police because they didn’t want to “get
-mixed up in a murder case”.
The first farmer I encountered was
J. H. Barnes, who was able to furnish:
me with some interesting details.
“Saturday afternoon | heard some
shots in the woods where Ottersky’s
body was found, but I took little notice
of them. Kids are always shooting their
shots in: quick succession, a pause, and
then a fourth shot.
“Then Saturday night, when I got
back from town where I'd taken my
family to a picture show, I saw the
headlights of a car parked over there
in the timber, and through the trees |
could catch an occasional glimpse of a
man moving about.”
Barnes had given me the details
necessary to complete the picture of
the crime, as I reconstructed it in my
mind. Ottersky’s unknown friend had
lured his victim to that remote spot,
murdered him without warning and
then had hidden the body in the brush,
after ransacking Ottersky’s pockets for
the cash and the checks that “were as
good as cash.”
BECOMING fearful that the dead
man might be found, the killer had
returned to the scene of the murder late
Saturday night. By the light of the car
lamps he dug a grave and tumbled his
victim into it. He spied the man’s
coat, threw that into the open grave.
and then filled the pit. In the darkness
the murderer overlooked Ottersky’s hat.
And it was the presence of this hat in
the clearing that confirmed the sus-
picion of Charley Driver that all was
not as it should be.
When I returned to town I found
that officers, knowing that Ottersky had
been a traveling salesman, had checked
with Houston hotels. The Milby re-
ported that he had registered there
Friday night, but he was not a regular
client of the hotel and the clerks knew
nothing of his business or private life.
He had never checked out, although
his room had not been occupied since
Saturday morning.
At Headquarters I found officers
mulling over the mystery of the suit-
case which Captain Henry had brought
with him from Galveston. Why had
the murderer mailed the package con-
taining the papers and some of the
clothes to the Captain of Detectives
at the “Island City’? No one could
give a plausible answer.
An examination of the bag revealed
that it contained a pistol holster and
belt, but no gun; a vest which matched
the trousers worn by the dead man;
a toilet set, with an H. O. monogram;
order blanks and contract forms with
Henry Ottersky’s name scribbled on the
back of the pads. The firm's name
printed in the contracts was the South-
ern Refrigerator and Scales Company
of San Antonio.
At last we had the name of Otter-
sky’s employer.
The penmanship of the person who
mailed the suit-case was very poor. As
required by postal regulations, a_re-
turn address was written in a corner
of the card attached to the handle-grip.
We deciphered the name as H. L. Wal-
ker, who gave his address merely as
Houston, Texas.
A hurried search of the city directory
showed numerous Walkers residing in
Houston, none had the initisls H. |.
ator and S
tonio.
Mrs. [.
“office and 1
the compa!
“T have !
Henry Otte
near Houst:
he has beer
tersky, who
phoned late
he was go
Hubert L.
Walker is
Hlouston te
recommend
proud of h
man of sc
to my hu
Max, who:
taking the
trips. My
would give
ritory as »
ready tor
somewhere
soon as M:
Vl tell hir
and sugges
to Houstor
Another
showed th
listed. Hi
Hooker St
It looke:
hot.
I hu
Fi
street we °
Max Walk
tage at 15
been visiti
but she d
still there
Not wis
our call w
Wwe turned
medium-si
the Max
crossed tk
started to
front yard
I asked
“That i
swered rea
“Were \
skwve” Tas
“Ves, a
sponded.
to learn o
“When
asked.
Walker
around in
noon, and
Ottersky |
friend got
off. He
Walker de
The ma:
ing citizen
tions wer
.
Everyone was terrified in this home of John J. Mayfield when the
wealthy oil man was almost two hours late for an appointment
in perrer
tenn, een
d. “And do it right away or it may
ie too late.”
The investigator eyed her curiously.
“What are you afraid of, Mrs. May-
eld?” he questioned, leaning forward.
Did you have any warning that some-
hing was going to happen? Has your
usband received threats of any kind?
wish you’d tell me. You see, it would
aake it easier for us to locate him.”
“No, I don’t know anything. No-
ody threatened him—”
“Did he have any enemies? In his
vrivate life or in his business?”
“No—no—” Mrs. Mayfield’s voice
altered. Then she resumed speaking.
That is—”
“Yes. Go on!” Decker tensed in his
hair, bent’ forward.
“He had to discharge two employes
uring the year. They had been dis-
onest. He teld me he had had trouble
vith them after he fired them.”
Decker whipped out a note-book
“Their names?”
fae desperate woman was wringing
her lace-edged handkerchief; her
lance wandering aimlessly aboyt the
oom.
“J don’t know their names. I never
aeddle in my husband’s business.”
“And how about the money you told
he Sheriff your husband had on him
onight? The thousand dollars, I
$
7
aoney on him. But he must have had
ome money.” She burst into tears.
Oh, maybe he was robbed and killed!
was always afraid of that.”
Decker rose to his feet. A few mo-
nents later he was speeding down-
own. At the courthouse he found
sheriff Schmidt impatiently waiting for
im,
“It looks to me like Mayfield was
natched,” Decker reported. “But
omething’s screwy about the whole
ousiness.”
The Sheriff nodded grimly.
A short while later Dallas Chief of
-*olice James L. Welch and his assis-
ant, Douglas Walsh, were in posses-
ion of a description of the missing
‘ohn J. Mayfield and his car. A gen-—
ral broadcast was flashed over the
olice radio short-wave station KVP,
alling on all, officers in that part of
he country to help track down the
vanished oil man’s lost trail.
And under Schmidt’s orders, depu-
ies swarmed out into the night with
lefinite assignments.
Was Mayfield’s disappearance the re-
ult of a criminal plot, they wondered?
Yould they stumble upon secrets deep-
14
hidden in the intimate life of the
wealthy filling-station owner, or would
Mayfield’s absence quickly be ex-
plained as a harmless escapade from
the humdrum of an uneventful, peace-
ful existence?
They began where Mayfield’s track
had been lost—at the filling-station
where he last had been seen.
But had he really been there?
Everything and everybody was sub-
ject to suspicion in a. case in which
mystery was throwing deep its dark
shadows.
John Linxweiler, the manager, was
visited at his home by a deputy and
was quizzed again.
“Who else saw Mayfield at the fill-
ing-station?”
An expression of bafflement flashed
into the man’s face. He did not answer.
“How many employes work at your
place?”
“Me and another man, Henry Gar-
field.”
“Did Garfield see Mayfield when he
dropped in tonight?” ;
saan Henry didn’t report for work
w
nodded his head.
“The fellow’s address?”
He whipped ous& a pad and wrote it
down.
“So no one has seen Mayfield? Cus-
tomers, for instance?”
“Yeah, maybe. A couple of them
pulled in while he was there, but they
were strangers.”
“We must have proof that Mayfield
was in the station tonight,” the depu-
ty announced tartly.
The manager reflected,
“He signed a couple of checks. Will
that do?”
“I want to see them.”
_ Meanwhile the Sheriff had been en-
gaged in an extensive interview of
Mrs. Mayfield, who was near hysteria.
“Does your husband have any in-
surance?” Schmidt asked. .
“Yes,” replied Mrs. Mayfield with
quivering lips.
“Payable to you?”
She nodded.
“How do you know Mr. Mayfield
— a large amount of money on
“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe he didn’t.
I was half crazy with worry when I
said that. I didn’t know how many
stations he had visited. Maybe he had
no money with him at all—”
Long after midnight Schmidt gath-
ered his investigators in his courthouse
office to take their reports and to map
our further tactics to be used in try-
The deputy whistled softly and
Chief Deputy Sheriff J. E.
Decker: He thought a man
might hang If it turned out
two girls were late for a date
ing bg get to the bottom of this obscure
affair. .
Soon the air was thick with ciga-
rette smoke and theories.
The investigation so far had been a
complete failure. No motive for May-
field’s disappearance had been un-
earthed—not the smallest scrap of a
lead uncovered.
Yes, Mayfield had been at his Has-
kell and Oak Grove filling-station.
Two checks signed by the oil man be-
fore he vanished corroborated the
manager’s statement that his boss had
stopped there on his daily routine
-round. Henry Garfield, the employe
who had not reported for work, was
found to have suffered a slight illness
and under doctor’s orders had stayed in
his home all day.
The investigators had been delving
into the question of who the two dis-
charged employes were whom Mrs.
Mayfield had mentioned as having
given trouble to her husband in the
last twelve months.
Since she had been unable to give
their names, the deputies had ham-
mered questions at every single man
still in Mayfield’s service.
Files and employment records were
perused hurriedly and scores of names
were taken down to be investigated.
It was ascertained that altogether
‘
seven men had quit. their jobs with
Mayfield since January 1, 1939. Three
were supposed to have left town.
Could these two men mentioned by
Mrs. Mayfield be expected to step
forth to prove their innocence in what-
ever might have happened to their
former boss? This seemed unlikely.
After all theories had been discussed,
analyzed, defended and defeated, the
Sheriff, in a voice rough and tired from
hours of talking, announced: _
“Investigation will continue until
this case is completely cleared up.”
The investigation continued through-
out the night and went on with re-
doubled vigor when a sickly, Wintry
dawn began to streak the clouds a
rose-pink hue.
Unfortunately the efforts of the night
had been resultless. The police radio
call had failed to bring any news of
Mayfield, nor had his large black
limousine been sighted.
A only a few hours’ sleep, the
Sheriff was back on the job.
“Sometimes I think we are just on a
wild-goose chase,” he remarked to his
chief deputy, Decker. “We have to
take Mrs. Mayfield’s word for it that
her husband’s disappearance has any
sinister explanation. But maybe it isn’t
so; maybe he just didn’t feel like tell-
ing his family when and where he was
going to take his Christmas vacation.”
“I don’t think so,” Decker objected.
“From all I have heard, they were very
happily married, And there’s his busi-
ness—a man as meticulous as May-
field wouldn’t turn his back on his
business and take a powder just be-
cause it struck his fancy.”
“That’s exactly what I think in the
final analysis,” the Sheriff answered.
“But we have to make things sure.
Let’s talk to the neighbors. Maybe
someone will be able to give us a
lead.”
Thus began an investigation into
the private lives of the. Mayfields—
their habits, their business, their hopes
and aspirations, their friends, their
acquaintances and enemies, their past
and the shadows it might cast into the
present.
Tirelessly deputies roamed the
streets of the fashionable residence
section where the couple lived, jabbing
door-bell buttons and questioning the
occupants.
Everywhere the answer was the
same. No one knew anything about it.’
No one had any suspicions. No one
had noticed a suspect spying on the old
man, No one had seen any tramps
around.
Regarding the intimate lives of the
couple, the neighbors seemed reluc-
tant to loosen their tongues. But this
seemed more the natural reserve of
well-bred people averse to discussing
their neighbors’ intimacies than the
~
DuSe ALLE wee
although the
Spaulding wé
“prints of Rolla
in the FBI crimi-
I didn’t think he was dead. He looked
like he was waiting for someone.”
The youngsters who had been play-
ing along the road in the morning told
in their fresh, tinkling voices how they
had tried to wake up the “drunk” by
banging on the window of the car.
One had said, “We ought to tell Daddy
about it,” but by the time of their
arrival home they had forgotten all
about it. It was William Noe’s little
boy, remembering hours later, who had
innocently and unknowingly given the
alarm by telling his father of the
“drunk man.”
Upon a new examination of the posi-
tion of the body, of the calm, undis-
turbed facial expression of the mur-
dered man, and of the distance and
angle the deadly lead had been fired,
Schmidt arrived at a theory which
seemed to answer the last question.
“That man was killed right here,”
he said to Decker. “There’s no evi-
dence of a struggle. He apparently
droye the car out here himself and
didn’t have the faintest idea what was
in store for him.”
Decker nodded in agreement.
“Must have been someone he knew
well enough not to have the slightest
suspicion.”
“I seen that buggy last night,” a
witness spoke up. “I was driving
home. I guess it was not much after
eight.
“There was a man and blond woman
inside. I thought they were pettin’
lovers and blinked my headlights.”
Sheriff Schmidt and Decker ex-
changed startled glances.
“And what happened then?” asked
Decker.
“Nothin’,” the farmer answered. “I
drove home and went to sleep.”
The Sheriff grumbled. “And you
didn’t notice anything else? Nothing
suspicious?”
“Nope,” the farmer said. He scratched
his gray-stubbled jaw. Then he sud-
denly added, “There was another car
parked maybe a quarter of a mile
ahead.” He pointed up the road. “A
young feller was inside. The head-
lights were out. I didn’t think the cars
belonged together.”
ad chned they really didn’t.” Decker
shrugged wearily.
The Sheriff's mind was working
furiously. What was the meaning of
all this? A blond woman seen with
Mayfield in the very minutes he must
have died—was this his murderess?
Was Mayfield not quite the staid fami-
ly man his neighbors and acquain-
tances seemed to think? What was the
have you any eye-withnesses! Dia tis
partner say he saw me do it?”
part of the woman in this tragedy?
Was she the killer or only a decoy to
lead the unsuspecting man into a
death trap?
And what was the role of the other
car, seen parked with headlights out,
farther up the road? Was this the
getaway car? Or just a vehicle
stopped there accidentally, entirely
unconnected with the crime?
“Comb the roadside,” the Sheriff or-
dered. “Maybe we can find a clew or
something that looks like a lead.”
Flashlights flickered up and their
beams danced along the edges of the
road as deputies swarmed over the
area.
[7 WAS only after an hour’s search
that they admitted defeat. The weedy
fringes of the dusty lane yielded noth-
ing in the way of a clew.
‘As .the Sheriff’s men realized that
each passing hour made the solution
more difficult, the search centered
upon the mysterious blond woman and
her presumable accomplice.
Astute Police Chief Welch whipped
his department into energetic action.
The Chief said to his assistant,
Walsh:
“Mayfield must have picked up his
killer or killers somewhere near the
filling-station where he last was seen—
and there’s a good chance that some-
one witnessed that pick-up. We’ve got
to find that someone.”
The search for the three discharged
Mayfield employes who allegedly had
left town was intensified.
The next day’s investigation brought
one new significant development.
In the course of a house-to-house
canvass the Sheriff’s deputies came
upon a brawny truck-farmer, David
Wilson, living in the vicinity of the
Old Dallas Road.
Wilson told the deputies he had seen
Mayfield’s car parked on the spot
where it was found sixteen. hours
later. He had passed the car about
midnight on his way home.
“TJ figured it was a stolen car,” he
said, “but I didn’t know what to do
about it. I couldn’t make out if some-
body was in it or_not. The next day
I had forgotten all about it.”
The Sheriff and Decker faced each
other glumly at the end of that day.
“Bill,” Schmidt — said forcefully,
teetering his chair against the wall,
“we've got to get this thing rolling.
Someone must have seen Mayfield on
the way from the Haskell and Oak
Grove station to the Old Dallas Road.”
Decker shrugged disgustedly.
“We have talked to everybody along
IE WOM LE Coruane
ically of the second ‘killing. a
the streets he might have taken—but
we can try again.”
“Let’s do that,” the Sheriff said.
“Get ten men tomorrow early in the
morning and do everything you can to
_— the neighborhood down for a
ead.”
While the Sheriff was still trying to
size up the possibilities and importance
of the latest discovery, a long-distance
call came through from City Marshal
D. E. Hamm, of Forney, some 20 miles
east of Dallas.
“I overheard two fellows from this
town,” the city marshal said. “They
were talking in a beer parlor about
the murder, and, judging from their
words, they knew more about it than
the officials. Don’t you think it might
be a good idea to check on them?”
A few minutes later Decker was
roaring through the bustling city
streets to the highway, giving his en-
gine all the soup and speed it could
take. Upon his arrival in the drowsy
little town of Forney, he immediately
found the alert city marshal.
The two suspects were half-brothers,
Frank Cummings and Henry Evenrude,
20 and 22 years old.
Hamm told the deputy he had over-
heard scraps of conversation drifting
to where he was seated. He heard
them mention Mayfield’s name several
times.
“They certainly pulled that job in
record speed,” he had heard Henry
say with a snicker.
‘And Frank’s retort had been, “Plati-
num at least can pay for his buggy.”
They also mentioned the name
“Bobbie” several times.
An expression of elation spread over
Decker’s strong features.
“] have an idea we're finally get-
ting a real lead,” he said.
An hour later he had Cummings and
Evenrude under arrest.
Henry was taller, shifty-looking, ap-
parently shrewder than his sullen-
looking younger half-brother, Frank.
The arrest, which had come with
unsuspected suddenness, had thrown
the pair into complete consternation.
They squirmed and fidgeted, protest-
ing their innocence. Grim and silent,
Decker escorted them to the city mar-
shal’s office for a preliminary grilling.
The deputy told them to sit down.
“Youre going to tell me everything
you know about the Mayfield mur-
der,” the deputy said, and his voice
had the sharpness of a whip cracking
through the air.
Frank managed a jeering grin.
“We only know what the papers
say,” he sneered.
innocent persons.
ead It First in
Riddle of the Dancing Men (Continued from Page 25) OFFICIAY DETECTIVE. STORIES
The other one eagerly wagged his
head up and down. “Sure, only what
the papers said,” he echoed, and the
deputy couldn’t help thinking of the
straw at which the drowning man
clutches.
“What were you doing last Friday
between six and ten?” the deputy shot
at them.
“We had dinner at home,” Frank
said, swinging his cap nervously.
Suddenly he looked relieved. “Then
we went over to a friend’s house to
help him fix his radio. At eight-thirty
another friend of ours dropped in and
the four of us played cards. We got
back home at eleven o’clock and went
to sleep. See? You can’t pin nothin’
on us.”
Decker scratched his jaw musingly.
“Who’s ‘Platinum’? That blond dame
who was seen with Mayfield?”
“Huh?” Frank said. “I dunno.”
“And Bobbie? Maybe you know
who Bobbie is?” Decker turned to
Henry and stared at him with sharply
squinting eyes.
“Dunno, Never seen him,” Henry
answered. There was an edge to his
voice which didn’t escape Decker’s
sensitive ear.
AD gacgae realized that he wouldn’t
get far in his interrogation at this
stage. He jumped up.
“You're coming along to Dallas,” he
said with a scowl. “And you’d better
make up your minds to talk.”
When the Sheriff greeted Decker as
he strode excitedly into the office,
Decker said:
“These birds know something!”
Schmidt had the two Forney suspects
brought in for a stretch of grilling.
They both seemed more collected than
at the first questioning. Their answers
were more glib. They still doggedly
maintained they knew nothing of the
murder.
The Sheriff, realizing they would
persist in their attitude as long as they
were not confronted with irrefutable
evidence, directed Decker:
“When we check up on their alibis,
you take their mug pictures and ques-
tion everybody you can get hold of
around the Mayfield filling-stations
and find out if someone has seen
them.”
Decker left. Parking his car at Has-
kell and Oak Grove, he began his can-
vass of the Mayfield filling-stations.
“Know these fellows?” he asked the
manager.
The man shook his head.
Decker trudged down the block,
asking the same question. Again the
October OFFICIAL DETECTIVE STORIES Goes on Sale Wednesday, August 28
46
opD—1
ke
&
oe
&
eS
Fs
Sheriis ollice a Wire Lrullb ssUstil,
Texas, announced that the last of the
three possible suspects among May-
field’s discharged employes was in the
clear, too.
So that possible source
aa failed. of sempects
e news from Forne wasn’t
cheering, either. As the pr
proceeded, one witness after another
confirmed the alibis of the half-
brothers. But not all the witnesses
pss ere questioned yet, so it was too
pronounce a definite judgment.
Robert Ballard Walker, wan Visited
by the detectives, also had an alibi for
poe —— = the aoe. He had been
out wi o girls and a pal i
Robert, Otto Currie. stat ie
uu e deputies disliked somethin
about Walter. Set in a thin, Soin
face were cunning eyes which at times
flared up in sudden viciousness. How-
ever, an unpleasant personality couldn’t
be held against him. The. Sheriff
chalked him up for more questions. at
a later date. Immediate steps were
taken to check his alibi.
Just before the deputies left Walker,
Deputy Hines shot a question at him:
“When did you see Frank the last
time?”
“A month ago,” Walker said curtly.
Hines pondered this answer. Walker
had been seen with Frank Cummings-
only a week before. What was he try-
ing to cover up in his manifestly false
statement? Why did he lie about his
meeting with Cummings?
FE oulpital was left at the house to
keep secret watch on Walker.
‘The girls—two shapely youngsters
with sparkling eyes—were visited by
the deputies.
“Sure, we had a date with Ballard
and Platinum,” one of them said.
“Platinum!” exclaimed Hines. “Who
is Platinum?”
“Currie. That’s what Robert calls
him because of his light blond hair.”
Hines nodded.
“What time did you have that date?”
“At eight.”
When Hines reported the results of
these inquiries, the Sheriff said grimly:
“If it’s true that they had a date at
eight, then Walker and Currie are in
the clear. Mayfield was out there on
the road with the blonde after eight.
We have to find evidence to corrobo-
rate the girls’ testimony.”
Such evidence was uncovered easily.
The two couples had dropped in at a
cocktail bar shortly after 8:30 p.m. At
nine p.m. they had driven into a fill-
ing-station to have the battery in Cur-
rie’s car exchanged, because his had
gone dead. Then they went to a drive-
in and had sandwiches. At eleven
p.m, the girls were home again.
The Forney half-brothers had been
cleared definitely also. Their alibis
were intact. And thus almost the last
lead was failing the officers.
Before the half-brothers were re-
leased, Schmidt confronted Cummings
with Walker to clarify their conflict-
ing statements about when they had
met each other the last time.
oD—T
corridor, I
“T still i
these birds
to their <
right,” he
of wild t
dames. T
didn’t stay
to dance,’
had to da:
much fun
boys didn
dancing 1
girls ans\
nervous t:
meant—t!
“Bill, y:
laughed.
“us to find
on the d
apparent):
wouldn’t
like that.
“Maybe
Decker v:
“Let’s
that they
night of
gested.
The gi)
“Sheri!
bing, “we
know the
a dance a
two date:
try to sh
thing, w«
“Don’t
monished
cion. We
But tell
your dat«
appointm
One 0!
lass with
looked s'
jected, h
somethi
were ari
te
nied mh tie
SRRURDADDDDADAAL
{ Lppbt
secret intention of covering up some-
Cs ;
They all agreed more or less freely
that the domestic life of the May-
fields was a harmonious one. Few of
their friends and acquaintances were
inclined to believe that Mayfield had
left of his own free accord, and most
of them shared Mrs. Mayfield’s grave
view of her husband’s disappearance.
A buzz on the telephone board at
the Sheriff’s office brought in a call
which caused all the mental construc-
tions to tumble.
A man on the telephone, his voice
strained and excited, asked to speak
to the Sheriff personally.
The conversation was brief. Schmidt’s
pencil danced. over a scratch-pad.
Then the Sheriff announced:
*“Let’s go, boys. Something new
turned up.”
The men scrambled to their feet.
A moment later two cars from the
Sheriff’s office roared down the street,
sirens blaring away to clear a path for
them through the thick downtown
traffic. The cars turned north, heading
toward the outskirts of the city. They
skimmed by the Lovefield ral
eeching tires into
Dallas Road.
A group of people was clustered
around a dust-covered dark sedan.
Schmidt and his men tumbled out of
their cars. ;
“who called me?” the Sheriff asked,
taking in the group with a compre-
hensive glance.
A man—middle-aged, rather tall,
broad-featured — shouldered his way
forwar
“Me,” he said. His face was pale.
“Your name?” Decker inquired.
“William Noe,” the man answered.
The Sheriff edged his way to the
black, dusty automobile. Passing, he
darted a quick glance at the rear li-
cense plate. The number was that of
Mayfield’s car.
Schmidt pressed his face to the win-
dow of the machine and peered inside.
The next second he shrank~back> In~
the car sat the missing oil man, his
gray, distinguished head erect, Be-
tween his lips was a half-smoked ci-
gar. His glazed eyes were riveted on
.the red dirt road in front of him.
The curious onlookers stood tense
around the car.
Pn pata exclaimed, “Schmidt, look at
is!”
His voice was sharp and excited.
With his square-tipped forefinger he
a ap at a small, sharp-edged, jagged
ole in the car door. Out of the hole
protruded a gleaming piece of metal.
slowly.
“Looks like a thirty-two.”
Both doors of the car were locked.
Tools were brought and the door was
pried open.
Mayfield’s body, propped up in a
ghastly semblance of life, was cold and
rigid. There was.a tiny, brown hole
in his silk shirt, just below the neck; a
small trickle of blood had seeped from
it. There was another bullet wound
above the heart, a third in the abdo-
men. The fourth projectile had lodged
itself in the door of the car. Like the
others, it had been fired at close range.
“This is murder,” Decker commented
tersely.
“Yeah,” the Sheriff said. “And the
strangest I ever investigated.”
His eyes sought out William Noe, the
man who had notified him of the dis-
covery of the death car and the body.
“You find this?”
“No, Sir,’ Noe answered. “My little
boy did.” He pointed to a sandy-haired
youngster about ten years of age.
“Go ahead, tell me what you know,”
Schmidt said.
Gore and deliberately, and in a
low voice, the man told of the grue-
some discovery.
- His little son had been playing with
other children from the neighborhood
in the morning. In the afternoon, about
three o’clock, the youngster had told
his father; “We saw an old man sitting
in a car, out on the Old Dallas Road.
Looked like a drunk asleep.”
Noe had not been alarmed by the
childish prattle. Only when his six-
teen-year-old son, Walter, remarked,”
“Perhaps it’s that fellow Mayfield the
morning papers said is missing,” had
his curidsity been aroused. %
He slipped into his coat and asked
his son to lead him to the.car. Look-
ing inside, he realized in a moment of
shuddering nausea that the man sit-
ting there straight and erect was dead.
While Schmidt was listening tensely .
to this account, Decker had been pok-
ing inside the car.
“It will be tough to establish a mo-
tive,” he declared.
“What makes you think so?”
John J. Mayfield stopped at this corner
to pick up a former employe—but
was taken for a ride by his passenger
Sheriff Smoot Schmidt: “We can
break this case if we know
why Mr. Mayfield was killed”
One of the boys who thought he had seen
a “drunk man” points to the spot where
he discovered John J. Mayfield’s body
“Because robbery seems to be out.
found money scattered in the back
the car, some twenty-two dollars a
a check of one hundred and ten dc
lars.” He pointed to the gold wris
watch Mayfield was wearing strapp:
around his left wrist. “Doesn’t lo
like he was killed because someo
wanted to rob him.”
The Sheriff rubbed the back of |!
neck pensively. This, he realized, w
the outset of a long investigation. TI
case, if not a perfect crime, was
least a perfect riddle. For what my
terious, diabolic reason had this m
been killed? For vengeance? Or c
he have some secret which caused h
to get mixed up with questional
characters? Or was this crime the 1
sult of a complex and involved plot
greed, stealth and cunning, of whi
all particulars still were shrouded
complete mystery?
At the end of the road,.which wv
growing dim in the quickly gatheri
dust of the chill Winter day, a «
appeared. The machine drew near
stopped. From it alighted the t
dignified figure of Justice of the Pei
Joe B. Brown, whom one of Schmic
men had summoned.
CTING as coroner, Brown mad
rapid examination of the body.
expressed the opinion that Mayfi
must have been dead at least eight:
hours, which would put the time of
death between eight and nine o’ck
the previous night.
The Sheriff listened, then turned
the terror-shocked crowd of nei;
rs.
“Do any of you folks know anyth
about this?”
Hesitantly voices began to speak
A dairyman, living near by, said
had passed the dark sedan with
cargo of ghastly death twice during
day without paying attention to it.
“J saw the man sitting in there,
(Continued on Page 46)
Before. Officers Could Untangle This Dallas, Texas,
Murder They Had to Know Why a
Stepped a "Blonde" and a Lady-Killer
and Oak Grove filling-station. At
eight sharp he pulls up here. We could
set the clock by him.”
“Why were you in such a hurry to
notify Mrs. Mayfield?”
“twas worried. And then there’s
the cash in the box. I’m supposed to
be off at eight-thirty. There’s two
hundred and thirty dollars in the reg-
43d and I hate to be responsible for
it.
The Deputy grunted.
“He collects the money from all sev-
en filling-stations every night?”
“Yeah.” Smith nodded. “Every
night.”
“Thanks,” Decker replied, turning
N
on his heel. “In case Mayfield shows
up, call the Sheriff’s office.”
At the Haskell and Oak Grove
filling-station, the alert Chief Deputy
received information which corrobo-
rated what he already knew.
John Linxweiler, the manager, told
him that Mayfield had pulled up at the
place at 7:45 in his large black sedan.
He had been punctual almost to the
second, as always. —
Decker chuckled. “Sort of fussy
feller, huh?”
“The swellest guy in the world. He’s
always going out of his way to help
a man.”
“How much dough did he collect
here tonight?”
“Why, he didn’t take anything.”
The investigator looked up sharply.
“How come?”
Linxweiler shrugged his broad
shoulders. “I don’t know. Sometimes
when the intake is small ‘he leaves the
money until the next collection. That’s
what happened today, probably. We
didn’t have much business — people
travel less just before.the holidays.” ..
|B grerand pursed his lips. Jumbled
thoughts passed swiftly through his
mind. For some reason he had a feel-
ing that there was more to this thing
than appeared on the surface.
A man as punctual as Mayfield
wouldn’t interrupt his daily routine
without a valid reason. What might it
have been? Why didn’t he notify his
wife or his employes of a change in
his schedule? Why didn’t he collect
the money as usual? Was it for the
reason Manager . Linxweiler men-
tioned? Or did Mayfield have some
secret motive? Had he received some
mysterious warning which told him of
imminent danger threatening _ his
safety? Did he suspect treachery?
Before forming any definite theories
Decker decided to see Mrs. Mayfield.
Punctual as always, John J. May-
field made his collection-call at
this filling-station—then vanished
Faithful Husband
Wouldn't Dance
The luxurious Mayfield brick home
stood ablaze with light. Decker found
the household in an uproar. Mrs. May-
field was crying, her body sagging as
if under a terrific burden. A maid,
dabbing her eyes with her white voile
apron, cowered in a_ corner of the
spacious living-room. Every few sec-
onds she let out a shrill, screaming
cry of anguish. A man _ wearing
a chauffeur’s cap was dialing the tele-
phone and shouting raucously into the
mouthpiece. :
The Chief Deputy introduced him-
self and stated the purpose of his
mission.
City Marshal D. E. Hamm: “Judg-
ing from thelr words, they know
more about It than the officials”
He befriended
a lady-killer at the cost of his life
John J. Mayfield:
“Please sit down,” Mrs. Mayfield
said, sobbing.
As he. pulled up a chair, the inves-
tigator was assailed by harassing
doubt.
Why all this: bedlam? What did
these people know? Did they have any
suspicion of some secret tragedy which
might justify their despair?
Decker looked levelly into Mrs. May-
field’s pale, tear-streaked face.
“Your husband may be late for any
number of reasons,” he said. “Per-
haps he had some trouble with his car,
or dropped in to see some friends.”
The woman shook her head. “He—
he would have let me know,” she cried.
“Then I wish you would tell me the
whole story. Perhaps Mr. Mayfield
had a reason to leave. Was there any
disagreement between you? Or did he
have some trouble in his business
which may have prompted him to dis-
appear?”
MES: MAYFIELD, her gaze focused
in space, shook her head weakly.
“No—nothing. There was no busi-
ness trouble. He was the best of hus-
bands. We never had any fights or
arguments.”
“Did you get in touch with the hos-
pitals? He might have been taken ill
suddenly.” -
“{ did, but they had no record of
him.”
Decker pondered for a moment, then
said, “We'll get in touch with the Po-
lice: Department and put a radio call
through for your husband.”
“Do everything you can,” she plead-
23
One witness said he saw a blonde woman
in this canvas-topped roadster, parked
just behind the victim's coupe, but the
sheriff spotted an error in his report.
Constable D. E. Hamm (left), who over-
heard an ‘important conversation, reads
, one slayer's confession with Deputies
Pete Ballard (center) and W. W. Parker.
BY CLAYTON D. CARTER
Left: Robert Walker, chewing on a cigar,
was callous about. his crime until he died
in the chair, but Robert O. Currie’s grin
on greeting his accomplice soon vanished.
Punctuality.” Each of his 40 em-
ployes knew he could set the clock
by John J. Mayfield. The owner of the
Knox Street Oil Company, operator’ of
seven filling stations in Dallas, had a
routine to which he meticulously ad-
hered. In the memory of even the
oldest worker for the concern, the boss
never deviated from it by one minute.
Ties CALLED HIM “Old Man
Promptly at 7 each evening Mayfield °
would rise from the supper table, kiss
his wife goodbye, and start on a round
of his service stations, making collec-
tions of the day’s receipts. On the
stroke of 8 he would arrive at the last
station, at 3300 McKinney Avenue at
the corner of Hall Street.
Here Rodney Moore and “Bubba”
Nesmith would be waiting with trucks
to make a night run to the East Texas
oil fields. Mayfield always started them
out on the dot of 8 by providing load
money.
Then the boss would sit with R. O.
Smith, manager of the station, and dis-
cuss business while he smoked a cigar.
In precisely ten minutes he would get
up, stroll to his car without a further
word, and start for home. His wife
could count on seeing him swing into
the driveway of their pretentious bun-
galow at exactly 8:20.
Sure, the Old Man had péculiar-
ities, and promptness was the foremost
among them. But none could say that
this trait hadn’t paid handsome divi-
dends. In a few years of methodical
plodding John J. Mayfield had become
one of the wealthiest businessmen in
Dallas.
That was why, at exactly 8:02 in the
13
bei nteman
+r
but the Sheriff and Welch check-
ed and questioned each of these
former employees.
The last to be questioned was
Robert Ballard Walker, a youth
with dark hair and nervous shifty
eyes. He seemed amused.
“I was in Galveston when May-
field was killed,” he said. “If you
want to go over there and check,
you’ll find that I was at the Star
Tourist Camp having a good time.”
“Have some girls with you?”
Sheriff Schmidt questioned.
“Sure, we had dames,” Walker
replied. “But what’s the big idea
of all this cross examination? You
ain’t thinking I bumped old man
Mayfield off? Hell, you don’t think
I’m a blonde dame, do you?”
Sheriff Schmidt smiled at Walk-
er’s words and said: “No, I guess
you’re not a blonde dame, Walker.
You’re too black-haired. Just rou-
tine, this questioning. You can go
now, but don’t leave Dallas.”
“Why would I leave?” Walker
shot back. “I haven’t done any-
thing.”
And with that he strode cockily
out of the Chief’s office. On the
street, he stopped, looked around,
and then walked hurriedly to the
east. As he did, a: detective left
Headquarters to shadow him.
Three hours later the Chief and
Sheriff had learned . several im-
portant things about Walker. The
first was that he was a friend of
the two youths arrested and then
released from Forney. He had been
seen with one of them several days
before the robbery.
HILE there was no police record
against him, he was known to
be wild and a young man that
always seemed just on the verge
of getting into trouble. He had
worked for Mayfield the year be-
fore, and had quit because he didn’t
want to work. It was known that
Mayfield had been rather friendly
toward him, hoping to persuade
him to settle down to a good job.
Adding all these things up did-
n’t produce the platinum blonde
young man that had peen seen
with Mayfield, but it gave the two
officers a hot lead.
Late that afternoon, Sheriff
Schmidt and Chief Welch had
driven down to Galveston and out
to the Star Tourist Camp, where
Walker claimed he had been with
a friend and several girls the night
Mayfield was killed.
“Sure, he was here the other.
night,” the manager of the camp
told the two officers. “Came here
with a couple of girls and a friend.
I didn’t see the friend, but I knew
the girls. Fay Horner and Lois
Brooks. They live in Dallas.”
The two officers returned to -Dal-
las and at nine o’clock the next
morning, two nervous and fright-
ened girls walked into ‘ Chief
Welch’s office. They were Fay
Horner and Lois Brooks, the two
girls with Walker the night May-
fleld was killed.
“Cripes, Chief,” Fay Horner said.
“You haven’t anything on us. We
don’t know Walker or his friend
very well. They asked us to go
down to Galveston to a _ tourist
camp with them that night. We
left here about eight o’clock.”
If that time element was cor-
rect, Walker was automatically
ruled out as a suspect because that
was the time of the murder,
"Yes, it was eight o'clock when
they came to my house,” Fay Hor-
ner said. “We went to Galveston,
but Walker and his friend seemed
jittery and didn’t dance with us
and we had to dance alone. Some-
thing seemed to be worrying them.”
“And this friend?” Chief Welch
asked.
“He’s called Platinum,” she said.
“Platinum?” both Chief Welch
and Sheriff Schmidt cried. “You
mean he is a platinum blonde.”
“Sure is,” Fay Horner replied.
“His name is Robert Currie and
he has hair that would make any
girl envious.”
The two officers didn’t question
the girls any longer. This infor-
mation, backed by the amazing
work Kerch had done alone, clinch-
ed the case for them. .
In less than an hour Robert Cur-
rie, a platinum-haired youth with
a nervous face, sat in Chief Welch’s
headquarters. Walker was with
him.
“You can’t frame us,” Walker
boasted. “We know our rights. We
were at the girls’ house when May-
field was killed. We got an alibi.”
“Alibis, Walker, aren’t much
good, when science is working
against you,” Chief Welch said.
“AS a matter of fact, you boys
pulled a murder that would have
gone unsolved if science hadn't
gotten to work on the case. We
figured we were looking for a
blonde girl, but Sergeant Kerch
found out we were looking for a
blonde young man—and I think we
have found him.”
It didn’t take Sergeant Kerch
long to compare a strand of hair
from Currie’s head with the hair
found in the Mayfield car. They
matched perfectly.
Currie broke and confessed that
he was in the car, but he said
that Walker was the man that
fired the shots and the man that
planned the whole crime.
Walker sneered at Currie’s con-
fession, but two days later, he
broke and made a complete con-
fession. He admitted that he had
worked for Mayfield and the old
man had always been friendly.
On the evening of the murder,
he had stopped Mayfield and ask-
ed for a ride, saying that he had
to go to the Lovefield Airport. Cur-
rie was with him. Mayfield took
the two youths in his car, but
when they got past the Lovefield
Airport, and on the Old Dallas
Road, Walker shot Mayfield and
propped him up in the car and
stuck the cigar in his mouth.
His motive for the murder was
the need of money. He: had per-
suaded Currie to buy a car on the
installment plan, but there was
no money to pay the installment
and Walker wanted the car to take
the girls out riding. They got over
three hundred dollars from May-
field’s money belt and left the
bills to confuse the police.
He completely exonerated Currie
of any part in the murder. On
March 4th, 1940; he was brought to
trial. He was found guilty of mur-
der in the first degree and’ sen-
tenced to death in the electric
chair.
On April 19th, 1940, he died in
the electric chair. Currie was giv-
en a ten year sentence in the
Texas State Penitentiary.
NOTE: The names Fay Horner and
Lois Brooks are fictitious to save
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innocent persons embarrassment.
Telephone ENdicett
Fox Building, Philadelphia, Pa. _—
ant
evening of December 23, 1938, Smith
nervously paced the concrete entrance
to his filling station, while out in Mc-
Kinney Avenue young Moore and Ne-
smith sat anxiously behind the wheels
of their trucks.
Every few seconds Smith would go
to the service station doorway and peek
in at the clock. Each inspection in-
creased his apprehension. Every glance
up McKinney Avenue in the direction
of Oak Grove Street, with no sign of the
familiar 1936 Dodge coupe Mayfield
drove, caused him more anxiety.
When the clock’s hand stood at 8:05
Smith no longer could conceal his fears.
The filling station manager telephoned
the Mayfield home. Lest he worry the
oilman’s wife needlessly, he asked a
casual question about his employer.
However, Mrs. Mayfield caught the
tenseness behind his query, and her
usual low conversational tone became
edged with a trace of uneasiness. May-
field had left home at his usual hour,
and he hadn’t said anything about a
change of plans, she informed the man-
ager. Would Mr. Smith make inquiries
‘and keep her advised?
The station manager said he would.
His next call was to John E. Linxwiler,
manager of the Mayfield station at Oak
14. Grove and North Haskell Streets. He
A PLAINTIVE SONG WAS THE ONLY TRAIL
THE HOLDUP KILLERS LEFT BEHIND THEM
heard a rather disquieting statement.
“Sure, the Old Man was here at 7:45,”
Linxwiler said. “He left for your place
at five minutes of 8.”
Smith was puzzled. The two stations
were only half a mile apart, and May-
field, adhering to his nightly schedule,
should have arrived at McKinney Ave-
nue and Hall Street promptly at 8.
What could have interrupted his
routine. It was not like the Old Man
to dally, knowing his truck drivers were
awaiting his arrival. Besides, it was
contrary to his code of punctuality.
As Smith fretted the clock showed
8:20, and the phone rang. Mrs. May-
field was calling, and now she was
plainly upset.
“You've heard nothing?” she asked
anxiously. “That’s unlike Mr. Mayfield!
T’ve never known him to be even a
minute out of the way for any business
appointment.”
The manager tried to sound reassur-
ing. “Maybe his car broke down. It
could be that he’s not near a telephone.
I wouldn’t worry, Mrs. Mayfield. I’m
sure he can take care of himself.”
Sheriff Notified
“But the money,” the woman said.
“That's always uppermost in my
thoughts where Mr. Mayfield is con-
cerned. I often begged him not to carry
so much around.”
“Oh, the boss wouldn’t pick up any-
one in his car; you know that. It’s a
rule of his. I think he’ll be along in a
few minutes. When he comes, T’ll have
him call you.”
An hour passed. The phone rang in
the office of Sheriff Smoot Schmid in
Dallas. Chief Deputy Bill Decker took
the call, then handed the instrument to
his superior. “It’s for you,” he said.
Schmid was planning to do Christmas
shopping with his wife and he was
anxious to get away, his voice was
tinged with petulance as he snapped
“Bello” into the mouthpiece.
Immediately his attitude changed.
however. His caller’s tone was fraught
with anxiety, and its import was not
lost on the law enforcement head of
Dallas County.
“You're afraid something has hap-
pened to your husband, Mrs. Mayfield?”
he repeated. “You mean just because
he’s an hour late for an appointment?
Well, frankly I don’t see any reason for
great alarm. Remember, this is the
Christmas season. He might have gone
downtown to buy you a present.”
But the sheriff’s consoling tone did
not reflect his thoughts. He knew May-
field for the punctilious businessman
he was, anc
least must
an accident
“Well, tr
he finally a
into it.”
Hanging
“Take this
was suppos
Hall at 8 o
I know M:
there on th
pened. He
money. Hi
had up to <
out to tha
picture. Th
should hav
he's perfec
touch with
Decker s'
like the bu
can think «
happen to :
meeting, a2
a little shoy
“Yeah, a
Mayfield.
That's whi:
thing’s up.
can't go tc
hasn't shov
drivers. T
Mayfield.”
ealend dee g
i
ab he wn
”
S
2S
a
—
.
theca
CO)
=
Denes
=
=
and the
N
~
SSR na:
vern and
s visited
and the
brought
s. “Hon-
rging on
ie truth
sally did
t like we
Schmid
to make
—that is,
know is,
\ker and
<actly at
suddenly
you men-
boys on
i it was
et them.
too. We
‘t say—”
>» know,”
iker and
our un-
ind 8:30.
ugh for
ik Grove
1 out to
x to the
eed, the
ker and
ile other
ney and
nd Ken-
nidnight
ht days
suspects
's office,
nem, his
piercing. -
smirked
le and
xiously.
morose
Jander-
ow you
when
vre still
u know
Schmid
to you
du with
ay ball
to see
»ndered
Currie.
vember
: dealer
i black
e deal-
vt en-
e ma-
‘orking
10 Was
ing it.
S$ with
CONFIDENTIAL FACTS FROM POLICE
his hands and was visibly shaking.
He did not reply.
“When the first installment on
the car was due, December 23, you
had no money to pay it. Walker
was out of a job and broke, too.
So at his suggestion, you agreed
to hold up John Mayfield—”
Now it was Walker’s turn to trem-
ble. His eyes darted about like
those of a cornered animal.
“You have platinum blonde hair,
Whitey,” continued the — sheriff.
“It’s long and fine, like a woman’s.
So it was not a woman that our
witness saw in the death car a
few minutes before Mayfield was
slain. It was you!”
Schmid let this telling blow sink
in. Then he went on: “Walker,
you killed the oil man. You had fol-
lowed him before on his rounds,
and knew his habits. On that night,
you pretended to be a hitchhiker
and thumbed a ride with Mayfield
as he left the Oak Grove station.
He was a kind man, so he picked
you up—”
Walker sprang to his feet, shriek-
ing: ‘“That’s a pack of lies! You’re
trying to frame us!”
Schmid smiled wryly and con-
tinued calmly: “We knew you'd
say that. So we started looking
for the gun. We found it this morn-
ing, hidden under a mattress in
| HUMAN
| DETECTIVE
of vengeance, recognized the form
on the slab as that of his brother.
ROOPERS VOIGT and Picard,
in the meantime, had dredged
up some interesting clues. Comb-
ing the area within a mile or two
of the murder scene, they learned
that a man of medium height, with
dark complexion and black hair—
the description given by the filling
station proprietor as that of the
man who had asked about the New
York bus—had stopped in at a
roadside restaurant to get a sand-
wich and a cup of coffee.
The owner of the restaurant re-
membered him well...
“You couldn’t forget him if you
wanted to,” she reported. “I’ve
never seen a man act as nervous as
he did. He came in, asked when the
next New York bus would pass, and
ordered a cup of coffee and a
cheese sandwich. All the time he
kept walking back and forth, go-
ing to the window to look out,
coming back as though he wanted
to ask me something but couldn’t
make up his mind, and then go-
ing to the window again.”
“Did he talk to you at all?”
“Never said a word after he had
your father’s house! Our ballistics
men checked it with the slugs taken
trom Mayfield’s body and his car.
The markings are identical! Now
what do you say?”
-Currie broke first. Blubbering, he
made a confession which checked
in every detail with the sheriff's
masterful reconstruction of the
crime. -
“It was Walker's idea,” he sobbed.
“When Mayfield picked him up, I
followed them in my car out to
the Old Dallas Road. But Walker
did the shooting. I started walking
back to Mayfield’s car, but it was
all over when I got there. Then
another car drove by, so Walker
hid on the floor while I ducked
down in the seat beside the body.
We got scared after that and ran
back to our machine.”
The sheriff had Currie’s confes-
sion taken down by a stenographer,
while he turned his efforts toward
Walker. But the slick-haired pris-
oner steadfastly refused to affirm
what Currie had said.
A night in a cell made him think
better of it. The next day, he made
a full confession.
“TI once worked for Mayfield,”
he declared, ‘‘so it was easy to get
a ride with him. I told him I had
to get to the airport. On the way,
I pulled the rod we bought at a
(Continued from pige 13)
asked about the bus and given his
order, Finally he went back to the
men’s room and, when he came
out, walked to the counter and got
on the stool as though he were go-
ing to start eating. Then, without
saying a word or touching a bite,
he got up and walked out.”
Picard and his partner went back
to the men’s room, knowing that
such places are often used by crim-
inals to ditch incriminating evi-
dence which they might have on
their persons.
When they found nothing on the
floor, they looked into the flush
bowl. Floating on the surface was
a length of heavy gauze bandage
and another mass of the same
material made into a lump by a
dozen folds.
That the latter had not been in
the basin for any length of time
was shown by the fact that it was
still partially dry. What interested
the troopers more than anything
else was that this lumped gauze
had several indentations in it as
though it had been pressed against
three or four small, rounded ob-
jects.
“What do you make of it?” Voigt
asked his partner.
“MURDER MADE TO ORDER
FILES
pawnshop and poked it into the
old man’s ribs. When we got to
Old Dallas Road, I plugged him and
took his money. But Whitey got
nervous and in a rush to get away,
we dropped all but $27.”
Walker and Currie swiftly were
indicted and tried separately. On
February 6, 1940, Walker was found
guilty of first degree murder and
sentenced to death by Judge Grover
Adams. On March 4, Currie was
convicted of second degree murder
on his plea that he had been led
into the murder and did not fire
the gun, and was sentenced to a
term of ten years in the state pen-
itentiary.
Vanderpoel and Kenney, who had
testified against the pair, declared
that Walker originally had tried
to get Kenney to help him rob
Mayfield, but Kenney had backed
out. In return for their co-opera-
tion, they were allowed to go free.
Late on the night of April 11, 1940.
with all appeals denied and all hope
gone, the still-defiant Robert Bal-
lard Walker was strapped into the
electric chair at Austin and put to
death. The cold-blooded murder of
the oil magnate at last had’ been
fully avenged.
Note: To protect innocent persons,
the names Herbert Vanderpoel and
Clifford Kenney are fictitious.
Picard shrugged. “I don’t know.
There isn’t any blood on it, nor
on the bandage either.”
He examined the length of gauze
more closely. “This proves that the
killer threw it in here!” he ex-
claimed. ‘Look at that.”
“That” was a series of small
powder marks. Voigt wound the
bandage so that the marks came
together, thus disclosing the cir-
cumference of whatever it was the
gauze had covered.
Both troopers: studied it, trying
to figure out the use to which the
material had been put.
“T’ve got it!” Voigt exclaimed.
“You remember when President
McKinley was assassinated?”
“Sure, but what’s that got to do
with this?”
“It’s got this to do with it: The
man who killed him pretended to
have an injured hand and carried
the gun inside the bandage so that
he could approach the President
without being suspected. That’s
what this bird did. That accounts
for the powder marks. And it also
accounts for the indentations on
that wad of gauze, There’s four of
them. They’re the impressions made
by the killer’s knuckles.”
33
i open.
window,
ear. Al-
ed it, he
aw. This
heel was
his gray
-s still in-
ar jutted
5 and his
cantly at
d to the
at round
ym which
-uded.
mid. “Get
ine, We’ve
‘is
way to the
he officers
lood oozed
hite shirt,
sk; a sec-
his’ chest
third had
h, Pulling
5s, the in-
r burns.
d at close
_ studying
yecker had
oor. “From
iis slug, I’d
ut the man
murder car
hen did you
plained the
» son. That’s
ore.”
curned to a
“Go on,” he
ow just what
k that after-
.ed, when the
him breath-
that he and
n a man sit-
Dallas Road,
p. They were
run into the
-d only half-
-oncerned, he
-ecalled hear-
-hat morning
ssing. He hur-
, to the scene,
, the car and
hen he called
moment with
and his men
he car. They
CONFIDENTIAL FACTS FROM POLI
found $22 in bills and a quantity
of small change scattered over the
back seat and a check for $110 on
the floor. An expensive gold wrist
watch still was strapped to the oil
man’s wrist.
The _ sheriff frowned in deep
thought as another car drew up at
the scene, bringing Justice of the
Peace Joe B. Brown, who had been
notified by one of the deputies.
Justice Brown, as acting coroner,
leaned into the car and examined
the corpse. Mayfield, he concluded,
had been dead about 18 hours, plac-
ing the time of death at around
8:30 the night before.
Schmid turned to the curious on-
, lookers, who now numbered more
than 50, most of them people who
lived nearby. “What do you know
about this, folks?” he asked.
One by one, they spoke up. A
farmer told the sheriff that he had
passed the black sedan several
times during the day without stop-
ping to investigate. .
“T figured it was none of my bus-
iness,” said the witness. “YT thought
the man might have stopped there
to meet someone, or that he had
been driving for a long time and
was grabbing some sleep.”
The owner of a dairy was the
next to offer information. “Why,
I saw that car here last night,” he
declared. ‘Must have been around
8:30 because I was on my way
home. But there were two people
in the car—this man and a woman
with platinum blonde hair.”
“A woman?” repeated Schmid
narrowly.
“yep,” said the dairyman.
“Are you sure you didn’t notice
anything else?” demanded the
sheriff.
“Come to think of it now,” con-
tinued the witness, “TJ did see an-
other car parked about a half mile
up the road. It was a convertible
coupe, black with a canvas» top.
There was a young guy in it with
dark hair, slicked back. But ae
didn't think it had any connection
with the sedan here.”
Schmid barked orders to his men.
“Search the vicinity. Leave noth-
ing overlooked. There may be a
clue here that will put us on the
killer’s trail.”
Darkness had closed in and the
deputies snapped on their flash-
lights as they combed the area for
some bit of evidence, however
slight, which might provide them
with a lead. But after an hour and
a half’s search, they had found
nothing. Reluctantly, they reported
their lack of results to the sheriff.
Meanwhile, Police Chief Welch,
advised of the discovery of May-
field’s body, ordered his men into
action.
“Tt looks to me,” he told his 2s-
sistant, Douglas Walsh, “as if the
killer must have entered Mayfield’s
car somewhere around the filling
station where he last was seen.
Concentrate on finding witnesses
who might have seen_the oil man
pick up the slayer.” .
The investigation continued un-
abated . throughout the night and
the- following morning, Christmas
Day. Schmid’s deputies doggedly at-
tempted to trace the three em-
ployees of the victim who had
moved away from Dallas during the
past year.
Chief Deputy Decker, Deputy
Rowland and Deputies W. W. Park-
er and Peter Ballard strove ener-
getically to locate witnesses who
might have seen Mayfield’s car en
route from the Oak Grove station
to Old Dallas Road, where it was
found. But at the end of the day,
they still had not found any such
witness.
As the deputies conferred again
with Sheriff Schmid, the phone
jangled. It was a long-distance call
from Forney, Texas, about 21 miles
east of Dallas. The caller was City
Marshal D, E. Hamm of Forney, and
he had electrifying news.
“A couple of my men overheard
two young chaps talking about the
Mayfield murder in a tavern here,”
Hamm related. “These fellows
seemed to know a lot about the
case. If I were you, I’d take a run
out here and talk with them.”
Minutes later, Schmid and Deck-
er were speeding through the
downtown section of Dallas toward
the eastern city limits. Arriving in
Forney, they drove directly to the
office of Marshal Hamm, who had
taken the two young men’ into cus-
tody for questioning.
The suspects were half-brothers
in their 20s, Herbert Vanderpoel
and Clifford Kenney.
“J should have been in on that
job,” Herbert was quoted as telling
another youth who had mentioned
the Mayfield case.
“Bobbie can pay for his car now,”
Clifford added, according to the
marshal’s men.
Vanderpoel and Kenney were
seated under the bright lights of
the marshal’s office, sweating and
squirming in obvious discomfort.
“what about this?” demanded
Schmid sharply. “J ust what do you
fellows know regarding the death
of John Mayfield?”
Vanderpoel managed a_ sneer.
“Aw, we only read about it in the
newspapers.”
“Yeah,” smirked Kenney. “We
was just crackin’ wise, that’s all.
We didn’t mean nothin’ by it.”
“who is Bobbie?” asked the sher-
iff, ignoring their feeble efforts to
ward off suspicion.
Both prisoners shrugged. “I dun-
no,” said Vanderpoel. “Never heard
the name.”
“Must be somebody from outa
town,” added Kenney, unable to
control the terror rising in his eyes.
Schmid snorted. “You fellows are
CE FILES
going back to Dallas with me. 1
have an idea you’re not telling all
you know!”
Half an hour later, in the sher-
iff’s office, Vanderpoel and Kenney
still were maintaining their airs of
injured innocence.
“All right,” snapped the sheriff,
exasperated. ‘“We have other ways
to make you birds talk. We’re g0-
ing to take your pictures and spread
them all over the country. Maybe
somebody can tell us just who
you're tied up with.” ”
After the suspects had been mug-
ged by the police photographer,
Schmid distributed prints of their
pictures to his men.
“Concentrate on the Mayfield gas
stations,” he told the deputies.
“Show these to everyone in the vi-
cinity and see if anyone can iden-
tify them.”
Decker and Rowland, armed with
the prints, started their canvass
at the Oak Grove and North Has-
kell station, but the manager could
not recall having seen either of the
youths.
The deputies methodically visited
every house for two blocks around
the station on the chance that one
of the residents might have seen
the pair in that area. But they met
with no success.
Undaunted, Decker and Rowland
went from station to station, ex-
hibiting the photos. The answer
time after time was the same. None
of those questioned had seen Van-
derpoel and Kenney.
At last, at the Crystal Filling sta-
tion, at Lemmon and Maple Sts.,
they struck pay dirt. There the
manager instantly recognized the
pair from their pictures.
“why, I know those boys. Cliff
Kenney is a former roommate of
mine, He and I lived together for
six months once. He’s a good kid.
Say, I hope he isn’t ina jam! Why
are you looking for him?”
“Tell me,” demanded Decker,
ignoring the question, “when did
you last see him?”
“J guess it must have been a lit-
tle over a week ago,” replied the
manager cautiously. “He was stand-
ing across the street with Bob
Walker. They were there for quite
a while and I thought they were
waiting to meet somebody. But no
one showed up and they went
away.”
“Give me that name again,”
snapped Decker, pulling out his
notebook.
“You mean the fellow with Cliff?
His full name is Robert Ballard
Walker, and he lives in the 4000
block of Keating Street.”
The deputies raced for their car
and roared off for the Keating
Street address. There they found
Walker, a 26-year-old unemployed
radio service man, sprawled on a
couch, reading an. adventure mag-
azine. They noted with eager in-
31
—
terest that he had black hair, slick-
ed straight back—like the young
man the dairyman had reported
seeing in the car parked near
Mayfield’s sedan!
They questioned Walker sharply.
but he had an alibi.
“The night of the 23rd I was out
with two girls and my pal, Bob
Currie,” he declared, with bravado.
Something in the coldness of
Walker’s beadlike eyes aroused dis-
trust in the deputies. He must be
questioned further, they. decided,
but first they wanted to check his
story. With this in mind, they start-
ed back for the office.
Meanwhile, Sheriff Schmid had
received discouraging news. The
sheriff’s office at Austin had wired
him that the last of the three dis-
charged employees had been lo-
cated there and cleared of all pos-
sible connection with the case.
Deputies Ballard and Parker,
too, had returned from Forney
with a disappointing report. The
alibis of Herbert Vanderpoel and
Clifford Kenney had been confirm -
ed by several witnesses there.
“While two other deputies were
assigned to keep a 24-hour watch
on Walker’s house, Decker and
Rowland visited the homes of the
two girls Walker said he had been
with on the night of the murder.
One, a'blonde, was in her twen-
ties; the other, a pretty redhead,
was still in her teens.
“That’s right,” the blonde said
in response to a question. “We had
a double date with Bob and
Whitey.”
“who's Whitey?” demanded Row-
land.
“Bobbie Currie. We call him
Whitey on account of his platinum
blonde hair.”
“platinum blonde!” repeated
Decker, recalling suddenly that a
woman with such hair had been
seen in the car with Mayfield short-
ly before his death. But was it a
woman or a man? The possibility
was tantalizing.
“what time was this date?” ask-
ed Rowland.
“Just about 8 o'clock.” offered
the redhead. ‘““We drove to a tavern
and had some drinks around 8:30.
At about 9, we stopped at a service
station to have the battery
changed. From there, we went to
a drive-in and had some sand-
wiches and coffee. Then Bob and
Whitey drove us home. That was
at 11.”
Decker and Rowland left the
girls and set out at once to check
their story. One by one, they visit-
ed each place that the foursome
had made a stop on the night of
the crime. Witnesses corroborated
every point.
Sheriff Schmid decided to bring
Walker in to confront Clifford
Kenney.
Decker and Rowland went to
32
HUMAN DETECTIVE CASES
pick up Walker with one question to
be asked before he was taken to
the sheriff’s office. Decker shot it
at him by surprise:
“When did you last see Cliff Ken-
ney?”
Taken off guard, Walker glibly
replied: “About a month ago, I
guess.”
But led before Kenney, Walker
paled and his eyes darted from
side to side uneasily.
“Kenney,” said the sheriff, “the
manager of the Crystal gas sta-
tion told us that you and Walker
were hanging around there only
about a week ago. Is that right?”
“yes,” nodded the Forney boy.
“We were there.”
“What about that?” demanded
Schmid, whirling to confront Walk-
er. “You said you hadn’t seen Ken-
ney for a month.”
The dark-haired youth shifted in
his chair and avoided the sheriff’s
gaze, “Oh, I forgot. I did see Cliff
there.”
“Where were you on the 24th, the
day after the murder?” demanded
Schmid.
“whitey and I drove to Galves-
ton,” replied Walker, beads of sweat
now forming on his brow. “We went
to see a couple of gals there.”
The sheriff still was convinced
that the suspects knew far more
than he had been able to learn
from them. But without tangible
evidence, he was forced to let Walk-
er and the half-brothers from For-
ney go free. :
As the three left his office with
the warning to be available for fur-
ther questioning, Schmid turned to
his deputies. “We'll get something
on those birds yet,” he declared.
“Decker, you and Rowland drive
down to Galveston and see what
you can dig up on Walker and Cur-
rie there.”
The sheriff was forced to mark
time until their return on the fol-
lowing day.
“J think we've got something,”
reported Decker. “The young punks
visited a couple of girls there, all
right, and went out on a tear with
them. They threw a big party in
a motor court and wound up at a
roadhouse, where the girls wanted
to dance. But the boys refused, the
girls told us, because they were
too nervous. So the girls had to
dance with each other.”
Schmid frowned. “So the boys
had the jitters. Maybe that’s sig-
nificant, but how would it stand
up in court alongside their iron-
clad alibi? No, we'll have to do bet-
ter than that.”
“I have a_ suggestion,” put in
Rowland. “Let’s have another talk
with those girls who had dates
with Walker and Currie the night
cf the crime. Maybe their story
had been rehearsed. After all, they
seemed to be sure of just what
time they visited the tavern and
the drive-in stand.” ,
Once. more the deputies visited
the homes of the blonde and the
redhead, and this time, brought
them to the sheriff’s office.
Both girls were nervous. “Hon-
est,” wailed the blonde, verging on
hysteria, “we're telling the truth
about those boys. We really did
have dates with them, just like we
told you.”
“Take it easy,” said Schmid
gently. “We're not going to make
any charges against you—that is,
not yet. All we want to know is.
are you certain that Walker and
Currie picked you up exactly at
8 o'clock?”
The redhead’s eyes suddenly
widened. “Why, now that you men-
tion it, we didn’t meet the boys on
time. We were late, and it was
about 8:30 before we met them.
Maybe they were late, too. We
didn’t ask, and they didn’t say—"
“That’s all we want to know,”
snapped the sheriff. “Walker and
Currie now have a half-hour un-
accounted for between 8 and 8:30.
That would be time enough for
them to drive from the Oak Grove
and North Haskell station out to
Old Dallas Road and back to the
spot where they met you!”
Moving with lightning speed, the
sheriff’s men arrested Walker and
Currie at their homes, while other
deputies raced over to Forney and
brought back Vanderpoel and Ken-
ney.
It was now long after midnight
on December 31, 1939, eight days
after the murder. The four suspects
were led into the sheriff’s office,
where Schmid confronted them, his
face stern, his gray eyes piercing.
Walker, smoking a cigar, smirked
defiantly. But Currie, pale and
trembling, bit his lips anxiously.
The two half-brothers were morose
and downcast.
Schmid turned first to Vander-
poel and Kenney. “We know you
fellows weren’t in Dallas when
Mayfield was slain. But you're still
not in the clear, because you know
who killed him.”
The two were silent as Schmid
continued: “It’s entirely up to you
whether or not we charge you with
murder. If you want to play ball
with us, we will do our best to see
that you get a break.”
As the half-brothers pondered
his words, the sheriff faced Currie.
“You bought a car on November
23, Whitey. We’ve located the dealer
who sold it to you. It was a black
coupe with a canvas top. The deal-
er told us that you weren't en-
thusiastic about buying the ma-
chine because you weren’t working
at the time. But Walker, who was
with you, talked you into doing it.
Isn’t that so?”
Currie had covered his eyes with
ones
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TRE LITTLE boldface type box on the front page of his
evening paper informed Sheriff “Smoot” Schmid that but
one shopping day remained before Christmas and reminded
him that he had a date with his wife that night of December 23
to wind up their gift-buying. :
Then the call came through for the tall, bulking Dallas
‘County officer, known from coast to coast for his law enforce-
ment work, and Chief Deputy Bill Decker saw his boss frown
and heard his protest over the wire. “The guy has been gone
poy on hour, you say? Good heavens, what’s alarming about
that?” ~; 5
Decker settled back in his chair with a grin. Some wife,
most likely; maybe a newlywed getting her first taste of
hubby’s pausing for a quick one with the boys. Then he saw
Schmid clutch the phone a little tighter, and his voice changed.
-“John Mayfield, eh? Yeah, that makes things different. I’ll
send someone right out.”
Anybody else in the city of ‘Dallas, both the sheriff and his
deputy knew, could be an hour late for any meeting without
INSIDE DETECTIVE,
November, 1916.
JOHN MAYFIELD'S known punctu-
_qality brought on a prompt search
for the missing oilman. But when he
was found it was already: too late.
a
STANDING BEHIND the victim's
coupe. Deputy Bill Parker (left)
‘and Sheriff “Smoot” Schmid wondered
why $22 was left on Mayfield’s body.
~ WALKER, Robert B., white, electrocuted Texas (Dallas County) on April-19, 1940
any reason for alarm, but John Mayfield was a special case.
A successful filling station operator, he_-was known from one
boundary of the city to the other for his split-second punctuality
in all his actions.
He maintained a nightly program which never was altered.
On the stroke of 7 o’clock he left the dinner table at home
to make his round of collections at his seven service stations.
Exactly at 8 he reached the last, at McKinney Avenue and
Hall Street, and there “Bubbs” Nesmith and Rodney Moore
would be waiting with their big tank trucks to run out to the
oil fields for cargo. The boss would give them the money they
needed, and then sit smoking a cigar and talking business with
R. O. Smith, manager of the station, until precisely 8:10, and
ten minutes later his wife would hear his. coupe roll into
their driveway.
But this night, after waiting with growing anxiety until
five minutes past eight, Smith telephoned the Mayfield home.
He learned his employer had set out as usual upon his collection
rounds. Smith called John Linxwiler, who ran the station at 7
-
hy PAUL McCLUNG
DALLAS, TEX., OCTOBER 17, 1953
m A giant, nude madman prowls
in the moonlight. Tonight he may
be standing barefoot in your flower
bed, peering -in your window, or
crouched naked and waiting in your
bedroom closet. “It’s near the end of
the month. The moon is changing
and something horrible is happening i
in Dallas.
Twenty women have been as-
saulted in a year and a half. On the i
night of August 31, 1953, the giant
attacked a McKinney Avenue wom-
an in her own home, dragged her uy
to the brush in Reverchon Park,. . i
bludgeoned her with a lead pipe and
left her to die. She was one of the
lucky ones. She didn’t die.
Panic followed the series of at-
tacks. Husbands and fathers
bought new guns and loaded old ones.
Guns couldn’t stop madness. It was
bound to happen again. In the sun-
light Dallas was clean as a new dime.
A Dallas girl values h ts as watchdogs. The animal shelter In the moonlight the city Rene tee
v er ate ° .
reported iy diseana for dons: People Sneed | them big and vicious. - ten ” cancer, fearing the unknown,
fearing death.
Almost a month passed after the
attack in Reverchon Park. Prowler
calls kept the police busy. Then it
was the last week in September and
the moon was changing again. Police
answered 55 prowler calls between
10:30 p.m. Monday, September 28,
and 6 a.m. Tuesday.
ia Doug Hord lives on Route 6, out-
side Dallas. A country man learns
In one year, fgeey : to investigate when his dogs bark.
They woke Hord up with frantic
barking. He ran to the front door,
and saw a big man clad only in blue
jeans running from his yard. The
man ran across the field, jumped
women have been assaulted
and one murdered. The into a cream-colored sedan and sped
: away.
2 As the night wore on it looked like
terrorist may be the phantom was getting closer to
what he was after. Mrs. R. T.
Griffin was on duty as night nurse at
one man or many, and is Bradford hospital, adjoining Rever-
chon Park in North Dallas, the park
: where the nudist had raped and
° SN oy. ‘bludgeoned the woman a month be-
still loose, wauting fore. At 4:15 aM., Tuesday, she |
glanced out the hospital door. A big |
d tood on th h stari
for the next full moon nude man stood on the porch staring
continued on next page
p to buy guns.
43
Tommie Lee, black, elec. TX (Dallas) May 12, 1956
DALLAS, TEXAS:
TERROR
FEEDS
ON
MOONLIGHT
coe ee
Beanie Parker was not afraid
to wait at lonely bus stop.
DALLAS, TEXAS:
TERROR FEEDS ON
MOONLIGHT
continued
at her. She screamed. He ran. An-
other scream pierced the hospital quiet.
Someone else saw him running through
the back yard. A third hospital em-
ploye saw him come back to the side
of the building, hesitate a moment,
break into a gallop through the park.
Sixteen squad cars swarmed to the
hospital. Police threw a net around
the building and park. But the man
slipped out and got away.
The next day, Wednesday, Police
Chief Carl Hannson assigned eight
extra squads to patrol the streets. The
Rod Benders Club, Chance-Vought
workers, driving late model, high-
powered automobiles, offered to furn-
ish: vehicles and drivers to help the
police patrol.
People were skittish.’ Wednesday
was the last day of the month. They
wondered if the month would end
without another strike by the prowler.
The girls at Worthington’s five-cent-
to-a-dollar store in the Walnut Hill
shopping district talked about the scare
at lunch that. day.
One girl said, “Now Beanie, she’s
- one girl’ I don’t think is scared at all.
Beanie isn’t afraid of anything.”
Beanie was the smiling 29-year-old
blonde behind the toy ‘counter. Her
real name was Mrs. H. C. Parker. Her
husband had tuberculosis. He’d had
to quit his job with the Texas Miller
Hat corporation two years ago ‘and
was a patient in a Dallas hospital.
Beanie had worked more than a year in
the dime store.
“BEANIE doesn’t mind the night
work at all,” the girl said. “She
says, working noon to nine gives her
time to do her housework in the morn-
ing.” Beanie’s mother, who lived over
on Wylie Street, kept Beanie’s four-
year-old son during the daytime: Beanie
always picked him up as soon as she
got off work. A fellow employe usu-
ally gave her a ride in her automobile.
“T get off early tonight,” the woman
said to Beanie. “But I’ll wait if you
want me to.”
“It’s okay,” Beanie said. “It’s only
a few blocks, but I’m tired and I’ll take
the bus.”
Mrs. Parker quit work at 9 p.m. on
Wednesday, September 30.. She put
her hat on; one of those small half-
moon shaped hats that fit on the back
of the head. She picked up her purse
and walked to the bus stop.
She could have walked the few
blocks to her mother’s home, but her
feet were tired from standing behind
the toy and drug counter all day, and
she decided to take the bus. The
shuttle bus quits running to the Wal-
nut Hill shopping center at seven, so
she had to-cross the dark bridge over
Northwest Highway to get to the bus
stop at Lemmon and Shore Crest.
She got over the bridge and walked
under the big shadowy trees near Bach-
man Lake. The bus stop was a dark
place, heavy tree branches overhead.
A little bridge squatted over Bach-:
man Lake a few yards away. There
was only one street light nearby, at
Love Field municipal airport’s north-
east corner; no sound except wind
whining in the trees, airplanes over
at the field droning to New York and
Paris and romantic places, and already
sounding far away.
Beanie Parker stood in the darkness
waiting for her bus and thinking in
a few minutes she’d kiss her little boy
and they’d go home together to the
half of the little yellow frame duplex
on Lipshitz Street near the southwest
rim of Love Field, where they lived.
The boy’s tricycle was on the front
porch. When they walked up on the
porch he’d pat it like it was a live
animal he liked and want to ride it
through the front door. But tricycle
riding inside the house Beanie would
not permit. She thought of her hus-
band. On her day off she’d visit him.
He’d lost a lot of weight but was gain-
ing it back slowly.
For a minute or two Beanie was
standing at the bus stop thinking these
things and also that her feet ached
tonight—Wednesday was always a big
day—and listening to the planes tear
off the nearby landing field and drone
away.
At 9:10 p.m., exactly ten minutes
after Beanie Parker had left her job
at the store, an airline employe drove
his automobile past the bus stop.
He saw the woman stagger to the
pavement and crumple. He braked his
car. She was stripped of most cloth-
ing, torn, bleeding, cut to pieces.
“T’ve been stabbed,” she gasped. The
man put her in his car and sped
to the Love Field terminal and phoned
police. Patrolmen W. M. McGee and
J. W. Gallagher got there in time to
hold her in their arms and hear her
sob, “A Negro took me under the
bridge and slashed my throat. My name
is Mrs. H. C. Parker. I live at 9009
Lip—” She was unconscious before
she could finish the address. A few
blocks before the ambulance reached
the hospital, Beanie Parker died.
Homicide Captain Will Fritz took
searchlights to the dark little bridge.
A trail of blood told what happened to
Beanie at the bus stop. While she
waited for the bus, her attacker, who
had probably been hiding in the bushes,
grabbed her, dragged her into the wil-
low thicket in Bachman Creek Bot--
tom. There Fritz found her eyeglasses
where her head must have been, and
her torn clothing. Her white purse
was several yards away, the wallet and
coin purse stolen.
The attacker had dragged her down
the embankment to the willows, slashed
and assaulted her, rummaged through
her purse and tossed it to the ground
as he walked off. The autopsy later
would show she had been raped and
that her jugular vein had been sev-
ered. Fritz studied the bloody trail
leading up the embankment to the
highw
self u
the |
clue
have }
He
and h
shook
smile
for s
can't
pen ti
Bef
arrest:
ers.
like |
longer
Womer
e boy
o the
luplex
hwest
lived.
front
yn the
a live
ide it
ricycle
would
r hus-
t him.
3 gain-
e was
z these
ached
s a big
»s tear
drone
unutes
er job
drove
to the
ked his
cloth-
‘d. The
d sped
phoned
ee and
ime to
ear her
ler the
y name
it 9OO9
before
A few
reached
tz took
bridge.
vened to
rile she
er, who
bushes,
the wil-
ek Bot-:
eglasses
‘en, and
e purse
illet and
er down
slashed
through
ground
sy later
ved and
en S€v-
dy trail
to the
highway. “If she hadn’t. dragged her-
self up out of that creek bed and onto
the highway we wouldn’t have had a
clue,” he muttered. ‘“We might not
have known of the crime for days.”
He questioned her fellow employes
and her employer. The store manager
shook his head. “She always had a
smile for everybody and that’s hard:
. for somebody at the toy counter. I
can’t understand why it had to hap-
pen to such a decent girl.”
Before morning Fritz and his men
arrested a score of known sex offend-
ers. News of the rape-murder spread
like prairie fire. Women were no
longer safe in Dallas. Men bought
guns. and. ammunition, door locks and
watch dogs. Citizens demanded more
streetlights and bus service for the
Walnut Hill shopping district: = |
Harold Star, SPCA president, said
people were asking for dégs at the ani-
mal shelter. and that. there. weren’t
enough dogs to go around. : “They all
want big, mean, vicious dogs...” A
kennel operator said she had nothing :
for sale but puppies: “These people —
don’t want puppies. I keep three grown
boxers in the house with me and I
wouldn’t part with any of them.”
Mobs lined up. to> buy. guns. © “It
looks like open warfare for sure,” one
dealer said. A woman standing in’
Ms
line blurted, -‘I learned to shoot when
I was a child. I think it’s going to
take a citizen to kill him. I don’t
think the police will ever do it.”
Chief Hannson said, “It is still a
violation to carry pistols. We are not
urging people to go armed, and not
granting permission. Be sure if you
‘do fire, that it is only at someone
known to have murdered, raped, bur-
glarized or robbed, and_ who is fleeing
from the scene of a crime.”
The consérvative Dallas Morning
News wrote, ‘Women live in fear. Men
feel helpless to protect them within the
‘law .... Police investigation is ser-
iously. (Continued on page 64)
ues Scene at the Jall---Specch by: Ward on the
“MDNDAY, avaust 21, 1882. re
Mexican. Curiosities
the colored map,: Charles Ward, was: executed |
‘Tee, Chests, - oe “pea, Sf 6 00...
oe TS
4 ee 00.
1 GALLON ‘STON E J ARS,
Leu eee.
| Wash Machines - ao §$ He ;
“Fy Mie
Hammocks, + oe ge 00
Mason’ 5 Porelain-Lined iepoved
oe “Gusts: at. ‘1. ap ae ‘Dovén, at ef
one: “half: Balen Bee doz... fed BQ. 00.
{gis HAR
| City Items.
At. Gallagher's Saloon.
ae oe a stoic, cynic, ‘and an. oo
“aap ed ey cried over Gallagher’s bill of
~ | fare, ‘and ig
a tela
- seeking s some: object: ove
ee fk galbategieamiah
departed,
After. participating they
eir newly,
which their pew!
rian ei ieel FOF ii
| EXECUTION OF WARD, THE RAPIST.
_| rape, committed: upon the: “person of” Dora
Wear 00%" “| Ellermann. »
| “citadel of vice,”
| cage he came to the gallows,
ed at the far end of ‘the jail. .
was a .very solid
| miserable. work,
‘igyaatt yourself-in-his-place-kind-of- a way. Profiting:
é ‘| py this example, other reporters and the pub-
lic crowded up the gallows, examined the rope
- {running noose.was -
| | gopkequeny arranged to allow. a <“drop’’ of
Jasto the working of the trap, and
’ thigh
| crutch. He was attired in black-alpacca coat,
| stated that he had previous. intercourse with
the’. prosecutrix E
the consenting party. All she
‘ranged to meet her on the:
creek,
ella entitled: MCGALLAGHER’ s|
‘not come on the previous ni
Q
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LBRO ARATE
vifeattolsl- A apeedy, ‘Death.
mentee te
“This morning, the. anniversary of the crime,
| within the precincts of the county: jail, fora
‘On arrival at the j jail eure * entered: the
Passing
| pied:
which ‘were erect-
“The. ‘$tructure
and convenient ‘one for its.
“the rope,
ing ‘ina put-
e front. and examin:
sprang to t
r the whole.
apparently taking in
The. knot upon: the
and its arrangement.
and was
unusually large,:
about five feet. Experiments were then made
found to be decidedly satisfactory.
Then the prisoner Ward was brought ‘up.
He was a mulatto of good appearance, aged
| 35 years, and has only one leg, one having
been Aa bee near the lower part of the.
e was therefore supported by a
white waistcoat and black trowsers..
“Availing himself of Sheriff McCall’s invita-
tion to‘address the crowd, Ward'made a long
and rambling speech, and he was ‘evidently
| somewhat uhder the influence of liquor. Le
llerman, in which she was
cared was that.
there should be no: exposure. He: had. ar-
‘Saturday. night,
and he met her on’ the Sunday,neart the Alazan
‘when she’ was quite” friendly.
She then explained’ ‘that. the: ‘reason: she did
hr becaise she had
cal’
by: the cell-occu- |
by Ben: ‘Thompson and” ‘around. the big |
and. the whole. ‘arrangement |
“las humane as. “such. a thing could possibly. be.
“fT The first person to appear upon the scaffold
was the irrepressible: Charley Seabaugh, who
this» was
Deen to Jonas dens ant Stayed’ with a.
i ttiend ss") Het en 1 pave bh her: WOES itsnandeshest
Soren ara
City Ltems.
At Gallagher’s Saloon.
Recently a stoic, cynic and an_ epicure
' laughed till they cried over Gallagher’s bill of
’ fare, and a ballad entitled ‘“‘GALLAGHER’S
Wuisky.” After participating they departed,
seeking some object over which their newly
acquired felicity might expend itself. Fur-
ther particulars at Gallagher’s, opposite I. &
G. N. depot. 8-12-tf
ee
Jonas’s Garden.
Jonas’s garden was ‘:ronged at an early
hour yesterday afterneca, and was at night
the scene of mirth and geiety. Dancing was
indulged until morning cad enjoyed »y nearly
alljresent. The crowd was ‘Target than any |
seen there for some time and was quite or-
derly. Though liquid refreshments were in
good demand po':ceman Feris and his assis-
tant were not once called to preserve the
peace.
Sar Ped ro Springs
is vastly becoming the Mecca of the ‘‘Can’t
Get Aws» Club,’’ like the ‘‘Spanish Fort’’ at
New iJyieans, for 2il our pleasure-seeking
peopie.
to be seen there yesterday, and at one time
the street cars were entirely inadequate to
carry the large crowds going out-andin. The
bear attracted considerable ati#*.on, and one
young lady, (pretty, too), seemingly just out
of her teens, was heard to remark that she
would like to have him (bruin) for a pet, for
he would hug close.
Furniture
Of all kinds for sale, parlor and chamber sets,
arpets, etc., Villita street, No. 210. 3t.
oe St. Mary’s Church,
Yesterday, was crowded with congregationists
and strangers, to listen to the excellent sing-
Mrs.
ing of that standard, first-class choir.
Katzenberger sang, in her usual artistic man-
ner, a beautiful ‘‘Ave Maria,’’ for offertory.
Mr. T. Schallert, from St. Louis, sang with a
clear, pathetic baritone voice, the ‘‘et vivifi-
cantem.”” The ‘Agnus Dei’’ solo was also
excellently rendered by Miss Carrie Nelson.
Some fine voluntaries were played on the
organ by the organist, Prof. Katzenberger.
ee ener ah nae aan oi i no erate aS
The Republican Delegates oni Alternates,
to the state convention are requested to meet
at Turner hall to-night at 9 o’clock. The fol-.
-lowing is the list of names:
~ G, H. Noonan, Gus. Duerler, W. H. Hus-
ton, A. Belknap, Wm. Hoefling, A. J. Evans,
: ; A. Siemering, as. Davis,. Geo, Paschal, L. C.
A very Iai;,: number of visitors were
4 poor house or in the potter’s field.
fthe prosecutrix kerma: on which she was
i he consenting party. A. she cared was that
, here should.be no exposure. Tle had ar-
}ranged to meet her on the Saturday night,
and he met her on the Sunday,near the Alazan
creek, when she was quite friendly.
She then explained that ithe reason she did
not come on the previous » ht because she had
been to Jonas’ gardens ar! had stayed with a
triend. Tie then gave her two bits and she
bought some horse raddis’: of a woman with
full breasts who sells fruit on the plaza, and
for this he was now going to be assassinated
before them. He had been thirty-one years
on the world and had never done anything to
'ye punished for or to be sent to the neniten-
tiary. He thought it wa. card to die in that
_way, but he deserved t) punishment. He
pointed to his leg and sai he came ineie in
‘66, when judges and sheriffs dare not show
themselves. He had ser J intthe army and
in the navy and did good «rvice. He argued
against the sentence, a. erted that he was
lirst charged with «an attempt, and
that no surgeon had examined either party or
was called to prove the offense. He was,he said,
35 years of age, and was born in Alabama of
4 mother who has had seven children (here
several dogs commenced howling.) After cer-
‘ain incoherent remarks he thanked Sheriff
McCall for his kindness to him, At this point
there was signs of impatience when Ward said:
‘Are youina hurry,” and then closed his
speech, trusting that all ere satisfied, and
wishing the Lord might bicss them and bring
them good luck and luxuries.
Mr. Davis, a colored man, asked him to ex-
plain what he meant by deserving punishment.
Ward said thatas he had no witnesses to
prove the previous tranactions with the pcre.
secutrix he deserved the punishment.
The prisoner was then conducted to the
centre of the scaffold and the rope was adjusted.
Deputy Sheriff Penalosa read the warrant anc
the slack cap was drawn over the culmzic's
face. He then called ‘‘good-bye to you all,’
and several prisoners shouted back ‘good-
bye.” At 12:21 the trap was sprung and the
body fell with a deep thud Drs. Adolpt
Herff, Watts, Bennett, R. L. Graves anc
Menger were present, and at 12:26 the doc
tors pronounced life to be extinct. The body
was allowed to hang for twenty-five minutes
when it was cut down aad placed in a com
mon wood shell. The rope was then remove
from the neck and the black cap drawn off hi:
face. The appearance of the face was such a:
indicated a quick and comparatively painles;
death, the only main alteration being the dis-
coloration incidental to hanging. The. body
was then borne from the jail by colorec
friends, who will bury it this evening at the
se ee ee a an nanan Sema eet
(Ward,
: oe ¢ eas
(Ab @ Wu, Nelary /F60
bey Cha PFN A4~W_
A ET ORE SD a
MARTINSBURG TOWNSHIP.
The surface of this township is generally rolling, and beantifully
timbered. From the eminence of some of the knolls in the north-
ern part SS and magnificent view meets the eye from every
quarter, For miles either way during the growing season the eye
beholde verdant fields dotted over with fine farm residences, school-
houses, etc. Before the hand of man had subdued these lands, and
when the prairies and woodlands were in their virgin state, the
scehiery from these eminences must have been supremely charming.
With'its green, flowery carpet, its undulating surface, skirted by
beautiful and refreshing groves that more definitely mark the
boundaries, it must have presented to the eye of the lone traveler
or new settler a scene most beautiful and sublimely grand. No
doubt Fisher Petty, the first settler of the township, was attracted
by the beauty of its scenery, the fine timber, and the high, rolling
Jand and running water. These were important things to be con-
sidered by the pioneer in making a selection for a home. When
Messrs. Petty and Nicholson came here to look up a location, this
land had not yet been offered for sale by Government. They were
the very advance of the on-coming westward flight of civilization.
Mr. Petty came in 1825 and located on sec. 15. As years passed,
the groves received the in-coming settlers until about 1850, when
all the timbered farms were being worked. About that time some
of the more enterprising pushed out upon the: prairies. It is not
now remeinbered who was the first to be so adventurous.
Others of the early pilgrims to this locality were Joseph and
Robert Goodin, Wm. Binns, Isaac Hoskins, Wim. Butler and Rob-
Les 4 q ert Richardson, most of whom were well-known in the early history
o. i; of the county. Among the older settlers now living are Ira Bris-
a 4 coe, Moses Conner, Mr. McClintock and others.
t 7 The first children born in the township were Wm. Ward and <——
q Nancy Shinn. The former went to Texas, where he met hie death
4 ; by hanging, in 1862, He was a loyal Union man, and becanse he
j would not join the rebel army, was hanged by a band of outlaws.
d The first marriage was that of George Williams to Miss Nancy
q ; Nicholson, Rev. David Hubbard officiating. The first preaching
a was done by elder John Garrison, of the Christian denomination,
‘a ; and the first sermon was at the house of Robert Goodin. ‘
. . 41 )
4
4 .
FAMILY GROUP NO.
Husband's Full Name Un Miam Ww, LARD
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——_—_—
VUONG, Hai Hai, Vietnamese, injection (Jefferson Co.), December 7, 1995.
“Texas Puts To Death Ist Asian Executed in U. S. in 19 Years.
“Huntsville.- Vietnamese-born Hai Hai Vuong was executed Thursday for a double killing
exactly nine years ago, becoming the first Asian put to death in the United States since the present
era of capital punishment began almost two decades ago.
“Mr. Vuong, 40, strapped to the death chamber gurney with five tan leather belts, grinned
and smiled at three women from Houston who attend a Vietnamese chirch, befriended him several
years ago and witnessed the lethal injection. Together, they prayed and sant. “I hope whoever
hears my voice tonight will turn to the Lord,’ Mr. Vuong said. ‘I give my spirit back to him.’
Eight minutes later, after gasping and coughing one, he was pronounced dead at 6:22 p.m...No
final appeals were filed for Mr. Vuong, said his attorney, Gary Winters.
“Mur Vuong, who arrived in this country alone in 1979 and worked as a shrimper, was
convicted of fatally shooting two men at a Port Arthur cafe and pool hall in a Dcember 7, 1986,
shooting spree that also wounded five other people. Witnesses testified that Mr. Vuong and a
companion, Thien Huu Nguyen, both armed, walked into the Tam Game Room and that Mr.
Vuong opened fire with a .223-caliber semiautomatic rifle. Killed were Hien Quang Tran, 16, and
Tien Van Nguyen, 27, both of Port Arthur, about 85 miles east of Houston. At various times, he
described the shootings as accidental, in self-defense or the result of a runaway gun. He was
arrested in California seven moths after the shooting. Mr. Nguyen pleaded guilty to murder and is
serving two 40-year prison terms.”-\/orning News, Dallas, TX, 12/8/1995.
First Asian Executed In U.S.
AP 8 Dec 95 3:55 EST V0178
Copyright 1995 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
The information contained in this news report may not be published,
broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority
of the Associated Press.
First Asian Executed In U.S.
HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) -- Grinning broadly and accompanied by
Singing from three women who befriended him, a Vietnamese man became
the first Asian executed in the United States since the present era of
capital punishment began almost two decades ago. .
Hai Hai Vuong, 40, was executed Thursday night for killing two
people in a pool hall nine years ago.
"I hope whoever hears my voice tonight will turn to the Lord," Vuong
caid moments befere he was given the injection. "I give my spirit back
to him. Praise the Lord. Hallelujah."
The women, from a Houston church, sang hymns in the witness room a
tew feet away.
Vuong’s execution was the second in Texas in 24 hours and the
nation’s fifth this week. Florida had two evecutions and Missouri had
one.
Witnesses at Vuong’s trial testified that he and Thien Huu Nguyen
walked into the Tam Game Room in Port Arthur, about 85 miles east of
Houston, on Dec. 7, 1986, and opened fire with a semiautomatic rifle.
Two people were killed and five others wounded.
Vuong claimed the shooting was in response to gang threats but later
said none of his victims was a gang member. At various times, he
described the shooting as accidental or self-defense.
Vuong, who worked as a shrimper after he arrived in the United
States in 1979, was arrested in California seven months after the
shootings.
His accomplice pleaded guilty to murder and is serving two 40-year
prison terms.
The U.S. Supreme Court allowed the death penalty to resume in 1976.
lst Asian Executed In Decades
AP 7 Dec 95 19:44 EST V0945
Copyright 1995 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
The information contained in this news report may not be published,
broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority
of the Associated Press.
lst Asian Executed In Decades
HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) -- A Vietnamese man who killed two people in
a pool hall became the first Asian executed in the United States since
the present era of capital punishment began almost two decades ago.
Hai Hai Vuong, 40, received a lethal injection exactly nine years
after his shooting spree that killed two men and wounded five other
people.
He was the second condemned killer executgd in Texas within 24 hours
and the fn f+ by an tha natinn +hine rraal Florida han Huta avannitinne and
Aer ee nd eae ee oe ae oe ee ed +s ee
Missouri one earlier in the week.
Witnesses testified two men walked into the Tam Game Room in Port
Arthur, about 85 miles east of Houston. As one man guarded the door
with a handgun, Vuong methodically moved around and shot people with
hig _223-caliher semiautomatic rifle.
Vuong claimed the shooting was in response to gang threats but later
acknowledged that none of his victims were gang members. At various
times, he described the shootings as accidental, self-detense or the
result of a runaway gun.
"I would like to tell the parents and family of the killed people I
am very sorry," he said at his trial. "I know it’s my guilt."
Vuong was arrested in California seven months after the shootings.
Most witnesses in the case, including Vuong -- who arrived in this
country in 1979 and worked as a shrimper -- spoke little English and
testified through interpreters.
His accomplice, Thien Huu Nguyen, pleaded guilty to murder and is
serving two 40-year prison terms.
Figures kept by the New York based NAACP Legal Defense & Educatiscn
Fund showed 23 Asians among the 3,028 inmates on death rows around the
nation as of Aug. 31. No Asians were among killers executed since the
U.S. Supreme Court in 1976 allowed capital punishment to resume.
On Wednesday, Texas officials gave a lethal injection to Bernard
Amos, convicted of the 1988 shooting death of Dallas police Officer
wee een
James Joe. Amos’ execution was the 16th this year in Texas, the
country’s most active capital punishment state.
VUONG, Hai Hai. or: ,
AN al Ha Oriental aay a nik as ap .
4, Uriental, LI TXsP (Jefferson) December
"Teas puis to death 1at Asian
executed in U.S. in 19 years:
“Associated Press
HUNTSVILLE, Texas — Vietnam- -
‘ese-born Hai Hai Vuong was execut-
ed Thursday for a double killing
exactly nine years ago, becoming
the first Asian put to death in the
United States
since the pre-
sent era of capl-
tal punishment
began almost
two decades ago.
Mr. Vuong,
40, strapped to |<
the death cham- |}:
ber gurney with |_._S5s
five tan leather Hai Hal Vuong —
belts, grinned and smiled at three
women from Houston who attend a
‘Vietnamese church, befriended
him several years ago and wit-
‘nessed the lethal injection. Togeth-
‘er, they prayed and sang.
| i“ hope whoever hears my voice
‘tonight will turn to the Lord,” Mr.
Vuong said. “I give my spirit back to
‘ him.”
' Eight minutes later, after gasp-
"ing and coughing once, he was pro-
) nounced dead at 6:22 p.m. .
Mr. Vuong was the second con-
demned killer executed in Texas
within 24 hours. No final-day ap-
peals were filed for Mr. Vuong, said |
his attorney, Gary Winters.
Mr. Vuong, who arrived in this
country alone in 1979 and worked:
as a shrimper, was convicted of fa-
tally shooting two men at a Port:
’ Arthur cafe and pool hall in a Dec. |
7, 1986, shooting spree that also
wounded five other people. - a
Witnesses testified that Mr.:
| Vuong and a companion, Thien Huu
Nguyen, both. armed, walked into
the Tam Game Room and that Mr. .
Vuong opened fire with a .223-cali-~
ber semiautomatic rifle. Killed
were Hien Quang Tran, 16, and Tien
Van Nguyen, 27, both of Port Ar-.
thur, about 85 miles east of Houston.
At various times, he described
the shootings as accidental, in self-
defense or the result of a runaway
gun. He was arrested in California
geven months after the shootings.
Mr. Nguyen pleaded guilty to
murder and is serving two 40-year
prison terms. . .
DALLAS MORNING news
FRIOAYy, DEC. B 995
7, 1995
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his left hand in his pocket.” He
sneered at Favorito across the court-
room. “I give you, therefore, your
left-handed murderer!” os q
Favorito was =e guilty of first-
degree murder. je or. turning
State's evidence, “got ii with fifteen
years’ imprisonment. Crum was freed.
Then fate, after dealing John Fa-
vorito the death card, dealt him a
grim joker. The thug who had killed
Lindbergh’s friend was given a cell
in the Trenton death house next to
Bruno Richard Hauptmann, slayer
of the Lindbergh baby. Strangely,
they ignored each other.
Favorito met his death in the elec-
tric chair on October 15, 1935.
Eprror’s Nore: The name “George
Palmer” is fictitious in order to protect
from embarrassment a person in no
way involved with the crime.
*
t
GRAVE
IN WOODS
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 21
the Houston police.
“I have just read the morning
papers with their accounts of the dis-
covery of one Henry Ottersky’s body,”
he said. “A suitcase was delivered to
me yesterday. It had come by parcel
post. In spite of the fact that I could
not imagine why it should have.been
sent to me, I very naturally opened it.
I found that it contained Papers and
personal effects purporting to belon
to Henry Ottersky. I had never hear
of Ottersky and could not imagine
why his ae oy should have been
sent to me. Now I know this man has
been murdered, I am more bewildered
than ever. Of course, I’ll run over to
Houston and bring the suitcase with
me.” .
QX TUESDAY morning the city
morgue was jammed by curiosity
seekers. Among the crowd was Mon-
roe Fox, an ex-army officer who had
recently opened a garage at 5032
Washington Avenue. After one glance
at the corpse he said,to the nearest
police attendant:
“I saw that man a little after mid-
day on Saturday last. He drove up
to my garage in a Ford car with a
companion, I serviced them with oil
and gas. Both of them were in a
happy mood, obviously from drinking.
They said they had a case of beer,
and that they wanted to find a quiet
spot in which to consume it. Laugh-
ing, I suggested that they drive along
Washington Avenue, through Camp
Logan, to the pine woods beyond,
where they could drink, yodel, or do
what they pleased without disturb-
iny anybody.
“There was some little discussion
as to who should pay for the oil and
gas. I remember that Ottersky re-
.marked jocularly to his companion:
‘This is on me, you poor fish.- You
only have about five dollars, while
I have a wad.’
“Ottersky produced a large roll of
bills from his pocket and paid for the
service. They were talkative and
seemed to be in no hurry to shove off.
I overheard some of their conversa-
tion, from which I gathered that
Ottersky and his companion were
salesmen for the same company, and
that Ottersky had made a detour in
order to see his pal. This was in
connection with getting a job for
someone to whom they referred as
‘Max.’
“Rather late in the evening the
same car passed my garage going
toward Houston. Ottersky’s previous
companion was driving, but he now
had two strange men as Passengers.
One was in civilian clothes and the
other in army uniform. That’s all
I can tell you.”
As a result of this tip Camp Logan
became a focus of investigation. It
was still full of soldiers who had not
yet been demobilized, Hearty co-
Operation was given the police, and
the two men who had been seen as
passengers in the mystery car by Fox
were soon identified. They were Wil-
liam F. Court and J. L. Horn, the
former a_ civilian employee of the
remount station, and the latter a non-
commissioned officer.
Court was interviewed. His state- :
ment was to the effect that he and
Horn had obtained leave to be absent
from their cantonments. While they
were on the highway, having some-
what glumly decided that they would
have to slog the whole distance on
foot, a car came along, headed toward
Houston. They hailed it. The driver
cheerfully agreed to give them a lift.
He was in a very jovial mood, which’.
they found comprehensible since he
exuded an aura of corn whisky. In
fact, they had hardly taken’ their
seats in the car when he produced the
remains of a quart, which he insisted
that they imbibe. He bragged that
he had enough money in his pockets
to buy all the liquor in Texas, due
to the fact that he had just skinned
aman out of his roll.
Court and Horn had left him in
Houston. Their description of the
man was vague. All they remembered
was that he was a middle-aged man .
with dark hair, who would have stood
about five foot nine. That was the
sum total of their information. \
GPECIAL Investigator George An-
drew decided not to wait for the
arrival of Captain Henry with the
grip. He paid a visit to the scene of
the crime and did some sleuthin
in the neighborhood, but uncovere
no additional leads. Returning to
headquarters at Houston, he found
that during his absence Captain
Henry had run over from Galveston,
had left the mysterious suitcase and
departed. Officers were examining the
contents. They expressed bewilder-
ment as to how it had ever got into
the possession of Dave Henry.
The bag contained a toilet set mono-
grammed with the letters “H, ©”,
a pistol-holster and belt but no gun,
and a vest which matched the gray
coat and trousers found in the grave.
There was also evidence which indi-
cated the firm by which Ottersky had
been employed, in the form of pads
of order blanks and sundry contract
sheets issued by the Southern Re-
frigerator “and Scales Company, of
San Antonio. Attached to the handle
of the suitcase was a tag bearing the
name of the sender, “H. L. Walker,
Houston, Texas.” It seemed rather
extraordinary that the postal authori-
ties should have accepted a package
for shipment without the street ad-
dress of the sender and which was
marked merely, “Dave Henry, Gal-
veston, Texas.” But the fact remained
that it had been accepted and de-
livered to the person whom it ap-
parently had been intended to reach.
The next step was a search of the
city directory. There wére numerous
Walkers listed, but none with the
initials H. L. Telephone calls were
made to some, in an effort to dis-
cover whether there was a Walker
among their relatives with the right
initials. This proved to be fruitless,
In the meantime Andrew had
phoned long distance to San Antonio.
He spoke to Mrs. M. Morris, the wife
and office assistant of the manager of
the Southern Refrigerator and Scales
Company.
“T have been expecting a call,”
she said, “and if I hadn't received
one I'd certainly have phoned the
Houston police. ‘I’m stunned by the
news in the papers from your city,
which were laid on my desk only a
few minutes ago. My husband and
I can hardly believe that Henry Ot-
tersky has been murdered.”
“What do you know about Otter-
sky?” asked Andrew.
“Why, he was our star salesman.
He had many friends in the territory
which he covered, and no one, to our
knowledge, wished him the slightest
harm. We last heard of him from
Wharton, Texas, last Friday. He tele-
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Our leaders have told us that
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If we do that, we'll have the
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K eeya backing. em ua
with War fonds
CRIME
_ CONFESSIONS
This is an official U. S, Treasury advertisement—
Prepared under auspices of Treasury Department
and War Advertising Council
ounty Detective William Slack.
alted at the spot which had re-
irred to him during the course of
ie day.
Reaching the mound, he de-
ended and gave it a tentative kick.
iddenly he realized that it was not
erely ‘a pile raked together care-
ssly. The loose trash on top cov-
‘ed earth that had been tamped
»wn for about six feet.. He stood
thought for a minute, undecided
; to whether he would spend time
gging up what he was convinced
ould prove to be only another
eer’s hide. Looking around in that
oment of hesitation, he saw a felt
it under a nearby tree. ;
He crossed the little clearing with
ie intention of picking up the hat,
it stopped midway. Let the police
ok into this, he concluded. - He
imbed .back to the seat of his
agon and drove out of the woods.
t the county road which paralleled
ie railroad tracks, he marked the
itrance to the clearing. by a stick
aced on the edge of the highway.
His load of firewood having been
read out for’ drying, Driver went
' the house of his neighbor, William
lack. The latter was a detective
1 the Houston police force who
vent his days on duty in the city
id his nights on his little farm.
lack- arrived about~dusk, to, find
river:smoking on his front. porch.
“Hello, Bill,” said the visitor. “I
und something in the woods today
iat might be: suspicious. It’s a sort
’ grave. Probably a cattle thief’s
iche, but there’s a.man’s hat close
y. I thought I’d wait for you, and
e might go take a look.”
Slack agreed. They recruited a
xighbor, John. Williams. ‘Armed
ith spades and a flashlight, the
While off duty
: investigated a mysterious mound, and what
» found made him return to duty in a hurry.
three set out for the clearing, which
was easily located by means of
Driver’s landmark.
The spades made short work of
the packed earth. After some ten
minutes of digging, Slack exclaimed:
“T’ve struck something, and it’s no
hide. The shovel doesn’t slide off, as
it would from hair. Dig carefully,
boys.”
Another five minutes, and the pit
gave up its ghastly secret. Three
horrified faces looked down by the
light of the flash on the partly un-
‘covered head and shoulders of a
dead man.
“Lay off with the shovels,” Slack
ordered. “Charlie, you take the car
and go to the Eureka signal tower.
Call the desk sergeant at Houston
police headquarters. Ask him to get
in‘touch with George Andrew of the
District Attorney’s office and Leon
Lusk, Justice of the Peace. Tell them
to get an ambulance. They can all
come out together, and we’ll flag
them with a lantern. You can pick
one up at your house or mine, and
wait for them.”
N a little over an hour the am-
bulance arrived. The passengers
riding in it were Judge Lusk, Special
Investigator George Andrew and
two deputy sheriffs. ‘
After the exhuming of. the body
had been completed, the dead man
was laid on the ambulance stretcher
and a preliminary examination
made. In life, the-victim must have
stood about five foot eleven, and
weighed around 190 pounds. He'was
a distinct blond, with very light hair
and eyebrows. In his upper jaw
were five gold teeth. His chest was
perforated by four bullet holes, clean
Dixie Smith,
lawyers of the Southwest, he was
unable to save Ottersky’s slayer.
One of the leading
and sharply defined, indicating that
the shots had been fired from a short
distance, though not so close as to
leave powder marks on the clothing.
The body was clad in gray trousers
and a white shirt. The coat buried
with it showed no bullet holes. He
had evidently been shot while in
shirtsleeves. The coat bore the tag
of a San Antonio dealer. The
pockets of both coat and trousers
had been turned inside out, raising
the presumption of robbery; but the
murderer had overlooked, in his
hasty rifling, the small inner pocket
on the right-hand side of the coat.
In this was found a small check-
book, tightly folded and secured
with a rubber band, issued by a
bank in Corpus Christi, Texas.
Inside the checkbook was a sales
ticket from Munn’s Department
Store, Houston, for a purchase
amounting to $1.10. This was dated
April 16, the previous Saturday,
two days before the discovery of the
body. Stubs in the checkbook
showed that the last check drawn
had been in favor of a doctor in
Corpus Christi. The balance, me-
thodically brought down, was $400.
Driver now recollected the object
which had caused him to bring in
the police—the hat. He retrieved it
from the bottom of the tree under
which it had blown or been dropped.
The sweatband showed the name of
a Brownsville hatter, and a name
printed in ink, HENRY OTTERSKY.
Whether the hat belonged to the vic-
tim. or to the slayer could not be
determined for the moment.
By this time the newspapers had
learned of the discovery in the pine
woods. When the ambulance bear-
ing the body reached the highway,
in tee WOODS
Special Investigator Geo. Andrew,
above, pieced together small clues
to build up a damaging case.
it was met by cars full of reporters
from Houston. The bare findings
were stated by the police, and the
press cars sped back to town with
material for front-page headlines in
the morning. The ambulance fol-
lowed more soberly, and it was al-
most daylight before the corpse was
deposited in the city morgue, in care
of County Physician Ernest Wright.
That official, after making a care-
ful examination, handed down the
opinion that the murdered man was
about forty years of age; that he had
been dead less than three days; and
that the bullets which ended his life
had been fired probably from a posi-
tion directly above him, while he
was lying down. The fact that there
were no wounds on the arms con-
vinced Wright that the victim had
been taken completely by surprise.
Any one standing erect, at whom as
many as four shots were fired, the
doctor said, would instinctively raise
his arms in a self-protective gesture,
futile though it might be.
A detective telephoned the phy-
sician in Corpus Christi to whose
order the last check from the book
had been drawn. He identified the
dead man from the description given
him as having been one of his pa-
tients, Henry Ottersky by name.
However, he was unable to furnish
any personal details.
The next call was to the City Na-
tional Bank of Corpus Christi. The
cashier reported that Ottersky sel-
dom visited the bank in person, but
that his checks had come in from
towns all over the Lone Star State.
From this it was deduced that Ot-
tersky was a traveling salesman.
The suit clue in San Antonio and the
hat clue in Brownsville proved to
be worthless. The stores in question
could not recall the man to whom
they had sold the articles. Evidently
Ottersky had been just a casual cash
customer of theirs.
But during the afternoon a re-
sponse to the screaming newspaper
headlines was received from a most
unexpected quarter. Dave Henry, .
captain of detectives in Galveston,
phoned to (Continued on page 46)
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Suey More
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Fdiae
IASC ISS SCSo ote
CRIME CONFESSIONS
phoned in to say that he was going
to Houston over the week-end to see
his friend, H. L. Walker. We placed
Mr. Walker in charge of our Houston
territory on his’ recommendation.
Walker’s son, Max, has been men-
tioned to my husband as promising
material in the sales end of our busi-
ness. Mr. Ottersky had taken him on
several trips around the country, and
we've been waiting for his final word
before employing the young man.
Max lives in Houston—I can’t tell
you exactly where.” ,
AX WALKER’S address was listed
in the city directory as 1502
Hooker Street. Andrew and another
officer set off for the house, but found
no one at home. From: a next-door
neighbor it was learned that Max
had been a tenant of the cottage for
some time, and that his father had
been a frequent visitor. As they were
about to start back to Headquarters,
the officers noticed a slim, medium-
sized man opening the gate to the
cottage. They accosted him and in-
guinea if he knew either Max or H.
Walker.
“I am Hubert L. Walker,” he said.
“Were you a friend of Henry Otter-
sky?”
“Sure, a good friend. Henry got
me my job. I saw the account of his
death in today’s papers, and I’m hard
hit by it. I simply can’t understand
this terrible business.”
“When did you last see him?”
“On Saturday, the very day it hap-
pened. He had come over to’ see me
in connection with a job for my son
Max, and we drove around in my
car during the afternoon. I left him
at the Milby Hotel between 4:30 and
5 p.m. He had arrived in Houston
by train, having left his car at Whar-
ton-to be cleaned and greased. I don’t
know who he could have gone out
with after I left him.”
Walker was asked to go to the
morgue to yews f the body, and very
willingly agreed. Instead of the
morgue, he found himself in jail,
detained as a suspect. Actually, the
police were a little dubious of the
chance they were taking, for they
had no proof that Walker had Had
any connection with the crime. He
had answered the questions put to
‘him frankly and straightforwardly,
and to all appearances he was a law-
abiding citizen. Andrew took him in
on a hunch, bearing in mind the un-
explained circumstance of the suit-
case mailed to Galveston by one H.
L. Walker.
The officers. at the station house
conferred for a few minutes, while
Walker waited impassively. He was
then asked to step into a side room.
There the open suitcase was spread
before him with calculated sudden-
ness and a terse query: ‘
“What do you know about this?”
_ “It’s Henry’s grip,” exclaimed Walk-
er. “How on earth did you get hold
of it? I forwarded it to Galveston on
Saturday, at his request.”
“That’s interesting,” remarked An-
drew drily. “Why didn’t you mention
the suitcase when we were question-
ing you a while ago as to your con-
nection with Ottersky?”
“To teil you the truth, I didn’t even
think of it,” protested Walker. “My
mind was too occupied with the
— of Henry’s death. You now
orce me to tell you something I didn’t
care to mention. Henry Ottersky has
been a good friend to me, and I
wanted to avoid. besmirching his
memory. The plain fact of the matter
is, Henry was a dope addict. He was
pretty well noppee md when he came
to see me on turday, and one of
my reasons for taking him out for
a drive. was to cool him off. We had
a few drinks on the way, but he was
talking wildly.”
“What did he say?”
“I could hardly believe him at first,
but I finally came to the conclusion
that he was serious underneath. He
said he was sick and tired of selling
iceboxes and scales, and that he was
going to try his luck over the border in
exico. He told me he had closed his
bank account, and that he was going
back to Wharton to take his car out
of the garage. He didn’t seem quite
certain whether he would sell the
car in Wharton or attempt to get
rid of it on the border. He added that
he had a suitcase with him which he
couldn’t be bothered to carry_around.
At last he made up his mind to drive
to Galveston, sell the car there for
whatever he could get, and catch a
boat to Tampico. He asked me to mail
the suitcase to General Delivery, Gal-
veston, under ‘a fictitious name. We
picked on ‘Dave Henry’ as a simple
combination, seeing his first name
was Henry.”
“But you didn’t mark the suitcase
‘General Delivery,’ and it was de-
livered"to some one else,” said An-
drew. ‘ ; :
Walker raised his eyebrows and
answered coolly: “That was careless
of me. It would have been easy for
Ottersky to resign and go to Mexico
or anywhere else without any fuss
whatever. But he wasn’t in his right
senses, and I thought it best to fall
in with his plans. I didn’t see him
after I left him to go to the post of-
fice. The announcement of his death
in the papers-:came as a tremendous
shock to me. x opinion is that he
got in touch with some dope peddler
after I parted from him, flashed his
roll, and was killed for his money.”
“What did you mean,” probed one.
of the detectives, “by telling the man
from Camp Logan, Mr. Court, on your
way. back to Houston without Otter-
sky, that you had skinned a man out
of: his roll?” .
“Nothing, except that I’ had made
a sale a couple of days before, and
after leaving Henry at the Milby
Hotel I had gone out again and col-
lected the money.”
Walker’s story was not regarded as
satisfactory, and he was locked up
for the night. ;
The next morning B, F. Morris,
the employer of both Ottersky and
Walker, arrived from San Antonio,
very much perturbed. He brought
with him a file of correspondence re-
lating to pete: The most recent
document was a letter from Walker,
reading as follows:
Dear Mr. Morris:
Henry is doing as usual, only he
is doing worse. He has a doctor with!
him, and is hitting the dope. I am
afraid he didn’t enjoy his visit. He
said he was quitting the scales busi-
ness, and was Mexico-bound. I hope
I do as well next week as I did last.
It was a big week for me.
H. L. Walker.
gmc volunteered information re-
garding ‘Walker. His record with
the company was that of a hardwork-
ing, alert salesman, whose salary and
commissions were well enyned. He
scouted the idea that Walker could
have had anything to do with Otter-
sky’s death. ‘
“Why, good gracious!” Morris ex-
claimed, “
mendous obligations to Ottersky. He
knew nothing about our line, or about
salesmanship, when Henry first
brought him to us. With our permis-
sion, Henry took' him on his sales
trips, trained him, introduced. him
to customers, and to my personal
knowledge advanced him money for
expenses,
“Henry had been in the habit of
coming to Houston at least once a
month to see his friend, and his last
trip was made primarily with the
object of doing the same thing for the
son as he had done for the father.
“There can be no conceivable rea-
son why Walker should have com-
mitted this murder. He has been with
us for some years, and our experience
causes us to regard him as an up-
sh man in every sense of the
word.”
Morris added that he was not in
a position to substantiate the state-
ment made by Walker that Ottersky
was in the habit of taking drugs. He
knew both men to be. consistent
drinkers, though their indulgence had
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never interfered with their work.
“Production is what we judas by,
and they both produced plenty,” he
said. “We don’t annoy our people by
snooping into their private affairs,
and if Ottersky was a dope addict we
didn’t know it.”
Morris’ vehement defense of Walk-
er made things look much better for
the suspect, and the Chief of Police
wondered whether he ought to re-
lease him. But the indefatigable
George Andrew had not been idle,
and now brought forward the first
contradiction of one of the salesman’s
statements.
AR RDING to Walker, he had left
Ottersky at the Milby Hotel at
approximately 4:30 p.m. on the fatal
Saturday, and had subsequently gone
to a farm north of Houston to collect
the money due on a sale which he
had made some days before.
The fact that he had called at his
son’s house during the afternoon was
verified by a neighbor, who had seen
him come there. She added that he
had left at about 10 p.m. and that
she had not seen him return, al-
though she was up until after mid-
night. But Andrew had located the
urchaser of the scales, and had
earned that the transaction had been
a spot cash deal, payment having
been made at the time of delivery
over a week before! Where, then, had
Walker been during the time covered
by his alleged trip to make the col-
lection. This was a question which
would need answering.
Further suspicious particulars were
learned the next day. A check-up of
attendants at the Milby established
that Ottersky had not been seen
around the hotel since early on Satur-
day morning. Both Fox and Walker
agreed that Ottersky had been in a
semi-intoxicated condition in the
afternoon. Unquestionably, had he
asked for his key, the clerk on duty
would not have failed to notice his
condition, and so would have re-
called that he had been in.
Inquiries among the Houston banks
led to the discovery of several checks
drawn to Ottersky’s order on his Cor-
pus Christi account which had been
cashed by Walker. These, along with
specimens of Walker’s handwriting
were submitted to graphology ex-
perts. The consensus was that the
checks were all forgeries, made by
Walker. There were several others,
drawn to Ottersky’s order by custo-
mers. These also had been cashed, the
indications being that every one of
the endorsements had been forged by
Walker.
By this time Investigator Andrew
had a pretty clear picture in his mind
of how the murder had taken place.
The deed shaped up as a premedi-
tated crime. Walker, knowing that his
friend would be over to see him
for the week-end, had deliberately
planned the drinking party in the
woods. When he asked Monroe Fox
if he knew of a place where the pair
could do a lot of boozing without fear
of interruption, he propably had al-
ready picked out the spot. He had
plugged Ottersky while the latter was
taking a nap, appropriated his money,
gone back to Houston and returned
at night to bury the body.
There was still no direct proof, but
Andrew pressed for a preliminary
hearing in court and got it.
WALEER was defended before Jus-
tice of the Peace Leon Lusk by
an able lawyer, Dixie Smith, who
subsequently was elected to the office
of District Attorney. Smith called no
witnesses for the defense, but simply
put his client on the stand and asked
im to give a full account of himself,
Walker’s only deviation from his
‘previous statements was to the effect
that he might have made a mistake
about his having gone on that Satur-
day to collect the money due for the
scales.
He and Ottersky had been drink-
ing very heavily, he said; he had
had fancies and got his dates tangled.
The State really had nothing to
offer beyond Walker’s ability to have
committed the crime, his sudden pos-
session of funds, and his opportunity
to have returned to cover up the
evidence during the hours when he
was known to have been absent from
his son’s house.
At this juncture, probably most of
the persons in the courtroom would
have given odds that Walker would
be acquitted. The evidence presented
thus far seemed much too skimpy on
which to convict a man for murder.
And Walker was undeniably mak-
ing a good impression. If he’d gotten
his dates tangled in previous stories,
he was certainly talking coherently
and convincingly here in court. He
appeared calm, confident. ;
But at this juncture a highly dra-
matic incident occurred. Walker was
sitting on a raised dais, his right leg
crossed over his left knee, and as he
told his story in the most nonchalant
manner he swung his right leg idly
to and fro.
Almost directly under him, on the
lower level, sat Charlie Leach, the
court stenographer. Getting up sud-
denly, Leach walked over to the
prosecuting attorney and whispered
to him. The two returned to the
stenographer’s table, where the prose-
cutor bent down apparently to ex-
amine Leach’s notes, then swung to-
ward the defendant and snapped:
“Mr. Walker, are the shoes you are
wearing the same which you wore
last Saturday?”
“Why, yes,” came the reply..“As a
matter of fact, I don’t have another
pair.” :
“Will you kindly lift your right
foot, Mr. Walker, so that the court
may see the sole?”
The request seemed a little irrele-
vant, but Walker obediently raised
his shoe. There, in the softer leather
under the instep, were several trans-
verse marks to which the prosecutor |.
pointed triumphantly.
“Your Honor,” he said, “taken in
conjunction with the evidence we al-
ready have, those marks are the final
proof that this man is the murderer
of his friend. He plainly used: an old
shovel to dig the grave. The rusty
edge cut the instep of his shoe when
he used his right foot to push the
shovel into the earth. He thought that
his dreadful secret would never be
discovered—but murder will out!
This man really dug his own grave
when he buried the body of the man
who had been his benefactor!”
The prisoner slumped in his chair,
his poise shattered. After a few mo-
ments, he looked up and said:
“Yes, I did it. I killed Henry.”
Walker was bound over to the
Grand_Jury, which indicted him for
murdeyY in the first degree. Before he
went on trial in District Court before
Judge Robertson, he made a con-
fession which agreed in almost every
detail with the mental picture In-
vestigator Andrew had drawn.
The callous scoundrel had waited
until Ottersky fell asleep in the woods
from the effects of liquor. Then he
had shot him, had tossed the gun into
Buffalo Bayou, and had robbed his
dead friend.
He declared that Ottersky had
never been a drug addict, and had
never had any intention of going to
Mexico. He, Walker, was the one who
had planned to skip across the border
to escape his creditors. He had in-
tended to pick up the incriminating
suitcase in Galveston and dispose of
it later. The coincidence of the name
used had caused this valuable piéce
of evidence to be delivered to Cap-
tain Dave Henry.
It was a brutal and senseless crime.
Judging from Walker’s past relations
with Ottersky, fhe had only to ask
for a sum within reason and it would
have been lent to him.
Found guilty |without recommen-
dation of mercy, Hubett L. Walker
was sentenced to\death. The case was
appealed on the ground of temporary
insanity while under the influence of
liguor. The higher\courts rejected this
plea, and on February 20, 1920, the
condemned man was duly executed.
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answers were negative. Many times
that day Decker whisked out the mug
photographs. Always there were the
same discouraging results.
At the Crystal Filling-Station, at
Maple and Lemmon Streets, Decker
exhibited the pictures to the manager,
Herbert Hughes. The man’s face in-
stantly expanded into a broad smile.
“Sure!” he exclaimed. “I know them
well. Frank is a former roommate of
mine. We lived together for over a
half-year here in Dallas. Nice kid.” A
flash of apprehension crossed Hughes’
face. “He isn’t in trouble?”
Decker ignored the question.
“When did you see him last?”
“About a week ago,” Hughes readily
reported. “He was with Walker. They
were standing at the corner right
across from the station for maybe half
an hour, probably waiting for someone.
I was too busy that day to talk to
them.”
Decker had his note-pad out.
“What’s the other fellow’s full
name?”
“Robert Ballard Walker.”
Decker dashed to his car. At the
Sheriff’s office a wire from Austin,
Texas, announced that the last of the
three possible suspects among May-
' field’s discharged employes was in the
clear, too.
So that possible source of suspects
had failed.
The news from Forney’ wasn’t
cheering, either. As the questioning
proceeded, one witness after another
confirmed the alibis of the half-
brothers. But not all the witnesses
had been questioned yet, so it was too
early to pronounce a definite judgment.
Robert Ballard Walker, when visited
by the detectives, also had an alibi for
the night of the murder. He had been
out with two girls and a pal of his,
Robert Otto Currie.
But the deputies disliked something
about Walter. Set in a thin, rat-like
face were cunning eyes which at times
flared up in sudden viciousness. How-
ever, an unpleasant personality couldn’t
be held against him. The Sheriff
chalked him up for more questions at
a later date. Immediate steps were
taken to check his alibi.
Just before the deputies left Walker,
Deputy Hines shot a question at him:
“When did you see Frank the last
time?”
“A month ago,” Walker said curtly.
Hines pondered this answer. Walker
had been seen with Frank Cummings:
only a week before. What was he try-
ing to cover up in his manifestly false
statement? Why did he lie about his
meeting with Cummings?
DEPUTY was left at the house to
keep secret watch on Walker.
The girls—two shapely youngsters
with sparkling eyes—were visited by
the deputies.
“Sure, we had a date with Ballard
and Platinum,” one of them said.
“Platinum!” exclaimed Hines. “Who
is Platinum?” ’
“Currie. That’s what Robert calls
him because of his light blond hair.”
Hines nodded.
“What time did you have that date?”
“At eight.”
When Hines reported the results of
these inquiries, the Sheriff said grimly:
“If it’s true that they had a date at
eight, then Walker and Currie are in
the clear. Mayfield was out there on
the road with the blonde after eight.
We have to find evidence to corrobo-
rate the girls’ testimony.”
Such evidence was uncovered easily.
The two couples had dropped in at a
cocktail bar shortly after 8:30 p.m. At
nine p.m. they had driven into a fill-
ing-station to have the battery in Cur-
rie’s car exchanged, because his had
gone dead. Then they went to a drive-
in and had sandwiches. At eleven
p.m. the girls were home again.
The Forney half-brothers had been
cleared definitely also. Their alibis
were intact. And thus almost the last
lead was failing the officers.
Before the half-brothers were re-
leased, Schmidt confronted Cummings
with Walker to clarify their conflict-
ing statements about when they had
met each other the last time.
oD—1
Walker’s sallow face twitched and
he was visibly uncomfortable. Schmidt
eyed him sharply.
“Did you hang around the Crystal
Filling-Station with Walker about
eight or nine days ago?” he asked
Cummings.
“Yeah. I did.”
Schmidt turned to Walker.
“Sure, I saw Frank,” the sallow-
aoe youth said. “Forgot all about
it.’
Decker, who was present, pulled up
a chair alongside the Sheriff’s desk.
“What were you doing the day after
the murder?” he asked Walker.
“I went to Galveston with Currie.”
“What for?”
“I made a date with a couple of
girls I know.”
Schmidt uttered a short, sarcastic
laugh. .
“Sort of ladies’ man, huh?”
But there was nothing he could do
except to release the half-brothers and
clear Walker and Currie of any sus-
picion of guilt.
They were told to go.
Wee their retreating footsteps
died away down the courthouse
corridor, Decker said to the Sheriff:
“JT still think they’re guilty as Hell,
these birds. There must be some hitch
to their story.” After a pause he
added, “Nice place, Galveston. Think
I’m gonna take a ride down there
myself.”
The Sheriff looked grim.
“Okay by me, Bill. Go ahead.”
There was nothing new until the
Deputy Sheriff returned the next day.
“The boys had a date there, all
right,” he reported to Schmidt. “Sort
of wild tourist-camp party with two
dames.. They first went dancing, but
didn’t stay long. ‘The boys didn’t want
to dance,’ one of the girls said, ‘so we
had to dance together, but that wasn’t
much fun.’ So I asked them why the
boys didn’t want to dance. They were
dancing men who didn’t dance. The
girls answered, ‘The boys were too
nervous to dance.’ I wonder what that
meant—they were ‘too nervous’?”
“Bill, you’re a smart guy.” Schmidt
laughed. “But what good does it do
‘us to find out that they had the jitters
on the day after the killing? They
apparently have an iron-clad alibi. We
wouldn’t get far in court on a case
like that.”
“Maybe there’s a snag in that alibi,”
Decker ventured, pursing his lips.
“Let’s talk to the two girls again
that they had the dates with on the
night of the murder,” Schmidt sug-
gested.
The girls were brought in.
“Sheriff,” one of them burst out, sob-
bing, “we’re telling the truth. ‘We don’t
know these boys well. We met them at
a dance a couple of weeks ago and had
two dates with them. Why should we
try to shield them? If we knew any-
thing, we would tell you.”
“Don’t get hysterical,” Schmidt ad-
monished. “You’re not under suspi-
cion. We won’t do anything to you.
But tell me one thing: Are you sure
your date was for eight o’clock? You,
see, we timed how long it takes to
drive from the Mayfield filling-station
to the Old Dallas Road and back to the
place where you had the date. Walker
and Currie couldn’t have made it if
they had a date with you by eight.
Are you sure you didn’t have a later
appointment?”
One of the girls, a tall, dark-eyed
lass with shoulder-long hair, suddenly
looked startled.
“We made the date for eight,” she
said. “But we were late. I forgot all
about it. We came around eight-
thirty. The boys said they had been
waiting, but they could have been late,
too—”
“That’s right,” the other girl inter-
jected, her eyes wide. “And there was
something funny. I wanted to open
the glove compartment of Currie’s car,
but Walker grabbed me by the wrist
until it hurt. ‘Don’t open that,’ he
said. ‘There’s a play-pretty in there.’
I wondered what he was hiding.”
“A gun,” Decker said ominously.
That same day Walker and Currie
were arrested and lodged at the county
jail. The half-brothers, Frank Cum-
mings and Henry Evenrude, were
brought back from Forney.
The next morning, on December 31,
1939, eight days after the murder,
Sheriff Schmidt ordered the four
brought to his office. There Decker
seated them in a row.
Walker curled his lips in an inso-
lent smile. His self-assured attitude
contrasted with that of Currie, who
appeared jittery. Currie was sucking
his lips in and out, his eyes darted rest-
lessly about the room and he clasped
and unclasped his hands constantly.
The two half-brothers were hanging
their heads and appeared dejected with
the turn things had taken.
Schmidt pierced the half-brothers
with a stern stare.
“We've checked up on you,” the
Sheriff said in a grave, low voice. “At
the time the murder happened you
were twenty miles away, in Forney,
and your presence there has been con-
firmed by more than ten witnesses.
That doesn’t clear you completely of
guilt. You know who committed this
murder.” Schmidt glared into the
flinching eyes of Frank Cummings.
“Cummings, it’s about time you told
us what you know!”
Cummings was breathing heavily,
leaning forward in his chair, eyes pop-
ping, big beads of sweat glistening on
his forehead.
“And you, Evenrude,” the Sheriff
went on, shifting his gaze to the other
half-brother, “you, too, know who
murdered a man renowned for his
kindness.”
Evenrude was white. His lips
twitched nervously while his eyes
were riveted to the floor. The Sheriff
told him:
“Whether you'll be charged with any
offense will depend entirely upon you
—on the cooperation you are willing to
give the authorities in clearing up this
ghastly crime.”
Schmidt turned his head and faced
the blond-haired Currie.
“You bought a car, Currie, didn’t
you? You bought it on November 23,
exactly one month before Mayfield
was murdered. I was told by the car
dealer, Mr. Ragsdale, that you weren’t
very eager to make the buy since you
were out of a job, but that Walker,
who went with you, seemed to push
you into the purchase. Right?”
The Sheriff paused for an instant,
his glance resting on Currie, who sat
slumped in his chair, hands clasped
over his head as if he were trying to
shut out the accusing voice.
“The first instalment on the car was
due on December 23, the day Mayfield
found violent death. But you had no
money to pay for it, and your pal
Walker’s financial situation wasn’t any
better. So -Walker decided to get
the necessary funds by turning crimi-
nal and dragging you down the path of
robbery and murder—”
The Sheriff’s booming voice rose.
“You, Currie, were the ‘blond wo-
man’ one of the witnesses believed he
had seen in the car with Mayfield.
Sure, everybody could make that mis-
take. Your hair is an unusual shade
for a man and you apparently dislike
barber shops.
“And you, Walker, killed Mayfield.
You were laying for him. You studied
the schedule of his daily round. On
the night you committed the murder
you asked Mayfield for a ride and the
nice old fellow felt sorry for you
and—”
‘f BOARSE, hysterical cry ripped
from Walker’s throat.
“Tt’s a lie!” he shouted, jumping to
his feet. “You're trying to frame me!
I’m innocent!”
“I haven’t finished yet,” the Sheriff
went on, a sarcastic smile twisting his
lips. “To clinch the case against you,
we had to find the gun you killed May-
field with. We found it this morning!”
Hysterical terror was mirrored in
Walker’s eyes as he jerked up his head
to stare dazedly at the Sheriff.
“You hid the gun in your father’s
home under a mattress. We sent it to
the ballistics department of the city
police and had it checked. A_ while
ago I received the report, The bullcts
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extracted from Mayfield’s body were
fired from that very same weapon.
Well, you want to talk now?”
It was Currie who spoke. Gibbering
miserably, he confirmed the Sheriff’s
story, a masterpiece of psychological
analysis and criminal deduction.
The youth admitted he had helped
Walker. He had followed the Mayfield
car in his own machine out to the Old
Dallas Road. But he said that Walker,
and Walker all by himself, had fired
the murderous shots. .
Walker lapsed into stubborn silence
which no amount of persuasion could
_. He Paid His Debt with Fire (Continued from Page 18) ogrici
suggested a spent patience. The de-
tectives wondered how many times the
door-bell had interrupted her house-
cleaning.
Her demeanor underwent a swift
transformation at the mention of po-
lice and Corbin’s name. She showed
them into.a living-room that was no
fancier than herself.
“Mr. Corbin,” she said at once,
“ain’t been living here since he. lost
his job. And I ain’t got the slightest
idea where he is now.”
To Basil’s questions she swore she
hadn’t seen or heard anything about
him since his departure.
“Did Corbin say anything about his
boss, Clark, when he told you he’d
been fired?”
“Just said he was fired, that’s all.
’ He was red in the face and sore-look-
ing, I remember, but he didn’t tell me
anything else.”
The woman gestured expressively
with the mop when Fitzgerald asked
her to describe her former boarder.
“He’s a husky bruiser, him. If he’s
not every bit of six feet, he’s not an
inch. Got a bald patch in the middle
of his pate and he’s every bit of forty
years. He’s got a broad face and a
very broad nose, and—oh, yes! He’s
got a little white scar on the left side
of his mouth, running about half an
inch toward his chin.” She expelled
a long breath. “Guess that’s as much
as I can describe of him.”
“One more question. Did you ever
see Corbin driving a dark sedan, a new
one?”
A vague, dubious look crept into the
landlady’s greenish-speckled eyes. She
shrugged her sloping shoulders and
declared that she never had. A truck
was the nearest thing. :
AS THE investigators turned to leave,
the woman asked:
“Why don’t you try the Blue Bottle,
the tavern over at Smith and Ferry?
Mr. Corbin was forever spending his
break. After a day in jail, however,
he changed his mind and made a com-
plete confession.
He added a new detail to the almost
complete story of the crime. He had
known Mayfield, he admitted, as he
had worked for him at one time.
When he had flagged his ride from
the kindly oil man he had told May-
field he had to get out to the Love-
field Airport, west of which Old Dallas
Road runs.
In the middle of the trip, Walker
suddenly pulled his gun and forced
Mayfield to drive to the dark, lonely
that Corbin was tight and swore to get
even with their boss for canning him.”
Fitzgerald and Basil exchanged
—— Here was something signifi-
cant.
“What else did this Coogan say about
Corbin?” Fitzgerald pressed.
“Nothing else. I asked him where
Corbin had been all this time and he
said Corbin wouldn’t tell him.”
“What time did Coogan tell you
this?”
The man scratched his head reflec-
tively:
“Guess it was about ten o’clock last
night. We were sitting here having a
couple of beers and all of a sudden he
started talking about Pete.”
Obtaining Coogan’s address, the de-
tectives made straightway for No. 178
Herkimer Street. A _ white-haired,
placid-looking woman came tothe
door. The callers identified themselves
and inquired about John Coogan.
_ “He—he’s my son. The woman fal-
tered. “He’s sleeping just now. He
doesn’t feel very good.” Her eyes
darkened with concern. “He’s not in—
trouble, is he? He’s a good son.”
Fitzgerald said kindly: “He’s not in
trouble, Ma’am. Just a few questions
we'd like him to answer about a friend
of his.”
“Oh.” Relief expelled that from her.
She invited the detectives in, leaving
them in the living-room, a small, tidy
place, while she hastened into another
room to awaken her son.
Presently she reappeared, followed
by a strapping man of about 38 whose
face was thick with stubble and whose
eyes were bloodshot and bleary. To the
detectives it appeared as though the
man were in the throes of a hangover
rather than illness. _
“We want to know abeut your meet-
ing with Peter Corbin last night,”
Fitzgerald said without ado. “You told
somebody that Corbin was in town and
that he threatened to get even with
Willinm Clark We want to know all
country lane. Here Walker murdered
the oil man and robbed him of ap-
proximately $60, dropping part of the
loot in the darkness.
On March 4, 1940, the two culprits
went on trial. Robert Ballard Walker
was sentenced to death. He was ex-
ecuted April 19. Robert Otto Currie, of
the platinum blond hair, was sentenced
to ten years in the Texas State Peni-
tentiary.
Charges against Frank Cummings
and Henry Evenrude were not made,
as they turned State’s witness after
having made a complete statement of
“T left him: standing there,” Coogan
added. “I told him I was on my way
over to the Blue Bottle and asked him
to come along but he said he didn’t
have no time to see anybody or fool
around.”
“And what time did you get home
from the Blue Bottle?” Fitzgerald
queried.
Coogan yawned and scratched at the
stubble under his chin.
“Got home about eleven-thirty. I
don’t remember so hot because I wasn’t
feeling so good. Maybe my mother
knows.”
But Mrs. Coogan could not confirm
the time of his arrival because she
was sound asleep at the time, she said
almost apologetically.
Obtaining nothing more from Coo-
gan, the detectives returned to Head-
quarters, where they learned from
Fitzgibbons and Long that Clark and
Mrs. White in no way would stand to
profit from the deaths. The insurance
on the house was small and not enough
to sustain an insurance motive. Be-
sides, the investigation revealed that
Clark and Mrs. White were upright
persons who had the respect and ad-
miration of everyone.
All that now remained was the ven-
geance theory—and the elusive Cor-
ang! — to lend plenty of credence
i
But where was he? The only chance
of getting to him was through printed
fliers to all state and local police in
the neighboring states, with an alarm
for the Buffalo police to keep a sharp
lookout for anyone fitting his descrip-
tion. It was possible that he might be
hiding in the neighborhood of his
crime.
As this was being put into operation,
a telephone call from Columbus Hos-
pital came to the Chief’s office. James
White had died an hour before.
Chief Whelan took the news grimly.
“J want the man who’s to blame for
all this, and I want him in a hurry,”
he snid
the obscure role they had played in
the sinister tragedy.
HEY admitted that Walker first had
wanted to commit the robbery and
murder with their help. But they
wouldn’t have anything to do with it.
The names Frank Cummings and
Henry Evenrude are fictitious to pro-
tect innocent persons.
Another picture with this story is on
Page 36.
Read It First in
AL DETECTIVE STORIES
else who might have it in for Clark.
Let’s not forget that John Coogan also
was fired by Clark.”
The suggestion was heard in silence.
“Coogan,” the veteran detective
went on, “says he got home from the
tavern at eleven-thirty on the night of
the fire. We’ve got to check that. So
far as we’re concerned from now on,
until we learn otherwise, John Coogan
is vengeance-suspect number two.”
That same day Fitzgerald and Long
went to the Blue Bottle. They cau-
tioned the proprietor to think care-
fully about the time Coogan left the
tavern on the night of the eleventh.
After a few moments the proprietor
declared with certainty that the time
was 11:20 when Coogan said he was
going home.
The distance between the tavern and
Coogan’s home was hardly more than
ten minutes. Evidently Coogan had
told the detectives the truth. But to
check this further they made for
Herkimer Street and made calls on all
the Coogan neighbors, inquiring
whether any of them had noticed him
returning home on the night in ques-
tion at 11:30.
Out of the many questioned only one
man remembered seeing Coogan hur-
rying into his house that night.
And the time, he said emphatically,
was exactly 12:30! .
This contradiction was a breakin
the detectives’ favor. Yet, uneasily,
they wondered whether they were
trying to build something out of noth-
ing. There was no proof that the miss-
ing Corbin was not really the cold-
blooded firebug. If Coogan were
drunk, his arrival home could have
been not 11:30, as he thought, but
12:30, and he wouldn’t have known it.
Contact was made once more with
the grief-stricken Clark, who now
showed the suffering caused by his
sudden tragedy. ;
Coogan’s name evoked a rapid
change in his attitude.
“Sure, I know him,” he _ said at
ft
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IN THIS CAR——
a murderer went partying
on the proceeds of a holdup.
WALKER, Rebert B., wh, elec. TX (Dallas) April 19, 1940
HE man in the passenger’s seat of
the black Dodge coupe was dead.
He was slumped forward, his head
between his knees. The stub of a
cigar was clenched between his
teeth. Horn-rimmed spectacles still
were perched upon his nose. There
was blood on the car seat and on the
floor. Coins, currency and checks
were scattered at the man’s feet.
The black coupe with the corpse
was parked at the side of the Farmers
Branch road, seven miles northwest
of Dallas, Texas.
Deputy Sheriff Billy Parker needed,
only a glance to tell him that here was
murder. He turned to a bystander.
“J wish you’d call Chief Deputy
Bill Decker at the sheriff’s office in
the Criminal Courts Building in Dal-
las,” he said. “Tell him weve got a
murder out here and I think it’s that
filling station operator who was re~-
ported missing.”
It was 4 o'clock the afternoon of
December 24, 1938, when Parker’s
urgent summons reached Decker.
With Deputies Jim Townsend and Ed
Caster, he sped to the scene. They
were followed shortly by Sheriff R.
A. (Smoot) Schmid and Deputy W.
T. Binford.
“I think we’ve found that filling
station operator, Bill,” Parker spoke
to Decker. “You know—John J. May-
field, who disappeared last night.”
The chief deputy and Sheriff Schmid
took one glance at the dead man and
nodded their heads in unison.
“Tt’s Mayfield, all right,” Decker
said. “And there’s no question about
it being murder.”
Mayfield had been shot three times.
One bullet had entered: his chest. An-
other had found its mark near the
base of the throat, and a third had
plowed a furrow across his abdomen
and lodged in the left door of the
coupe. eputy Decker pried the flat-
tened bullet from the upholstery of
the door. ;
“We'll hang on to this,” he said.
“When we find the person with the
gun from which it came, we'll prob-
ably have our killer.”
“If robbery was the motive,” Decker
HEADQUARTERS DETECTIVE, December, 1950
ba aD
they had re
field. “
The murde
Dallas from I
years earlier.
dustry, he hz
eleven filling
sections and :
Leterme y busi
unctual man,
5211 Mercede:
hour each nig
check up on 5
employees an:
Wagon drivers
East Texas 0]
gasoline.
It was said of
varied the rou
which he visit;
At 7:25 o’cl
cember 23, he
coupe into his
ROBERT WALKER
wrote a girl in Galveston, “I'll see you
Monday sure, if | raise the money.”
interposed, “it’s strange the killer left
this money on the car floor.”
He pointed to the bills at Mayfield’s
feet and began picking them up. There
was a total of $23 in currency, coins
and checks. Presence of the money
recalled to the minds of the Dallas
County authorities the information
ROBERT OTTO cu:
worked at his job
after Mayfield was
Grove and Hask
checked up the cei
with John Linxwi]
tendant, collected $1
checks, and de
Grove Avenue }
his route, at Hall at.
nue. He had not rez
which was only five
ca! at Oak Grove ar
Smith,
. R
glanced at the
time was 8:30 PM
Mayfield was late {,
since Smith had bee
An hour later, whe
aay had received concerning May-
eld.
The murdered man had come to
Dallas from Longview, Texas, eleven
years earlier. By diligence and in-
dustry, he had built up a chain of
eleven filling stations at busy inter-
sections and they had grown into a
profitable business. A methodical and
punctual man, Mayfield left his home,
5211 Mercedes Street, at the same
hour each night to visit his stations,
check up on business details with his
employees and to provide his tank
wagon drivers with funds to go to the
East Texas oil fields and purchase
gasoline.
It was said of Mayfield that he never
varied the route or the rotation by
which he visited his stations.
At 7:25 o’clock the night of De-
cember 23, he had driven his Dodge
coupe into his service station at Oak
had not appeared, Smith called Mrs.
Mayfield and learned that her hus-
band had left home at his usual time
for the nightly check-up. Then he
called two or three other stations and
learned the attendants were wonder-
ing why Mayfield had not made his
appearance.
Convinced that something serious
had detained his employer, Smith re-
ported Mayfield’s strange absence to
the police and sheriff's office.
Chief Deputy Decker and several
JOHN J. MAYFIELD——
had always been punctual in making
the rounds of his eleven gas stations.
ANDREW
members of the police department
knew Mayfield and were acquainted
with his reputation for punctuality.
They knew, too, that he frequently
carried as much as $1,000 in cash to
give to his tank wagon drivers.
Because of the hour at which the
disappearance was reported, there was
little the investigators could do that
night. A description of Mayfield and
his car was broadcast and detectives
and deputies questioned such of his
employees as could be reached. The
morning newspapers printed pictures
of him and his car.
The following day, idle youths in
the neighborhoods of Mayfield’s sta-
tions were required to recount their
activities of the previous night. For-
mer employees, who knew of May-
field’s habits, also were questioned
and checked upon. But nothing of
value was learned.
Then came the call at 4 o’clock of
the finding of a dead man in a black
Dodge coupe on the Farmers Branch
road, and the subsequent identifica-
tion of that man as Mayfield.
“Who found the body?” Decker
asked Deputy Parker.
Parker explained that two farm
boys, Harold Lee Noe, 11 years old,
and Oscar Arthur, 10, had gone fish-
ing that morning in a nearby creek.
They had seen the black coupe parked
beside the road at the time, but paid
no attention to it. About noon, when
they were returning home, they again
observed it. They considered it strange
that the car stood there so long when
there were no nearby houses. Curios-
ity caused them to peer into a window
of the coupe and they saw a man
(Continued on page 50)
PATTON
District Atty.
Dallas County, Tex.
as told to
ALLEN QUINN &
DAN T. KELLIHER Andrew Patton
Death in the electric chair was
ROBERT OTTO CURRIE——
worked at his job as usual the day
after Mayfield was found murdered.
Grove and Haskell Avenues. He had
checked up the details of the business
with John Linxwiler, the night at-
tendant, collected $14 in cash and sev-
eral checks, and departed down Oak
Grove Avenue for the next station on
his route, at Hall and McKinney Ave-
nue. He had not reached that station,
which was only five blocks from the
ston, “rl see you =f
‘aise the money.
nge the killer left
car floor.” ’
pills at Mayfield’s
ng them up. There
in currency, cous
one at Oak Grove and Haskell.
O. R. Smith, attendant there,
glanced at the clock and noted the
time was 8:30 P. M. He realized that
Mayfield was laté for the first time
since Smith had been in his employ.
An hour later, when his employer
the price paid for a date which
was financed with ‘‘blood money.’
“the witness incredulously.
44 ers who might have known Ma
Job Brown went through J ohn May-
field’s pockets but found no money. .
Sheriff Schmid snapped orders. “Boys,
take a look up and down the road for
’ 4 weapon or other evidence. And some
of you start checking with people who
live out here. See if they heard or saw
anything suspicious last night.”
Woman In Auto?
Carefully the deputies combed the
deep weeds growing along both sides
of the highway, but nothing came to
light. Then Ballard and Parker came
up with a neighboring dairyman, who
claimed he had seen two cars parked
on the road the evening before.
“This coupe was one,” he said, “but
the other had a canvas top. I saw them
both as my headlights flashed on them.
They were parked about 25 feet: apart.
There were two men in this car, but
only one person in the other. It looked
like a woman with blonde hair.”
A blonde? Sheriff Schmid stared at
“You're
sure?”
The man nodded. “You bet. She
wore no hat and was sitting on the
right-hand side.. The way I figured it
was this—the second car broke down
and the driver hailed the coupe, which
stopped up ahead. The woman was
waiting for her escort to come back.
I didn’t pay much attention to them, to
tell you the truth.”
The farmer’s explanation might have
satisfied him, but it didn’t sit well with
the sheriff.
Was Mayfield involved in some sort
of unexplained tangle with a woman,
after all? Had he been lured to this
isolated road for the purposes of black-
mail or revenge? Was the woman sit-
- ting gloatingly by as her escort polished
off the wealthy oilman? ,
As Schmid’s brow puzzled over the
various patterns for murder, he thought
of still another—this one more logical,
since he was familiar with the character
and habits of John J. Mayfield.
The pair could have been stickups—
one of them well known to the wealthy
oilman. On some pretext or other, the
robber might have lured his victim to
the lonely road. Then his companion,
the woman, could have followed for
the purposes of getting the slayer away
from the scene.
“It’s a cinch Mayfield fell for some
ruse,” he told Decker. “John wouldn’t
have stopped his car out here at a
signal from anyone. He had that killer
riding in the seat with him. The
stunned expression on his face tells
that. The other machine, if the dairy-
man wasn’t seeing things, was there.
for the purposes of the getaway.”
But who would Mayfield have picked
_ up? Who could have caused him to
-alter his nightly routine for a ride in
the direction of the airport?
Sheriff Schmid had no ideas on
the subject, but Deputy Ballard did.
“Remember those two discharged em-
ployes? -One of them could have tricked
Mayfield into giving him a ride.”
The sheriff nodded. “We'll look into
thein right away. Also all other work-
yfield
carried large sums of money.”
Dallas police, receiving a full report
of the murder, which had presumably
occurred outside their jurisdiction,
went into instant action on the local
angles. Working in close cooperation
with the sheriff's ‘office, Chief Welch
and Assistant Chief Walsh threw a
dozen detectives into the Oak Grove-
North Haskell area, seeking leads.
Acting on the basis of Sheriff Schmid’s
conjectures, they searched for some
witness to a possible pickup by Mayfield
on the night of the crime. No house,
store, tavern OF. other business place
was overlooked as the officers combed
the district, but.no one was found who
either had seen the oilman or observed
a car take on a rider. ,
Decker Gets a Lead
Deputies Ballard and Walker worked
on the angles connected with Mayfield’s
business associates. Investigation of
the discharged employes revealed that
these two men were now working in
the East Texas oil fields, 150 miles from
Dallas, but, overlooking no possibility,
the deputies contacted the authorities
near Beaumont, where the pair was
employed, and asked that checkups be
made on them.
In addition Walker and Ballard ob-
tained a complete list of all Mayfield
personnel over the past year, and
brought this to the sheriff’s office for
perusal. The names of several women
were included in the lengthy list.
Both city and county law enforcement
agencies toiled well into Christmas Day,
but the results were wholly negative.
On Christmas morning Chief Deputy
Decker, driving down McKinney Ave-
nue, pulled up in front of the Crystal
Tavern, half a block from the Mayfield
station operated by R. O. Smith. Dressed
in civilian clothes, he was not recog-
nized as an officer. In a few moments
LAUGHS IN
THE LAW
“Takes” A Job
A Las Vegas, Nev., businessman
went even Solomon one better in
the matter of administering justice
when he appeared in court to tes-
tify against a youth who had stolen
his truck.
“your honor,” he pleaded, “I
think there’s a simple way out of
this case, with a promise of benefit
all.
Judge Paul O’Malley was inclined
to listen. :
“Tt need help badly,” the owner
of the vehicle continued. It’s pretty
obvious this young fellow can drive
a truck. Let him come te work for
e.”
The judge smiled his assent.
pier ig continued indefinitely,” he
he was chatting with the proprietor,
J. D. Roberts. * :
“Tough about Old Man Mayfield,”
he began by way of opening the con-
versation, “but I guess he left himself
wide open by carrying all: that money
around with him.” .
The tavern man nodded. “Yeah,
that’s right. I heard a bunch of kids
talking about just that thing the other
night. One of them said, ‘That Mayfield
would be a soft touch.’”
Decker was instantly interested.
“Know their names?” ;
“No. They come in here once in a
while, though. One of them is a jazz
hound. Keeps playing the juke box
all the time. He’s got one number worn -
out—an oldie called Nobody’s Sweet-
eart.”
“What did they look like?”
Roberts grew thoughtful. “Just ordi-
nary punks—say in- their early 20s. One
was kinda dark, another one was light.
That’s about all I noticed.”
Decker told Sheriff Schmid about the
lead. “Of course,” he said, “those fel-
lows might have been talking just for
the sake of having something to say.”
“If we get no other break sooner,
I'll have that place staked out after
Christmas,” said Schmid. “Maybe they'll
turn up again.”
But they did get a break that same
. night—from an unexpected source and
in a wholly unlooked for manner.
Constable D. E. Hamm of Forney, a
town 20 miles east of Dallas, was having
his Christmas night supper in a restau-
rant bar. A quartet of local youths was
seated in the next booth. .
“Hear about the oilman over in Dallas
being bumped off?” one queried.
“Yeah,” came another voice, “I was
supposed to be in on that.”
“Me, too,” said a third. “Glad I
turned it down. That murder rap
means the chair.”
Hamm’s fork stopped in midair. It
was with great difficulty that he man-
aged to restrain himself and ‘eat the
rest of his meal. Then he sauntered
casually to the cashier’s desk and paid
his check, but not before he stole a
glimpse into the bar mirror and saw the
faces of the four conversing youths.
Back in his office, Hamm phoned
Sheriff Schmid, repeating what he had
heard. “These fellows seem to know a
lot about the crime,” he concluded.
“Maybe you'd better take a look into
the situation.”
A few minutes later Chief Deputy
Decker was gunning his car in the
direction of Forney, giving it all the
speed it could take. Reaching the town,
he talked with Hamm a few minutes,
then left for the restaurant. The four
youths were still in the booth, drinking
beer.
Two Picked Up
_ Decker bought himself a drink, car-
ried it over to an adjacent booth, and
listened to what was being said. It was
innocuous conyersation now, having no
bearing on the Mayfield crime. The
chief deputy pondered his next move.
Glancing around, he saw an elaborate
juke box. Reaching for a nickel, he
—his wi:
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The phone rang in
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or you,” he said.
iing to do Christmas
wife and he was
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nee as he snapped
yuthpiece.
attitude changed.
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its import was not
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omething has hap-
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or an appointment?
‘t see any reason for
ember, this is the
He might have gone
‘ou a present.”
consoling tone did
thts. He knew May-
tilious businessman
he was, and he felt certain the man at
least must have been in some kind of
an accident. :
“Well, try not to worry too much,”
he finally advised the wife. “We'll look
into it.”
_ Hanging up, he turned to, Decker.
“Take this over, Bill, John Mayfield
was supposed to be at McKinney and
Hall at 8 o’clock. He hasn’t shown up.
I know Mayfield, and he’d have been
there on the dot unless something hap-
pened. He always carries a lot of
money. His wife says he might have
had up to $1,000 with him. Take a run
out to that gas ‘station and get the
picture. Then check on where Mayfield
should have gone. Probably you'll find
he's perfectly okay. If you do, get in
touch with his home right away.”
Decker strapped on his gun. “Sounds
like the bunk to me,” he observed. “T
can think of a dozen things that could
happen to a man—a card game, a lodge
meeting, a couple of drinks, or even
a little shopping trip like you told her.”
“Yeah, an ordinary fellow—but not
Mayfield. He’s strictly business first.
That’s what makes me think some-
thing’s up. His wife says the oil trucks
can't go to the -refineries because he
hasn’t shown up with money for the
drivers. That’s surely not like John
Mayfield.”
The deputy shrugged. “Okay; you're
the boss. I’ll take a look around.”
He arrived at McKinney and Hall
at 9:15. Smith, anxious to close up for
the night, was still on duty, and worried.
“I don’t know what the answer is,”
he told Decker, “but something is
wrong, you can bet on that. This is the
first time in the six years I’ve worked
for Mayfield that he’s ever missed the
boat. See, the trucks are still out at
the curb, waiting for him.”
“When did you see him last?”
“Three o’clock this afternoon. He
was here with Baldwin, filling the
tanks.”
Saw Him Drive Off
“Who’s this other fellow?” .
“N. V. Baldwin. He’s manager of the
station at 3120 Knox Street. He some-
times drives the big oil trucks.”
Smith described Mayfield’s routine,
whereupon Decker said, “I'll start
backtracking over his route to see what
I can learn.”
The chief deputy drove to Oak Grove
and North Haskell, the location of the
Linxwiler station.
“Yeah,” said the manager there, “I
told Smith over the phone that the
boss was here at 7:45. He left about
five of 8. I’m sure of the time he was
here, for there was a change in the
radio program just as he arrived, and
I heard the time announced.
“He parked his car at the north side
of the station, where it’s dark. He did
that to keep out of my service drive-
way. When he left, he backed out, then
drove north on Haskell toward Smith’s
station. I watched him for about 150
feet, then saw him swinging over the,
railroad embankment at the intersec-
tion of North Grove and Haskell”
‘Did he say anything as he was
leaving?”
“Yes. He said, ‘I’ve got to get over
to Hall and McKinney to get my boys
going.’”
Within the next half hour Decker had
checked with Baldwin, R. D. Penn,
manager of a station at 1002 South
Haskell, and J. B. Tate, who operated
“the Mayfield tanks at Capitol and Fitz-
hugh Streets. None knew what had
happened to the oilman, though each
admitted having seen him between 7
and 7:30 that evening.
The answer, the deputy realized, lay
somewhere between the Linxwiler and
Smith stations; on that half-mile trip
the wealthy businessman had dis-
appeared.
Decker drove through North Haskell
and Oak Grove, covering the route
Mayfield should have traversed, but
found nothing in the way of a lead. He
went back to Linxwiler’s station.
‘Do you think anyone could have
hidden in Mayfield’s car while it was
parked in the dark, north of your
place?” he asked.
The manager’s brow was furrowed.
“Gee, I don’t think so! What’s your
theory—that someone sneaked into the
car and stuck him up?”
Chief Deputy Decker shook his head.
“I have no theories. At least, not yet.”
The officer tried to reason Mayfield’s
disappearance to a logical conclusion.
It was not likely that the wealthy oil-
man had merely neglected. to show up
at Smith’s station, or that he was at-
tending to some minor matter. The two
big tank trucks, waiting in McKinney
Avenue, precluded such a supposition.
Mayfield had set out from the Linx-
wiler station with the announced inten-
tion of making the last regular stop on
his route, but something had interfered.
If, the chief deputy kept reasoning,
some contingency had arisen to prevent
the man from maintaining his routine
schedule, would he not have telephoned
Smith or his wife?
His suspicions mounting, Decker
could reach but one conclusion, if all
the parties concerned were telling the
truth. John J. Mayfield had been
forcibly detained from completing his
rounds of his gas stations. .
Fired Two Men
The officer drove to the Mayfield
home. He found (Cont’d on page 42)
15
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career, and had kicked over the traces.
But why would a solid, substantial
citizen like John Mayfield mysteriously
abandon a prosperous business and a
seemingly happy home?
“It’s screwy,” Schmid told himself,
and he didn’t pretend to have the
answer.
Hours passed without a single tangi-
ble lead being found. The Dallas radio
station KVP was on the air with half-
hourly news of ‘the wealthy oilman’s
having vanished, and asking public
cooperation in finding him. A descrip-
tion of his 1936 Dodge coupe was given,
along with its license number, and
scores of police and deputy sheriffs in
outlying towns kept keen eyes peeled
for it.
. _ Returning empty-handed to his office,
Sheriff Schmid began receiving reports,
but none were encouraging. The results
of his talks at the Mayfield home had
produced nothing that Bill Decker
hadn’t learned, except that all the
neighbors had given the same reply—
the home life of John J. Mayfield was
‘blameless in all respects. The couple
a inordinately happy with each
other.
Report On Collections
The chief deputy returned with the
names of the discharged employes and
the year. rf
. “At least two of these fellows should
be investigated if anything happened to
Mayfield,” he told the sheriff, “They’re
bad .hombres.”
Parker and Ballard came in with a
check on the gasoline stations. Baldwin
had paid Mayfield $30 in receipts,
Linxwiler but $14. At the. other two
stations the oilman had collected noth-
ing, but this was not unusual; he occa-
sionally left amounts accumulating so
the attendants would have money for
change and operating expenses.
The deputies visited still another
station, which Decker had not covered.
Located at Henry and Canton streets,
it was managed by Mauricé J. Masters.
The man had worked for Mayfield since
1932.
“If you think John Mayfield just ran
off,” he told them, “you're talking
through your hats. I know Mayfield
had good habits. He was not a drinking
man. He didn’t gamble and he didn’t
fool around. His. home life was good.
to something must have happened t
The sheriff believed all those things,
since he had known the missing man
personally. “Masters is right,” he told
his deputies. “Something has happened
to Mayfield.” - :
But what, no one knew. At least, not
that night. Although members of two
‘law enforcement agencies worked with-
out sleep, the results of their inves-
tigations were entirely nil. Mayfield’s
mysterious disappearance in the half-
mile of streets between two gas stations
remained as baffling in the morning as
.it had at 9 p.m., when Schmid received
the first call from the oilman’s wife.
Early the next day officers were
a list of six others who had left during
covering the territory around the Linx-
wiler station. They pushed doorbells,
asked innumerable questions, prodded
shopkeepers’ memories for any unusual
’ incident of the night before, and scanned
every inch of pavement in the vicinity.
Not a single lead or clue was found;
there were no signs of any traffic
accident.
“If Mayfield was kidnaped,” said the
sheriff, “then we ought to be hearing
something about a ransom demand
pretty soon. I agree that this looks
like the best bet, because Mrs. Mayfield
would pay, and pay plenty, to get him
back. Why don’t they start contacting
her?”
The phone in his smoke-filled office
rang. The eager sheriff snatched at
/ ii
Oe
DONT DISCUSS:
TROOP MOVEMENTS
SHIP SAILINGS-WAR EQUIPMENT
the receiver, listened intently for a few
seconds, and scribbled on a pad. Hang-
ing up, he reached for his gun holster.
“This may be it, boys,” he said.
“Something’s turned up. Let’s get
started.”
Two cars loaded with Schmid and his
men roared out of the courthouse yard.
Through the heart of downtown Dallas
they dashed, scattering traffic with their
sirens, then swung north in the direc-
tion of Love Field, an airport, which
they skirted.
Down a little-used dirt highway
known as Walnut Hill Road they sped,
raising dust in billowing clouds. Near
Joe Field Road they came upon a group
of persons standing around a dirt-
streaked car.
Chief Deputy Bill Decker sprang from
the first machine before it stopped.
“Hey,” he called to Sheriff Schmid,
“it’s Mayfield’s coupe!”
Shot Thrice
Decker approached the car:from the
right, Schmid from the left. It was the
sheriff who first saw the occupant.
Seated behind the steering wheel, a
cigar butt tightly clenched between
locked teeth, was the elderly John J.
Mayfield, his glasses still on his nose,
his eyes staring ahead at the dusty road.
But the man was rigid, and there was
no doubt he was dead. Down his white
shirt front, exposed by an open coat,
the investigators saw three bullet holes
.—one close to the neck, a second just
below the. heart, a third in the upper
abdomen.
On Decker’s side of the machine the
window was punctured by a lead slug
which was caught in the splintered
glass. .
“Get Job Brown,” Sheriff Schmid told
Deputy Walker. Then he swung around
to the knot of curious spectators. “Who
made that call to me?” he queried.
A tall, thin, browned man resembling
a farmer pushed his way forward. “I
did,” he said. “I’m William Noe.”
“What can you tell me about this?”
‘“Not much. My boy, Harold, saw
him sitting down here this morning.
He forgot to tell me about it until lunch
time, then he said, ‘I saw a drunken
man in a car down on the Walnut Hill
Road. He wasn’t moving.’ Another of
my boys said, ‘Maybe that’s the fellow
the radio was talking about.’ I thought
it might be, so I came here with them
and took a look. I knew right off he
was dead.”
Schmid surveyed the gathered farm
folk. “Anyone else know anything?”
Heads shook negatively around the
circle. : ‘
Chief Deputy Decker found both
doors of the car locked, but he pried
the right one open with tools taken
from a rear compartment. “Say, sher-
iff,” he blurted, “this isn’t robbery!
There’s alot of bills‘and some change
_ scattered on the floor of the car. Be-
sides, Mayfield’s wearing an expensive
wristwatch. Robbers wouldn't have
overlooked that.”
The money on the floor totaled $22.43.
Decker poked the bullet out of the door
glass. “It looks like a .38 caliber slug,”
he said.
A car came chugging up, churning
the dust. Justice of the Peace Job
Brown, who was also a deputy coroner,
crawled out and gave Schmid a drawled
greeting. Then solemnly he began
examining the corpse in the coupe.
“The three shots did it,” he finally
commented. “He died right away, ap-
parently frozen in amazement. I'd say
he’s been here about 18 hours, which
would put the time around 9 o’clock
last night.”
Sheriff Schmid nodded. “I don’t. see
any signs of a struggle, except for the
money on the car floor,” he said. “But
this might have been some of Mayfield’s
collections. The compartment door is
open; maybe it fell out of there.”
“How do you think he got out here—
off his route?” Decker asked.
Schmid shrugged. “Seems to me he
might have been driving someone to
the airport—someone he knew, most
likely. Smith said he never picked up
strangers in.his car.”
“Sure, that adds up. to the fact that
there was no ‘struggle. He was shot
before he knew what was happening.”
Deputy Pete Ballard cut in. “Sheriff,”
he queried, “that $22 wasn’t all Mayfield
had. Two of his managers paid him at
least a total of $44. Besides, his wife
says he always carried large sums.
Unless the rest is in his pocket, it’s got
to be robbery.”
curb, awaiting mobilization of his men.
- “Banghart, Touhy and Darlak are
asleep in there,” he said. “We're pre-
paring to go in ig
- A cordon of police was placed around
the ‘area. Automobile traffic into the
occupants 0 the structure to vacate
the premises at once.
When all was in readiness Hoover
blew a_ whistle. Eight cars roared
around a nearby corner. Powerful
spotlights were turned on the building.
From a loudspeaker in one of the auto-
mobiles came an agent’s voice.
“Touhy, Banghart and Darlak, we're
the FBI!” he thundered. “Surrender
and emerge with your hands up! There
is no hope of escape; you're sur-
rounded!”
Five tense minutes of waiting passed.
Terrible Roger Touhy and The Owl,
with little Darlak standing by, were
in conference. Should they fight it out?
Did they have a chance?
Then the voice from the loudspeaker
shattered the stillness again.
“You've only a few minutes to de-
cide. Banghart is to surrender: first.”
Another minute... two.-- three.
“’m coming!” cried a voice.
Basil Banghart, hands high in the
air, strode out. He was quickly hand-
cuffed and led away. Then Touhy
marched down the steps, and a roar of
laughter arose from the agents. For
the terrible one was attired in bright
crimson pajamas! Darlak slipped from
the apartment building next, cringing
when the powerful beams of the spot-
lights hit his face.
Taking no risks with Banghart, the
robbery, instead of sending him back
to Stateville to finish his sentence
the Factor kidnaping.
Touhy sought his freedom in a plea
for a writ of habeas corpus in the
Chicago Federal court, but his appeal
was denied.
Touhy was returned to his old cell
at the Illinois penitentiary. He
been indicted for aiding another inmate
to escape. If found guilty, the term
the convict he helped will be added
to his own. The prisoner in the case
for ‘which he will be tried is Darlak,
and he is serving 199 years for the
murder of a Chicago policeman.
And so the shameful story of the rise
and fall of the Terrible Touhys comes
to an end with the roster of the six
sons of the respected Chicago police-
man reading like this:
Died in prison—James.
Died in gun battles—John . and
Joseph. C564
‘Serving 99 years in prison—Roger.
Serving 23 years in prison—Tommy.
Free, believed to have reformed—
Edward.
New chapters may be written later,
for the Touhys are clever and resource~-
ful and have managed to wiggle out of
But only time
tight spots in the past.
42 will tell
er a
JUKE BOX
(Continued: from page 15)
the oilman’s wife surrounded by three
domestic employes and several rela-
tives, all of whom seemed greatly
agitated. Mrs. Mayfield.was at the point
of hysteria.
“No, no!” she kept insisting as Decker
a multitude of questions
crowding his mind. “We had no trouble.
Mr. Mayfield was the best of husbands,
no \ business difficulties. was
something that happened last week, but
I’m sure it was trivial. Mr. Mayfield
had to discharge two employes. But
I’m sure...”
Decker held up his hand. “Just a
moment; that may
you give me the names of those men?
The woman shook her head.
but Mr. Baldwin can tell you.”
“You're certain Mr. Mayfield merely
intended to carry out his business com-
mitments tonight?”
“Yes. He told me he would be back
terrible has happened to him”
Decker went back to his office and
telephoned Sheriff Schmid, who was at
home. Explaining the results of his
inquiries, he added, “It looks bad.
Maybe we'd better notify the police to
‘proadcast an alarm and “check the
hospitals.’
“J didn’t like it from the beginning.”
said Schmid. “Yes, call the police and
round up some of the boys.
right down.”
Police Chief James L. Welch was
notified. He delegated his assistant.
Douglas Walsh, to contact Chief Dep-
uty Decker, and in the space of 15 min-
utes the machinery of the Dallas Police
Department was turning at full speed
to locate the missing man.
Schmid summoned Decker and Dep-
uties W. W. Parker and Pete Ballard.
“The four of us are going back to
check all those gas stations again,” he
Mayfield
each point, and whether he might have
1 want to find out
whether robbery was back of this.
“’'m turning the task of talking to
Baldwin over to you, Decker. Get the
names of. those discharged employes, as
well as of any other persons who may
have left the Mayfield payroll this
year.” —
The sheriff himself planned to visit
Mrs. Mayfield and talk with the oilman’s
neighbors. Perhaps the full truth con-
cerning Mayfield’s disappearance hadn't
been told. Although it didn’t fit in with
his character, it could have been that
the man had suddenly grown tired 0:
the humdrum routine of a business
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At 8:20 Mrs. Mayfield phoned Smith. “What worries me
most is the money John always carries,” she said nervously.
“He’s never got less than $1,000 in cash, and he must have
picked up something at the other stations. I'll wait a little
longer and notify the sheriff.”
Deputy Decker took the assignment to investigate the wealthy
oilman’s departure from his regular schedule. Not only did habit
and his.penchant for punctuality argue against Mayfield’s.
having surrendered to a caprice which delayed him, but there
was the matter of his waiting truck drivers. The officers knew
he would have reached them somehow with their load of
money, if he possibly could have done so.
Decker followed Mayfield over his regular collection route,
learning that the oil operator had stopped as usual at each place.
“T’m certain of the time he got here,” (Continued on page 43)
FOR ROBERT WALKER (with cigar)
this meeting was one of his last on
earth with his pal, Bob Currie. He
paid for a murder in the wired chair.
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A number of bills and a quantity of change
were scattered on the floor of the coupe. The
money added up to $22.43. In addition to
this loot, overlooked by the killer, was an
expensive wrist ‘watch on the dead man’s
arm. There was no sign of a struggle in
the car.
Justice of the Peace Job Brown, also a
deputy coroner, said he believed May-
field had been dead about 14 hours, which
would put the time of the shooting at around
9 o'clock the night before. The body had
been spotted in the machine by young Harold
Noe, who recalled the radio warnings and
notified his father, William, who summoned
the authorities, i
Approximately half the money Mayfield
had collected from his gas stations was gone,
in addition to his own bankroll, which his
widow estimated at being in the neighbor-
hood of $1,000. '
_. The bullets which killed Mayfield were of
38 caliber, and one was found so little
damaged that firearms identification experts
were able to photograph its rifling peculiar-
ities.
_How had he come to drive up near the
airport, so far off his regular route? The
only plausible answer was that he’d picked
up a rider, despite his known aversion to
hitch-hikers, and the man either had per-
suaded him to take him to the airfield or
had drawn a gun and forced ‘the oilman to
drive to the northwestern outskirts of the
city. . ;
A dairyman who lived in the neighbor-
hood recalled having seen two autos parked
where Mayfield’s was later found, the pre-
vious night around 9 o'clock. One was the
oilman’s coupe the other a canvas-topped
roadster.
“There was a woman in this
machine,” he said.
blonde hair.”
She, the officers figured, had followed the
killer in Mayfield’s coupe, for the pickup
after the holdup-killing. The intrusion of a
woman into the case’ gaye Schmid an idea.
“The taverns,” he said. “They probably
met in one to lay their plans. And I’d guess
the spot where they hung out is not too far
from the district where Mayfield picked up
the guy with the gun.” ; .
Meanwhile investigation of the six em-
ployes of Mayfield’s Knox Street Oil
Company who had been discharged in recent
months had cleared four of the men, and
the other two were said to be working now .
in the Eastern Texas oilfields some 150
miles away.
Schmid had asked local authorities in that
region to check on these men, and he handed
Decker the job of covering the juke-joint
drink. places between the Linxwiler and
Smith gas stations in Dallas.
On Christmas. Day the chief deputy en-
tered a tavern only half a block from the
Smith station and began talking casually
with the bartender about the murder, which
was the sensation of Dallas at the time.
“Funny thing,” the barkeep said. “There
was a gang of kids in here the other night,
playing the juke box and drinking beer.
One of ’em says then that this guy Mayfield
would sure make a soft touch.”
Decker flashed his badge. . “Keep right on
talking,” he invited. “Who were they ?”
However, the bartender did not know.
second
“I could see her long
‘They had visited his place before, but the
only description he could give was that one
was tow-headed and another played the
same record over and over again.
“It had me half nuts,” -he declared. “I got
so I wanted to throw a bottle at the juke
box every time this punk put a nickel in.”
“Do you remember the tune?” Decker
asked.
“How could I forget it? It was Nobody’s
Sweetheart.” -
The barkeep promised to phone the sher-
iff’s office .if any of the four youths came
back to his place. “I’d do it just t
from hearing that record again,” he”
“You can count on me.” iat es
A confidential tip on the juke box du
flashed to officers in Cities and coun
throughout north central Texas. Th
nights later while eating dinner in a ba
and grill in Forney, 20 miles east of Dalla
Constable D. E. Hamm suddenly reali
that the juke box at the rear was giving ov
the familiar strains of Nobody’s Sweet!
heart. aces
Four local youths were seated in ae :
booth next to him. One of them, he “be
lieved had slipped the*nickel into the slo;
of the record player. They were talking’
over their beer. Hamm listened closely. of
He caught only snatches of their conver=_
sation, but he heard words like “bump-off,”
“Dallas” and “oilman.” It was enough to”
speed him to the phone. ,
| ae A FEW minutes Chief Depu
Decker was speeding out of Dallas ‘to-
ward Forney. When he arrived he sauntered
into the bar and took the booth beyon
where the four boys still were sitting.
He listened for several minutes, but picked
up nothing. The juke box was silent.
“Well,” he thought to himself, “maybe I° Rt!
can stir up the boys a bit.” ; + ae
He selected a number and inserted his “44
nickel. He reached his booth and sat down
before the first bars of N obody’s Sweetheart
blared out in the room.
' “Hey, listen,” one of ‘the quartet said as_
the music began. “Someone else likes —
Bobby’s tune. Gee, how he used to keep _
that going when he was thinking of his
wife.” i
Decker sidled into the adjacent booth, dis-.
playing his shield. “You kids better come .
with me,” he said, watching carefully that _
none reached for a gun. ‘
The four boys were taken-in ham by —
Decker and Constable Hamm. Two were ©»
released almost at once, but Frank Rager
and Tod Hallam half-brothers, were held -
for questioning. is
At first they denied all knowledge of the ©
Mayfield slaying except from reading about
it in the papers.. But after Hamm told them
he’d heard them talking of the crime, and
after the Dallas bartender identified them as ;
two of the youths who'd been beating their ~
gums about Mayfield as a “soft touch” in
his place, the half-brothers broke down.
“We met these two guys in Dallas,” Rager
said. “We don’t know their names, just their
nicknames—Bobby and Whitey.”
“They had a canvas-topped roadster?” -
Decker queried. “y
“Yes,” Rager nodded. “Bobby was talk-
ing about robbing Mayfield and wanted Tod —
and me to ‘help him out. Then he got a gun,
a .38 caliber Harrington and Richardson, and
took us out to'a billboard on McKinney A
Avenue to prove it worked okay, but we
didn’t want any part of a robbery.” iis.
Decker remembered the woman with “long .° ee
blonde hair” whom the dairyman had seen
sitting in the convertible car at the murder
scene. “Did either of these boys have a
blonde girl friend?” he asked.
Rager and Hallam
know about that.
“Bobby and
last night,”
They ~
They said —
they were going on a party down in Galves- ee:
ton.” , ; + zo
Decker, still working on the woman angle,
was struck with an idea. “This Whitey,” he
said. “What did his hair look like?” Be
“Pretty as a girl’s,” Rager replied. “Long
and blond and wavy—almost like a dame
who uses peroxide.”
The chief deputy was sure he had his
1a
‘prevention’ in our setup today. Ther
d be. It’s the only way we'll ‘ever
ut crime. 5
ler- ---iety is not yet ready to accept
chy hod. - But for those just start
or _ong paths, for the problem chil- %
who will commit antisocial acts, I sug- |
hat we follow the direction indicated by
n scientific techniques. ie
e need diagnosis and therapy for twisted
alities just as we do for diseased bodies, ©
tirls should not even come within the =
‘ction of a criminal court system. [=
ly urge some form of administrative —)
al, with a sociologist, law representa-
nd psychiatrist sitting as a board to
iine first what each individual problem
then how to answer it.” ia
s Clarke knows, however, that this
‘ something for tomorrow. Today her
are set. upon a project closer at hand,
hich will help notably, she and others
ted in the problem feel, in the re-
ition of wayward girls.
the Residence Club for Girls which the
onal Foundation, Inc., has taken under
ig. The Foundation was formed in
o help counsel and secure jobs for
es and adolescents referred to it by the
and training schools.
ouse already has been leased for this
and when furnished will accom-
20 girls. Not enough, to be sure,
‘epresents a start.
‘ of them will come from Girls’ ‘Term,
vill be those who, Miss Clarke says,
ipervision but not custodial control.
lanned the residence club will pro-
real home for girls who have no suit-
mes of their own. They will live
1a voluntary basis, not under sentence,
h.**-~ will report—some of them, at
) ‘obation officer at intervals.
y ¢ free to come and go as they
at home under proper parental guid-
Chey will have their own rooms, ade-
00d, wholesome recreational facilities.
residence club has been warmly en-
by Chief Magistrate Bromberger and
three magistrates who sit in Girls’
eee had
after we have shown that it works,”
larke prophesies, “then probably we
suade the city to take it over and
it—perhaps even to enlarge it.”
LL NOT BE tthe final answer to
York’s problem of wayward minor ___
it it will help a few—help girls like We
wis
vhose mother refused to let her keep x
ye . . ch
: will still be other kinds of work to ae
with these girls, patient, intelligent a
1 the part of judge and probation Be
‘ike. The kind of work that was done a |
*, the youthful hitch-hiker. ba
gh probation supervision and direc- |
employment, Irene found a job she
id was able to make the sort of
~ herself that she could enjoy.
now in her mid-20s. And she has a’
In her leisure time she goes often
aes Square, the mecca of kids who
y from home to try their wings in
city. Because of Irene’s experience,
‘pot an uprooted girl from the Times
as far as Father Duffy’s statue.
wuse she knows the ropes the girl is
on, she can talk her language, too. ie
sh ‘me Irene learns her name,
1e e from, her home address.
t | _m goes out to bewildered
d parents. And very soon another .
tgnt goes home from Times Square, ;
unharmed, caught in time. ae
e people in the world, Dorris Clarke
re like Irene, ready to lend a hand «
ght time, there would be more jail »
1ering only dust, not human debris. ~
ab |*
tote
Long-Haired
~~ Blonde
(Continued from page 29)
ba: pH Fragece ms
PRL PBS, tk
said Linxwiler, “because the radio program
changed and the time was announced. He
parked in the shadows on the north side. of
the station and went out to his car at five
minutes to eight. I saw him go over the
railroad crossing up the street, just as he
always did, on his way to Smith’s station.”
On_ his route Mayfield had collected
only $44, leaving what receipts there were in
intact in four of the stations so that the
operators would have plenty of cash for
change on the day preceding the holiday.
Before reporting to Sheriff Schmid,
Deputy Decker interviewed Mrs. Mayfield.
“She was certain her husband had met with
foul play,” Decker told his superior later
that night. “He was supposed to be back
at 8:30 for bridge with some friends. It
looks to me as if he was kidnaped some-
where between Linxwiler’s spot and Smith’s
station, half a mile away, either for ransom
or by bandits.” é
Schmid authorized an all-out alarm. City
police under Chief James L. Welch under-
took a search for the businessman, Schmid’s
deputies were organized to begin a hunt
for Mayfield or his Dodge coupe, and over
radio station KVP in Dallas, at half-hour
intervals, were flashed bulletins describing
the oilman and his car and asking Texas
Citizens to be on the watch for either.
When he had asked her whether her hus-
band had enemies, Mrs. Mayfield asserted
- he had had trouble with no one, althouglt he
had mentioned some minor difficulty only the
previous week, something about the dis-
charge of two employes. H. V. Baldwin,
another of the station operators, she said,
_ could tell him who these two men were.
To Deputies W. W. Parker and Pete
Ballard, Baldwin supplied not only these
names but those of four other men who had
been fired in recent months.
A fairly large number of persons in Dallas,
Sheriff Schmid reasoned, must have known
of Mayfield’s habit of carrying a large sum
of money at all times, but employes and
former employes would be most likely to
know the exact route—and its peculiar tim-
ing—which Mayfield took each night.
LL NIGHT LONG officers prowled
through the area between Linxwiler’s gas
station and that managed. by Smith, but no-
where did: they obtain a lead as to where
or how John Mayfield had disappeared in
that half-mile stretch.
Morning came, and with it the realization
that something serious must have happened
to the rich oilman. “And it’s no ordinary
kidnaping, either,” Schmid ventured. “If it
was, by now there’d have been a demand for
ransom. With Christmas only a day away,
the kidnapers would strike quickly for
dough, knowing full well Mrs. Mayfield
would pay and keep mum to get her hus-
band back safe for the holiday.”
It was mid-morning when the sheriff re-
‘ ceived the phone call that sent two carloads
of officers roaring out to the vicinity of Love
Field, a big airport north of Dallas. On
Walnut Hill Road near Joe Field Road the
officers found a knot of men around a
machine. It was John. Mayfield’s coupe and
the missing oilman was inside—dead !
He was sitting upright behind the wheel
with an unlighted cigar clenched between his
rigid jaws. His spectacles still sat on his
nose. Three bullets had ploughed into his
body, one at the base of the throat, the second
just below the heart and the third through
the upper abdomen. ~~
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PLAN loyee g or mate
n later while eating dinner in a
al ll in Forney, 20 miles east of Dall
that the juke box at the rear was giving out”
strams of Nobody's Sweets!
Heart, aaa
Four local youths were seated in th
sooth next to him. One of them, he -
ueved had slipped the*nickel into t
ot the record player. ~
over their beer.
He caught only snatches of their conve
ation, but he heard words like “bump-off,”
‘Dallas” and “oilman.” It was enough to
WITHIN A FEW minutes Chief De
q Decker was speeding out of Dailac oo
vard Forney. When he arrived he sauntered i a
ato the bar and took the booth beyond ©
vhere the four boys still were sitting. dy a
He listened for several minutes, but picked
D nothing. The juke box was. silent.
Well, he thought to himself, “maybe I
an stir up the boys a bit.” :
He selected a number and inserted his
ickel. He reached his booth and sat down
store the first bars of Nobody’s Sweetheart ~
‘ared out in the room.
“Hey, listen,” one of ‘the quartet said as.
‘¢ music began. “Someone else likes
obby’s_ tune. Gee, how he used to keep
at going when he was thinking of his
ite.
Decker sidled into the adjacent booth, dis-
aying his shield. “You kids better come
ith me,” he said, watching carefully that
ne reached for a gun.
ur boys were taken-in ham by
2c im Constable Hamm. Two were
‘Cased almost at once, but Frank Rager
d Tod Hallam half-brothers, were held
r questioning. ,
At first they denied all knowledge of the
ayfield slaying except from reading about
in the papers.. But after Hamm told them
d heard them talking of the crime, and
er the Dallas bartender identified them as
0 of the youths who’d been beating their
ms about Mayfield as a “soft touch” in
place, the half-brothers broke down.
‘We met these two guys in Dallas,” Rager
d. “We don’t know their names, just their
<names—Bobby and Whitey.”
‘They had a Ccanvas-topped roadster?”
cker queried.
Yes,” Rager nodded. “Bobby was talk-
about robbing Mayfield and. wanted Tod
‘me to ‘help him out. Then he got a gun,
8 caliber Harrington and Richardson, and
< us out to'a bilfboard on McKinney
‘nue to prove it worked okay, but we
't want any part of a robbery.”
‘ecker remembered the woman with “long
ide hair” whom the dairyman had seen
ng in the convertible car at the murder
ie. “Did either of these boys have a
ide girl friend?” he asked.
ager and Hallam said they wouldn’t
w about that. But Hallam had one more
of information to impart. “Bobby and
tey went through Forney last night,”
aid, “and asked us to go to Galveston
them. But we’d heard about the mur?
and were afraid they’d done it. They
ied. ta have plenty of dough. They said
AN oing on a party down in Galves-
‘¢xer, sull working on the woman angle,
struck with an idea. “This Whitey,” he
&“What did his hair look like?”
retty as a girl’s,” Rager replied, “Long
Blond and wavy—almost like a dame
uses peroxide.”
‘@ chief deputy was sure he had his
answer.
hair” whom the dairy man had thought he
saw in the dimness, was really the youth
known as Whitey.
The half-brothers pointed out the bill-
board into which they said Bobby had. fired
several practice shots; and a specimen bul-
let was cut from the four-by-four framework.
Examination in the laboratory proved that
it had come from the murder gun.
Deputy Decker drove to Galveston where
he and local -police toured the city seeking
the two youths and their canvas-topped
Chevrolet roadster. The Dallas officer:
reasoned that with money to spend the two
killers would hit the: night spots, but no-
where in town where they traced.
Then Decker began the rounds of taverns
in the outlying districts, and here at last he
struck their trail. The blond youth and his
dark-haired companion had been in the joint
with two girls only the night before, and
the proprietor knew one of the young ladies.
Shé was Sadie Foster, and Decker soon had
her address and phone number.
He called her, pretending to be a friend
of Bobby’s. She invited him over, and when
he identified himself and told her the two
boys were wanted for murder, the pretty girl
offered to help as much as possible.
“You're after the right guy,” she said.
“You couldn’t stop that Bobby from play-
ing Nobody's Sweetheart on the juke box.
Said it cheered him up whenever he started
thinking about his wife. She’d run out on
him. It wasn’t much of a compliment to us
girls that a juke box tune would set him
up, but he was kind of wacky anyhow .. .”
“Okay, Sadie,” Decker cut in. “Give me
the dope. Who were the guys?”
“We only knew ’em as Bobby and Blondy.
But Blondy did say they were staying at
the Savoy Hotel.”
At this hostelry, Decker found his quarry
had been registered as Robert Walker and R.
O. Currie, both of Dallas. They had checked
out that morning and said they were re-
turning to Dallas, the clerk declared.
~The address of a Robert Walker was
located in Dallas, and on December 27, four
days after the murder, Bobby was picked up
by Deputies Parker and Ballard as he walked
up the steps of his home. Currie was ar-~-
rested a few minutes later while changing a
tire on the canvas-topped roadster several
blocks away.
‘Walker, a former employe of Mayfield’s
firm, was no more talkative than a block of
granite when questioned by the sheriff and
District Attorney Andrew Patton. But the
long-haired blond Currie quickly broke and
told the story of the slaying.
- Walker, on the strength of his acquaintance
with Mayfield, had flagged his ex-boss down
at Haskell and Lemmon Streets and told a
story of having to get to Love Field in a
hurry to catch a plane for California. May-
field had agreed to drive him to the flying
field, and Currie followed in the roadster,
On the lonely road near the airfield Walker
pulled a gun and fired three shots. Then he
looted the body, but both youths insisted they
got only $27.75. It was later discovered
that on this evening Mayfield had carried
no large sum with him.
Both were indicted for first degree mur-
der. Walker was tried first and on February
6, 1939, less than two months after the crime,
was sentenced to death in the electric chair.
On March 4 Currie was convicted of second
degree murder and sentenced to ten years in
the state penitentiary. _
Walker lost on his appeal, and on April 11,
1940, walked into the death chamber at the
Huntsville prison and died in the chair with
a sneer on his lips.
Epitor’s Note:
used in this story, are fictitious.
“The” “woman with loag blonde 1
To spare possible embar- |
rasment to innocent persons, the
_ Frank Rager, Tod Hallam and Sadie Foster,
names |
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Francis, two young men who said that they’d
met the holdup man about a week before
while hitching a ride, that he had coaxed them
into going in on the holdup with him, that
they didn’t know’ anything about him, what
kind of guy he was, what his past was like.
At ten o’clock that night police put through
a call to state police headquarters in Pennsyl-
vania. They were just checking, they said, on
a car involved in a holdup earlier that night.
It had Pennsylvania license. plates. They
thought it might be a stolen car. :
At 10:15 they got their answer. It was a
stolen car, they were told. -
“Well,” the officer who answered the call
said, ‘“‘we’ve got a guy here, the guy who was
driving the car. Maybe he’s from Pennsyl-
vania, too. You want to check on it?”
“What’s his name?”
“Wable,” the officer said. “John Wesley
Wable.”
There was a pause. The New Mexico of-
ficer could hear the commotion at the other
‘
end of the wire, the receiver slamming down
on the desk, the talking, the receiver coming
up again and then the word, “Hold that man!
He’s wanted here for murder! !”
FoR THE next two days Wable denied the
Turnpike murders. Sullen, his eyes down, al-
ways down, threatening more than once to kill
himself if he wasn’t let alone, he told the New
Mexico officers that someone else was the >
‘ killer—not him. Sure, they might have found
the wristwatch that he’d pawned and they
“might: have found the gun which had been
used in the shooting; but, he said, it was all
very simple to explain. “I loaned the gun
to some guy I know,” he said. “He asked
me if he could borrow it and I said yeah.
Then, when he returned it to me about a
week later, he gave me a wristwatch, too.
He’s the guy who did the killing. He’s the
one you want.”
“Who is he?” .
Wable shook his head. “I know him,” he
said, his eyes narrowing. “I know his name
and where he lives. I'll get him.”
For two days this is all Wable would say.
Then, on the third day, three officers from
Pennsylvania showed up and took over the
questioning. By the time they were through
—on Thursday night, October 15—Wable con-
fessed. All right, he finally said. Then he
confessed and signed a 14-page statement im-
plicating himself in the murders. Police said
they had “little doubt” that he was the real
killer and that he worked “alone.”
The officers prepared to return him - to
Pennsylvania where he was charged with first-
degree murder in the deaths of truckers Wai-
ter Woodward and Harry Pitts.
The Turnpike, meanwhile, got back to nor-
mal after more than two months of the
shakes and .last reports are that the truckers
are cruising it at normal speeds now. and pull-
ing over to its sides for those half-hour naps
and that the. politicians are getting ready to
start calling it Dream Highway again.
continued from page 45
Terror Feeds on Moonlight
hampered by a near state of panic. Such
hysteria can break down law and order, bring
death to innocent persons, defeat justice and
write a red page in the history of Dallas...”
Newspapers and television stations started
rewards for the capture of Beanie Parker’s
slayer. The reward soon reached more than
$7000. Clyde Atkerson, partner at the Beene
Shoe Store in Walnut Hills village, started a
drive for a fund to educate Mrs. Parker’s son
and care for him and her sick husband. Fruit
jars were put out in stores and_ people
crammed the jars. with dollar and five dollar.
bills. Soon that fund was more than $7000,
too.
Detective Fritz was determined to get the
killer before he struck again. Within two
days he arrested 150 suspects and eliminated
40. Tips poured in. Officers in Sherman,
Fort Worth and other Texas cities arrested
suspects. There were so ‘many that Fritz.
could: only mug, fingerprint them and check
their alibis. ;
Degenerates were emotionally aroused by
the rape-murder, like buzzards after death.
Sex crimes broke out. everywhere. Women
lived in terror. Lila Wisdom left her foun-
tain job at the bus depot downtown at 11:30
p.M. the night after the murder. As soon as
she stepped to the sidewalk a big man in a °
polka-dot shirt seized her arm. She jerked
free and ran into the bus station for help.
They couldn’t find the man.
Five minutes later 20-year-old Mrs. T. J.
Baisden in another part of town looked out
the window of a bedroom where her two-year-
old daughter and two-month-old daughter
slept. She saw the stooping figure of a nude |
man, his face pressed against the glass window.
When she.screamed, he ran. Just after mid-
night a blond boy peeped in Mrs. A. L. Ander-
son’s window. A prowler cut and tore open
two screens at Mrs, Edith Knight’s home for
the aged.- .
On Thursday, the day after Beanie’s mutder,
a 35-year-old housewife was washing dishes ©
in the kitchen of her home wher she heard,
a crunching sound in the gravel.in her back
yard. She put her dish towel. down and
opened the back door. Rough hands yanked
her out into the yard, knocked her down and
dragged her to the woods. He was slender,
medium-sized, sunburned, blond, .wearing a
dirty T-shirt, ducking trousers, and held a
piece of iron in his hand.
’ “Be quiet. Be quiet and everything will
be all right;”* he said. In the woods he
threw her to the ground. She fought back
like a wildcat. She pawed his eyes and ripped
fingernails from three of her fingers. She
screamed and kicked and fought him off. He
gave up and fled. Neighbors came running
when they heard her screams and found her
bleeding and unconscious.
Police scoured the woods but found no
trace of the.man. Neighbors said they’d seen
a 1938 Ford parked nearby. A Garland Road
liquor dealer said he’d sold two pints of wine
Wednesday to a man fitting the description.
Officers failed to find the assailant.
E city was an armed camp. Police feared
someone would fire and kill an innocent
person before they captured the nude rapist. A
middle-aged woman walked into a sporting
goods store, asked to look at guns and sighted
down barrels like an expert.. Men quit watch-
ing Mickey Mantle bat in the World Series
on TV, and looked over at the woman buying
her gun. . Pretty handy with a weapon, for a
woman, they thought. “I’ll take this one,”
she said. The clerk then shoved over a box
of .38 cartridges to go with the weapon. ~°
“Oh, I don’t want big ones, just small ones.
I don’t want to hurt anybody,” she said. -
T. A. Cargile,. 2}-year-old Ford Plant
worker, heard a noise on his front porch at
1 am. He fired two shotgun blasts at a
prowler who fled the porch. One shot ripped
a pillow on a neighbor’s porch. The prowler
got away. ,
Shop girls were afraid to go home alone at
night. Store managers escorted them to bus
stops. Burglars and prostitutes were afraid,
too, Special’ Service: officers. said, Normally
there are 20 burglaries a night in Dallas.
But on Thursday and Friday nights follow-
ing Mrs. Parker’s murder, the total of bur-
glaries was only 11. There was only one rob-
bery by assault. .
Sheriff Jess Sweeten, famous “Seven Feet
Tall” law of nearby Henderson County, of-
fered to organize 100 East Texas peace of-
ficers to help patrol Dallas and bring the
prowler to bay. On Friday the police bor-
rowed 40 unmarked cars from civil defense
to reinforce the night patrol. Each car was
equipped with two-way radio and carried a
radio “ham” operator and two uniformed po-
licemen. On Saturday police called in a heli-
copter with searchlights from the Bell Air-
craft plant at Hurst.
Fritz kept arresting and questioning sus-
pects, but his face got grimmer. He lit cigars,
chewed them up and spit them out, forgetting
to puff them. :
There was fear, but no racial . conflict.
Negro baseball stars Buzz Clarkson and Wil-
lie Brown of the Dixie Champion Dallas
Eagles started a reward fund, contributing
$300 each. Eagle Owner Dick Burnett added
$300. The National Association for Advance-
ment of Colored People, Southwest School of
Business Administration and Council of Negro
Organizations contributed. .
“We don’t want people in our race who
dre capable of such an outrage,” Dr. J. O.
Chisum, optometrist and Negro leader, said.
At 4:45 a.M., Friday, two days after Beanie
Parker died, a 23-year-old man drove two
girls to the dark little bridge near the scene
of the crime. He stopped the car and got
out whimpering like a hurt dog. He ran
down the embankment to the creek bottom
and hurled himself to the ground where
Beanie had been’ bludgeongd. The girls
_ gasped, slammed the car door and drove to
police. They found the man prostrate, naked,
sobbing over and over again, “Oh, the body.
Oh, the body.” :
Fritz looked up the man’s record and ques-
tioned him. A three-time mental patient, he
had been accused of shooting himself and
faking a robbery last spring to cover up a
$100 theft from the filling station where he
worked. He’d been committed to the Terrel
- state hospital and freed 90 days later. Fritz
now held h
Fritz hac
cused of
months be!
ing a 29-v¢
arrested, «
with lewd
alibis and
On Sat
routine che
ing around
ing Union
“What a
The mar
his thinnin:
out his wa
picture of
“Where
Fritz said
The pre
“T’m a por
the hotel n
“Wednes
ager said.
“Oh, tha
to a show
think anyo
“Let’s t
said. The
photos. (
front page
“T guess
the suspect
Fritz |
right. Yo
don’t you
wouldn’t i
The mar
thick lips
fully inter¢
Fritz jai
ing to do
here until
Early M
race flush«
under a tr
Routh. T
him dowr
The nudis:
released fr
being held
A neigh
lurking in
hour, but «
maybe he
—and she
a caddy ;
country cl
to 1945 w
sentence f<
jailed alr
vagrancy.
“ WAS
I was '
drinking »
to buy m
off.”
When h
no money
was stolen
“T just
“You w
hour. W!}
put them
help?”
“T was
throat. |
with that
w his name
would say.
fficers from
k over the
ere through
Wable con-
Then he
itement im-
Police said
vas the real
rn him - to
{ with first-
ickers Wai-
ack to nor-
ths of the
he truckers
w and pull-
t-hour naps
ig ready to
gain.
ly one rob-
Seven Feet
Sounty, of-
s peace of-
bring the
police bor-
ivil defense
ch car was
1 carried a
iformed po-
d in a heli-
> Bell Air-
ioning sus-
fe lit cigars,
. forgetting
al conflict.
n and Wil-
ion Dallas
‘ontributing
rnett added
or Advance-
t School of
il of Negro
race who
bi. F. 6.
ider, said.
ifter Beanie
drove two
r the scene
ir and got
He ran
‘ek bottom
und where
The — girls
d drove to
rate, naked,
the body.
{ and ques-
patient, he
imself and
over up a
1 where he
the Terrel
ater. Fritz
now held him for further investigation.
Fritz had two other good suspects, one ac-
cused of trying to rape a. woman several
months before, the second accused of attack-
ing a 29-year-old woman.
arrested, was driving a car decorated inside
with lewd pictures. Fritz checked both men’s
alibis and released them.
On Saturday night patrolmen ‘making a
- routine check found a 33-year-old man sneak-
ing around in a vacant, unused part of sprawl-
ing Union Station.
“What are you doing in here?”
The man shrugged, simpering, smoothing’
his thinning hair with long fingers. He pulled
out his wallet and showed them a newspaper
‘picture of Beanie Parker.
“Where were you last Wednesday night?”
Fritz said.
The prowler named a downtown hotel.
“I’m a porter there,” he said. Fritz phoned
the hotel manager.
“Wednesday was his night off,” the man-
ager said.
“Oh, that’s right,” the man said. “I went
to a show Wednesday night. No, I don’t
think anyone saw me go.”
“Let’s take a look at your room,” Fritz
said. The walls were cluttered with lewd
photos.. One of the: drawers contained the
front page account of Mrs. Parker’s death.
“T guess I’m just interested in the case,”
the suspect murmured. : .
Fritz bellowed. ‘“You’re interested, all
right. You actually want to be suspected,
don’t you? That would give you a thrill,
wouldn’t it?”
The man’s fingers twitched nervously at his
thick lips. “I don’t know, sir. I’m just aw-
fully interested.”
Fritz jailed him. “I believe he had noth-
ing to do with the slaying, but we’ll keep him
here until we’re sure he’s not the right one.”
Early Monday morning two men of his own
race flushed a runty Negro squatting naked
under a tree on a vacant lot at Thomas and
Routh. They snatched up boards and chased
him down, collared him and phoned police.
The nudist was Frank Lucas, who had been
released from jail only Sunday afternoon after
being held five days for investigation.
A neighbor woman said she’d seen him
lurking in the vacant lot for more than an
hour, but didn’t call police because she thought
maybe he was a young boy—he was so small
—and she wasn’t sure. he was naked. - Lucas,
a caddy at Brook Hollow and Northwood
country clubs, had a long record, dating back
to 1945 when he got a five-year suspended
sentence for burglary. Since then he had been
jailed almost weekly for drunkenness and
vagrancy .
‘Tl WAS drinking again,” he told Fritz. “I
was robbed of $3 by three men I was
drinking with, Captain. They took my money
to buy more wine and stripped my clothes
off.”
When he was released from jail he had had
no money. Where had:he gotten the $3 that
was stolen Sunday night?
“T just can’t help you. I was too drunk.”
“You were naked in the vacant lot for an
hour. Why .didn’t you find your clothes and
put them back on. Why didn’t you yell for
help ?”
“T was afraid the robbers would cut my
throat. I was scared they might come back
with that knife.”
The second, when .
His clothes were found rolled neatly in a
shrub 25 feet from the tree where he lurked.
Fritz clamped his cigar between clenched —
teeth. “You don’t find many people who will
rob you and take your clothes off who have
the good manners to fold them up'neatly and
place them in a shrub. Where were you
when Mrs. Parker was murdered?” -
Right here in your: jail,” the man said
quickly.
Fritz waved the coil in, Lucas’ face.
“No, you were jailed September 29 for drunk-
enness, and released on corporation court
judge’s motion-at-noon-—Wesjailed=you-again-———
THs sounded like the description of the
for drunkenness at 11:15 p.m., September 30. -
But that was two hours after Mrs. Parker
died.” ~
Lucas muttered and begged, “I never killed
nobody. Captai, you're Joking for a crazy
man.” *
-T’m not: sure that a man who runs around
without his clothes. on isn’t crazy,” Fritz
growled.
The two men who had captured Lucas asked
that their names not be released. “Some other
nut might decide to do us harm because we
. turned this one in.’
Fritz put Lucas in a lineup and the hiveni:
old woman who’d been attacked, beaten and
_left for dead in Revetchon Park in August
looked at the lineup and said, “No, he’s not
here.” Two women workers from Hope Cot-
tage near Reverchon Park. had seen a giant
nude standing on the foundling home steps a
month before.
and shook their heads.
FRzz pointed out Lucas. The rape victim
looked at him a long time as he turned to
show both profiles and’ his back. She spoke
softly.
him. The other two women said,
one we saw was bigger’. . .”
Fritz shrugged. “I have no real reason to
believe he’s the -murderer. -No proof that
he isn’t. The man was ordered held for a
while.
The others, the man arrested sobbing at
the scene, the Union Station suspect, proved
to have alibis. Fritz.released them.
He had one other suspect to check out and
he couldn’t find him. Five days before, the
Austin police had telephoned him. They
were looking for a suspect in connection with
four Austin attacks who worked much like
the Dallas giant. He was big, six feet tall,
weighing 160. He went nude and used a
knife. His last Austin attack was in June.
They thought he’d moved to. Dallas. His
name was Jack Simpson.
He’d been in the penitentiary twice—once a
two-year term for burglary after he entered
a home in the nude, once for forgery. Only
last September 19 he’d been arrested in Dallas
for accosting a woman, but was released after
she refused to press charges. ~
Fritz checked employment records: and
found that Simpson had worked. as a porter
in a drugstore in the Walnut Hills shopping
center. He’d walked off the job two days be-
fore Mrs. Parker died im that neighborhood !
Fritz had combed the neighborhood he lived
in but couldn’t find him. He didn’t come
home for days.
It was two weeks. now since an attack.
Time for the case to break, or the rapist to
strike again.
At 7 a.M. on Tuesday, October 13, a 29-
year-old Negro woman waited for a streetcar
“No, the
‘before the murder.
They looked at the lineup
“No,. sir, Captain, it’s definitely not -
to take her to work. A man came up in a
cream-colqred model Ford, pulled a knife on
-her and dragged her into the automobile with
him. He held the knife at her throat: and
drove to a deserted spot under the. Forest
Avenue bridge where he beat and attacked
her. She was picked up a few minutes later
by two men on their way to work.
The woman was bruised and_ hysterical.
She told police at Parkland Hospital her at-
tacker was six feet tall, weighed about 200
pounds, wore khaki pants, a dark shirt and
heavy shoes ase socks.
big one. Fritz remembered the prowler
clad only in blue jeans who’d been scared
away by Doug Hord on Route 6 the Monday
He’d fled in a cream-
colored sedan. ;
On Wednesday, October 14, two weeks after
the murder, Lieutenant James Bohart and
Detective E. R. Beck picked up Jack Simpson
._ as he walked home after paying an electric bill.
He offered no resistance. He had a small knife
in his pocket, a knife capable of causing the
wounds that killed Mrs. Parker.
Fritz grilled him. “I never worked in Wal-
nut Hills,” he said. “I know nothing about
Mrs. Parker.” :
Fritz showed him his employment record.
“Oh, yeah, I was there as a‘porter for a
few days,” Simpson said.
“Where have you been the past two weeks ?”
“T’ve been home every night.”
“No, you haven’t been home.”
“Well, I worked at a tourist court on High-
way 77 and stayed there a few of those nights.”
The suspect’s face was hard as rock. Only
his eyes moved, constantly shifting. .
“Why did you quit work at Walnut Hills?”
“Too far from home.”
“But the tourist camp is four more miles
from your home. Where were you the night
of September 30?” :
“IT guess I was home.”
His landlady promised to come and testify
that he was home, but she failed to show up.
Why was he involved in so many sex
crimes ?
“T don’t know,” he said. ‘I guess it’s just
my nature. But I wasn’t trying to rape all
those women. At least six of them just mis-
understood what I was saying.”
. Fritz lit his cigar again. This was the best
suspect so far. But he couldn’t believe a
word Simpson said. He had to check every-
thing and that took time. On Saturday, Os-
. tober 17, he was still checking.
How did Simpson get to work at the tour-
ist court and the drug store job? F ritz_ found
_ out that to both jobs he rode the same Lem-
mon Avenue bus Beanie Parker was waiting
for the night she was raped and slashed to
death !
Did Simpson kill her? Or is the mad nude
giant still loose? Is he still in Dallas, or did
he flee to Chicago, New York or somewhere
else? Only one person knows, and he is mad,
and people are waiting and frightened because
it is near the end of the month and the moon
is changing again.
Eprror’s Note: The names Jack Simpson
and Frank Lucas are not the actual names of
the persons who were in fact participants in
the incidents described in this article. The
names are used. to avoid embarrassment to
these innocent persons.
65
aes i ln i he ts ila a carl eit ae entoiaiile bs wa 2,
In At The Finish
Drink Up—Harlow Fraden, 22, confessed
killer of his parents (Drink Up, Folks, I’m
Working, March 1nstpe, 1954), was com-
mitted to Matteawan State Hospital for
the Criminal Insane, Bronx, N. Y. County
Judge James M- Barrett at the same time
suspended the first degree murder indict-
ment against the boy. Fraden’s pal and
co-defendant, Denis Wepman, was judged
sane, however, and he pleaded not guilty to
the murder charge. Wepman, who was
seized as a passive accomplice in the crime,
faces trial alone.
Crazy Carl—Former Carnival owner
Carl J. Folk was sentenced to die in the
Arizona gas chamber for the brutal torture-
slaying of Mrs. Betty Faye Allen (Every-
one Knows Crazy Carl, March INSIDE,
1954). Folk was found guilty of first’ de-
gree murder after the Holbrook, Ariz., jury
had debated for one hour and 22 minutes.
Let's Play—James David Griffiths, 20,
of Pueblo, Colo., and Larry Ray Aldrich,
19, of Des Moines, Ia., were sentenced to
life imprisonment for the pop-bottle mur-
der of a crippled Claremore, Okla., service
station attendant (Let’s Play Kill, April
INSIDE, 1954). District Judge Josh J. Evans
warned the two boys not to return to his
court with an appeal, saying he had a ‘‘close
choice” between ordering life imprisonment
or execution. Mrs. Shirlie Hooks Abantha,
17, and Sylvester Collette, also 17, pleaded
innocent to the murder charge, but have yet
to stand trial.
Dead Women—In Denver, Colo.,
Judge Garold H. Davies directed a verdict
of innocent on the murder count of a three
count indictment against John H. Baney
(Dead Women Tell Tales, January INSIDE,
1954). The jury will consider counts of
rape and assault to rape only. Judge Davies,
in directing the verdict, granted a motion
by Attorney Robert B. Lee contending that
the defense had shown evidence that Mrs.
Dorothy Gall died, not as a result of being
raped, but as a result of the procaine anes-
thetic administered at a hospital before
surgery.
Terror—A murder charge was filed
against 19-year-old Tommy Walker, who
has been accused in the rape-slaying of
Mrs. H. C. Parker which aroused Dallas,
Tex., last fall (Terror Feeds On Moonlight,
January 1Nsipe, 1954). The youthful sus-
pect has signed a confession, but captain
Will Fritz of the Dallas Police Department
said he could not be sure of the boy’s guilt
until all evidence had been checked.
Football—In Chicago, James Dodd,
who admitted kicking his two-year-old son
across the length of a room (Kicked Him
Like A Football, January INSIDE, 1954)
was sentenced to 25 years in prison on a
murder charge. Dodd pleaded guilty after
the state indicated that it would demand
a jury trial and the death penalty if he
didn’t.
Still Not in Rome—lItalian globe-trot-
ter Pietro Mele is shown (hatless in center)
leaving a police launch at a New York pier
after he was taken off the Europe-bound
liner Constitution. It was halted in lower
I’m tired and I wanna go home—to Kome.
New York Bay at the request of police
after Mele’s $1000 bail on a simple assault
charge was revoked. Officers of the district
attorney’s force took Mele off the ship. The
assault charge resulted from a scuffle with
police outside the apartment of glamor girl
Brenda Frazier (When Not In Rome. . .,
February INSIDE, 1954).
A Final Strike—In San Francisco, Cal.,
Mrs. Rowena Johnson and her paramour
partner in murder, H. Don Waller, drew a
total of three life sentences after they had
pleaded guilty to stabbing her estranged
husband to death in his Richmond, Cal.,
apartment (Strike Now—He’s Sleeping,
February INSIDE, 1954). Mrs. Johnson will
spend the rest of her life in the women’s
prison at Corona. Waller received two life
terms when it was learned that he had
seven prior convictions on charges of auto
theft and burglary. He was described by
Superior Judge Wakefield Taylor as “a
merece 6, ee eee a
Three life sentences for Rowena and Don.
habitual criminal.’ Photo shows Mrs.
Johnson (right) at a pre-trial coroner’s
hearing. She ,broke down several times
during questioning about the brutal stab-
bing of her husband. With her are Police-
woman Mary Lou Butler and Police Ser-
geant Fay Hawkins.
Hot-Lead—T went y-one-year-old
Charles Struhart was found guilty of the
murder of Jack Hendricks (The Hot-Lead
Kid From Maxwell Street, August INSIDE,
1953) and sentenced to 20 years in prison
by a criminal court jury in Chicago. Joseph
Sustak, 26, Struhart’s companion on the
shooting spree which cost Hendricks his
life was earlier sentenced to life imprison-
ment. Policeman Anthony Kasten, wounded
in the gun battle with the boys, has made a
successful recovery.
Kiss of Death—Evan Charles Thomas
the “Phantom Sniper” who prowled the
dark streets of Los Angeles, Cal., in 1951
shooting at women with a rifle (Bullets Are
Kisses, July INSIDE, 1952) was executed in
the lethal gas chamber at San Quentin
Thomas was told only 15 minutes before
his death, that his personally handwritten
plea for a stay of execution had been denied
The 30-year-old killer, who shot at women
“because it sexually excited me,” took the
news calmly, saying, “I didn’t really expect
anything else.”
Flickering Out—Gunman Luther Car-
lyle Wheeler died in Mississippi's electric
chair at Hattiesburg, Miss., for the murder
of two policemen (The Blonde Has Flick-
ering Green Eyes, July INstpE, 1952). He
was singing “Jesus, Hold My Hand” until
a jolt of electricity silenced him. As
Wheeler had been led from his cell block,
he had spurned the shouted plea of Elaine
Foreman, his convicted girlfriend accom-
plice, that he confess his crime. “Baby,
don’t testify to people, testify to God,”
he shouted back to the woman who was in
another cell awaiting an appeal of her life
sentence.
Along the Highway—Bernard Prigan,
who confessed to assaulting over 100 wom-
en, was sentenced in Manheim, Germany,
to three terms for killing three of his vic-
tims (Highway Of Murdered Women, Au-
gust INSIDE, 1953). German law does not
permit the death penalty
Tin Hero—John D. Mulqueen, 25, of
Cudahy, Wis., was sentenced to one to two
years in state prison for manslaughter and
one to eight years for theft of his victim's
car. (Look For The Little Tin Hero, Feb-
ruary INSIDE, 1954). Mulqueen admitted
killing and robbing Korean war veteran
Captain Lloyd G. Larson. Judge Kenneth
S. White ruled the sentences will run con-
currently, which means Mulqueen can serve
both at the same time
Down Mexico Way—A federal judge in
the small town of Izucar De Matamoros,
Mexico, sentenced Hombono Lavarria
Alonso to 30 years in prison, Manuel San-
chez Ramirez to 28 years and Maurilio
Moctezuma Soriano to 26 years. The three
confessed to killing Dr. Ralph Swain of
Benton, Ill., in a highway robbery (Bad-
Will Ambassadors, January INSIDE, 1954)
Hunting the Rapist
“WALKER, Tommie Lee, black, electrocuted Texas (Dallas) on May 12, 1956, y
Week After Week, Month After Month He Stalked the Streets of
~~ Dallas, Tex., Preying on Women. Could He Be Caught Before —
Avenue and _ Shore -Crest
Drive, on the northeast edge of Dallas,
Texas, W. H. Clarkson thought she was
drunk.
Then, with the headlights of his car
sweeping down on her, he realized that
this was much more serious. She was
reeling and about to fall. He slapped
on the brakes.
As he did so, the full truth dawned
on him. The Terror was at work again!
Here, in front of Clarkson, was his
latest victim! The Terror of Dallas, at
his very worst!
Clarkson leaped from the car. The
woman’s clothes, he saw, had been all
but torn from her body. Blood was
seeping from her throat and from a
dozen other spots; her face was bruised,
her hair matted and tangled, dirt had
been imbedded in her skin.
HEN he first saw the woman
near the corner of Lemmon
Clarkson did his best to cover her
OFFICIAL DETECTIVE, April, 195h.
By Gordon Shell .
’ Special Investigator for : ,
ACTUAL DETECTIVE STORIES
and helped her to his car. She opened
her mouth and tried to speak, but only
a choking, gurgling gasp came from her
throat. Again, when Clarkson had
placed her in the car, she tried to tell
him something and this time he made
out a few words. *
“Stabbed!” she whispered. “I’ve been
stabbed! Help me!”
The terminal at Love Field Munici-
pal Airport was only a short distance
away. His foot on the accelerator and
his hand on the horn, Clarkson raced
there as fast as his ‘car could go. The
alarm went out from Love Field—for
doctors, an ambulance, police. The
Terror had struck once more. And this,
Clarkson and the airport people knew,
would be his worst crime of all, for the
woman was dying.
Patrolmen W. M. McGee and J. W.
Gallaher, cruising a squad car in the
area, reached the field in ten minutes.
The woman was almost unconscious.
She managed to gasp out her name,
Mrs. H. C. Parker, and address and
these last words: “A man took me un-
der the bridge and slashed my throat.”
a“
She died in an ambulance a few blocks
before it reached the hospital.
The Terror finally had killed. Top
Officials of the Police Department were
notified and, half an hour later,
Clarkson led Patrolmen McGee and
Gallaher, Detective Captain Will Fritz
and Inspector Dal Loe of the Homicide
Squad and Deputy Police Chief O. P.
Wright, to the spot where he had found
Mrs. Parker, near a bridge crossing
Bachman’s Creek. Big searchlights
were set up and in the white glare they
found shocking evidence of the crime.
Heel-prints in the soft creek bank
showed where the young woman had
been dragged ten feet down the slope
and where she had struggled with her
killer, uprooting the grass. About
eight feet from the water’s edge, Cap-
tain Fritz found a bloodstained boulder
and pools of blood on the ground. A
white purse, also flecked with stains,
was lying near by, and a foot from it a
lipstick and vanity pack, discarded by
the assailant after he had taken her
money.
The man’s prints were made by
about a size eight shoe, indicating a
small man. A trail up the bank was
stained with blood; apparently the vic-
tim had half crawled and half pulled
herself up the steep slope and finally
managed to stand upright and stagger
onto the highway.
The grim-faced officers searched the
area methodically, interlacing it with
their flashlights. Near the water, Loe
found a woman’s torn lingerie. The
4 + type of crime was obvious.
“She died before she coulfl describe
the man,” Captain Fritz said. “But we
don’t need a description now.”
Indeed they didn’t. All too often The
Terror had been described to them be-
fore; they knew by heart the details
of his appearance. For more than a
year now—this was September 30,
1953—he had left a trail of horror and
heartbreak behind him throughout the
city.
[7 HAD started eighteen months be-
fore and at least once a month since
then The Terror had struck, beaten
and stabbed his victims, leaving them
sobbing, hysterical and suffering from
an emotional shock that would take
years to vanish.
He had appeared at the bedside of a
young married woman in the midst of
the night when she was home alone, his
gleaming, razor-sharp knife in his
hand. After a half-hour of horror he
had forced her, at the point of the
knife, to leave the house with him and
slip through alleys and vacant fields
to a park some distance away and
there, finally, when he left her, he had
beaten her into unconsciousness.
Some bought new locks and big
dogs. Others, like these two
Dallas women, bought pistols
17
Terror of Dallas
FAMILY GROUP NO.
Husband's Full Name
LI. IF a
This Information Obtained From:
Myspends
ere Day Month Year City. Town or Place County or Province, etc. State or Country Add into on Husband
COMPUTERIZED = MY.
FAMILY FILE aia Saimin Cae
Entry Sheet me. <>. a WT
sal levy Like Co. Bi.
Person Submitting Sheet: = 2"
Places of Residence 1837 7? Ahlech. CoM ISIS a) hike QZ,
Name ZLiances RICE
Occupation
Church Affiliation Military Rec.
Address 703 Beand. Au.
Other wives. if any No (1) (2) etc
Make seperate sheet for each mar
ols City bie AFB His Father a ee! Mother's Malden Name
BE State 4. Zip Odie _ Wife’s Full Maiden Name tartar Nadal
Bi ; fer ma Day Month Year City, Town or Place Counly or Province, etc State or Country Add Info on Wile
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fea3 Date Submitted otha tabard aya Ie Na 1 (2 alc
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1 Birth /3/? MY
‘Zs 4S: 5 ik / SUE, Mar
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30 Oct M56
Full Name oT Bpouee™™
Pika Co.
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29 Tin 1906
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Birth 1626 A; w
Mar CS OCt (8494 Like Co. i a
Burial
Mose /( Qe as
FO ithe Gt BpSuRET
Birth
22 Feb 27
Kense((asra , VY
Mar.
19_Aug l8Y5
Fibs Co. bw
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Death
29 Fuhe 1886)
Burial
Hann pal, Morim Co. Mo.
“Barry Twp. , Pike Co. L2.
“Thomas Indus
PON Wane OT WpGUEeT
Birth
(eMar /&30
Mar
7Mar 1851
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Pike Co hale.
Clotturine. Burdice
Death
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Chape/ Qm., Tarrant @,. TEX
Burial
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(v¢ Pig) Geet
FAMILY GROUP NO.
Husband's Full Name) //2cHan Aeeel
This Information Obtained From:
jMusbends
Vere Day Month Year City, Town or Place County or Province, etc State or Country Add Into on Husband
COMPUTERIZED
Birth lb? ‘
FAMILY FILE
LY:
va | GOMoV [8H e/ five to. 2Z.
Cht'nd
Entry Sheet
Person Submitting Sheet:
| Death
“a aw TO}: ‘Tarnant Co. Tex.
Burial 4 sham Cem : 44 4
Name Frances feic€
Places of Residence . ~ -
Occupation Church Affiliation Milltary Rec.
Other wives. if any No (1) (2) atc
Address 203 Recrd Wve.
Make separate sheet for each mar
City ckam AFB
His Father Zrea SWEE Y Mother's Maiden Name Saah MADS ELL
xx
ft! State As Zip 9657" Wife's Full Maiden Name 4anda ToLBERT
4 cf (or) fwaies ay Month Year City. Town or Place | eas or Province, etc State ot Country Add Info on Wile
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7851 | Occupetinn it othe: then housewife _ Church Affiliation |
244 Date Submitted Man sopniaie steer lor sacra” C1) 7 Hpormae DAW SOM (}
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Birth AUG, 1858 TEX
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FAMILY GROUP NO.
Husband's Full Name __ Samuel © sweeT
This Information Obtained From: tA hy Day Month Year City. Town or Place County or Province, etc. State or Country Add Info on Husband
Bitth GA
COMPUTERIZED i i is LEG WY.
Chi'nd
FAMILY FILE
Entry Sheet
Person Submitting Sheet:
Name Anances PRICE
Address 703 ‘Beard Aut.
city AcKam AFB
me | TZ OCTISYA
Eke Co.
ZL.
Death
Burial
+ nina xtreme
Places of Residence
a.
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His Father
Mother's Maiden Name SVU.aAhN MADSEGLL
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GH! state Av zip 967/F | —_wite’s Full Maiden Name Aarrda Melzinee GIBSON
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:
fbound f6F thie etry but nothing was
the heyrro had the drop ono tiim so
he dodged down and just at this
time Stanford passed him and Menun-
ger said: “Lookout,” as he puneled
Stanford with his arm.
Stanferd not thinking of the im-
mediate danger walked on and had
Just gotten a few steps away when
the shot was fired. The report of
the gun put the lantern that Stan-
ford was carrying out. He rushed
up to Elmer Smith, engine wateh-
man and told him that Mounger had
been shét. Smith tdok tis tantern
and Fushed to the scene where he
found Mounger dying and the negro
gone.
The deceased never spoke after |
heing shot. The bullet was of 4O
caliber. It entered the back just below
the left shoulder blade and went
through the body coming out just
above the right side.
Officers were notifled at once and
‘|have been diligently at work on the
case.
A horse, brid!e and saddle be-
longing to Jack Ryant, who resides
at the corner of Wells avenue and
Maxey street was found to be. miss-
ing this morning and {t Is believed
by some of the officers that the ne-
gro ts accountable for that.
The other shoe, to maten the one
that was found in the box car. was
found by Tice Wilkins this morn-
Ing, east of the cotton compress,
It is reported that a negro
answering the deseription of the one
supposed to have done the shooting,
Was seen in the Cotton Belt yards
last evening just after the affair
and that he shot at a brakeman.
but missed. It is also learned ¢hat
there was some trouble about Wood-
2 Thndy
ht hee 7 os on Oe ere Core ee wire) et. Mal”
ans’ residence and stolen a pair of
hoes, a pair of pants and four
plugs of tobiceo, all of which was
recovered, Vines al*eo admits that
he took the horee and rode him and
finally turned him loose this morn-
Ing.” He says he is a native of Da}-
las, that he came tn here yesterday
afternoon, and that he was trying
to get back: to Dallas.
H. & T. C. Offers Reward.
Morris Kahn, spectal agent of the
H. & T. €. Ry., on behalf of the }
Managenient of the rout, offers one
hundred dollars reward-for the ar-
rest and conviction of the negro who
killed Fred Mounger !aat night.
5
TO EMPANEL GRAND gury.”
WHE Re Catled Together
Monday to Investigate Killing.
District Judge Jones announces)
this afternoon that the grand jury
Will be called torether next Monday
morning to especially Investigate the
killing. of Officer Mounger.
gn ee ee.
CHILD FATALLY BURNED
ACCIDENT COSTS LIFE Of LitT-
TLE MILDRED THOMPSON,
Sets Blre So Peweler in Home ani
Was So Radivy Harned Threat
Death Resulted,
eee + ee ane °
Nake with negroes last night. A
through freight crew that
through here on the T. & f. yester-
day just after 12 o'clock noon re-
perted that a negro with » gun had
boarded the train at Bonham, and
when discovered trying to steal out
of a merchandise car on the train
had shot at a brakeman. The ne-
kro was put off the train at Bells.
The crew state that they were of
the opinion that the negro. Was
thought. of thin till
of—last- aight.- —--. :
Thomas Fred Mounger wap
jyears of age.
after the deed
[Roy. Hurbert and Ptck, and
daughter, Mahle.
Other relatives are a «ister in Mis-
sissippl, a brother, Jem Mounger of
Monros, Le, and uncle> Champ
-~
4
t
|
pasead j
("5 at 4:30 yesterday afternoon.
32 dred war the only daughter and was
H2 Is survived by his the second to the yuungeat of the
al
jidenee of Mr. and Mra, Tem Gants,
jinterment will be
eteryé
Yesterday about Tloa. nm. the res-
idence of. Tom Thompedn of fia,
about. seven and a half cites, south: |
leant of this city, waz barned.
The flre originated when the. lit-
j tte four-year-old dauglter, Mitdred,
Ret fire to some powder that: was
Jn the house. The powder exploded
and get the house on fire and #o
)Bericusly burned the child that she
The death of the Iittle gir} is
j\ivings? jer ais
makes a Hfe fer hrs
that the secretary ¢
with
ed several
made
Y. M. B.
unton for support in|
jand, Greenbacks. He ©
cance of each and te
fe Rev,
'
iA Uhiaay!
Men's Business As
asked him to make
at the meeting that
any one that was a
iabor
union and na
for them to ¢
them in helpin
Ho sald that a bette
B, A.
bullt -by the co-opera
* | zens,
of securing that.
and that they
Fhort and interest
mide and as the p
Bulloch said, “the n
different
which tended to a
generat union of eve
clan of pecple in tl
their
work for city
Uncle Tobe Mitche
good potnts, one of
the good roads moves
to matertalize im th
that he hopes that tl
be Iike\France alon,
that there -wtl! be In
graod roads. He said ¢
pls of Skerman will q
moral eupport to an
would get behind it
more
improvement ft
White of the €
a good talk. R.
A. made ay
Mr.
BE. C. Sevier of the
— --—. Mnien made a brief
unfon nsw. Then Re
vil spoke for a mint
there were three wo
a lot to hima. They ¥
{
that a city is judges
bulldings. streeta an
CCL McCay |
whieh he said that
seot.”’
After these talks ¢
dismilssed and every
themselyé3 as optim:
resulta that should
L&bor-Husiness Unio:
Cn virth at the mert!
— ew «
@
Les
meyrned. by “her-parents, Mr. ant
Mra. Thompson, and aix brothers, as
‘Well as by all who Knew Wer. Mil]
Thet White Hock
bf work. Th!
OO G00 gal
= —
The funeral will be from the rea-
thelr nieghbor, thia afternoon ant
at Providente cem-
’
4
#t
~
ome ny
jorts and ru-
weidle-at—tho
he. grains of
opening days
ar. :
tful whether
al occupation
se ‘practically:
s been no
allan: wa
certain that
m.-of. ‘the
. In fact, the
ie days of
hed for
aM Turkish
6@ of the Ab
a.
closely seal-
afor_the out. |
it Is going on
nent Is clear-
the most sig-
ay is the de
consul again
: d in t arpenter’s work:tn the city and
Esive: a ee hag'a great. number - of friends here
phic” new ap- and Ws Tespectéd-by -aht:, mer rey a i
: “the Britist. ie amt: fet> past a
is nothing ah (bacon: JURY. la oe at
es Spal 1 [es NOW IN _ BREBION.
ra Firm. a
- onyen=.
ly "Telegraph Anrep raat r SSR.
towever, Ger |
lave” alread
ntations
fe at her. p
ir fepresenta
s will be fol
by “humill
atia’ fro
Janding - pf
Breatly -
and G
war-|-
J. Belden ‘was at hia’ home, comer |
of Vaden and Jones” ‘etreety,” “tnger
ing between life’ and death as he
had been. since about 2:30. o'clock
{this morning when he. drank
major- portion of a small ten-cent
rence, °
~ Carbolie Binns Soot Maity 3 Hour ,
:
peste ete gine ae eee REE ete
At 2: oT o'clock. ‘this afternoon. E.
bottle of- earbolic ‘acid. His. condition
was deemed. critical from the very
gaftering from. Berets ‘of, Drinning
. the
first and there Eas bes n no change
Physicians. “have been: work-
ing all day and they state: that he Is}
in a very critical ,conditon and that
death js probable. | Mr, Belden {ts one
of -the- most —-prominent - contractors
af
army of: volunteer: récsaere ‘worket
‘ground, thé number i :) oe
|tul_ place the. list of” ‘fatalities ‘at. 90d;
‘never’ be . reconstructed ‘and. a Tha
. ris
- State officials In charge ot
stiwatiod: after a hasty canvass of
the population, expressed the helfet
‘lead im
urday” ‘diminiahed: today. ies | “Seat 3
its .way into the: thasses: of wrheck-| ei
{age, In the opinion of- many” ‘on: the Fs
not’ reach 180, while the less hope”
The property loss will excedd' $¢-}
000,060 and it is the goneral . paliol |:
that the town’ will never her tebaihes »
Two, at least, of the large plants witht.
jority of the. business men : Pos ek
been ruined. :
* the #
=
ee fas Are HERE
the wreckage. Chiet of. Police DE
-Haker belleves that. pany: a are
dead or missing. -°. - <
‘The 500 men who had tolled “all
day-tn-a heavy rainstorm fbandon-
ed their’ task with the: coming ~ of!
night. Although they -
-pmbehty Keaps of ‘debris. fought” “fitet f
jana worked La. Without? food,” ‘work Re BE ae
ing-‘to rescue - bodies, :
‘had moved
core had been. found. 5
A battalion - of stata”
+s
ing the-murder(of. Deputy Con--4
‘stable: Fred ‘Mounger io mow Ine
session, having been empanelied ”
‘and sworn at 2 o! “clock this ater
noon... -
' Stllers Vines, ‘thot ‘negro charg:
ed with the murder, Is in Sher- |
man and will likely | be taken
befote tho grand . jury this af
ternoon. |
© with thetr
ftude toward
NINE CUNNDEN RNPNEN
ayrrcunded the town and
heuer a
, Austh?. fa" “piped Ip
or natural gas ‘and the great foree
f the flood tore.the mains” fram
he strects. One of them, the largeat
‘A moment sfterware|
& twink-| +
explosion but ‘the flames leppeg to
t. .f wh d .¢ an Prvant ar RATA
lpe in the town, burst In the busi-]
n©ss section. -
the-gae-gushed -ert and in’,
ling It had taken fire. There waa ‘no
Hh NI “WG w
nine to. ‘guctiesd fs Mr Ba
‘Randell will Sinai cone
ie : ON: RELIGION: ee
and.
tas
‘O83 ioree ~Aunured
the special tralo
Louls delegation
depot In automo-
bem up town,
ot. wil) be started | |
oe in Travis
4
+d and ex-
be pleased
le. showing
store.
’ - Norman Dorchester, ee
see » Henry Despain. as
pe 0 TS. Wo Heagetl ea
{ -know- what—4—| mtRigee- Starter ienreenrotcwn: demreseicgstet
ter than that
m parison.
—prices” tan-
{Murdered in this city by a vagrant
Responses have comes to the call
for donaltons as follows: -
Lee, McAle@ yo-.5 ca cies os 450. Ov
Spened Terry oo) eT
EON. Malkoy 660000) ieee as. §.00
Wd. Miller ich eee B08
TC. BR. Beas. cree a rere ne de! O08
Bod Hogan . Lt ttreeecee LON
Henry Detain = teeter ee 100
thome.”
send. only a few odsolet
Ttaltan pares hips.
owe we ee
bal all i
cs, and rah
all et Pring
Petre
% Laie deste aod oO
uta d aes
i" Ay
a
Sone OF ALL, MONEE S
Cpsietone bag
: ’
Penymanmrmncenancsceany,
Subscriptions are ‘Being Recetved | at
This Office—Committeo Suggested
by Friends of Deceased! WU! ttave
Evclasde, Control of Funds,
Saturday the Democrat ‘proposed
& popular fund with which to buy a
honie for the widow and children of
the late Fred Mounger, who was
negro who was trespaxsing on rail-
way property at a tate hour Wea
nesday night,
It js deemed ' wine: to designate: a
committee “of ‘gentlemen to « ‘have
the overtight of the details: in “the |
purchase ofa home or buliding one
if that plan .| considered. Friends |
of the deceased officer. Losi broponed |
the following ‘names: -
Gene Andrews. *- ate ao
These gsentiemen are to Fee Tull
at the ‘prorer time bny or build the
Tle committee shoulda
semble itself and get to work
;
“
ence in-the laudable work seege
ae
| =m mE
COMMITTER: Is NAMED To TAKE
oa ew
He sradualiy the: cent ‘dieperned
charge of subscription ‘lists, receive |
the funds, appoint a treasurer and |:
ms ANAT. NRORO: |
RIAL, « "OCT,
One Stunde” Men to. Betect, s duey ry * yy
Krom are Now Retag. Summoned | lace, ‘Was: Allowed. Thre
_ by Ofticers——Party.- of . Men. and ncnate-—Japan
i aie nt dail Neterday, Aftcrngon. - oh of Strict. Teusun
é a #
Avwnctated' Brow Dinpaich.)
“London, Det > © dlapa
The grand ey empanvied at. 2
O’ciock yesterday afternoon reported
about 6 o'clack, finding: & trus bu pews agency here from’ Ro
against. Sollers Viges, the —— NORFO -dey mated” that the: bombatd
charged with the murder cf Deputy “Tripott. ‘by: the Ttalfaa “fleet
Conrtable Fred Mounger. 9° 0°) wun. AL message: to: ‘Italy
{Italian warehfp under date:
The case was set for: trint on oe ‘day. aibten ine Italtag con
tober a2 And & tpdcial venire.
PAE pn the: bombardment _w:
100 men “immediately ‘drawn. phe! win: “th i
“work of- ‘eum moning - the Sera ad)
venire is now Rolie on, : 3
. Saat, after ‘the ‘Brand jury.
heen nh awotn. yesterday: afternaon. ‘aad | Rerlin,”: et, 3, ciel
the pusahlac ene rey back te the, at vate forage office today t
Aaae, %
telegram “todity - from :
tive” othe, Vines, “Ben i vai
and Wood Maxey, negro -prisoners,} 5
ere ought * Sea tote es
The ladies ae Reve
bli AIN DVPAILY DEM
id Press
& ve
oc k -
idise
‘Ome
te
wit h-
That's
be
aml 3
inest
3 all
4
o-oa-@]-e-2é-e@ sf
-2-}-@---@--@-@.4 «>...
Pe ae
o-s-<-=-
es ee -
ee ee
ee,
ie =a eae sce
SHERMAN, TEXAS, AUGUST 7,192
*
To eee ane ryan cmmtmein yen tens Moe cr eg ed Ota ameete pe * a NR Stata
HOW VINES AND MAXEY” ARK
PUTTING IN THEIR LAST
HOURS.
¢
,
NOT iar 10- ain
Maxey Will Make Another Statement
—Vines Telly of His Arrest in
Dallas—Negroex Will Be Hanged
One atu Time, :
Whenia reporter call-
ed at the county jail yesterday af-
fernoon he found Sellars «Vines and
Wood Maxey, the negroes
to be hanged Friday,
cots in
Demeocrut
who are
Sitting on the
-he death cell and as far as
appearances indicated actually en-
joying themeelyes. In their cell
were many flowers sent hy friends
and on a Lnside
Were. jce_crean ed “take as
-Brvet-fatthtut-te- hig 4euat.. ihe
Vaughn, the death watch, sat tear
the ceH of the condemned men. Mr.
Vauhn aad James Gee take turn
wbout asywatch over the. py roness
who are seon to die,
Vines aid Maxey greeted the re-
porter pleasantly, both talked free-
ly, and, Bader the clreumste nCeR,
interestingly.
Maxey was rengared in writing a
statement:for the Dallas ‘Express, a
colored publication sat “Dallas, - He
was thaukful to the local press for
publishing the statement he made
and printing It just as he had writ-
ten it, Maxey, by the way,. writes
well, that is, very legible and his
spelling ts exceptionally — correct.
Maxry anid he was feeling very well
and that he would have -another
Statement for publication in the lo-
ca] papers Thursday,
think he
owe op aehte. switirowhich—stt—spears,
ee ored, was hangdd in —tre—-treryson !
Peou nts sri
execution of the two negroes: iy the
~€ol-
‘murder “of? his: witz-
already been placed end
The trap trigger has been
and everything; 3s in readiness for
the execution, ":% »
— Tite, rope ; has
“tested,
initely decided whethor, the. ‘negroes
Will be Nanged: at the sane. Hare” or
one at a time. . e
‘The gallows’ at the enon jail
were not built wil a view of. bani:
ing two prisoners at one time: It’ is
most too smal} und rather than take
“any chance whatever jn
not going: through withott «tte
Sheriff McAfee has abeut decided te
hang them one at’s time.
Today the negrovs were seen in
the death cell and tol that it was
impracticable to hang them both at
once. It was then proposed to them
that they draw straws to see whieh
Shall be the first, Maxey was in fa-
or of this or said he yeas, but Vines
refused, saying that he would not
draw straws to be hanged,
ene Ome ee
IN eee
CHANGE nD TO READ SIMPLY
"PROGRESSIVE PARTY,
ee ee ees
Represevtation Fixed for Fature
—Reovsevell is. Assured of Some
Jamie ny Votes,
PO ee
AS SOCTET OT Dyers sD. why eR hn LE nay
Chicago, Ang 7.: ~The Pes com-
mittee changed the neW purty, nane
from the Nationa! Progressive | party
to read simply the Pp: ‘ugressive Par-
ty. St provided the future” ‘basi, of
representation to be one delegate for
each congressman ant. United Staies
scnator and one for. each ten thous-
and votes cast for the © progressive
ticket. at the “previons election. “The
ruley provided that no federal office-
holder shall be a member of the na-
tioal committee. ae
Pending the bexinning of the for-],
nal day's work Wiliam W. Hotch.
kiss of New York made a speech as-
serting that Roosevelt. would © -re-.
ceive twenty-five to thirty per cent
of the Tanumany vote in New Yo: *k.
Later the rules were changed to
wake the basis of extra répresenta-
Vines vald he did nat
voy
tla five thawegps weteeyed oof
tested |
everything”
NAME OF THENEW PARTY
ptents. :
of “the”
fey,
beer
Sheriff’. Lee. Me. \foar Keg ‘not. def- Bus
A +
Gor,
BC OUDOW WILSON rol
Oe BEING A CANDIDATE
rey FOR PRESIDENT.
aa OLLIE JAM
Mr. Wilsen Greets the Notificeatios
_ Committee at His Stumimer Henne
at Seagirt and Reals His Speect
Of ANeveptance,
Sargist, Ang. 7.-
Diy Gov, Woodrow Wilson was noti
fied of his nomination as the demo
eratic candidate for president _b
Senator-elect Ollie James, Many
prominant democrats with member:
of their famliies gathered on th
lawn in front of the broad-verand:
at the governor's home where hi
stood-ant-read - trent anenuseript tt
re ceptance,
b---Mr-—Fames~ “praised the -vandidate
and his achievements and _ bespoke
a harmonioug party with “no dis
gruntled democrats sulking in thei
He attacked both Presiden
Taft. and former President Roose
Velt) and held up the ~ republicar
partly as “dishes ortened, discourage!
and : Alsorginized, 2
The? republican ‘conduct of trus|
pross-uitons wad Jeon demned. He
déclared the’ democrats were pledged
tos felon'’s. stripes.” “for spree
malefactora. -S'Big business’ ~ was
prontised suppert. if legitimate, and
the democratic party was pledged te
take the tariff out of. politics when
the “trust fe@ barons take their
larcenous hands out of the povkets
American people,”
~The motte “Thou shalt not steal”
Was a plagiarism from ~ democratic
faith, Mr. James said, and ‘he. ex-
pressed belief in’ the charges both
Briefly and sim
lst Asian Executed Since 1976
AP 7 Dec 95 20:24 EST V0973 °
Copyright 1995 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
The information contained in this news report may not be published,
broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority
of the Associated Press.
lst Asian Executed Since 1976
HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) -- A Vietnamege man who killed two people in
a pool hall became the first Asian executed in the United States since
the present era of capital punishment began almost two décades ago.
Hai Hai Vuong, 40, received a lethal injection exactly nine years
after his shooting spree that killed two men and wounded five other
people. 7 _
After being strapped to the death chamber gurney, he smiled at three
women in the witness room, The women, from a Houston church, had
befriended him several years ago. Together, they prayed and sang.
"I hope whoever hears my voice tonight will turn to the Lord," Vuong
said. "I give my spirit back to him. Praise the Lord! Hallelujah!".
Hight minutes later, after gasping and coughing once, he was
pronounced dead.
He was the second condemned killer executed in Texas within 24 hours
and the fifth in the nation this week. Florida had two executions and
Missouri one earlier in the week.
Witnesses testified two men walked into the Tam Game Room in Port
Arthur, about 85 miles east of Houston. As one man guarded the door
with a handgun, Vuong methodically moved around and shot people with
his .223-caliber semiautomatic rifle. |
Vuong ciaimed the shooting was in response to gang threats but later
acknowledged that none of his victims were gang members. At various
times, he described the shootings as accidental, self-defense or the
result’ of a runaway gun. |
"I would like to tell the parents and family of the killed people I
am very sorry," ho said at his trial. "I know it’s my guilt.”
Vuong was arrested in California seven months after the shootings.
Most witnesses in the case, including Vuong ~- who arrived in this
country in 1979 and worked as a shrimper -- spoke little English and
testified through interpreters ¢ :
His‘accomplice, Thien Huu Nguyen, pleaded guilty to murder and is
serving two 40-year prison terms.
Figures kept by the New York-based NAACP Legal Defense & Education
Fund showed 23 Asians dmong the 3,028 inmates on death rows around the
nation as of Aug. 31. No Asians were among killers executed since the
U.S. Supreme Court in 1976 allowed capital punishment to resume.
On Wednesday, Texas officials gave a lethal injection to Bernard
Amos, convicted of the 1988 shooting death of Dallas police Officer
James Joe. Amos’ execution was the 16th this year in Texas, the
country’s most active capital punishment state.
Ha HAL YUOME
Tole from Arkan-
BRELAS MORNING NEWS
Man executed in ’82 stabbing death |
He was on parole from Arkansas at time of-Houston bar manager’s slaying
- Asgoclated Press vs
‘HUNTSVILLE, Texas — Convict.
ed killer Larry Anderson was exe:
cuted early Tuesday for the 1982
Stabbing death of a Houston bar
manager, \
Mr. Anderson, 41, was convicted
in the March 1982 stabbing death of
Zelda Webster, ane e.. 228
28. He was on pa- } | ae
Sasatthetimeof @&
the slaying. = i.
Mr. Anderson Bf
was pronounced U.“{}
dead at 12:42 \ Wet
am., eight min- ¢!!- Bm
utes after the le
thal drugs began Larry Anderson
. flowing into his veins, ;
Asked if he had a final State.
ment, Mr. Anderson only shook his
head, ‘
Texas prison spokesman Charles
Brown said the injection was de
layed for several moments because
officials had difficulty locating a.
gultable vein in the arms of Mr.
Anderson, a known illegal drug us-
er,
His last chance to avoid execu-
tion came less than 90 minutes ear-
- Mer, when the U.S, Supreme Court
refused to grant a stay. Earlier’ Mon-
‘day, the Texas Court of Criminal:
Appeals rejected a request to halt.
the punishment,
. iDefense lawyers had challenged
Texas’ capital murder Statute, con-
tending that it was vague when ap-
plied to Mr. Anderson's case. They
- also’ argued that prosecutors im-
properly instructed jurors and that
Mr. Anderson's trial attorney was
incompetent, . a.
_ Mr. Anderson was the fourth
Texas inmate to be put to death this
year. He had been described as con-’
. cerned and nervous as the execu-
_ lon approached, at ot
“He knows this {s serlous. He
knows his chances are not that
great,” attorney Clay Glover said
earlier Monday night.’
Ms, Webster, stabbed four times
in the heart and 11 times in the
chest, was found dead along a road
in northwést Houston. Authorities
said she had been abducted after
Closing the bar and that she had
been robbed of about $1,000,
~.Mr, Anderson was pulled over b
State troopers while driving at
night without lights, Police found
him splattered with blood and car.
rylng a hunting knife.
He told officers that he had been
skinning rabbits, but police found
several bank bags in his truck and
arrested him. Mr. Anderson eventu-
ally told police where the woman's
body could be found.
Mr. Anderson was one of two
killers set to die early Tuesday in
Texas.
The second inmate, Hai Hai
Vuong, 38, was convicted of killing
two men at a Port Arthur poo) hall
in 1986. Three other men were
wounded in the attack.
The Texas Court of Criminal Ap-
peals Monday denied his request for
a reprieve, but US. District Judge
Howell Cobb in Beaumont halted
the scheduled punishment. State at-
torneys had not opposed the request
for a delay, .
Since Texas resumed carrying
Out the death penalty in 1982, 74
inmates have received lethal injec.
ton, by far the most of any state, -
Y Two lethal injections, however,
never have occurred in Texas on
the same day. .
), SOUTHWESTERN 896 ‘
WADE, Hamp; (alias Hamp BANKS), black, hanged at Huntsville, Texas, .on Oct. 15, 1887,
"Huntsville, 10-15=1887.-at 1 o'clock Sheriff Jones, with his deputies and a posse of 6 men,
repaired to the prison, and your reporter acc ampanied them, Hamp Banks was in his cell
with Elders Harris and Bell, of tke colored Methodist church, at devotional services, He
was cool and collected and said he was ready. W. D, Adair read to him the death warrant
and he did not flinch, He walked calmly to and ascended the scaffold in the presence of an
immense crowd who were assembled around it. Elder Harris then read the service for the dying
followed by prayerfrom Elder Hall, and Hamp advanced to the front and addressed the audience,
saying that he stood there at the end of all troubles, and would tomorrow (Sunday) be in
paradise with his God, who had pardoned and justified him; that he had no enmity to any
living man, and exhorted them to serve God and always be truthful; that he was there because
he had told the truth to the court, and he thanked God for having enabled him to do so, as
it had brought him to glory. Then he knelt and prayed and placed himself on the drop. Con-
siderable excitement among thenegroes did not affect him at all, At 2:1) the drop fell,
breaking his neck, and with it the penalty of his crime was ended, The doctors pronounced
him dead in 16 minutes, and his body was placed in a coffin and surrendered to his family,
who have carried it home for ubrial. Before his prayer he called for his mother-in-law and
sent an affectionate message to his children and asked that she and his mother assist his
wife in raising them, but above all things, to theach them to serve God, Thus ends the
career of an unfortunate man, led by temptation into crime,
"THE HIQORY OF THE CRIME
Sbtained from the confessions of the parties implicated and from the trials of Hamp and
Nelson “ones, is that Nelson Jones, Hamp Banks and "Smithy My Darling" lived in the same
neighborhood in this county, about 5 miles from Huntsville, Smithy was an ex-convict and
an overbearing, profane and quarrelsome man, and had for some time been on unfriendly terms
with Jones. Ina difficulty in September, 1886, Jones had shot Smithy (a slight wound) and
had been arrested and jailed for assault with intent to kill,Becoming afraid of his resent-
ment when released, J. came in and made friends with S., paid his fine and had him relea-
sed and took him to his brother's (Henry Hood's) to board, In a few weeks the old feud was
resumed and Hamp became thebearer of messages betwee then, trying to effect a reconciliatio
On the morning of Nov, 3, 1886, while Jones, Hamp and others were in the field at work,
Smithy passed the bars in front of the house, cursed, screamed and shot off his gun and
frightened Jones very mech, Hamp then informed Jones that he would either have to kill
Smithy or be killed. Smithy was working at a mill some 2 miles off. About 12 o'clock,
Jones and Hamp went to the house and sat on a wagon-tongue and planmed the killing and
place of burial of Smithgy for that night, Hamp was to conduct a prayer=meeting at Henry
Hood&s and called by for Jones' wife and daughter and escorted them to the place, and
after themeeting, according to agreement, decoyed Smithy to accompnay him and the women
back to Jones', Smithy started with his gun with J's wife, but she refused to walk with
him if he carried that, so he left it at a house they passed. While on the way home, the
woman told Smithy that he had better return, for Jones and Hamp and determined to kill him
that night. He accompanied her to the bars and declined to go further, while Hamp had gone
to thehouse, some 30 steps, with the girl, When the woman reached the house, and in answer
to questions, informed Hamp that Smithy had gone on, he inmediate@y started after him and
overtook him about 0 steps from the bars, Hamp commenced to talk of the conduct of
Smithy who cursed him and Hamp drew a steel yard pen from his pocket and struck Smithy on the
head, felling him to the ground and breaking the hook of the pen, and called for Jones, who
came running with his gun, and finding Smithy struggling with Hamp was about to shoot, when
Hamp prevented him, because the noise of the gun at that time of night might excite suspi-
cion, H e then struck Smithy twice over thehead with the gun, breaking the stock, To be
certain of his death they then wrapped a pieceof saddle blanket over his head and tied it
with a rope as tight as they could around his neck, placed the body on a horse, and as
agreed, carried it to Jones' stable and Wug a hole and buried it there, so the smell might
not attract attention, The next day they caused it to be understood that Smithy had gone to
Trinity to work on therailroad, Some four or five weeks after, from vague rumors, Sheriff
T, A. Jones began an inquiry, and assisted by ™% D. Adair and District Attorney Campbell
obtained sufficient information to arrest Jones, Hamp and the woman, After spending a few
days in jail, the woman became frightened as to their connection with the matter and told
where thekilling was done and the body buried. Exhumation and ingurest revealed the oe
and Hamp and Jones confessed the facts aboveset forth, At the session of the distric
court on March 17, 1887, .Hamp was indicted, arraigned .and condemned to be hanged, An
appeal was taken and the higher court affirmed the decision and at the session of the
district court in September Judge Kittrell sentenced Hamp to be executed. A petition,
gotten up by his mother, was forwarded to Governor Ross, who declined to commute the
sentence" NEW, Galveston, Texas, October 16, 1887 (13).
(LY olen)
DOE & MEANS
Gedurt lala Jager ayes As laid IE ¢SI-10 40
Chl shot o rinee
Sie. y flocsnal xt Case ben (ALLY “het ee
FETS ei atten 12/22 Pathe, 4 forme Argllayre %)~
DUNT aa agg tage
Lae RGIS IP A a
(. LIAL
Gees A i
Ltengplir HE Ganaie: 2 hays 70 gr
TRIAL
APPEALS
EXECUTION
FRANK NEWTON OFFICE SUPPLY=DOTHAN
~
Ved dit y MOVE LY De 5 ’ Lig
Robert Ballard Walker:
“Don’t open that. There’s
a play-pretty in there”
the disappearance of John J. May-
field, the wealthy oil man.
Not the disappearance but Mrs. May-
field’s reason for reporting it was
[’ WAS ridiculous to worry about
what puzzled Sheriff Gmnoot Schmidt:
at first. That was about nine o’clock
on the quiet night of- December 23,
1939. Sheriff Schmidt was getting
ready to leave his office in the Dallas,
Texas, courthouse and go home to fin-
ish planning his Christmas party when
the telephone rang.
It was Mrs. Mayfield. Her soft, cul-
tured voice vibrated with strange
overtones as she said:
“T’m terribly worried. My husband
has—disappeared.”
“How? When?”.
“He left home two hours ago,” Mrs.
Mayfield said. There was a catch in
her voice when she added, “Since then,
he’s vanished.”
“For goodness’ sake,” the Sheriff
asked, “why should you get hysterical
because your husband is out with the
boys for a couple of hours?”
“It’s not that,” Mrs. Mayfield broke
in. Her voice was trembling now.
“T’m not expecting him home. Every
night he makes the rounds of his seven
filling-stations to collect the day’s‘re-
ceipts. He stopped first at the station
on Haskell and Oak Grove, but he
never has reached the next one.”
Schmidt stirred in his chair.
“If I were you, Mrs. Mayfield, I
22
Robert Otto Currie: He
had to buy a car for his
boy friend’s girl friends
wouldn’t worry,” he said soothingly.
“Perhaps he’s out buying you a sur-
prise for Christmas. Don’t imagine
things. He may have had any number
of reasons for changing his schedule.”
“But you don't know John the way
I do,” she pleaded frantically. “Please
believe me, Sheriff, I’m sure something
terrible has happened to him. He’s
the most exact man in the world, never
a minute late. I’m afraid that—”
“What makes you afraid?”
“He always carries large sums of
money on him. I’ve often begged him
not to do it, but he wouldn’t listen to
me.’
“Do you know how much money he
had. tonight?”
“At least a thousand dollars.”
“Could you give me the address of
the filling-stations where your husband
failed to appear?” Schmidt grabbed a
By Henry Jordan
Special Investigator for
pencil, began scribbling. “McKinne “4
and Hall Streets, you said? All righ
We'll investigate. Thank 7, Ma’am.
— in : touch with us if anything
u ie
“Schmidt still thought a man had the
right to be gone two hours without
causing an uproar.
Youthful Chief Deputy Sheriff J. E.
—Bill—Decker pulled up a_ chair
alongside Schmidt's desk. The Sheriff
boar) him about the conversation and
Said:
“Something’s haywire about this.”
“Perhaps there’s more to it than she
felt like telling you,” suggested Decker.
“I wish you’d drop over to the gas-
station pa .find out what’s what,”
Schmidt said.
Decker jumped up, grabbed his hat
and coat and dashed out of the door.
In Mayfield’s filling-station at Mc-
OFFICIAL DETECTIVE STORIES
Kinney and Hall Streets, Decker sought
out the manager, R.:O. Smith.
“Was it you who notified Mrs. May-
field of her husband’s disappearance?”
The man looked genuinely worried.
“Well, yes, I called her up.”
UICKLY Decker fired his next
question.
“What made you think that some-
thing serious had happened to him?”
“Because he was late.”
“But not for long.” Decker arched
his brows quizzically as the man
shifted uneasily.
“It may sound funny to you, but
that’s exactly it. In the six years I’ve
been working here, he never was late
once, not even a minute. He’s the most
punctual man I’ve ever known. He
leaves his house at seven-thirty. At
seven-forty-five he stops at the Haskell
NOLL KbS-4A
fe
. Wy THE/DISTRICT COVAT
COPY OF SENTENCE
THE STATE OF TEXAS
VS
RAFE LEE WALKER ALIAS
RA Fe £AWHS Ho |
LRIME ~— RAPE
PUNISMENWT 4 DEATH
DATE SENTENCED ARKIL2A9-193 9
PLER ~ AuinzTy
Sue Sark XeSu
TRCLES Satta
PRY
pa reten ho)
fe
x
Bet AS
095A
eleva hill sh deinen nist
7th
In the Districe Court of
Rreastone........ ----County, Texas
pa
PoE Lt..term 1902. ARPAA_29. 1939
This day this cause being again called, the State appeared by her County... --.----Attorney, and the
defendant --Rafa.Laa.Walcar alias Rafe Banka Rania eke
Sac enewecon
Smitten tmnt tt ae Sir gnmenlew SP ala Fe
oo
was brought into open Court in person, in
“charge of the Sheriff, for the purpose of having the sentence of the law Pronounced in accordance with the verdict ;
- his counsel also being present,
and judement herein, rendered and entered against....him on a former day of this termy And thereupon the :
defendant Rafe.Lae. Welker alias Rafe Banks
in Fane ee al A CPt in ane eet Pores rr,
in the presence of the said defendant.
It 1s the order of the Court that the defendant_..Rafe Jee
--WALnar.alina Rafa Banks who has been adjudged to be guilty of Rape.and___
vhos9 punishment has been assessed by the verdict of the Jury at death,
SHALIS ’
Bee OB nn DEX KET LAIDAATA ATER RIAL KOM A AWA AMVC ATA aN aa
AeD. 1959, at the State Ponitentiary at Huntsville, Texas, be caused to
De Dy Ee ee RUE SHE Dts LOMAS DKA MK KISS ASAD X RUM WIT MABE NLM AOGOTA Kay
aie by the passage through his body of a current of electricity of
UR AA RASA REXAL LANA LANL ELLUL EARLE AL XE AVN MOLSON TK LARK BAMA FNGLA Lea Toe :
surficiont intensity to cause his death and by the &pplication and con-
DUR N8H DANS ALEX INK MONK MoM KX KEKK Ce HEAT GS AUC IONS NORTE Sa COX HY XPLOVITOUR WK ALK WK KSLA ME
tinuance of such current through the body of the said Rafe Lee Walker,aliags
ek nn CRot mn osx arm Oo PTA ASTM 2K AES SICA e TOC AAA DNL K AEH GX OHS AG UAH AMA A NIAAA Be
tate Banks until he is dead; and that tho clerk of thi
Roeia mic ors Mabe MM ence AMIDE AAA XX AA NAKA XKNXTA KYA LEAKEY WH KG
warrant, in accordance with Warden of the Sturt!
Te an Rms Tal ch ete LSPS BR: SLAB NATL MMM KM MY ENA NUR. BNIGWSGA IBA NE SHEE
State Penitentiary at Huntsville, Toxas, and deliver such warrant to the
‘Sherif? of thie Treestane Coane ena
Ss : ¢ un e@xas
i atuineneece rhe eae Warden, tegethor with the sa
Rafe banksg And the said Rafe Lee
Jail to await transportation to Hu
f
:
es LTRS a
«A
Sil SaBS AS ctsee
“a
Se ee Ee ae, ae
6 Wemvaac®, sOtu.e
THE STATE OF TEXAS
dds Sate Se ae as Lome Rete eee
Clerk of the District Court
» State of Texas, hereby certify that the above is a true and correct
copy of the sentence tn the above entitled. cause, ns appears of record in the Criminay Minutes of said Court, in
~
. .
RG Bian Oe
WITNK8S8 my hand and seal of office at ¥Wainfield,..Texag ........ thie... 29th day
of.....-ADKIAAeNa__. pom eer ae 193.9.
ry “4 j 4 6 - [pe .
Lé District Court.-G¥X AAR ENNG..__county, Texas
-Deputy.
Ve eh Nyt
* Insert “the” or “part” according to facts,
Pe here Rane ae
ms
special box away and returned to
the James house.
James was drunk and angry. “It’s
been four hours and she’s not dead
yet,” he growled. “Doesn’t look like
she’s going to die either.”
Hope poured himself a water
glass full of whiskey. He said noth-
ing. He just watched the green-
eyed barber. Suddenly James slung
the bottle to one side. “By God,
I’m going in and drown her in the
bathtub. I. can make it look like
an accident in the fish pond. You
wait here. I’ve got a bright idea.”
While Hope slouched drunkenly
in the garage, James ran water
into the tub and held his wife’s
face in it until she stopped strug-
gling. Then he dragged the body
into the hallway, tore off the night-
gown and dried it thoroughly. Then
he slipped the dry pajamas onto
her and called Hope to help him.
The amazed officers listened to
Hope’s story and then proceeded
to check it in detail. It checked
perfectly. And then the mysterious
letter writer, as Williams had
guessed, came forward and agreed
to publicly testify that James had
offered her $2,500 of the insurance
money to testify that she had visit-
ed Mary on the afternoon she was
found dead, James’s confession to
her checked with Hope’s story.
Hope pleaded guilty to first de-
gree murder and received a life
sentence. But the wiry James re-
fused to admit his guilt. It took
twenty-five days and 2,600 pages of
testimony to convict him and Judge
Frickes pronounced the death sen-
tence first on September 10, 1936.
For nearly six years James was
able to stave off the sentence while
higher court after higher court up-
held the verdict. But the rope in
San Quentin was kept ready. On
February 20, 1942, James was re-
turned from San Quentin where
he was serving a part of the one-
hundred and fifty year sentence
he received on the incest charges,
and again Judge Frickes sentenced
him to be hanged. On May Ist,
1942, the rope they had saved all
these years will be used.
TEXAS' TOWHEADED
TRIGGERWOMAN
(Continued from page 15)
now ..2.°«
“Mayfield was murdered all
right,” Decker said, “but we may
find some interesting facts about
this murder.” q
The car with the laboratory men
from the Dallas Police Headquar-
ters drove up. Chief of Police
George Welch was in it. :
When he joined the Sheriff, he
said: “You’ve been working on
this case, Schmidt. What have you
learned?”
“Not much, except that John
Mayfield is dead,” Sheriff Schmidt
replied. “Let’s find out who found
the body and what additional in-
formation we can get, while the
laboratory men examine the car
and the body.”
William Noe, who had reported
the body, was standing at the side
of the road. He told the officers
how his little son, playing with
other boys, had first seen the body,
and how when he was told, some
time later, he went to take a look.
The crowd along the road had
increased to a large number of
residents of that community, and
the officers started questioning per-
sons in the crowd.
They found a number of per-
sons who had seen the dead man
sitting in the car, but like the
children, they had believed him
only drunk.
But a local dairyman had more
definite information. “I saw this
car sitting here last night,” he ex-
plained. “It was around eight
o’clock and I was driving home. °
Saw the car at the side of the
road, but there was a blonde wom-
an in the car and I figured a
couple was petting and I drove
past pretty fast.”
THER witnesses were found
who saw Mayfield and what
looked like a blonde in the car,
but none of them were able to
give any more definite information
than the dairyman.
A blonde! Sheriff Schmidt look-
ed at Chief Welch and the two
oMeers sald nothing, Both had
known John Mayfield intimately
and both knew that his reputation
as concerned women was spotless.
He was an elderly man, whose only
interest in life seemed to be his
large business and his own home.
In his preliminary investigation,
when Sheriff Schmidt had been
called by Mrs. Mayfield, he had
learned quickly that there had
been no domestic trouble between
Mayfield and his wife.
The laboratory men had _ pried
the doors of the car open and
Medical Examiner Joe Brown was
making a preliminary examination
of the body.
“Mayfield has been dead about
eighteen hours,” Brown announced.
“Means he was killed last night
around eight o’clock, was killed
right here’ because one bullet hit
his heart and there was not much
blood, and one went into the side
of his head and there was not much
blood around that wound either. No
evidence of a struggle, but some-
body propped him up after he
was dead and put a cigar in his
mouth. Funny sense of humor.”
While Medical Examiner Brown
was making these announcements,
Sergeant James Kerch, in charge
of the laboratory men, was making
another puzzling discovery.
“Looks like we can rule any
theory of robbery out,” the Ser-
geant announced. “Here- are a
number of twenty dollar bills
scattered around in the back of
the car and the dead man is wear-
ing a wrist watch that must be
worth a nice little sum.”
This discovery only served to
cloak the murder in more mystery.
Mrs. Mayfield had said she be-
lieved her husband was carrying
a thousand dollars on him, though
the fact he had not collected the
money from R. O. Smith at the
McKinney and Hall Streets sta-
tion, which Smith had _ said
amounted to around three hun-
dred dollars, might indicate that
he didn’t have that amount with
him.
Yet all that was found scattered
on the floor of the car was less
than a hundred dollars.
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WALKER, R
Ten - year-old Walter Noe,
who found “a drunk man sleep"
on his way home from fishing.
14
“ALIBIS AREN'T
HE little boys scampered
Ttevtuity around the car
standing at the side of the
Old Dallas Road, beyond the
Lovefield Airport. A man sat in-
side that car, very stiffly, with
a cigar in his mouth. He stared
straight ahead and didn't turn
to see the little boys banging
on the glass of the closed doors.
After a while they tired of
this play and scampered away
to find a new interest,
“He's sure drunk," one of the
BY little boys said.
This was early on the morn-
ing of December 24th, 1939.
Christmas was on the minds of
the boys and they soon forgot
about the strangely silent drunk
in the old car.
They all forgot it until three
o'clock that afternoon when ten-
year-old Walter Noe said to
his father: “Hey, Dad, does
a drunk man go to sleep sitting
with a cigar in his mouth?
There's an old man sitting like
that in a car out on the Old
toutist camp: with them that night."
Dallas Road." :
The father, William Noe, did-
n't pay much attention to his
son's words, but a little later,
while he was driving on the
Dallas Road, he remembered
them. He also saw the car with Rie
the man sitting in it and he Mee
went to investigate.
At first, he, too, believed the
occupant was drunk. He holler-
ed at him, and when there was
no answer he got suspicious. He
tried the door to the car and
found it locked. It was then that
he saw something that caused
a funny feeling to come to the
pit of his stomach,
It was a small, sharp-edged
hole in the car door, and from
this hole protruded a .32 caliber
bullet!
He put his face hard against
the glass and looked at the man
sitting there. He saw enough to
convince him that the man wasn’t
drunk and wasn’t asleep.
Re was deadt Chief Deputy Bill Decker found
Twenty minutes later Sheriff out that the missing oil man had
prided himself on his promptness.
MUCH GOOD WHEN SCIENCE IS WORKING AGAINST you.”
Smoot Schmidt and _ his young
Chief Deputy Bill Decker were at
the car, peering through the glass
at the dead man.
The man inside was gray-haired,
distinguished looking, a man that
both the .Sheriff and his deputy
knew well by sight.
It was John J. Mayfield, wealthy
Dallas, Texas, oil man!
The two officers made no move
to break the locked doors of the °
car. This had to be left to the
laboratory men from the Dallas
Police Headquarters, who were al-
ready on their way to where the
car stood.
“John Mayfield,” Deputy Decker
said grimly, looking at the Sher-
iff. “I guess Mrs. Mayfield knew
what she was talking about, after
all.” ‘ ;
All the night before the Sheriff
and his deputy had worked upon
the disappearance of John May-
field. Mrs. Mayfield had called the
Sheriff at eight o’clock the previ-
ous evening and reported that her
husband was missing.
Her report hadn’t been taken too
seriously at first. Mayfield was only
several hours late, and the Sher-
iff had believed that Mrs. Mayfield
was unduly worried.
But later when he and Decker
checked the movements of the
missing oil man, who had made
the rounds of his filling stations
to collect cash, they had begun
to sense that there might be some-
-
thing to the fact that he had not
reported home.
They learned, from the different
managers of the filling stations,
that John Mayfield was a man
who prided himself on being
Prompt and nobody had_ ever
known him to be a minute late for
any appointment.
R. O. Smith, manager of the
Station at McKinney and Hall
Streets, said: “I’ve worked at this
station for six years, and I have
never known John Mayfield to be
late, not-even a split minute. He
always leaves his house at seven-
thirty. Fifteen minutes later, on
the dot, he stops‘ at the Haskell
and Grove Street station. And at
eight o’clock sharp, he stops here.”
“And because he was a few min-
utes late, you called Mrs. May-
field?” the Sheriff had questioned.
“Well, you see,” Smith had ex-
plained, “I was worried, not only
because Mayfield was late, but I
go off duty at eight-thirty and I
had three hundred dollars in cash
and didn’t know what to do with
it.”
The worry shown by all in the
fact that Mayfield was a few hours
late had appeared a little strange
to the Sheriff and he and Decker
had questioned Mrs. Mayfield rath-
er closely. They had also check-
ed on the Mayfield home life and
found it perfect in every way.
The case had puzzled them but
(Continued on page 27)
eo
5
|
|
|
|
|
TWAS A
OME-ON
‘or the
MP-RING"'
By
LEN HUDAK
3rostow is dead. I say
elf and I can’t believe
oat tightens up, my lips
and it’s like somebody
ing a white-hot fork
brain. And yet I keep
over and ‘over. Steve
wd I killed him.
begins the con-
of a girl who be-
1e "come-on" for
et supplying coal-
to coast-wise
ers—for a ring
old these men into
le like slaves af-
had lured them
m in her boarding
hat was also a
‘in another sense
rord,
vill find this story
jly told in her own
ater-front lingo.
ry will shock you.
also pull your
rings, for
tostow’s never coming
nd me... it was me.
im out to die and I'm
§ to forget it,nor him,
night have been if...
re to read this
ul Story in the
SUST ISSUE
SAATIONAL
[ECTIVE
ASES
And his money belt was gone!
“He could have been robbed and
the robbers wanted to cover their
tracks by leaving a few bills be-
hind,” Sheriff Schmidt said.
“From what R. O. Smith told
you,” Chief Welch suggested, “May-
field must have contacted his mur-
derer just before he was supposed
to drive up to Smith’s station at
McKinney and Hall Streets. Smith
said he was due there at eight
o’clock. At seven-thirty we know
he was at the station at Geary
Street. So sometime right after
that, he met either this blonde
or the men that killed. him.”
That was about as far as the
Sheriff and Chief Welch could go
in their deductions. They, assisted
by Deputy Decker and Detective
Swan from Headquarters,. search-
ed every inch of the Old Dallas
Highway for nearly a half mile
on each side of the road.
They found nothing. The body
of Mayfield had been removed to
the morgue and the laboratory
men had taken the car to Head-
quarters where they could make
a complete detailed examination of
every speck of dust, every spot
of blood, every hair—everything
found in the car.
Realizing that every hour meant
precious time lost in solving the
amazing case, Chief Welch order-
ed every available detective on the
force on the case, and in short
time, detectives were Swarming all
over Dallas, questioning friends
and acquaintances of the murder-
ed man in the hope that some-
where a lead might be picked up
on the mysterious blonde.
This blonde clouded every phase
of the investigation. Mrs. Mayfield
was positive that there had -been
no such woman in her husband’s
life, and it didn’t take the police
long to agree with her when de-
tectives brought in the reports
gleaned from the friends and ac-
quaintances of Mayfield.
All were certain that he had
|mever mixed with women, and the
presence of the blonde in the car
was generally accepted by his
friends that she was a member
of some gang of hoodlums’ that
had waylaid Mayfield..
But how did they get. in May-
field’s car? How did ‘they get out
on the Old Dallas Road?
These two questions seemed to
block every. move the police made.
They knew that Mayfield was a
man well able to take care of him-
self. He might give a friend a ride,
or an acquaintance, but he was
too astute to permit any gang of
hoodlums to take over his car
without making a fight.
Yet it was obvious that he him-
self had driven the car to the Old
Dallas Road and that he had been ‘
killed without any struggle, show-
ing that whoever shot him knew
him well enough to be in a position
to fire the bullets in his body
without a struggle.
The possibility that Mayfield
knew his murderer, and that one
or several of them may have been
former employees of his company,
caused the police to make a quick
check on all employees discharged
or who had quit the employment
of Mayfield within the previous
several months.
This list wash’t large, because
Mayfield never fired anybody un-
less it was absolutely necessary
for his business interests. The list
showed three former employees
who had been discharged for dis-
honesty and detectives were sent
to San Antonio and Austin to check
up on these three employees.
‘ But as Sheriff Schmidt and Chief
_Welch worked feverishly on this
lead, basing their ‘whole investiga-
tion on the mystery blonde, a
third detective was working silent-
ly and without the fanfare of news-
paper publicity.
This detective is something new
in crime, and within the last few
years, he has ,completely revdlu-
tionized all crime detection and
procedure,
I THIS case, the detective was
Sergeant Kerch, the laboratory
expert for the Dallas Police De-
partment. When midnight came,
he was in the laboratory, working
silently and carefully with micro-
‘Scopes and test tubes and acids.
Slowly and with painstaking de-
tail and care, which his work re-
quires, he had analyzed all specks
of dust found in the car. He had
found certain of these specks
showed up a different color under
the microscope when mixed with
solutions of acid. :
This might not sound important
to you, but to the laboratory ex-
pert, it is a matter of extreme im-
portance. Dust is peculiar. Its-color
is governed largely by climate con-
ditions and light rays and atmos-
phere influence.
For this reason a speck of dust
picked up along a railroad track
will produce a certain transparent
light when shown under the micro-
scope, with lights polarized through
it.
So when Sergeant Kerch,- after
hours of careful experiments, saw.
that the light hues of the specks
were different, he had made his
first important discovery in solv-
ing the case under the lens of a
super-powerful microscope.
He had learned that whoever was
in the car with Mayfield had car-
ried specks of dirt foreign to the
dirt usually in the car. In arriving
- at this conclusion, it must be un-
derstood that no speck of. dust or
particle of dirt will keep its origi-
nal color when placed in another
place more than twenty-four hours.
In that time the sunlight and .
the atmospheric conditions will
cause it to take on the same color
of the particles that have been
in the same place for a longer
period of time. ‘
Mayfield had been dead eighteen
hours when the body was found,
and the fact that even twenty
hours or more after this discovery,
when the specks were taken to
the laboratory, they showed slight-
ly different colors, meant that
some. stranger had been in the
car when Mayfield was murdered.
Naturally, this fact. could have
been, and already had been de-
tected by Chief Welch and Sheriff
Schmidt, but the experiments with
the specks of dust are important
to show how thorough and with
what detail science approaches the
case. .
It must also be remembered that
when Sergeant Kerch started on
his work,. he was completely de-
tached from the developments in
the case. Alone in that little white
room, with only specks of dust
and other things found in the car,
he was conducting a separate in-
vestigation.
And like the Sheriff and Chief
Welch, he wns forced to wade
through a mass. of unimportant
clues .in his effort to find the one
that would give him the key .to
the -mystery. .
He found this about midnight.
It was so tiny that under the
naked eyes, it could hardly be~-
seen; but Kerch, using a minia-
ture spatula, picked it up from a
mass of dirt, placed it on a glass
Slide, polarized the light under the
slide, and then looked at it under
the. super-powerful microscopic
lens, >
And what had looked like merely
an elongated piece of dust to the
naked eyes, became a huge, ser-
pent-like cord under the micro-
Scope, a cord that seemed to have a
thousand little hairs sticking out
all over it.
Sergeant Kerch caught his
breath. What he was looking at
was the key to the whole mystery.
It was a tiny strand of blonde
hair!
Working swiftly, he slid the hair
on another slide, took a-little iron
handle, which held a safety razor
blade, and then ‘slicing with a deft
touch, he cut off section after seo-
tion of this. hair.
Then he placed these sections
under a still more powerful mi-
croscope. What had looked like only
a piece of the cord under the
other lens, now looked huge, with
many circles inside it that seemed
to blend together.
Kerch stared at these circles of
pigmentation in amazement. He
was looking at a strand of blonde
hair from a boy not much past
twenty!
Fifteen minutes later, this amaz-
ing discovery had been flashed to
Sheriff Schmidt and Chief Welch,
and the mystery blonde was for-
gotten.
“Look for a young man, about
twenty-one, with platinum hair,”
was the instructions sent to them
by Sergeant Kerch.
It was one o’clock when Sheriff
Schmidt and Chief Welch went into
a conference in the Chief's office.
“A platinum blonde young man,”
Chief Welch said. “It is easy to.
understand why the dairyman and
the others took this blonde youth
for a woman. Such blonde youths
are very rare. So now we _ have
to find that platinum blonde
youth.”
“And we are going to find him,
or his friend, a close acquaintance
of Mayfield or a former employee,”
Sheriff Schmidt said. “Only some-
body that Mayfield knew could get
into the car with him. Once in
the car,- they could stick a gun in
his side and order him to’ drive to
a certain spot. But to get in that
car, while he was making his
rounds to collect cash, could only
be done by someone he knew.”
Working on _ this theory, the
Sheriff and Chief Welch started
a different line. of investigation,
but by noon the next day, the
murder of John Mayfield was still
@ puzzling mystery,
Dallas had_been combed for a
platinum blonde youth, but no
trace of such a youth could be
found.
While this was being done, a re-
newed effort was under way to lo-
cate all persons that had been em-
ployed by John Mayfield: during
the past year. This list didn’t pro-
duce any platinum blonde youths,
ty
THEY WERE A COUPLE OF WILD YOUNG PUNKS WHO DIDN'T M
¢
IND
KILLING TO GET WHAT THEY WANTED—BUT HOW COULD THE POLICE PROVE
THEY KILLED THE OIL
By BARTON BLACK
INSEL glittered under the
multi-colored lights of the big
Christmas tree in the living-
room of the pretentious red
brick house, but there was no
holiday cheer in the heart of the
little gray-haired woman who
peered anxiously out of the tall
casement window. ;
For John J. Mayfield, her hus-
band, was missing. The wealthy,
56-year-old owner of a filling
station chain had left his home
at 5211 Mercedes Street, Dallas,
Texas, at 7:30 that evening in
December to make the rounds of
his eleven establishments. It was
now after 9 o'clock.
Mrs. Mayfield walked into the
foyer and picked up the telephone.
She .asked the operator to connect
her with the office of Sheriff R. A.
(Smoot) Schmid in the Dallas
County courthouse, In a soft-spok-
en, apprehensive voice, she reported
her husband’s disappearance, add-
ing that he had left home almost
two hours ago.
“But why are you worried?” ask-
ed Schmid. “Wouldn’t it take him
at least that long to make his
rounds and collect the day’s re-
ceipts?”
“Oh, yes,” explained Mrs. May-
field, her voice quavering, “but you
don’t understand. He made his first
stop at the station on Oak Grove
and North Haskell, I tried to phone
him at the second Station he was
to visit, but he hadn’t been there.
I told the manager to call me as
soon as he arrived. That was more
than an hour ago, and the stations
are only two miles apart. I’m so
afraid——_”
“I wouldn’t be concerned,” said
the sheriff reassuringly. “After all,
Mrs. Mayfield, it’s only two days
before Christmas, and your hus-
band may be shopping for a gift
MAGNATE WHEN THEY HAD IRONCLAD ALIBIS?
to surprise you with.”
“I wish I could agree with you,”
wailed the oil man’s wife, a little
hysterical now. “But I don’t think
you know how John is. He’s never
late anywhere—not even a minute.
Why, if he’d been delayed, he sure-
ly would have called me. Oh, I
hope nothing has happened to
him!”
“What could happen?” inquired
Schmid sharply.
“Well, John usually carries a lot
of cash in his pockets when he’s
collecting. Sometimes he comes
home with more than a thousand
dollars.”
The sheriff was instantly alert.
“Give me the address of the filling
Station where your husband failed
to arrive,” he requested. “We're g0-
ing to look into this right now.”
Schmid pushed away his phone
and turned to the tall, dark young
man who sat beside him—Chief
tragic +
for his”
4
ed,
tangy
siay i
(eer gy aa rf
E (Bill) Decker.
t sy;ned sheriff tee
Mayfield had said
hat do you think
ething wrong, all
‘ker. “Are you sure
ing anything pack?
- so, but you'd better
» that station where
show up. See if you
e bottom of this.
i to his official car,
the corner of Hall
Streets, the address
-heriff by Mrs. May-
found the manager.
ur boss?” he asked
1d?”
mean Mr. Mayfie
yuired the manager.
‘n't. been here yet to-
t quite know what to
3
a?”
alk to Mrs. Mayfiel
rer nodded. “I’m wor-
re boss, and I told the
0.”
ield hasn't been away
jut two hours,” pointed
out Decker. “Why should you be
so worried?”
The man frowned earnestly. “I
guess you don’t know what kind of
a fellow Mr. Mayfield is. He’d prob-
ably never been late anywhere in
his life. Every night he leaves his
house right on the dot of 7:30. Fif-
teen minutes later, he stops at the
Oak Grove and North Haskell sta-
tion. Then, exactly at 8 o’clock, he
comes into this place. This is the
first time he’s been late.”
“What will you do if he doesn’t
come?” asked the deputy.
“Il have to take the cash box
home. There’s $230 in it. That’s a
lot of dough to be responsible for.”
Thanking the manager. for the
information, Decker turned to go,
saying: “Be sure to give the sher-
iff's office a call if Mayfield should
finally appear.”
From this station, Decker drove
next to Mayfield’s establishment at
the corner of Oak Grove and North
Haskell.
“Yes, sir,” the manager of this
station said, “the boss drove up
here in his big black Buick at 7:45,
as regular as clockwork.”
“How much money did you turn
over to him?” asked Decker nar-
rowly.
The man hesitated. “Mr. Mayfield
didn’t take any cash at all tonight,”
he said slowly.
“Why?” snapped the deputy.
“I really can’t tell you. Maybe he
didn’t think it was enough to both-
er with. Sometimes he lets it sort
of pile up until the next night. Our
business hasn’t been so good this
week.” :
Questions pounded in Decker’s
mind, as he left the Oak Grove
station and headed his car for the
Mayfield home.
Lights shone from every window
in the Mayfield house as Decker
pulled his car up to the curb out-
side. He was greeted at the door
by a petite blonde maid in uniform,
tears in her eyes. She ushered him
into the living-room, where the oil
man’s wife sat dejectedly on the
sofa, a tiny handkerchief held to
her mouth, sobbing softly.
“Tm Decker of the sheriff’s of-
fice,” said the chief deputy. “We
got your call about Mr. Mayfield.”
Red-eyed from weeping, Mrs.
Mayfield asked the officer to be
seated.
“Perhaps you didn’t tell the sher-
iff all the facts,” began Decker.
“Was there—any trouble or disa-
greement between yourself and Mr.
Mayfield, or did he have any bus-
iness d ficulties?”
“Neither,” insisted the despairing
wife, staring down at the floor.
“I don’t believe John ever has made
an enemy in his business dealings,
and he has been an ideal hus-
band.”
“What about his friends,” sug-
gested the deputy. ‘Could he have
dropped in to see some of them?”
“No, I’ve called all of them. They
haven’t seen him.”
“We'll send out a radio alarm
for Mr. Mayfield,” the chief deputy
reassured her. “Just as soon as I
get back to the office.”
“Please hurry!” begged the oil
man’s wife, “If you don’t, I’m afraid
it might be too late.”
“Too late?” Decker repeated.
“Then your husband had been
threatened?”
Mrs. Mayfield bit her lip hesi-
tantly. “I wasn’t thinking of this
when I said that, but I do recall
now that he had some difficulty
with two of his men. He had to let
them go in October because they
held out some cash from their re-
ceipts. He did say they had tried
to make trouble afterward.”
(Continued on page 30)
SHERIFF R. A. SCHMID: "So the
boys had the jitters,” he. said.
“Maybe _ that's significant, but
how. would it stand up in court
' alongside their ironclad alibi?"
RR
HUMAN
DETECTIVE
“Do you know their names?” de-
manded Decker, reaching for his
notebook. 5
“J must admit I don’t. As I re-
member, I don’t think he told me
who they were.”
“What about that cash your hus-
band was carrying? You told the
sheriff he sometimes had as much
as $1,000 on his person.”
“Oh, he couldn’t have had that
much, He had just started his col-
lections.” Mrs. Mayfield’s eyes wid-
ened. “But no one would know that.
They might have thought he had
more—enough for them to rob and
kill him!”
Gently reassuring her that every-
thing possible would be done to
locate the missing oil man, Decker
left the house and hurried out to
his car. °
Decker found Sheriff Schmid pac-
ing the floor of his office impatient-
ly. He related what Mrs. Mayfield
had told him, adding: “The only
theory that makes sense is that
Mayfield was kidnapped. But the
whole thing still looks strange.”
“It might be a snatch,” conceded
the sheriff, “but we’re ‘not going
to wait around for any ransom
notes. I’m going to send my men
out to pick up a lead.”
As Schmid called his deputies to-
gether to map out a plan of action,
Decker relayed a description of the
missing man and his car to Dallas
Police Chief James L. Welch. Min-
utes later, the general alarm was
broadcast from the police short-
wave station KVP, to all depart-
ments in the Southwest.
The deputies, led by Decker and
Deputy John Rowland, spread out
on the assignments given them by
Schmid.
At two o'clock in the morning,
Sheriff Schmid met with his depu-
ties to study their reports and con-
fer on their next moves.
As the investigators turned the
room blue with smoke from their
cigars and cigarettes, the sheriff
found himself confronted by an
even greater assortment of con-
. flicting circumstances, and still
without a single substantial lead.
As the conference broke up, the
sheriff announced to his weary men
that the investigation would con-
tinue on a 24-hour basis until the
mysterious case was solved.
6 bow cold gray light of the Win-
ter dawn found the deputies
busy as Schmid left the office in
charge of Decker while he caught
a few hours of badly needed sleep.
30
Mince
HUMAN DETECTIVE CASES
BLONDE ALIBI
(Continued from page 9)
The date was now December 24,
1939. ‘
At 9 o’clock that morning, Sher-
iff Schmid was back at his desk,
checking over the progress of the
investigators. He noted with dis-
appointment that the radio alarm
had failed to bring any word of
Mayfield or his black sedan.
For the rest of the morning and
that afternoon, the sheriff’s depu-
ties concentrated on investigating
the Mayfield’s past activities, their
background and _ associates, their
neighbors and their friends.
Patiently, the investigators can-
vassed the neighborhood in which
they lived, but the answers invari-
ably were the same. None had seen
anyone or anything suspicious. The
Mayfields were known 4s highly
respectable people who lived com-
fortably, but quietly.
The sheriff was holding another
conference with Decker and Row-
land at 3:15 p.m. when the phone
on his desk rang furiously. Schmid
grabbed the receiver.
The caller was a man who had
asked to speak to the sheriff per-
sonally. In an excited voice, he
blurted out: ‘You’d better come
up here right away. I think I’ve
found that oil man you’ve been
looking for!”
Schmid hastily wrote down the
name of the caller and the address
he gave. Then, slamming down the
phone, he grabbed up his wide-
brimmed tan hat and dashed for
the door.
“Come on, boys!” he called to
Decker and Rowland. “Looks like
this is it!”
Picking up four other deputies
on the way, the officers clambered
into two cars downstairs and roared
away from the courthouse, sirens
screaming.
Weaving through the heavy traf-
fic, the cars swung north and sped
to the outskirts of Dallas. Just be-
yond the Lovefield Airport, they
turned sharply off on a dirt road.
Swinging right and then left, they
finally slid to a stop at a lonely
spot on Old Dallas Road.
At the right of the road ahead
of them, a little crowd of people
stood around a dusty black Buick
sedan. Schmid and his men sprang
out of their cars and ran to the
scene.
Schmid strode closer to the car,
noting the number of the license
plate. It was Mapyfield’s!
The sheriff, handkerchief in hand
to avoid smudging possible prints,
grasped the handle of the left front
door and tried to yank it open.
But the door was locked.
Leaning up against the window,
Schmid looked inside the car. Al-
though he had half expected it, he
was startled at what he saw. This
was murder.
Propped up behind the wheel was
the missing oil magnate, his gray
head still erect, his glasses still in
place. The stub of a cigar jutted
from between his pale lips and his
sightless eyes stared vacantly at
the road ahead.
“Look!” Decker shouted to the
sheriff, pointing to a neat round
hole in the car door, from which
a shiny bit of lead protruded.
“A pullet,” replied Schmid. “Get
a crowbar from our machine. We’ve
got to get this car open!”
The door quickly gave way to the
pressure of. the bar and the officers
studied Mayfield’s body. Blood oozed
from a small hole in his white shirt,
near the base of his neck; a sec-
ond bullet had entered his’ chest
over his heart, and a third had
gouged into his stomach. Pulling
back the victim’s clothes, the in-
vestigators found powder burns.
“The shots were fired at close
range,” said the sheriff, studying
the projectile which Decker had
pried out of the car door. “From
the heft and size of this slug, I’d
say the gun was a .32.”
Schmid now sought out the man
who had discovered the murder car
and its grisly cargo. “When did you
find this?” he asked.
“Oh, I didn’t,” explained the
man, “It was my young son. That’s
him standing over there.”
The sheriff’s eyes turned to a
light-haired boy of 10. “Go on,” he
urged. “We want to know just what
happened.”
It was about 3 o’clock that after-
noon, the man continued, when the
little boy had come to him breath-
lessly and reported that he and
his playmates had seen a man sit-
ting in a car on Old Dallas Road,
either drunk or asleep. They were
afraid someone might run into the
car, which was parked only half-
way off the road.
At first he was unconcerned, he
said, but suddenly recalled hear-
ing over the radio that morning
that Mayfield was missing. He hur-
riedly followed his son to the scene,
where he peered into the car and
saw the dead man. Then he called
Schmid.
Satisfied for the moment with
the story, the sheriff and his men
turned to search the car. They
found
of sma:
back se
the flo:
watch
man’s \
The
though:
the sce
Peace J
notified
Justic
leaned
the cor:
had bee
ing the
8:30 th
Schm
, lookers,
than 50
lived ni
about 1
One
farmer
passed
times d
- ping to
“T fig
iness,” :
the mai
to meet
been dr
was gra
The (
next to
I saw tl
declared
8:30 be
narrow];
« Lap,”
. “Arey
anythin,
sheriff.
“Come
tinued t
other ca
up the :
coupe, t
There w
dark h:
_ didn’t th
with the
Schmic
“Search
ing ove:
clue her
killer’s t
Darkn:
deputies
lights as
some bi
Slight, w
with a le
a half’s
nothing.
their lac
Mean
advised
field’s bi
action.
“It loo
sistant,
killer mv
car som+s
mee eae .*
1 ee fe, Cie +t
t for, murder when a
mt “talk him: into ‘buying’ “a
ch he couldn't. affor 1s =
is car whi :
Sheriff J. E. (Bill) Decker.
ie eae: tanned sheriff er
lated what Mrs. Mayfield had eae
and asked: “What do you thin
sia
Sheree something wrong, all
right,” said Decker. “Are you wks
she wasn’t holding anything back?
“I don’t think so, but you d better
get right over to that station where
Mayfield didn’t show up. See if you
can’t get to the bottom of this.
Hurrying out to his official ee
Decker sped to the corner of Ha
and McKinney Streets, the address
given to the sheriff by Mrs. May-
field. There he found the manager.
“Where's your boss?” he asked
Fea —yon mean Mr. Mayfield?”
anxiously inquired the manager.
“Why, he hasn't been here yet -
night. I don’t quite know what to
it.” ,
ioe talk to Mrs. Mayfield?
The manager nodded. “I’m wor-
ried about the boss, and I told the
too.”
mt Mayfield hasn’t been away
from home but two hours, pointed
out Decke
SO worrieci
The ma
guess you
a fellow M
ably never
his life. Ey
house righ:
teen minut
Oak Grove
tion. Then,
comes into
first time }
“What wi
come?” ask
“T’ll have
home. Ther
lot of dough
Thanking
information,
saying: “Be
iff’s office a
finally appe:
From this
next to Mayt
the corner of
Haskell.
“Yes, sir,”
Station said,
here in his bi
as regular as
“How much
over to him?
rowly.
The man he
didn’t take an
he said slow);
“Why?” sna
“I really cai
didn’t think it
er with. Some
of pile up unti
business hasn
week.”
Questions p
mind, as he
station and he
Mayfield home
Lights shone
in the Mayfie!
pulled his car
Side. He was ;
by a petite blo:
tears in her ey
into the living-
man’s wife sa‘
sofa, a tiny h:
her mouth, soi
“I’m Decker
fice,” said the
got your call a
Red-eyed fr
Mayfield asked
seated.
“Perhaps you
iff all the fac
“Was there—ar
greement betwe
Mayfield, or dic
iness d fficultie:
“Neither,” ins
wife, staring c
“I don’t believe .
an enemy in his
and he has be
band.”
“What about
gested the deput
neil tte
d spread
y de some-
: tied up
:d by the
hmid dis-
» his dep-
- Mayfield
ow these
cinity and
with the
the Oak
Mr. Linx-
could not
ye youths.
lly visited
iround the
of the res-
*, But they
vland went
ibiting the
vs was the
r neighbor-
yn brothers.
ng Station,
they struck
‘r, Herbert
e pair from
zht to me,”
ian I do the
ay! | hope
. Decker
‘r’s question.
1 week ago,”
iding across
They were
thought they
ody. But no
away.”
iin,” Decker
book.
th Neil? His
Walker, and
ed block of
heir car and
reet address.
a 26-year-old
orawled an a
They noted
ad black hair,
ie young man
seeing in the
yfield’s sedan!
‘losely, but he
f the twenty-
ls and my pal,
calmly.
ss of Walker's
distrust in the
tioned further,
» would check
) keep himself
for the office.
awhile had re-
ws, Austin au-
rat the last of
oyes had been
of all possible
Two other dep-
ey to report
sil Gordon
1 witnesses
While a team of officers kept a 24-hour
watch on Bob Walker's house, Decker and
Rowland visited the homes of two girls
Walker said he had been with on the night
of the murder, The suspect had furnished
their names and addresses.
One, a buxom blonde, was in her early
20's. The other, a redhead, was still in her
teens.
“That's right,” the blonde said in re-
sponse to a question. “We had a double
date the night of the twenty-third with Bob
and Whitey.”
“Who’s Whitey?” Rowland asked.
“Steve Murray. We call him Whitey on
account of his platinum-blonde hair.”
“Platinum blonde!” Decker repeated,
suddenly recalling that a woman with such
Hair had been seen in the car with May-
field just before his death. But was it a
woman, or a man? The possibility was
tantalizing.
' “What time was this date?” Rowland
asked. e
“Just about eight o'clock,” the redhead
replied. “We drove to a tavern and had
some drinks around thirty minutes past
eight. About nine, we stopped at a service
station to have the battery changed, From
there we went to a drive-in and had some
sandwiches and coffee. Then Bobby and
Whitey drove us home. That was at eleven
o'clock.
Decker and Rowland left the girls and
set out at once to check their story. They
visited each place the foursome had
stopped on the night of the crime. Wit-
nesses corroborated every point.
Schmid wrestled with the conflicting
angles the case now presented. The Gordon
brothers apparently were in the clear, while
Walker and Murray also seemed to have
water-tight alibis. But there was one more
move which might set the investigation in
motion again. The sheriff decided to bring
Walker in to confront Neil Gordon,
Decker and Rowland went to pick up
Walker with one question to be asked
before he was taken to the sheriffff's office.
Decker shot it at him by surprise: “When
did you last see Neil Gordon?”
Taken off guard, Walker replied: “About
a month ago.”
But led before Neil Gordon, Walker
* paled and his eyes darted uneasily from
side to side.
“Neil,” the sheriff said, “the manager
of the Crystal gas station told us you and
Walker were hanging around there only
about a week ago. Is that right?”
“Yes,” Gordon replied. “We were there.”
“What about that?” Schmid demanded,
whirling to confront Walker. “You said
you hadn't seen this fellow for a month!”
The dark-haired youth shifted in the
chair and avoided the sheriff's gaze. “Oh,
I forgot,” he said. “I did see Neil there.”
“Where were you on the twenty-fourth,
the day after the murder?”
“Whitey and I drove to Galveston,”
Walker replied, beads of sweat on his brow.
“We went to sce a couple of gals there.”
“You're quite a pair of Indies’ men,
aren't you?” Schmid taunted. “Well, we'll
check that story, Walker—just to see if
you forgot anything else.”
The sheriff still was convinced that
Walker and the Gordon brothers knew
more than he had been able to learn from
them. But without tangible evidence, he
was forced to let all three youths go free
with a warning to be available. As a pre-
caution, he arranged to have them kept
under close surveillance.
Then Schmid ordered Decker and Row-
land to drive down to Galveston and see
what they could dig up on Walker and
Murray there. The sheriff marked time
until the deputies returned the next day. .
“These punks visited a couple of girls
down there, all right,” Decker reported,
“and went out on a tear with them. They
threw a hot party in a motor court and
‘wound up at a roadhouse, where the girls
wanted to dance. But the boys refused, the
girls told us, because they were too nervous.
The girls had to dance with each other.”
“We'll have to do better than that,”
Schmid declared. “Have another talk with
those two girls who had dates with Walker
and Murray on the night of the crime. They
seemed a little too sure about just what
time they visited the tavern and the drive-in
stand. Maybe their story was rehearsed.”
Once more the deputies went to the
homes of the buxom blonde and the lithe
redhead, and this time brought both girls
back to the sheriff’s office. They seemed
nervous and distraught.
“Honest, we're telling the truth,” the
blonde wailed. “We really had dates with
these boys, just like we told you.”
“Take it easy,” Schmid advised. “We're
not making any charges against you—at
least, not yet. Now, are you certain that
Walker and Murray picked you up at ex-
actly eight o’clock?”
The redhead’s eyes widened. “Why, now
that you mention it, we didn’t meet the
boys on time. We were late, and it was
about half past eight before we met them.
Maybe they were late, too, We didn’t ask.”
“That’s all we want to know,” the sheriff
snapped. “Walker and Murray now have
a half-hour unaccounted for between eight
and eight-thirty. That would be time
enough for them to drive from the Oak
Grove station-out to Old Dallas ‘Road and
back to the spot where they met you girls!”
The blonde clapped a hand over her
mouth. “Now I remember something else
that fits in! 1 started to open the glove
compartment of the car, but Walker
grabbed my wrist and stopped me. ‘Don’t
open that,’ he told me. *There’s a play-
pretty in there.’ I asked him if it was for
his little girl, and he said yes. But I thought
he was hiding something, maybe a bottle
of whiskey.” :
“Probably a gun,” Schmid said grimly,
and his deputies nodded.
MOVING swiftly, the sheriff's men ar-
rested Walker and Murray at their
homes, while other deputies sped over to
Forney and brought back Daniel and Neil
Gordon. The four suspects were led into
the sheriff's office, where Schmid con-
fronted them.
He turned first to the Gordon brothers. |
“We know you boys weren’t in Dallas when
Mayfield was slain,” he. said, “But you’re
still not in the clear, because you know
who killed him. If you know what’s good
for you, you'll open up!” .
As the brothers pondered’ his words,
Schmid faced Murray. “You bought a car
on November twenty-third, Whitey,” he
said. “A black convertible with a tan top.
We found the dealer who sold it to you.
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you agreed to hold up John Mayfield.
You were out of a job at the time, but
Walker, who was with you, talked you
into buying the car.
Murray was trembling, but he did not
reply.
’ “When. the first installment on the car
was due, December twenty-third, you had
no moncy to pay it. Walker was out of a
job and broke, too. So at his suggestion,
“You have platinum-blonde hair,
Whitey,” the sheriff continued. “It’s long
and fine, like a woman's. So it wasn’t a
woman our witness saw in the death car-
with Mayfield. It was youl”
Schmid let this telling blow sink in.
Then he went on: “Walker, you killed May-
field! You had followed him before on
his rounds, and you knew his habits. On
that night, you pretended to be a hitch-
hiker and thumbed a ride with him as he
left the Oak Grove station. He was a kind
man, so he picked you up—”
“That’s a lie!” Walker cut in.
“We knew you’d say that,” Schmid told
him. “So we started looking for the gun.
We found .it this morning, under a mat-
tress in your father’s house. Ballistics tests
show it was the murder gun.”
Murray broke first. Blubbering, he made
a confession which checked in every detail
with the sheriff's reconstruction. “It was
Walker's idea,” he said. “When Mayfield
picked him up, I followed them in my car
out to the Old Dallas Road. But Walker
did the shooting. I started walking back
to Mayfield’s car, but it was all over when
I got there. Then another car -drove by,
so Walker hid on the floor while I ducked
down in the seat beside the body. We got
scared after that and ran back to our
machine.”
Walker persisted in his denials until the
next day, when he also made a full con-
fession. “I once worked for Mayfield,” he
said, “so it was easy to get a ride with him.
I told him I had-to get to the airport. On
the way, I,pulled a rod we bought at a
pawnshop and poked it into the old man’s
ribs. When we got to Old Dallas Road, I
plugged him and took his money. But
Whitey got nervous and in a rush to get
away, we dropped all but twenty-seven
dollars.
Walker and Murray were indicted and
tried separately. On February 6th, 1939,
Walker was found guilty of first-degree
murder and sentenced to death by Judge
Grover Adams. On March 4th, Murray
was convicted of second-degree murder on
his plea that he had been led into the
-murder and did not fire the gun, and was
sentenced to prison for ten years.
Daniel and Neil Gordon, who had tes-
tified against the pair, declared that Walker
originally had tried to get Neil Gordon to
help him rob Mayfield, but Neil had backed
out. In return for their co-operajion with
the’ authorities, they were allowed to go
free. ry :
On April 11th, 1940, Robert Ballard
Walker was strapped into the electric chair
at Austin and put to death.
Eprror’s NoTE: The names Daniel and
Neil Gordon used in the foregoing story
are fictitious. The name Steve Murray is
also fictitious, as this young man, al-
though a convicted criminal, has com-
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ELECTRIC CHAIR
(Continued from page 33)
killer’s gun was a thirty-two calibre.”
Schmid now sought out William Nge,
the man who had discovered the murder
car and its grisly cargo. “When did you
find this?” he asked.
“I didn’t,” Noe explained. “It was my
young son, Harold. That's Harold stand-
ing over there.”
The sheriff's eyes turned to a light-.
haired boy of about ten years old, “Go on,”
he urged Noe. “Tell us just. what hap-
pened.”
It was about three o’clock that after-
noon,:-the father continued, when his son
had come to him breathlessly and reported
that he and his playmates had seen a man
sitting in a car on Old Dallas Road, either
drunk or asleep. They were afraid some-
one might run into the sedan, which was
parked only halfway off the road.
Noe was unconcerned at first, he said, |-
but suddenly recalled hearing over the
radio that morning that Mayfield was miss-
ing. He hurriedly followed his son to the
scene, where he peered into the car and
saw the dead man. Then he called Schmid.
The sheriff and his men searched the
car. They found $22 in bills, and a quanity
of small change scattered over the back
seat, and a check for $110 on the floor.
An expensive gold wrist watch was still
strapped to the oil man’s arm.
“The motive can’t have been robbery,”
Schmid declared. “No thief would . leave
all this behind—that is, unless he got
frightened away.”
Coroner Joseph B. Brown had arrived
meanwhile and made a careful examination
of Mayfield’s body. The victim had been
dead for about 18 hours, he concluded,
placing the time of death at around 8:30
the previous night. That would be only a
little more than half an hour after May-
field had left the Oak Grove station. There
were no signs of a struggle.
Sheriff Schmid turned next to the cur-
ious onlookers, most of them persons who
lived nearby. “What do you know about
this, folks?” he inquired. :
One by one, they spoke up. A farmer
told the sheriff he had .passed the black
sedan several times that day without stop-
ping to investigate. He said he figured it
was none of his business.
The owner of a dairy recalled seeing
the car the previous night. “Must have been
around twenty-five or thirty minutes past
eight, because I was on my way home,”
he said. “But there were two people in the
sedan—this man and a woman with pla-
tinum-blonde hair like that movie star,
whatever her name is.”
“A woman?” Schmid repeated.
you sure?”
“Yep,” the dairyman said. “I thought
it was a petting party, so I didn’t bother
‘em. They certainly didn’t seem to be hav-
ing any trouble.”
“Did you notice anything else?” the
sheriff pressed. ‘
“Well, 1 saw another car parked up the
road about half a mile. It was a black
convertible with a tan top. There was a
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upaasto’ onstrator send $2.50. Money back tf you tolah.)
16th St., New York 3, N. Y
young fellow in it with dark hair, slicked
back. But I didn’t think it had any con-
nection with the sedan here.”
Darkness had closed in, and the depu-
ties, acting on Schmid’s orders, snapped
on their flashlights as they searched the
area for some clue which might put them
on the killer's trail, But after combing the
terrain for more than an hour, they found
nothing of any value to the case.
Bak in Dallas, Police Chief Welch or-
dered his men into action on the
theory that the killer must have entered
Mayfield’s car somewhere around the fill-
ing station where he was last seen. The
city officers concentrated on finding wit-
nesses who. might have observed the oil
man picking up the slayer. ‘
The investigation continued unabated
throughout the night and the following
morning—Christmas Day. Schmid’s dep-
uties doggedly sought to trace the three
employes of the victim who had moved
away from Dallas during the past year.
Decker and Rowland hunted for wit-
nesses who might have seen Mayfield’s
sedan en route from the Oak Grove sta-
tion to Old Dallas Road, where it was
found. But by the end of the day, they had
still failed to locate any such witness.
As the deputiés met again in the sher-
iff’s office Schmid received a telephone call
from Forney, Texas, about 21 miles east
of Dallas. The caller was City Marshal
D. E. Hamm of Forney, who had exciting
news.
“A couple of my men overheard two
young chaps talking about the Mayfield
murder in a tavern here,” Hamm related.
“These fellows seemed to know a lot about
the case. You ought to run out here and
have a talk with them.”
Schmid and Decker left at once for
Forney. Arriving there, they dréve to the
office of Marshal Hamm, who had taken
the two young men into custody for ques-
tioning.
The suspects were half-brothers in their
20's, Daniel and Neil Gordon. Hamm re-
ported what his men had heard them say.
“I should have been in on that job,” Daniel
was quoted as telling another youth who
had mentioned the Mayfield case. “Bobby
can pay for his car now,” Neil added, ac-
cording to the marshal’s men. as
The Gordon brothers were seated under
the bright lights of Hamm's office, sweat-
ing and squirming in obvious discomfort.
“What about this?” Schmid demanded.
“Just what do you two know about John
Mayfield’s death?” S
“Only what we read: in the newepapers,”
Daniel Gordon replied.
“Who is.Bobby?” the sheriff pressed.
Both brothers shrugged. “Never heard
the name,” Neil declared. “Must be some-
body from outa town.”
The sheriff snorted. “You men are com-
ing back to Dallas. with me,” he said
firmly. “I have a hunch you're not telling
everything you know!”
ORTY minutes later, seated in Schmid’s
office, the Gordon brothers still main-
tained their airs of injured innocence. They
stubbornly* insisted they knew nothing
about the Mayfield case.
“All right,” the sheriff snapped. “We have
other ways to make you birds sing. We're
going to take your pictures and = spread
them all over the county. Maybe some-
body can tell us just who you're tied up
with.”
The Gordon boys were mugged by the
department photographer, and Schmid dis-
tributed prints of their pictures to his dep-
uties, "Go around to each of the Mayfield
gas stations,” he ordered. “Show these
pictures to everybody in the vicinity and
see if anyone can identify them.”
Decker and Rowland, armed with the
prints, started their canvass at the Oak
Grove station, beginning with Mr. Linx-
weiler, the manager. But he could not
recall having seen either of the youths.
Then the deputies methodically visited
every house for several blocks around the
station on the chance that one of the res-
idents might have seen the pair. But they
met with no success.
Undaunted, Decker and: Rowland went
from station to station exhibiting the
photos, but the answer always was the
same. None of the employes or neighbor-
ing residents had seen the Gordon brothers.
At last, at the Crystal Filling Station,
Lemmon and Maple Streets, they struck
pay dirt. There the manager, Herbert
Hughes, instantly recognized the pair from
thoir pictures,
“They always seemed all right to me,”
he said. “I know Neil better than I do the
other brother. He's a good kid. Say! I hope
he’s not in a jam! Why are you looking for
him?”
“When did you last see him?" Decker
demanded, ignoring the manager's question.
“I guess it was a little over a week ugo,”
Hughes replied. “He was standing across
the street with Bob Walker. They were
there for quite a while and I thought they
were waiting to meet somebody. But no
one showed up and they went away.”
“Give me that name again,” Decker
snapped, pulling out his notebook.
“You mean the fellow with Neil? His
full name is Robert Ballard Walker, and
he lives in the four-hundred block of
Keating Street.”
The deputies hurried to their car and
started for the Keating Street address.
There they found Walker, a 26-year-old
jobless radio service man, sprawled an a
couch reading a newspaper. They noted
with eager interest that he had black hair,
slicked straight back—like the young man
the dairyman had reported seeing in the
convertible parked near Mayfleld’s sedan!
They questioned Walker closely, but he
had an alibi. “The night of the twenty-
third I was out with two girls and my pal,
Steve Murray,” he declared calmly.
Something in the coldness of Walker's
beadlike black eyes aroused distrust in the
deputies. He must be questioned further,
they decided, but first they would check
his story. Warning him to keep himself
available, they started back for the office.
GHERIFF SCHMID meanwhile had re-
ceived discouraging news. Austin au-
thorities had -wired him that the last of
the three discharged employes had been
located there and cleared of all possible
connection with the case. Two other dep-
uties had returned from Forney to report
that the alibis of Daniel and Neil Gordon
- had been corroborated by several witnesses
there.
Wh" > -
watch
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their names
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angles the
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Walker v
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did you |
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Ag (a ee 74 7/ | op | METHOD
TRIAL
ae IL Teyas 116°
aos x
7 7
WARD, Charles
ward, alias Charles Word, a 3heyear-old black man, was a native of
Alabama who claimed to have served in both the Army and the Navy.
One of his legs had been amputated and he could walk only with the
assistance of a crutch when he arrived in San Antonio, Texas, around
1866, and for the next 15 years he earned a precarious living by
performing various odd jobs and menial tasks, Around 7 o'clock on
Sunday morning, August 2l, 1881, Dora Ellerman, the Wbayear-old .
daughter of a German milk man who lived in the southwest ern subur S
of the city was returning home after spending the night pat a cous
in town, Ward was walking in the same direction ahead 0 , er ar aes
when he reached the spot in the bed of the Alazan i — ae
spanned by the International Railroas ara tty ee ne _
to approach, When she was aorea ’
ne sade ae into some mesquite bushes and, when oye ie erubhh to
da knocked her °
soreany he overs’, ber acets had been thrown over the upper part oe
her body and her underwear was bloody. Her HEXHAKEXHE sexual org
j his pangs
re sore and bleeding and Ward was lying beside her with ‘ .
pconatinie She attempted to flee and when he tried to -_s her agasn
ith the crutch, she grabbed it and managed to Geoap Se one ree and
directly to her home where she reported the rape to her
returned to San Antonio and informed a policeman who inspected the
scene of the rape and noticed that the ground bore evidence of a
fearful struggle. Additionally, the girl's face was swollen and blue
and she bore a recent cut over one eye, Ward was arrested in a
saloon that afternoon and even though he had discarded the bloody
shirt he had been wearing at: the time of the assault, his pants were
still bloody, At his trial, he maintained that he had previously
had intercourse with the girl who had consented and that he had met
her there by ‘previous arrangement, His conviction was unsuccessfully
appealed to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals and on August 21,
1882, the first anniversary of his crime, he was hanged at San Antonio
Ward, who was evidently intoxicated at the execution, walked to the
gallows, using only his crutch for assistance, and made a long and
rambling speech in which he reiterated his claim that the girl had
previously been a willing participant in sexual relations with hin,
He then made the curious statement that he deserved his punishment
because he had not witnesses to his having intercouse with her con-
sente His last words weret "Goodbye to you all,"
12 TEXAS CRIMINAL APPEALS 175 .
SAN ANTONIO DAILY EXPRESS, Aug HEXXXRAKK 23, 1881;
SAN ANTONIO LIGHT, August 215 iB82™ , ,
Letter dated 6-6-1978, from Elton R. Cude, District Clerk, Bexar Co.
(Body claimed by family and buried in a San mtonio cemetery.)
e+
.
large d
WARD, ‘Charles. oe ed121862
| August 21, 1882.
Black, hanged San Antonio, Texas, :
"Ghee aad was charged with the rape of a ialnaeeits
cirl by the name of Dora Ellerman, The rape occurre :
the early morning of August 21, 1881, Ward was tried for
the rape and hanged on August 21, 1882, While avenpite
his execution, young Dora Ellerman diedeese»War was a
one le-ged man and used a crutch,...was Lr gaara er
the execution, his family received his body and it was
buried in a local cemetery."
Letter dated 66-1978 from Elton R, Cude, District Clerk
for Bexar County, San Antonio, Texas 78205
Mentioned, NY TIMES, 8-22-1882
é
1866. He
claimed to have served in both Army and Navy. Rape was in
early morning, From gallows, he claimed to have previously
had intercourse with girl with her consent, Said they met.
that day wy prearrangement. Long, rambling speech from
gallows. ‘Went Supported by crutch, Was evidently drunk on
gallows, Objected to sentence saying he was first charged
with an attemt, and no surg@on examined him or girl or tes-
tified at trial. Stated he deserved punishment because he
did not have any witnesses to previous intercourse,
words: "Goodbye to you all," ‘Was 35-years-old,
SAN ANTONIO EVENING LIGHT, San -stntonio, Texas 8-21-188°
Last
WARD, Charles, black, hanged San Antonio, Bexar Co., August 21, 1882.
Charles Ward, black, was hanged at San Antonio, Bexar Co., on August 21, 1882, for the
rape of a 16-year-old white girl named Dora Ellerman. He was 35 and a native of Alabama who
claimed to have served in both the Army and the Navy and had a leg amputated. Ward admitted
having sex with the girl but claimed that she did so willingly.
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12 Texas Criminal Appeals 175.
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