HISTORICAL SOCIETY
were much in evidence shouting their
wares and plying their trade. Long
before the hour arrived for the execu-
tion, the jail-yard was jammed with
spectators. Some even sat on the top
of the wall of the jail-yard while oth-
ers were perched on ladders. Every
vantage point was seized with a morbid
curiosity that defies understanding.
The trap was sprung shortly after
eleven o’clock by Sheriff David Reich-
ley, and in 7’: Minutes Jonathan Moy-
er was pronounced dead by the phy-
sician.
3. Uriah Moyer was hanged in the
old jail-yard, March. 7, 1883, like that
of his brother, before a vast concourse
of people. Seats were provided for
250 persons but 400 passes were issued.
The same morbid curiosity predomi-
nated, and the crowds struggled for a
glimpse of the condemned man in his
last moments. Shortly after eleven
o'clock, the trap was sprung by Sheriff
David Reichley, and in eight minutes
Uriah Moyer was pronounced dead.
Shortly before his death, Uriah Moyer
confessed that he and Ettinger had
killed the Kintzlers, and absolved his
brother from any participation in the
actual murder. In each of the two
hangings, the corpse was placed in a
coffin and placed outside the jail-yard
for viewing by the general public. The
two brothers are buried in unmarked
graves in a field by the side of a fence
at Weikel’s Mill. It ought to be stated
here that Uriah J. Moyer was a sol-
dier in the Civil War—a private in
Company I, 184th regiment, P. V. I.
He was mustered in service September
7, 1864, and mustered out of service
June 2, 1865.
4. Israel Erb was convicted of mur-
der in the first degree, September,
1880. Before his day of execution ar-
rived, the State Board of Pardons com-
muted his sentence to life imprison-
ment. Israel Erb served about three
years in the Middleburg jail, and then
was transferred to the Eastern Peni-
tentiary, where he died eight years
later. Israel Erb is buried beside that
of his wife in the Troxelville Ceme-
tery. His grave is marked by a mod-
est tombstone containing the inscrip-
tion:
“Our Father—Israel Erb—Died May
1, 1891, aged 73 years and 10 days.
GENERAL SUMMARIES OF OTHER PAPERS
PRESENTED BEFORE THE SOCIETY
Space and exp2nse made prohibitive the printing in full of all the papers
that were presented before the Snyder County Historical Society during the
two-year interval. In addition, the important material in the papers that have
been omitted wiil be incorporated in the proposed history of the county. To
have printed all of them in full in the bulletin would have been needless dupli-
cation of effort and unnecessary expense.
All the manuscripts presented to the society have been filed in the archives
of the Society and are accessible to any member who desires to use them. The
following constitutes a general summary of the papers presented before the
society and that have not been printed in full in this bulletin:
1. My Ancestor, David Walter
By REV. KLINE d'A. ENGLE
Presented before the Society, February 2, 1940
David Walte: was one of the pioneer settlers in Snyder County. He was
born in Berks county. Pa.. in 1761. His father, Jacob Walter, moved to Penn’s
Township. Northumberland County, now Franklin Township, Snyder County,
and settled about 1!» miles west of the present site of Middleburg. He was one
of the founders of what is known as the Hassinger’s Church. He died in 1803 and
is buried in the cemetery of that church. The son, David Walter, served as a
militia man during the Revolutionary War. He died in 1838 and is buried in the
Salem Church Cemetery. Center Township, Snyder County.
469
THE SNYDER COUNTY
was no possible escape except convic-
tion of murder in the first degree.
While Mary Hartley had undoubtedly
a besmirched character, it must be
said here that even Detective Lyon’s
record was by no means spotless hav-
ing been indicted at different times for
murder, forgery, and bounty jumping
during Civil War days, as a Federal
Marshal. The attorneys for the Com-
monwealth were District Attorney H.
H. Grimm, Charles Hower, Albert W.
Potter. and Colonel A. C. Simpson;
for the prisoners, Hon. Andrew H. Dill,
J. Merril Linn, Jacob Gilbert, and
Thomas J. Smith.
All four men were found guilty of
murder in the first degree. Israel Erb,
Jonathan Moyer, and Emanuel Etting-
er were convicted in September, 1880,
and Uriah Moyer in February, 1882. All
the cases were appealed to the Su-
preme Court but in each case the de-
cision cf the lower court was confirm-
ed. Then as a last resort an appeal
was made to the State Board of Par-
dons but it refused to interfere and
the days for the execution were set.
Five long and anxious years had now
intervened from the time of the mur-
der. December 8, 1877, to the day when
society exacted its full penalty for the
murder.
4. Final Outcome
Let us take up each one of the four
convicted men separately.
1. Emanuel Ettinger continued a
prisoner in the Middleburg jail, await-
ing the death penalty by hanging, from
the time of his conviction in Septem-
ber. 1480, until he committed suicide
by taking strychnine. Ettinger had
boasted during the trial that he would
never be hanged. It is believed that
he had secreted about his person in
un earlier day the poison that was to
end his life. October 21, 1881. The
newspapers of that day reported that
he died of a malignant typhoid fever
after an illness of about two months.
and that the failure of the higher
court to reverse the decision of the
lower court probably hastened his
death. (Freeburg Courier). Another
paper reported that Ettinger had died
from the effects of eating ground glass.
‘Selinsgrove Tribune). To determine
the facts, Dr. Percival J. Herman, then
County Coroner, had the body exhum-
ed and the fact definitely established
that Ettinger had died of strychnine
poisoning.
It ought to be added here that on
the night before his death, Ettinger
confessed that he and Uriah Moyer did
the killing, and that Jonathan Moyer
and Israel Erb had no part in it ex-
cept that Jonathan Moyer had assist-
ed in the burning of the cabin to cover
the evidence. He declared that Israel
Erb was not present at all on any oc-
casion. Emanuel Ettinger is buried in
an unmarked grave in the yard of the
old Ettinger homestead, not far from
Weikel’s Mill.
2. Jonathan Moyer continued in jail
from the time of his conviction, Sep-
tember, 1880, until his death by hang-
ing. March 22, 1882. He declared his
innocence to the last moment, so far
as the killing was concerned but ac-
knowledged that he had helped to
burn the cabin and to share in the
money. He claimed his implication in
the whole sordid affair was for the
purpose of shielding his brother, Uriah.
Jonathan Moyer had hopes to the day
of his execution that he would be par-
doned. Because Ettinger in his con-
fession had entirely exonerated him
and Israel Erb, both Moyer and Erb
had been given another hearing before
the State Board of Pardons. The re-
sult was that Moyer was refused clem-
ency and Erb’s case was held over by
the board.
When a person reads the court
records, he steadily acquires a com-
passionate pity for Israel Erb and par-
ticularly for Jonathan Moyer. The
writer believes neither was a mur-
derer at heart. Both, however, un-
fortunately were particeps criminis but
decidedly against their better judg-
ment. During his last days, he was
visited in prison by two of his three
children—Ammon (9 yrs.) and Ossie
(4 yrs.). His wife couldn't come along
because she was too ill with consump-
tion. The newspaper account of that,
farewell visit is one of the most pa--
thetic description the writer has ever
read. Upon its conclusion, the father
exclaimed—"If I owned the whole
world, I would gladly give all of it for
the privilege this day to go along home
with my children.”
On the day set for the hanging, the
county-seat took on the nature of a
gay celebration already beginning at
daybreak. People from all quarters
came afoot, horseback, and carriage to
witness the execution. The streets
were crowded with people. Hawkers
468
HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Kintzler had some cross dogs. The
men then went forward, broke a win-
agow-pane, and threw a small vial of
chloroform into the room. Ettinger
then took his axe and cut a hole in
the door, reached the latch and opened
the door, and Uriah Moyer and Eman-
uel Ettinger proceeded to club the
Khintzlers to death. A hurried search
of the cabin by means of a pitch-pine
torch netted approximately $150 which
was divided among the four men. They
then carried leaves and wood into the
cabin, set it on fire, and proceeded
homeward, reaching Jonathan Moyer’s
house about three o’clock in the morn-
ing. According to another court state-
ment Kintzler was shot by Ettinger on
the outside of the cabin, and when he
turned apparently to go to the cabin
~ for his gun, Ettinger seized and clubbed
the old man to death. Mrs. Kintzler
was beaten to death in the cabin while
pleading piteously to be spared her life.
In the last analysis this variance in
the testimony matters very little, since
all the facts of the case nevertheless
led to the same end. The charred re-
mains of the Kintzlers were buried in
an unmarked grave in the extreme
_ northeast corner of the Troxelville
cemetery.
3. The Apprehension and the Court
Trials of the Suspected Murderers
For one entire year nothing appears
to have been done to solve the murder.
The county commissioners — Moses
kKicbs, John Romig, and Joel Row
(1877-1880) decided to make a com-
plete investigation of the murder, and
to bring the perpetrators of the crime
to trial and punishment. Am ng the
parties suspected were Jonathan Moy-
er, Uriah Moyer, Emanuel Ettinger,
and Israel Erb. All four of these men
lived in the neighborhood. Jonathan
Moyer lived at Moyer’s Mill, later
known as Weikel’s Mill; Uriah Moyer,
Emanuel Ettinger, and Israel Erb liv-
ed nearby. Emanuel Ettinger worked
for Jonahtan Moyer. These men were
arrested December, 1878. Erb was the
first to be tried and he was acquitted
for want of evidence and the murder
continued to be unsolved.
At this time Attorney Charles Hower
cf Selinsgrove, was approached by the
county commissioners to become the
prcsecuting attorney. Hower agreed
to undertake th2 case prov.ding he
could have some assurance of the guilt
of the suspected parties. Detective
William Y. Lyon, an officer from
Reading, Pa., and a man very versatile
in Pennsylvania Dutch, was secured
to run down the perpetrators. Lyon
came to Snyder County in December,
1879. He freely associated with the
people of the community as a peddler
of jewelry and a shover of counterfeit
money, won their complete confidence,
and became very intimate with them.
He literally ate, slept, and lived with
them. These people freely confided in
him, and after he had secured ade-
quate evidence, he made his report to
the district attorney and the county
commissioners. With this accumulat-
ed evidence, Attorney Hower decided
to take the case. All four men were
re-arrested. Jonathan Moyer and Is-
rael Erb were taken into custody at
their homes; Uriah Moyer was ar-
rested in Schoolcraft, Michigan; and
Emanuel Ettinger somewhere in Ohio.
Detective Lyon brought Ettinger back
by train. Somewhere on the way, al-
though handcuffed, he leaped from the
train but was soon recaptured and
brought to the Middleburg jail. In
May, 1880, Israel Erb, Jonathan Moyer,
and Emanuel Ettinger were indicted
for murder and tried in September of
that year. All the prisoners demanded
separate trials. Uriah Moyer was not
arrested until December 1881, and then
not tried at Middleburg until Fe-
bruary, 1882.
Joseph C. Bucher, President Judge
cf the Twentieth Judicial District com-
prising Union, Snyder, and Mifflin
counties, presided at all of the trials
in a masterly fashion. Mary Hartley,
the sweetheart of Emanuel Ettinger,
and who lived in the family of Jona-
than Moyer, was undoubtedly the out-
standing witness in all of the trials.
Mary Hartley is described as having
been about 22-23 years old, frail and
slender, unschooled, but possessed of
keen powers of observation. So com-
rlet2ly self-possessed was she on the
witness stand that the prosecuting at-
torneys found themselves unable to
Snake her testimony. While her tes-
timony varied somewhat in the min-
utest details, still it always presented
itself as a consistent pattsrned-whole.
As to her character, she was described
as dissolute and unchaste in her life.
Letccetive Lyon furnished evidence that
unmistakenly confirmed her testimony
and wove around the condemned a net-
work of evidence from which there
467
TERI
ee ee te oe) ae ee a
By PO Ee sae oe
Herman wW. Mudgett , alres HM.
holmes Aung at Philadelphrn, Pean.
on May G, (876 for murdering Ben-—
amin Pretrel,
body 50 feet. Already his eyes were glazed with coming death.
Realizing the immensity of the explosion, Powell ran along
the track looking for the other men, Paymaster Webb lay on
his back, dead. Crumpled near him was Martin Burns. He, too,
was dead as was Frank Brazinsky, the young miner, who was
propped against the bridge rail.
Powell and Rozanski raced back to the locomotive. Climbing
aboard, they sent it speeding round a curve which brought them
to a shaft opening in the mountain where impatient miners
greeted them with jeers and catcalls.
“You were long enough,” the mine foreman began, then
stopped at sight of the blood which spattered Powell’s face.
“What's up? You’re hurt!”
Powell slumped forward in his seat. ‘‘The pay car’s been
dynamited. Webb is dead. Burns and Frank are dead. Didn’t
you hear it?”
The foreman reached for the telephone. ‘‘We heard an ex-
plosion, big enough to shake the mountains. But we thought it
came from that new shaft they’re sinking over at the Dundee
mine—Hello...”
In terse phrases the miner reported the dynamiting.
“Tell him,’ urged Powell, ‘‘to send stretchers with the cars.”
Powell called out further instructions but his strength was
rapidly waning. Certain that aid was on the way to the injured
men, Powell collapsed and was rushed to the hospital.
Meanwhile, back at Tunnel 20, John Richards, a section
foreman, had led a party of men to the rescue of the injured
workers. Rocky Shovlin, near death, was hurried to the hospital.
Burns, Webb and Brazinsky lay dead in the cinders along the
tracks. Rozanski and Powell would recover. Richards looked
about for Sookie and Pfaff.
Then he saw Sookie, limping along the tracks picking up
pay envelopes.
Sookie glared at the approaching miners. “Keep back there,”
he roared.
fe
Richards kept on. “You know me,
Sookie. Come and sit down.”
Richards guided the dazed man to a
tree stump. “Okay,” Sookie muttered.
“T’m all right. Get to work and pick
up the pay envelopes.”
“Sure,” Richards said soothingly,
and crossed to Fred Pfaff, the 60-
year-old guard. “How are you,
Fred?”
Pfaff had been badly injured. He
lay in a semi-conscious state and
occasionally called out, “What
happened to Rocky and Webb?”
“They’re taking Rocky to the
’ hospital,” Richards said. “And
Webb—he’s fine...” There
was plenty of time for Pfaff
to learn the full extent of the
horror caused by the explo-
sion, Richards reasoned.
Then, convinced that Pfaff
in his dazed condition could
not grasp what was being
said, Richards turned his
attention elsewhere. His
companions were gather-
ing up pay envelopes
which had heen scat-
tered along the tracks
The explosion which occurred at the spot indi-
cated above shattered the mine car, part of which
“4 , is shown at left and scattered wreckage for 80
feet along the dynamite-twisted tracks.
/ i STARTLING
P
in a radiu
hole in th
the money
the box a:
bottom re
At 40
rived at t
cars carry
dale collie
“What
Richards,
Richar¢
electric w
“That |
exploded
till the sta
Maycoc
amassed «
time they
William
Pennsylva
county det
“Looks
after he
miners wt
their guns
bandits to
dollars. V
“They 1
“Apparen
the pay ca
caught th:
Troope
boroughs
cars were
haps the «
As the
a long co
ravine.
Hiding be
this man
nalled for
de
DETECT!
{
hole in the roadbed where the dynamite had been planted, was
the money chest. The discharge had ripped the steel chain from
the box and the lid had been blown several feet away yet the
bottom remained intact.
At 4 o’clock Chief of Police Maycock of Warrior Run ar-
rived at the scene and took charge as the string of four mine
cars carrying the dead and wounded started back toward Trues-
dale colliery.
“What do you know about this?” Maycock demanded of
Richards, pulling out a small notebook. :
Richards gave him a brief account. He pointed to a length of
electric wire a few feet from the hole in the roadbed.
“That looks as if it had been connected with a battery that
exploded the dynamite,” he.said. “We had better hot touch it
till the state police get here.” :
Maycock and Richards continued the investigation and had
amassed considerable information for the state police by the
time they arrived a short while later in company with Capt.
William A. Clark, commander of the famous Troop “B”
Pennsylvania state police and Richard Powell, chief of Luzerne
county detectives. It was Jan. 13, 1930. :
“Looks like an amateur job to me,” Clark said thoughtfully
after he had digested Maycock’s information and questioned
miners who were first on the scene. “Both Pfaff and Sookie lost
their guns in the explosion and it would have been easy for the
bandits to cover the victims and help themselves to thousands of
dollars. Why didn’t they ?” ,
“They might have become panic stricken,” Powell suggested.
“Apparently they intended to dynamite the locomotive and leave
the pay car intact. But the driver was going so fast the explosion
caught the pay car instead.”
Troopers were immediately delegated to different roads and
boroughs between Hanover Township and Wilkes-Barre. All
cars were to be stopped and their occupants questioned. Per-
haps the dynamiters had not yet escaped.
As the last detail left, Corp. Hess of the state police brought
a long coil of looped wire and a radio battery from a nearby
ravine.
Hiding behind a sheet metal barricade,
this man served as lookout and sig-
nalled for the explosion which brought
eat death to the four men
ad sit down,”
the dazed man to a
iy,” Sookie muttered.
Get to work and pick
elopes.” :
tds said soothingly,
» Fred Pfaff, the 60-
rd. “How are you,
‘en badly injured. He
i-conscious state and
> called out, “What
o Rocky and Webb?”
taking Rocky to the
Richards said. “And
ie’s fine...” There
ity of time for Pfaff
the full extent of the
caused by the explo-
ichards reasoned.
convinced that Pfaff
dazed condition could
rasp what was being
Richards turned his
ition elsewhere. His
panions were gather-
up pay envelopes
ich had heen scat-
red along the tracks
‘red at the spot indi-
ine car, part of which
‘red wreckage for 80
e-twisted tracks.
STARTLING DETECTIVE
in a radius of 80 feet from the wreckage. Fifty feet from the .
“This is what touched it off,” he said. “I found the battery
hidden about eighty feet from the tracks.”
“That means two men were involved,” Powell stated grimly.
“One to give the signal, the other to touch off the battery.”
“Let’s get over to the colliery and see what they know,” Capt.
Clark suggested.
Fifteen minutes later the two officials were seated in the
office of the superintendent of the Truesdale colliery of the Glen
Alden coal company.
“We're checking on dynamite,” Capt. Clark began. “Do you
know if any has been stolen recently ?”
“IT was expecting that question,” the superintendent replied.
“A box of dynamite was stolen from our powder house on
January the eighth. Entrance was gained to the powder house by
breaking the lock with a stone. The robbery was discovered by
the watchman at six-thirty the next morning so it must have hap-
pened sometime between eleven p. m. and six-thirty a. m.”
“Why eleven p. m.?” Powell asked.
The superintendent explained that the night watchman
punched a clock every 10 minutes, He reached the powder house
on his second and last round at eleven p. m., and the lock was not
broken then.
At this point a supply clerk entered and gave supplementary
details. “There is no padlock made that can’t be broken easily
with a small rock,” he declared. “There was a holiday celebra- .
tion in the foreign district shortly after the theft. Dynamite is a
favorite form of fireworks, We thought the dynamite had been .
stolen for that purpose. Chief Maycock kept a sharp lookout, but
there were only one or two explosions. The culprits were never
apprehended.”
“But,” argued Clark, “wouldn’t the watchman hear a prowler
hammering the lock ?”
The superintendent explained that insurance regulations re-
quire that the powder house occupy an isolated spot. The nearest
building to the Truesdale magazine was the mule barn, 2,000
feet distant on the mountain side.
“What about this ?” Capt. Clark asked, displaying the electric
wire pickse us by Corp. Hess. “Do you use this type of electric
wire?” o
The superintendent sent for the colliery electrician. The
latter examined the wire carefully, measuring an all-black por-
tion which had been spliced onto a piece of black-and-green
lamp wiring.
“We use it for signals and occasionally
for lighting,” he said. A length of 50 feet
was missing from a line he had had run-
ning along the slate bank. “This particu-
lar wire,” he went on, “was put there for
some mechanics who needed the light to
make sone repairs on broken machinery. '
That was a year and a half a go.” :
“So it might have been stolen any time
during a year and a half?” Clark asked. The powerful blast, -
‘No. There was something wrong with touched off by the
the conveyor line again last month. When ' killer at right, shot -
I went to make an inspection I saw the Pert et he pune: ‘
wire. I ordered it taken out. I have just bledg the pad an vith
learned that the order was not obeyed. I -where $33,000 was oS
sent a man to check tonight. The wire is ~ finally recovered. — -
gone. It might have been stolen any time beh
during the past month. Of course it might je a Ae
have been stolen from some other col- |
liery.” |
,
“Of course,” Powell conceded. “But
it’s an interesting coincidence that this Raj ihyiiin: aaa a das
measures forty-four feet—just six feet
short of the length stolen from your line,
Well, Dempsey ?” he broke off to address
a county detective who strode into the
room at that moment. “What did you
learn ?”
“I checked the hats and caps that were
found along the tracks. They belong to
the victims. There was nothing else.”
Powell dismissed the officer but or-
dered him to be at the scene of the ex-
plosion early the next day.
After Dempsey had left Clark men-
tioned that he had to get back to head-
quarters.
“I’m hoping for reports from various
leads I started before coming here,” he
said, ‘And although this looks to me like
the work of local talent I’m checking with
Harrisburg headquarters on the where-
abouts of men implicated in other dyna-
miting jobs. Hess and Fritch will hold
up our end here for the present. Are you
coming, Dick?” He put the question to
Powell,
“No. I want to go over the ground. |
It’s familiar to vou but I’d like to make a
personal check.”
During the following hours Powell
visited the isolated powder house, ex-
amining with a flashlight the various
paths that led from it along the mountain.
He poked around the base of the slate hill
where years of mine refuse was piled.
Before 4 o’clock sounded on the colliery
whistle he had a clear mental map of the
entire terrain. Then he went home.
The next morning when he returned to
the scene of the wreckage he found a
state trooper on duty. Powell asked him
about developments at the barracks.
The trooper told him that an alarm for
a car with New York license plates had
been sent over the teletype. Corp. Cletus
Baumgartner, on inspection patrol Mon-
day morning, had jotted down the number
because the car carried three disreputable
looking. passengers.
In addition a Wilkes-Barre traffic offi-
cer had reported that two young men
driving a car with New Jersey license
plates had asked on Saturday—two days
By ISABEL STEPHEN
HE pay car with $35,000 in bills Powell did not lose his senses. Dazed Rozanski struggled to his feet. “Just
| and silver for the men in Tunnel and stunned, with blood pouring from stunned, I guess,’ he said. “Someone has
20, Warrior Run, Pa., had been his nose and ears, he brought the careen- dynamited the pay car.=
late. Now Paymaster Arthur Webb ing motor to a full stop and looked back. While he was assisting his aide to his
tugged impatiently at the heavy chains, The earth had mushroomed from the feet, Powell looked down the track. He
as he lashed the steel currency chest to spot where the locomotive had become saw _a tall. heavily built man running
the wooden coal car which would carry it detached from the mine car. His assistant, swiftly toward a slate heap to the lett of
in to the waiting miners. Rozanski, was lying on the tracks at the __ the colliery.
“Hurry it up, fellows,’ Harry Powell other end of the bridge. “Hi, Rocky!” he called, thinking that
called from his seat at the controls of the Powell staggered to his brakeman’s Rocky -Shovlin, in a daze, was running in
small electric locomotive that pulled the aid. the wrong direction. A low moan nearby
coal cars. “John,” he called. “Are you hurt?” brought Powell’s attention back to the
Eight men were scheduled to make the spot where he stood. Looking down, he
run. Webb and his guard, Fred Pfaff; saw Shovlin’s body twitching on the ce-
Powell and his assistant, John Rozanski; ment base of the bridge tower. Rocky
the assistant guards, James ‘Rocky” Shovlin would never run again. The
Shovlin and John Sookie; Frank Brazin- torce of the explosion had thrown his
sky, a miner, and Martin Burns, mine
foreman.
“Okay,” Webb called, securing the
chest with a final pull of the chains. “Let
her go.”
Rain had fallen the greater part of the
day and the tracks of the narrow gauge
were wet and slippery. But Powell, hop-
ing to make up lost time, advanced his
throttle gradually and raced along the
rails.
As they neared Valley Bridge,
which led to the tunnel, Powell ad-
vanced his throttle to its last notch.
Suddenly there was a terrific ex-
-plosion. Rocking madly, the loco-
motive streaked across the bridge.
Blasted loose from the pay
car, this locomotive with its
two passengers rolled to
ie he safety while paymaster Webb
Jon Gost the lives 3 f es poe his assistants were blown
and Arthur E. Webb, << to death at spot marked below.
rippled Fred -Pfaff.
ARTHUR E. WEBB
MPT TO ROB \.
Y CAR IN 1914 |:
‘d inting bd the tracks. Officer
al Fyaher looked up the tracks and
te| seeing the roadbed all blown away
it| rushed back into the car and closed
at|the door, warning the inmates to get )
a fond + by
wan dee oe maacthia
+
1869. ] OF PENNSYLVANIA. 355
[Brooks v. Commonwealth. ]
The court (Barrett, P. J.) affirmed the first two points, nega-
tived the last, and further charged :—
‘“‘] have answered the last point put by defendants’ counsel in
the negative. I have affirmed and now affirm the right of a pri-
vate citizen to arrest a felon, either in the act of committing the
felony or afterwards while attempting to escape. This case may
not depend upon the assertion of this right, and that will be a
question for the jury. Under the evidence, Thomas Brodhead
had not laid a hand upon Brooks, who did the shooting. He
charged him with the felony, when Brooks volunteered to return
with him and actually walked several steps on his way back.
Orme declined. Brodhead caught him by the arm and told him
he must go along, but Brodhead had released his hold upon him
before the shooting commenced. Theodore Brodhead, who was
killed, was not present at that time. He came up afterwards. He
neither said a word nor did an act, if the testimony of Thomas
Brodhead is believed. He did not charge the felony upon the
defendants, nor did he make any attempt to arrest them. Brooks
had evidently changed his mind and concluded not to return as
Theodore approached. He first levelled his pistol at Theodore.
Thomas called to him not to shoot. Ie changed his purpose—
shot Thomas first and then shot Theodore. These acts were done
at a time when he was not under restraint, and when no violence
was offered to him. The killing would at least be unlawful if no
felony had been committed.
“But that a larceny had been committed by the defendants
within one hour, or very little more, previously, is alleged by the
Commonwealth, and is sustained by circumstances and by the
admissions of the defendants. Ifthe jury are satisfied that these
defendants were guilty of the felony charged against them, they
are instructed that Thomas and Theodore Brodhead had the right
to pursue and arrest them. The right of a private citizen to make
an arrest, under such circumstances, cannot be doubted. [The
Jaw clothed them with ample authority, and afforded them the same
protection, it would have extended to a public officer with a war-
rant in his hands.’’]
The jury found the defendants guilty of murder in the first
degree, and on the 2d of January 1869 they were sentenced to be
hanged.
The case was removed to the Supreme Court, and the defend-
ants assigned for error: the refusal to affirm their 8d point, the
part of the charge enclosed in brackets, and that the judge did
not write out his charge and file it of record.
C. Burnett and Strong (with whom were J. B. Storm and D. S.
Lee), for plaintiffs in error.—If a felony was committed in the pre-
sence of a vrivate individual, and he be killed in attempting to arrest
306 SUPREME COURT [ Philadelphia
[Brooks v. Commonwealth. |
the perpetrator, it was murder. But if the felony was not committed
in his presence, and a private person proceeded to make an arrest,
upon mere suspicion of guilt, and he be killed, it was manslaughter
only: 4 Chitty’s Cr. Law 17; 2 Hale’s Pleas of Crown 82; 4
Black. Com. 293; 1 East P. C. 299. When a public officer in
pursuance of legal process attempts to make an arrest and he is
killed, it is murder. But in resisting irregular or defective war-
rants, &e., if the officer be killed, it is manslaughter: Roscoe’s
Crim. Ev. 708; 3 Greenleaf’s Ev. i 123 and note; ; Bishop’ s Crim.
Law, § 656.
S. Holmes, Jr., District-Attorney, and W. Davis, for the Com-
monwealth.—There is no distinction between the right of a private
person without warrant to arrest for a felony committed in his
presence and on suspicion. If the felony be committed in his pre-
sence it is his duty to arrest, in the other case it is his right: 4
Black. Com. 293; 4 Chitty’s Or. L.17; Russell v. Shuster, 8 W.
& S. 308; Wakely v. Hart, 6 Binn. 316; Hawkins’s P. C. B.
2, ch. 12, § 8-19; Comyn’s Dig. Imprisonment, Hl. 4. When the
party arrested or about to be arrested, kills the party arresting, and
the party arrested has actually committed a felony, the killing is
murder: 1 Arch. Cr. Pr. and Pl. 786, 788, 25, 26, 99, 101, 108,
858, 854, 856; 1 Russ. on Cr. 595; Wh. Cr. L. 470-475; 5
Cush. 281; Foster 818; Roscoe’s Cr. Ev. 611, 612; Jackson’s
Case, 1 Hast P. C. 298; 1 Hawkins’s P. C. 81, § 11; Rowan ».
Swain, 5 Cush. 281,
The opinion of the court was delivered, March 25th 1869, by
Agnew, J.—Thomas Brodhead kept the Brainerd House in
Dutotsville, Monroe county. On the. 25th of September last,
returning home he was informed that his bar-drawer had been
robbed by two men, who had left a very short time before. With
his brother, Theodore Brodhead, he started in pursuit of the
thieves and overtook them within a mile from home. When he
came up he told them they must go back with him, that his bar
had been robbed, and they were supposed to be the men. Brooks
said he would go back, Orme refused. Thomas took Orme by the ©
arm and told him he must go back too. Theodore Brodhead then
came up. Brooks took money from his pocket and tried to throw
it over a wall. A two-dollar bill fell near to Thomas, who let go
of Orme to pick it up. While in the act, he heard Theodore cry
out, ‘Don’t you shoot.” Looking up, he saw Brooks aiming a
pistol at Theodore’s head, and cried out, ‘ You'd better not shoot.”
In an instant Brooks turned his pistol on Thomas and fired, and
then wheeled upon Theodore and shot him down; Orme at this time
crying out to Brooks, ‘Shoot them both down as soon as you
can.” Theodore was shot through the heart, and Thomas struck
4e
1869. ] : OF PENNSYLVANIA.
[Brooks v. Commonwealth.]
in the side, the ball glancing from a bundle of papers in his pocket.
Thomas, much hurt, attempted to escape, followed by Orme, who
fired at him, the ball grazing his forehead. Thomas turned in-
stantly, clasped Orme around the arms and a scuffle ensued, Orme
firing several shots at him, which missed. Orme called to Brooks
for help, telling him to take a stone and knock out Thomas’s
brains. Brooks first struck him several blows with his pistol,
and then took up a stone and beat him over the head and face,
cutting and gashing him severely. Yinally overpowered ,Thomas
sunk down, and the prisoners fled. They were followed, caught
and identified. These are the bare facts, stripped of superfluous
statement. Thus a felony was committed; the prisoners were the
felons; fresh pursuit was made by the owner of the stolen money,
on reliable information of the felony. The felons when overtaken
were informed of the felony, that they were believed to be the per-
petrators, and told they must return, before either was taken hold
of, and one began immediately to rid himself of the stolen money.
On this state of facts the prisoners’ counsel asked the court to
charge the jury that Theodore and Thomas Brodhead, not being
public. officers but private citizens, had no authority to arrest
them; that the arrest was illegal, and the killing of Theodore was
not murder but manslaughter. ‘The court declined so to charge.
It is a sufficient answer to say that the point required the court
to take the facts from the jury, and pronounce the crime man-
slaughter only. But if the arrest were illegal it does not follow
that the crime was necessarily manslaughter. There remained
still the question on the evidence whether the killing was without
malice, and arose solely from a sudden heat and passion upon the
illegal arrest. ‘The killing was evidently not the result of anger
and hot blood growing out of an unwarranted assault on the per-
sons of the prisoners. It was prompted by wickedness of heart
and a consciousness of guilt which determined the prisoners to
escape even by the sacrifice of innocent lives. It was violent,
heartless, cruel and unnecessary, the pursuers having done no
violent or dangerous act, and showing no arms or intention to
injure. The killing was evidently malicious—that is, the result
of depravity of heart, and a cruel and wicked disposition. It was
murder (whether of the first or second degree is not material to
the present question) and it was not manslaughter. The indul-
gence which the law shows in cases of manslaughter is to the
weakness of human nature, not its wickedness. It looks upon
men as they are, the creatures of natural impulses, and when
justly provoked and transported by passion, ungovernable and
deaf to the voice of reason. But the cause which produces this
frame of mind must be reasonable and bear a just proportion to
the effect. Therefore, says Sir William Russell, in his work on
Crimes, vol. i., p. 514, “the provocation which is allowed to ex-
854 SUPREME COURT [Philadelphia
[Brooks », Commonwealth. }
turned and shot the deceased. Orme said to Brooks, “Shoot them
down, both of them, as soon as you can.” Orme kept on saying
this till the deceased fell. Witness made some steps across the
road, turned and saw Orme with his pistol pointed toward his
head; the pistol went off and grazed witness’s forehead. Orme was
about shooting again, when witness seized him and threw him
partly down. Orme fired several shots, which missed, but the
pistol struck witness in the face. Orme called for Brooks, who
struck witness across the face with the pistol; witness was still
holding Orme, when he said to Brooks with an oath, “Take a
stone and knock his brains out as quick as you can.” Brooks
took a stone and beat him on the head a number of times. Wit-
ness then had to loose his hold, and he fell to the ground. When
he fell, Brooks and Orme ran down the road. The ball went
through some papers which witness had in his pocket, and “just
broke the skin.” THis face was much cut, and there were five
gashes on his head. After he got up he went to his brother and
found him dead. Witness had nothing but his “naked hands ;”
did not attempt to hurt them. The deceased had no arms, and
said nothing to them but, “Don’t you shoot ;” he did not touch
them. The men were arrested by the sheriff about two hours
afterwards.
Hannah M. Brodhead, the wife of Thomas Brodhead, testified
that about 103 o’clock on the day of the homicide, money was
taken from the bar drawer, between $6 and $10; there was one
$2 note pretty new, and the rest in scrip. Witness had gone into
the bar-room; two strangers came in and got a drink; witness
recognised the prisoners as the strangers; she left the room; re-
turned in a short time and found that the money had been taken.
She sent for her husband and the deceased, and told them that
the money had been taken; the husband got into a carriage and
went after the men. There was much more evidence in the case,
both on the part of the Commonwealth and the prisoners, not im-
portant to give in detail.
The defendants submitted these points:
“1. If the jury believe that the prisoners were in fear of great
bodily harm or of loss of life, so imminent at the moment after the
assault as to present no alternative of escaping the consequences
but by resistance, the assault was justified.
“2. If the jury believe that the minds of the prisoners were
from intoxication deprived of power to form a design with pre-
meditation and deliberation, the jury may find the defendants
guilty of murder in the second degree.
‘3. Theodore Brodhead, the deceased, and Thomas Brodhead,
not being public officers, but private citizens, had no authority to
arrest the defendants; the arrest was illegal, and the killing of
Theodore Brodhead was not murder, but manslaughter.”
a ef ihe Law.
PA elf my CR AM REE Ty IOS a7
KX. Prrrsatra, Feb. 23.— The execution of
Ernest Ortwein, the murderer of the Ham-
net family, on the night of April 20th last,
near Homstead, 81x miles above this city,
took place in the jail at noon to-day. His
vietimsa were John Hamnet, a well to do
farmer, his wife Agnes. two daughtery.,
named Ida and Emma, and a boy named
Robert Smith. The murder was discovered
/early next morning, the burning ef their
house attracting the attention of the
neighbors, and duripg the day the remaina
of the unfortunate family were taken from
the ruins. Af the time of the murder Ort-
wein was engaged as a farm hand, and was
treated as one of the family.
At 11:45 the reperters and other wit-
nesses took their positions sround
the = scaffold. At twelve o'clock
Ortwein, accompanied by the Revs.
Hertzberger and Meiser, followed by
Sheriff Hare and the deputies, emerged
from the jail. Ortwein was dressed in a
black broadcloth suit, and though very
pale, appeared perfectly calm and willin
to meet death. He ascended the acaffol
with afirm step. Afterthe cap had been
adjusted he bid those around him good
bye, and exclaimed in a loud and firm
voice: “Jesus Christ have mercy on my
soul; into tuy hands I commend my spirit.
I snffer for what I have deserved; 1 com-
mitted the murder; I am _ willing and
ready to die; | most heartily thank all for
the kindness shown to me. May God have
mercy on my soul; I hope to meet you all
in heaven, for Christ’s sake.” «_—-
At three minutes after twelve the drop
felland he was launched into eternity.
After hanging eighteen minutes bis body
was taken down and placed in acoffin. It
18 understood he wills his body to the Rev.
Hertzberger. who has the privilege of al-
lowing an examination of the brain to be
made by the medical fraternity.
i eee
ae Cee
SUPREME COURT
[Brooks v. Commonwealth. ]
858 [Philadelphia
tenuate in the case of homicide must be something which a man
is conscious of; which he feels and resents at the instant the fact
which he would extenuate is committed. All the circumstances
must lead to the conclusion that the act done (though intentional
of death or great bodily harm), was not the result of a cool deli-
berate judgment and previous malignity of heart, but solely im-
putable to human infirmity.” Hence an illegal assault will not
reduce the crime to manslaughter where the revenge is dispropor-
tionate and barbarous: Id. pp. 516-17. And if on any sudden
provocation of a slight nature one beats another in a cruel and
unusual manner, so that he dies, it is murder by express malice,
though the other did not intend to kill him: Id. 517-18. He
lays down this summary: “In all cases of slight provocation, if it
may be reasonably collected from the weapon made. use of, or
from any other circumstances, that the party intended to kill or
do some great bodily harm, such homicide will be murder:” Id.
p- 520. See to the same effect Wharton’s Am. ©. L., § 971. The
court, therefore, properly left this case to the jury upon the evi-
dence, under competent instructions as to the nature and degrees
of the crime of murder, and the nature of manslaughter.
But it is proper we should express our views upon the right of
arrest. That on the commission of a felony a private person
making fresh pursuit on reliable information may arrest the felon,
is the law not only of England, but of this state. The English
law is thus stated in 4 Bl. Com. 293. Any private person (and
a fortiori a peace officer), that is present when any felony is com-
mitted, is bound by the law to arrest the felon on pain of fine and
imprisonment if he escapes through the negligence of the standers-
by. And they may justify breaking open the doors upon following
such felon; and if they kill him, provided he cannot. be otherwise
taken, it is justifiable, though if they are killed in endeavoring to
make such arrest, it is murder. Upon probable suspicion, also, a
private person may arrest the felon or other person so suspected.
But upon suspicion of felony only he cannot break open a house
or kill the suspected person. ‘I'o the same effect, see 1 Chit. |
Crim. L. 17; 1 Russell on Crimes. 593. In New York, Chief
Justice Savage stated the law thus:—“If a felony has in fact
been committed by the person arrested, the arrest may be justified
by any person without warrant, whether there is time to obtain
one or not. If an innocent person is arrested upon suspicion by
a private individual, such individual is excused if a felony was in
fact committed, and there was reasonable ground to suspect the
person arrested. But if no felony was committed by any one,
and a private individual arrest without warrant, such arrest is
illegal, though an officer would be justified if he acted upon in-
formation from another which he had reason to rely on:’” Holly
v. Mix, 8 Wend. 353.
+e
[Brooks v, Commonwealth. }
1869. ] OF PENNSYLVANIA.
359
In Pennsylvania the point was made in Wakely v. Hart, 6 Bia
318, decided in 1814, that the common law had been altered by
the constitution, which, in 7th sec. of the 9th article, declares
“that the people shall be secure in their persons, houses, papers,
and possessions, from unreasonable arrests; and that no warrant
to search any place or seize any person or thing, shall issue with-
out describing them as nearly as may be, nor “without probable
cause supported by oath or affirmation.” It was argued that no
arrest is lawful without a warrant issucd on probable cause, sup-
ported by oath. But it was held that this provision was’ to pre-
vent the abuse of the warrant of arrest, by forbidding it from being
issued without good cause, or in a vague and uncertain form, and
Tilghman, C. J., proceeds to say: ‘It is nowhere said that there
shall be no arrest without warrant. ‘To have said so would have
endangered the safety of society. The felon who is seen to com-
mit murder or robbery must be arrested on the spot or suffered to
escape. So, although not seen, yet if known to have com-
itted a felony and pursued without warrant, he may be arrested
by any person. And even when there is only probable cause of
suspicion, a private person may without warrant, at his peril, make
an arrest. I say at his peril, for nothing short of proving. the
felony will justify the arrest. These are principles of the common
law essential to the welfare of society, and not intended to be
altered or impaired by the constitution.” To this it should be
tice of his purpose to arrest for the felony.
added, that a private person, in making an arrest, must give no-
This is the settled
law, and was recognised by Gibson, ©. J., in Russell v. Shuster,
8 W. & S. 809; see also Commonwealth v. Deacon, 8 S. & R. 49.
It is argued that larceny is not such a felony as justifies arrest.
The force of this distinction is not discernible.
a light offence, it is often grave and important in its consequences.
Though sometimes
A loss which would be grievous to a poor man, and enlist all his
energy in the pursuit, might scarcely be felt by one who is rich.
To tell the former that his right to seize the felon and bring him
to justice, and thus recover his property, depends on the amount
in value, would only mock his earnestness and condemn the law.
It is also said that arrest by a private person is contrary to the
genius of our institutions, and is the relic of a barbarous age. But
the reverse is the case in a republic, where the people themselves
represent its sovereignty and its security. The felon is an enemy
to that sovereignty and security, forfeits his liberty, and cannot
complain that the hand of his fellow-man arrests his flight and
returns him to justice. What title has he to immunity from the
law which he has violated, and to be permitted to escape its pen-
alty because the offier of justice is not at hand to seize him? He
has broken the bond of society; he has dealt a blow at its welfare
and security, and he has placed himself in open hostility to all its
-
360 SUPREME COURT
[Brooks v, Commonwealth. |
faithful members, whose duty it becomes to bring him to justice.
We speak of the known felon. It isa misapplication, which applies
the guards of the constitution and the sacred principles of a just
and well regulated liberty to his case. The harmless citizen stands
upon a different footing, and a private person arresting him does
it at his peril, and if killed the crime is only manslaughter.
The distinction is founded in nature and its reason is clear.
An innocent man is unconscious of guilt, and may stand on his
own defence. When assailed under a pretence which is false his
natural’ passion rises, and he turns upon his assailant with indig-
nation and anger. ‘To be arrested without cause is to the inno-
cent great provocation. If in the frenzy of passion he loses his
self-control and kills his assailant, the law so far regards his
infirmity that it acquits him of malicious homicide. But this is
not the condition of the felon. Conscious of his crime, he has no
just provocation—he knows his violation of law, and that duty
demands his capture. Then passion is wickedness, and resistance
is crime. Neither reason nor law accords to him that sense of
[Philadelphia
outrage which springs into a mind unconscious of offence, and
makes it stand in defence of personal liberty. On the contrary
fear settles upon his heart, and when he uplifts his hand, the act
is prompted by wicked hate and the fear of punishment. It has
been said by an authority much older than our law, that “the
wicked flee when no man pursucth.”” A sense of guilt cannot
arouse honest indignation in the breast, and therefore cannot
extenuate a cruel and wilful murder to manslaughter. We sce no
error, therefore, in the answer of the court to the 3d point. Find-
ing no merit in the error assigned, we deem it unnecessary to pass
upon the question whether a bill of exception was necessary to be
sealed.
The sentence of the court is affirmed, and the record is remitted
for further proceeding according to law.
Tompson, C. J.—I fully concur in the reasons of my brother
Agnew for affirming the judgment in the court below on the very
points presented and argued. ‘To that portion relating to private
arrests I am not prepared to assent, nor yet fully to dissent, but '
I concur in the result determined on.
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RK ivi 5 Jes
The scene on Mill Creek™
Road, near Media, Penn-
sylvania, where Norman
Gibson was murdered’ on
the night of March 23rd
1928. Gibson and his
fiancée—Dora Killen—are
shown in the insets
se G & PHILLIPS, William
October 1,- 1928
By OLIVER N. SMITH
Chief County Detective
Delaware County, Pennsylvania
As told to
ROGER P..BUTTERFIELD
“Good-night, dear, I'll see you tomorrow night—and I'll
have a big surprise for you... .
39
With those words, Norman Gibson left his sweetheart—
and within the hour he was dead!
ness a scene of youthful romance in the little Dela-
ware County town of Aston Mills, Pennsylvania.
In the doorway of a little cottage on a side street of
the village, a youth and a girl were bidding each other good-
night.
“I’m sorry, but the doctor said I'd have to get plenty of
sleep tonight if I want to get rid of this cold,” the boy, a
handsome, athletic-looking lad, was telling his companion.
“All right, dear, but you'll see me tomorrow night, won’t
you?” asked the girl, anxiously. She was slender, and had at-
tractive brown eyes and hair.
“Sure thing—we’re going to Chester for a dinner and show,”
he replied. ‘‘And maybe I'll tell you then about the big sur-
prise I have for you!”’ 5
“Tell me now—please!’’ begged the girl, with an eagerness
which showed that the “‘surprise’’ had been mentioned before
during the evening.
“No—it'll keep till tomorrow—and I want plenty of time
to tell you about it, anyway,’’ answered the youth, teasingly,
as he turned to leave. ‘'Good-night, Dora!’
“Good-night, Norman!’’ As the youth walked down the
dimly lighted street toward the road which led to his own
home, a mile away, he turned and waved again.
“Good-night!”’
‘ PALE moon peeped out from behind a cloud to, wit-
“Good-night—and don’t forget, tomorrow!” she added.
“You bet I won't!”
Whistling gaily, the youth walked briskly until he passed
the village line and struck out along dark, lonesome Mill
Creek Road. It is a narrow, rutted, macadam road, leading
through a little woods which lines the west branch of the larger
Chester Creek. People rarely use it unless they live near-by.
As the lone pedestrian walked cheerfully along, his fingers
reached into his pocket and crept around a thin gold band
which he carried there. It was a wedding ring—the surprise
that he planned to give his sweetheart the next evening!
S far as can be determined, it was about five minutes
before nine o’clock on the night of March 23rd, 1928,
when Norman Gibson left the cottage of his fiancée, Dora
Killen, to walk to his own home in the near-by village of
Lenni.
Almost a half hour later two neighbors driving home from
Chester rounded a curve at a particularly dark and lonely
stretch of the road which he had taken. One of the men
thought he saw a dark object, like a sack, under a tree. He
stopped the car and walked over to the side of the road.
On the ground lay the moaning, bleeding figure of a man.
His hands were clutched to his side in agony, and there was a
bloody wound in his forehead. It was (Continued on page 98)
Have read Scrantain Times for Octe, 1920, and trial evidently not then, Will try Octe, 1919 |
!
inci
CITY, OR COUN
P
‘ PLAGE -
“am’ Frank Palma Pasp (lackawannal
DOE & MEANS
F_11-28-1921
Soe Of AGE OCCUPATION , RESIDENCE "| BEN
CRIME
Murder 1919
VvVicTimM.
Michael Sposito
MOTIVE
SYNOPSIS bs ' !
Leaving written statement in which he declared innocence of murder of Sposito and saying: "My hands
“ave never been stained with blood,” Palma taken to Hockview Irom ocranvon, Had worked on statement
for days which he entitked "Secrets of the Guilty Revealed to Justice," Presented statement to
Priest to be given to District Attorney. -Had-remrined-sitent—up-untit then,—He-cltaims he had done
so because he feared he would be slain himself, Admitted being present with Frank Renda and Tony
Sposite—slain-but—said he tried tosave Sposito, He said they all three had agreed to
WoItey
Comnnito—_when
femain quiet. Sposito slain in battle for leadership of gang in Bull's Head section of Scranton,
Palma said the other two men sent him to a mine where Sposito was working to lure him to his death.
Sposito was a godfather to a child of Palma's brother, Palma says instead of luring him to death,
_he warned him and told him to take a different route home, Then, he returned and told Renda and
Cornito that Sposito was working an extra shift. “hen Renda learned Sposito was at home, he sent
Palma to vet him to meet him, Palma.said he did this thinking things could be settled, He said
all-four men walked to a field behind Church St. and that Renda gave Yornito a Signal and Cornito
grabbed Sosito and Renda began slashing him, Palma claimed he helped Sposito and Sposito fled
put was blocked by a fence and Nenda then shot. At time o > weit
Seemed unconcerned hnd convinced that imprisonment would be brief, When taken to
; . ‘
_Crime occurred on night of l-2)-1919, “Went to death. with photograph of wife and 2 children in
Italy pinned inside of shirt over heart, Had not seen singe leaving Italy 9 years previously,
_Executed at 7:15 AM,- Went to death resigned to fate but still maintaining that he was innocent
of the murder. Sposito killed in court yard in rear of 1519 Church ‘venue, North Scranton,
Coronito had turned State's evidence and testified against Palma, Said that Renda had told him
Renda was acquitted while Carnito was never prosecuted,
Had been.a member of a
gang rounded up by Scranton city detectives at tn ZAK —Chinehi
Coronito said that he was made president of "The Bad Life S
450 tothe leaders,—Said Palma—and Renda told him_thatthey killed Snasito 'hecarse he did not
cut up the boss that slapped him." Coronito said he had seen the three men (S, P & R) walking in
the direction of scene shortly before people in neighborhood heard revolver shots and then heard
groans of Sposito ho had been left to die, His thorat had been cut fromeat to ear, a stiletto
driven deep into chest and a shot fired through his right cheek, Sposito survived for more than
an hour before dying in heespital, P, R & C all rounded up with others the day after murder,
Coronito said Renda had told him that his clothes had been so soaked with blood that he had to
burn them. Cornito said Yalma had gone to morgue to view Sposito's body before his arrest and was
affected, CGornito said "The sin itself accused him,"Cornito identified cap found at scene and
nett sir ; heads , ie : ‘ i
had seen S earlier that night while Palma said he had not seen at all. Mrs. S. had testified that
—when-trer-husband_left—househe-hadtold— j
completed on 10-9-1920, finding Palma guilty and acaquitting Renda, They had been friendly through-
out trial but Palma's attitude changed after Renda's acquittal, He said he had been tricked and
TRaShed that they had been tried separa tely, Split verdict surprised mose peopte. —one—juror-said
that had Cornito been tried also he would have been convicted with Palma, Another said the fact
athtats Tenda was younser and married had saved him, one of tire turers es Se-years-old_and-another
had been on jury that had sentenced Shender Fenz to hang in Scranton previouslye “7cyres (f2§/2t
LAST WORDS
EXECUTION
Photograph, page one, seul TIMES for 10-9-1919 also 10-1
Trial of Palma and Renda: began 10-6-1929, At request of Renda's attorney, they were tried
together and seated side-by-side with Palma appearing much older than the youthful Renda,
Prosecution contended that both and Cornito were members of a Black Hand group that made its
headauarters. in Bull's Head section of city as was Sposito, Claimed Sposito killed because
he had broken faith with others. Palma described as"a short-built fellow with a mustache that
has been given great attention, and a head of curly black hair", answered calling of his name
with spirit of one that doef not realize he may be sent to electric chair and smiled as the
indictment was read to him, TIMES 10-6-1919
Cornito, a returned soldier who turned state's evidence, testified Spésito was "hard to kill,"
Claimed that Renda told him that Palma had held Sposito while Renda stabbed with stilleto,
Cornito was 2heyears-old, Cornito said he had been offered no immunity and said he had ori-
ginally told story at talk with City Hetective John Cartusciello, Said Palma and Renda had
made effort at County Jail to get him to change story. Identified long stilleto made of
file and sharpened on both sides which was found near murder eeene as belonging to Palma as
well as cap found there. Palma's defense thied to get him to admit knife belonged to him but
he continued to insist if was Palma's and that Palma and Renda were murderers, Said that he
had notified police-of Sposito's killing because he gas afraid of being killed himself, Said
he had seen Renda and Palma earlier on nite of murder and they had told of plans to kill, Said
he later saw Sposito walking between them on Main St, .Said he went to room and went to bed and
knew naught of killing until later in nite when. friend awoke and tokd him Sposito dead. Said
the next day he met Renda and Palma and they told how they had killed and Renda said he had to
burn clothes because they were saturated with Sposito{s Blood, He and Palma had gane to mor-
tuary together and viewed body and he said Palma hung head, stating: "The sin iself accused
him."" Cornito said Palma was leader of "Bad fife Societys" Renda stared at Cornito throughout
testimony while Palma grinned, Another prisoner in jail testified that he had heard Palma
and Renda trying to get Cornito to change story and that they admitted killing but said they
would all go free if Cornito did not testify against them. TIMES, 10-%-1919 r
Three prisoners at jail took stand and testified that Cornito had told them he was the mre
derer, In own defense, Renda admitted being with. Sosito earlier in evening but claimed at
time of murder he was at home with wife and children and wife's parents, Three letters
written by Renda to Palma in July, 1918, telling of Sposito's being slapped by boss and fail-
ing toresent it itroduced and Renda admitted authorship, Letters concerned plan to "try"
Sposito by "Bad Life Society" when Palma, the leader, got back into town. TIMES 10-8-1919
Summations by attorneys in TIMES 10-x@ 91919 ait -
Palma convicted and Renda acquitted. Palma said to coynself: "I've been tricked; it's a dirty
trick; I am innocent." Showed bitterness to Renda and they did not speak, Jury. had been
unanimous for Palma's conviction when it retired. Fight came up over Renda and many ballots
were taken before he was acquitted. Renda considered saved because jury ‘had not been allowed
to hear letters we had written to Palma and because he was young married man with family,
Some jurors commented that had Cornito been tried with them, he would have been convicted,
Palma was considered master of society and Renda the secbetary., SHaKXtCornito had testified
as to letters but court would not allow them to be read, TIMES 10-10-1919,
oe
The only one of these stories which cor-
responded with the death-bed- description
of Gibson himself—''two men: in a car’’—
was that of Eviston. - The slain youth had
not even hinted that there was a girl in the
case. ; ‘
Later that day I-had another talk with
Killen, and found him in a very sober and
apologetic mood. He declared that he had
been lying the night before, that he knew
nothing of the shooting of Gibson and had
not been held up himself, and that all his
statements had been caused by his drinking.
“Why, I never had a thing against
Tubby,” ke exclaimed. ‘I liked him and got
along well-with him. I treated him like a
son, and hoped some day he would become
one!”
“How did you find ovt about his being
shot?” I demanded.
“Why, I must have heard it down at
work,” he explained. “I don’t remember
just who told me, but I work in the eve-
nings in an oil plant in Chester.”
Jn spite of Killen’s change, I decided it
would be best to keep an eye on him for a
while, until I found out whether there was
anything behind the startling statements he
had made at the hospital. So I left him in
jail.
I sought out Dora Killen, and told her
what Elizabeth O’Brien had said about see-
ing her in Lenni at 9 o’clock..
“Why, she must be mistaken,” she ex-
claimed. ‘I wasn’t in Lenni any later than
a quarter of eight at the latest. That's”
about when Tubby and I started walking‘)
home.”
She then begged to have her father re-
leased from jail. ‘‘Surely you don’t think
he had anything to do with this?’ she
pleaded.
“1 don’t know what to think,” I replied.
“He told us last night he knew who shot
Norman and all about it.”
“Yes, but he’d been drinking. Surely
you don’t take him seriously!’’
I told her that Mr. McCarter had ordered
that Killen be kept in jail, but assured her
that if we discovered any evidence that he
had been lying the night before, we would
release him.
The day that this conversation took’ place
was Saturday. The following Monday, I
went with Mike Trestrail to see Sergeant
Mrs. Ella Yanks, of Chester (Penna.)—
a prominent figure in the Norman
Gibson case
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True Detective Mysteries
The Crime on the Mill Creek Road
(Continued from page 27)
young Gibson, whose cheerful “good-night’”’
a half hour before had suddenly become his
dying farewell to the girl he loved!
The youth was barely conscious, and
unable to talk to the men who found him.
They lifted him into the automobile and
sped six miles to the Media Hospital. Media
is the county seat of Delaware County,
and about fifteen miles southeast of Phila-
delphia on the Baltimore Pike.
The authorities at the hospital saw at
once that the youth was seriously wounded.
He had been shot twice—once in the
stomach and once in the head. The second
bullet evidently had been fired while he was
lying helpless on the ground, for it had gone
down through his collar-bone and lodged
somewhere in his chest.
Anthony Schultz, a Media policeman, was
called in, and he immediately summoned
District Attorney William J. McCarter,
myself, and Michael Trestrail, another
county detective. James Miland and Arnett
MeNeil, state detectives, were also sent
for.
When we arrived, Gibson was sinking
rapidly, but was able to speak with great
difficulty. His father, Robert Gibson, a
well-known resident of Media and deputy
prothonotary of Delaware County, had
already reached his son’s bedside. Mr.
McCarter, who knew both the youth and
his father personally, immediately attempted
to secure a statement from the boy.
“What happened, Norman?” he asked.
HE dying youth tried bravely to
answer, but only occasional words could
be heard.
“Walking home... Mill Creek Road...
from Dora Killen’s,” he gasped. ‘‘Two
men...inacar. I think I know one of
them. They tried to hold me up... I hit
one of them and knocked him down .
He hit back... and... and shot me!”
“You knew the men?’ asked Mr. Mc-
Carter eagerly.
The boy nodded excitedly. ‘I knew one
of them,”’ he said, the words coming slowly
from between his clenched teeth. “Tt
was...’ Fora moment his lips continued
to move, but no sound came from them. All
of us were bending over the bed trying to
catch the all-important name which he was
vainly trying to pronounce. Suddenly he
sank back on his pillow with a sigh.
The doctor in charge leaped forward and
bent over him. ‘‘It’s too late, gentlemen,”
he said, looking upr ‘‘He’s dead!”
The elder Gibson, who had stepped out
of the room to comfort the boy’s weeping
mother, heard the words as he opened the
door again. He sat down by the bed and
buried his head in his hands.
Mr. McCarter motioned us to step into
the corridor.
“Boys, this is a terrible thing, and you've
got to clear it up,” the District Attorney
told us. “If that poor fellow in there could
only have lived long enough to tell us who it
was he recognized before he was shot, it
would have been easier. But he did his
best to help us. Now it’s up to you.”
Neither Mike Trestrail nor I needed any
urging to do our best to get to the bottom
of the brutal murder whose final scene we
had just witnessed. We both knew young
Gibson and his father, and I had heard of
his love affair with pretty Dora Willen.
In fact, when | looked over his clothes, |
found the wedding ring, which I supposed
was intended for her. There was another
little ring in his pocket, and a wallet with
more than twenty dollars in bills.
This puzzled me, for he had said that his
murderers had tried to hold him up. Why
had they left the money and the two rings
behind after they shot him? Was it possible
that Gibson himself was mistaken, and that
there was another motive for the murder
which he did not suspect or disclose?
I ran over in my mind what I knew about
the youth, and it seemed difficult to think
of any such motive. So far as I could see,
there was no reason why he should have any
enemies.
He was employed as a clerk in a chain
store in Media, and drove back and forth
from work every day in a battered, colle-
giate ‘‘flivver.”” He had attended Media
High School, and played on several teams.
During the summer of 1928, he was catcher
with the St. Francis Catholic Club in the
Delaware County Baseball League, al-
though he himself was not a Catholic.
His friends had given him the nickname of
“Tubby” because of his size, although he
was muscular and athletic rather than fat.
He came from a highly respected family,
and had never been in trouble of any
kind, although from what I had heard of
his strength and courage, I thought it
likely that he would have fought back if he
were attacked.
I knew less about Dora Killen and her
family. According to Mr. Gibson, with
whom I spoke at the hospital, the girl had a
good reputation and worked in a plush mill
neag her home. He knew little about her
parehts. He added that for a time he and
Mrs, Gibson had opposed Norman's affair
wwith the girl, but had recently relaxed their
oppositon, since the young people seemed
determined to be together as much as possi-
ble. They had not known that Norman
called on her that night.
HILE I was putting these facts to-
gether and planning what course of
action I should pursue, I heard a loud argu-
ment in the front corridor of the hospital
and ran out to see what was the trouble. I
found a middle-aged man, dressed in work
clothes and apparently under the influence
of liquor, arguing with one of the nurses,
“Who are you?” I asked him.
“My name is William H. Killen!’’ replied
the newcomer, turning to me. “J know
who shot Tubby!”
“Who was it?” I demanded.
“I’m not going to tell you!’’ replied Killen,
swaying unsteadily on his feet. ‘I’m going
home and get my shotgun and go after
them myself! The same ones held me up
tonight. I know who they are, all right!”
Mr. McCarter had heard the disturbance
and came out into the corridor.
“That’s Dora Killen’s father!’’ someone
whispered to me.
I looked up in surprise. How had the
girl’s father learned of the shooting of Gib-
son so soon? I remembered the dying
youth’s words: ‘‘I know one of them. It
was...”
Mr. McCarter tried to question Killen,
but the latter was talking wildly about
INillé
know a
the sa
them n
“We
to put
declare:
him up
street 1
number
pearan
strange
the bot
Why
and ho
his dau;
the mer
he refu
he was
We s
to get :
Killen +
until he
he was
jack at
carryin
It w
jail, an
ing m
IXillen.
appare:
Gibson
walk d
Mall, w
among
vivid o
the oth
her lov
“Nor
night,”
reveal
want
away.”
The
“She
“Yes
night!”
“Oh!
been r
I'll co:
anxious
“Td
evasive
hands
know—
for her
colorfu
By <
Media
and tt
had be:
Seve
road |:
dirt.
“Th
official
The
ful loo
think
The @
\illen.
hes, I
posed
1other
with
at his
Why
) rings
ssible
1 that
vurder
>
about
think
d see,
e any
chain
forth
colle-
Media
teams.
itcher
in the
e, al-
ime ot
igh he
in fat.
imily,
; 3
of
it
k if he
id her
with
hada
sh mill
it her
ie and
affair
1 their
cemed
‘ possi-
rman
ts to-
rse ol
1 argu-
ospital
ble. I
. work
juence
urses.
-eplied
bnow
Killen,
1 going
after
ne up
ight!”
rbance
meone
id the
»f Gib-
dying
It
>)
mwout
what had happened to him and what he
was going to do to the men who did it.
“Two men stopped me on the road,” he
cried. ‘One of them had only one arm.
They hit me with a club, but I got away.
I’m going to shoot them before the night’s
over!”’
“Yes, but what about Gibson?” I asked.
“How did you know he was shot?”’
Killen looked at me uncertainly. ‘I
know all about that!’’ he replied. ‘It was
the same men. And I'm going to ‘get
them myself!’’
“Well, if you know so much, we're going
to put you in jail and talk it over later!’
declared Mr. McCarter, ordering me to lock
him up. I took his arm and led him up the
street to the jail near-by. There were a
number of things about his midnight ap-
pearance at the hospital which seemed
strange, and we were determined to get to
the bottom of the whole matter.
Why had he come to the hospital at all,
and how had he learned of the shooting of
his daughter's fiancé so quickly? Who were
the men he was talking about? Why did
he refuse to tell who they were and declare
he was going to get them himself?
We saw that it would be useless to try
to get any answers to these questions from
Killen that night, and decided to hold him
until he sobered up and explained. Before
he was led to a cell, I took away a black-
jack and two bottles of liquor which he was
carrying. re
It was after midnight when I left*tthe
jail, and I decided to wait until the follow-
ing morning before trying to see Dora
\Xillen. I was anxious to talk to her, as
apparently she was the last person to see
Gibson alive before he started on his fatal
walk down the Mill Creek Road.
At 7 o'clock the next morning, a Con-
<2 stable was sent to the Victoria Plush
Mill, where she was employed, and found her
among a group of other girls, wearing a
vivid orange work smock. Neither she nor
the others had heard as yet of the murder of
her lover.
“Norman Gibson was shot and hurt last
night,’’ the Constable told her, unwilling to
reveal the whole truth at once. ‘‘They
want you to come back to Media right
away.”
The girl looked at him in utter surprise.
“Shot!’’ she echoed.
“Yes—on the Mill Creek Road, last
night!”
“Oh!”’ she exclaimed. ‘It must have
been right after he left me. All right,
(‘ll come— Is he all right?’ she added
anxiously.
“TI don’t know,” replied the Constable,
evasively, The girl went pale, and her
hands flew to her breast. ‘You don’t
know— Oh!" and she ran to the locker-room
for her coat, which she slipped on over the
colorful smock.
By a tragic coincidence, the way back to
Media led along the fatal Mill Creek Road,
and they passed the spot where Gibson
had been shot.
Several people were standing beside the
road looking at some blood-stains in the
dirt.
“That’s where it happened,” said the
official.
The girl looked at the blood, and a fear-
ful look passed over her face. ‘‘Do you
think he'll get better?’ she whispered.
Che Constable did not answer.
True Detective Mysteries
99
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True Detective Mysteries
Not until the unhappy girl reached the
office of Mr. McCarter a half hour later did
she actually learn that her fiancé was dead!
Apparently she had steeled herself to
hear the worst, for she did not give way at.
once to her emotion. A few tears stole down
her cheeks, and she made a visible effort to
control herself,
In answer to our questions, she related
how Norman had met her the previous
evening at a drug store in Lenni. They had
walked home, because the tires on his car
were flat. ©
He left early, telling her that he had a
cold and the doctor had ordered him to be
in bed at nine-thirty. The trip they were
planning to Chester the next night was to be
made in Norman’s car, but Dora was un-
aware of the fact that he had purchased
the wedding ring which was found in his
pocket.
She asked to see it, and fresh tears came
as she looked at the little emblem which
symbolized the love the murdered youth
had felt for her,
“We were planning to be married in
about two weeks, but we hadn’t made up
our minds on just what day,’ she said, ‘It
was to be quiet—just a little drive to some
Justice of the Peace. I. didn’t know
_Norman had bought the ring.”
She then went on to tell the history of her
acquaintance with Tubby Gibson.
“We had been going together about a
year and a half,” she said, ‘‘and we had
but one quarrel. That was about two weeks
ago, when I made him take back a birthday
ring he bought for me last November. We
weren’t really angry at one another, just a
little spat which had almost been forgotten.
“He must have used that ring to get the
wedding ring measured, because last night
he wanted me to take it back. I foolishly
said I wouldn’t do it for a while yet. I
wish I had now.”
In answer to questions, the girl said her
mother had known of the forthcoming mar-
riage. ‘How about your father?” I asked,
“We hadn’t told Dad,” she answered.
“We were going to wait until it was over!’
SKED about the coolness of Gibson's
parents toward their love affair, she
said it had been caused by some unknown
enemy of hers who had written a “poison
pen” letter to Mr. and Mrs. Gibson soon
after she first met Tubby.
“Someone wrote an anonymous letter
saying that I was keeping bad company
at the time,” she said bravely. “It wasn’t
true, but they seemed to believe it. Tubby
told me they didn’t want him to see me
for a while.
“But I’m sure that had deh the to do
with this. It was some enemy of mine—
not of Tubby! He didn’t have an enemy ,
?
“Did your father like him?” I asked.
“Sure—Dad seemed to like him all right.
Why he even knew Tubby was carrying a
key to our house to let me in when we came
home late together, They never quarreled
over anything.”
‘Who do you suppose Norman meant.
when he said he knew one of the men who
shot. him?” I asked.
The girl looked surprised. . ‘Did he say
that?” she replied. “I haven’t any idea
who he meant!”’
As: if to ‘prove that she did not fear the
accusations of the unknown person who had
-written the unfriendly letter to Norman’s
TOUGH GUY!
William R. Phillips. What did he
know about the brutal murder of
Norman Gibson?
parents, Dora went from us to visit Mr.
and Mrs, Gibson at their home. She stayed
nearly an hour, talking and trying to con-
sole Norman’s mother, who was prostrated
with grief.
Meanwhile an autopsy was performed on
the body of the murdered youth at the
hospital. Both bullets, it was learned, had
been fired at him when he was down on the
ground. One had passed through his-stom-
ach and into his hip, while the other had
taken a downward course through his fore-
head, collar-bone, and lung, and finally
lodged in the spleen. The skin had been
scraped from both knees, as though his
assailants had brutally dragged him to the
side of the road after shooting him.
After interviewing Dora Killen, I went
to the’scene of the shooting and questioned
_ several people living in the vicinity. I
found the usual number of startling stories
being circulated in Lenni and Aston Mills
as to what had been seen and heard on the
night of the murder. ;
Several people, however, were able to
give me information which seemed reliable.
One girl, Elizabeth O'brien, who knew
Dora Killen. very well, was positive she
had seen her friend standing near the War
Monument in Lenni at 9 o'clock the previ-
ous night. The spot was about a mile
from Dora’s home, and a quarter of a mile
from tke spot where Norman was mur-
dered. The time was only five minutes after
he was supposed to have left her home. This
story, if it could be substantiated, furnished
an interesting clue.
net iie person who gave me informa-
tion was John Eviston, a mill worker,
who said he drove up the Mill Creek Road
shortly after nine and saw Gibson walking
along the road with an automobile follow-
ing him slowly. He said he turned into his
home near-by, and as he put his car away,
he heard three sharp reports ring out. At
the time he thought they were the backfire
of another motor car, but now he was cer-
tain that they were the fatal shots.
Still another man; John Marshall, of
Media, claimed he passed the murder scene
shortly after hearing several shots; and that
he saw a car parked there with a girl stand-
ing beside it. He hurried by, thinking
it was a hold-up scheme.
:
res de
of Gibso
was that
not even
case.
Later
Killen, a
apologesi
been lyi:
nothing «
not been
statemen
“Why,
Tubby,”
along we
son, and
one!”
“How
shot?” ]
“Why,
work,”
just who
nings in
Jn spit
would be
while, ur
anything
had mad
jail.
IT soug
what Eli:
ing her i:
“Why,
claimed.
a quarte
about wl
home.”
She th
leased fr
he had
pleaded.
1)
‘a
No t
“Yes,
you don’
I told |
that Kill
that if w
had beer
release h
The dz
was Sati
went wil
Mrs. E
a proj
way
town
t we
such
“mer,
was
most
shout
knew
man,
ently
who
and
ig to
1 of
Ooms.
He’s
») my
re we
spect
iitted
ment
Olive
o the
floor.
cer.
ad up
bed-
inded
e
e
g im-
began
ngers.
for!’’
ing!’’
you’re
where
2h we
ie, his
zuilty,
My
urned
3 with
lien we
merci-
youth
to all
th the
voice.
*y and
-arker.
Jesse,’”
e that
yn this
n too.
You've
ression
af later
looked
1 hung
*%e mut-
before
ys he'll
ib-
“Bill Phillips and George Weir.”
The answer surprised us. ‘Were there
three?” asked the District Attorney.
“Yes, Weir stayed back in the car and
didn’t do any shooting!”
“All right—go ahead and tell us what
happened,” Mr. McCarter demanded.
“And remember—everything you say will
be taken down by the stenographer and
used against you.”
The youth wet his lips nervously and be-
gan. The words came slowly at first, but
gradually quickened until he was talking
so rapidly that he got out of breath.. It
seemed as though he was almost glad of the
opportunity to free his conscience from the
worries of the past few days.
“‘We started out from Chester to hold up
a chain store at Rockdale,” he began. ‘‘We
didn’t care which one—either the A. & P.,
‘or the American Store. We had been doing
hold-ups in stores like that for several
weeks.”
George Weir, who played a major
role in the infamous mystery on Mill
Creek Road
He looked around the room, swallowed
nervously, and continued:
¥ E were driving along the Mill Creek
Road when we passed Tubby. I
knew him—saw him around ever since we
were kids.”
Here, at last, was the explanation of
Gibson’s dying words: “I knew him—it
WAS sk
“T knew he worked in a store and usually
carried a roll. I said to Bill: ‘There goes a
fellow I know. He always has a couple
hundred with him.’ Bill said: ‘Let’s get
him!’
“We stopped the car under a tree and
waited. We got out and Weir stayed in the
car—he didn’t have any gun, but only a big
knife. Bill and I both had automatics.
“When Tubby got close to us, Bill shot the
flashlight in his face and said: ‘Stick ‘em
up!’ Tubby started to laugh, and Bill said,
'This ain’t no joke.’
“When Tubby saw we meant business,
he took a pass at Bill, and Bill hit back.
Then Bill fired and Tubby went down on his
knees. Iran back toward the car, and heard
another shot. I thought maybe Bill had
been shot, and I fired. I heard Bill say:
‘That damn bullet whizzed right past my
head—you nearly got me that time.’
Tubby was on the ground. He said: ‘I
wish I had my gun here—I’d do some
Tales Evo
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True Detective Mysteries
John Cosgrove of the Chester City detective
Bureau. Chester is a shipyard and oil
refining center, and the largest city in Dela-
ware County.
-] thought it was likely that the murderers
of young. Gibson might have sought a hiding
place there, and:I knew that if they had,
Sergeant Cosgrove, who has ‘had a long ex-
perience fighting; crooks in that city, could
help us a great deal.
1 explained to him what had already hap-
pened in the case, and repeated Gibson's
dying description of his murderers, Cos-
grove promised to make some inguiries
about the affair.
The next afternoon, the funeral of the
slain youth was held at the home of his
parents. Dora Killen had sat beside his
coffin the whole night before, and rode
with his family to the grave. Although
the grief of the stricken parents impressed
everyone, many persons felt even greater
sympathy for the young girl whose marriage
plans had been brought to such a tragic end
by the murder of her fiancé.
That same evening, there was a telephone
call from Sergeant Cosgrove.
“Come down and see me—T've found out
something that may help you,’’ he told me.
“I don’t want to talk over the telephone!”’
Trestrail and I jumped into my car and
sped to the Chester City Hall.
ERE'S what I found out,” said Cos-
grove shutting the door of his office
and talking in low tones. ‘But first you
must promise me that you will never reveal
the name of the person I am going to men-
tion!”’
T nodded.
“This fellow is under obligations to me,
and has helped’ me in the past,’’ Cosgrove
continued. ‘‘He’s on the inside of a certain
group here in Chester, and he may be of
great assistance to you as long as you
promise him immunity. His name is—
(here he mentioned a nickname by which the
man was known.)
“You will have to find him yourself. I
don’t know where he lives, but I found out
today that he thinks he knows who killed
Norman Gibson. He doesn’t want to make
any appointments to meet you, but if you
trace him through that name, he'll tell you
what he knows.”
All of this sounded very mysterious, but I
knew Cosgrove would not have called us
to Chester unless he thought the tip was
important. I asked where we had better
look for the man and was told we could
probably find him in certain pool-rooms and
restaurants along the Delaware River front.
The next few days were spent in visiting
‘some of the toughest hangouts in Chester.
When we finally located our quarry, he was
unwilling to talk at first, but after we ex-
plained what Cosgrove told us, he invited
us to step to one side and talk to him.
Looking around to see that no one in the
pool-room was watching us, he whispered:
“I know a couple of fellows ‘named Jesse
Parker and Bill Phillips. This Gibson job
looks like their work. If you get Parker,
you can find out quick enough!”
“Where does he live?” I asked.
“In Media! I don’t know anything sure
about it, but I think it will be worth your
while to find him. And remember, I’m
not mixed up in it at all!’ .
Then he began talking loudly about some-
thing else, and a few minutes later we slipped
out and hurried back to Media.
‘on.
“Get Jesse Parker!’’—but who way
Parker?
Luckily, Media is a much smaller town
than Chester, and I had no doubt that we
could locate Parker—if there was any such
person! Might it not be.that our informer,
who was certainly a shifty character, was
trying to lead us on the wrong track?
My fears in that respect seemed almost
confirmed when I enquired throughout
Media and could find no one who knew
Jesse Parker! But I did learn of a woman,
formerly Mrs. Parker, who had recently
married a man named McKenny, and who
worked in a mill at Lenni. Trestrail and
I went to the mill on Friday morning to
question her.
E found a gray-haired woman of
sixty-five operating two large looms.
“Jesse Parker—certainly J know him. He’s
my son!’ she delared, in answer to my
question.
At first she was reluctant to tell where we
could find the boy, as she seemed to suspect
we were officers. Finally she admitted
reluctantly that he was at that moment
in bed at her home at Fourth and Olive
Streets, Media.
Taking her in our car, we hurried to the
house and dashed to the second floor.
There, sound asleep, was Jesse Parker.
We Shook him awake, and he started up
fearfully when he saw strangers in the bed-
room. ‘What do you want?” he demanded
nervously. _
‘‘We want you to come back with us to the
District. Attorney’s office,” I replied. ‘‘He
wants to talk to you about. something im-
portant.”
The youth jumped out of bed and began
dressing himself with trembling fingers.
“I—J don’t know what you want me for!”
he declared. ‘‘I haven’t done anything!”
“All right,” I told him, “but you're
going “to have a hard time explaining where
you were last Friday night.” Although we
had no proof against Parker at the time, his
nervousness made me feel that he was guilty,
and I pretended that I was sure of it. My
remark was effective, for the youth turned
pale and began pulling on his clothes with
nervous haste.
Mr. McCarter was waiting for us when we
returned to his office, and began an unmerci-
ful grilling of Parker. At first the youth
only mumbled a negative answer to all
accusations.
“T didn't have anything to do with the
Gibson murder,” he declared in a low voice.
“T don’t know anything about it.”’
I motioned to the District Attorney and
stepped into another room with Parker.
Trestrail was with us. ‘See here, Jesse,”
I declared. ‘‘You can’t get anywhere that
way. We know who was with you on this
thing, and we’re going to get them too.
You're the first one to be arrested. You've
got a chance, by making a good impression
now, to make it easier for yourself later
”
My bluff worked. The youth looked
at me uncertainly for a moment, then hung
his head.
“All right—I’ll tell what I can,’”’ he mut-
tered,
I opened the door and led him before
the District Attorney again. ‘He says he’ll
tell you the truth now,” I said.
“All right,” shot back Mr. McCarter.
“Who was with you when you shot Gib-
son?”
i
P
“he ar
three?” a
“Yes,
didn’t do
“All ri
happened
“And rei
be taken
used agai
The yo
gan. Th
gradually
so rapid!
seemed a:
opportun
worries 0
“We st
a chain st
didn't ca
‘or the A
hold-ups
weeks.”
Georg:
role ir
He lo
nervous!
W:
R
knew hi
were kic
Here,
Gibson's
was..
“T kne
carried <
fellow I
hundred
him!’
“We :
waited.
car—he
knife. ]
‘“Whe
flashligh
up!’ Tr
‘This ais
“Whe
he took
Then Bi
knees. |
another
been sh
‘That d
head—y
Tubby
wish “I
shooting
>
104
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True Detective Mysteries
“Bill and I dragged him over to the side
of the road and were going to finish him off,
when we saw the headlights of a truck com-
ing down the road. Werran for the car and
started to drive away. I looked back and
saw Tubby waving at the truck, but the
driver didn’t see him.
‘We drove to Lenni, and then back to
Chester. Took George to his apartment,
and then went to a pool-room. We've been
reading about how things were in the papers,
and Billand I were planning to go to Florida,
but we didn’t have any money.”
“Where are Phillips and Weir now?”
asked Mr. McCarter.
“Bill’s working in the —— Garage, in
Chester,” replied the youth slowly. ‘I
don’t know where George is. His girl left
him and went back to live with her folks in
Pennsgrove.”’
“Who's the girl?” I asked.
“Her name was Elia Yanks—she was
divorced once, and was going with George
in Chester. That’s all I know about her.”
“How about these other hold-ups—what
ones did you dq?” continued Mr. McCarter.
Parker enumerated a number of robberies
he had committed, usually with Phillips,
in the past six or seven weeks.
They included several gas stations and
chain stores near Media and Chester;
the hold-up of a Chester policeman, who was
robbed of his pistol; and the robbery of a
one-man trolley car near Rose Valley. None
of them netted much money.
Neil, I immediately drove to Chester
to get Phillips. We had no difficulty in lo-
cating the garage Parker mentioned, but
when I asked for Phillips, the manager told
me there were two men by that name work-
ing there!
“T’ll let you talk to them both,’’ he added.
The first to appear was plainly not the
man we were after. The second wasa short,
thick-set man about thirty-five years old.
He was different in every way from the
nervous, youthful Parker, who was rather
handsome in a “sheikish’”’ manner. Phillips
had a heavy, brutal face, with big bushy
eye-brows, and the expression of a born
killer,
“Are you Bill Phillips?” I asked him.
“Yes.” He glared at me suspiciously and
backed away. I reached out and grabbed
him by one shoulder, while Trestrail took
the other. Not another word was spoken
until a pair of handcuffs were snapped se-
curely around. his wrists.
““What’s this all about?” snarled Phillips,
trying to twist out of reach.
“I'm not taking any chances with you,’
I told him. -‘You’re coming’ back to Media’
with me to explain wf? you were doings a
week ago tonight.!.0 tei
“Ah—you" don't know’ anything bout
that,”’ he'sneered.. ~
“Don’t we?’”'l rejoined.
enough to prove that you and Jesse Parker
were the men that killed Norman Gibson
on’ the Mill Creek Road that night!”
At the mention of Parker’s name,
Phillips gritted his teeth and ‘clenched his
shackled fists.
“So that damn rat’s been squealin’, eh?”
hé growled. ‘I always was afraid he was
that kind. Well, all right, I guess there’s
nothin’ I can do about it.’ "And he did-not
utter another protest ‘during the ride all
CCOMPANIED by Trestrail and Mc-
‘Phillips looked‘ at us with a “mixture of
“Phatred and’baffled-rage. 0 #2
“Well we ano:
the way back to the Media Court House.
Phillips was not brought face to face with
Parker until Parker was questioned closely
on the events described in his pal’s confes-
sion. It was surprising to see how closely
the two accounts tallied.
The only difference . occurred when
Phillips described the fatal scuffle with
Gibson.
‘He gave me an awful cra¢k on the jaw,
and it made me see red,” the garage man
declared, lifting his hand to his chin. “Ii;
still hurts.”
Phillips also seemed to wish to shield
Weir more than his companion, and at first
declared that the third man had not been
with them at all. Then he tried to maintain
that Weir had driven along behind themina
: second car, and had not taken any part in the
fatal hold-up,
After his confession had been taken down,
the two men were brought together in the
District Attorney’s office. A sordid scene
took place, as the two murderers branded
Jesse Parker, who knew plenty about
the killing of Norman Gibson
each other as ‘‘squealers’’—an appellation
which was certainly correct in Parker’s
case. They reviled each other bitterly, and
would have come to blows had we not held
them apart.
Although it was after midnight when we
finished with Parker and Phillips, I began
my hunt for the third member of the murder
band immediately. I did not tell any of the
newspaper reporters that a third man was
‘-being sought, and in general tried to keep
‘
the-search under. cover.
; » From what. Parker.and Phillips had told
*me, I decided the best means of. locating
Weir was through Mrs. Yanks, with whom
he had: been friendly. in. Chester. She was
in Pennsgrove, New Jersey, a small town
‘directly across the Delaware River. from
' Wilmington, Délaware, . which is fifteen
miles below Chester. .I called Robert Kidd,
‘Chief Detective of Salem County, New
Jersey, in which Pennsgrove is located, and
explained what I wanted to find out. He
agreed-to look for Mrs. Yanks for me.
Y this time William H. Killen, Gibson’s
prospective father-in-law, had been out
: of jail for several days. From what we learned
through other sources, he was completely
eliminated from the case, and was only held
for g time
ta 00
tha
brought tc
Chester w
Killen kne
than a hal
The nex
Kidd sayir
living witl
said shew a
seemed to
murder.
I left th:
crossing ©
found Mr
thirty, wit
eyes. She
tell what :
the story
fills in son
Parker an:
“T have
years, and
Chester fr
- few days
twenty-th
was murc
had suppe
Jesse Par
That was
playing c
and Park«
magazine.
guns. and
hold-ups 1
“After
from the
going out
know wh:
never sto}
“Parke
you going
J tried t
W e
ut
up tne ste
the door.
trembling
been.’ |
“He sa
left him
to go ba:
I said: ‘
care—th:
take him
termined
“Wed
came to
There we
and Geo
him alre:
“Wed
were wa
and Edg
the corn
“They
we drove
you shc
‘lf I dic
said. T
up andt
Wh
you.’ Bi
make a ¢
went acr
Parker—
me: ‘J {
other fe
“Geor
night, a
us the
¥
* suse.
with
osely
nfes-
osely
when
with
jaw,
man
as
hield
first
been
atain
nina
nthe
own,
1 the
scene
nded
rout
n
lation
irker’s
y, and
it held
en we
began
nurder
of the
in was
») keep
id told
cating
whom
1e was
| town
< from
fifteen
Kidd,
@ New
-d, and
ut. He
1e.
i.
ut
mearned
ipletely
ly held
for a time to teach him the value of not
talking too much. Mr. Killen had explained
that the news of the shooting had been
brought to his attention by a motorist in
Chester who had just come from Media.
Killen knew the details of the tragedy less
than a half hour after it was discovered.
The next morning I had a call from Mr.
Kidd saying that he had found Mrs. Yanks
living with her parents in Pennsgrove. He
said she admitted knowing Weir well, and
seemed to know something about the Gibson
murder. :
I left the office and drove to Wilmington,
crossing on the ferry to Pennsgrove. I
found Mrs. Yanks to be a’'woman about
thirty, with sallow skin and brown hair and
eyes. She seemed to be willing enough to
tell what she knew of the murder. Here is
the story she later told Mr. McCarter. It
fills in some of the gaps in the confessions of
Parker and Phillips.
“T have known George Weir for several
years, and we had an apartment together in
Chester from November of last year until a
few days ago,” she said frankly. ‘On the
twenty-third of March (the night Gibson
was murdered) George didn’t work. We
had supper about six o’clock, and afterward
Jesse Parker and Bill Phillips came in.
That was about eight. George and I were
playing cards on the dining-room table,
and Parker joined us. Bill started to read a
magazine. He and Parker always. carried
guns. and I knew they had been in some
hold-ups together. :
“After a few minutes, Phillips looked up
from the sofa and said: ‘If you guys aren’t
going out, I’m going to read. And you
know when I get a book in my hands, I
never stop.’
“Parker looked at George, and said: ‘Are
you going with us.’ He said, ‘I guess so.”
I tried to get him to stay, but he went
with the others in Bill Phillips’ car.
“About nine-thirty I heard George coming
up the steps. I met him ashe was unlocking
the door. His face was white, and he was
trembling all over. ‘Where have you
been.’ I asked him.
“He said: ‘Bill and Jesse shot a guy and
left him lying in a pool of blood—I’ve got
to go back and take him to the hospital.’
I said: ‘Are you crazy?’ He said: ‘I don’t
care—that fellow will die if somebody don’t
take him to a hospital.’ I saw he was de-
termined to go back so I went with him.
“We drove out the Mill Creek Road, and
came to the spot where they shot him.
There were a lot of people standing around,
and George said: ‘They must have found
him already.’
“We drove back to Chester, and while we
were waiting for a traffic light at Seventh
and Edgemont, we saw Bill and Jesse on
the corner. *
“They came over and got in the car, and
we drove back to the apartment. ‘Why did
you shoot him.’ George asked : Phillips.
‘If I didn’t he would have shot me,’ Bill
said. Then George told him we had gone
up and tried to take him to a hospital.
“Why didn’t you bring him back with
you.’ Bill said. ‘I’d have slit his throat to
make a good job of it.’’ Then he and George
went across the street to get some cigarettes.
Parker—he’s only a kid, you know—said to
me: ‘I feel pretty sick, but don’t tell the
other fellows.’
“George and I were worried about it all
night, and then Bill and Jesse came to see
us the next night and said they heard a
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me, .\
ae
been” stolen.
teletype’ on -
1 the license
Y-1540. The
-vrolet coupe.
that informa=-
shape yet for
1 Van Cleve,
cer, had: come
sh her father
nging her two
1e had found
1oned the
po- |
vr her arrival, © —
ave been dis-
iger time. °
checking up,”
Ese
the district attorney, said decisively. “I
want to know who ‘saw ‘Campbell last
and when. It seems impossible that
this could have happened without .
~ someone’s noticing something out of the
‘ordinary. In the meantime, sheriff, get ©
out that flier on the missing car. Right -
‘now it looks like our) best: lead.” —
Victim Expected | Money
had resulted from a double fracture
‘the skull. oo
but they, too, t
rthless. . The
- formed a
.'These ‘were
defined, They would be
d neighbors o
slain man. : Gti ‘
Eighteen-year-old George F. Moore,
‘Ir, apparently had been :the -last to
- gee the victim alive. “That was ‘on the
‘twenty-eighth * of July,” Moore ‘de-_
clared. “Joe kept pretty much to him-
‘self; and the. trees around his place
prevented anyone from seeing the
- ‘house from the road. I didn’t hear any-
thing, and I live nearby. It isn’t: likely
that you'll find anyone who did...
Other neighbors declared that Camp-
‘bell was not in the habit of carrying
rge.sums of money on his
la person.
“Check with any bank,” they advised
interrogating officers. “You'll find that
he kept most of his funds in. savings
accounts or safe deposit boxes, Any-
one from around here would have
known that there was no money-in the’
house. No jewels, either, for that mat-
ae!
ad
vlad
_ District Attorney Burton Laub | (right)
takes the place of the victim, opening.
_ ter. Joe lived alone arid had no use
-for such things.” er ok aan
> "Mrs. Van Cleve, however, gave them .
_@ new. angle. On Monday; when the .
woman had recovered somewhat from
‘the shock of the tragedy, she informed
. District Attorney Laub that her father
thad- been expecting a large sum of
| “I visited him on July 22,” the at-
“tractive young matron related. “He
* told me then that this money was com-
_ © ing in. I don’t know whom it, was from
-4 or anything about it. But if the news
_» leaked out .'.’.” Bia
**“That’s about what happened,” Laub |
ae lean “From the looks of things .
oom
’ you advised if anything develops.”
«Returning to his office
* memo asking him to. call Lieutenant .
* John C. Bricker of Lawrence Park.
- Dialing the number, Laub. identified
himself. and. waited. In a few minutes
: ar ‘Jieutenant’s voice came over the
eo orwire.. rn ,
“Two Erie boys pulled out of town
«on Sunday night,” Bricker said tersely.
~ They stole a car, piled in some extra °
re :clothing and scrammed: It looks ‘hot
~ to me’
“1 “Good. Know who they are?”
»’4“Axchie Hoffmann and Santi Paletto.
~ Sixteen. and 17 years old. These kids
“One ‘of the murderers” (conter)’ ‘reenacts. ae
while
the screen door.
' gan their monotonous chatter.
was the only motive. I'll keep ©
departed. There the trail ended.
‘he found a |’ ee ’
don’t have any record—we’re check-..
“ting the whereabouts of anyone who
1: does—but it is possible that they pulled
~ the Campbell job.”
» “Pyt an alarm out,” Laub instructed.
| whey've got to be picked up.” ith
He replaced the receiver thought-
~ ..8yyouths was highly suspicious, And the
fact ‘that they had driven off in an-:
.,. .\\thatCampbell’s machine had been ,
- @ ditched—assuming, of course, that they:
‘midnight
hod
Rieg ECR
ee)
INSTEAD OF CLEANSING THEIR BLOODY HANDS,
crime for
Mehallick
Joseph Cam
were. the actual murderers. But where’
had they abandoned the gray coupe?
Somewhere- in- the city,- which was
ing with officers on the lookout
swarmin
* for the Chevvie? Or had they left it
in a woods somewhere, where the ma-
chine might not be found for days?»
Once more the police teletypes be-
This
time all officers were instructed to
-Jook for the car’ belonging to Gerald
Saunders of Somerset, Pa. It had been
taken from a downtown parking lot,
» presumably by Hoffmann and Paletto. .
‘Relatives of the two youths were
questioned, but denied any knowledge |
of the boys’ whereabouts. They had
simply gathered up some clothing and
* Stolen Auto Crashes
. It was picked up again’ the following
day, on the outskirts of Westfield. At
_a speeding machine was
wrecked and the youthful driver and
his companion were removed to a hos-
ital. One ‘suffered only cuts and
ruises,’ but the other sustained .a
broken arm and a possibly fractured
A routine investigation showed that
the wrecked car was the auto stolen
from Saunders.’ The two men in it
‘were Hoffmann and Paletto. Despite
their. condition they were immediately
returned to an Erie hospital for treat-
ment and questioning. They vigorously
- denied any knowledge of the Campbell
murder,
Corporal Mehallick. faced them
sternly. “You fellows were up to some-
thing. What. was that crowbar doing
in your car? And the jar of acid?
Paletto, badly shaken up, but other-
wise uninjured, answered sullenly.
Bice gy Mie all: Is there any law
against having that stuff?”
+
a:
pbell's doughten Found his body upon the blood- |
stained kitchen linoleum in front of the refrigerator.
had been dead for several days, the coroner told police,
is
jn order..to indict and convict them.
~<a
oa
ee : a
Ft a enn Sas ane Ss
~ Ly Se
i
7
7
He
“No, there isn’t,” Mehallick admitted.”
“What you boys don’t seem to realize’
that. you’re likely to be charged
with murder. You see, we found two.
sets of footprints out at the Campbell
home. One set was made by a man.
wearing wide, short shoes, The others.
were long and narrow. We took your!
shoes out’ and compared’ them.” He
paused to let his words sink it. “They're,
almost an exact fit!” Se
“We ‘still don’t know nothing about |
it,” Paletto insisted. bo ae
“Okay: then.” The corporal stood up.
quickly o*I£ you have no alibi, we'll |
let a jury decide’ whether you're tell-
ing inthis bed yoully Holtmann’ spokel
‘rom hi yo () ‘spoke.
painfully, “That Ge bar and acid,” he
said. “Me and Santi planned to use:
it to rob’a bank. But we cracked up.
before ‘we could pull the job. Honest,
we don’t know nothing about “this.
Campbell’ business.” Bx
Far ‘from convinced, the .. officers, |
however,’ abandoned their questioning
for thesmoment. With the two men
under arrest, evidence was needed now |
As days went
be the investigation
proceeded methodically,
but with
deadly precision. Mrs, Van Cleve in- mediately
ventoried every item in her father’s » “The ke
home but was unable to ascertain just . there repo
what was missing. This was a disap- -full and t!
pointment, as any stolen article would
provide a good lead in the event that # line.
jt turned up later at some pawnshop. ~ditched in
.“Father. did have. a revolver,” she ~~ “How a!
stated finally, “but it’s nowhere around. _asked ten
_Outside:of t I can’t say just what ~ “Maybe
has been taken. Nor could I even guess prints, bu
at. the!) unt of money he: had with to anythi:
him.” 46%) : a “Let’s
A Mrs, Grace Michael came for- Lamberto
ward then with a story of seeing two The ma
in blue
" a8 tee 2 = ———
Fa a a ee
*
_..» » the most bru
iri
OSEPH A.
|) best known industrialists in Erie, Pa..
‘i ~~. . Seventy-three-y
A © bell had been a
|| -—--——~He had: spo:
“fare Club, and it had been his aim to
end poverty and juvenile delinquency |
in the city to which he had come as a
i ae seed Death had drawn the curtain on
Coroner Warren W. Wood knelt be-
side the crumpled figure. “Skull frac-. °
t in two places,; .he announced.
“T’'d say he was hit with the customary
blunt instrument.”
_ The right hip pocket of the victim’s, ©
‘trousers was torn away. Someone in»
i great’ haste and violence had ripped.
- 4 -o jt, apparently
: in an effort to reach a
wallet. Laub spoke bitterly. “This is
tal murder I have ever
gestured toward
seen. And all—” he
the torn pocket—“for a few lousy dol--
. i My ie
lars, most likely!” .
There was no denying the brutality
- "of the crime. The victim lay. on the
- . kitchen floor of his comparatively
est country estate. A bath towel twisted
- about his neck served both as a throt-
'-_ tling device and a gag. His knees were
doubled up and his arms ‘pulled back.
The wrists and ankles had been tightly
bound together with three neckties:
. Blood was everywhere, It had spilled '
‘out over the kitchen floor and remained ,
now in long-dried pools. Gory foot-.
prints led across the linoleum out onto
the. porch. The place had been ran-
sacked thoroughly. | ;
“[’d say that death occurred at least
mod-,
UE
xe
%
on
hy
“CINCINNATI
On... ue
he
7
down,” he said casually. “I don't know
if anything is missing or not, but we
should certainly find some fingerprints
when the identification boys arrive.”
“No sign of the murder weapon up .
A. paced
there, I suppose?” the D.
Mehallick shook his head. “No, sir.
Funny, though. You wouldn’t ‘think
they'd have taken it with them.” .
Laub said thoughtfully, “Not unless -
it was something we could identify -
five or. six days ago. Probably about and which might lead to the slayers.”
July. 31,” the coroner gu
Laub turned away without comment.
” He went outside to find Sheriff Fred.
Lamberton and State Police Sergeant
This was August 5, 1945. The trail Willard Schauers carefully going over
which he must now attempt to follow. the spacious grounds
was as cold as Alaska’s snow.
State Police Corporal John Mehal-
lick came into the room: “The upstairs
bedrooms have been turned upside
garage at one side of the house.
” “Nothing of value out here,” the
sheriff admitted disappointedly. “The
padlock is missing from the garage door
YLT t ~E
and the frame ‘
covered for an even longer time.
‘and Campbell's car has been” stolen. — ;
-Ym going to get out a teletype’ on ~+
ae é
>, Laub said, “Have you the license
number?” —.
* “Yeah. Pennsylvania Y-1540. ‘The
. car is a 1940 gray Chevrolet coupe.
. Mrs.*Van. Cleve, gave us that q
“tion, but she’s not in shape yet for ~~
rma-=
further questioning.” ;
Laub knew that Ruth Van Cleve,
the victim’s only gn had - come
to the truck farm which her father
operated asa hobby, bringing her two
children for a visit. She had found
Campbell’s body and phoned the po-
lice. Had it not been for her arrival,
the murder might, not have been dis-
“We've got to do some
on
ee RRR ETE
LOA LLES AF Re eR NEE PES BPA FE
Se RIED
476 116 ATLANTIC REPORTER, ‘Pa.
Archie Adolph Patterson was convicted of
first degree murder, and he appeals. Af-
firmed and remitted.
Argued before MOSCHZISKER, C. J., and
FRAZER, WALLING, SIMPSON, KEP-
HART, and SADLER, JJ.
James W. Fox, of Easton, and Francis H.
S. Ede, of Pen Argyle, and Harry D. Kutz,
of Bethlehem, for appellant.
T. McKeen Chidsey, Dist. Atty., and Albert
F; Kahn, Asst. Dist. Atty., both of Easton,
for the Commonwealth.
WALLING, J. This appeal by Archie
Adolph Patterson is from judgment pro-
nounced upon him on conviction of first de-
gree murder, for the killing of his de facto
wife, Maud Duran. They were colored
people, and, in February, 1921, came from
New York City to East Bangor, Northampton
county, where he had employment in a slate
quarry. They boarded with a colored family
named Smith, and, to outward appearances,
lived happily; however, they had a trifling
quarrel Saturday evening, March 5th, and on
Monday morning (March 7th) defendant de-
clined to go to his work, alleging sickness,
and when alone with Maud Duran, in the
dining room of the Smith home, fatally
stabbed her in the neck with a butcher knife;
he then fled, but was apprehended the same
day, and later made a confession in which
he admitted an intent to kill and every fact
necessary to constitute murder of the first
degree. As a witness at the trial, however,
while admitting he struck the fatal blow, de-
fendant stated, in substance, that he did not
intend to hit Mrs. Duran, but merely to
frighten her, and that she suddenly moved
forward so as to come in contact with the
knife. Under the charge of the trial judge,
the defendant had the full benefit of this de-
fense, but the jury properly rejected it. Not
only defendant’s confession, but all the cir-
’ eumstances, including the fact, as shown by
commonwealth’s evidence, that he secured
the knife on the previous day, that he re-
mained at home feigning sickness, that he
immediately sought safety in flight, that he
made unjust complaint of Mrs. Duran’s de-
portment, and was causelessly jealous of her
and afraid she would leave him, as well as
the absence of an immediate cause, all point
to a premeditated homicide.
[1] Plunging the butcher knife into the vic-
tim’s neck, and thence into the lungs, mani-
fests an intent to take life, for a man is pre-
sumed to intend the natural and probable
consequences of his voluntary acts.
[2,3] The only error assigned is the refusal
to grant a new trial on the ground of after-
discovered evidence. This court has often
said we cannot reverse the action of the
court below in passing upon an application
for a new trial, except in case of a manifest
abuse of discretion. We have carefully ex-
amined the entire record, but find nothing to
justify setting aside the verdict. The so-
called “after-discovered evidence” relates to
very minor matters, not vital to the case, and
in a different verdict on another trial. As
defendant admits he armed himself with this
deadly weapon, and did not strike in self-de-
fense, and the jury found it was not an acci-
dent, it is of little moment whether he struck
down this unarmed and defenseless woman
while she was sitting or standing. Further-
more, by reasonable diligence, the alleged
new evidence might have been produced at
the trial.
{4] On the argument complaint was made
as to the manner in which the confession was
secured, but no error is assigned to its ad-
mission, and hence it is not properly before
the court; moreover, in this, as in all other
respects, the trial judge carefully safeguard-
ed the rights of the defendant.
The assignment of error is overruled, the
judgment is affirmed, and the record is re-
mitted to the court below for the purpose of
execution.
=
McNEILL v. DIRECTOR GENERAL OF
RAILROADS et al.
(Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. Feb. 6,
thle
1. Commerce €=>27(3)—Cutting car into inter-
state train “in station order” held to render
train interstate. :
Where an interstate train was being cut
so that another car might be made a part there-
of “in station order” so that each car when it
reached its destination might readily be detach-
ed and the train sooner proceed, and thus in-
terstate as well as the intrastate transporta-
tion be better effected, the entire train, so far
as liability is concerned, was an interstate
train.
2. Master and servant €==403 — Burden on
compensation claimant to show railroad em-
ployé’s injury within state law.
In a proceeding under the Workmen’s Com-
pensation Act (Pa. St. 1920, § 21916 et seq.)
for death of a brakeman on an interstate train,
the burden was on claimant to prove that some
other railroad than deceased’s employer was
responsible for the injury, in order to recover
= the theory that the federal law did not ap-
ply.
Appeal from Court of Common Pleas, Phil-
adelphia County; Norris S. Barratt, Judge.
Proceedings under the Workmen’s Compen-
sation Act by Frances M. ‘McNeill, for the
death of Joseph V. McNeill, opposed by the
Director General of Railroads, United States
Railroad Administration, Philadelphia &
Reading Railroad, employer. Ruling of ref-
@=>For other cases see same topic and KEY-NUMBER in all Key-Numbered Digests and Indexes
should not, and probably would not, result °*
\\
Pa.) IN RE McCULLOUGH’S ESTATE ATT
4
116
eree that decedent was employed in inter-
state commerce and claim not compensable
affirmed by the Workmen’s Compensation
Board and common pleas court, and plaintiff
appeals. Affirmed.
Argued before MOSCHZISKER, C. J., and
FRAZER, WALLING, SIMPSON, KEP-
HART, and SADLER, JJ.
Harry A. Gorson and John J. McDevitt,
Jr. both of Philadelphia, for appellant.
George Gowen Parry and Charlemagne T.
Wolfe, both of Philadelphia, for appellees.
SIMPSON, J. [1] Joseph V. MeNeill, a
brakeman af defendant, while working on its
right-of way, was struck by another train
and received injuries from which he died the
same day. His widow, on behalf of herself
and their minor children presented a claim
petition under the Workmen’s Compensation
Act (Pa. St. 1920, § 21916 et seq.), the referee
held that decedent was engaged in interstate
A.)
were routed. Phila. & Reading Co. v. Han-
cock, supra.
(2] It is further contended by appellant
that since decedent was injured by the neg-
ligent act of a railroad which was not his
employer, the federal law does not apply, and
hence she may invoke the provisions of our
Workmen’s Compensation Act. To this it
need only be said that the evidence fails to
disclose the basic fact upon which the claim is
made, namely, that decedent was injured by
a railroad which was not his employer. All
that is shown touching this point is that de-
cedent was killed by “a train from Washing-
ton to New York, operated over the Royal
Blue Line; over the Reading, B. & O., and
Central Railroad of New Jersey”; it does not
appear which of them was operating it at
the time of the accident. The burden of es-
tablishing her right to recover being upon
appellant, her failure to prove that some
other railroad than defendant was responsi-
ble for the injury occurring on its right of
commerce at the time of the injury, and }wway necessarily compels us to hold that her
hence the claim was not compensable ; the
Workmen’s Compensation Board and the
court below sustained this ruling, and from
the judgment of the latter tribunal plaintiff |
appeals.
It is admitted there were interstate cars in
the train on which decedent was working, but
it ig alleged the train crew were engaged in
a “purely shifting operation or local move-
ment,” and hence, under Murray v. Pgh., C.,
GC. & St. L. R. R. Co., 263 Pa. 398, 107 Atl. 2;
interstate commerce was not affected, and the
rules applicable thereto do not apply. In an-
swer, it is sufficient to point out the vital
distinction that in the case cited a purely lo-
cal car, which had not been and was not in-
tended to be a part of the train, was being
shifted from one part of the yard to another,
to be left at the latter point; while in the in-
stant case, as appellant herself says, this in- f
terstate train was being “cut so that another
car might be made a part” thereof “in sta-
tion order”; that is, so that each car when it
reached its destination might readily be de-
tached and the train sooner proceed, thus
the interstate as well as the intrastate trans-
portation being the better effected. This nec-
essarily had a direct bearing upon interstate
commerce, and makes the entire train, so far
as liability is concerned, an interstate train.
Northern Pacific Railway Co. v. State’ of
Washington, 222 U. S. 370, 32 Sup. Ct. 160, 56
L. Ed. 237; Phila. & Reading Ry. Co. v. Han-
cock, 253 U. S. 284, 40 Sup. Ct. 512, 64 L. Ed.
907. It is true that, after the train had gone
a little further, it was to be broken up into
several trains, which would proceed separate-
ly to the ultimate destination of the cars
therein; but this progress towards the point
of division was as Much a movement in in-
terstate commerce, as was the further move-
ment of those cars to the place to which they
contention upon this point fails for this rea-
son at least.
The judgment of the court below is af-
firmed.
In re McCULLOUGH’S ESTATE.
(Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. Jan. 8,
1922
ae
1. Wills @==597(4)—Ordinarily devise to one
“and her children” passes a life estate to first
taker, with remainder in fee to children as a
class.
Ordinarily a devise to one “and her chil-
dren” passes but a life estate to the first taker,
with remainder in fee to the children as a
class.
2. Wills €==616(5)—Power to seil land devised
and use proceeds is not repugnant to devise
of life estate.
A devise of land with power to sell is not
repugnant to the creation of a life estate, and
though power to consume makes possible the
use of the proceeds by the one named as donee,
if there is a failure to convert the realty, or a
portion thereof, what remains unconsumed will
pass through the will of the donor, even if
a sale has taken place and the sums received
have been invested.
3. Wills €==597(3)—Will as a whole may dis-
close intention contrary to devise of whole
estate indicated by lack of devise over.
Under Act April 8, 1883 (P. L. 250) § 9,
providing that “all devises of real estate shall
pass the whole estate of the testator in the
premises devised * * * unless it appear by
a devise over or by words of limitation or oth-
erwise, in the will, that the testator intended
to devise a less estate?’ though the absence
of such a gift in remainder indicates a pur-
pose to give the first taker the estate in fee,
€=—For other cases see same topic and KEY-NU
MBER In all Key-Numbered Digests and Indexes
“Was there any part of your f,
eng a
old man’s days were spent tend
somebody with him would: just
es ee
ather’s life about which.
you were not taken into his confidence?”
The daughter insisted there was not, adding that the
ing his garden, hauling
the produce to market and selling it, cooking his own
meals and keeping the house clean. “He always said
get in his way and he
preferred ‘batching,’” the woman ended.
" “Queer that’ he didn’t keep a watchdog or a gun—
f remarked.
this is a pretty lonely. place, even for a hermit,” Mathias
“Oh, he had a gun,” the daughter interrupted. “He
. kept it on the night table beside his bed.”
d
when we searched.”
“So?” Mathias lifted an eyebrow. “It wasn’t there
é ‘Tll look again to make sure,” Mehallick offered,
4 dashing up the’stairs. He returned in a few moments
shaking his head: “No gun.”
93 “Why that’s strange,” exclaimed the woman, “Do you
think—?”
d “The killers took it?” Laub
+ Can you describe it for us?”
finished. “Obviously.
* The daughter told them it was a revolver of 32
calibre. Laub took down the
informed the woman she might
information and then
go home and rest.
t “Oh just one more thing,” he added, placing a de-
last person to see your father a
“Maybe it was I; more likely
father drove to or from town.”
. i waa
Li
taining hand on her arm. “Who do you suppose was the
live?”
“Why, I’m sure I can’t say,” the woman ‘stammered.
some neighbor as my
Then she paused and’
knit her brows. “I just happened to think of some-
thing,” she erupted. “He mentioned an antique dealer
—said he was going to sell him. something. He didn’t
tell me the man’s name.” ieee
Laub asked if she had any way of knowing where
See might be found, but the daughter shook her
ead. Z Keke
“Well, that’s something to work ‘on;” Mehallick ex-
claimed, after Mrs. Van Cleve had departed. “Maybe
this junk man knows a thing or two about this setup—
maybe he bumped Campbell off so he could take the
junk and not pay for it.” : f
’“Antiques,” Mathias corrected. “I suppose we ought
to work on it.” P ‘ ‘
Laub agreed, and ‘he instructed a couple of troopers
to ask questions in the community as to who the an-
tique dealer might be. “Cover every. shop in town,’ if
necessary,” he added. “If this fellow was the last to
see Campbell alive I want to talk to him.” -
Meanwhile, the body had been removed for an au-
topsy, and troopers were combing the rooms of the
house looking for clues. : :
One of them found a slipper beneath an overturned
chair. “This came off during (Continued on page 74)
the estate overnight reported that no
new clues had been uncovered.
A dozen or so hitch-hikers and
hobos were brought in for question-.
ing during the course of the day, but
they all had substantial alibis. And ;
so the. day turned into: night and
nothing had been accomplished.
On the following morning, how-
ever, affairs took a different turn.
The: police in Westfield, Pennsylvania,
reported that they were holding two
ouths. ‘These boys had left Erie on -
unday night, which was the night
Campbell’s body had been found.
“[ think they could stand question-
ing,” the Westfield chief told Attor-
ney Laub over the phone. “The car
they drove into the town here was
stolen, and in it we found a bottle
of acid and a big crowbar.”
.Laub was nearly beside himself
with excitement. as the Campbell
murder “case going to be solved so
quickly? It looked for all the world
as though the police had the ruth-
i killers right where they wanted
em, ‘ : See
‘Jumping into a.squad car, Laub
hurried tothe next town. The stolen
car; “he soon learned, was not Camp-
bells; but the youths could very well
have ditched the car they started out
‘with and stolen another.
“All right, let’s have your story,”
the District Attorney said. when
ushered into the presence of the two
teen-age boys. : :
The lads were most reluctant to
talk; then when Laub directly ac-
cused them of murdering. the elderly.
man, they denied knowing anything
about the case.
Eventually they admitted that they
had stolen the car in Erie and had
driven it into Westfield for the pur-
pose, of robbing a safe. “That's what
the crowbar and acid were for—to
—< the safe with,” one of them ex-
ined.
pla
“Yeah,” the other added, “We didn’t
get a chance to do it, though, and
we never killed no guy. We never
hurt nobody in our lives.”
“Well, inasmuch as you're going
to be in jail for a while,” Laub tol
the youths, “you won’t mind very
much if I take your shoes—I’ve got
a little item I want to check up on.”
Rushing back to Erie, the Attor-
ney compared the shoes with the
prints left on the Campbell floor. One
seg was-narrow, the other wide. So
ar, the pieces fell into place beau-
tifully.
Meanwhile, the antique dealer was
found. He admitted having had an
appointment with Campbell on the
ternoon of July 31st. “He sold me
a few pieces and I paid him fifty-
eight dollars in cash,” the man de-
clared.
i i
aoe Ba
; San
Reaee ewe alge core gecavelialennneund Gare
RECEIVED TEN LASHES
: ——
Upper Marleboro, Md.—Lloyd 0, Busching, right, covers hin face
we he Teavew jail after receiving tem Iashew from n four-foot
Beerend bonne Vober wr bher
tom (left), deputy sheriff, owned Che Lawks cameadd ban Chae winlgogrhacg-
Ae
at
WERE NORE
“How well did you know Camp-
“bell?” the dealer was asked.
“Not at all. I often leave my busi-
ness in Cleveland, Ohio, and come to
Pennsylvania to pick up a few items,
but I had never previously dealt with
Mr. Campbell.” ; oe
There seemed to be no reason to
suspect the antique dealer of foul
play, and he was allowed to go free,
after having’ been warned to stay
close to his home in case he was —
needed for further questioning.
“IT think those two boys in West-
field eo are the ones we want,”
Mehallick mused. “Wish we could
pin. something else on them; we've
got nothing to back up our suspi-~
cions but the fact that one has nar-
row feet and the other wide.”
Then the phone rang and officers
got their first big break. Camp-
ell’s gray coupe had been found
near Canton, Ohio. ‘The Pennsyl-
vania license plates had been re-
moved and Michigan plates sub-
stituted. -
Sheriff Fred Lamberton was sum-
moned and told to go to Canton
to investigate. “Good!” the sheriff en-
thused. “I'll take Sergeant Schauers
and Corporal Mehallick with me, if
that’s all right,” he told Lieutenant
Bricker. : :
The three men arrived in Canton
the. next morning and immediately -
went to the spot where the.car had
been found. Fingerprint men had
already set to work and were get-
ting a few. sets of good prints. In-
side the car were some oodstuffs, a
milk bottle from Lindsay, Ohio, a
match cover from Grand Rapids,
Michigan, and a tiny bar of hotel
soap.
The. Canton police estimated that
the Campbell car had been aban-
doned early Tuesday morning, which
fact seemed to reveal that the killers
could not be far distant.
Ina phone call to Attorney Laub,
Sheriff Lamberton reported the latest
findings, adding: “This seems to clear
those boys in Westfield—I don’t know
whose car they stole but it wasn’t
Campbell’s.”
It looked, after all, as -though the
murder had been committed not by
local men, but by transients; most
likely men who had recently been
in Michigan, since they had license
plates from that state.
_The upholstery of the car was
ripped up, but there were no signs of
a .32-calibre revolver or of any blood-
stains that would show one or both
of the men had been wounded.
In the back seat of the automobile
were found a rubber hose and an
empty gasoline can; the men had
obviously been stealing gas from
other cars to avoid the necessity of
stopping in at service ‘stations and
chancing being questioned.
In the meantime, Lieutenant Brick-
er had received a phone call from the
police in Meadville, Pennsylvania, a
town about 40 miles from Erie. ‘The
official reported that two youths had
stolen a car from that town on the
30th of July and had eracked up at
Cambridge Springs. The fellows had
been seen running away from the
seene of the accident and their de-
scription tallied with the description
of the dark-trousered men being
Hiinantead
The Meadville police were able to
describe the men a little more fully,
oo teat oweene Chey aoe, breathy protic
ane chvdtianins waoeekel bre athe ba recog:
nize them.
e wanted. to. see thelr: victim suffer. “Agreed that it was
with his questiongs)
Bef ca
: EL,
The garage (at left): It previded
a means of escape from the scene
b of crime via the dead man’s aute. _
%
4
i k ts se ‘ k a fiendish Killing}, now let’s find out who did it and
ofsoap stuck a ‘make them suffer,”,
: Aca “ a I : From smudges on ithe floor, investigators concluded y
: j that Campbell had been overpowered an ound in
a big murder, rap on a pair the living’ room, then dragged into the kitchen in a 7
a 9 helpless state. i ri
of reform school Calumnl Upstairs they found the same disorder—beds torn ‘ .
‘6 apart, drawers pulled out, and papers scattered every- oe
; where, j
6h who killed for 60 dollars! It was apparent the killers had been hunting fran- j th
4 tically for something—probably money. i bo
: ’ ? The officers were called downstairs by the arrival of i
Ne ° Mrs. Van Cleve who, after having rested an hour at the i k
‘ neighbor’s house, felt sufficiently composed to answer 4 e
Officers concluded. the murder had occurred at night, questions. Her face was white and her eyes red-rimmed j ,
since all the shades were drawn. “Yeah, but which as she spoke. ; 2 wi
night?” Mehallick asked, “I have a feeling the’ guy’s “My father was a good man, friendly and kind,” she : d
' been dead a long time.” said. “I can’t understand who could have done such a i nd
“~* Putting two and two together gave the men their horrible thing to him.” o%. ‘
“answer: On the wall was a pad on which Mr. Campbell “Then you can’t think of a single enemy he may have , thi
*-had noted the weather:for each day. The last entry had?” Attorney Laub asked. 3 :
had been made on August Ist, 1945. The woman ‘shook her head. “No; he even had Ga
Laub gave a low whistle. “It's the fifth today,” he scarcely any friends. Since my mother passed away h
‘said. “That means he's. been dead four days—it he he’s been a recluse ‘up here, and seldom spoke to an- si
: died - ‘Yight away.’ = ‘other. living soul except myself and my two children.” inf
“~The men looked shocked. “You mean he. may have , -- It seemed reasonable to assume, therefore, that rob- ,
lain here suffering for a couple of days, death creeping bery had been the’ motive. The daughter admitted that tai
up on him slowly?” a trooper asked. her father was in the habit of carrying a sizable amount -
- “Just suppose he hadn’t been hurt so badly—he could of money around with him, say fifty dollars, but that he las
have -starved’ to. death,” another exclaimed.. “He’s kept-everything else in his bank. “Come to think of | "oy
“trussed up mighty well; nobody could get out of a con- ~ it,” she added, “He had mentioned something about fat)
traption like that but Houdini.” getting a.large amount from some source or other, but q _ fat
Mehallick nodded. “It would have been more hu- |’m.quite sure he ‘wouldn’t have. carried it around with : :
‘mane to have put a bullet through the guy’s head and _ him, and I don’t know how outsiders could have known
get the thing over, with, if all they wanted was money’ -about that.”
and the car.’ _.. When asked to describe her father’ s car, the woman
*~ Laub ‘called the officer’ s. attention to the possibility’ told the officers that it was a gray coupe with a license
that there might have been more to it than burglary, _plate bearing the figures “Y-1540.”
saying that the murderers might have had grudges and Officers jotted down the number and Laub went on
Though ‘a wealthy man, Joseph B. Campbell, the
murder victim, photo above, lived alone in house |
pletured at right,’ refused to employ servants. ~.
the seuftle Eo guess, he remarked,
handing it to Mehallick.
The corporal turned the article
over in his hand and gave a low
whistle. ‘Looks like I’ve got the
murder weapon!” he announced.
“There’s dried blood on the heel of
this shoe!”
“The wounds on his head could have
‘come from a hard wooden heel like
that,” Mathias reminded. “Let’s bring
it to the laboratory and make sure.”
A trooper who had gone outside to
hunt for further clues, came into the
house waving a newspaper which he
had taken from the mailbox. It was
an Erie paper, dated August Ist,
which meant it would have arrived at
the Campbell house on the 2nd. Here
was more evidence that the killers
had visited the old man on the 1st
of August; for had Campbell been
able, he would have taken the paper
from the box on the 2nd, when, it
arrived.
In questioning neighbors, police
learned that Campbell had been well
thought of in the neighborhood, but
had been left alone because that had
been the way he wanted it. No one
could think of any reason why the
elderly fellow should have been dealt
with so cruelly.
One neighbor recalled that one day
in July Campbell’s mailbox had been
torn down from the post, and an-
other had to be purchased to replace
it.
“Officers felt this might be of some
significance. ‘Had the killers known
about the money Campbell was go-
ing to receive? Were these men
familiar with the details of the man’s
life? Apparently they knew that he
LS
lived alone; a stranger would have
no way of knowing the big house on
the hill was inh ited by only one
human being. On the theory that
the criminals were Erie men, orders
were issued to the entire police force
to round up all. local pow'yg 9 ex-
* and bring
The coroner’s report came into -
headquarters, to the effect:
Campbell had been. dead for four”
days, that he had passed away a few
hours after he was attacked on Au- —
gust the first. Death came from con-
cussion and cerebral hemorrhage in-
duced by blows on ‘the head by a
blunt instrument. There were no
wounds on any other part of the body.
Meanwhile, investigators ‘learned
house. “I don’t know who they
were,”’ the neighbor reported. “They
were rather young, I thought, and .
wore dark pants and blue shirts.”
- “Is there any reason yy you no-
ticed those two fellows passing your
house?” Mrs. Michael was asked.
She replied, that strangers were a
rarity on that particular road; be-
sides, they looked rather tough, and
she wondered at the time if they were
up to something. “And then too,
anyone who goes to the Campbell
Clue of the Gagged Cadaver
(CONTINUED enROM PAGK 17)
house is noticed — visitors thete have Park Barracks, where they discussed i "
been so few in recent years,” the the crime with Lieutenant John S | r
woman finished. Bricker. | \
It was too dark to try to get any “Pye already sent out alarms to | .
footprints from the road, so that pick up two ‘cllows answering, that i (
chore would have to wait until morn- description Laub gave me,” Bricker |
ing. “We've got those prints on the said. “And my __ boys have been | i
kitchen floor to compare them with,” bringing in suspicious characters all !
Mathias reminded. ‘One of the night. So far, we can’t pin anything !
killers has a wide foot, and the on any of them.”
other an extremely narrow one. If Mathias reported that he had had
those prints—if' we get any—tally, another talk with Campbell’s daugh- \
we'll know a little more about the ter and had learned what. the man | ;
guilty parties.” had been carrying in his pockets.
“But that visit the lady spoke of “Besides the key to the car, his wallet
was three days before the murder, was taken, and in his wallet he al- .
don’t forget,” Mehallick put in. ways carried several of his cards. |
Mathias shrugged. “A lot of screwy Anybody we spot with a Campbell
things happen in this business. Don’t card, now, might be it.”
expect me to explain everything.” “[l] broadcast that information,”
His partner grinned. “Maybe a little Bricker said, pressing a buzzer.
of shut-eye will make it seem less It was impossible to gather any
wacky; I, for one, am turning in.” footprints from the road outside the |
Campbell home, since they had been |
BAY the next morning saw all left so many days previously, and 1
“4 the investigators at the Lawrence troopers who had been left to guard |
i
e ° s @ i
Victim’s Father Questioned
Detroit, Mich.—Seventy-year-old Andrew Schevehenko, father of
the slain Mrs. Lydia Thompson, is shown as he wearily answered
police questions, through an interpreter, in connection with the
slaying of his daughter. Mr. Sehevehenko is a mative of Russia.
Sc eal acct al utile ie BBR RRS DSS SS wi bai bt th aia Py CANT PS Sanat Wa" cme es i
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a lot sillier than that,” Lamberton in-
terrupted. “And I have a feeling that
these guys weren’t any too sharp.” ~
“They've been sharp enough to keep
away from us so far,” observed Me-
hallick gloomily. “I’d hate to think
they were any smarter.”
Lamberton picked up the bar of
soap and examined it again. It had
been issued by the Republic Hotel in
Bay City.
“We might as well follow this to the
bitter end, boys,” he said. “We simply
haven’t another thing to work on. Can
you leave for Bay City right away,
Mehallick?”
igh HOURS later the state police
corporal was on a train, and by
evening he had arrived in the Michi-
e community. He took a cab to the
epublic Hotel, unpacked his bag,
then wandered down to the lobby. He
sat there for several hours, watchin
the guests and transients enter an
leave. No one he saw seemed to look
the part of Campbell’s murderers.
After questioning the room clerk, he
was Satisfied that if the men had ever
been in the hotel, they had long since
departed.
“Let me see the registration cards
for the first couple of weeks in August,
will you?” he asked the clerk.
“Sure thing,” the clerk hunted them
up and handed them to Mehallick.
Most of the guests had come from
near-by places in Michigan and Ohio,
he noted. On August 4th there were
two guests from Pennsylvania. Me-
hallick laid the cards aside and went
through the rest of the stack. When
he had finished, his mouth twisted in
a wry smile. The two men who ar-
rived on August 4th were the only
Pennsylvanians who had registered
during the fortnight.
The names on the cards were “John
D. West” and “Robert W. Pepperman.”
Both had given Williamsport, Pennsyl-
vania, as their address and they had
arrived together.
“What did these two guys look
like?” Mehallick asked the clerk.
The man grinned sheepishly.
“To tell you the truth, I don’t re-
member them very distinctly,” he re-
plied. “As I recall, they were about
average height; one had a very dark
complexion. They stayed only a few
hours, and I saw them only once,
otherwise I could help you out more.”
“Did they have on blue shirts and
dark trousers?”
“Tt seems to me one of them did. I
think the other wore a brown shirt.
Yes, I’m sure he did.”
Mehallick left on the next train. On
the following morning he reported his
findings to Lamberton.
“Williamsport, eh?” remarked the
sheriff. “That’s south of here, at any
rate. While you were gone, we got
another lead on the men, but it won’t
do us much good, I’m afraid. The men
who stole the car in Meadville and fled
through the woods later turned up at
a farm house just twelve miles from
Campbell’s. place and asked for some
food. That places them near the scene
of the murder and indicates pretty
clearly that these guys were habitual
car thieves.”
Mehallick brightened, “That may
help some, after all. Let’s phone Wil-
liamsport.”
Sheriff Lamberton put in the call.
He had talked for only five seconds
when his eyes suddenly popped out.
“What's that?” he asked. “You mean.
to say that West and Pepperman are
ex-cons? And that they’re in town?”.
“Sure,” said the state police official
on the other end of the wire. “’They’ve
got several convictions apiece behind
them. Started out in the reformatory,
then served two hitches for automo-
bile theft. Want a description of
them?”
As he read off the details, Lamber-
ven was becoming more excited by the
sec 1d.
‘“S-ave their movements of the last
two weeks checked as fast as you can
and phone me _ back!” the sheriff
barked as he ended the conversation.
For the next half hour, the two Erie
officers paced up and down the room
like caged lions. A
“They’re auto thieves!” repeated
Lamberton. “We know of at least two
cars that Campbell’s: murderers stole.
Boy, we may finally be geting a
break. Why doesn’t that blankety-
blank phone as
Finally the bell jangled and Lam-
berton leaped for the instrument.
“We've just had Private Fink check-
ing up on West and Pepperman,” said
the Williamsport officer. “He finds
they left the city together the latter
part of July and were gone until] a
few days ago. They told some cronies
that they had been in Michigan:and
Ohio, and_ specifically mentioned
Grand Rapids and Bay City.”
“Have they been in any trouble
down there lately?”
“No. Pepperman just recently got
out of prison. West was released
seventeen months ago. They’ve never
—_ under suspicion of murder be-
ore.”
-“Well, they are now,” said Sheriff
Lamberton. “Arrest them on_ that
charge and hold them for us. We'll
be down there in a few hours.”
A SIX that night—Sunday, August
19th — Sheriff Lamberton, Ser-
geant Schauers and Corporal Mehal-
lick left for Williamsport.
“Unless we can make these guys
confess,” said Lamberton, “we’ll be
right back where we started. I doubt
if the circumstantial evidence we've
got is strong enough to hold up under
the attack of a clever defense lawyer.
We may get them identified as the
men seen near the Campbell house,
but that alone isn’t enough to convict
them.”
“The whole case hangs on one slen-
der clue—a bar of hotel soap,” re-
marked Mehallick. “If we can make
them believe it gave them away, we
may get that confession.”
West and Pepperman wore surly
scowls as. they faced the Erie investi-
gators later that evening. They ad-
mitted being in the hotel at Bay City,
but heatedly denied any knowledge
of the Campbell murder. As the ques-
tioning went on, however, West began
stammering and Pepperman showed
other signs of nervousness.
Unexpectedly, half an hour after
the interrogation began, both men
broke.
“I guess we may as well admit it,”
one of them said, crestfallen. “We
killed him.”
They made a full confession and
repeated it the next morning when
they were brought, handcuffed, into
the state police barracks at Erie. An
audience of state troopers, newspaper-
men and photographers heard them
give a detail escription of the
crime while a voice recorder took it
down. Afterward, :at the Campbell
home, they re-enacted the killing.
The men said they had first. gone to
the Campbell home on the afternoon
° “ es
eee 5 Ae %
ONE AR Han AE ta OO
of July 29th, three days before the
murder. They asked for something to
eat. Campbell went to the kitchen and
brought it out to them. As they sat in
a clump of bushes, eating their hand-
out, they plotted to return and steal
the elderly man’s car.
“We went back along the pike. early
in the evening of August Ist and
waited until it got dark. Then we
sneaked up the lane leading to the
garage. It was locked. So we decided
we'd have to knock the old man out
and get it. He put up a hell of a scrap.
We took off one of his slippers. It had
a heavy leather heel. One of us held
him and the other beat him over the
head.
“Finally we got him subdued a little.
We got a towel from the kitchen and
gagged him. Then we took some neck-
ties from his room and trussed him
up. He was still struggling when we
dragged him into the kitchen. We hit
him hard a couple of more times and
he lay still. There was about $60 in
his wallet, which we found in a bureau
drawer in his bedroom. We took that
and the revolver on his table, then got
the keys from his pocket and unlocked
the garage. We took the car and beat
it out of the state into New York. We
crossed Ontario going westward and
entered Michigan. After reaching
Canton, Ohio, and leaving the car, we
hopped a freight back home.”
As a ruse to gain admittance to
Campbell’s house on the fatal night,
the men had cooked up a story. When
Campbell peered out the door and
recognized them, they told him Pep-
perman had lost his fountain pen on
their previous visit and wanted to
learn if it had been found. Unsuspect-
ingly, Campbell had come out on the
porch and offered to get a flashlight
to help them search for it. They had
hata on him and began beating
im,
EVERAL days before their ar-
Re grnspyech West and Pepperman
decided to plead guilty. An attorney
pleaded for leniency before Judges J.
Orin White and Elmer L. Evans, sit-
ting as a two-man court. Under
Pennsylvania law, in case of a guilty
plea, the court decides the nature of
the crime. District Attorney Laub de-
manded the death penalty, which is
customary in cases of homicide com-
mitted during a robbery.
As this is written the judges de-
cided that. the defendants are guilty
of murder in the first degree.
On November 26, 1945, the defend-
ants’ appeal will be argued before the
Appellate Court of Pennsylvania and
if the Court hands down the death de-
cision, they will probably be executed
some time in January, 1946.
Z. B. Gurney is a fictitious name,
used to protect the identity of a per-
son in no way criminally involved.
What will your harvest be,
Four dollars for every three?
Then hold your bonds—
Buy more to keep,
A golden harvest
You're sure to reap.
V AS a
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RITAN
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antique dealer, they said, had been
making regular trips to the Erie vi- ©
cinity in search of valuable old pieces
and had previously purchased several
from Campbell.
“He saw Campbell on Tuesday af-
ternoon and bought a number of old
dishes and a table. He paid Campbell
$58 for them. Gurney left the vicinity
immediately thereafter. It was a per-
fectly normal business. transaction.
That. $58 couldn’t have been the big
deal Campbell mentioned to his
daughter. And Gurney says no one
else had knowledge of it, so it looks
like this trail’s gone cold.”
The men were ordered back to Erie.
fw EANWHILE, in Canton, the other
threé Erie investigators were hav-
ing more luck. When they arrived
they learned that a Canton Bertillon
man had already brought out three
good fingerprints which were not
Campbell’s. When they examined the
car and visited the spot where it was
found, they got several additional
clues. '
In the car were a milk bottle from
Lindsay, Ohio, 70 miles from Canton,
and some foodstuffs which had been
stolen from in front of a Canton
branch of the. A. & P. grocery chain.
In the grass at the side of the road
were other articles of food, a bar of
hotel soap, and a match cover bearing
the advertisement of a Grand Rapids,
Michigan, establishment. »
“Have you had any reports of stolen
cars since this one was found?” Sheriff
Lamberton asked the Canton police.
“No, none at all,” was the answer.
That meant the murderers, in all
probability, had holed in somewhere
in the vicinity. They might have
hopped a freight train out of there,
but Lamberton figured they would not
have taken a chance on hitch-hiking.
The police in all surrounding states
were keeping a close watch on hitch-
hikers. Lamberton phoned Lieutenant
Bricker.
“We're only a day behind the killers
now,” he, said. “We’ll stay here as
long as the trail is hot. We'll follow
up the Lindsay and Canton leads. You
check on the others in Michigan. Ap-
parently the killers drove all the way
across Michigan, then doubled back
through Ohio. I think we can nab
them shortly.”
The next day there were still no re-
ports of stolen cars in Canton. Police
there fine-combed the city for sus-
picious_ characters and others who
might fit the description of the men
seen on the Campbell estate. The find-
ing of the car in Canton, of course,
finally eliminated the two suspects
from Erie. a
_ In addition to the other clues found
in the Chevrolet coupe, the investiga-
tors found a length of rubber hose and
a can partly filled with gasoline. It
was plain that the men were taking
no chances of being spotted by filling
station operators. They had ‘been
siphoning their gas from other cars.
The car was also gone over micro-
scopically for traces of blood and for
other clues, but nothing additional was
found. Still missing were Campbell’s
.32-calibre revolver, his wallet and
keys, and the bludgeon employed in
the murder.
At the end of a week no further sign
of the killers had been discovered in
the Canton vicinity, nor had the police .
-in the other Ohio and Michigan cities
been able to pick up the trail. It had .
grown cold again.
' They
is hae ,
IFF_ LAMBERTON and his
2 two colleagues returned to Erie.
conferred with Lieutenant
Bricker and District Attorney Laub.
' “This job wasn’t pulled by_ local
men, as we first thought,” said Brick-
er. “I’m convinced of that now. I
think the men were hitch-hikers who
came from south of here, possibly
from Pittsburgh or somewhere around
there. They had no luggage. with
them. There’s an intersection on. the
Waterford Pike, just a short distance
from Campbell’s estate, where a lot
of hitch-hikers congregate, waiting
for a chance to pick up rides. I have
a hunch we’ll pick up the trail some-
where south of here if the murderers
returned to their home town.”
“But the men haven’t been spotted
since they abandoned the car,” pointed
out Sergeant Schauers. ‘Where are
we going to pick up the trail again?”
That,. apparently, was the $64 ques-
tion. In the absence of new clues, they
could only continue working on the
old ones.
Just then a phone call came into the
state police barracks. It was from
Meadville, a town 40 miles south of
Erie!
“We've been checking up on our
recent records and noticed that a car
was stolen from the business district
here a couple of days before the mur-
der,” said the official calling from
Meadville. “The car thieves answer
the description of the men you're
looking for. They drove north from
here. When they were approaching
Cambridge Springs, about 18 miles
from here, they cracked up and went
into a ditch. Neither of the men was’
injured, bac iggiarg people who saw
them crawl out. They ran away fast,
striking out through the woods.”
There was a good possibility that
these men were the killers, since they
were heading toward Erie, but the
knowledge was of little use to them at
this last stage of the game.
Anxious to uncover new leads, the
‘Erie County commissioners next day
decided to offer a $500 reward for in-
formation leading to the capture of
the murderers. Gloom prevailed. in
official quarters, however, as days
passed with nothing further to work
on, Police throughout Pennsylvania,
Michigan, Ohio and even New York
continued to keep a close watch on the
roads and railway terminals, but no
one resembling the suspects was seen.
The most tangible of the clues so far
uncovered were the match cover from
Grand Rapids, the bar of hotel soap
from Bay City, Michigan, the milk
bottle from Lindsay, Ohio, and the
food stolen in Canton. All of the Ohio
leads had been carefully run down by
Sheriff Lamberton, Sergeant Shauers
and Corporal Mehallick. They had not
gone into Michigan, because it seemed
useless so long as the police there had
not spotted anyone who looked like
the suspected men.
The matches and the piece of soap
might have been picked up anywhere,
Lamberton figured. Still, it was pos-
sible that the killers had picked them
up at the P meg whose advertising
they carried. He talked it over with
Schauers and Mehallick.
“Tf they were so shy of gas stations,
they must have avoided bars, hotels
and other such places,’ pointed out
Mehallick.
“I can’t imagine why anyone fleeing
from a murder would stop at a hotel
and register under his own name,”
muttered Schauers. “Still——” -
“Still, murderers have done things
= ea
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OE UML IN 9 NODELT
(erie County), Mar
T WAS a warm, drowsy, Sunday afternoon in early August. Mrs. Ruth;
ghter, was driving out to the home of
her father, Joseph B. Campbell.
Van Cleve, with her son and dau
Wo
Campbell was a wealthy, retired manufacturer, who, since the death
of his wife, had lived alone on his estate a few miles from Erie, Pennsy]-
vania,
Sunday.
Mrs. Van Cleve stopped her car by the
side of the house. As she stepped onto
the porch, she gave a startled exclama-
tion, There were dark brown splotches
on the porch floor. She flung epen the
unlocked front door and hurried down
the short hallway,— calling, “Father!
Father!” :
When she reached the kitchen, she re-
coiled in horror and only by grim effort
did she keep from fainting. Her father
lay, bound and gagged, before the re-
frigerator. Dried blood was on his head
and face. There was no doubt that he
was dead. With a short, smothered
scream, Mrs. Van Cleve dashed to the
telephone in the living-room and called
frantically for the police.
Lieutenant John C. Bricker, Sergeant
Willard Shauers, Corporal John Mehal-
lick and Trooper C. M. Mathias, all of the
Lawrence Park Barracks of the Pennsyl-
vania State Police, were the first to ar-
rive at the Campbell home. Immediately
behind them came Coroner Warren W.
Wood, Sheriff Fred Lamberton, District
Attorney Burton R. Laub and County
Detective John Coates.
It was apparent.that a terrific struggle
had taken place in the house. Furniture
was overturned, drawers pulled out and
contents spilled. Splatters of blood were
scattered here and there about the rooms,
the hallway and the porch.
After the photographers and finger-
print men had finished in the kitchen, the
other officers made a close examination
of the 73-year-old victim. His wrists and
ankles were tightly bound with neckties,
and a kitchen towel had been forced into
his mouth as a gag. Wounds in his skull
Master. Abeta p
It had been his daughter’s custom to pay him a visit every
offered mute testimony: to the terrible
beating he had taken about his'head.
‘How long has he been dead?” Sergeant
Shauers asked the Coroner. 4
“I wouldn’t want to say definitely,”
Wood answered hesitantly. “I think we
had better take the body in to Dr. Arm-
strong at the Hamot Hospital and let him
do the autopsy. But he’s been dead three
or four days, at least.”
While the other officers were crowded
about the dead man, Sheriff Lamberton
went into the living-room to learn if any
evidence had been left there. In one
corner of the room he found a heavy slip-
per, which he picked up by the edge and
carried out to the kitchen. “This may
have been used to kill Mr. Campbell,” he
announced. “Looks like blood on the
back of it, and that heel is heavy enough
to do the job.”
It was the mate of the slipper on the
dead man’s foot.
One of the officers picked up a leather
wallet that was lying on top of the re-
frigerator. It had been stripped of its
contents, as had the victim’s pockets.
Sheriff Lamberton apologetically ap-
proached Mrs. Van Cleve as she paced
up and down the lawn, and explained
that it was necessary for him to ask her
some questions.
“Who lived here with your father?”
he began.
“No one,” The answer came with diffi-
culty as she fought back her sobs. “He
lived here alone. He loved to work with
By FRANK TYNDAL
A
ie in alt arent ey Wit a a Fr
ana Whodk 2 wOonn Ade y Wi
i a MR cl ee ee
Following the lead given by a soap
wrapper, police picked up murderers’ trail
his flowers and in the garden. He did all
his own housework except the laundry;
a neighbor, Mrs. George F, Moore, did
that. I often talked to him about hiring
someone to keep house for him, but he
enjoyed doing it and he didn’t want any-
one around. He kept a revolver by his
bed and said he could take care of him-
self if need arose.”
“Did he keep much money on his per=-
son or in the house?”
“Never any large sum; he thought it
foolish. I’m sure that he never had more
than fifty or sixty dollars at any time.
He paid everything by bank check.”
‘What jewelry or other valuables. did
he keep here?”
Mrs. Van Cleve shook her head. “He
had nothing like that except some se-
curities, and he kept those at the bank.”
“Do you know of any visitors who
might have called on him lately?” .
She thought the question over before
she answered. “My father was very well
liked, neighbors were always dropping in
on him and of course the Moores came
every week to get his laundry and return
it. Oh, yes, Father called me on the tele-
Phone last Monday, and told me an
antique dealer from Cleveland, Ohio, was
coming to see him the next day. There
were some old dishes Father intended to
sell, and he called to learn if I wanted
them before he disposed of them.”
“Who was this dealer?”
“H. B. Meltzer. His place is in Cleve-
land Heights. He is an entirely reputable
man whom Father knew quite well.”
When Sheriff Lamberton returned to
the house, the Coroner’s assistants had
removed the body to an ambulance, and
the officers were divided into two groups,
one to search the inside of the house
while the other covered the grounds and
outbuildings.
Nothing new was discovered on the
first floor of the house. The second floor
was in the same wild state of disorder as
the first. A cheap wrist-watch was
found on a stand by the bed where Camp-
Let, , LF AE
17
bell slept, but his revolver could not be
located. The police assumed that the
neckties which had bound the victim had
been taken from the collection that was
strewn about the room. From the condi-
tion of the house, it was evident that the
elderly man had been attacked on the
front porch and had fought his assailants
through the house to the kitchen where
he was slain, and that tying him up had
been a belated act after’ the house was
ransacked. :
While the place was being searched by
the police, Sergeant Shauers and Corporal
Mehallick came in. Shauers was carrying
some newspapers and letters. He walked
over to Mrs. Van Cleve and asked her,
“What kind of car did Mr. Campbell
have?”
“A. gray, 1940 Chevrolet, business
coupé,” she replied promptly.
“Well, it’s gone now. The lock has
been pried off the garage door, probably
with this screwdriver we found lying on
the ground by the door. By the way, did
you turn that light on, Mrs. Van Cleve?”
Shauers pointed to a ceiling bulb that
glowed faintly against the bright day-
light:
“No.” She shook her head. “I didn’t
even know it was on.”
The Sergeant went to a small open desk
in the living-room and checked the dates
and postmarks on the mail he had
brought in and on the opened letters on
the desk, then he turned to Lamberton
and said, “I think we can fix the time of
this attack pretty close. We got this mail
from the box. The rural carrier delivers
here late in the morning, and, from the
dates on the papers and letters, it’s suf-
ficient proof that Mr. Campbell got his
mail on Wednesday, but not on Thurs-
day. He was probably killed Wednesday
night.”
“How do you get Wednesday night?”
the Sheriff asked. :
“That light burning in the living-room
indicates the attack must have occurred
after dark,” Shauers replied.
J. B. Campbell's body
was found in his
country home (below)
“Why weren’t the lights on in the other
rooms?” Mehallick objected.
“Because the killers were using flash-
lights, most likely. I think the living-
room light was overlooked.”
Lieutenant Bricker, of the State Police,
returned to Lawrence-Park headquarters
to institute an eight-state broadcast on
Campbell’s coupé and to ask the Erie
newspapers to publish a request for read-
ers to get in touch with the police au-
thorities if they had any information,
however slight, on the Campbell murder.
It was now nearly seven o’clock in the’
evening, and the police began question-
ing the neighbors. George Moore, Jr., a
youth of eighteen, said he had delivered
Campbell’s laundry late Monday after-
noon, as was his weekly custom, and that
the kindly old man had been his usual
cheerful self. Young Moore said that he
had worked with his father on their farm
all Wednesday afternoon and had been
home that night. His father verified this.
Another neighbor stated that on the
previous Sunday evening, July 29th, he
had driven over to the estate and saw
Campbell in the garden talking to two
men in their late twenties; the men
looked like tramps and were roughly.
dressed in overalls and tieless dark shirts
with rolled-up sleeves. ‘They were
munching sandwiches which Campbell
chad doubtless given them.
It was nearly ten o’clock when the re-
port came from Dr. E. L. Armstrong,
eminent pathologist at the Hamot Hos-
pital in Erie, that his autopsy showed
Campbell had died from the blows of a
blunt instrument which had fractured
his skull in two places. He estimated the
time of death as Wednesday, August Ist,
but could not fix the hour. This coincided
with the opinion of the police as to when
the crime had occurred. ,
After working almost all of Sunday
night, August 5th, 1945, the police labora-
tory had to report complete failure in
their attempts to obtain fingerprints.
They had checked the house and garage,
all the furniture including the refrige, |
ator, the wallet and the slipper that hi
been used as a bludgeon; but the cri
nals had either worn gloves or carefully
wiped everything they touched. Two
bloody footprints were obtained, but
their usefulness was conceded to be
doubtful.
At a conference of the officers, held
that night in Sheriff Lamberton’s office,
‘District Attorney Laub gave his opinion
that the murder had been committed by
hitchhikers. He pointed out the fact that
two main highways running north-south
and east-west had their junction within a
half-mile of the, Campbell estate, and
that dozens of veterans and other hitch-.
hikers were to be found at this junction
daily, thumbing rides to every section of
the United States. He added further that
the Campbell house was surrounded on
three sides by a deep border of trees and
shrubbery, and on the fourth side it
opened to a wide expanse of rolling coun-
try; this isolation made it an ideal spot for
murder,
Meanwhile, State Trooper Mathias and
County Detective Coates were ordered to
Cleveland, Ohio, to locate the antique
dealer, H. B. Meltzer, and question him
regarding his. visit to the murdered
man’s home. Meltzer, so far as the police
could ascertain, was the last man to see
the victim alive. .
Early Monday morning, August 6th,
the police got what they thought was the
first break in the case, A car cracked up
in Westfield, Pennsylvania, about 100
miles from Erie. Investigation revealed
that this car had been stolen from Erie
on the previous day. When the two
stunned youths, George Colette and
Edgar Linwood, were questioned at the
that they had any connection with
Campbell slaying, but were unable
produce any satisfactory alibi for their
movements on the date of the crime.
State Police brought the two young men
back to Erie. After hours of questioning,
.police station, they denied wit
ny Niet ale A ED: 1 FORTE LIOR ILE ERE SAYS ALOE
THE SNYDER COUNTY
t
THE KINTZLER MURDER
By GEORGE F. DUNKELBERGER
Presented before the Society September 14, 1940
It is not the purpose here to per-
pe.uate a brutal murder for its own
sake. Suffice to say that the evil that
men do lives after them even without
any organized effort to make it a mat-
ter of public record. The Kintzler
murder case, however, deserves a place
in local history because of its unique-
ness. It terminated an almost unbrok-
en record of three decades beginning
With the organization of the county
without the anticipated number of
homicide cases on the docket of the
court of Quarter Sessions at Middle-
burg. The four men indicted for the
Kintzler murder were the first and only
persons that were convicted of murder
in Snyder County during a period of
thirty years from 1855 to 1885. Such
a record speaks eloquently in behalf of
the peaceful life ot the people of the
county during that period of time. The
record certainly has not been dup-
licated in any equivalent period since
that day. The Kintzler Murder trial
received great prominence at the time
very largely because it proved so un-
usual and so unexpected in a county
whose population was decidedly native
and apparently given wholly to the
peaceful pursuits of life.
1. Who Were the Kintzlers?
The Kintzler murder was committed
in the extreme northwestern section
of the county, in Adams Township, on
the southern slope of Jack’s Mountain,
about one mile north of Troxelville.
John and Gretchen Kintzler, natives of
Wurtembers, Germany, owned a few
acres Of land and lived there in a log
cabin. It was a secluded spot and very
few people lived in the neighborhood
aus do even to this day. The Kintzlers
had lived there about twenty years.
having come from Lycoming County.
They had no children. The Kintzlers
always kept guns and pistols ready
loaded for any emergency, and never
ullowed persons to approach the prem-
iscs unless well-assured of their in-
tent and purposes. John Kintzler was
a large. muscular man over six feet
tall. and 77 years old at the time of
the murder. He was unsocial in his
habits and possessed a fierce temper.
Because of his fiery temper. he was
known to the people of the commun-
ity as “Donner Wetter”. Knowing
Pennsylvania German people as I do,
I can readily imagine how some people
of the neighborhood must have refer-
red to him, not as Mr. Kintzler, but as
“Der alt Donner Wetter”. His wife
was a small ‘woman and completely
dominated by her husband. The
Kintzlers lived frugally, seldom spent
any money, and this led to the com-
mon belief that they had considerable
money. It was community gossip that
the money was hoarded in a box placed
in a hole in the ground under the bed
and covered by means of a trap-door.
Kintzler was a_ tinker, clock-maker,
and fortune teller.
2. An Account of the Murder .
The murder was committed on Sat-
urday evening, December 2, 1877. The
motive for the murder must have been
the desire for money coupled with a
general dislike for Mr. Kintzler. There
was evidently no hatred toward Mrs.
Kintzler, and she was killed at the
cabin and the two bodies burned to
cover up all evidence that might lead
to the apprehension of the murderers.
The whole fiendish affair was discov-
ered by neighbors the following morn-
ing. As to the details of the murder,
the records of the court trials of the
Suspected persons show conflicting tes-
timony and an apparent discrepancy
in the facts of the case. ‘The alleged
confessions of some of the condemned
men and Mary Hartley’s testimony as
to the details are at variance with
each other. The trial testimony on
the whole showed that on that fate-
ful Saturday night Emanuel Ettinger,
Uriah Moyer, Jonathan Moyer, and
his wife, and Mary Hartley left the
Moyer homestead at the mill and pro-
ceeded by an unfrequented path to the
Kintzler home about two miles away.
On the way Emanuel Ettinger turned
aside from the path and cut a club
with a double-bitted axe with a six-
inch handle which he had concealed
under his vest. The group met Israel
Erb near the Kintzler cabin ostensibly
engaged in a coon-hunting trip. As
they approached the cabin, the men
told the women to stay behind since
466
MOYER, Jonathan, white, hanged Middleburg, Pa., 3-2-1882 ana
MOYER, Uriah, white, hanged Middleburg, Pa., 3-17-1852,
THE SNYDER COUNTY
HISTORICAL SOCIETY
a BULLETIN
Addresses and Papers Presented
Before the Society
1939-1941
VOLUME II NUMBER 3
Published by
THE SNYDER COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, INC.
JANUARY, 1942
445
iS. v.) eens ae ee ee eee
perce ey bys whe teat las
,
cS
ae
killing of her below murder. Under this view of the law, I have
268 IILADELPHIA, DECEMBER TERM, 1846.
sne mad whose acts cannot be accounted for on the ordinary prin-
ciples of cause and effect, would give a general license. The law
itself implies malice, where the homicide is accompanied with such
circumstances as are the ordinary symptoms of a wicked, depraved,
and malignant spirit—a heart regardless of social duty, and delibe-
rately bent upon mischief. . . |
3. But it is said that there is intrinsic evidence of insanity from
the nature of the act. To the eye of reason, every murderer may
seein amadman; but in the eye of the law he is still responsible.
4, His trip to Pittsburgh and voyage to Germany, it is contended,
have not been accounted for, except that he expected to get property
in the Jatter, but did not; and there is an equal obscurity about the:
motive of his setting fire to his wife’s property—her barn, I think it was;
but these things do not show an insanity connected with his crime.
The only cireumstance which seems to point to a foregone con-
clusion, is the repeated visions he had after he started for Pittsburgh,
of his wife and her grand-daughter, whose throat he also attempted
to cut, standing at the foot of his bed. This foreboding may tend
to show a morbidness of mind in reference to this particular subject;
but it is for you to say—keeping in mind the fact, that, to constitute
a sufficient defence on this ground, there must be an entire destruc-
tion of freedom of the will, blinding the prisoner to the nature and
consequence of his moral duty—whether these circumstances raise
a reasonable doubt of the prisoner’s responsibility. .
To reduce the offence to manslaughter, it is necessary that a
quarrel should have taken place, and blows have been interchanged
between parties, in some measure, upon equal terms of strength and ©
condition for fighting; and this, without regard to the question who ~
struck first. Yet this must be taken with some grains of allowance. —_
If a man should kill a woman or a child for a slight blow, the pro-
vocation would be no justification; and I very much question
whether any blow inflicted by a wife on a husband would bring the
always doubted Stedman’s case, in which, for a woman’s blow on
the face with an iron patten, given to a soldier in return for words -
of gross provocation, he gave her a blow with the pommel of his"
sword on her breast, and then ran after her and stabbed her in the
back, and the crime was held to be only manslaughter. R. v. Sted:
man, Fost. 292, 1 Hale, 457; 1 Hawk. c. 31, s. 34. Where a
blow is cruel or unmanly, the provocation will not excuse it; and
‘he same law exists where there was a previous quarrel, and the kill- <—
ing was on the old grudge.
COMMONWEALTH v. HARMAN. pu)
You will determine whether there was provocation in this case
sufficient to lower the offence, on this view of the law, to man-
slaughter. The behaviour of the deceased immediately preceding
the struggle was peaceable and soothing. You will recollect that,
according to the evidence, she put off getting a warrant from time
to time, in hopes his conduct would change. His behaviour, on
the other hand, was quarrelsome to every one present. His shirt,
which appeared afterwards to have been torn, shows a scuffle, but
no more; and if done by her, it was more probably in resisting
than attacking. You will keep in mind the disparity of age and
strength, and the fact that all the bruises were received on her part,
and received in self-protection.
If the evidence on these points fail the prisoner, the conclusion of
his guilt will be inevitable, and it will be your duty to draw it, how-
ever unpleasant it may be. You are bound by the tremeudous sanc-
tion of an oath to do your duty by him; but you are bound by the
same sanction to do your duty by the Commonwealth; and to you
the case of the one and the other is committed.
After an absence of two hours, the jury returned to their box
with a verdict of guilty of murder in the first degree.
CoMMONWEALTH v. BRIDGET HaRMaN.
Where a prisoner charged with homicide was taken before a committing magistrate, and
there sworn to tell the truth, and told, «If you do not tell the truth, I will commit
r 0? eee . _ : . 7". . : °
you;” a confession thus exacted is inadmissible as evidence against the prisoner on
trial.
When a previous confession is unduly obtained, any subsequent confession given on its
basis is inadmissible.
moon : : : :
Phe Commonwealth having offered to prove a prisoner’s confession, the court permitted
the evidence thus offered to be interrupted, for the purpose of showing that a previous
confession by which it was induced was unduly obtained.
The examination by a committing magistrate of a prisoner under oath, as to the subject
matter of his offence, is sufficient, it seems, to render inadmissible evidence thus
elicited.
lv is the duty of the coroner, after death by violence, to cause a post mortem examination
to be made by competent medical authority; and a physician thus employed may, at
_ common law, maintain an action against the county for trouble and labour expended
m such examination.
Circumstantial evidence is, in the abstract, nearly, if not quite, so strong as positive; in
the concrete it may be much stronger.
Though it is necessary to prove in a trial for homicide, that the violence inflicted by the
defendant was the cause of the death of the deceased, yet it is not always necessary ts
42
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80
Dynamite Doom and the Payroll Bandits
[Continued from page 11]
he once more stood erect. “They've lain
there for days. You can tell by their damp
condition.”
Corp. Hess came along and examined
the dynamite with interest. “I'll take them
to the barracks. What’s their type?” he
asked.
“Glycerine, forty per cent, straight.
Same as was stolen from the colliery a
week or so ago,” the laborer offered.
It was now light enough to search the
ravine. Hess and Dempsey went to work.
Powell prepared to follow when he heard
a shout from Dempsey.
He found the detective clawing
branches from a cleverly camouflaged
sheet of zinc 6 feet wide and 8 feet high,
curved at the top to form a miniature
ceiling. Dempsey also held a soiled blue
handkerchief.
“Here’s where the lookout stood. The
barricade sheltered him from flying bits
of wreckage. This handkerchief hasn’t
been here long. It’s barely damp. I bet he
used it to signal his confederate when to
*« set off the charge.”
Some time elapsed before anything
more was turned up. Then the trooper
found a scattering of small broken sticks
of dynamite near the Lehigh Valley tracks
at the base of the ravine.
“Keep on searching,” Powell directed.
“Somebody broke off a lot of branches
from these small jack pines recently—
more than were used for the barricade.
They must be somewhere around—pos-
sibly concealing something else.”
The sun was shining now and it lighted
up a piece of metal shining through a tear
in an old brownish rag stuffed between
two boulders. Corp. Hess tore away the
boulders and the sodden leaves to reveal
the lid of an old boiler. The boiler had
been shoved into a hole in the steep hill
and covered with the boulders and debris.
The boiler was hauled.out. It was
empty except for a worn burlap bag. Hess
shook the bag. A single stick of dyna-
mite tumbled out, a stock marked 40 per
cent glycerine straight.
“That was evidently the bandits’ cache
for the dynamite,” Powell said. “Well, I
‘guess this cleans up around here. Let’s
walk over toward the powder house, They
may have thrown away the box between
here and there.”
A eRe carefully, the officers
covered several trails before Hess
stumbled over the discarded box labeled
“DuPont Explosive Gelatin, 40 per cent
straight.”
Satisfied with his work at the scene
Powell drove over to the state police bar-
racks in Wyoming.
The. corporal at the reception room
desk led Powell into Capt. Clark’s private
office. “The captain will be in shortly,”
he told Powell. “He said you might like
to look over these telegrams while you're
waiting.”
Powell read the telegrams eagerly.
They referred to telephoned inquiries:
made the previous day concerning other ©
coal company paycar stickups and dyna-
miting of railroads in Pennsylvania.
Most of the information concerned
crimes that had been cleared up. The
criminals were now serving time or had
been executed. One telegram, however,
held Powell’s attention.
This was an outrage near Warrior Run,
the attempted dynamiting of the Lehigh
Valley train at Sugar Notch in 1925. Two
men were still in the Pennsylvania peni-
tentiary for that job. A third member of
the mob, a man known only as “Itsey,”
was still at large.
Powell replaced the report and thought
back on the Sugar Notch crime. He had
worked on that case himself. Itsey, Powell
recalled, was not a local boy. He had
known the leader, Earl Crumly, and was
known by sight in many of the small bor- »
oughs that make up Hanover Township.
SINCE Itsey was a local nickname it
had not helped the investigation much.
Through tireless questioning of every
bandit brought into the district attorney’s
office in Wilkes-Barre, the county detec-
tive had picked up scraps of information
about the fugitive member of Crumly’s
gang. A fellow fitting Itsey’s description,
who was known in the thieves’ haunts in
Wilkes-Barre as Big Joe, had left town
immediately after the Sugar Notch job.
Other rumors had it that he joined a regi-
ment up state and subsequently deserted.
This led to exhaustive investigation, but
Big Joe was never located.
‘Capt. Clark, Powell knew, would have
complete records of the Sugar Notch
crime on file. Powell decided to freshen
his memory on Itsey’s associates in Han-
over Township. He might have returned.
Tf he needed a confederate for a dynamite
job a local boy would be his choice. It
‘was a lead, at least.
“T’ve just had a report from the Scran-
ton police,” Capt. Clark reported entering
the room. “Detective George Donald-
son picked up two men in an old car with
Jersey license plates. Donaldson drove
them to Wilkes-Barre and confronted
them with the traffic cop there. He iden-
tified them as the men who had asked
directions to Tunnel 20. Scranton is hold-
ing them as vagrants.”
“How long have they been around.
Wilkes-Barre and Scranton?” Powell
asked,
“They came down from around Trenton
Sunday night,” Clark replied. “I don’t
think we'll learn anything from them.
The dynamite was stolen long before
then. However, they'll get thirty days on
the vagrancy charge. If we need them...”
At that moment a touring car pulled
into the driveway convoyed by a trooper
car. Powell strolled to the window to in-
spect the license numbers. It was the
missing New York machine.
“Here’s the car you broadcast for,” he
told Clark and watched a trooper lead a
tall, gaunt-man up the steps to the bar-
racks.
The driver explained that he was a
dealer in used cars. His passengers on
the morning of the explosion were hitch-
hikers. In addition he had customers who
would vouch for him, A checkup by tele-
phone was sufficient to free him, The two
automobile leads had blown up.
During the days that followed there
were dozens of false leads. A score of
suspicious characters were questioned
and let go. Over $33,000 of the payroll
money had been recovered; the balance
was a sodden mass of unidentifiable paper.
The police worked ceaselessly. Four men
- had been killed, another seriously injured.
The crime would not go unpunished,
John Sookie had recovered sufficiently
from shock to be que
gators. He told them
the explosion he had
to the money chest.
for his revolver but
yelled at the man to :
Goonlt had strv
dazed by the pow
him hurtling onto th
had turned from the:
up the bank with So
the mine guardsman
the impact of the exy
able to catch the mz
Officers had also bi
the clues which ha
the tracks, chief am
serial number on th
its attached price t
traced this to an a
store in Nanticoke w
tified the battery br
have no way of iden
In the meantime I
his inquiries as to
Big Joe, whom he b:
who had escaped f1
dynamiting. It w
Powell reasoned, t
turned to this comr
his regiment and st
explosion.
Aware that Big
women, Powell ney
this angle. Finally
A girl who had bee
charge admitted tl
in Wilkes-Barre s
mas. He had gaine:
but she recognized
tended not to knov
a Hanover bus wit
companion,
It was Corp. Frit
tive Dempsey, how
definitely promisir
bartenders learn a
detectives were ¢
effort to pick up g
In this tangled t
_ killers, Success
ae
ae
‘roll Bandits
lynamiting of the Lehigh
Sugar Notch in 1925. Two
in the Pennsylvania peni-
t job. A third member of
a known only as “Itsey,”
re,
‘ed the report and thought
gar Notch crime. He had
case himself. Itsey, Powell
1ot a local boy. He had
er, Earl Crumly, and was
in many of the small bor-
ce up Hanover Township.
- was a local nickname it
yed the investigation much.
23s questioning of every
into the district attorney’s
3-Barre, the county detec-
| up scraps of information
tive member of Crumly’s
- fitting Itsey’s description,
n in the thieves’ haunts in
as Big Joe, had left town
iter the Sugar Notch job.
had it that he joined a regi-
and subsequently deserted.
haustive investigation, but
ever located.
Powell knew, would have
rds of the Sugar Notch
Powell decided to freshen
1 Itsey’s associates in Han-
)». He might have returned.
confederate for a dynamite
y would be his choice. It
least.
id a report from the Scran-
.pt. Clark reported entering
Yetective George Donald-
two men in an old car with
plates. Donaldson drove
kes-Barre and confronted
trafic cop there. He iden-
3 the men who had asked
“unnel 20. Scranton is hold-
grants.”
have they been around
and Scranton?” Powell
. down from around Trenton
:” Clark replied. “I don’t
earn anything from them.
e was stolen long before
er, they’ll get thirty days on
charge. If we need them...”
yment a touring car pulled
-way convoyed by a trooper
trolled to the window to in-
ense numbers.’ It was the
York machine.
» car you broadcast for,” he
id watched a trooper lead a
an up the steps to the bar-
- explained that he was a
-d cars. His passengers on
of the explosion were hitch-
dition he had customers who
for him. A checkup by tele-
ficient to free him. The two
2ads had blown up.
e days that followed there
of false leads. A score of
haracters were questioned
Over $33,000 of the payroll
been recovered; the balance
mass of unidentifiable paper.
orked ceaselessly. Four men
ed, another seriously injured.
ould not go unpunished.
ie had recovered sufficiently
4
from shock to be questioned by investi-
‘gators. He told them that shortly after
the explosion he had seen a man run up-
to the money chest. Sookie had reached
for his revoiver but finding it gone had
yelled at the man to stop.
‘Sooke had struggled to his feet,
dazed by the powerful blast that sent
him hurtling onto the cinders. The man
had turned from the money car and raced
up the bank with Sookie in pursuit; but
the mine guardsman, still shaking from
the impact of the explosion, had been un-
able to catch the man. :
Officers had also been detailed to check
the: clues which had been found along
the tracks, chief among which was the
serial number on the radio battery with
its attached price tag. Corp. Hess had
traced this to an automobile accessory
store in Nanticoke where the owner iden-
tified the battery but admitted he would
have no way of identifying the purchaser.
In the meantime Powell was continuing
his inquiries as to the whereabouts of
Big Joe, whom he believed to be the Itsey
who had escaped from the Sugar Notch
dynamiting. It ‘was highly probable,
Powell reasoned, that Big Joe had re-
turned to this community after deserting
his regiment and staged the Warrior Run
explosion.
Aware that Big Joe was attractive to
women, Powell never ceased working on
this angle. Finally his efforts bore fruit.
A girl who had been arrested on a minor
charge admitted that Big Joe had been
in Wilkes-Barre shortly before Christ-
mas. He had gained weight, the girl said,
but she recognized him although he pre-
tended not to know her and had boarded
a Hanover bus with a short, beady-eyed
companion.
It was Corp. Fritch and County Detec-
tive Dempsey, however, who picked up a
definitely promising lead. Knowing that
bartenders learn a fot of things, the two
detectives were canvassing bars in an
effort to pick up gossip about the explo-
sion. That day the funeral for Frank
Brazinsky, one of the murdered miners,
had been held in Plymouth, the victim’s
home town.
It was in Plymouth that the detectives
came across a blonde in a speakeasy.
Dempsey and Fritch were at the bar.
“Why don’t the cops question Tex
Nafus?” the detectives heard the. girl
demand shrilly of her companion. “Tex
knows who did it.” Then in response to
a whispered rebuke from her friend, she
yelled, “I won’t be still, I am not drunk.
Ask him—” jerking a thumb at the bar-
tender, “He knows Tex was in it some-
how.”
“What about it?” Fritch asked the
bartender.
The man shrugged. “If I knew any-
thing; I’d tell: you and claim the reward.
But there was some talk about Tex and
a big guy he was with—something about
hearing them talking about a plot to
stick up a payroll, That doesn’t mean it
was the Warrior Run affair. I don’t think
either of them have the nerve for any-
thing like that.”
se © foie why should people round here
think this Tex had anything to do
with the job?”
“Well, of course you know Nafus is
brother-in-law of that fellow they con-
victed of the Sugar Notch crime, Earl
Crumly, Nafus was on the Texas border
with an army outfit at the time.’ That’s
how he got his nickname, Tex. When the
outfit returned to Wilkes-Barre, Tex and
the regiment parted with mutual dislike.”
“What does this Tex look like?”
“A runt. Dark hair, small deep-sunken
black eyes, a big nose, around thirty.”
That decidedly, thought Dempsey,
didn’t describe the fellow Harry Powell
had mistaken for broadshouldered Rocky
Shovlin, “And the big chap?” he asked.
“Six foot I’d say, and around one hun-
dred and eighty pounds.” ,
“What's his name?”
In this tangled thicket investigators located the dynamite cache (arfow).of the mass
- killers, Successful prosecution of the case rested in the hands of District Attorney
Thomas M. Lewis, right.
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“Joe. That’s all I’ve ever heard him
called. He doesn’t live around here.”
_ Dempsey and Fritch left shortly after
that. The corporal telephoned the bar-
racks and was advised by Capt. Clark not
to take any steps to apprehend Tex Nafus
who, the bartender had informed him,
lived on Curry Hill. “We know where we
can lay hands on him when we want him.
The one we want is Big Joe. And we
don’t want Big Joe frightened off.”
Then Clark telephoned the Pennsyl-
vania penitentiary and asked for the
names of all persons in Hanover Town-
ship with whom the dynamiter, Earl
Crumly, corresponded.
The next step was to investigate these
correspondents. One of these was a young
married woman living in Ashley. Demp-
sey paid her a visit.
Under instructions from Capt. Clark
the officers enlisted the woman in a plan.
Clark knew that even though Crumly
was in the penitentiary he might still be
in contact with Itsey. If this woman were
willing to cooperate .the officers might
be able to determine whether Itsey and
Big Joe were the same man.
The woman complied and was taken
to Pennsylvania penitentiary where she
was allowed to see Crumly on what was
presumably a friendly visit.
“T heard,” she told him obeying instruc-
tions, “that Itsey’s name was Joe. And
that Joe had grown big and fat.”
“That’s right,’ Crumly said, “but I
heard he’s dead.”
“Well, that clears up the question of
Itsey, anyhow,” Clark said when advised
of the findings, “and I don’t think he’s
dead.” .
“Tf,” argued Powell in consultation with
Clark, “they ran the risk of stealing elec-
tric light cord from the slate heap: which
is exposed to observation to save ninety
cents, they must be hard up. Nafus is
on relief, Big Joe, as a deserter, would
not risk applying for relief: He is prob-
ably in some home for transients.” An
immediate check of such places was
launched.
* Around midnight Powell telephoned the
barracks, A man answering Joe’s descrip-
tion had been stopping at a Salvation
Army hotel in South Wilkes-Barre. He
had left that afternoon and had not re-
turned, “I’ve planted a detective there,”
Powell reported. “When Big Joe returns.
we'll pick him up.”
But Big Joe did not return.
Cre the week-end troopers and
county detectives continued their
search for Big Joe. Perhaps he had gotten
word that he was wanted and had skipped
town. ,
But on Monday morning officers’ fears
_that Joe had left town were allayed..
Capt. Walter S: Hennig, chief of the
Lehigh Valley railroad police, telephoned
him from Wilkes-Barre. ;
“Saturday afternoon,” Hennig told th
state police commander, “we picked up
a fellow in the Salvation Army hotel here,
Sigmind Szachewicz. We’ve been looking
for him for that attempted dynamitin
at the Cut-Off near Sugar Notch in 1925.
I held him over the week-end but we
haven’t been able to get anything out of
him. He might be implicated in that ex-
plosion at Warrior Run. Do you want
to question him?”
Clark was -elated. “We certainly do,”
he said. “I’ll send a sergeant over for him
right away.”
When the sergeant returned with
Szachewicz, Powell was on hand to re-
ceive him with the captain.
82
Neither officer was surprised to find
that Szachewicz was in reality Big Joe.
Their prisoner denied the crime. No, he
didn’t have an alibi. He didn’t know what
he did last Monday. Went to a movie,
most likely.
He admitted he was known as Big Joe;
he admitted he knew the mountainside
at Warrior Run and that he knew Earl
Crumly’s brother-in-law, John Nafus,
known as Tex: Those were things that
could be proved. Though his eyes were
wary, he replied to questions drowsily,
indifferently, His answers were pat.,He’d
already given them to the railroad police.
But as Powell continued to take him
over the same ground again and again, .
Joe started to fidget.
Finally Clark spoke. “Just answer yes
and no,” he instructed' Joe, “Did you and
_another man in Rlymouth plot the dyna-
miting of the pay car?” *
Joe’s “No” was prompt. It wa$ prompt
too, in_response to other similar ques-
tions, Then came the final question, “Did
you hear a man yell, ‘Hi, Rocky!’ when
you were running down the tracks?”
“No. He yelled, ‘Hi, Oscar—’ I mean, I
thought—I think—”
Clark pressed a buzzer. An officer
walked in.
“Lock this man up. And, Joe, you had
better do some more thinking over night,”
he advised the prisoner grimly.
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AMERICANS SAY...
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Stamps!
“I wasn’t thinking of what you were
saying when you asked me that,” he said
—: “I was thinking of something
else.”
Next morning Powell, District Attor-
ney Thomas M. Lewis and a stenographer
were ‘at the barracks waiting for the
prisoner to be brought in.
“That,” commented Mr. Lewis, “was an
interesting psychological break you got
in the answer to your last question. Joe
. had been lying consciously all through the
interrogation, Then, when he could an-
swer ‘No’ honestly, he unconsciously
snapped at the opportunity.”
A few minutes later Lewis was advising
Joe that everything he said was going to.
be taken down in shorthand. “And,” he
added, “I want to warn you that your
statement will be used against you.”
Joe talked. He implicated not only Tex
Nafus but four other fellows whom he
claimed thad actually plotted the crime.
He named the hour when he and Tex
stole the dynamite and-described the two-
mile round-about route they, traveled
over the mountain from the powder house
to the ravine. He mentioned the name of
‘the store where they bought the wire and
the battery. _ . :
“Tex set off the battery. I gave’ the
signal with a blue handkerchief. We didn’t
* mean to kill anybody. But the loco:notive
put on extra speed and Tex’ charge got
the mine car instead af the coupling that
fastened it to the’ locomotive.
“That wire we stole from the slate heap
wasn’t long enough,” he explained. “We
had to buy the green-and-black wire to
splice to it.”
Clark sent a detail of troopers to pick
up Nafus, The arrest was made with little
difficulty and when he was brought in his
story dovetailed so perfectly with Big
Joe’s that it was obvious they had pre-
pared it.
Both men implicated four other men—
well known hoodlums who hung around
Curry Hill. Tex and Big Joe both claimed
these four were the instigators of the
crime.
Clark detailed troopers to round up this
quartet, though his knowledge of the type
of petty theft in which they were known
to indulge led him to believe that they
were not guilty but were being drawn
into the crime by the other two as shields.
“T don’t believe Nafus and Big Joe even
know these men they’ve implicated,”
Clark said, “I think they have just heard
those names around Curry Hill and know
these four have had several brushes with
the law.”
“That should make the case simple,”
Powell suggested. “We'll ask Nafus and
Big Joe for descriptions of the men.”
Queried about their associates, Tex and
Big Joe both claimed all four of the men
with whom they had plotted the-crime
were English speaking. Clark exchanged
glances with Powell, One of the men
whom these two had implicated was def-
initely foreign and spoke with a thick
accent,
Finally Tex, the weaker of the two,
confessed that he and Big Joe had been
solely responsible for the crime.
The next step Clark made was to lead
Big Joe to the scene of the crime. He
was taken to the powder house. From
there he guided the two officials over
every step of the two-mile route he and
Tex had traversed the night of January
8. And, although discovery of the cache
of the dynamite had been kept a close
secret from the newspapers, Joe revealed
the exact spot where the boiler had been
hidden, and described the old burlap bag
used to carry the dynamite sticks.
When Tex was brought to the scene,
the officials started him at the other end
near the ravine, He, too, worked back
to the powder house and pointed out the
spot in which the boiler had been hidden.
j B starred his trial, Big Joe denied his
guilt. There was no witness who
could identify him as the man who
had been observed at the scene of the
crime. But. the carefully detailed work
of the officers who had had Joe lead them
over the route of the crime, a feat that
would have been impossible for anyone
not familiar with the dynamiting, built
up a perfect case. Big Joe was found
guilty of murder in the first degree and
sentenced to death in the electric chair.
Tex Nafus offered an alibi as his de-
fense but again the vigilance of the of-
ficers, who had. routed Nafus over a
different path than Big Joe, but had ob-
tained precisely the same information
from him, clinched the prosecution and
the jury brought in the same verdict. He,
too, was sentenced to death. .
On May 25, 1931, Big Joe Szachewicz,
of Wilkes-Barre and “Tex” Nafus, of
‘Curry Hill, Plymouth, both paid the
. supreme penalty for their crime.
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‘olen from your line.
broke off to address
vho strode into the
nt. "What did you
s and caps that were
ks. They belong to
was nothing else.”
the officer but or-
the scene of the ex-
ct day.
ad left Clark men-
9 get back to head-
eports from various
‘e coming here,” he
this looks to me like
nt I’m checking with
rters on the where-
cated in other dyna-
nd Fritch will hold
the present. Are vou
‘ put the question to
zo over the ground.
cut I'd like to make a
wing hours Powell
powder house, ex-
shlight the various
- along the mountain.
: base of the slate hill
1e refuse was piled.
inded on the colliery
ir mental map of the
he went home.
when he returned to
reckage he found a
v. Powell asked him
at the barracks.
im that an alarm for
rk license plates had
eletype. Corp. Cletus
spection patrol Mon-
ted down the number
ed three disreputable
kes-Barre traffic offi-
nat two young men
New Jersey license
Saturday—two days
The discovery of 19 sticks of
dynamite and the box in which
the death charge had been
stolen from the colliery powder
house opened a thorough in-
yestigation which was success-
fully concluded by Capt. Wil-
liam A. Clark (now Major) of
the Pennsylvania motor police,
and hishard-driving colleagues.
before the attempted holdup at Warrior
Run—for directions to Tunnel 20. There
was nothing suspicious in their behavior
and he had not taken the number.
While the county detective and the
young trooper were chatting, Detective
Dempsey arrived along with a corps of
laborers armed with picks and shovels to
repair the tracks.
“What’ll we do first?” asked Demp-
sey.
“We'll wait for Corp. Hess,” his
chief informed him. “I want you men
to go over every inch of the ravine. Pick
up every scrap of paper or metal or ciga-
ret stubs that look as though they had
been dropped recently. I—”
An exclamation from one of the la-
borers interrupted.
“Look here, will you?” the man called
out to Powell. ‘See, down there!”
Powell dropped to his knees, and peered
down a hole some 14 feet from the point
of the explosion. Suddenly he began to
claw at the cinders and dirt with his bare
hands. In less than a minute he had what
appeared to be a tubular stick in his hand.
“Dynamite !”” he exclaimed.
He kept on digging until he had placed
19 sticks in a row.
“They were laid in line with the track,
one on top of the other,” he reported when
[Continued on page 80]
John Nafus: His story of four
others added complications
the wrecked pay-car. District Attorney
Lewis motioned Clark to one side, be-
gan to discuss various aspects of the
crime with him while awaiting the
progress of the search.
“Funny they didn’t hit the main
pay-train. It was carrying around a
half-million dollars,’’ Lewis observed.
Clark shook his head. “Too risky,”
he commented. “Besides, the men who
planned this crime, and I believe that
more than one man was responsible,
knew where to strike. They picked
this spot deliberately because it is iso-
lated midway between the mine and
the tunnel.
“When we get them, and get them
we will,” Clark said confidently, “I
think you'll find that they were well
acquainted with this tervftory. It’s a
cinch they cased this job thoroughly
and possibly rehearsed it in advance,
right down to their getaway.
'tRUT even with all their careful
planning they weren't very
smart,” Clark went on.
“Why?” asked Lewis.
Clark wheeled around and faced the
group. “Look around you,” he invited.
“Does it seem reasonable that anyone
knowing very much about explosives
would set off such a charge as this to
wreck the pay-car? ‘
“Never,” said Clark emphatically.
“They were either wofully ignorant
of the power of dynamite, thus in-
dicating that they never worked
around the mines, or they made a fatal
miscalculation.”
Clark gestured toward the torn bills
on the ground. “Why, they even de-
feated their own purpose. They planted
so much dynamite beneath these
tracks that it scattered the money in
all directions. We probably won't
know until daybreak but I'd be willing
to hazard a guess right now that they
never obtained a cent for their
trouble. Still they killed four men.
You cal] that smart?” Clark asked.
“How do you suppose they set off
the charge—with a slow-burning
fuse?”” spoke up one of the mine offi-
cials.
“Most likely by electricity. A fuse
would give off smoke. The motorman
would have seen it.” While Clark was
speaking he kept his eyes riveted on
one of the poles supporting the elec-
tric power line. Presently he walked
over to the pole, which stood directly
opposite the point where the explosive
Police knew the dynamiters were
inexperienced with explosives when
they saw the havoc that followed
the lethal detonation at this point
charge had been planted. According
to. Powell his mine motor just had
passed the pole when the blast oc-
curred. Could the dynamiters have
used the post as a signal marker so
as to know when to set off their blast?
The State Police Commander
wheeled around like a soldier execut-
ing an about-face and stood with his
back against the pole, peering intently
into the woods toward a tall tree that
was directly in line with the pole. At
the base of the tree was a large piece
of metal.
Clark beckoned tc his companions.
He pointed to the tree, his body tens-
ing ever so slightly.
“It’s my idea that this pole here
Served as a guide. I think there will-be
a line of wire buried in the ground
and running from here back into the
woods to a point somewhere around
that big tree. Suppose we go back
there and take a look instead of wait-
ing for our men to get that far into
the woods.”
Poking their way through the brush
to the tree, which stood some distance
from the tracks in a southerly direc-
tion from the point of the explosion,
the officers made a startling discovery.
H Kovacs rays of Clark’s flashlight, turned
on the brush around the tree, were
reflected for an instant from the.piece
of sheet metal.
“Look here,” he shouted. ‘Why. it’s
a regular fortress. Turn your lights
this way.” He stepped aside to afford
the others a better view.
The converging beams of the officers’
flashlights did indeed reveal something
that looked like a fortress. Branches
of trees. several inches in diameter.
brush, odds and ends of timber and
sections of sheet iron had been piled
up to make a barricade. A huge strip
of sheet iron was placed in front of
the mound of limbs and brush so that
it could not be seen from the railroad
tracks.
What strange purpose did the bar-
ricade serve? Clark felt instinctively
that it had been erected by the dyna-
As the first step in their well-laid plans,
the plotters raided this building on
mine property to steal a case of dynamite
miters. Why? Undoubtedly to protect
themselves from the rain of debris
which they must have known would
be thrown up by the explosion.
The chances were, then, that the ex-
plosion was set off from this very spot.
That meant wire.- And a battery. They
must be hidden somewhere in this se-
cluded spot. But where?
Clark began pulling the brush and
tree limbs from the barricade. Some-
thing unnatural about the formation
of the ground attracted his attention.
He grabbed up a stick and began to
probe the partially frozen earth.
“A hole has been dug here recently,”
Clark said, pointing to a piled-up spot
of earth. He scraped away with his
stick momentarily and then, not satis-
fied with his progress, bent down and
scooped up the crusty earth with hi:
hands.
“Here it is. This is what I was hop
ing to find,” he suddenly called out
He dug frantically and exposed t
view a battery which had. been buriec
in the ground. Attached to the batter)
was a length of wire. These were thc
implements which had helped brin;
death to the custodians of the pay-rol!
There could be no doubt about it.
Clark spoke crisply to Corpori
Hess. “Take the battery and the wir
back to the barracks right away. |
want to give that battery my persona
attention. But before leaving here
want to talk with that motormiu:
again.”
Directing that the search of the
(Continued on Page 44)
19
rad
men who toil in the murky cata-
combs of the anthracite coal mines.
Death that is often cruel and unfath-
omable.
Slow death by entombment from a
roof-fall. Sudden death when a stray
spark ignites a pocket of deadly gas.
T=. live with death, those brawny
Death reaching up from the earth’s
vitals when a mine carriage falls and
the frightful screams of doomed men
echo from the dripping walls of the
shaft.
Because death is ever present the
broad-shouldered men of the mines
feel a strange exhilaration when they
emerge from the depths after a hard
Gi ine
By Neil Whitney
Special Investigator for
OFFICIAL DETECTIVE STORIES
day’s toil. They swarm up from the
pits happy in the knowledge that an-
other brief respite from danger awaits
them. In the colliery shifting shanties
they laugh and nudge each other play-
fully, shedding the aura of death as
speedily as they doff their mining
togs.
This spirit exuded from the 600
miners who just had completed their
shift in the No. 20 tunnel of the Trues-
dale Colliery, one of the biggest mines
of the Glen Alden Coal Company, lo-
cated in Warrior Run, near Wilkes-
Barre, Pennsylvania, that fateful after-
noon of January 13, 1930. Their grimy °
faces lighted up eagerly as they hur-
ried from the shifting shanties and
grouped about the tunnel entrance.
They were doubly excited on this
occasion. It was pay-day.
Even now, at the colliery proper,
two miles from the No. 20 tunnel, the
pay-train was ready to leave. A nar-
row-gauge railroad connected the two
points. The company had hit upon an
ingenious arrangement to save the
tunnel workers the walk to the col-
liery proper to obtain their pay. An
auxiliary pay-car, similar to those used
to transport coal from the mines to
the surface, drawn by a mine motor,
was pressed into service. The main
pay-train could not travel over the
Corporal Jacob Hess: The b
bandana which he found at
murder scene paid big divide:
narrow-gauge tracks leading to
tunnel.
Keen-eyed guards, six of them, !i:
ered about warily while the pay-c!.
for the No. 20 tunnel workers, «
taining $36,000, was being loaded |
the auxiliary carrier. The paymuas
Arthur E. Webb, of Scranton, pers:
ally saw to it that the chest
chained to heavy rungs provided
eas aie OR OE
ol
pede
Pond
bee conti
By. some freak of concussion the operator
of this mine car and two companions were
hurled to
that purpose in the floor of the make-
shift pay-car.
Webb seated himself alongside the
chest. Beside him were Guards Fred
W. Pfaff, also of Scranton, and John
Sookie, of Plymouth. Sitting on the
other side of the car were Martin
Burns, of Sugar Notch, assistant mine
foreman; James—Rocky—Shovlin, of
Hanover Township, section foreman,
and Frank Brezinski, of Plymouth, a
miner.
The motorman on the mine motor
ahead, Harry Powell of Wilkes-Barre,
chatted with the brakeman, John Ro-
zanski of Plymouth, while the money
chest was being made secure. Webb
raised his arm and signaled Powell to
get under way. Sparks flew from the
overhead trolley wire. The motor
whined as the one-car train gathered
18
safety by
the fatal explosion
speed and creaked toward the tunnel.
Threading its way along a mountain-
side studded with groves of pine trees,
the train approached an_ overhead
bridge crossing the main-line tracks
of the Lehigh Valley Railroad. An-
other mile and the train would be at
the tunnel.
Powell started to put on more speed,
then checked his hand on the lever.
He glanced at his watch. Not yet 4
o'clock. Plenty of time to get to the
tunnel.
At that instant a rending explosion
occurred. The blast lifted the pay-car
fvom the tracks and ripped it asunder.
The broken bodies of its occupants
were hurled into the air. In another
few moments the groans of mortally
wounded men set up a horrible caco-
phony from the smoking wreckage.
To protect themselves from debris after
their charge was set off, the plotters
erected this barricade from. which they
watched their murderous handiwork
The money chest was reduced to
matchwood. Packages of currency
shot skyward and floated lazily to
earth until it seemed to be raining
money. Silver coins were scattered
about the ground. All that remained
of the pay-car was a few pieces of
charred and splintered debris.
A freak of concussion shot the motor
forward. Powell worked frantically to
bring it to a stop. He leaped to the
ground and ran back to-what had been
the pay-car.
Powell recoiled from the ghastly
sight. Here was Pfaff, with both legs
blown off but still breathing. And
there, looking like piles of discarded
burlap, were the torn bodies of Webb,
Burns and Brezinski. Shovlin was
breathing his last. Sookie was
stretched on the ground, shocked into
insensibility but not seriously injured.
Rozanski, spared by the same miracle
that saved Powell and Sookie, came
running up the tracks.
UT who was that man who stood on
the bank and calmly surveyed the
scene? Powell thought it was Shovlin.
“Hello, Rocky,” Powell kept calling.
The man only stared blankly at the
ground. Why didn’t he answer? What
was wrong here? Was this just an-
other mine accident? Or could it be
murder?
Gradually Powell overcame the
shock that dulled his senses. This was
a man-made explosion. The air was
heavy with an acrid odor familiar to
all mine workers. Powell sniffed and
knew instantly what had been buried
beneath the tracks. Dynamite. And
plenty of it.
Powell called out to Rozanski. The
two ran toward the tunnel to spread
the alarm. At the same moment the
stranger who had been standing on the
bank left his position and walked
rapidly into the near-by woods. Noth-
ing but the moans of the injured broke
the pall of silence that descended over
the area.
Trained first-aid teams from the
tunnel sped to the aid of the injured
Sigismund Szachewicz: He
made the same. mistake twice
and carried them to ambulances kept
at the mine. Webb, Burns, Brezinski
and Shovlin were dead. Pfaff’s condi-
tion was critical but he and Sookie
were to survive.
Mine officials knew at once that this
was no accident. It was fiendishly
planned murder. The work, no doubt,
of pay-roll heisters. All police agencies
were notified promptly.
T WYOMING BARRACKS, Re-
gional Headquarters of the Penn-
sylvania State Police, the commanding
officer, Major William A. Clark, hastily
assembled a squad of fifteen State
Troopers upon receiving word of the
pay-car dynamiting. Clark hurried to
the scene and was joined there by
‘Chief Detective Richard Powell, of
Luzerne County; Powell’s assistants,
Detectives Jack Dempsey and Leo
Grohowski; Chief of Police Edward
Maycock, of Warrior Run, and Captain
Walter S. Hennig, of the Lehigh Valley
Railroad Police. District Attorney
Thomas M. Lewis also arrived quickly.
Clark’s usual aplomb vanished when
mine officials gave him a sketchy ac-
count of what had occurred. His care-
free expression gave way to one otf
grim determination as Motorman
Powell told of his narrow escape from
death. The State Police Commander
sensed immediately that he was con-
fronted with a diabolical plot, a care-
fully conceived plan to make a $36,000
haul even though it meant killing
every occupant of the pay-car.
Clark turned to his aides, Lieutenant
Jasper Oftedahl and -Corporal Jacob
Hess. He snapped out commands
briskly, directing that all roads in the
vicinity be blocked off and a careful
watch maintained for suspicious per-
sons attempting to leave. The slim
chance existed that the perpetrators of
the crime might be hiding on the
mountainside.
Already the early mid-Winter night-
fall was beginning to enshroud the
area. Within a brief time a search of
the mountainside would be impossible.
Then the pursuers would be laboring
under a heavy handicap.
The troopers fanned out and began
to comb the wooded fastness adjacent
to the tracks where the shattered
remnants of the pay-car stood. Soon
the rays of their flashlights cut the
encircling gloom and twinkled like a
host of fireflies from the dense under-
brush on both sides of the railroad
tracks.
Clark and the others clustered about
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his home. His mother and father told
us so.”
The Police Chief paused a moment
to let his words sink in. Then—
“We know you didn’t have anything
to do with the actual murder, Regina,
but you do know a lot more than you
have told. How did it happen that
Lowman was killed in your room? Did
Wood have a key?”
te WAS easy to see that hapless
Regina Galek was numb with fear.
She repeated, weakly:
“T didn’t know Lowman.”
And that was as much as the two
officials could get from her.
“ “There must be some way,” said
Weaver, as he and Reynolds left, “to
overcome her fears. She’s not talking
because she’s afraid of something. I
never saw such terror in a girl’s eyes
before in my life. Did you?”
The District Attorney agreed.
The break came quicker than either
anticipated, however. Upon their ar-
rival back in Weaver’s office, they
found Sergeant Beardsley and Detec-
tive O’Connor awaiting them.
“Chief,” reported the Sergeant,
“we’ve found witnesses who told us
that Fred Wood and Lowman argued
over Regina Galek. They weren't
rivals or anything like that, but they
were heard having words over her.
Maybe that’s our motive.”
Regina Galek still was half hysteri-
cal when Weaver and Reynolds again
confronted her, this time with , this
new information.
“No, I didn’t know Lowman,” she
sobbed. “Wood had a key to my room.
But I don’t know what happened. I
do know this though: Fred Wood will
mountainside be continued until day-
break if necessary, Clark and District
Attorney Lewis proceeded to the mine
office at the tunnel. There they ques-
tioned Powell, who supplied a descrip-
tion of the man he had seen on the
bank subsequent to the explosion.
“T must have been dazed. I thought
it was Shovlin. He was built a lot like
Rocky,” said Powell. He described
the stranger as being about six feet
tall, weighing close to 200 and wear-
ing a soft hat and a brown overcoat.
* Notice. anything peculiar about
him? Anything that stands out in your
mind? Think hard now,” Clark urged.
Powell meditated, then answered,
“Yes, there was. I remember now that
I could make out a scar on the side
of the man’s face. It would be on the
right side, the side that was facing
me.”
“That’s fine,” said Clark, with an
approving nod. He told Powell to go
home and then boarded a squad car
and left for Wyoming.
Clark’s mind raced during the ride
to the barracks. A battery. A piece
of wire. A scar-faced man whose
identity at this stage of the investiga-
tion could not even be guessed at. Not
much to go on here. Still they were
clews of a sort. And Clark was not
easily discouraged. .
Back at the Barracks, Clark sent for
the battery. When Corporal Benjamin
K. Lee, squadron finger-print expert,
carried the battery into Clark’s office
something about his manner caused
the commander to await Lee’s words
expectantly.
“It’s a radio ‘B’ battery. Made in
New York. No prints on it,” Lee said
laconically. “But: look at this, Major,”
he invited, turning the battery bottom
side up.
Lee pointed to a tiny tab of paper
on which was written in ink the price
symbol, $1.19.
“Little unusual, don’t you think, to
see a battery of this type sold for
$1.19?” Lee asked. Clark nodded
vigorously, at the same time bending
closer to inspect the price tag. He
studied it in silence for a minute or
two, then spoke softly to Lee.
“That can mean only one thing.
This battery was purchased at a
kill me because I have told you this.”
“Wood won't hurt you,” reassured
Reynolds. “You can be sure he’s safe
in his cell; and he won’t get out.”
Regina Galek was questioned at
great length, but apparently could add
nothing to what she had said. The two
officials left her. '
They ‘then went to the Tebo room-
ing-house. ®They still couldn’t figure
out how Lowman could have been
slain without anyone there hearing
any commotion such as must have
taken place in view of the violence of
the crime.
Mrs. Tebo, after a moment’s thought,
filled in this gap, however. She said
that she and her other roomers had
all been to the movies on Saturday
night; that they had left the house
about 8 p.m., and hadn’t returned
until after 11.
“That accounts for it,” said Weaver.
“Wood must have known the house
was deserted when he took Lowman
there about 9 o'clock, after he had
been seen at the tavern. He had plenty
of time to commit his murder, then
hurry home and establish his ‘alibi’
by going to bed early.”
The two officialsk—Weaver and Reyn-
olds—decided to make one more at-
tempt to get a straight story from
Regina Galek. Greatly to their sur-
prise she seemed to welcome their re-
turn now.
“Fred Wood told me all about it,”
she shrieked. “He told me that he got
in an argument with Lowman because
Lowman said something bad about my
character, and he killed him. Then he
threatened to kill me if I told anybody
what I knew. I was afraid.
“He accompanied me to my room on
greatly reduced price, probably at a
sale. If we can locate the store which
had such a sale and find out who
bought this battery then we’ve gone a
mang way toward solving these mur-
ers.
“What about the wire?” Clark in-
quired.
“Ordinary green and black wire.
The green wire looks newer than the
bla¢k, Tons of it around the mines.
Probably stolen.”
“Not much of a clew there,” Clark
conceded. He dismissed Lee. He sat
alone in his office for a long time be~-
fore retiring for the night.
+= next day brought the customary
crop of wild tips which always follow
a major crime. The all-night search
of the mountainside brought no trace
of the killers. Further search of the
immediate vicinity of the explosion
disclosed, just as Clark had suspected,
that the $36,000 pay-roll, except for
currency destroyed by the blast itself,
was intact. Clark comforted himself
with the thought that those respon-
sible for the horror had at least been
deprived of ready cash to complete
their getaway.
While collecting the scattered cur-
rency near the wrecked pay-car, the
State troopers made a significant dis-
covery. Just a scanty few feet from
where the death-dealing charge had
been set off they found buried in the
bank along the tracks an additional
nineteen sticks of dynamite. A length
of wire and a dynamite cap were fas-
tened to the explosive.
Clark shuddered. This second charge
certainly had been planted with de-
liberate intent to kill every man on the
pay-car. If it ever had gone off while
the searchers were milling about the
area the previous night the loss of life
would have been appalling.
Where did all this dynamite come
from?
Mine officials expressed the belief
that it was part of a box of dynamite
stolen from the colliery powder-house
on the night of January 7. But where
was the box? It had contained con-
siderably more dynamite than had
been accounted for thus far. Did this
mean that the balance was buried
Sunday; told me the body was under
the bed. Then he took me to his own
home where he made the ‘rumpus that
caused him to be locked up in jail.
He said that I.could easily prove that
I was away when Lowman was killed,
and that he’d get me if I told.
“I couldn’t do anything else but fol-
low out his instructions. And I—I
stayed in that room one night—with
that body. My date on Sunday night
was with Fred Wood, not with ‘Al’ as
I had told my brother and you.”
The girl suddenly went berserk. She
leaped to her feet, shrieking wildly.
She was returned to her cell and a
physician. was called. She was defi-
nitely affected by the shock concur-
rent with her experiences.
Her mental condition ebbed and
flowed like the tide for more than six
weeks. Then it became so bad that
she was committed to the Bingham-
ton State Hospital for observation.
She still was there, unable to dis-
cuss the case coherently, when Freder-
ick Wood was placed on trial for
murder on March 10, after several
postponements due to Regina Galek’s
condition. Finally, District Attorney
Reynolds virtually was forced to pro-
ceed without her as the State’s star
witness. ;
A jury, presided over by County
Judge Bertram L. Newman, found
Frederick Wood guilty of second-
degree murder on March 13. He im-
mediately was sentenced by Judge
Newman to serve 20 years to life in
State’s prison. Today he is in Attica.
As for unfortunate Regina Galek, no
charges were ever lodged against her.
And after a short period of rest she
was released.
Dynamiting Himself Out of $36,000 (Continued from Page 19)
somewhere in the area, for possible use
in another terrible crime?
Clark decided that these questions
must be answered without delay. Upon
his orders the search was resumed in
the vicinity of the tree where the bat-
tery was found. There, within a brief
time, in a gulley skirting the Lehigh
Valley Railroad tracks, the dynamite
box was found secreted beneath a pile
of brush.
The remaining dynamite was lifted
gingerly from the box. “Get the box
up to the Barracks immediately and
have Corporal Lee go over it for
prints,” instructed Clark.
Close on the finding of the dynamite
box came two more important dis-
coveries. Corporal Hess and Detectivé
Dempsey picked up a blue bandana
handkerchief from the explosion de-
bris. One edge of the handkerchief
had been torn off.
“Might have been carried by one of
the victims of the blast,” Clark said
after examining the handkerchief. “On
the other hand,” he pointed out, “it
could have been dropped by one of
the killers while they were fixing the
fatal charge.” He placed the hand-
kerchief in an envelope and tucked it
into his tunic.
Clark forgot about the handkerchief
for the time being when a _ trooper
who had been one of a squad assigned
to search a near-by rock dump rushed
up and saluted. The State Police Com-
mander’s eyes widened perceptibly
while he listened to the trooper’s re-
ort.
“We went over the rock dump care-
fully. We found about 30 feet of wire
missing on an electric-light line on
the dump. The wire remaining matches
the black wire which was used to set
off the explosion,” said the trooper.
Clark grew thoughtful. “So the black
wire was stolen right here at the
mine,” he said. “That means it will
be of no help in tracing the killers.
Well, we still have the battery and
the green wire. Suppose we get busy
with that.”
Clark sent for Lieutenant Oftedahl
and Corporal Hess. “Get your squads
out with the battery and the green
wire. Hit the auto-accessory stores first
and find out where you can buy such
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the job in a trip to the mine on the
pay-day previous to the one when the
robbery was attempted. Nafus, 38 and
the father of three children, seemed
just as anxious as Big Joe to get every-
thing off his chest.
Still Clark could not suppress the
feeling that something was wrong. Why
was it that the four other suspects
didn’t crack? Why did they plead.
their guiltlessness so impressively?
Could it be that someone was lying?
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Co decided upon a test. He
brought all six suspects into his
office. Clark remembered how Big Joe
had cracked at the sight of the blue
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for these murders. It’s not part of my
job to send an innocent man to the
chair. If there is an innocent man in
this room, now is the time to talk. I
want only the truth.”
It was Big Joe who spoke up.
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on the slugs might have identified the
rifle if it was found.
A good break, however, came from
the report on the finger-prints. One
thumb print had been found on the
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eral more prints on the tongue of the
trailer, and the thumb print on the
pliers matched one of the prints on
the trailer. .
More important was the fact that
one of the finger-prints had been made
in a smear of blood on the trailer.
This definitely established it as the
killer’s print.
thy identification expert told Sher-
iff Woodward: “You locate the killer
—and these finger-prints will convict
him. I can promise you that.”
But how to locate the killer?
Back in Walla Walla Woodward and
Bean held a conference over the evi-
dence they had’ been able to uncover.
“The girl and boy clew seems to be
our best bet,” Bean declared. “If the
State Patrol is able to pick the pair
up the finger-prints will do the rest.”
“J don’t know,” Woodward said.
“The more I think about the case the
more convinced I am that it was some
kind of grudge killing. McKinney
must have been quarreling with the
killer when the killer struck him with
the pliers.”
“He could have been quarreling with
the hitch-hikers, too,” suggested Bean.
“Maybe, but there are a couple of
other angles I’d like to check. Mc-
Kinney sold some of his land. There
may have been a dispute over that or
over the painted pony T. V. mentioned.
A young fellow up in Huntsville was
going to buy the pony.”
“I can check the deeds the first thing
tomorrow morning and find out about
the land he sold,” Bean said. “T can
also send my deputy up to Huntsville
and check on this fellow in the horse
deal. Have you got his name?”
Woodward gave Bean the name of
the young man and asked him to take
care of the details.
“How about the victim’s family?”
Bean asked.
“His brother is notifying them,” said
Woodward. ‘He’ll let us know as soon
as they arrive. They might know if
McKinney had any enemies who hated
him enough to kill him. We'll ques-
tion them tomorrow if they come in.
If they don’t come in we can contact
the police of the cities in which they
live and have them questioned there.”
“What do you think of the possi-
bility that McKinney was having a
romance.”
“It would fit the grudge theory like
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“T may as well own up, Major,” he
drawled with a foolish grin. “Me and
Tex made it-up that if we were rapped
for this job we would bring others
into it to fool the police. We figured
maybe we could slide out from under
that way.”
So that was it, Szachewicz and
Nafus, along with plotting this horrible
crime, had conspired to send four in-
nocent persons to the death chair if
caught. A scheme that worked for a
time. Shattered now, just like the loot
that the two master conspirators hoped
to get.
Clark released the four innocent
victims quickly. On the basis of signed
confessions he appeared before the
Luzerne County grand jury and had
Big Joe Szachewicz and John Nafus
indicted for murder.
Both defendants repudiated their
confessions when brought into court.
Big Joe, first to go to trial, said he
was nowhere near Warrior Run on the
day of the tragedy. His story failed to
impress the jury and on April 4, 1930,
he was found guilty of first-degree
man. The only thing lacking is some
definite proof.”
On the following morning Sheriff
Woodward was called out of bed at
four o’clock by the Washington State
Patrol. They notified him that a boy
and girl had been picked up near
Spokane and answered the descriptions
of the pair who-were seen in Waits-
burg.
The couple, according to the State
Police, vigorously denied any knowl-
edge of the murder of McKinney.
However, they admitted they had been
in Waitsburg.
“T’]] send a man up to bring them
back at once,” Woodward said. “We've
got finger-prints here that will tell
soon enough whether or not they are
the people we want.”
Woodward also asked that a special
search be made for McKinney’s car
and dog.
Later in the morning Prosecutor
Bean dropped into the office. Wood-
ward told him about the arrest of the
hitch-hikers. While they were talking
Woodward’s telephone rang. It was
the coroner on the line. He said:
“I noticed something about the body
of McKinney this morning that may
interest you. There are a number of
bruises around the chest and back. It
looks as if he had been badly beaten.”
Woodward said: “The killer must’
have done that after he knocked him
down with the pliers and before he
shot him.”
“That is probably true,” agreed the
coroner. “But the thing I thought
might interest you is the shape of the
bruises. They’re about as big around
as a silver dollar—but they aren’t
quite round. They aren’t exactly a
half-circle either. They’re — well,
they’re a peculiar shape. I can’t quite
figure out what made them.”
“Could it have been the heel of a
woman’s shoe? Not a high-heeled shoe
but one of those Cuban heels?”
“Say, I'll bet that’s it. That’s the
shape they are, but it never dawned on
me to think of it as being the heel of
a woman’s shoe.”
After the telephone conversation
Woodward turned to Bean, “That
cinches it!” he said. A woman killed
McKinney. Before, we just had sus-
picions from the things we figured out
—but the heel print of a woman’s
shoe in the bruises on McKinney’s
body makes it positive.”
Bean shook his head and said slow-
ly, “She must have been a vicious wo-
man. She bashed his head in with the
pliers, kicked him while he was un-
conscious—and then shot him. Evi-
dently she carried a horrible grudge
against him.”
“Using the heel is typical of a wo-
man, too,” Woodward said. “A man
would use the toe of his boot—but a
woman wouldn’t. She’d kick at things
with her heel.”
murder with no recommendation for
mercy.
Nafus tried desperately to alibi him-
self out of his serious predicament.
He told the jury that he was picking
coal near his home at the time of the
pay-roll blast. But on June 30, he too
was found guilty of murder in the first
degree. On November 15, 1930, both
convicted killers were sentenced to die
in the electric chair on March 3, 1931.
Various appeals before the higher
courts and the State Pardon Board
gave the two condemned men a tem-
porary lease on life. But justice pre-
vailed in the end.
Clark sat. in his office at Wyoming
Barracks on the morning of May 25,
1931, when word was flashed to him
by the warden of Rockview Peniten-
tiary that Big Joe Szachewicz and John
Nafus had just walked calmly into the
death chamber and paid with their
lives for the death plot at Warrior
Run. Clark thought of a battery, a
blue bandana and a piece of green
wire. He smiled sardonically and bent
to his work.
No Murder—No Cowboy (Continued from Page 11) |
When the young couple was brought
into Walla Walla late in the afternoon,
the first thing Sheriff Woodward did
was have their finger-prints recorded.
A comparison test was made with the
prints found on the pliers and the
trailer tongue.
They didn’t match. Repeated ques-
tioning of the young couple was as
fruitless as the finger-print test. They
readily admitted being in Waitsburg
but denied being anywhere near the
McKinney farm.
“We slept in the park all night and
got a ride the first thing in the morn-
ing with a truck-driver,” the young
man said. “We weren't outside of the
town from the time we got in at night
until we left the next morning.”
Nevertheless, Sheriff Woodward
placed the pair in jail to be held for
further investigation. He explained his
step to Bean:
“The finger-prints just about clear
them, but I want to hang onto them
until we locate McKinney’s car. There
may be more prints on it. There’s a
long chance that there might be some
mistake about the prints we got from
the pliers and the tongue of the
trailer.”
At 4:30 in the afternoon a_ long-
distance call came through from
Freewater, Oregon. Patrolman Frank
Brittingham of the Oregon State Po-
lice was on the wire.
“We found the car you are looking
for in that murder case here,” he an-
nounced. “The dog you asked about is
in it, too. He answers to the name of
King and has a star-marking on his
head.”
“How about the driver of the car?”
Woodward exclaimed. ;
“We haven’t got a thing on that. The
car apparently was abandoned some
time last night. No one saw the driver.
We've placed a watch on the car, but
I doubt very much if the driver will
return.”
“We've got to get the driver,” Wood-
ward said. “That person is the mur-
derer we're looking for.”
“I’m afraid we won’t be able to help
you much—unless you’ve got some
kind of description. As I said, nobody
here saw the driver leave the car—so
we haven’t any idea who it might be.”
Ase THIER it is a woman,” offered
Woodward.
“That isn’t much help,” Patrolman
Brittingham said, “unless you can give
us some kind of description.” *
“I know it,” Woodward admitted.
“And frankly, we haven’t any descrip-
tion. We haven’t the slightest idea who
she is. I guess the only thing you can
do is keep the car watched in case she
returns, If she doesn’t show up by this
evening, we’ll be down to check the
car for finger-prints.”
Prosecutor Bean heard the details of
the call from Woodward when he had
op—8
ream
a battery for $1.19. Locate the man
who made the sale, if possible, and get
a description of the purchaser,” he
ordered.
Spurred on by hopes that a $5,000
reward offered by the Luzerne County
Commissioners and the Glen Alden
Coal Company might lead to a tip
from an underworld source, the troop-
ers went to work. They canvassed
every store in the region where
wire and batteries were sold. This
line of investigation was pursued in
Wilkes-Barre, the hamlet of Warrior
Run itself and all the small towns
within a radius of 25 miles.
Lugging the battery from store to
store the troopers talked with scores
of clerks. They stuck to their task
doggedly, realizing that the secret of
the cheap battery, if fathomed, might
point the way to a solution of the
murders.
In the mining town of Nanticoke, a
few miles south of Wilkes-Barre,
Frank Chickonsky, proprietor of
Chick’s Auto Supply Company, perked
up his ears when a trooper, holding the
battery up for inspection, asked, “Ever
sell a battery like this for as little as
$1.19?”
“I didn’t sell it, but I believe one
of my men might have,” said Chick-
onsky. He summoned the clerk who
had marked the sale price on the
battery.
“Remember who bought this bat-
tery?” inquired the trooper. They
writhed while the clerk stood lost in
thought for an interval.
“We've only sold one like this in
the last three weeks,” the clerk said
finally. “That was a couple weeks
ago. A man wearing a brown over-
coat and a soft hat—a tough-looking
bird with a scar on the side of his
face—came in and looked over a lot
of batteries. I’m sure he’s the one who
bought this one.”
Bud trooper asked, “Which side of
the face was the scar on?”
“The right side,” said the clerk, The
trooper hurried out to his squad car
and raced for home base.
At the barracks that night Clark re-
ceived the report of the tracing of the
battery with unconcealed elation. He
took several officers into his office and
seated himself at his desk. His manner
seemed somewhat agitated.
“So the man with the scar has turned
up again,” Clark said soberly. “That’s
twice he flits into the picture. Once
on the scene of the explosion and
again as the purchaser of the battery.
The next time he bobs up in this in-
vestigation I hope to have him sitting
right here in this office.”
Clark’s voice trailed off to a near
whisper and a strange light appeared
in his eyes. “I think I know the identity
of Mr. Scar Face,” he said triym-
phantly.
Clark’s words startled the group.
The atmosphere in the room remained
hushed while the grim-visaged State
Police Commander continued speaking.
What vital clew had Clark turned
up unbeknownst to the others? Had he
actually identified the man with the
scar? Were the murders on the verge
of solution? The troopers awaited their
superior’s explanation with bated
breath.
“While you men were out with the
wire and the battery these past few
days, I’ve been doing a little checking
on my own hook.” Clark grinned. “I’ve
been going over all of our records
here concerning past dynamiting out-
rages in this section. And I’ve been
consulting with the Lehigh Valley
Railroad Police.
“Between us we’ve struck something
that begins to look hot. And it looks
still hotter now that you have told me
that Mr. Scar Face bought that bat-
tery.”
Clark’s hand went to the top of a
pile of papers on his desk. He held
aloft a picture. It was an ordinary
police mug-shot but there was some-
thing about it that electrified the
troopers. A subdued murmur swept
the room as the troopers noticed that
the man whose likeness was shown had
a deep, pitted scar on the right side
of his face.
Clark leaned back in his chair and
opD—8
addressed his men. He began by asking
each of them to study the features
of the man in the picture.
“Your first mission,” he told them,
“will be to take the picture back to
the clerk in the Nanticoke store and
see if he can identify it. I have an
idea he will. I think that this is the
man who bought the battery and also
the man that Powell mistook for Shov-
lin on the day of the explosion.”
Clark hesitated, as if enjoying the
heightening tenston. Then he went on,
choosing each word carefully and smil-
ing grimly at times.
“In my own line of investigation
into previous dynamitings in this sec-
tion I was intrigued by an incident
which occurred back in 1926. That
involved an attempt to dynamite a
Lehigh Valley train not far from War-
rior Run. The explosion did not go
off as planned and the damage was
confined to the tracks.
“What did that show? It showed
that whoever planned the explosion
was none too clever in the use of
dynamite. And what sticks out like
a sore thumb in the pay-car murders?
Why, the very same thing. Nobody who
really understood dynamite would have
planted a charge as heavy as that.
They would have known better.
“T was struck by the similarity of
the two explosions. Then I remembered
that there was a suspect in that 1926
case. Nothing was ever proved against
him. He promptly disappeared. But I
picked up the trail of a man who en-
listed in the Army and was later listed
as a deserter. The arrival of this pic-
ture has convinced me that the Army
deserter and the suspect in the 1926
dynamiting are the same person.”
One of the troopers. coughed. An-
other shuffled his feet uneasily. They
were trying to convey, without being
disrespectful, that this nerve-shatter-
ing stispense was more than they could
stand.
Clark chuckled aloud. “Now here’s
a funny thing,” he said. “My suspect,
for no apparent reason, comes back
into this region just a few weeks prior
to these murders. He checks in at a
hotel in Wilkes-Barre around Janu-
ary 1. ‘
“But on two nights, and I want you
to pay particular attention to these
dates, he was missing from the hotel.
The records show that he was absent
on the night of January 7, when the
box of dynamite was stolen, and again
on the all-important night of January
13, the date of these murders. What
does that add up to?
“It adds up to this,” said Clark,
pointing his little drama up to a cli-
max.
“The man in the picture is Sigis-
mund Szachewicz, better known as
Big Joe. Other squads are out search-
ing for him. It’s your job now to get
back to ‘Nanticoke with the picture
and see if this is the man who bought
the battery.”
Clark did not have long to wait.
Within two hours Corporal Charles
Santee reported by phone from Nanti-
coke that Big Joe’s picture had been
identified by the clerk as the purchaser
of the bargain battery.
UT where was Big Joe? That was
something else again.
State Police detectives had haunted
the hotel where Szachewicz had regis-
tered for the past several days on
orders from Clark. But Big Joe failed
to show up. Had he been tipped off
that the State Police were ow his trail?
Clark felt dismayed as the days
rolled into weeks with no trace of
the suspect. Then, on February 18, the
telephone orderly at the barracks hot-
footed it into his superior’s quarters.
“Officer Robert Breese of the Lehigh
Valley Railroad police has just cap-
tured Szachewicz. Big Joe made the
mistake of trying to hop a freight
just outside of Wilkes-Barre. Gave
up without a struggle. Breese is on
his way in here with him now,” the
orderly announced. Clark’s sigh was
one of vast relief.
The ugly scar on Big Joe’s face
grew livid when Breese escorted him,
manacled, into Clark’s office, Clark
studied the man’s swarthy features
with the air of a boxer looking over
- Well, let’s have it then. Where did
his opponent. He noted that Big Joe
was wearing a brown overcoat.
“We're going to have a nice quiet
talk, Big Joe,” Clark greeted the pris-
oner. “What do you know about the
pay-car dynamiting at Warrior Run?”
he snapped.
“Not a thing,” Big Joe mumbled.
“So, you’re alibi is all made up.
you spend the nights of January 7
and January 13?”
Szachewicz met Clark’s steady gaze
with a defiant stare that provided no
clew to his thoughts. “I spent both
nights at the home of Tex Nafus.”
He explained that the man’s real
name was John Nafus and gave his
address in Plymouth.
“Okay, Big Joe. We'll check that
out right away.” Clark stepped from
the room and conversed briefly with
one of his men. The trooper left the
barracks for the home of Nafus.
When Clark walked back into his
office his hand strayed casually to his
jacket. From a pocket he withdrew
the blue bandana which was found at
the scene of the murders. He unfolded
the handkerchief so that its torn edge
was exposed to view.
Big Joe gulped. He looked squarely
at the handkerchief and a half-formed
exclamation of surprise escaped his
twisted lips.
“That’s my handkerchief,” he stam-
mered suddenly.
“And where did you lose it?” pressed
Clark.
“IT don’t know. But I didn’t have it
when I got back to Wil kes-Barre.”
“From Warrior Run?”
The prisoner’s neck twitched and he
swallowed convulsively before reply-
ing. “Yes,” he said with a grimace,
“from Warrior Run.”
Clark tossed the blue bandana to his
desk. It had served its purpose. Big
Joe had wilted until he was as limp
as the telltale kerchief itself. Now was
the time to get his confession.
Clark called a stenographer into the
room. He summoned Detective Powell
and Corporal Santee as witnesses, then |!
warned Big Joe that whatever he said | At All Drug Stores anc
would be used against him.
Race ecto ny gg make a W d
clean breast o: ings. most im- (
mediately he named Tex Nafus as a Buy ar Bon ’
fellow conspirator. Clark felt himself
wishing he had ordered Nafus arrested thee eny ripe
by the trooper sent out to check Big uO Suh be bile
Joe’s alibi. He would rectify that slip- (
KEE
your scalp in cx
invigorated and
HA!
manageable, well ¢
free from loose du
JER
up.
“Take a squad and collar Nafus,”
Clark told Santee. Before Big Joe
even had completed his confession,
Nafus was seized quietly at his Plym-
outh home and whisked to Wyoming
Barracks. With both suspects in cus-
tody Clark was confident that he was
about to clear up the outrage.
But the case suddenly took a new
turn, Big Joe and Nafus, questioned
separately, admitted hatching the
crime on New Year’s Day in Plymouth.
Then they promptly implicated four
others. ie’
Clark knew he would have to move
swiftly. He assigned four heavily
armed squads to the round-up. By
.00 Each Day
daybreak all four of the suspects HOSPITAL $540 Be pre
named by Szachewicz and Nafus were Beepsed Boast cee self N¢
in custody at the Barracks. All pro-
tested their innocence so vigorously
that Clark had misgivings.
$25 Each Week Polley
Lossof TIME 9300 | Fron:
from work up to 12 weeks | DAY
Big Joe then agreed to re-enact the |] pocTOR $435 aot
crime. Taken to the scene under close || ®xvenses Policy
guard he showed where the dynamite
had been planted and pointed out the
tree where the barricade had been set
up. He next led the officers into the
gulley where the stolefi box of dyna-
mite was hidden.
With disarming plausibility Szache-
wicz related that Nafus and the other
four dynamiters took to their heels
after the explosion while he walked
right up to the shattered pay-car. He
fled only after he saw what happened
to the money chest.
“Somebody hollered, ‘Hey, Rocky,’
at me,” said Big Joe.
“That would be Powell calling to
the man he thought was Rocky Shov-
Loss of LIFES1000 | —n0
pementseteh isinly
stated in Policy,
—————"—" MAIL COUPON
George Rogers Clark Casu.
Rockford, Ilinois
Please rush FREE infor
pital and Doctor Expense
Name .....-.-eeeeeeees
ROTECT your
¥
lin,” Detective Powell remarked to chao tion' fer
Clark. 3 preliminary info:
Nafus admitted purchasing the green ET i
wire in a Plymouth store. He said that
he and the other conspirators cased
Registered
359-K Adams Bi:
t;
Marcus W., elec. Pa. SP (Allegheny County) 7/22/1923...
9 «
TRUE DETECTIVE MYSTERIES, September, 1935.
By GEORGE V.
CRAIGHEAD
Former Chief Postal Inspector,
Pittsburgh, Pa.
Bl As told to EARLE R. WAUGH
eee revo ouh
ere fe
lttsburgh
sMURDER
Scene of the baffling mail
robbery and murder which
stunned the authorities.
1. The tracks where the
, switch engine picked up
its unsuspected crimson
cargo; 2. The probable
path of the escaping ban-
dit, and 3. Below, the
spot where the mail truck
made its delivery to the
post-office car
estes ee Ae ett EOE.
’s Atrocious
N the early morning of February 26th, 1921,
the Pennsylvania Railroad Station at Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, was shrouded in gray darkness.
The sky above was overcast and thick with
Pittsburgh’s usual smoke, and through this haze
the feeble rays of early morning light penetrated
thinly. Far off in the yards a switch engine whistled
mournfully. ; ‘
On a siding in the station stood the United States
railway post-office car due to be attached to Train
No. 503, to run the morning mail to Waynesburg
over the Panhandle Division of the Pennsylvania
Railroad. Yellow light streamed from its windows,
as James L. McCullough, the postal clerk, busied
himself within—unaware of the grim fate awaiting
him. Whistling and humming, he went about his
task of sorting the registered mail that had just
been delivered to his car. Envelopes containing
thousands of ddllars’ worth of negotiable securities
destined for banks and corporations along the
Waynesburg route were sealed in pouches. Mc-
Cullough, bent over his desk, wrote out a record of
these envelopes, as is required by government
authorities.
McCullough’s pen scratched over his report
sheets as he hurried to complete the job. For in a
few minutes a yard engine would take the car in
tow and shift it to where the rest of Train No. 503
was being made up. The clerk’s gray head was
bent in concentration as his fingers flew through the
pile of envelopes. Twenty-six years of service
had made him an expert at his task, and before
long he expected to retire to the white cottage by
oe river where he wanted to spend the rest of his
ays. :
But now, on that gray morning in the yards, a.
sinister figure was creeping noiselessly into the car.
Held in the man’s right hand was a heavy coupling
pin. McCullough, busy at work, heard nothing.
His service revolver lay forgotten on the table.
The intruder crouched in a corner of the car, where
with gleaming eyes he watched every move of the
mail clerk.
Unconscious of the eyes boring into his back,
McCullough prepared to seal the registered mail
4
~~?
ie
“murderer in his
pouches, when suddenly the menacing figure darted to the desk—his
hand upraised. As McCullough wheeled around, the intruder grunted.
With all his strength he brought the heavy coupling pin crashing
against McCullough’s skull. “Without a sound, the clerk slumped in
his chair, his head cracked. .
Quickly, with grasping hands, the soft-treading thug gathered up all
of the registered mail within sight. Letters with ordinary postage he
brushed to the floor of the car. His pockets stuffed, the shadowy fig-
ure paused momentarily. Along the tracks a brakeman was coming
with a swinging lantern. Crunch-crunch-crunch—came his footsteps
along the gravel. The thief shrank into a corner and waited—the
crunching passed off slowly into the distance. Then he slipped out
quietly and disappeared into the haze.
Slowly puffing down the tracks a switch engine approached the mail
car. With a bump, the coupling was made. The brakeman sig-
nalled clear and the car began to move, carrying with it the dying
McCullough. To the far corner of the yards it went, and then it was
pushed back into the station where the Waynesburg train was stand-
ing. On the platform stood James Lewis, a postal clerk whose job
it was to lend a hand on the trains where the mail was heavy.
“Oh, Mac!”’ he called as the car rolled to a stop. “I’m coming in.”
It was customary for one clerk to address another in this manner,
in a car where valuable mail was being sorted, so that the clerk would
know that it was an employee who wanted to get in.
Instead of the cheerful “good morning” response from McCullough,
there was silence. :
‘Surely there is nothing wrong,” thought Lewis. ‘
He shrugged his shoulders and entered the car. A second later
his eyes rested on McCullough, reeling in his chair.
“What are they doing to me?” gasped the clerk through foam-
flecked lips.
“My God!” yelled Lewis. He threw open the door of the car and
leaped to the tracks. .
“Get help someone!” he cried to a group of overalled railroad men
who were passing. “McCullough has been robbed! He’s dying!”
~~: Lewis’s first thought was to notify the post-office inspector in
charge. This was the rule in the event of a robbery. A few minutes
later the telephone at my home in Wilkinsburg was ringing. I
tumbled out of bed ‘to answer it.
“Chief,” gulped Lewis, “McCullough’s car has been robbed. He’s
been: hurt badly.”
. “Have the car taken off the train,” I ordered. “I’l! be there in
a half hour and be sure that nothing is touched.”
Returning to the scene of the crime, Lewis carried my orders to
the railroad officials and police
who were carefully lifting the
bleeding McCullough into a
waiting ambulance.
When I arrived, I saw a
bloody coupling pin: on the
floor of the car, where it lay
amidst .a tumbled. heap of
ordinary mail. I picked it
up carefully and wrapped it in
my handkerchief. I hoped it
would yield some _ finger-
prints as I handed it over to
experts. from the city detec-
tive bureau who were on the
scene. :
Questioning MeCullough’s
superiors at the yards, I
learned that H. H. Holland,
of. the United States Railway
Mail, was the chauffeur on
the truck which had delivered
the mail from the main -post-
office at Fourth Avenue and
Smithfield Street. Holland
had left: the post-office at
(Right) David
Harris, Deputy Jail
Warden, who was
brutally assaulted
by the condemned
prison cell—a last
desperate act be-
fore he paid the su-
preme penalty
20
(Below) The Alleghany ik: ye
County Jail where the i
murderer was lodged and /
where he made an un-
successful attempt at
escape
5 A.M. for his run to the station.
McCullough’s record sheet showed
that he had signed for the mail
at’ 5:25 am. So far all was
according to schedule. Holland,
when questioned, could throw no
light on what had happened, as
he had seen nothing out of the
ordinary.
Allowing time for McCullough
to open the mail sacks and sort
their contents, I estimated that
the crime had been committed,
between 6:12 and 6:35 a.m. at
which Jatter time, Lewis had dis-
covered McCullough’s condition.
Meanwhile several of the best
doctors in the city had been
called to St. Francis hospital in an
effort’
Detect
ing th:
gain (
to giv
sailant
“it
doctor
“His -
if he
Howe
is hoy
In
lough,
distan
Wayn
get t
possi!
gan 3
ition.
wed
mail
was
and,
vy no
, as
the
ugh
sort
that
at
lis-
ion.
vest
een
an
.
effort to aid the wounded man.
Detectives were ‘there also, hop-
ing that the mail clerk would re-
gain consciousness long enough
to give a description of his as-
sailant.
“It looks bad,’’ replied one
doctor to anxious inquirers.
“His skull is crushed. I doubt
if he will ever be able to talk.
However, where there is life there
is hope.”
I notified Mrs. Sadie McCul-
lough, wife of the clerk, by long
distance telephone at her home in
Waynesburg, and advised her to
get to the hospital as soon as
possible. Mrs. McCullough be-
gan a race with death. Boarding
eae RE >
20
%
aN
a train at her home town, she was unaware ot the seriousness
of thecase. Trains and taxis were not fast enough as the
Grim Reaper won out. McCullough died a half hour be-
fore his wife arrived at the hospital. If he had any kind of a
clue, he took it with him in death. His lips were sealed.
Calling my assistants to my office, I began the work of
checking the mail and McCullough’s records to ascertain
what had been stolen. It was a mighty task. Working day
and night we listed the contents of the mail bags and checked
what was missing. When the arduous work was completed,
we found that $30,000 in negotiable bonds and securities
had_ been stolen.
It was my theory that the thief had been after $13,000
in cash, which had been shipped to a bank in Waynesburg
the day before the murder and robbery.
Our investigation disclosed that the negotiable bonds missing
from the car included nineteen French government bonds of
$1000 denomination, two $1000 United States Liberty bonds,
one $500 Liberty bond, five $1000 bonds of the West Penn
Power Company, and two $1000 American Fruit Growers
bonds, in addition to other securities.
I realized that we were up against a clever, ruthless crim-
inal, who had evidently entered the car while it waited for
the switch engine in the shadow of the Pennsylvania Station.
The slayer, I believed, came into the railroad yards from
Bigelow Boulevard or Grant Street. As we had no clues,
this was merely a supposition. Our only hope was to cap-
ture the murderer while he was trying to dispose of the bonds.
After compiling the list, we found that the French bonds
were numbered from M-37412 to M-37425, inclusive, and
from M-37432 to M-37436, inclusive; information which later
proved of great importance. in the case.
Thousands of circulars listing the stolen securities were
printed and rushed to all bankers and brokers throughout
the United States. I was determined to get the man who
had killed McCullough and had stolen these valuable securi-
ties from the mail. The hunt was on.
At the end of two weeks of intensive investigation we had
made practically no headway in our efforts to solve this
baffling crime. Every facility of the vast resources of the
U. S. Post-Office Department, Postal Inspectors Division,
had been brought to bear on the task with but meagre results
and nothing that could be regarded as a real clue was re-
vealed. Still another week passed—and another.
Then a month after the slaying, through secret sources I
learned that a man giving his
name as Samuel Kaufman had
opened an account in the West
End Trust Company in Phila-
delphia. On the surface there
was nothing unusual about
this, but it was the beginning
of a chain of interesting cir-
cumstances.
On the thirteenth of May,
Joseph McGahey of the firm
of C. S. Patton & Company,
investment bankers, at Chest-
nut Street, Philadelphia, sat
in his heavily carpeted office.
He poised his gold-framed spec-
tacles against the side of his
chin as he listened to a man
seated facing him. The man
was Samuel Kaufman, a
swarthy individual with oily,
coal black hair. He was care-
fully dressed, wore an expen-
sive overcoat, and in his hand
he held a fashionable brown
hat. (Continued on page 89)
(Left) Inspector
George V. Craig-
head, of the United
States Post-Office,
who handled the
mysterious case and
tells the story here
‘oR? rhe 21
Se ate
Bent f
“6, SDM
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True Detective Mysteries
Solving Pittsburgh’s Atrocious Mail
Murder
(Continued from page 21)
“J have three French bonds that I
would like to sell,” said Kaufman, in a
softly modulated voice. He smiled, show-
ing his gleaming white teeth.
Banker McGahey nodded, and _ placed
the spectacles firmly on his nose.
“We'll take care of them for you,” he
said. He did not know that these were
stolen bonds.
Before the week was up, Kaufman had
transacted a substantial amount of busi-
ness with the firm. Three more French
bonds were sold and three U. S. Victory’s
bought in their stead. Then five West
Penn Power were sold and five more
Victory’s bought. All this while unfor-
tunately the circular on the loot lay un-
noticed in a desk drawer.
By the time the reports reached us,
Kaufman had broken his connections with
Patton & Company.
Then more stolen bonds began to crop
up. Two French Government bohds of
$1,000 denomination were sold on March
24th at Henry & Kirkbride, Philadel-
phia. Then on April 4th the firm. pur-
chased 100 shares of Guffey-Gillespic for
Kaufman and sold two French bonds. The
loot was turning up fast and it looked as
if Kaufman was our man. On April 29th
he sold three more French bonds and
bought Victory’s. .
HIESE reports, of course, filtered in to
us after the transactions were com-
pleted. We knew that the bond houses
had acted in good faith. Unfortunately,
we were always a step behind the wanted
man. Figuring out his transactions, I reck-
oned that six French bonds three
Libertys, and two American Fruit Growers
were still to be disposed of.
As the trail began to grow warmer, I
soon felt that it would be.only a matter
of days before we apprehended the slayer
of McCullough. Suddenly a United States
bond of $1,000 turned up in Washington °
and was traced to Henry & Kirkbride. I
found that this bond was sold for a Mar-
cus Newman on March 2nd, 1921, less
than a week after the slaying and robbery.
Now we had the two names linked with
the crime—Kaufman and Newman. Were
they a pair of desperate men who had
schemed this bold crime together?
We learned that Kaufman had over-
drawn his bank account at the West End
Trust Company, in Philadelphia, to the
extent of twenty-nine dollars. Then he
disappeared. He had given his address
as 1305 South Market Street. On investi-
gation, this proved to be a vacant lot.
’ The records of the’ account were gone
over and revealed that he had opened his
account on March 24th with a cash de-
posit of $100, followed by deposits of
$1,967.61 on the same day; $2,955.83 on
March 26th, and $3,222.12 on April 19th.
He closed his account in June when he
disappeared.
I then learned that Marcus Newman
had opened an account in the First Na-
tional Bank, Pittsburgh, with a deposit of
$1,300 on March 4th. Prior to that date
he had opened an account in the Union
Savings Bank in which deposits totalled
$105 until March 3rd, 1921, From. this
time on deposits came fast and ranged
from $100 to one of $19,000, the last
named amount coming in a draft from a
New Orleans bank in January.
Still the suspect eluded us. He was -
aways one step ahead of the officers who
worked day and night, following his long
trail of financial manipulations. We
traced and traced. It availed us nothing.
Then a new angle was uncovered by
one of our investigators. A man named
Marcus Newman had at one time worked
in the post-office at Detroit, Michigan, and
had been transferred to the Pittsburgh
Central Postoffice. In addition, we found
that a Marcus Newman had worked for
a short while as a machinist’s helper for
the Pennsylvania Railroad.
I concluded that a check-up of New-
man’s employment was next in order. I
learned that in June, 1918, he had been
employed as a machinist’s helper; in 1919
as brakeman; in 1920 as car cleaner, and
later as passenger brakeman. In_ the
latter position it was his duty to aid in
the shifting of coaches, mail and express
cars in making up trains. I then. dis-
covered that among the ears shifted by
the crew of which Newman was a member
was the one in which McCullough
worked! The railroad record disclosed
that Newman walked off the job on April
Ist, 1921, und had never returned.
I regarded this as an important devel-
opment and we began a search for New-
man, since the coupling used to kill Me-
Cullough might easily have been obtained
by a brakeman working in the yards.
Newman was the man we wanted to
talk to. He had worked in the post-office
and in the railroad yards. He was ac-
quainted with the making up of the dif-
ferent trains and no doubt knew that
McCullough had registered mail in. the
car.
I sent out word to police officials in
key cities to pick up Newman but. he
eluded all traps set for him. Then came
the break.
Twelve months after the murder, a man
entered the office of Redmond & Com-
pany, North American Building, Philadel-
phia. He approached Roland C. Alex-
ander and asked if the firm would sell
two $1,000 bonds of the American Fruit
Growers. He told Alexander that the
bonds were the property of his mother
who lived in Bethlehem, Pa., and ex-
plained that he would send for them at
once if Alexander could dispose of them.
Alexander cagerly welcomed the business.
“CET the bonds,” he said. “We'll find
the buyer.” ,
“Oh, just a minute,” he added as the
customer turned to go. “We'll need ref-
erences; it’s only a formality.”
A look of irritation came over the
man’s face, but in an instant it vanished.
“References?” he said easily, “Why, yes.
Samuel Kaufman, the West End’ Trust
Conipany of Philadelphia.”
At 8:40 A. M. the following day,
Kaufman, for it was he, walked into
Redmond & Company. In a portfolio
were the crisp bond certificates.
Alexander was amazed at Kaufman’s
promptness. Surely the man did not
have time to send te Bethlehem for the
securities. Stalling for time, he sug-
gested that Naufman wait until the next
day to complete the transaction, since the
market, conditions would be more favor-
able for a top price. Iaufman, greedy
for the last penny, left the bonds at the
office and said that he would return the
following morning and wait for his check.
Immediately a telephone call to the
West Mnd ‘Trust was put through,
89
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28 Visitor's Quarterly
Zic,, (A
/2.]/991
Murder trial still news after 100 years
THE NICELYS HANGED !
By Dr. William T. Doncaster
Public interest in murder
trials is nothing new. In
Somerset County more than 100
years ago, two brothers were
tried for the robbery and murder
of a prosperous local farmer,
and people haven't stopped
talking about it yet.
The Nicely brothers’ murder
trial has become the county's
most compelling history and
most remembered past. Joseph
and David Nicely became anti-
heros in the manner of more
notorious desperadoes of the
19th century.
Their spectacular hanging in
the Somerset Jail transformed
their infamous deeds into a saga
of suspense and mystery for
yam weavers and story tellers
along the Old Forbes Military
Road, now a part of U.S. Route
30.
Nineteenth century brigands
and murderers, evidenced in
dreaded coach and train
robberies, were not products of
metropolitan areas. In most
cases they were raised in small
frontier towns. As a backlash
of the Civil War, poverty, lack
THE MURDERERS OF OLD HERMAN UMBERGER
SATISFY THE LAW’S DEMANDS.
DEATH ON THE GALLOWS
A double gallows was built at the Old County Jail for the event. A big crowd attended.
of opportunity and discontent
were the great breeders of their
crimes. Restless spirits with a
craving for excitement, their
desire for adventure was a force
as Motivating as the money
stolen.
Among the most ill-famed of
these prairie desperadoes were
Continued on Page 29
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Visitor's Quarterly 29
Nicelys imitated Jesse and Frank James
Continued from Page 28
the brothers Jesse and Frank
James, so feared that law
abiding citizens and infamous
outlaws stood in awe of them.
Nonetheless, fireside legend
makers and yam weavers
tended to romanticize the
brigand's deeds, endowing him
with humor and whimsy that
was not a part of his character.
They were anti-heroes who,
many times, were shrouded
with Robinhood graces.
Distant Cousins
There is a strange,
genealogical and historical
connection between the James
and Nicely brothers. The father
of the James brothers was a first
cousin of the mother of Joseph
and David Nicely. Joseph
Nicely spent a summer with the
Jesse James gang.
Unsophisticated and naive,
the Nicely brothers would
become imitators of their more
flamboyant westem cousins and
be hanged for the murder of a
Somerset County farmer. Yet
over 100 years after the
incident, the trial and hanging
.the Ropes and bandanas used in the hanging are on display at Old County Jail
of Joseph and David Nicely
would become Somerset
County's most popular and
enduring legend.
Herman Umberger, 70, was
one of the County's best known
farmers, with a reputation for
having substantial means but
equally miserly peculiarities.
He lived with his family on a
farm located some one and a
half miles north of Jennerstown
on the Johnstown Pike. On the
evening of February 27, 1889, a
knock was heard on the front
door shortly after 7 p.m. When
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814-445-6511
> 6 aan eee ee cee cee ee ee
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the door was opened, the curtain
rose on the curious and
enigmatic Umberger-Nicely
drama.
Two strangers, purporting to
be officers of the law from
Bedford, produced a warrant to
search all the houses along the
Johnstown Pike for jewelry
supposedly stolen from a
peddler. Otherwise cautious
Continued on Page 30
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90
“Kaufman?” replied a voice in answer
to Alexander’s query. “I’ll say'we know
him! The Pinkertons, the U. 8. Post-
office authorities and the New York police
are looking for him. We'll be glad to see
him anytime.”
A few minutes later the information
was relayed to me by Postoffice Inspec-
tor Matthew McVicar, Jr., of the Phila-
delphia inspection district.
“Pm staying on the job all night,” he
informed me. “I want to be sure there
is no slip up.”
The next morning, accompanied by
Harry E. Wright of the Pinkerton De-
tective Agency, Inspector McVicar went
to the office of Redmond & Company.
Eagerly they awaited the appearance of
Kaufman. Would he become suspicious
of the delay and flee the city?
But their fears were groundless. Ap-
parently confident that he had not been
suspected, Kaufman walked blithely into
the office at 9 A. M. on February 25th,
1922, almost a full year after the killing.
A clerk who had been coached in his
part approached Kaufman. Regretfully he
told him that the price he asked had been
too high. He handed over a fat envelope.
Keen frowned as he placed the
envelope in his pocket. As he was
about to walk from the office, McVicar
and Wright converged upon him. ;
“We'd like to talk to you,” they said.
Kaufman lifted an eyebrow. His dark
face was void of expression.
“About what, gentlemen?”
“About a little matter of stolen bonds
and murder,” said McVicar, as he took
a firm grip on Kaufman’s arm.
Taken .to the West End Bank, the
prisoner was readily identified as the Sam-
uel Kaufman known to them. With an-
other link forged in the chain of evidence,
MeVicar took Kaufman to his own office
where he proceeded to question him.
Over the telephone McVicar notified
me of the arrest.
“He says that two men in Pittsburgh
gave him the bonds to dispose of, prom-
ising a liberal commission,” MeVicar told
me. He claims to have gone all over
the United States and Cuba selling the
stuff. Now he insists that his name is not
Kaufman but Marcus W. Newman and
that his home is at 626 Watt Street in the
Hill District, Pittsburgh.”
“Qh,” I replied with a grim_smile, “So
he says his name is Newman. That’s all I
want to know. You hold him.”
Immediately I procured a search war-.
rant atid rushed to the address which
McVicar had mentioned. There I found
Newman’s wife. She told us that her
husband had been employed in the post-
office and had later gone to work for the
Pennsylvania Railroad where he had been
a car cleaner, machinist’s helper and a
brakeman.
On further questioning, she added that
her husband had been making large sums
of money on horse races at various tracks
throughout the country, and not infre-
quently carried $9,000 in cash. As a birth-
day gift he had given her two diamond
rings in addition to a diamond bracelet.
Two automobiles came later as added
proofs of his affection.
I looked around the house. In a closet
were fifteen pairs of expensive shoes, silk
dresses and fur coats. Newman had in-
deed been lavish with his money.
While I was completing the Pittsburgh
investigation, Newman was held in a
Philadelphia jail and his bond was set
at $25,000. Information reached me that
he had: been placed in a cell with one
Frank Russo, also wanted in Pittsburgh.
When the latter finally arrived in the city,
I decided to have a talk with him. He
was brought into my office and I ex-
True Detective Mysteries
plained the circumstances of the case.
When he began to speak, I received a
shock.
“Newman is a Negro,’ he said. “He
told me in the cell one day that he had
passed as a white man ever since he was
a youngster. That was hew he came to
get the brakeman’s job with the rail-
road.”
He went on to say that Newman had
told him practically all of the details of
the murder of McCullough.
“He claims that two Negroes committed
the murder before he got to the car.
When he saw the registered mail lying
loose, he just scooped it up.”
This, to my mind, was merely an alibi.
tame convinced that it was a one man
job.
The Federal Grand Jury went into
action, and although the evidence that
J had was all circumstantial, Newman was
indicted on charges of robbing the mails
and assaulting a United States Railway
Mail clerk.
ADDITIONAL FACT
DETECTIVE STORIES
will be found in the MASTER
DETECTIVE, associate magazine
of TRUE DETECTIVE MyYS-
TERIES, both being Macfadden
Publications. The MASTER DE-
TECTIVE is on sale at all news
stands the 15th of each month.
The Alleghany County Grand Jury also
convened and returned a murder indict-
ment. Newman, unable to raise bail in
Philadelphia, was brought to Pittsburgh
and held on both state and federal
charges.
In October, 1922, he was called to trial
for murder. Harry Estep, then assistant
district attorney, was selected to present
the people’s case. Scores of witnesses
were called. I was unable to gather any
direct evidence but after the railroad men,
postoffice clerks, bond clerks, bankers and
others had testified, the jury, after a two-
hour deliberation, returned a verdict of
guilty of first degree murder.
I was satisfied that I had avenged Mc-
Cullough’s death. During the trial, Es-
tep had forged an unbreakable chain, of
evidence. Starting with Newman’s first
financial transaction, witnesses described
the accused man’s trips to various cities
selling the stolen bonds. The case was
closed with the arrest of Newman while
in possession of the last two bonds.
Newman knew that when he would at-
tempt to market the securities, the bond
houses would ask for references. He pre-
pared for this by opening an account
under the name of Kaufman at the West
End Trust Company, Philadelphia. Then
he covered his trail through the accounts
in his own name in the Pittsburgh banks
—the First National and the Union Sav-
ings. When Kaufman disappeared in
Philadelphia and New York, Newman ap-
peared in Pittsburgh and also in New
Orleans; his $19,000 draft from the latter
city being in the name of Newman. Had
he been successful in disposing of the re-
maining two bonds, I believe that we
would’ never have pinned the crime on
him.
After the verdict in. the lower court,
an appeal was taken to the higher re-
viewing body. It failed.
It was a beautiful spring-like day. The
sun bathed Ross Street in a warm glow.
It cast ‘long beams. into the second floor
window of the courthouse and in the big
criminal courtroom the light.: danced
across the floor.
A day to live, not to die. Court at-
taches and the few spectators should have
been happy and smiling. But there were
no smiles. :
The old room in the Alleghany County
Courthouse had seen the stage set for
all the acts of life’s drama and it was
about to witness another tragedy. A hush
fell over the room as the judge entered
from his chambers and walked slowly to
his chair. In his hand he carried an ob-
an which he placed on the bench before
lim.
The object carried by the judge was
scarcely larger than a handkerchief, a
black cap. There was a shuffle of feet
beneath the judge’s bench. Between two
husky deputy sheriffs appeared a swarthy
man.
It was Newman, and he had remarkable
control of his nerves. He did not tremble.
His eyes expressed but a portion of what
he must have felt. They shifted ner-
vously. His attorney walked to his side
and whispered something in his ear. He
nodded.
“Mareus W. Newman to the bar!”
came’ the call of the clerk.
With deputies on each side of him,
Newman stood before the judge, the late
J. Frank Bell, who presided over the
trial. Judge Bell adjusted his black cap
as he arose. The spectators stood also.
The face of the judge reflected the
solemnity of his duty. It was not a pleas-
ant task.
“Have you anything to say?” he asked,
looking at Newman.
Newman shook his head. The judge
cleared his throat and in a low clear voice
imposed the death sentence.
“You shall be taken to the place
from whence you came and confined there
until such time as the Govenor may
direct, when you shall be taken to the
place of electrocution and then and there
a current of electricity shall pass through
your body until you are dead. May God
in his infinite wisdom have mercy on
your soul.”
ILENTLY the judge left the bench,
the prisoner was hustled to the cage
below and taken, after an interval, across
the bridge, high above Ross Street that
connects the courthouse and jail. As he
was going across this Bridge of Sighs, he
turned to George Newcomer, one of his
guards, and said—
“Imagine the judge asking me if I had
anything to say! He said it all.”
Newman was still cool. He did not
fear the sentence nor did he fear death.
He was placed in his cell to await the
date of his execution.
A strange man, hiding his Negro
origin from white people, his ambition
was to be a recognized -member of the
Frogs, an ultra-exclusive Negro social or-
ganization. It was this ambition which
led him to commit the theft, which was
to end with murder and the electric
chair.
His salary did not permit him to in-
dulge in all of the Frogs’ activities. But
by his pleasing personality, his ready wit,
good looks and the fact that he had a
responsible position, he gained a Frog
membership.
Of course, there were a select few who
were Frogs all of the time. They had
plenty of money, but the majority of
members scrimped and saved during the
year for a grand splurge during Frog
Week. Then back they went to the hum-
drum grind and the semi-oblivion that
was their lot.
Newman was not. satisfied with this.
He wanted to be a leader. He desired to
“ong eee,
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danced
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vy County
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A hush
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the bar!”
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May God
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Sighs, he
me of his
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"did not
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await the
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ambition
vcr of the
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ready wit,
he had a
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They had
ajority of
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) the hum-
livion that
with this.
desired to
Harry Estep, the able assistant Dis-
trict Attorney who _ successfully
prosecuted the case
attend dances, bridge parties, poker ses-
sions, charity events, to follow the lead-
ing Negro baseball and football teams
from place to place and serve the drinks
in cut-glass goblets after they had been
poured from a silver cocktail shaker.
This could not be done on a railway
worker’s or postal clerk’s salary. A smart
young Negro could amass an income from
tips in stocks and be accepted among the
leading Frogs. But it needed money to
start.
So now while his brother Frogs were
free outside, Newman was confined to his
cell. The Governor ,would fix the date
of his death. He had gambled and lost.
It was but a matter of time now. How-
ever, as yet the date had not been an-
nounced.
Days passed. Then weeks and months.
Perhaps, after all, he would not be taken’
to the Western Penitentiary at Rock-
view, to pay for his crime. Newman had
hopes.
Suddenly one day, a jail attendant ap-
peared at Newman's cell. He found the
prisoner in good humor as usual. A
model prisoner, he never complained.
“Well?” asked Newman.
“CORRY, Marcus, but the Governor
has fixed the date,” replied the guard,
“When is it?”
“July 2nd, 1923.”
Newman trembled and sat down in his
cell. It had come at last. Nothing to
do now but wait.
» A few days later, a guard went to the
office of Deputy Jail Warden David
Harris and whispered that Newman
wanted to see him. Newman had found
fault with something.
Deputy Harris left his office and walked
toward the death cell range. Twenty
years had taught him that the consola-
tion of words to men to whom every
tick of the clock is one second closer to
the end, means a great deal. He was a
kindly man, all heart and sympathy.
Harris went to Newman’s cell. He un-
locked the door and walked inside to offer
words of hope.
“Something wrong, Marcus?” he asked.
Newman turned. In his hand he held
a small iron bar. Instead of the suave,
witty Frog, Newman was in his real life
role as the killer who struck death in the
mail car. Harris cried for help.
Guards who heard his scream and the
commotion which followed rushed into
the cell, They beat Newman into sub-
True Detective Mysteries
mission and carried Harris to the prison
hospital. His head was deeply cut and
he was confined to his bed for days.
On Thursday, June 28th, 1923, a deputy
sheriff entered the Pennsylvania Station,
where the murder of McCullough had
been committed. He approached the
ticket office window and ordered a state-
room on a train to Rockview, where the
death house is. located.
“Three tickets up. Two back,” was the
message delivered to the ticket agent,
who knew by this that another man was
to be taken to his death.
On Friday morning, the Sheriff’s auto-
mobile stopped in Ross Street at the
entrance to the jail. It was not yet eight
o’clock, and the streets were quiet.
Deputy Sheriff Meyer Van Lewen and
another officer, who had previously en-
tered the jail, suddenly appeared from
behind the heavy barred doors. Van
Lewen had a man handcuffed to him. It
was Newman.
As though he was on his way to a horse
race, Newman with a smile, walked briskly
to the automobile. In his hand, he carried
a folded newspaper.
Clad in a well pressed neat-fitting blue
serge suit, with a light felt hat set at a
rakish angle on his head, he seated him-
self in the Sheriff's automobile. Carefully
he pulled up each trouser leg, preserving
the crease between his delicate fingers.
Looking from the window of the auto-
mobile, Newman smiled, waved the news-
paper to a friend who stood across the
street, the only one present to bid him
good-bye.
T was a long ride to the penitentiary
at Rockview, and Newman proved him-
self the debonair Frog. He read the
paper, talked to Van Lewen and the other
officer, discussed topics of the day. No
one mentioned the execution. Maybe
no one thought of it.
Newman was imprisoned in a death cell
where he remained until the morning
of July 2nd, 1923. The guard found him
up bright and early. He ate breakfast
and did considerable writing. He was
given the order that everything was ready.
Still calm and cool, Newman arose from
his seat in the ccll and walked to the
little room where the clectrie chair had
been prepared to receive him. He was
attended by a priest, who solemnly in-
toned a prayer.
Less than ten minutes later, the brutal
slaying of Mail Clerk McCullough had
been avenged,
The man who longed to be a “Frog”
Follow
this Man!
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OLLOW him through all the ex-
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mystery is solved. Better than fiction.
It’s true, every word of it. No obliga-
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FREES
The Confidential Reports
No. 38 Made to His Chief
And the best part of it all is this. It
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Are you of average ey open Are you
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INSTITUTE OF APPLIED SCIENCE
1920 Sunnyside Ave., Dept.14-36,Chicago, Ill.
ptailnirheeiraein ele eee
Institute of Applied Science, Dept. 14-36
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Gentlemen:—Without any obligation whatever, send
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Lteratare will NOT be sent to boys under 17 years
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Name
Address
3 3 3 bi
ORME, Charles, white, hanged Stroudsburg, Pa., 8-11-1869.
352 SUPREME COURT [Philadelphia
-[Loew v. Stocker. ]
ing upon and selling personal property upon an execution which
had come into his hands as sheriff. The special verdict finds
“that an action was brought against Francis Stocker, sheriff of ;
Carbon county, and a recovery had against him which, with costs
and interest, amounts to more than $3000,” the penalty of the
bond. But it does not find that the action was brought, and the
recovery had for levying upon and selling the goods mentioned
and described in the bond, and for which it was given as indem-
nity, and we cannot intend or infer that such was the fact. It is
well settled that a special verdict must find all the essential facts
in the case, and that it cannot be aided by intendment or a refer-
ence to extrinsic facts appearing upon the record: Wallingford v.
Dunlap, 2 Ilarris 31; Sewall v. Glidden, 1 Ala. 52; Tunnell v.
Watson, 2 Munf. 283; Lee v. Campbell, 4 Port. 198; Allen v.
Folger, 6 Rich. 54; and what is not found by a special verdict
will be taken not to exist: Thayer v. Society of United Brethren,
8 Harris 60; Berks Co. v. Jones, 9 Id. 416; and this is so
although the circumstances stated may be sufficient to warrant an
inference or presumption of the existence of the matter omitted:
Jones v. State, 2 Swan. 399. The court is confined to the facts
found in a special verdict, and cannot supply the want thereof
by any argument or implication from what is expressly found:
Crousillat v. Ball, 3 Yeates 386; Ingersoll v. Blanchard, 2 Id.
545. And if the special verdict is defective or uncertain, no
judgment can be entered upon it, but it must be set aside, and a
venire de novo awarded: Whitesides v. Russell, 8 W. & S. 47;
Peterson v. United States, 2 Wash. C. C. R. 39; State v. Duncan,
2 McCord 129. These authorities abundantly show not only that
the judgment must be reversed, but that the special verdict must
be set aside and a new trial awarded.
Judgment reversed, special verdict set aside, and a venire
facias de novo awarded. ’
4
Brooks and Orme versus The Commonwealth. ¢*
1. A robbery was committed in a house, the owner being absent; he was
sent for and informed, and, accompanied by another, without a warrant pur- ° |
sued those suspected. They were told of the robbery, that they were suspected,
and must return, and one of them was taken hold of; he told his companion
to shoot both of the pursuers; he shot and one was killed. The court was
asked to charge that the pursuers, not being parte officers, had no authority
to arrest, the arrest was illegal, and the killing was not murder but man-
slaughter. ‘The court refused to charge. IJleld, not to be error, as so to ;
charge would have taken the whole case from the jury.
2. If the arrest had been illegal, it was still for the jury to determine
whether the killing was without malice and arose from a sudden heat upon
the arrest. vs.
3, In manslaughter the law shows indulgence to men when justly pro-
Panos ghanera hepa ~Sautums Gl
(
*
—-
:
“at
HOLE NUMBER .2323,
ee
[? A COMFORTABL & EXECUTION:
REPU
d| now he statids tipon the gallows, ‘uttérly
him ;.. ‘(I’m putting this (the rope) on to
«| you
had had a disgraceful. dispute with a
kind; atid I got so overe
», drop fell; thé-ropé abdve jthé-the- noose |:
] officer; he had 4 bid job oti his handa};
| Provideitce was ‘plainly interposing to
save the life of the man, aid Providente
must bé promptly and effectually encouh-
jtered. “O! that this horrible work was
over !’” sdid Orme, as for the third time lie
was placed under the crois-bar,
the bar was pulled, and agaiii the drop
fell. But the Sheriff, who just before was
upon “ cortifortable” thouglits intent, had
so adjusted this legal cravat-=was stich &
clumsy Beau Brummel of a sheriff—thdt
“the knot of the noose strike the niati’s
throat diteotly, under, thé. chiti;”
man!" gasps
FOR
6 Ye i iid ' fopee ects Y i.
, Charles Orme was hung a Stroudsbyrg;
‘Pa., ‘a week or two, ago, _ Anticipating,
perhaps, the damnable horror of his lega
yinlcing‘off, he had once made a desperate
‘el to coinmit ‘suicide, .
le... But, the fatal
Morning fitids him a
living sacrifice, and
in the power df the Sheriff, who says to
ou as comfortable as I cat; 60 as not, to
‘hurt’ you, Charley,” rt
{Rave been the. betievolent ititentions: of
the Sheriff in making this ptéparation for
% good; " comfortable,” cosy disldcation,
they were foiled by the ignorance oF the
Old Sheriff, now officially defunct, abé
his tréatment whee firstiinprisoned; “Yt!
névet got a change of clothing,” he said;
Vof shirts; or socks; or o thing of thé]
ind od with vermih
that the only way I could get-rid of ther
was by burning théni with a lighted cail-
}ale.t.+ But all that being. over, nothin;
rénidified but to send Orme. to atiothe
world ‘as comfortably as I can, Charley,”
‘ “We beg pardon of our readers; but the
rset even in thé interest of the Death
Penalty should bé told ondé more. The
Sheriff twitched, the rope attached to the |:
" mx tht” which tipheld the drop, arid
‘pulled the bar from its place: Bar aiid |:
[a
-bro and, with a fall of fivé feet, “ Char:
ley”” cutie to the floor of thé prison almo&t
stuntiéd; ‘and with his Hedd IJeanilig
against the prison wall: _ They raised
him; they pulled thé cap froni his! face!
they made hini again ascend the scaffo ;
while thé benevolent Sheriff prepared.a |
new nodée: Probably all idéas of doit
the thing comfortably” had by this tima
vanisned from thé mind of this worth
Again
@ffort.to escape, and oncé he had attenipt- |.
,|the throat. As the body switig
‘{ {The seqiel showed that Whatever may |
binexperience of the worthy officer. “Gntve, |.
+] Orme had.been upon the gallows; and
fheb taken in again, to eat his diniiet, in | ,
j{the*hope that a reprieve, which’ Hever].
joame# might arrive by the text: mdil: |:
‘Already, even upon the. gallows: Orne |:
an se
a a
ry Od
fanfred, In tlie play— =
' “Old main ! ’tis not sodifficitlt. td die.” —, ||
b
}
But poor * Charley” found it Hard enough.
The baridage about his afms became loos-
ened, and several. times the dangling
wretch riiséd his right hand to his neck,
and cluttvhed convulsively the shirt near
g tear the}
drop, “Chai‘ley” with his left Hand caught
hold of on¢ side of thé platform, scratch |
ing theré—fumbling for life With frightful }
instinct, .so that wheti the -hand was}.
forced td loose its hold through weakness,
“the grating of the firiget-hails could be}
heard plainly all ovét the hall.” Fort.
fifteen minutes Orme wasdying. He was
not really dead until twenty-five minutes
from the moment hé Was “launched ittto
éternity” had elapsed:. Then they cut
him down; put him into a plain co it;
and buried him it, theedrner of thé cetii-
étery, We shotld not be at all surprised |
to learn that the Sheriff has“ordered his
disiiterment, td find out whether 6 be
téally dead; or whether heis merély affect-
ing ‘death td avoid any more of Mr.
ou i bhidesiahS. sali ic. ny? bit iene
“A more horrible executiotl,” said one
newspapéi; “never took place iti the
United States.” That others like it miay |.
rarely occur, we embrace the present aé|:
an excéllent time for bringiiig before the |-
‘piiblit & plan which we have long. been
cdgitdting for the endowment atid estab-
li hitéint ofa A Narionar Untversity For],
ANGMEN. In this pleasant itstitution;
thé theory ard. practice of the Arts. of
Sttangling aad Disldcation will be taight:
Ofie departnent will bo devoted to the
raining of ‘clergyrtiefi int the bitsitiess of
iudicioussly conducting the last devotions,
und @ 1,ttle maiual will be prepared, of
aymns. and ptayérs; suitable to the. occa,
sion. In atiother departitient; lectitres
vill be givetl on the anatomy of the throat
mi neck; it still another; which miay |:
3 called the g}mnasium, the students.
will be employed iit thé constriction of
the gallows; in workitig with lay-figures
at what may be designated as moot-hang-
ings, i practicing the art of pinioning
and of adjusting the fatal noose. Occa-|,
sionally; as a great favor; some couré
tight send to the Hangnian’s University
a living subject to be opérated upou by
the students; and what a treat it will be
fem !—what a still greater treat it will
be to the culprit thus honored! In this
way we shonld expect, in a short time, to
be able to turn out a great number of
Gexterous mien, each with a diplomacon-
Sireisig aon him the degree o Master of}:
Hanging (M.4i), Then everything will
go sweetly, There will be a great im-
ptovément in the prayers, and there is |:
vertaipiy room for it. The well-gréased |
sullews will work with the regularity and
mecision of a steam-engine. A humane
éelerity will mark our executions: Ropes
will never break ; those who are worked
off will have their necks broken; dnd will
not be strangled., Ore—two—three; and
all over! Bah! it trill be nothing !—
Tribune. ; pon
eees 94
= 8 eae Paes
A eee CS a TS ae ain
ag Rakes ae a AT
de
ORME, Charles, white, hanged S roudsburg, Pae, 8-11-1869,
asenbitngs ant) ean dnreteeintih serene ante,
rane
h
oes ee nn hat
IN ITS FORTY-FIFTH YRAR
em ann tener eer le ae ea see
HOLE (UMBER, 2823,
3
he A COMFORTABLE EXECUTION:
ye) cde cctoereiciimitly
ee
er ee we Oe
_——_— + Ch mms ws
ee ae i. a oh ie
Anticipating,
But the fatal
_ The sequel showed that Whatever may
Have been the behevolent iiiteitions of
the Sheriff in miaking this pteparation for
a good; comfortable,” cosy dislocation,
they were foiled by the ignorance ot the
inexperience of the worthy officer, Once,
Orme had been upon the gallows, and
came#might arrive by the text midil,
his treatment Whee firstiinprisoned,
kind, and J got so ¢overed with yermih
that the only way I could get rid of theri
waa by burning hart with a lighted cart.
dle.’ But all that being over, nothing
reméined but td send Orme to another
world “as comfortably as I can, Charley,”
We beg pardon of our readers; but the
stdby; even in the interest of the Death
Penalty should bé told oridé more, The
Sheriff twitched the rope attached to the
“upright” which tipheld the drop, and
pulled the bar from its plas: aitd
broke, and, with a fallof fivé feet, “ Char-
ley” came to the floor of the prison almost
stunned; and with his Head Téantit;
against the prison wall; They faiued
him; they pulled thé cap fant his face }
they mado him again ascend the scaifold,
while thé benevolent Sheriff prepared a
new nocge: Probably all idéas of doiirg
the thing “comfortably” had by this timé
vanisned from thé mind 6f this worthy
officer; he had & bid job 64 his handa;
Provideitcé was plainly interposing to
save the life of tha man, aid Providence
must bé promptly and effectually encouk:
tered. “QO! that this horrible work was
over!’ said Orme, as for the third timele |:
wis pie under the crogs-bar, Again
the bar wis pulled, and agaiii the drop
fell. But the Sheriff, who jtist before was
upon “ comfortable” thouglité intent, had
so adjusted this legal cravat-~was sticli 4
Bar aiid}:
drop fll; the ropé above jtlie the noose |'
‘| never got a change of clothing,” he said; |!
| of shirts, or socks; or anything of the.
—
_ Charles Orme was hung a Stroudsburg;
it) Pa., a weék or two ago.
i | perhaps, the damnable horror of his legal
hh | taking-off, he had ones made a desperate
e: | effort td escape, and once he had attemipt-
te] cd to coinjnit suicide.
-| morning fitids Him a living sacrifice, and
d| now he statids tipon the gullows, utterly
n| in the power of th» Sheriff who says to
ie; bim: “Vin putting this (the rope) on to
-| you as comfortable as I cat; sas not to
h| hurt you, Charley,’
then taken in again, to eat his dinitety in | |
the hope that a reprieve; which Hever]:
Already, even upon the gallows, Orne ‘
had had a disgraceful dispute with the|:
ld Sheriff, now officially defunct, absut' :
But poor " Charley” found it Hard enough.
The banilage about his afmns became loos-
ened, and several times the dangling
wretch ritiséd his right hand to his neck,
and clutched convulsively the shirt near
the thréat. As the body swiitig tiear the
drop, “Chatley” with his left Hand caught
hold of one side of the platform, seratch
ing there—fumbling for life tvith frightful
instinct, .so that wheh the hand was
forced td loose its hold through weakness,
“the prating of the firiger-hails could be
heard plainly all ovet the hal” Pot
fiftedit minutes Orme wasdying, He Wis
not really dead until twenty-five minutes
from the moment hé as “launched ihity
éternity” had elapsed. Then they cut
him down, put hint into a slain coffii;
and buried him in thecorner of the cetti-
i disinterment, th find out whether lté be
clumsy Beau Brummel of @ sheriff—thdt
“the kndt of the noose struck the miatt’s
throat directly under the chi.” “Ola
man!" gasps Manfred; inthe play ;
“Old man! ‘tis not sa diMetilt td die”
From Belvidere, Ne Jey APPOLO, not dated,
White Township - Warren County, Re De 1, Box 231,
etery; We shotld not be at all surprised
to learn that the Sheriff has ,orderecd tris
teally dead, or whether heis merely affect-
ing death td avoid any mote of Mr.
Gh oe he Monitor oo epagppe gst
“A more Aerie executioi,” said one
newspapér, “never took place ih the
United States.” That others hike it may
rarely occur, we enabrace the present as}:
an exckllent time for bringing before the
publ¢ & plan which we have long been
cigttating for the endowment atid estab-
lishiént ofa A Nationa, University ror
Hanemen. In this pleasant ifistitution;
thé theory and practice of the Arts. of
Sttangling a‘ad Disldcation willbe taught.
One departinent will bo devoted to tlie
training of clergyriteh in the biisitiess of
‘udiciously conducting the last devotions,
ind a little manual will be prepared, of
aymns. and prayers; suitable to the occa-
sion. In another departmient; lecttires
vill be givetion the anatomy of the throat
intt neck; itt still another; whith miay
x: called the g}mnasium, the students
will be employed in the construction of
the gallows; in workitig with lay-figures
at what may be designated as moot-hang-
ings, in practicing the art of pinioning
and of adjusting the fatal noose. Occa- |
sionally; as a great favor; some court}
bright send to the Hangman’s University |
a liviitg stlject to be operated upon by
the students; and what a treat it will be
to them {!—what a still greater treat it will
be to the culprit thus hopored! In this
ay we shonld expect, in a short time, to.
be able to turfi out w great number of
Yexterous mien, eacn with a diplomacon-
ferring upon hips the degree of Master of
Hatiging (M. Hy. Then everything will
go sweetly, Thero will be a great im-
ptovément in the prayers, and there is!’
settainiy room for it, Tho well-grénsed »
xillows will work with the regularity and
mecision of a steam-engitie, A htttlane,
celerity will mark our executions. Ropes
will never break ; those who are worked
off will have their necks brokenyand will
not bestrangled.. Urle~tvo-—three; and
all over! Bah! it trill be nothing I—:
Tribune,
PEL. i vn
Provided by Betty Jo King, Sarepta Road,
Belvidere, NJ 07823.
1869. ] OF PENNSYLVANIA. 353
[Brooks v. Commonwealth. ]
voked and transported by passion, and therefore ungovernable and deaf to
reason.
4, lhe cause which produces such frame of mind must be reasonable, and
bear a just proportion to the effect.
5. If ona sudden provocation of a slight nature one beats another in a
cruel and unusual manner, so that he dies, it is murder by express malice,
though he did not intend to kill him.
6. On the commission of a felony, a private person making fresh pursuit
on reliable information may arrest the felon.
7. Any private person, a fortiori a peace officer,—who is present when any
felony is committed, is bound to arrest the felon, and may break open doors
in following him.
8. If such pursuers kill the felon, provided he cannot otherwise be taken,
it is justifiable; if they are killed in endeavoring to make the arrest, it is
murder.
9. On probable suspicion a private person may arrest the felon or other
person so suspected: but cannot break open a house or kill the suspected
person: and the felony must be proved to justify the arrest.
10. Wakely v. Hart, 6 Binn, 318, remarked on.
11. A private person in making an arrest must give notice of his purpose
to arrest for the felony.
March 16th 1869. Before Tompson, C. J., Reap, AaNuw and
WI.uraMs, JJ. SHarRswoop, J., at Nisi Prius.
Error to the Court of Oyer and Terminer of Monroe county:
No. 357, to January Term 1869.
This was an indictment against Williams Brooks and Charles
Orme for the murder of Theodore Brodhead. The indictment was
found September 30th 1868, and the prisoners were tried Decem-
ber 28th 1868.
Thomas Brodhead, a brother of the deceased, was the keeper
of an hotel in Dutotsburg, Monroe county. He testified that he
came home between 11 and 12 o’clock in the forenoon of Septem-
ber 25th 1868, and was informed that his bar drawer had been
robbed by two men; having obtained information of the direction
in which they went, he followed them, and the deceased followed
the witness. Seeing the men before him on the road, the de-
ceased still following him, the witness hastened and overtook
them: he said to them he wanted them to go back with him, some
persons had robbed his bar, and they were supposed to be the men.
Brooks said he was willing to go back; Orme refused to go.
Witness then took hold of Orme’s sleeve and told him he must go
back too. They both stepped back a few steps toward the house.
Brooks took something from his pocket and threw, as if trying to
throw over the wall. Witness let go Orme’s arm—the deceased
being alongside of him—to pick up what Brooks had thrown from
his pocket; he saw a new $2 note and some scrip. Before he had
time to pick it up, the deceased said, “‘ Don’t you shoot.” Witness
looked up and saw Brooks pointing a pistol at the head of the
deceased. Witness said, ‘‘ You'd better not shoot.’”’ Brooks then
turned the pistol on witness and shot him in the side. Brooks
11 P. F. Smitru—23
Ne
Lathe PEXOR Gunite meh Er
eo,
the publicity given. the manhunt and
police assurance that the criminals were
in the vicinity, Lieutenant Bricker
cracked down on any further information.
“Fyrom now on,” he declared, “we're going
to clam up tight. The lid is on.”.
Working -undercover, ‘the investigators
moved swiftly. One important item which
for
HUSBAND
g WIFE /
UCTORY OFFER PAYS UP TO
\ DAY for ROOM & BOARD.
for OPERATIONS . . .
) EXTRA EXPENSE . . .
CHILDBIRTH .. .
EMERGENCY DRAFT. . -
1900”
the register of
City, where
signed by J. D. West and R. W. Pepperman.
The most optimistic officer on the force
would have bet that the names were
phony. But as a matter of routine they
were dispatched to all police agencies to
be checked against names of i
known crim-
Police in Williamsport, Pa., wired that
two local hoodlums of those names were
missing from their usual haunts. Lieu-
tenant Bricker immediately requested that
a full inv tion be made.
Private of Williamsport was given
the case. A nage showed that West
and Pepperman_ had been absent from
town for several days prior to and after
DENTAL DEATH: the Campbell murder. In addition Fink
: compi a complete report o e men’s
= or 3 months and 78 Jae record for Erie 0! TR.
rolicy affords. These that at 14 Pepperman
had been sent to Glen Mills reformatory
as an incorrigible. After 18 months he
was released, only to be sent to the
Huntington reform school for larceny of
an automobile. Rel after 19 months
he was picked up almost immediately for
theft of another car. The next four years
were spent in the Eastern penitentiary
at Philadelphia. Released in January 1944,
he then served time in the Lycoming
County jail as an accessory to robbery.
Two Men Picked Up
It was the car thefts which made Dis-
This tied in with the murderer's
driving sway in Campbell’s_ car. Only a
desperate man or a foolhardy one would
have run such a
murder.
on West was equally con-
clusive. He too was behind bars at Glen
the age of 14. Released after
four years -he went to the Huntington re-
for car theft. Getting out of
Their careers were amazingly s.milar,
as was their fondness for stolen cars.
But Laub moved cautiously. He remem-
bered the circumstantial evidence which
had seemed: to int to Hoffmann and
Paletto only a short time before.
“Bring them in,” he ordered. “I'd like
to ask a few questions.” :
men were located without
trouble and brought to Erie where they
faced Laub and his gimlet-eyed officers
with feigned calm. “You fellows havent
much to worry about,” Laub said coolly.
“We don’t have a thing on you except
that you ‘were out: of town when the
murder was committed.”
the men _ brightened
ly. “As a matter of fact, we
have little to go on,” Laub continued
f . suavely. “The rprints which we found
| in Campbell's car were blurred and worth-
IDENT INSURANCE Co.
ig, St Louis 8, Mo.
Ye Mo Day wf Wieth Age Ss Height | Weight 9
2 feos
—
|
|
|
ie |
|
|
hn CTEM a State...
Love members of your family ever been &
Ilas any applicant herein been (7
iny disease or complaint within the 38
| describe....cscccceeeenmerenee rears .§ that old man?”
anove members of my family are in good “We did not!” Both men sang pees
cal or mental impairments, and that the BS vehement denial in chorus.
ewith is correet.
ture of
(Write--Do Not Print)
~ eo ogg
you know because they registered under
your names. Now I don't think you would
inals on file
Unexpectedly, the thousand-to-one shot |
‘trict, Attorney. Laub bite his lips thought--
lineaments
ai
be dumb soca to do such a thing, but
as a matter of routine we'll have to go
out there and let the clerk look you over.
It will only take a short time, and when
he gives you an okay you'll be as free
as the air.”
When he had finished the room was
filled with silence that could be felt. -
The district attorney, who had half
risen from his chair, now sat back
ulatively. “What’s. wrong?” he
“Didn’t your dinner agree with you?”
Ww gulped and swallowed .convul-
sively. Pepperman looked pale around the
lips. “‘You—you're going to take us up to
see that clerk?” he asked feebly.
Laub pretended surprise. “ inly.
you're not guilty, don’t worry about it.”
“Well...” the two men looked at-each
other uncertainly—“what do we get out
of it,’ Pepperman demanded, “if we plead
guilty?”
“Not a thing!” Laub was positive on this
point. “I can take you to Bay City and
prove for myself whether you're telling
‘the truth or not.”
“You needn’t bother,” West said faintly.
“We—we did it.”
In their confession both men_pleaded
that they had not intended murder. “We
swiped a car in Williamsport,” Pepperman
related without emotion. “After that we
went for a joyride through New York
state and finally wound wu outside of
Erie. By that time we figured the machine
was pretty hot, so we ditched it. We
walked Along the road until we came to
Campbell’s house. The old man was out-
side and we told him we were hitching
to Pittsburgh. He asked us in and gave
us something to eat and some coffee.”
Seeing the shocked look on the faces of
their listeners, West interrupted quickly.
“We didn’t do anything to him then,” he
said. “We couldn’t hurt anyone who had
treated us like that. But we saw his car
and figured he had plenty of cash to buy
another. Besides, we needed it.”
“So you stole the machine?” Laub asked.
Pepperman shook his head. “Not until
three days later. We hung around, trying
to cook something up. Finally we decided
just to drive it out of the garage. But the
darn door was locked.”
Afterward they lay in the bushes awhile,
trying to figure a way of getting into the
garage. Finally they walked up to the
house and knocked on the’ door. Camp-
bell recognized them immediately.
“It was about 7:30,” ‘Pepperman con-
tinued the story. “We told him West had
lost his fountain pen when we were there
before. I said he’d dropped it in the
bushes. The old man offered to get his
flashlight and help look for it. When he
came out the door we grabbed him.”
“Tt was a hell of a fight,” West related.
“We dragged him inside before he could
yell and tied a towel around his mouth.
Then we hit him over the head with his
bedroom slipper . . .”
“Just a minute,” Laub interjected. “You
used his slipper to beat him to death?”
“We hit him with it,” West corrected.
“We didn’t want to kill him.”
“He admitted, however, that they had
dragged their elderly victim into the
kitchen and there, after removing approxi-
mately $60 from his wallet and searching
the house for anything of value, they had
left him to die. '
“I figured he’d get loose, though,” Pep-
perman said ‘uneasily. “We just took the
garage keys from his pocket and drove
off in the car.”
West, however, was more truthful. “I
had a feeling,” he admitted. “I didn’t know
for sure, but I had a hunch the old man
was dead. But everything happened just
like 1 was in a trance. 1 don't remember
half of what we did after that.” ’
“What they did afterward was of little
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‘em to realize
» be charged
we found two
the Campbell
le by a man
‘s. The others
We took your
i:them.” He
ak it. “They’re
nothing about
oral stood u
10 alibi, we’
‘r you're tell-
offmann spoke
and acid,” he
lanned to use
ve cracked up
ie job. Honest,
ag about this —
the _ officers, ||
~“» questioning
wie two men
vas needed now
convict them. «|
e investigation
y, but with
Van Cleve in-
co her father’s”
) ascertain just
; was a disap-
n article would
the event that
ome pawnshop. -
revolver,” she
owhere around.
say just what
ild I even guess
-y he had with
iael came for-
, of seeing two
‘essed in blue |
DELIVERED THE SLAYERS UP TO THE PENNSYLVANIA OFFICERS
An unbelievable blunder: led detectives -
to doubt the guilt of this pair at first.
But they could not stand a proposed +est.
trousers and blue. shirts walking up
the road leading to the Campbell home.
This was on August 1. Asked to iden-
tify Hoffmann and Paletto she was
unable to do so. Once more hopes for
an early solution of the mystery were
dashed.
Blood scrapings were taken from the
rch and kitchen and turned over ta
boratory technicians. All proved to
be from the victim. A hunt was insti-
tuted for the missing wallet but it was
not to be found. Along with the in-
strument of death and the victim’s
revolver, it apparently had been re-
moved from the scene.
District Attorney Laub was trying
to decide whether to charge Hoffmann
and Paletto with the murder when a
flash report took the matter out of his
hands. Police of Canton, O., reported
finding the gray business coupe which
had been stolen from the Campbell
home. The car, in good’ running con-
dition, was abandoned about a mile
south of Canton on a dirt road off
Highway No. 43.
Clue Of Bar Of Soap |
‘Corporal Mehallick, Sergeant Schau-
ers and Sheriff Lamberton went im-
mediately to Canton... >
“The keys were in the lock,” officials
there reported. “The gas tank was half
full and there was a rubber hose and
a funnel in the car for stealing gaso-.
line. Apparently the machine was
ditched intentionally.”
“How about fingerprints?” Mehallick
asked tensely.
“Maybe. There are some smudged
prints, but whether they will amount
to anything or not remains to be seen.”
“Let’s look over the car,” Sheriff
Lamberton suggested.
The machine, which had been towed
to a police garage, bore stolen Michigan
plates, showing that the killers had
cruised through the northern | states
before doubling back to Ohio. In the
back of the auto: were the crumpled
Pennsylvania plates which had been
issued to Campbell. Several packs of
‘book matches and a loaf of bread were
also on the back seat. But there were
no bloodstains or a weapon of any
type.
The Erie officers listened gravely and
considered much. The three men were
famed for their manhunting ability.
And now, faced with a virtually clue-
less crime, they were determined to
overlook nothing that might lead to a
solution. _
“You searched the ground where the
car was found?” Sergeant Schauers
suggested.
The Canton officer stared. “Searched
the ground? For what? The criminals
simply abandoned the coupe and got
away.” ;
- Sheriff Lamberton grinned. “Per-
haps that is what they would like us
to think,” he announced. “Just take
note of the things that were found.
Not one of any importance. And yet
there is a chance that the very clue
we are looking for was right in the
car. Naturally, if the criminals realized
that, they would dispose of it. before
we arrived on the scene.”
Corporal Mehallick nodded. “And
they wouldn’t take it very far,” he
added. “Not if they were on foot after
abandoning the Chevvie.” ‘
“There may be something to what
you say,” the Canton officer said
thoughtfully.
“It?s only a hunch,” Sheriff Lamber-
ton assured him hastily. “But right
now we can’t afford to pass up any
bets.”
“Of course not! We'll go out there
immediately.”
Campbell's bedroom, like other rooms
of his modest country dwelling, was
ransacked. What .was sought there?
Campbell was a former industrialist
of Erie, Pa.-He was well known as a
philanthropist and garden hobbyist.
Heavy undergrowth lined each side
of the road where the car had .been
abandoned. Feeling somewhat . foolish
and not knowing exactly what to look
for, the officers plunged into the brush,
stepping carefully, their eyes on the
ground,
Finally Lamberton gave a_ shout.
“Here’s a milk bottle from. a Lindsey
' dairy. That’s more than 70 miles away.”
The others crowded around. . The
bottle was handled carefully to pre-
serve any eg fingerprints. ese
would be the only real clue, since the
bottle itself would be only one of
thousands so far as the dairy was con-.
cerned. There was no way of tracing
an individual sale.
“If they threw one thing away, there
may be more,” Corporal Mehallick sur-
mised. “Let’s look further.”
__ Once more the bushes were combed ~
thoroughly. And finally, half-hidden
- under some dried and fallen leaves,
Mehallick picked up a small cake of
soap. He examined it carefully, with
growing excitement. For the soap was
unused, and clearly imprinted on the
soft surface was the name of a hotel
in Bay City, Mich. ;
“This is it, fellows!” he called. “I’m
willing to bet that our men registered
at this hotel and took the bar of soap
when they left. It’s possible that some-
one will remember them there, and
then we'll at least have a description
to go on.”
The idea was sound. But while po-
lice Were preparing to prove this angle,
a report on all stolen cars pn et
none had been taken from the vicinity
in which the Campbell machine had
been found. This seemed ‘to indicate
that the slayers were somewhere close
by. County commissioners immediately
offered a $500 reward for information
that would (Continued on page 45)
29
{
se gg connection with the ration stamp [@
efts. '
Federal authorities in Los Angeles ex-
plain that the dismissal was a technicality
—-that O’Boyle will be indicted again and
pereine on she f #190008 Pa gcaat ae
rge as soon as Shicago ished w
Saag Rely apy, s,s Dental Plate Wearers
from prison and prosecuted for this crime.
Authorities have not ‘been able to iden-
rod a Fg C ermgeenis vg believe il e
*t Kitty Kelly actually did imitate a S With iW
man’s he ‘on the telephone, and that mi e l ou orry
only she and O’Boyle were invol
The police of Youngstown have made : en
no move to prosecute O’Boyle on the old ma dies tiles
murder charge. But it is certain that de- rh ‘ ee}
spite the legal ramifications the srhooth-
talking racket man and his red-haired
wife will not be finished with the law-
men for some time to come. ;
ew -
Eprror’s Note: To spare possible embar-
‘rassment to innocent persons, the. names
Samuel Rider, Tom Malloy and J. C.
Mitchell, used in this story, are not real
but fictitious.
De ee
gti Sa
Killers on the Lam
(Continued. from page 29)
lead to their apprehension. ‘
Officers trailing the clue of the bar of
soap to the Bay City hotel found that
flirtatious Lady Luck was smiling upon
them for a change. There the clerk re-
called renting a room to two young men
—the only two from Pennsylvania who
had registered for some time.
“I remember them well,” he said. “They
seemed sort of nervous and scared.”
“Can you tell us what they looked like?”
Sheriff Lamberton asked sharply. |
“Well, I'd say one was about 22 or 23.
: a slender, had Bray = and wore
rown trousers and a tan s irt.” :
~ “How about a necktie?” - To hold loose plates
BN clerk considered, a moment. “Nope. iy a
either wore a nec tie.” |
The officers traded knowing glances. more firmly In place use
— er been Besa be eg my an D W 1 p d
whether e neckties used. to e
victim had belonged to him or the killers. r. ernet S OW er.
e was no way to trace them, of course Recommended by more
but the consensus was that they were too
aay for ie plenee industrial, aati
“How about the’ second man r er .
Lamberton persisted. dentists than any
Pd Gry frowned B. agg aeggoen h | d
: “About the same age, I'd say. May an
| inch or so taller and. ten pounds heavier. ot er p ate pow er.
He had. brown hair, wore ‘blue trousers |
and a blue shirt. No hat. But that’s about |,
all I can tell you.” i
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consequence, so far as the officers were
concerned, Both men reenucted the crime
and admitted that Campbell’s revolver,
which they had found on a bedroom stand,
had been tossed into the Ohio River, alon
with the wallet after they had extractec
the money.
‘Jack West and Bob Pepperman began
their crime career together and will now
end it together. They were arrested August
12 and charged with first degree murder
on the following day. Both pleaded not
guilty. In view of the brutal nature of
their: crime, the district attorney resolved
that they receive the death penalty for the
vicious murder.
Qn August 30, the two slayers changed
_their plea to guilty and threw themselves
onthe ‘mercy of the court.. Judges Elmer
L:: Evans and J. Orin Waite, after careful
consideration of the evidence, on Septerh-
ber 27 sentenced West and Pepperman to
die in the electric chair. It was but the
‘second time in the history of Pennsyl-
vania that defendants received a death
sentence after pleading guilty, and in
the first case the sentence was later com-
muted. It remains to be seen if the slayers
of Joseph” Campbell fare as well.
Hoffmann: and Paletto were, of course,
absolved of all connection with the slay-
ing. They are being held for trial on a
charge of car stealing, but will be prose-
cuted for that alone.
Eprror’s Note: To spare possible embar-
rassment to innocent persons, the names
Archie Hoffmann and Santi Paletto, used.
in this story, are not real but fictitious.
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Since Robert Pepperman, left, and John West had seen the victim a
- few days before his murder, police thought they could offer a lead
Pd
—I never dreamed I'd find...” Her
voice trailed off and she burst into con-
vulsive weeping again.
\What had happened was all too ap-
parent to the three officers after they
examined the first floor and noticed an
overturned chair in the kitchen, the
scuffed dining room carpeting and
Campbell's other slipper in the living
room to the left of the front door.
Schauers picked up the slipper in a
handkerchief, studied it and saw that
the heel was stained the same dark
brown color as the kitchen linoleum.
The death-weapon?
HNASBORVER. killed Mr. Campbell
must have attacked him near
the front door,” the Sheriff said.
“There must have been a struggle and
the slipper came off. The murderer
seized it, hit him over the head with
it and dragged him through the living
and dining rooms to the kitchen, tied
him up and left him to die. And, judg-
ing by the way the blood has con-
gealed, as well as the condition of the
body, this must have happened several
days ago.”
This theory was corroborated a
short time later when the coroner's
physician examined the body and re-
ported that Campbell had died of a
fractured skull about four days pre-
viously. That would make it Wednes-
day, August 1.
The preliminary examination com-
pleted, Sergeant Schauers went
through the elderly man’s pockets.
They were empty. While Lamberton
and Mehallick were giving the house an
even more careful going-over, Schauers
again questioned Mrs. Van Cleve. She
told him that her father lived alone
and that he had retired some years be-
fore, closing the business of Campbell
Brass Company, which he founded.
“He didn’t have any financial wor-
ries,” she said. “He had a very comfort-
able income from. his accumulated
savings.
“TI often warned him that he should
have a housekeeper. A lot of tramps
come to the house for handouts and I
thought he shouldn’t be alone. But he
always laughed at me. He said he
could take care of himself, and he kept
a revolver on a table near his bed. He
said that was all the protection he
needed.”
The coroner's physician approached
Schauers and told him he was going
to remove the autopsy to Erie. He
promised a swift report on the autopsy.
By this time. additional officers had
arrived, including State Police tech-
nicians and fingerprint experts. While
the technicians began their search for
clews, Schauers detailed troopers to
visit every home within a radius of
two miles to see if they could learn
anything of value. And then he went
upstairs where Sheriff Lamberton and
Corporal Mehallick were looking
through the slain man’s effects.
“There’s an empty wallet in Camp-
bell’s room and the dresser drawers
seem to have been rifled,” the Sheriff
told him. “The neckties with which he
was bound must have been his own be-
cause we found a couple of ties on the
floor near the closet, as though they
had been dropped.”
Schauers now was beginning to pic-
ture more than one killer. He doubted
whether, if it had been a one-man job,
the slayer would have left Campbell in
the kitchen, gone upstairs for the ties, -
returned to bind his victim, then gone
upstairs again to ransack the place.
Surely, he reasoned, the killer would
not have bothered to truss his victim
if Campbell already were dead. \
-#1\40,” he said aloud, “there must
have been at least two.of them.
While one was working on the old man
the other came up here and got the _
ties to bind him.”
Sergeant Schauers looked for the re-
volver which Mrs. Van Cleve said her
father kept near his bed; but he could
not find it. Had the killers stolen it?
The officers entered the bathroom.
No bloody towels, no signs of blood on
the floor or in the wash basin.
No valuables were in sight anywhere.
Back in the victim's bedroom, however,
the officers discovered a savings bank *
book in a drawer which showed a bal-
ance of several thousand dollars; and
with it was a check book. Schauers
read the notation on the last stub. It
indicated that on July 30 Campbell had
(Continued on Page 6)
‘
ees
|
The Campbell car, as it was dis-
covered; this find sent Pennsyl-
vania officials to Canton, Ohio
drawn a check payable to Cash for $75.
The checking balance was a large one,
Loo. *
Returning downstairs, the officers
handed the wallet and the slipper to a
technician, requesting him to dust
them for fingerprints. They had
handled both articles carefully so as .
not to smear any possible prints.
Schauers then noticed a wrist watch
on the kitchen table. It was of inex-
pensive make. Was that why the. kill-
ers hadn't stolen it? In the refrigera-
tor was a good supply of food. Dishes
in the cupboard were spotless.
Mrs. Van Cleve said her father
usually prepared his own meals,
though he occasionally went to a near-
by restaurant, and sometimes drove to
Erie for dinner.
He had no steady help, preferring to
work in the garden himself, she said.
The only assistance he required was
a maid who came to the house twice
a week to do the cleaning. Schauers
took the name and address of the maid
and sent a trooper to talk to her.
“See when she was here last and ask
her if she knew whether Campbell had
much money around the house,” he
‘old the trooper. He turned now to
Mrs. Van Cleve.
“What about your father’s bonds and
other valuables?”
“He kept them in a vault at the
bank. And I'm sure he never kept much
money around here.”
CHAUERS looked out the back door
of the tastefully-furnished house
and noticed that the garage was open.
“One thing more.” he said to Mrs.
Van Cleve. “When you got here was
the door locked and were the lights
on?”
“The front door was closed, though
unlocked,” she replied. “The lights
were burning in the living room and
the kitchen, just as they are now. I
didn't touch a thing.”
A technician already had dusted the
front door knob. He found one print,
but it was Mrs. Van Cleve’s, left there
when she opened the door only a short
time before.
On the ground outside the garage
were a hatchet, a rachet screw driver
and a chisel. The garage was empty
except for a few small boxes and some
automobile accessories. No lock was on
the door, though Mrs. Van Cleve said
her father used a padlock. Her father
drove a 1941 sedan. she said, but she
6
did not know its license number.
“There's no doubt this was a murder
for robbery,” said Schauers. “Appar-
ently, after killing your father, the men
got the tools to force the padlock and
Steal the car. But I can’t imagine why
they had to break the lock, for they
must have taken your father’s keys. I
don’t see them around, But most likely
they got confused and didn’t know
what they were doing.”
E TURNED the tools over to the
fingerprint men and returned to
the house to telephone State Police
Headquarters, requesting the officer on
duty to obtain the registration num-
ber of the stolen auto, together with a
complete description of the vehicle. He
asked that an alarm be broadcast for
the missing car.
He also asked that a pickup order
be issued for all prowlers and suspi-
cious-looking persons.
“By this time, the car is probably
several hundred miles away so you bet-
ter send out an eight-State alarm,” he
added. “And these birds probably were
smart enough to swap license plates.
Have the boys check the gas stations
and inquire about ration coupons with-
out registration numbers.”
Sheriff Fred Lamberton: He
hoped to compare writings
Joseph B. Campbell was’slain here—in the house to which he had retired from
business and where he hoped to spend his remaining years in peace and comfort
The officers wondered how the kill-
ers got to the house. Did they have a
car and abandon it nearby? Or did
they hitchhike to the vicinity?
Schauers went to the mail box, where
he found papers and letters. From the
postmarked dates he was satisfied that
August 1 was about right as for an es-
timated date of death.
It was nearly midnight when the
first stages of the inquiry at and near
the farmhouse were completed. No
one had seen any strangers on August
1. And many persons said that it was
not unusual for them not to see Camp-
bell for several days at a time, since he
liked to stay close to his home.
A WOMAN living nearby said that
on July 29 she had seen two men
in dark trousers and wearing shirts
open at the throat and with sleeves
rolled up, walking up the driveway to
Campbell’s house. She saw them leave
a half hour later, on foot, but she did
not pay particular attention to them
at any time. .
A farmer, living about a mile away
from the death-house, related that on
July 31 he hired two men—answering:
the same general description of the men
seen two days before—for a day’s work,
Mehallick:
He got a clew from a hotel
Corporal - John
He estimated that they wére about 30
years old and he said that they kept
asking him whether any neighbors
needed jobs attended to.
“I told them I didn’t know but almost
anybody around here might have some
odd work for them,” he stated.
A third lead came from a woman who
declared that about dusk on July 29 a
man about 45 knocked at her back door
and asked for a meal; but she said she
didn’t like his looks and sent him away.
“He was about six feet and looked
very tough, and he used vile language
when I told him to leave. I was sure
he had been drinking and I was afraid
to let him in because the men folks
weren't home.”
. Could this man have slain Campbell,
the officers wondered.. Was the mur-
derer an itinerant who, on the pretense
of requesting a handout, forced his way
into the house to rob the retired busi-
ness man? Or was the murder the
work of more than one man, as they
had been assuming. Could the pair who
walked up the driveway on July 29 have
gone there to look the place over, re-
mained in the neighborhood, worked
nearby on July 31 and then killed
Campbell on August 1?
Sheriff Lamberton returned to his
office, and the two State. Police officers
‘drove to their Headquarters to report
to Lieutenant John S. Bricker. The
Lieutenant issued the usual precau-
tionary instructions to men on duty
throughout the State—to survey gar-
ages and filling-stations, to canvass
laundries and dry cleaning establish-
ments for bloodstained clothing and to
patrol highways with extreme vigilance.
. An hour later the Police Laboratory
reported that the stains on the slipper
were blood, that no clear fingerprints
or footprints had been found at the
murder-scene.
Monpay morning brought no new
developments, and as the day wore
on, several persons who had past crimi-
nal records were quizzed and released.
The autopsy report verified the earlier
statement by the coroner’s physician,
saying that Campbell probably died a
few moments after he was struck on the
head. It confirmed the time of death
as probably Wednesday afternoon or .
evening, August 1. The slipper found
in the living room undoubtedly was the
death-weapon,
On Monday evening, Sergeant
Schauers located a farmer who said that
he had driven past the Campbell farm
at 7:30 p,m.on July 29. |
“I saw two men standing with Mr.
(Continued on Page 40)
depen Me PR ro so ys pe es
Details of the men’s physical char-
ACTEViNT id were publinhed in Olde
and Pennsylvania newspapers, and
the Erie County Commissioners of-
fered a reward of $500 for informa.
tion leading to the arrest of the pair.
Still police had very little to go on,
and the guilly meno went unappre-
hended.
It occurred to Sergeant Schauers
that the articles left in the aban-
doned car might be of some help.
The match cover was from Grand
Rapids--which knowledge was * of
little value. The milk bottle had a
Lindsay, Ohio, stamp on it—a bit of
information that also seemed worth-
less. But the cake of soap—that fur-
nished a clue; on the back of the
wrapper, stamped in tiny letters, was
the name “Republic Hotel, Bay City.”
On the theory that the killers had
stopped at the. Republic Hotel at
some time during the last week,
Schauers, Lamberton and Mehallick
rushed to the Michigan town.
Yes, the hotel clerk told Lamber-
ton,’ a couple of fellows fitting the
description of the killers had stayed
at the hotel on August 4th. They
had signed their names as John D.
West and Robert W. Pepperman, of
Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
Dashing to a phone Schauers called
Williamsport police. Did they have
any dope on West and Pepperman?
They certainly did—plenty! Both had
spent most of their lives in prison
for burglary and automobile theft;
both were now paroled.
“Can you find out where the men
are at the moment?” the sergeant
asked, his blood racing.
The Williamsport official replied
that he would check on it and call
back. :
In twenty minutes the information
came through to the officials at Bay
City. ‘“Pepperman and West are in
Williamsport here; we’re going to
drag them in on suspicion and will
Hold (hem antil you anive!
That was the break the men had
been waiting for. Catching the next
train out of Michigan the three at
rived breathless at the Williamsport
courthouse and were immediately
ushered into” the shane of Jack
West, 27, and Bob Pepperman, 29.
All night long the two men were
subjected to the -rapid: crogs-flre of
questions from Pennsylvania police.
Towards morning they broke down
and confessed to the murder of
Joseph B, Campbell.
“We didn’t mean to kill the old
guy,” West blubbered. “We thought
we'd just hit him a few times’ to get
him unconscious and then we’d take
his goes and car.”
The police pieced together the de-
tailed story from the confessions of
the pair.
FR ECENTLY released from prison,
the two men were hitch-hiking
through Pennsylvania when they no- -
ticed the large house atop the knoll
outside of Erie and decided to ask
there for food. Their knock on the
front door was answered by Camp-
bell who, upon request, brought the
men food which they ate in the front
yard. The old man himself went out
on the porch and talked with the
youths while they ate, telling them
that he lived in the big house by
himself and liked having company
now and then.
“That’s when. we decided to come
back and rob him,” Pepperman ex-
plained. “Three days later, on Au-
gust the first, we knocked on his door.
The old guy looked out the window
and saw us, then camie down and
opened the door. I let him have it
in the face with my fists and West
and I went inside. He put up a hell
of a fight for a little old guy and it
was all I could do to hold him while
Jack ran upstairs and got the neck
Flew, TE Che py Trade atregylod on
| wouldn't have been so rough, but
he made me mad and T took one of
his slippers and conked hin a few
times. After we trussed him up we
dragged him into the kitchen and
look everything out of his pockets...
then we went upstairs and took a
wun and sixty dollars in cash that
was all we could find.”
“Didn’t it occur to you that you had
killed Campbell?” Laub asked, his
face grim.
“We weren’t sure if we had or not,”
West replied. “But I kinda thought
he had kicked the bucket—I had ‘that
feeling.’”
The men said they took the key
from Campbell’s pocket and drove
off in his car. hey divided the
money and got cleaned up; then
drove into Canada. “We drove across
Canada and entered the States again
at Detroit, then crossed Michigan and
went into Ohio,” Pepperman ex-
plained. “Then we thought some-
body might notice the car, so we
left it in Canton.”
The two self-confessed killers are
now in Death Row at Erie, Pennsyl-
vania. They. plan to throw them-
selves upon the mercy of the court
by saying that their lives had been
ruined by reform schools’ which
didn’t reform them, and_ prisons
which didn’t teach them to be useful
citizens. Pepperman tearfully in-
sists that he “went wrong” because
a girl friend turned him down and
married someone else. West claims
his parents “didn’t bring him up
right” and were too strict with him.
Attorney Laub, however, intends
that the State of Pennsylvania shall
have the lives of the two ruthless
criminals who, in cold blood, un-
mercifully beat a defenseless old
man, bound him into utter helpless-
ness and left him to die in agony.
REAL
DETECTIVE
ere and champagne sent in to!
him from a swanky Columbus hotel.
Furthermore, he was receiv: visits
at. will from notorious crooks: and
hoodlums, oe .
Frazier Reams hadn’t sent Licavoli
to prison in order that the gangster
might continue his corruption: and
gang-rule in a new atmosphere. And
so he took his story to the then Gov-
ernor, Martin L. Davey. The chief
executive gave the crusading Prose-
cuting Attorney carte blanche in the
launching of an investigation.
Reams carried out his investigation
with his usual. fearlessiiess. and thor-
oughness much to the consternation
of certain officials as well as to any-
one who had had any questionable
dealings with Licavoli. The National
Guard took over. the penitentiary.
Licavoli and his satellites were put
in their proper places. And Frazier
Reams went back to his law_ books,
satisfied with the job he had done,
but nevertheless resolved to keep a
watchful eye on the ever resourceful
Yannie and his gorillas.
- After_serving as Collector of _In-
ternal Revenue for Northern Ohio,
7G Frazier Reams, like gang-buster Tom
d
’ ready to build a new five million dol-
Gang Buster in New Role
(CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6)
Dewey, cast his eye on the Governor-
ship. Last autumn he ran for. that
office in the gubernatorial primaries
_but was defeated by his good frien
J. Lauche, who was eventually.
elected Governor and who. then im-
mediately offered Reams_a place in
the cabinet. “There wa$ only’ one
post that I wanted,” confessed this
white-haired, but youthful looking ,
man. “And that was the job of Di-
‘rector of Public Welfare—I’ve al-
ways. been keenly interested in penal
matters,” It seemed rather para-
doxical, to me, Here was a man who
spent years in sending criminals to
prison, only to later desire a position
which involved their~ rehabilitation ©
and ultimate release,
With his innate Southern charm,,-
Reams continued, “Ohio is getting
lar penitentiary. I want to see our.
convicts have the most efficient
physical equipment in America
which will directly aid their return
to organized society as completely
and permanently reformed _indi-
viduals. Our prisoners’ comprise one
‘oup which: has no legislative lobby.
is the person in charge of Ohio’s
penal institutions, I’ve got to fight
their -battles and see that, at least,
they: get a fair deal. There are a lot
of darned good men in prison and
we're not salvaging enough of them.”
When Licavoli learned that Reams
had: been appointed Director of Pub-
lic Welfare, it is said he was heard
to remark to his old trigger-man,
Wop English, “We’ll sure have a
. tough way to go from now _ on.”
“You’re dead wrong,” was the Wop’s
comeback. ‘“He’s the only guy con-
nected with the law who ever gave
us a square deal and you know it.
As long as we.-behave, we'll be
‘treated like any other con.” Obvi-
ously, Reams commands the respect
‘of even those he has put in prison
stripes. .
.At forty-eight, the Welfare Direc-
‘ tor possesses all the youthful My od
and enthusiasm of a man
age. Distinguished in appearance,
impeccably dressed, he ‘attracts at-
‘tention the moment he enters a room.
And Reams is more than a local
figure, he is nationally known for his .
work with the American Legion, for
having organized Civilian Defense
activities at the outbreak of the war.
at
X |
& SU
“eS
Ts
C SS
OFFICIAL DETECTIVE STORIES
On the Souvenir Clew of a Cake of Soap, Erie, Penn-
By Frank Bridges
Special Investigator for
sylvania, Officers Had to Force Two Killers to Realize—
Wi E'S in the kitchen,” the wo-
man said, sobbing. “H—He’s
dead! My father’s been
killed!”
The officers hurried past socially-
prominent Mrs. Robert Spencer Van
Cleve and headed toward the kitchen.
Mrs. Van Cleve had been the one who
had sent in the alarm that brought the
Sheriff and State Police to the neat,
tree-shaded farmhouse at Kearsarge,
Pennsylvania, about four miles south of
Erie. It was now Sunday, August 5,
1945.
On the brown-splotched linoleum,
near an electric refrigerator, the body
of 73-year-old Joseph B. Campbell, re-
tired industrialist, was sprawled, his
head battered, his arms and legs trus-
sed with neckties, his face already in
an advanced state of decomposition.
He was fully dressed except for his suit
jacket and shoes. On one foot was a
bedroom slipper; its mate was not-in
sight.
“Hope the coroner gets here soon,”
Sheriff Fred Lamberton said to Ser-
geant Willard Schauers.
HE WALKED past Corporal John
Mehallick, who was sketching &
rough drawing of the kitchen, and
confronted the victim’s daughter. She
spoke first, without being questioned.
“t came here to visit my father,”
Mrs. Van Cleve told the Sheriff. “It’s
several days since I’ve heard from him
and I began to wonder if he'd gone
away for a vacation. Of course, he al-
ways mentioned it whenever he plan-
ned a trip so I was afraid he might be
ill. When I came and found him like
this I called your office right away. I
. (Continued on Page 4)
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By FRANK BID
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By HYLAND J.
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tric bulb was burning in the living
room and he asked Mrs. Van Cleve
if she had turned it on.
“Why, no,” she responded. I hadn’t
even noticed that the light was on.”
By this time, the laboratory men
were finished with the body, and the
coroner’s doctor called his aides to
take the corpse away. He promised a
speedy autopsy report.
Search of Campbell’s bedroom dis-
closed that two dresser drawers had
been ransacked. An inexpensive wrist
watch lay on the bureau; it had run
down.,On the table near the bed was
a magazine, but there was no sign of
a gun anywhere.
In one of the dresser drawers there
was a savings bank book, indicating
an active account, A check book
showed that on August Ist, Campbell
had withdrawn a check made out to
cash for sixty-five dollars.
The bathroom was spic and span.
On the bedroom floor, near the closet
were two neckties.
Leaving the bedroom, the officers
returned to the kitchen where the
technicians were at work dusting for
fingerprints and making other tests
in their search for clues.
“Looks like he was hit on the head
with that slipper in the living room,”
one of the men volunteered. “It’s got
blood all over the heel. No prints ex-
cept Campbell’s on the wallet. As a
matter of fact, we haven’t come up
with anything very helpful yet.”
Sheriff Lamberton was walking to-
ward the back door. Suddenly, he ex-
claimed, “The garage door is open!”
The three officers left the house.
The garage door, one of those which
open from the bottom, was up near
the top, and in the garage there were
only a few odds and ends of the type
usually kept there. Near the garage
door, however, were an axe and a
screw driver.
Schauers again questioned Mrs.
Van Cleve, who said her father drove
a 1941 sedan. She insisted that he al-
ways kept the garage locked when
he was not using the car, and that he
aaged a padlock for that purpose.
ere was no sign of a_ padlock
around, however.
By now, additional state police had
arrived, and Schauers sent them to
question neighbors in an endeavor to
learn whether anyone had heard any
unusual noises on recent days and to
find out whether any strangers had
been seen in the vicinity, for Schauers
was almost fully convinced that the
murder of the retired industrialist
was the work of a robber or robbers.
As he discussed the case with Lam-
berton and Mehallick, he said, “It
seems fairly obvious on the face of it
right now that Campbell was sitting
in the living room at night when he
was called to the front door. It must
have been at night because the light
was burning. He opened the door, and
‘his killers forced their way in. There
seems to have been a struggle, be-
cause the carpet is scuffed. Campbell’s
slipper must have come off and one
of the men hit him over the head
with it. Then, the men pulled him
through the dining room, probably
bumping against the little thble and
knocking over the vase. The struggle
continued in the kitchen, because a
chair was overturned. Then, while
one man pinned Campbell to the floor,
another went to the bedroom and
grabbed the neckties with which he
was tied. The robber probably took
the revolver, too.
“Then, when the robbers took
Campbell’s money and other valu-
ables, they took his keys, too, went
to the garage and stole the car.”
“That way of figuring is all right,
except for two things,” Mehallick in-
terposed. “If it was at night, who-
ever went to the bedroom would have
had to put on the light to find the
neckties.”
“Except that he might have had a
flashlight,” Schauers declared. “What’s
the other thing?”
“How do you account for the axe
and screwdriver near the garage?”
(Continued on page 48)
PARTWE ER-IN-CRIME
epperman was
well-known to the po-
lice for his past efforts
at automobile robbery
and many petty thefts.
Ve
TOM ANT
P ro r P PH Wo s
(Brie)
Robert W., and
TPT ICT
EU donde abs 3
PREMONITION — Instinctive
the
fear gripped murdered
man’s daughter as she stepped
into her father’s house. The si-
lence was so deadly: ominous.
blood. The furniture was all upset.
This was the scene to which Mrs.
Robert S. Van Cleve had summoned
the sheriff only a few minutes earlier.
It was midafternoon, Sunday, August
5, 1945, when Lamberton arrived at
the house just south of the city of
Erie, Pennsylvania.
Mrs, Van Cleve, daughter of the
dead man fought to control her emo-
tions as she explained that she had
telephoned her father that morning
as was her custom, and that when she
received no answer she sensed that
something might be amiss, since he
A KILLER CALLS NO MAN HIS FRIEND! GIVE HIM FOOD WHEN
HE’S HUNCRY, A PLACE TO REST WHEN HE’S WEARY — AND
STILL, LIKE AN UNGRATEFUL DOG HE’LL BITE THE HAND
: THAT FEEDS HIM! . :
A triple threat to all who would cross
the law—Sgt, Schauers, Corp. Mehal-
lick ~and Sheriff: Lamberton. With
splendid teamwork they executed a
fancy double play that caught two
desperate, murdering thieves off base.
Moral: Don’t break the law in Erie,
Pennsylvania!
+ * *
HERIFF Fred Lamberton went
through the open door of the at-
tractive summer house, into the
living room through the dining
room and into the kitchen. On the
floor, in front of the mechanical re-
frigerator, lay the body of Joseph B.
Campbell, seventy-three years old, re-
tired business man—a_ handkerchief
in the man’s mouth, neckties knotted
together and bound around his hands,
' arms, legs and ankles; his face was
puffed, his eyes swollen and an_ ugly
welt was apparent on his head. His
hair was matted with blood. The
kitchen lineoleum was stained with
THEY SET THE TRAP THAT CAUGHT THE RAT
by PAUL MICHAELS
John D., whites, electrocuted Pa,
BLOOD-SUCKING LEECHES
: Neugiin
All photos used in this story were spe-
cially posed for POLICE DETECTIVE
CASES by professional models. Photos by
Gregg Stevens, and Gary Wagaer.
had not mentioned any plan to go
away.
When she reached the house, she
said, the front door was closed but
unlocked, and she called to her fa-
ther. Through the dining room open-
ing, she saw the body on the floor
and when she realized what had hap-
pened she telephoned the sheriff's
office. |
As she spoke, two other automo- —
biles stopped in the driveway. State —
Police Sergeant Willard Schauers,
Corporal John Mehallick, the coro-
ner’s physician and the laboratory
men strode into the dwelling. The
doctor knelt beside the lifeless form
and said, “He certainly didn’t tie him-
self up, and he’s been dead three o1
four days. Could have died of strang-
ulation or a fractured skull. It wa:
probably the fractured skull.”
Schauers glanced at an overturnet
kitchen chair, observed that a smal
table vase in the dining room lay 0!
its side and noticed that the carpet
ing in the dining and living room
‘Left te right: State Police Sergeant Willard Schauers, Corporal Johi
Mehaillick and Sheriff Fred Lamberton made a vow to the dead man’
daughter that they would avenge his murder — and they soon did
Peto ERO
RECORD — Suspect, Jack W:
d a long and varied criminal
record. Armed robbery, how-
ever, was his own specialty.
was scuffed. To one side of the front
door, in the living room, was a bed-
room slipper, obviously the mate to
the one Mr. Campbell was wearing.
Except for the one slipper and a jack-
et, the corpse was fully clad. ‘
Corporal Mehallick espied a wallet
on the refrigerator. Carefully, lest he
obliterate any possible fingerprints,
‘eet
ORI ote tonatt sn
he slowly opened it; it was empty.
In Campbell’s pockets were a dime
and a couple of pennies,
Mrs, Van Cleve said that her. fa-
ther was comfortable financially, liv-
ing on his income from investments
and the interest from his business. He
had retired a few years before, dis-
posing of the Campbell Brass Com-
oe
became panic-
stricken, as the full
implication of the
officer’s remarks be-
came clear. “You
think I killed him,
don’t you? Well, I
didn’t!” he insisted.
THE KILL—Atter the maraud-
ing pair gained entree into the
elderly man’s home, Pepper-
man rushed at the old man.
pany, which he had first founded.
“He lived here alone?” Schauers
inquired.
“Yes,” replied Mrs. Van Cleve. “He
had a cleaning woman come in twice
a week—Mondays and Thursdays. He
usually prepared his own meals,
though occasionally he ate at one of
the Erie restaurants. He had his
clothes and linens laundered. The
laundry man generally comes here on
Monday.”
“Did your father usually keep much
money in the house?”
“Not too much,” the woman an-
swered. “I suppose he would draw a
check whenever he ran low and
would use the money for his ex-
eames She estimated that he might
ve as much as fifty or sixty dollars.
in cash, but not much more.
She said she occasionally had sug-
peste’ that he employ a housekeeper,
ut he scoffed at the idea. He always
ant a pistol on the table near his
for protection against prowlers,
she added.
Schauers noticed that a small elec-
eae
2 ee > -
oo
Be
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ae at ce
|
|
1
i!
if
known skeleton is not possible.
As an example of his skill, Dr.
Krogman reports a case in which the
coroner of Cook County called him in
to investigate two sets of bones dug
up. in the cellars of two separate ad-
dresses on North Halsted Street, Chi-
cago. At one place a skull, a right
pelvic bone, two ribs and an arm
bone had been found, at the other,
arm bones, leg bones, more ribs, some
vertebrae and a left pelvic bone.
Having studied the bones, Dr.
Krogman announced: “All these be-
longed to one man. He walked with a
limp. He had arthritis. He was forty
or forty-five years old. He probably
came from the northwestern part of
Europe, or his parents did. He was
five feet five and a half inches tall,
and he was fairly stocky. He was far
from well-to-do. And he was
murdered.
“Death was caused,” added the
scientist, “by a blow which fractured
the right temple.”
The most amazing portion of Dr.
Krogman’s skill, however, has to do
with the reconstruction of faces, Hav-
ing taken and coordinated hundreds
of thousands of measurements of the
depths of the body tissues at every
point on the face and head of various
human beings, the scientist and his
assistants are able to superimpose
upon a skull a clay modeling to re-
place the missing tissue. In this way,
they have succeeded in reproducing
the face of a dead person without the
use of a photograph or the testimony
of any person who ever saw the in-
dividual alive .. . from a dead man’s
skull alone!
The police have used this remark-
able ability of the scientist in seek-
ing to identify the victims of brutal
murders by circulating pictures of
their reconstructed heads, One such
restoration, of a young man mur-
dered in Cleveland, was exhibited at
the Cleveland Exposition, where a
million visitors examined it and were
asked if they recognized the face. Un-
fortunately, this victim was never
identified.
* # #
E of Dr. Krogman’s most fasci-
nating cases was named by him
as “The Case of the Runaway Mil-
liomaire.” An Indian boy from Okla-
homa had run away from home. A
few weeks later, a boy answering his
general description was killed in a
‘railroad accident while riding a
freight train in Arkansas. The par-
ents, learning the description of the
dead boy, were convinced that he was
_ their runaway son,
The tragic incident might have
been forgotten very quickly, except
that eight years later oil was discov-
ered on the Indian reservation in
Oklahoma. The missing or dead
Indian boy, who had been assigned
some of the oil-rich land by the fede-
ral government, was suddenly a mil-
lionaire. A dispute arose as_ to
whether the boy was actually dead,
and whether his parents could inherit
his rights,
The body of the boy in Arkansas
was exhumed, and a doctor examined
it superficially. He decided that the
accident victim was an adult, over
thirty years of age. The runaway
Indian had been a little more than
eighteen.
Convinced that this diagnosis was
incorrect, the parents and their law-
_ yer called in Dr. Krogman, He found
the bones so covered with mud that
the previous doctor could not have
made a very close examination at all.
Having carefully cleaned them, the
scientist made a minute study of the
skeletal remains, measuring them,
observing the texture of the surfaces,
and so on. He also discovered that
one wisdom tooth had appeared just ~
before death. .
This proved, the bone scientist
stated, that the boy was certainly of
Indian stock, for such a tooth appears
only in Indians at about the eigh-
teenth year, His diagnosis was con-
firmed by other characteristics of the
skull and body bones, and he was
able to give evidence proving that the
boy who had died in Arkansas was
between eighteen and nineteen years
of age. The court decided that the
victim was definitely the runaway
Indian boy, and the parents were not
cheated of their rights.
In the realm of scientific crime pre-
vention, most amazing and newest
technique for trapping wanton killers
and other criminals is the science of.
bone structure, as practiced by such
experts as Dr. Wilton M. Krogman,
BLOOD-SUCKING -
LEACHES HANG
ON TILL DEATH!
(Continued from page 29)
asked Mehallick.
Schauers shrugged his shoulders,
then telephoned state police head-
quarters, requesting that an alarm
he broadcast for the missing automo-
ile.
After obtaining the name and ad-
dress of Campbell’s cleaning woman,
Schauers dispatched an officer to find
her and question her about her last
visit to the summer house.
_ “If she was here on Thursday, it’ll
help us establish the time of the mur-
der,” he explained, “Right now we
don’t know if Campbell was killed
Wednesday or Thursday or Friday.”
Preparatory to leaving the house,
Schauers opened the mail box. In it
were some letters and some advertis-.
ing circulars. One letter was post-
mark showing it had been mailed in
Erie. The rest bore later marks. Sch-
auers quickly went back into the
house, and in a desk found several
other envelopes. One bore a _ post-
mark showing it had been mailed in
Erie on the afternoon of July 3lst.
It was open, and the letter apparently
had been read.
“Campbell must have been killed
on the evening of August Ist,” the
sergeant said, “because he received
his mail that day, and he must have
been dead when the mail was de-
livered the next day.”
* * *
was about an hour later, when
Schauers and Mehallick were back
at state police barracks and Sheriff
Lamberton was in his office, before
the first reports of the investigation
began to trickle in. Meanwhile, rou-
tine orders had gone to state police
to cover gasoline filling stations, gar-
ages and parking lots in an effort to
obtain a lead to the route taken by
the slayers in their getaway from the |
Campbell estate. Instructions had
been issued to police throughout the
state to watch laundries and tailor
shops the next morning for anyone
bringing in bloodstained articles of
clothing.
The first person brought to
Schauer’s office was Rita Hoagland,
part-time maid for Campbell.
“I spent all day Monday at Mr.
Campbell’s house ‘and gave the place
a thorough cleaning,” Mrs. Hoagland
said. : ?
“And were you there Thursday?”
Schauers inquired.
“No, because I wasn’t feeling well.
I telephoned Mr. Campbell Wednes-
day afternoon and I told him I had
trouble with my arthritis again. It’s
bothered me for a year or more, and
when it acts up I’m good for a couple
of days, at least. I knew I wouldn’t
be able to work Thursday, so I tele-
phoned him about half past three in’
the afternoon on Wednesday. I told
him I'd be there as usual on Monday
unless I called him today. I was feel-
ing all right today, so I didn’t bother
to telephone him because I figured on
being at the house tomorrow.”
She said that so far as she knew,
Mr. Campbell did not have any ex-
pensive jewelry in the house. She re-
called seeing the gun on the table
alongside the bed when she was there
Monday.
The laundry man returned linens, —
shirts, underwear, towels, handker-
chiefs and table cloths on Monday
afternoon, and she put everything
away, she said. And the tailor de-
livered two suits which had been
cleaned and pressed.
Schauers dispatched an officer to
accompany the maid to the Campbell
residence, directing him to have her
make a detailed inventory of her late
employer’s possessions, so that it
could be determined whether any
valuables had been stolen;
MUDGETT, Herman We (H. He HOLMES), hanged Philadelphia, Pa,.,
THE MONSTER.
HO
The Greatest —
Mass Murderer
Of Them Al/
N the long history of crime there
have been few characters as fan-
tastic as a young doctor known as
Henry H. Holmes, whose one ambition
was to become “the greatest monster who
ever walked in the form of man.”
Holmes was a small, handsome man of
slight physique, always well-dressed,
with mild blue eyes, a gentle manner, and
a soft, musical voice. Men liked him and
women found him almost irresistible.
But behind this attractive facade was
the real Holmes—bigamist, forger, thief,
swindler, and wholesale murderer—who,
posing as “an honest dealer in human re-
mains,” sold the skeletons of many of his
victims to medical schools.
Holmes tortured to death some of his
victims—several of them on a machine
called an elasticity determinator, with
which he attempted to prove his theory
that the human body could be stretched
to twice its normal length.
When he was hanged in Philadelphia,
in 1896, Holmes had murdered at least
two hundred persons (he confessed to
twenty-seven murders).
Holmes’s real name was Herman W.
Mudgett and he was a native of Gilman-
ton, New Hampshire, where he was born
in 1860.
When he was eighteen he married a girl
of Loudon, New Hampshire, who bore
him a ‘son. Soon afterwards, Holmes
began to study medicine at a small college
pt
rate ei Ga te ii Nee a iy
ac G wa ‘ mn
: i a i i
‘as Hy
oe
A # ce pene
as
fs
qa) on
yy Soa: |
Os rR
i shy l
ith
in Burlington, Vermont, and in 1879 he - ;
transferred to the University of Michi-
gan.
As soon as he completed his studies, he
deserted his wife and child, who returned
to Gilmanton and never saw him again.
In the seven or eight years after he
departed from Michigan, Holmes (or
Mudgett) left a trail of bigamy, murder,
and theft in a half-dozen states.
In 1889 he turned up in Chicago and
took a job as clerk in a drugstore owned
by a widow named Holden. A few months
later, Mrs. Holden disappeared, and since
she had no relatives, no investigation was
made.
Holmes’s story—that she had sold him
the drugstore and moved away—was ac-
cepted by the authorities.
A few years afterward Chicago police
found human bones, believed to have
been those of the widow, buried in the
cellar of the store.
In 1892, three years after he arrived in
18
iis
: aoe
x
5-7-1896.
”
Chicago batice acavehind tlie pares of Holmes Castle stra paydirt.
Chicago, Holmes constructed an ex-
traordinary building, which became
known as the House of Murder and
Holmes’s Castle.
It was a wooden structure of three
stories and a basement, containing about
ninety rooms and occupying an area of
fifty by 162 feet.
Probably more murders were commit-
ted in this house than in any other build-
ing erected in America.
Holmes supervised every detail of its
construction, changing workmen every
week or two, and no one but him knew
about the interior of the house until the
summer of 1895—when Chicago police-
men and Pinkerton detectives spent sev-
eral weeks searching it.
There was nothing unusual about the
first and third floors. The latter was cut
up into small apartments, apparently
never used; the former was divided into
stores, which Holmes rented.
But the second floor, which contained
thirty-eight rooms (including Holmes’s
living quarters and offices), was a weird
conglomeration of trap doors, ramps,
chutes, soundproof cells, blind passages,
hidden stairways, and cubicles without
windows.
One room was filled by a huge iron safe.
Another was lined with sheet iron
covered by asbestos. In both of these
rooms gas pipes had been installed, and
both showed evidence of fire.
Holmes was believed to have used the
gas pipes as blow torches to incinerate
some of his victims.
Gas outlets were found in all of the
NATIONAL POLICE GAZETTE
November, 1976,
ramps,
ssages,
without
on safe.
‘t iron
f these
od
sei
inerate
of the
iAZETTE
Harry Holm
second-floor rooms, the flow controlled
by valves in Holmes’s bedroom.
In Holmes’s bathroom, a trap door,
concealed by a heavy rug, opened on a
small room directly beneath. From this
room a chute, lined with blood-stained
sheet iron, led into the basement.
It was obvious that Holmes had used
the basement as a sort of disposal plant,
where he destroyed the bodies of his vic-
tims and prepared their skeletons for
sale.
Directly beneath the chute was a dis-
secting table with an assortment of surgi-
cal knives, all showing signs of use. Built
into one of the walls was a crematory,
with a grate which could be slid in and out
of the flames on rollers.
In the floor of the basement the police
+
NATIONAL POLICE GAZETTE
3
es carries one of his victims to a basement graveyard.
‘Anam
IA
A ui
Bit uit MT
| LR i
| om WAG:
hl
btn
a
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ING ;
found two large vats of quicklime and one
vat of corrosive acid.
Several mysterious machines were
scattered about the floor of the basement.
One, resembling a medieval rack, was
identified as the elasticity deter-
minator. There were bones all over
the cellar—some buried and some
lying charred in a large wood-burn-
ing stove.
Many of the bones were from
children. A half-dozen skeletons,
all females, were found in a box be-
neath the dissecting table.
The detectives were never able
to ascertain how many persons were
murdered in Holmes’s house of
death. Estimates ranged as high as
four hundred and there was con-
tal
Ci] i iltee ri
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RO gery i TUTTI,
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“ice mS
na
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ae
Be ig i
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LA mi MI
wea me
her gruesome discovery—a mutilated corpse
I i | | Or ltl
aN va a
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IN /
=S— RON Gs
Here’s the fantastic story of
Harry Holmes, who tortured,
murdered and dismembered
people in a House of Horrors
clusive evidence that more than
twenty people were killed.
During the World’s Fair of 1893,
Holmes advertised the castle as a board-
ing house, and the police traced more
i -than two hundred persons (who had
all been reported missing) to its
doors. There the trail ended.
The crime for which Holmes was
hanged was the murder of Ben Pietzel
and his children, a boy and two girls.
. Pietzel was a small-time crook who had
worked with Holmes in several swindling
operations.
In the summer of 1894, after a confer-
ence with Holmes and a St. Louis lawyer,
Pietzel had gone to Philadelphia, where
he posed as a patent attorney and insured
his life for $10,000.
The scheme was for Pietzel to disap-
pear and for Holmes to procure a body
which he and the lawyer were to identify
as Pietzel. They would then collect the
insurance.
Holmes, however, decided that it
would be simpler to kill Pietzel. So, on
September 3, 1894, he went to see Pietzel
in his office, struck him on the head, and
put him to death by means of chloroform.
Then the vicious killer poured benzine
over Pietzel’s head and set it afire. Later,
the body was identified and the insurance
paid.
Mrs. Pietzel knew what her husband
was up to, and she waited in St. Louis for
him to join her. Instead, Holmes ap-
peared and offered to take her children to
her parents’ home, in Galva, Illinois. He
left St. Louis accompanied by the boy and
the two girls, and turned up in Boston
without them. He was arrested and ex-
tradited to Philadelphia. ~ 4
Holmes professed to know nothing of
the children, but Detective Frank P.
Geyer, of the Pinkerton agency, set out on
his trail. For eight months he traced
Holmes’s movements throughout the
country,.and finally arrived in Detroit.
There Geyer located a house in which
Holmes had lived, and found the bodies of
the two girls buried in the garden.
The detective then went to In-
dianapolis, where he searched 900 houses
before finding one in which Holmes had
spent some time.
In the stove, Geyer saw the charred
body of the Pietzel boy.
Holmes’s trial began on October 28,
1895, and was one of the most sensational
courtroom dramas of the century. He was
found guilty, and on May 7, 1896, nine
days before his thirty-sixth birthday, he
was hanged in Moyamensing Prison, in '
Philadelphia. —THE END
19
eT a ee eee ee
TRUE OO Es Ee Ty
aero
638 108 ATLANTIC REPORTER (Pa.
PAOLIS v. TOWER HILL CONNELLS-
VILLE COKE CO.
(Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. June 21,
1919.)
*
1. MASTER AND SERVANT @==398—INSURANCE
COMPANY’S PAYMENT FOR MEDICAL SERVICES
NOT *‘PAYMENTS OF COMPENSATION’? WITHIN
WorKMEN’s ComMPENSATION ACT.
An insurance carrier’s payments to a hospi-
tal for surgical, medical, and hospital services
under Workmen’s Compensation Act, § 306(e)
are not “payments of compensation” within
section 315, providing that the limitation for
filing claim shall not take effect until one year
from the last payment.
2. MASTER AND SERVANT €==398—WoRKMEN’S
COMPENSATION CLAIM FILED IN CASE.
Claimant cannot recover on a petition for
compensation not filed until more than one
year after an accident, although within a year
payment has been made to a hospital for sur-
gical, medical, and hospital services, medicines
aud supplies within Workmen’s Compensation
Act, § 306(e).
Appeal from Court of Common Pleas, Fay-
efte County.
Proceeding by James Paolis against the
Tower Hill Connellsville Coke Company.
From an order affirming an order of the
Workmen’s Compensation Board affirming an
order of the referee disallowing compensa-
tion, plaintiff appeals. Affirmed.
The referee, the Workmen’s Compensation
Board and the court of common pleas denied
the right to claim compensation upon the
ground that the petition was not filed within
the time provided by law. Plaintiff relied
upon certain payments for hospital service to
toll the statute. Plaintiff appealed.
Argued before BROWN, CG. J., and MOSCH-
ZISKER, FRAZER, WALLING, SIMPSON,
and KEPHART, JJ.
H. S. Dumbauld and L. B. Brownfield, both
of Uniontown, for appellant. 3
Robert D. Dalzell, of Pittsburgh, for ap-
pellee.
SIMPSON, J. On January 4, 1917, plain-
tiff was injured while working for defend-
ant. He was taken to the Brownsville Gen-
eral Hospital for treatment, and on February
17, 1917, defendant’s insurance carrier paid
the hospital for its services, as required by
section 306, clause (e), of the Workmen's
Compensation Act of June 2, 1915 (P. L. 736).
Nothing was done by plaintiff until February
1, 1918, when he filed his petition claiming
compensation under said act. The referee,
the Workmen's Compensation Board, and the
court below, decided the claim was barred
tion was not filed until more than one year
after the accident; and it is admitted this
conclusion is correct, and the order dismiss-
ing the appeal should be affirmed, unless the
payment to the hospital was a “payment of
compensation” within the purview of the
concluding language of the section, as fol-
lows:
“Where, however, payments of compensation
have been made in any case, said limitations
shall not take effect until the expiration of one
year from the time of the making of the last
payment.” ;
Article 3 of the act embraces the subject of
compensation, and is divided into sections
801 to 319, each inclusive. Section 301 pro-
vides:
“Compensation for personal injury * * *
shall be made * *- * according to the sched-
ule contained in sections three hundred and
six and three hundred seven of this article.”
Those schedules cover every kind of com-
PDensable injury, and wherever therein the
word “compensation” is used, it refers to
payments to be made to the employé, or to his
widow, children or dependents.
Clause (d) of section 306, which is not a
part of the schedule, provides, however:
“(d) No compensation shall be allowed for
the first fourteen days after disability begins,
except as hereinafter provided in clause (e) of
this section”
—and appellant argues from the use of the
word “except” that. the payments “herein-
after provided in clause (e)” are also intend-
ed by the Legislature to be “compensation.”
Doubtless it would be ‘so held if clause (d)
was the only one to be considered; but what
is said above, and the sections hereinafter
referred to, alike negative the inference
sought to be drawn therefrom.
Clause (e) is as follows:
“(e) During the first fourteen days after dis-
ability begins the employer shall furnish rea-
sonable surgical, medical, and hospital services,
medicines and supplies, as and when needed,
unless the employé refuses to allow them to be
furnished by the employer. The cost of such
services, medicines, and supplies shall not ex-
ceed twenty-five dollars, unless a major surgi-
cal operation shall be necessary; in which case
the cost shall not exceed seventy-five dollars.
If the employer shall, upon application made
to him, refuse to furnish such services, medi-
cines, and supplies, the employé may procure
the same, and shall receive from the employer
the reasonable cost thereof within the above
limitations. If the employé shall refuse rea-
sonable surgical, medical, and hospital services,
medicines and supplies. tendered to him by his
employer, he shall forfeit all right to compen-
sation for any injury or any increase in his
incapacity shown to have resulted from such
under section 315 thereof, because the peti-
refusal.”
€—For other cases see same topic and KEY-NUM
LER in all Key-Numbered Digests and Indexes
reise
Aare
Pa.)
It will be noticed the word “compensation”
fs used only in the last sentence, where it
refers to the amounts to be paid to the em-
ployé, and not to the sum to be paid for “rea-
COMMONWEALTH v. MULFERNO 639
(108 A.) ‘
2. Homictipe @==22(2)—CONCEALMENT SUFFI-
CIENT LYING IN WAIT,
In a prosecution for murder in the first de-
gree concealment for the purpose of geal
yictim unawares, however accomplished, is suf-
i i rv- u . ~
sonable surgical, medical hie DP RS al- | ficient lying in wait, whether the parva
lees, Spackesnen. 28 Supnie, eet showing | Was in grass, bushes, or any other favora
ways denominated “cost, thereby lountion:
the legislative distinction between the two
classes of payments. Under no circumstanc-
es, in disability cases, is “compensation” pay-
able during the first 14 days, whether or not
such “cost” is incurred.
Moreover, it is said in section 308:
“Except as hereinafter provided, all compen-
sation payable under this article shall be pay
able in periodical installments, as the wages of
the employé were payable before the accident.
And in section 316, which is the section im-
mediately succeeding the one setting forth
the limitation of one year, and is the “here-
inafter provided” of section 808, it is said:
i his ar-
“The compensation contemplated by t
ticle may at any time be commuted by the
Board,” ete.
It is clear the “compensation” specified in
those sections does not refer to the payments
for “reasonable surgical, medical and hospital
services, medicines and supplies,” under sec-
tion 306, clause (e), but only to those to be
made to the injured employé, or in case of
his death to his widow, children or depend-
ents, and hence, as they include “all com-
pensation payable under this article,” or
“contemplated by this article,” they neces-
sarily determine what the Legislature meant
by the use of that word in said article, and
prevent the inference sought to be drawn
from section 306, clause (d) thereof.
It follows that -appellant’s petition was
8. HomIcIDE €=253(3) — SUFFICIENT EVI-
DENCE OF LYING IN WAIT. : :
Evidence held sufficient to show a lying in
wait, by defendant, convicted of murder in the
first degree.
4, CRIMINAL LAW @=1170(8)—EXCLUSION ‘OF
EVIDENCE HARMLESS WHERE SAME EVIDENCE
WAS LATER ADMITTED. /
The refusal of the court in a murder trial
to admit in evidence a pad offered to show
the effect of gunshot wounds on clothing at
various distances is not reversible error, where
it appears that the pad was subsequently ad-
mitted.
Appeal from Court of Oyer and Terminer,
Clarion County.
Tony Mulferno was convicted of murder
in the first degree, and he appeals. Af-
firmed, and record remitted for the purpose
of execution.
'N a
Argued before BROWN, C. A anc
MOSCHZISKER, FRAZER, WALLING,
SIMPSON, and KEPHART, IS.
Geo. F. Whitmer and J. V. Frampton, both
'of Clarion, for appellant.
A. A. Geary, of Clarion, and D. M. Geist,
Dist. Atty., of New Bethlehem, for: the Com-
monwealth.
KEPHART, J. The defendant was
found guilty of murder of the first degree.
filed too late, and hence the order of the| Op the 3ist of July, 1918, Tom Percllo. was
court below is aflirmed.
COMMONWEALTH y. MULFERNO.
(Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.
killed while walking along a path through
an unfrequented part of the town where the
shooting took place. It was pay day at the
mines, and he was walking on this path to the
office of the mining company that employed
him. The defendant was seen in this vicinity
in the afternoon, a few hours before Perello
left for the office, and it was the theory of the
aera hcic commonwealth that he lay concealed in the
— grass and bushes until Perello had passed,
DectaraTions or |then shot him in the back. Terello, when
LR ee struck, started to run away; the defendant,
DECEASED ADMISSIBLE AS DYING DECLARA-
TIONS. ;
Statements of deceased, made in the pres
fendant, who did not deny them at : J
She gle wenee deceased was shot, with a fur-| pled with him.
intent on killing, pursued him, firing as he
ran. They proceeded a short distance, when
Perello turned on his assailant and grap-
In the struggle the de
ther statement that he was about to die, and | fendant used a razor, which Perello took
also on hig way to the hospital as to how the
shooting occurred following his statement “ to
approaching death, and in the hospital where,
after expressing his belief that he could not
live, he detailed the story of the shooting, in
view of corroboration by witness who saw the
from him. -Perello succeeded in overpower-
ing the defendant; then called for help. A
number of people quickly gathered, and
the statements then made, and in substance
repeated at other times, form the basis of
tragedy, were admissible as dying declarations.
the several assignments of error, on which
¢=>For other cases see same topic and KEY-NU
MBER in all Key-Numbered Digests and Indexes
Se sw Bw AR Ae EE
(uoTeT9) STUPAT
NUSATON
ease |
fy?
suueg peqndsoizoeTe *aqTtyM
&
616T-0e=OT Uo
oR RoR ae
al Sasi. Di aaa lnk
ere
i ahsiahetntalibhed ATV PIV SANT
Fete aa een eR II
pee eit A a :
640 108 ATLANTIC REPORTER (Pa.
the defendant asks for the reversal of the
judgment which condemned him to death
for felonious homicide.
[1] Perello stated, in the presence of the
defendant, how Tony had shot him and
tried to kill him with the razor. The de-
fendant did not deny ‘this charge. His
victim stated that he was about to die, he
had, in fact, collapsed from loss of blood,
” and was carried to his home and thence by
automobile to the Butler Hospital. On his
way to the hospital, he told a relative how
the shooting occurred, prefacing his remark
with a statement as to approaching death,
and expressed the desire that his wife and
children be taken care of. At the hospital,
after the surgeon stated it was impossible to
operate and death was but a question of
hours, Perello again expressed his belief that
he could not live and, to those present, again,
in. some detail, was related the story of
the shooting. The appellant contends that
all of these statements—those made in the
open field, where Perello was shot, in the
automobile on the way to the hospital, and
. at the hospital—were not such dying declara-
tions as should have been admitted in evi-
dence. We realize the force of the sugges-
tion that dying declarations possess an
impressiveness which is sometimes out of all
proportion to their evidentiary value, and
the court and jury may sometimes have
their better judgment overridden by the ad-
mission’ of such statements, having the ef-
fect of sweeping away their impartial at-
titude, and substituting for it the emotional
element, as presented by the picture depict-
ed by the dying man; and it is on this ac-
count courts have imposed a certain strict-
ness on the admission of these declarations.
There is no reason, in the present case, to
criticise their admission, as the record shows
every precaution was taken to insure com-
petent evidence. The deceased, no doubt,
was impressed with his serious condition.
He had received two mortal wounds, and
felt his strength quickly going from him,
His remarks cannot be attributed to a per-
son who, on the slightest suspicion of weak-
ness from wounds, immediately imagines he
is going to dic. His condition was such as
to warrant him in believing, as he expressed
it, that he was going to die. Some of the
statements were admissible as part of the
res gestae. There is corroborative evidence
of these declarations. A witness who saw
the tragedy from across the valley, a short
distance away, describes the scene just as
the deceased detailed it at the hospital.
[2, 3] The evidence warranted a finding by
the jury that the defendant did lie in wait.
Concealment, for the purpose of taking his
victim unawares, however accomplished, is
all that is necessary. It may be done in
the grass, or the bushes, or in any other
favorable location.
[4] The objection to the threats offered in
evidence is without merit. They were suf-
ficient to sustain the commonwealth’s con-
tention that the defendant was actuated by
malice. While the court might have been
in error in refusing to admit the pad of-
fered, for the purpose of showing the effect
of gunshot wounds on clothing at various
distances (we do not so decide), the pad
was later admitted, and whatever error
there might have been was cured by this
admission. z
The charge of the court was fair, the case
was submitted to the jury without any show
of feeling, and though some of the assign-
ments of error are not in proper form, we
have duly considered ‘all of them, and they
do not present any reversible error.
The judgment is affirmed, and the record
is remitted for the purpose of execution.
eee
oP sabe gate
N. J.) FROST v
. CARSE G41
(108 A.)
FROST et al. v. CARSE. (No. 45/644.)
(Court of Chancery of New Jersey. Feb. 7,
1919.) :
4. CORPORATIONS @198—CESTUI QUE TRUST
NECESSARY PARTY AND TRUSTEES PROPER PAR-
TIES IN SUIT BY ONE TRUSTEE OF A VOTING
TRUST FOR REMOVAL OF ANOTHER.
In a trustce’s suit for removal of another
trustee of a voting- trust in an electric com-
pany, a submarine boat corporation, as a cestui
que trust of the voting trustees, should be made
a party, and other trustees and certain interest-
ed parties as representatives of a class who
could be served within the state should be made
parties, and it would also be proper to make the
remaining trustees under such trust parties,
and, if one is dead, his death should be sug-
gested of record. .
2 CoRPORATIONS @=198 — ALLEGATION OF
RECKLESS EXPENDITURE BY TRUSTEES OF VOT-
ING TRUST SUFFICIENTLY SPECIFIC.
An objection that a pill of complaint by
one cotrustee to remove another is not sufficient-
ly specific because, in alleging defendant’s ex-
travagance in paying an agent to influence the
cata against that class. It is suggested by
the defendant that he will produce in this
state, so that they may be served with pro-
cess, one Sutphen and one Dawson, who are
two of the voting trustees under Exhibit B,
the voting trust of the Submarine Boat Cor-
poration. Dawson is also a voting trustee
under the Electric Boat agreement. I think
that both of these gentlemen may be made
parties defendant as holders of the certifi-
cates issued under the voting trustee of the
Submarine Boat Corporation, and the com-
plainant, I think, might well find one or two
others not trustees and not interested in any
wise with the parties to this litigation, who
are residents of this state, and also make
them parties as representatives of a class.
It would also be wiser, in my view, to make
Sutphen and Dawson parties in their capac-
ity as trustees under the voting trust agree-
ment of the Submarine Boat Corporation as
well as Spear if he can be induced to sub-
mit to the service of process. I am not now
passing on the question as to whether the vot-
ing trustees are necessary parties, but they
are certainly proper parties, and because of
representatives of the United States government |,the nature of this suit they can be brought in
to seeure submarine boat eonstruction con-
tracts, it did not name the official, cannot be
upheld where another paragraph designates such
official as the solicitor of the navy.
Bill by Elihu B. Frost, individually and as
trustee, and others, against Henry R. Carse.
On motion to dismiss the bill complainants
allowed 10 days for making amendments, and
certain questions reserved.
See, also, 108 Atl. 642.
McCarter & English, of Newark, for com-
plainants.
Pitney, Hardin & Skinner, of Newark, for
defendant.
LANE, V. GC. (orally). {1] My present
view is that the bill should be amended, strik-
ing out Stout and Frost as complainants, as
executors, so that the suit will be by one
cotrustee against another for his removal.
I am quite certain also that the Submarine
Boat Corporation, as the cestui que trust of
the voting trustees of the Electric Company,
should be made a party. It is urged by the
defendant that there should also be parties
representatives of the ultimate beneficiaries
of the voting trust agreement of the Electric
Boat Company; that is, the holders of the
certificates under the voting trust of the
Submarine Boat Corporation. I am inclined
to think that, while not at this time passing
upon the absolute necessity for bringing them
in, it would be much wiser to bring a repre-
sentative or suflicient number of representa-
by publication, so that the only result of
Spear’s declining to come here and be served
would be delay. Nothing can be accomplished
by staying out of the jurisdiction, nothing
which will benefit him, and nothing which
will keep him out of this litigation. I think
also it would be wiser to make the remaining
trustees under the voting trust of the Elec-
tric Boat Company parties. Frost is already
in; Carse is in; the defendant offers to pro-
duce Dawson; Richmond is dead (his death,
of course, should be suggested on the rec-
ord) ; and, if Spear will agree to submit to the
service of process, all of ~the trustees will
be in. If the bill be amended to set out the
respective rights of the parties and they are
brought in, then there can be_no question but
that all of the parties are before the court
that could possibly be interested in the litiga-
tion.
I will give the complainant 10 days within
which to make up his mind whether he de-
sires to amend his bill in the particulars that
I have set forth. I am not now determining
that he must bring these parties in, but I am
quite convinced it would be wiser for him to
bring them in. Iam rather of the impression
(I may change my mind) that, if he amends
his bill by striking out Frost in his representa-
tive capacity and makes it a case of one
cotrustee against another and brings in the
Submarine Boat Corporation, I will carry
the motion to dismiss the bill for lack of par-
ties over until the final hearing, but com-
plainant would have to take his chance on
tives of that.class in, in order that the de-
termination of the cause may be res adjudi-i
apy such ruling.
[2] Now, the only remaining matter to be
¢==For other cases see same topic and KEY-NUMLER in all Key-Numbered Digests and Indexes
108 A.—41
Vee eee Owe sdb ne eee
Wiliam Murré Lb Frank Myers
hung af iilen, Penn. on.
Jan. L $76 for murdering
| Gotthardt Weh\ on Nov. Il, (S74.
258. ANNALS ‘OF. LUZERNE CouUNTY.
yard on Friday, April 30th, of the same year, Jasper B. .
Stark being sheriff. He ascended the steps leading to the
scaffold with a quick but self-possessed movement, and —
addressed those present, for several minutes, in the Ger-
man language. His address was then read in English by:
his spiritual adviser. The young man expressed his faith
in the merits of the Redeemer, and warned all who heard
him against rum and vicious companions. It is said he
believed that the physicians could restore him to life after
the hanging, provided his neck was not broken. The.
fall, however, rent the vertebre of his spinal column
nearly two inches asunder. eh
Since 1836, there has been a large influx of a mixed
population, consequent on the development of the mineral
resourcesof the county. Crime and litigation have in-
creased accordingly, during the last quarter of a century.
Civil suits have increased to hundreds, while Common: °
wealth costs have grown from an average of $300:per
annum, prior to 1836, to $1000, the ‘average since tha
year. EME
ber of deeds and mortgages recorded in any one year-is}
2257, which was done by Charles Hays, Esq., Recorder,
and his clerks in 1856.-" The number of executions, issued
‘from 1787 to the close of August Term, 1859, is 37 0847.
The largest number issued in any one year (1857) 519%
1979. Ae
The number of judgments entered, since the formation
of the Judgment Docket, in 1827, is 46,124. The largest
number entered in any one year (1858) is 3856. gis
In 1859, Luzerne was constituted one, the 11th, Jud
cial District, having 4 Courts of Oyer and Terminer,!&:
annually, besides 6 Courts of Common Pleas. In ad
? a
PRE JUDICIARY; :: 4 °° 259
tion, by the Act incorporating the city of Carbondale, the
President Judge of the district is made Recorder of that
city, and required to hold Recorder’ Court. Moreover
there are from 2 to 4 special courts annually held in the
COURT-HOUSE, CARBONDALE.
From 1787 to 1800, the average annual expenditures
of the county were $3600. From 1800 to 1810, during
which the second public buildings were erected, the ave.
rage was $7200 annually. From 1810 to: 1820, without
radford and Susquehanna counties, the average was
9000, but it must be borne.in mind that a portion of the
debt incurred in the construction of the county buildings
Was paid during this decade. From 1820 to 1830, the
woe was $7800 a year. From 1830 to 1842, when
yoming county was stricken off, the annual expendi-
ae ‘averaged $12,500. From 1843 to 1865, inclusive,
1€ expenditures have been as follows :—
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ANNALS OF ‘LUZERNE'COUNTY. © ite
Daniel Gilligan was waylaid and murdered below:
Wilkesbarre by James Cadden. Cadden had. his. trials
and was found guilty at the August Term of 1848, «: He>
received his sentence from the lips of Judge Conyngham;: :
and was executed in the jail-yard on Friday, March 2d),
1849, William Koons: being’ sheriff. Throughout:-thé4
period of his imprisonment: and trial down to the monient :
of his execution, he spoke but seldom, and practiced | a
studied reserve of manner. A few moments before his. -
death, his: spiritual adviser, at his instance, thanked the Re
officers of justice for their kindness and attention ; and =
warned all young men against bad associates and the use:
of ardent spirits. This was the first execution under the:
laws of Pennsylvania since the organization of ic cies |
county. — . ie
At April Term, 1853, Reese Evans was tried and con- ES
victed of murder in the first degree. He was sentenced.
to death by Judge Conyngham, and was executed in yee
jail-yard, G. W. Palmer being sheriff, on Friday, Sepes
tember 9th, 1853. Evans was a young Welshman about
twenty years of age, who had induced Lewis Reese, eal |
Jew, residing in Wilkesbarre, to accompany him toy :
Kingston under pretence of procuring money pets
pay the Jew-for clothing purchased of him. W ile:
crossing the fields, on the Kingston flats, he shot mee
with a pistol in the back part of his head; then plunder-
ing the pockets of his victim, whom he left dead on ee
ground, he fled. When his death-warrant was read: z40
him a few weeks before his execution, he trembled, “ §
covering his face with his hands, sank sobbing on es
floor. During his imprisonment, his sister frequent oe
visited him, and on one occasion brought a basket whic a
she set down by the door of her brother's cell. By goo
mission of the jailor, Evans walked out with his sister eat :
ees
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tetyudjTepettud "999gT feo1veeg qguvmeys Aq *VINVATASNNGd ‘AINOOO ANUAZNT JO STIVNNY
THE: JUDICIARY.. « 887
; b]
the jail-yard, and on his return, as he passed the basket,
he took out a bundle from it. . The bundle contained -a
female dress in which the prisoner intended to escape;
but its discovery by the jailor extinguished the last hope
of the unhappy youth. In his confession he stated he
had committed several robberies, and attributed his awful
end to his keeping late Hours and bad company.
James Quinn took the life of Mahala Wiggins, by
dashing out her brains with an axe, near the Nanticoke
dam, as they were passing.down the canal in a boat. He
escaped, but was arrested in the West, and conveyed to
the Wilkesbarre jail. He was tried, found guilty, and
sentenced to death by Judge Conyngham; at the J anuary
Term of 1854. The same year, on. Friday, the 21st of
April, Abraham Drum being sheriff, he was executed in
the jail-yard. When his death-warrant was read, he
manifested considerable excitement, but soon regained his
usual composure. He did not believe in a future state of
rewards and punishments. _ He ran up the steps to the
platform of the gallows, and surveyed the rope with a.
degree of self-possession and ‘calmness which astonished
every beholder. A physician, utterly astounded at such
perfect composure, approached the prisoner a few moments
before his execution, and placing his fingers on his pulse,
found it beating -with amazing rapidity, and giving evi-
dence of intense excitement. The exterior appeared
calm, but within there was a raging tumult of emotion.
William Muller killed George Mathias, in his own
house, on the Easton and Wilkesbarre Turnpike, a few
miles from Wilkesbarre. The instrument used in the
Commission of the crime was a hatchet, and the murderer
Concealed the body. of his victim in the well. He was
tried and found guilty at the J anuary Term of 1858,
Judge Conyngham presiding, and was executed in the jail-
17 :
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NO APPEAL
MULLER, William, hanged at Wilkes-Barre, Pa., on April 30, 1858,
"From the LUZERNE (Pa.) UNION of Saturday: We are called upon to chronicle another horrible
myrder committed in this County. An honest old German, named Jacob Matthias, living about
seven miles from this borough, on the road to Bear Creek, was missed about ten days ago, |
ie wasin town the day previous and purchased a hog; he paid for it, and promised to call the
next day and take it to his home, The fact of his not coming for the hog, as he had intend=
ed to do, aroused suspicion in the minds of his friends here that some accident had befallen
him, and yesterday they started out in search of him Upon reaching his premises, they
found a man there, named W. M, Muller, a native of Hanover, Germany, who seemed to have po-=
ssession of the house, He said that Matthias had gone West to visit his soneinelaw and
that he had purchased the premises and paid for them, This only served to strengthen the
suspicion that Matthias had been murdered, and the party commenced to examine the well near
the house with hooks, where, to their asbonishment, they found his remains wrapped in a
ouilt, and having a heavy chain around the body, and a large stone fastened to the end of
it, Several gashes were upon his head, which had the appearance of having been done with
a hatchet, An inquest was held by Esouire Williams, of Bear Creek, It seems that Muller
was a poor man, and that Matthias had promis ed to keep him over Winter in consideration of
some work which he was to do about the house, Suspicion immediately catered mpon Muller,
He was brought to town, and after a hearing before Esouire Vaughn, he was committed to
jail. The wife of Matthias died some time ago, and he was living alone at the time of his
death." TIMES, New York City, N. Ye, 12-16-1857 (5/3).
"The Wilkesbarre RECORD OF THE TIMES has a report of the trial of William Muller for the
murder of George Matthias, a German: 'Muller was a stranger in Wilkesbarre, but was employed
to work for Matthias. The latter owned a cow and a pig, which Muller sold in market, sta-
ting that Matthias had gone West, Muller having bought him out, A short rope or cord, some
two feet long, with a noose, was found drawn tightly around the neck of the murdered man,
The knot was drawn under his ear, The rope is evidently such a cord as the garroters use
in the cities, A knot at one end is drawn through the strands of the rope, which are opened
a few inches from it, This makes a small loop, and, to give strength to it, a half inch of
the rope is taken round the knot, Through this loop a running nosse is made with the rope,
which may be opened to full length or half length of rope, as it would be doubled, and when
thrown over a man s kneck and drawn tight, it is difficult to escape from it. No many lving
in Pine Swamp ever? made or saw such a knot and noose, and whether Muller committed the mur-
der of Jake or not, Jake certainly never did that part of it. It was a most cold-blooded
murder whoever did it, The story of Muller, if he did it, shows that he thought if Matthias
wasout of the way he could own the property, as he told them he had bought the house as
well as the cows and pigs.! The jury brought in a verdict of murder in the lst degree,"
TIMES, New York City, N. Ye, 1/23/1858 (3/3.)
mWilkesbarre, Paey -30-1858-William Muller, who murdered George Matthews, on the Easton
turnpike on Dec. 1, 1857, was executed today at noon, at this place, The wretched murderer
made a confession of the deed, which will he published," TIMES, New York City, N. Yes
5/1/1858 (1/5.)
G. ¢
DOE & MEANS
Eo 7-f2-/9 26
MUSZTUCK, John Es. FP Otiurle A Co, 2,
DOB OR AGE RACE OCCUPATION RESIDENCE
RECORD
CRIME DATE OTHER
VICTIM AGE RACE METHOD
MOTIVE
SYNOPSIS
"Apparently unaware of his surroundings and the eo ene going on about him for his
ast a n ea uszZtuc eager T =
tiary yesterday norning went to his death with his aves closed and without a word, wite
! b 4 Mwoots of the execution fr e
ices "Taking advantage of the law wpch aehtime for the presence of six a in addition
to pris ono =
to Rockwiew Monday morning eantaent? a the TRIBUNE =REPUBLICAN and the Titusville HERALD
’ respectively, With Deputy Sheriff M. T,. Herrick, the two men left for the death house
| He Friday midnight with Musztuck, and after delivering the man, came back to Meadville, in-
“ formed that the electrocution would take place at 7 o'clock Monday morning, and they left
here Sunday night in time to arrive before the hour yesterday.
Witnesses of the State's sole official act in connection with the case were assembled in
the death chamber opposite the door where Musz
for his execution, With a guard on either side and preceded by a priest, Musztuck walked
» » - 3 3
uttering a sound, Guards shoved him forcibly into the chair, thouch showed no resistance,
s, os Jrodes fastened ih position, the points of contact with his body being dampened. A hand
| M2 PEI IID NE saa 185 aoe es was raised as a signal to the electrician and the current thrown on three charges of 2000
F volts each being applied for 5 seconds, After the third shock the prison physician exam=
ined the man and pronounced him dead, Four minutes had elapsed since Musttuck entered the
‘ chamber, Contrary to the general impression, no word was spoken to the prisonor nor was
he given opportunity for a last word, Nor was there any secrecy about the identity of
execntioner, The switch that ended Muasztuck's Life was thrown in full view of alt,
"Throughout the trip to Rockview on Saturday, Musztuck proved an ideal prisoner, Laughing
and joking with hts yuards and talking D9
aes his Guar oe ho napenon was nave of his crime or of the coming qhecutton, pea
at Caruahaeel te hates unshackled while the party had beaekPaat.*.
TRIBUNE-REPUBLICAN, Meadville, Pennsylvania, July 13, 1926 (Tuesday) (6:6,)
“wohe following is additional inf formation on the Musztuk case, taken from the MEADVILLE
TRIBUNE REPUBLICAN, November 23=27, 1925+ John Musztuk,; hy reported his-+wife, 7,
missing on Saturday, Nov, 21. He said she never came home from work, Because he had
a history of abuse and a police record (bootleg? ging), he was held for questioning.
He remained tn—jeib whilte the police searched for Mrs, Musgtuk, On Wednesday, Novembe
whe UNS WII | Ai lmae
25th, a police dog found her body. buried in a shallow grave under the chicken coop, SH
had been beaten to death, The husband was brougnt to the scene-and made to—dic-—up
tinea ISSoe..0398.,Gt1i11 maintained his innocence. Her employers reported that he had calle
LEN, Ae MNES IO ERE ROE TRTE TROPISM O NYS PIC TO iain sseii. uly ian 31 ; a
at work and t8id her to come home and that she had told fellow wattresses that ner
; Mus
husband wee tene-*e ether Post gamer_showes she had also been strangled, Muszty
confessed to the murder on December 1 and claimed he was temporarily insane from
None —
Q, ot
bm
le
LAST WORDS
drinkings" Ltr, dtd, May 22, 198), from Robert D, Ilisevich, Librarian, Crawford Co.
Historical Society, 848 N,. Main : Step Meadville, PA 16335.
EXECUTION
SOURCE
FRANK NEWTON OFFICE SUPPLY-oOTHAN
iy
€
ay
“pM S ile OR ON etd abst sei hete EA
. = ~
OLE eit BES,
Peace a eS
NAME
MUSZTUCK, John VA SK (Oviurle A (%p,) Eo /2 -142@
DOS OR AGE RACE OCCUPATION RESIDENCE GEN
RECORD
CRIME DATE OTHER
VICTIM AGE RACE METHOD
MOTIVE
SYNOPSIS
"Apparently unaware of his surroundings and the arrangements going on about him for his
dast act on earth, John Musztuck, Seagertown murderer, electrocuted at nockview Pentten=—
tiary yesterday morning went to his death with his eyes closed and without a word, wite-
Hooves or +t e
Finger: advantage of baa law arth aise. for ™ presence of six repens in addition
to re Monday morning Sipeau ating the TRIBUNE“REPUBLICAN and the Titusville HERALD
respectively, With Deputy Sheriff M. T. Herrick, the two men left for the death house
Friday midnight with Musztuck, and after delivering the man, came back to Meadville, in-
formed that the electrocution would take place at 7 o'clock Monday morning, and they left
here Sunday night in time to arrive before the hour yesterday.
Witnesses of the State's sole official act in connection with the case were assembled in
the death chamber opposite the door where Musztuck entered while attendants made ready ——
for his execution, With a guard on either side and ——- by a priest, Musztuck walked
_————into-the-chamber,—bott
uttering a sound, Guards shoved him pet peh as into the chair, thoug ie showed no peer etere ms
grodes fastened ih position, the points of auntie with pe body caine dieaiarieds A hand
was raised as a signal to the electrician and the current thrown on three charges of 2000
volts each being applied for 5 seconds, After the third shock the prison physician exam-
ined the man and pronounced him dead, Four minutes had elapsed since Musttuck entered the
aa chamber, Contrary to the general impression, no word was spoken to the prisonor nor was
| he given opportunity for a last word, Nor was there any secrecy about the identity of
execntioner, The switch that ended Masztuck's life was thrown in full view of alt,
"Throughout the trip to Rockview on Saturday, Musztuck proved an ideal prisoner, laughing
ard joking with tris Buds as and talking €
| among his heel no. mien SON was _ of ne crime or of the coming HOC HUSONS —_
at Cumrenevit ta Hewes unshackled while the yale had. breakfanti®
| TRIBUNE@-REPUBLICAN, Meadville, Pennsylvania, July 13, 1926 (Tuesday) (6:6,)
RP RA wth CRN
FRIAL
APPEALS
None
LAST WOROS
EXECUTION
SQURCE
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$12.50
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PLACE — CITY OR COUNTY DOE & MEANS
name John F,. Myma, alias Frank B. : aes
Duggan Rockview Prison (Lackawanna County) E S501 92),
RESIOENCE GEN
DOS OR AGE RACE QCCUPATION
27 | thite RUKANKAK Dickson City
THER
CRIME OTH
| "GAREXIER 6-9-1924
sander AGE RACE ‘METHOD
60 |White
Wolf Glou, Scranton jeweler
MOTIVE
Robber
SYNOPSIS
Glou, an aged jewler on Penn Avenue Scranton, The following from Scranton TIMFS 5-5=192) (Photo on
pare—one}; Ptaced in chair at 7 o'clock and pronounced dead six minutes later, Two shocks of #tvo
thousand volts cach necessary to kill, ‘ent bravely though tears flowed down cheeks until he was
Myna—entkred—death chamber carrying ross wich he raised into the air and prayed:
"Oh God} Oh Godt Have mercy on my soul." As leather mask placed over caee, said: "I am dying for my
sins, I am dying a happy death, Virgin Mother, _oray fox me, §_ continued to-pray beneath mask cunt
current applied. Hoped for reprieve until the last. Body buried at Olyphant. Mrs. Duggan, who had
be riended and served as second mother to him attended to funeral arrancoments, Avound 5420-9n-s fies
noon of June 9, 1922, Glou, an ared and respected merchant,was alone in his jewelry store at 105 Penn
avenue, liyma, who had been watching store from other’ side of street for some time, entered on pree
vense oF pu~chasing a watch. As Glou bent over showcase to pull out a tray of watches, Myma drew a
14 inch steel bar from hip pocket and began raining blows on his head, At Least six such blows
rendered with preat force crushed Glou's skull and he fell to floor unconscious, Myma took nine
watches, a 31,00 bill and a silver match case, Myma was leaving store when Glou's son-in-law en-
tered-and-asked for tion, Myma said Giou had pone to a lunckheonétte and né was watching store
Sonein-law asked who he was and he repiaed alert he was Glou's cousin, Son-n=law noticed bloodstains
screaming "Murder, Murder", Myma fled, eiyeied by 1 rge crowd on sib eues and finally dvertaken and
arrested after beine tackled hy a eausbenk, Glou-takento hospital and diedon June ti +pitkhewt—
rerainine consciousness, The weapon, a steel bar with a nut on top, was taken by Myma in Lackawanna
railroad yards, He had left behind in store after murder, “hen taken to station, became unruly and
cegan throwing himself against iron bars, necessitating his being placed in a padded cell, When a
reporter asked him why he was arrested, he replied: "I killed a Jew," In 1915 he had beenarrested
for theft of 21 bicycles, Had been released from Huntington sierra only a short time before
murder and had arrived in Scranton that week, registering at Hotel Eastman under name of Frank B,
buvfan, Became rational on June 12 and confessed saying that he had pawned a watch in the shop a
week previously and that when he came to set more money on it, Glou refused to give it, They argued
and -he-left—shop—and rent to -ratiroad-yard where he obtained weapon and returned to shope In septs,
1922, he became Violent in his cell again and was subjected to sanity tests, Doctors said he was
C + + cs
+
that he did not know what he was doing on day of murder, Convicted on Feb. 3, 1923, and when verdict
announced, Myma remarked to a guard: "God will judge veryone of them," ‘hen sentenced on May 21,
1923, declared innocence and said he was dying because he was a poor man, Had committed petty thefts
for which he had served reformatory termse
LAST WORDS
EXECUTION
SOURCE
FRANK NEWTON OFFICE SUPPLY-COTHAN
{
|
|
|
}
Flashlight photograph of the actual scene
shortly after the dynamiting took place.
is all that remained of the pay car
of the crime
At the left
* eae Ao pane ie
gi Hae SORA,
WE
"Y | CAR MASSACR
y and a pall of
dying afternoon of
ups of miners and
the Truesdale Col-
Glen Alden Coal
re County, North-
ae weather with its
,eir minds, for the
r below the surface
earth. The bright-
he Stygian darkness
lamps, either worn
yn to be evident. In
of a locomotive at-
about 2,000 men at
tunnel section more
2, were expecting its
ia & Western Rail-
ines, and the single
tive, contained thou-
The Truesdale Colliery is one of the most important
of Glen Alden operations. Among the products turned
out is special brooder coal furnished ‘chicken raisers in
the West. The colliery is split up into several divisions,
one of which is the No. 20 tunnel section. This section is
two miles from the colliery proper, and is reached by
traveling through an isolated section to the mountain-
side. ~
To save the men employed in that section the trip to the
colliery proper, the company order called for the workers
in No. 20 being paid at the tunnel.
THERE is a narrow gauge railroad connecting the two
points, and because of this a big locomotive could not
be run over it. Hence it was necessary fo use an auxiliary
pay car, to which was attached a mine motor, known as
a “lockie,” a term used about the mines to designate this
small locomotive. Power for the “lockie” was furnished
by an overhead trolley wire.
Upon the arrival of the main pay train at the colliery
proper, a chest containing $35,898 for the’men at the
tunnel was removed to the auxiliary carrier, while prepa‘
rations also were made for paying the other men.
By Captain
As told to
WILLIAM A.
CLARK,
Commander Troop B,
Pennsylvania State Police
WALLACE M. DEPEW @
of the Scranton Times
35
7
NAFUS, John & SZACHEWICZ, Sigi ear
) Nn & S4AUL EWICZ, Sigismund, whs, elec. PASP (Luzerne) May 25, 193 wa ee.
HOW WE
° LTHOUGH the skies were heavy and a pall of The
Th e ear th trem bled. D i t, r ocks, A gloom seemed to-enshroud the dying afternoon of of Gler
° January 13th, 1930, the two groups of miners and out is
splintered lumber, steel wheels other workmen, milling about the Truesdale Col- the We
. Fe liery, a large operation of the Glen Alden Coal one of
filled the air. Human bodies _©ompany, at Warrior Run, in Luzerne County, North- two mi
eastern Pennsylvania, were happy. - travelin
° The dreary, despondent attitude of the weather with its side.
fi ell to the gr ound, mutilated, threat of a storm, held no part in their minds, for the To sa
< majority toiled, not in the open, but far below the surface colliery
br oken, and bleeding. Ti was _ of the ground, in the very bowels of the earth. The bright- in No.
ae Th I ‘ ness of the sun never enters there, and the Stygian darkness
raining money. ion is pierced in most places only by small lamps, either worn HEF
& 6; y “ CP sabes atop the heads or carried in the hands, poin’
e The cause of their joyousness was soon to be evident. In be run
had smashed the pay car into a little while the snorting and puffing of a locomotive at- pay car
; y tracted the attention of one group of about 2,000 men at a “lock:
a thousand pteces ! the colliery proper; and in the No, 20 tunnel section more small |
than 500 men unable to hear the engine, were expecting its by an ¢
t
} Who were the mad men who had 2ttival over the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Rail- Upon
; road. For it was pay day at the mines, and the single proper,
e e e Gg coach drawn by that chugging locomotive, contained thou- tunnel \
F perpetrated this fiendish crime? Sands of dollars in money rations
34
MASTER DETECTIVE, July, 1933
Se fig Valley Railroagy’ about thirty away he rz
slack Disgend Express, New York a When the
this spot a short tie gq quarters of
- ie in fifteen m
It was: elise to 4 o'clock, andto be on time Powell, : 4 at top speed
asthe motorman,, advanced, the speed: control to the last 4 It was a;
In a short time they, would be at the tunnel. E the scene. V
denly, without warning, a detonation split the air, fully torn, \
epetch.
arth trembled, the mountain-side shook, the trees short time.
sta geered, Dirt, racks, boards; heavy ‘wheels and other, otherwise cr
maveriat’ ‘filled the aif % death. ~
Human: bodies tossed high. bythe ee fel] to
earth, mutilated, broken and bleeding.
It was raining money. Gregnbacks. floated
‘some of them landing «in trees;
gins fell oveyea wide area. ge
pay car had been
anne intg a thousagd
. pieces, The lid had’ been
ripped from the money “gn
y%.Which lay a con-
distance
Kfe,
ci ie
Everything went along’ as; iteal ays | al done—without
incident,
THe small pay car was the same’ eearrie
‘totransport coal from the underground chambersetoxthe
“surface, with: the exception that along the sides were a KS
which “served as“seats. A’ half-inch. chain, run through the
handles of the chest and fastened#toayun
held: the money container in place, ="
HE paymaster, Arthur E. Webb; thirty-two of Scran-
ton, was seated on one side of. the money chest. Fred
. We Pfaff, sixty, also of :Scrantonyea °
- | John Sookie, forty-five, of Ply: anoth yagi
' “alongside of Webb. On the opposite ide of the car were:
Martin Burns, thirty-one, of Sugar Notch, assistant mine
foreman ; James aes Shovlin, thirty-two, Hanover
On the “lockie”’ hiend was » rary Powell, F eesky inne
of Wilkes-Barre, who was at a controls; and John Ro:
coal company, pon seven years, but this was his’
to Na: 20 tunnel He did not tell his friend
+ hada premonition that somes te te
occur on this trip.
~The train had geroe
trees. Just a
The barricade which the dynamiters age to gprotect ( themielves From th
send a fatal spark. Spot; jwherg wire is || omic where the r
%
ain of the car, lying scattired over - the uneven groynd.
=" The “lockie” was 150 feet the other side of the bridge.
~ Powell, ‘dazed and suffering from shock as the result of
lip had survi
France with t
killed now wi
Ss a
the terrific concussion that followed the explosion, staggered It did not
- to his feet. He looked back for the car, believing that it ; had caused th
Twosheremen who had jumped the track; He started back and reached the Dynamite!
met death in the ex- _ bridge. or fiends, wh«
plosion. 1—James = His eyes fell onthe hole beneath the tracks ay the | of the pay m
(Rocky) a of bodies stretched: out along the bank, 4 This is the
nea and 2. — “Hello, Rocky,* he shouted. Three times he called, but ; from the survi
Martin Burns, he received no response. _The man standing there, was look- : my men assigr
Sugar Notch, Pa. jing at the demolished car and ‘paid no attention to his 4 ing Barracks
The other twomen cry Why didn’t he. turn around and “answer?:. Then a 4 radio, and als.
realization:.of what had occurred broke’ over Powell and 4 out Pennsylva
MYRACK, John, White, death sentence, Pa, 1755.
(Dates are from NEW YORK. MERGURY on dates indicated. )
08-25-1755
99-01-1755
O1-76-1756
“a
CHESTER PA Augu.22nd; We hear from Chester County that on Thurs-
day last one JOHN MYRACK of East Cain, murdered his
wife, two of his own children and a child of Mr. John Gilliland's
that was nursing at his house in a most barbarous manner. After he
had murdered his wife, he burnt her face to such a degree that no
person could know her. His children's skulls he beat to pieces
against a rock that was before his door and Mr, Gilliland's he
CHESTER PA Aug.28th; On Tuesday JOHN MYRACK, (mentioned in our
last), was tried at a Court of Oyer & Terminer at
Chéster for the barbarous murder of his wife, two of his own children
and a child that was nursing in his house; when he was found guilty
and received sentence of death.
NBWI vavyv oe , Waker eee LLL
Si aaa saison gee
d, about thirty 1 away he raced for Nd. 20 tunnel to spread an ilarins’”
‘ess, New York When; the. call camé to the Wyoming Barracks, "head-
|
ot a short time quarters. of {Troop B,* Pennsylvania, State Police’ ;éalled
igh in fifteen meh and we’started for the ‘mine in:at ombLiles
on time Powell, . ae at top speed. : ‘ ye
trol to: the last It was a ghastly sight that greeted us on: our@rrival at
the falmel. “= the scene: Webb, Burns and Brezinski, their -bédies fright
on split the air, fully torn, were dead—killed:instantly,Shovlin died }
shook, the trees short time. Pfaff, both of his legs shattered and hi
heels and other. otherwise critically injured, was hoyering between, ;
death. * i Z a
Site, the only other a & of. the , Ae
2 “injured butenot seriously. Nothifig shott of a
miratle had saved him, as*well as Powell
and. Rozanski. a ie
‘Webb was sérving his thirteenth
year as paymaster. A peculiar
coincidence in this case was
that he,was born on th
thirteenth ‘day o
losion, fell to
was killéP’on the.
‘thirteenth. - Shoy-"
a
B crime, and_urged ‘to look out for suspicious persons.
much time to lose. A cloak of black wa
a.sort of fortress.
Brush, ‘branches of trees, large limbs and sheet iron had
“<«..peen, piled up, at that point. In a hole behind that. barri-..
-cade was‘a battery to which wire was attached. It was"a
gadio “B” battery,’ 45. volts, manufactured in New \
"Citys aie Si eer ene ge
An article “that, could be purchased in many stores;
any number, of places! Therefore a clue without much :
value unless it*contaifed fingerprints, which was unlikely.
Then my eyes fell on something interesting. On the side
~ of the battery was marked in pen anidink “1.19” _ ERE
Sty Those price figures were unusual. A: dollar and ni
is teen cents is not the price at which this typeof. battery 3s:
"usually sofds-which meant that it had probably been put.
“‘cliased at a sale. If we could find a store that had had*
such’a:sale, find the man who had marked that battery;
thembelves es the explosion.. Note ‘the wire used to
amit de to srotect (
ager Er oie where the radio battery was buried
park. Spot /wher¢ wire is |
5 % eee
the uneven oh i lin had survived the World war, in which he fought in
side of the bridge. : France with the 311th Machine Gun Company, only to be =.
:k as the result of 4 killed now without a chance to defend himself.
explosion, staggered ‘ It did not take more than one glance to realize what
ck and reached the Dynamite! And a lot of it! Placed there by some fiend
aS or fiends, who were willing to sacrifice lives for, the sake
of the pay money. oo
This is the story of the day’s happenings, as T had it poo Bresinaki,
times he called, but fromi the survivors when I arrived on the scene. [soon had of Plymouth, Pa.,
ling there, was look- my men assigned. ‘Information was sent back to the Wyom- whose headless |
no attention to his | ing Barracks that was broadcast over. the State Police . body was found . @
4
{
|
».
ir, believing that it | had caused this terrible. tragedy. .
|
the tracks and the |
|
|
d‘answer?:. Then a radio, and also sent by teletype to police stations throughs. from cleaner ee
ke over Powell and m
out Pennsylvania. Authorities of other statesjwere told: of. —_plosion
37
ct
(Above) A general view of the scene of
the dynamiting. Note the remains of
the pay car to the left of the track
and the one who had sold it; then we
might have something to work on.
Green and black wire had been used
to make the connection between the
battery ‘and the dynamite. It was ap-
parent that the desperados had figured
wrongly on the length needed. The
green wire was newer than the black.
Another clue but it appeared a slim,
one.
IF the wire and battery could be
traced to the stores which sold them,
we might obtain descriptions of the
purchaser and then again maybe we
might not. y
My men anc other police authorities
were patrolling a wide area, guarding
the money that was scattered about.
The mountain-side and other places
were being thoroughly scoured. Chief
County Detective Richard Powell and
his assistants, John Dempsey and Leo
Grohowski; Chief of Police Edward
Maycock, of Warrior Run, and Cap-
tain Walter S. Hennig, of the Lehigh
Valley Railroad police, who had joined
us at the scene, were untiring in their
efforts.
I returned to the Wyoming Barracks
and there received various reports from
the men engaged in the pursuit. Pow-
ell, the dazed motorman, had left No.
20 tunnel immediately after spreading
38
ie A x "> : & :
(Left) Sigismund Szachewitz, known
as Big Joe, identified as the mysterious
“man in the brown overcoat”
the alarm. He remembered little but
was able to give a partial description
of the man he had seen when he called
“Hello, Rocky.” He said he was shout-
ing for Shovlin, not knowing that Shov-
lin’s dead body was lying on the bank
some distance away.
Powell said that the man he saw was
about six feet tall, weighed about 190
pounds, and that he wore a soft hat
and brown overcoat.
Corporal Jacob Hess while on duty
the day before the explosion, had no-
ticed five men in‘an automobile acting
so. suspiciously that he jotted down
the license number of the car. | de-
cided to check up on the machine and
sent out a call to stop that car where-
ever found and hold the men.
It was finally located in Wilkes-
Barre, but the occupants satisfactorily
explained their presence and were
turned loose.
A hot tip then came in that a man,
cut and injured about the face, had
asked for a ride in a motorcycle at
Warrior Run. When the machine had
started along the Hanover road on
which the entrance to the colliery is
located, he had jumped out and ran.
This man was found. He explained his
‘actions by saying that he had been in
a fight at Hanover and did not want
to go back there. His statements were
SPEER
(Above) Th
which pulled
day o
substantiated
The next c
killers still at
Another sea
explosion was
a Startling <
Sixteen feet w:
mite had been
car, nineteen
sive, to which
mite cap and
ied along the |
There is lit:
dynamite had
more lives wot
out. Or, if it }
crowd was gal
blasting of th:
toll would hav
ANOTHER
day was
one edge of wh
County Detec
Corporal Hess
was that it ha
to the person «
barricade when
mite.
As yet there
dynamite box.
had been stole
house of the co
January 7th. «
might re-
t Villijo
s dead?”
uffed the
r car and
ere Villi-
e showed
y. “Now
e is quite
as really
ast of El
asked in-
‘nors. He
ie border,
tions we
mes. We
ye threat-
a hold up
t of the
t chance,
’ the bor-
ur hands
topped at
it before,
nined his
iave been
using the
ave easily
ind prob-
to ply his
verdose of
ing.
Mendoza
‘e charged
dy of El
’ returned
the jury
co Villijo,
let wound
{ that the
y United
r Frank
that the
tifiable in
is fleeing.
Benado’s
:o Villijo,
formation
ied under
ory of El
lent death
der news-
) claim his
> tried for
sentences
n Quentin
o. Poker
yrder, and
d to take
fearless—
was never
son except
nd chival-
1 customs
any Mexi-
that fact.
mory, and
stablished,
leasure in
El Benado
July, 1933
The Master Detective
61
How We Solved the Warrior Run Pay Car Massacre
story much might have been made of
the green wire discovered; and the
“man in the brown overcoat” would no
doubt have been quickly apprehended.
But, in real life, detective work for the
most part requires long hours of tire-
some drudgery and the digging into
many irritating details. Facts must be
produced and proved, even though the
road to them is oftentimes tedious.
In serious crimes of this nature it
cannot be assumed that this or that
person is guilty just because evidence
seems to point that way. It must be
proved. :
The purpose of the Pennsylvania
State Police, since its organization in
1905, has been to guarantee to those
who desire to travel throughout the
commonwealth that they may do so in
safety, and to those who dwell in the
state that they may live in peace. But
where a crime does occur the person or
persons must be brought to justice.
Men who would blast out the lives of
other human beings could not be left at
large no matter how difficult their ap-
prehension might prove to be. They
would try the same thing again if they
escaped the law this time.
FINALLY in Warrior Run we found
a girl who had been picking coal
near the scene of the dynamiting on the
fateful day. She had become fright-
ened by two men and had run away.
The girl could not describe the men,
but she remembered that she had seen
two.
Then, through the marking on the
radio battery, the store where it had
been sold was found. It had been on
special sale. The price marked on it
was not the usual amount asked for it.
At Chick’s Auto Supply Company in
Nanticoke, it was identified by Frank
Chicknosky, who had marked the price
on it.
In the meantime a check-up at
hotels, boarding houses and other places
over a wide area had failed to bring
forth any promising clue. But at the
Salvation Army building in Wilkes-
Barre, it was discovered that a lodger
had been absent on the night when the
dynamite was stolen, and again on the
night the outrage was committed. Had
these facts any significance?
The Luzerne county commissioners
met on February 10th and offered a
reward of $2,500 for the capture of the
criminals, Later the Glen Alden pal
Company offered a like sum, making
the total reward $5,000.
February 18th Officer Robert Breese,
of the Lehigh Valley Railroad police,
took into custody a man who described
himself as Sigismund Szachewicz. He
was twenty-five years of age and Op-
ularly known as “Big Joe.” Back in
1926 an attempt had ben made to dy-
’ namite a Lehigh Valley train at Moun-
tain Cut-off. Fortunately the train
a over the spot just before the
last went off, so that only the tracks
were ripped up. At that time Big Joe
was a suspect, but nothing was ever
(Continued from page 39)
proved against him, although two other
men were sent to the Eastern peniten-
tiary for the job. :
To the railroad police Big Joe denied
that he had had anything to do with
the Glen Alden dynamiting, so they
turned him over to me.
-When he was brought to the State
‘Police Headquarters he was wearing a
brown overcoat.
I started a systematic checkup on
Big Joe after he again denied that he
knew anything of the Warrior Run
killings.
I found that after the Lehigh Valley
dynamiting he had disappeared for
parts “unknown.” I picked up the trail
of a man who had enlisted in the
United States Army and who after
serving a year had deserted. It seemed
more than probable that this man was
Big Joe. The deserter had lived in
Jersey City. So had Big Joe.
And Big Joe was the man who had
absented Titinselt from the Salvation
Army building, Wilkes-Barre, on the
two important nights of January 7th
and January 13th, even though his at-
tendance there had been otherwise con-
stant and regular since January 1}.
Richard Powell, Chief Detective, Lu-
zerne County, Pennsylvania, who
took a prominent part in the capture
‘of the fiends
While continuing his denials, I asked
him where he had stayed on the night
of January 7th.
“At the home of ‘Tex’ Nafus, 130
Smith Row, Plymouth,” he answered.
Then I asked him where he had been
on the night of January 13th, and he
said the “same place’”—the Nafus home.
I] sent a trooper to the Nafus resi-
dence. Mrs. Nafus was home and she
quia denied that Big Joe had been
there on either night.
The next day, February 20th, I had
Big Joe brought into my office.
ile he was watching me I casually
held in my hand the blue handkerchief
found at the scene of the crime.
“That’s my handkerchief,” he blurted
out.
“Where did you lose it?” I asked.
“When I got back to Wilkes-Barre
I—” And theré he stopped.
“Back to Wilkes-Barre?” I inquired.
“Yes, from Warrior Run.”
] laid the handkerchief to one side.
Big Joe was now ready to talk.
After Chief County Detective Powell
and Corporal Charles D Santee had
been called in I told Big Joe that I
wanted only the truth, and cautioned
him that anything he might say could
be used against him in the event that
his case went to court.
He said he understood all that and
then proceeded to tell me the story of
the crime implicating four others as he
did so. One of the gang he said, was
John Nafus, already mentioned in this
story as “Tex” Nafus.
I] asked him where he first met Nafus,
and he answered that he had known
him for several years.
He went on with his narrative by
explaining that he met Nafus shortly
after New Year’s on Main Street, Ply-
mouth, where they had a conversation
with reference to staging a holdup at
No, 20 tunnel. Four or five days later
they met again when Nafus and two
others, men he did not know, came to
the Salvation Army building, Wilkes-
Barre, and picked him up. Then they
went to South Wilkes-Barre, where
they were joined by another youth,
and from there continued to the vicin-
ity of the “lockie’ tracks at Warrior
Run.
The reader should pay careful at-
tention to this statement.
After looking over the ground, Big
Joe continued, they returned to Wilkes-
Barre. The trip, he said, was made
in a car driven by Nafus.
SEVERAL days later, about 6 o'clock
in the evening, all met again, and
they. made another trip to Warrior
Run, this time going to the colliery’s
powder house where they stole a box of
dynamite. The high explosive, he con-
tinued, was taken to a point along the
Lehigh Valley Railroad tracks and
hidden, after which the group returned
in the car to Wilkes-Barre.
He then explained that several days
after the dynamite was stolen, Nafus
and two other fellows again met him
at the Salvation Army building; that
they had gone in a car to South Wilkes-
Barre, where the fifth member of the
gang was picked up, and from there
they went to Warrior Run. This time
they took some of the dynamite out of
the box, placed it under the “lockie”
tracks and attached the wires. The box
was hidden before they started the re-
turn trip.
On the day of the outrage, Big Joe
said, they all met again, in the same
manner as on the other trips, and went
- to the vicinity of the tracks where the
dynamite was planted. Later, when the
“lockie” came along, they blew it up.
Big Joe made his statements without
any apparent feeling. I was amazed
at his coolness and the manner in
which he recited the events that led up
to the terrible crime.
aN,
Szachewitz, known
d as the mysterious
‘own overcoat”
1embered little but
partial description
seen when he called
» said he was shout-
knowing that Shov-
s lying on the bank
the man he saw was
weighed about 190
he wore a soft hat
cE,
Hess while on duty
: explosion, had no-
n automobile acting
at he jotted down
- of the car. I de-
on the machine and
stop that car where-
d the men.
located in Wilkes-
upants satisfactorily
presence and were
came in that a man,
vbout the face, had
in a motorcycle at
yen the machine had
Hanover road on
ce to the colliery is
umped out and ran.
nd. He explained his
that he had been in
»r and did not want
His statements were
(Above) The motor or “ockie”
which pulled the pay car on the
day of the explosion
substantiated in a very short time.
The next day dawned with the
killers still at large.
Another search of the scene of the
explosion was conducted and then
a Startling discovery was made.
Sixteen feet west of where the dyna-
mite had been set off under the pay
car, nineteen sticks of high explo-
sive, to which were attached a dyna-
mite cap and wire, were found bur-
ied along the banks of the track.
There is little doubt that if this
dynamite had also exploded, four
more lives would have been snuffed
out. Or, if it had gone off while the
crowd was gathered there after the
blasting of the pay car, the death
toll would have been appalling.
ANOTHER clue uncovered that
day was a blue handkerchief,
one edge of which had. been torn off.
County Detective Dempsey and
Corporal Hess found it. My belief
was that it had been used to signal
to the person or persons behind the
barricade when to set off the dyna-
mite.
As yet there was no trace of the
dynamite box. This, it was believed,
had been stolen from the powder
house of the colliery on the night of
January 7th. Our thorough search
(Left) John (Tex) Nafus. the man
who bought the green wire and
battery used by the dynamiters
continued into a little ravine along-
side of the Lehigh Valley Railroad
tracks, and about seventy-five feet
south of the tree where the battery
was uncovered, we found two large
stones between which were old tin
cans, brush and papers. Somehow
they didn’t look natural. Chief
County Detective Powell removed
the rubbish, and there rested the
box with enough additional dyna-
mite in it to wreak great damage.
There was a rock dump close by
the scene of the crime, and in going
over it we noticed that thirty-two
feet of wire on an abandoned elec-
tric light line were missing. The
wire remaining, matched the black
wire used to set off the blast. This
put the black wire out of the picture
as a help in tracing the killers.
But we had the. piece of green
wire; the radio battery; a partial
description of the man in a brown
overcoat; and a blue handkerchief
with a torn edge.
The investigation continued un-
abated day and night. District At-
torney Thomas M. Lewis, Assistant
District Attorney S. DiPerro and
Chief County Detective Powell were
on the job almost continuously.
If this were fiction instead of an
actual crime (Continued on page 61)
39
30 | isttor S Quarterly
Double execution attracted overflow crowd
prparneycrse~
and suspicious of waytarers,
Umberger permitted the
search. The two men were
so oddly dressed, with a red
and white dotted
handkerchief tied about the
face of one and a wig and
false whiskers wom by the
other. The melee that
followed resulted in the
murder of Umberger anc
robbing him of some
$16,000.
The men escaped but
were caught and arrested
less than a week later on
their family farm a short
distance from Ligonier,
Pennsylvania. Their May
court trial, simultaneous
with the Johnstown Flood,
brought together a series of
distinguished attomeys and
witnesses unequaled in
The anchors where the ropes were tied remain visible in oie. . to
the Old Jail, as are the double trap doors of the gallows, Courthouse on East Union
though they have been welded shut. Street.
confession, admits to being
_ present but was not
_ responsible for the murder.
He makes no reference to
his brother, Joseph, and
Joseph made no
confession. The stolen
money was never
recovered. There remains
the strong possibility that
the man who murdered
- Herman Umberger was not
Joseph Nicely.
The Old Somerset
County Jail, site of the
hanging of the Nicely
brothers, is open to the
public during business
hours. It is located next to
the Somerset County
Pennsylvania court history.
Joseph and David Nicely were
found guilty and sentenced to be
hanged. A series of bizarre
incidents, including two escapes,
the confirmed insanity of one
brother and the confession of the
other, filled the town with an
unprecedented crowd of people for
their hanging on April 2, 1891.
Those outside on the lawn heard the
steels trapdoors clang open.
Were they guilty?
The celebrated court trial and
hanging, popularized by a ballad of
the brothers’ misdeed, still holds a
number cf curious doubts as to
whether both brothers were guilty.
Joseph's recently discovered prison
diary and his last letter from his
wife appear to indicate he was not
present in the Umberger home. bf
because of reprisals from other
gang members, the brothers’ lips
remained sealed. David, in his
Stone Mountain
"A Factory Direct Store”
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Suggested Retail
Genuine Leather
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306 Georgian Place
Somerset, PA
(814) 445-3443
MADE IN USA
| ho. OBRIC, T1lie, whiate, 3, electrocuted Pennsylvania (Lebanon) May 27, 1918. Raia ot
f
LEBANON GOUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY
924 Cumberland Street Lebanon, Penna. 17042
December 20, 1976
Mr. M.W. Espy, Jr.
PO, Box: 67
Headland, Alabama 36345
Dear Mr. Espy:
Enclosed you will find a copy of Judge Gates! publication
which you recuested.
In answer to your question concerning Illio Obric; this
case is not included in the publication. I contacted the
Clerk of Courts, William Viall,;Municipal Building, Lebanon, PA
17042. He informed me of the particulars of the case and Mrs.
Weaver and I then began reading newspapers on microfilm. We
found the following information:
Evening Report, October 16, 1916: Mrs. Burbesdau Mylosénly
shot by neighbor Sunday. Elia Oberic ate Sunday dinner at next-
door neighbors. At the conclusion of the meal, Oberic pulled a
gun and shot his neighbor's wife in the leg. She ran into the
backyard to get away from him. He chased after her and shot her
two times more. While the victim's husband and Oberic's wife
watched, Oberic tried to commit suidide by tearing his stomach
open with a pair of scissors. He ran outside and was captured
by angry citizens. Woman died enroute to hospital. Oberic taken
to hospital and kept under police rsuard.
F Oberic, 34, a Serbian, said to have been in love with his
neighbor's wife, four years older than himself.
June 6, 1917 Evening Report: Trial began. Ilio Obric shot
Mrs. Pijadi Milisov in a jealous rage.at her home. Obric then
tried to commit suicide by stabbing himself with a.small pair of
scissors.
Defense building case using the premise that Obric was
temporarily insane.
LEBANON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY
924 Cumberland Street Lebanon, Penna. 17042
Jurors were: George Bullabahn, “irst Ward; Thomas Ebur, 2nd
Ward; James Batz, N. Lebanon; John Youtrich, Annville; George
R. *peicher, 5th Ward; Amos 8, Bachman, S. Londonderry Twp;
John J. Gassert, S. Annville; David H. Houser, &, Hanover; ;
W.H. Kreider, Palmyra; Otto Speicher, N. Cornwall Two.; John B.
Light, N. Lebanon; Fred Taylor, N. Ward.
June 8, 1917, Evening Report: Obric found guilty today of
lst degree murder of Mrs. Pijadi Milisov, October 15, 1916.
Obric will be detained in the County Jail until sentencing and
will be taken to the death house at Belfonte. D.A. in the case,
Adams; Judge, C. Henry; Defense attorneys Roy M. Bowman and L.
Raymond Riegert. \
May 21, 1918 Evening Report: Ilio Obric, convicted of
murder of Mrs. Mary (Pijada) Mysonic, his paramour. Obric is in
serious mental condition. He attempted to commit suicide by
eating ground glass. He now refuses to eat.
Short article in the Evening Report, May 28, 1918, stating
that Ilio Obric had been electrocuted May 27, 1918.
: Obric's name was spelled Ilia Obric, Illio Obric, and
Elia Oberic. Note also the several different spellings feported
of the woman he murdered.
I suggest you contact William Viall to verify what we found
in the newsnvaper accounts. He told me on the phone that those
records were in the vault in the basement.
If we can be of further help to you, please contact us.
Best of luck with your project.
Yours truly,
fon baas Abd il
Barbara Schneiter,
Assistant Librarian
seis on tae ee
fra. rae wate
ot & %
ane
¥ " —
ieee Te et et mae &
esata
ae LE ele Ba: sic
Sah On nie
Ce eee
Sones
a 8 it
“2
ait
3
ites te el Np acs ah le ta gece
seth gene
oo stearate
836 138 ATLANTIC REPORTER \ (Pa.
they never did. The fact that they told his
counsel that they had “already made ar-
rangements with the commonwealth Title
Insurance Company] to get their bond” did
not call upon counsel to object thereto, in the
absence of proof, and there was none, that he
knew the bond would only insure against loss,
and not against unmarketability, from which
defendant was entitled to be protected.
[3] Nor is any weight to be given to de-
fendants’ objection to the rescission, because
of plaintiff’s failure to make tender of the
balance due under the agreement. ‘To have
done so would have been a vain thing, and
this the law no more requires in this class of
eases than in any other. Sell v. Kennedy,
100 Pa. 215; Durham v. Wick, 210 Pa. 128,
59 A. 824, 105 Am. St. Rep. 789, 2 Ann. Cas.
929. At the date fixed for settlement, and at
the time of rescission, both parties knew that
defendants could not then convey the market-
able title which plaintiff was entitled to re-
ceive contemporaneously with payment of
the balance of the purchase price; hence
to have tendered this balance would have
been for plaintiff to take the money out of
his pocket, for the mere pleasure of display-
ing it, and immediately returning it to the
place from which it came, :. :
The judgment of the court below is af-
firmed on each appeal.
|
290 Pa. 271)
“ COMMONWEALTH v. NOLLY.
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. June 25,
1927.
1. Criminal law ©==444—Letters claimed to
“have been written by defendant, accused of
murder held properly admitted after identifi-
cation by addressee.
In prosecution for murder, letters claimed
to have been written by defendant held proper-
ly admitted, in view of identification by witness
to whom they were addressed and who received
them through the mail.
2. Criminal law ¢==741(1)—Weight to be giv-
en letters claimed to have been written by
defendant accused of murder held for jury.
Weight to be given to certain letters claim-
ed to have been written by defendant accused
of murder was a matter for the jury to con-
sider when deciding question of defendant's
guilt.
3. Criminal law €=—698(1)—Letters claimed to
have been written by defendant accused of
murder held properly admitted, where there
was no objection to reading and explanation.
Where defendant in murder prosecution
made no objection to reading of certain letters
in hearing of jury, or to explanation by witness
as to letters being signed with fictitious name
fendant and known to him and witness only,
they were properly admitted in evidence, even
though writing by defendant was not proved. .
4. Criminal law G—1169(10)—Formal admis-
sion of letters in evidence, after jury already
knew contents, if erroneous, held harmless.
Where jury already knew contents of cer-
tain letters claimed to have been written by
defendant accused of murder, and had heard
witness’ explanation of them, their formal ad-
mission in evidence, even if erroneous, did not
harm defendant.
5. Criminal law €=>1162—Harmless error docs
not require reversal.
The Supreme Court will not reverse convic-
tion for murder for harmless error.
6. Homicide @==332(1)—Supreme Court, on
appeal from first degree murder conviction,
will inquire into evidence only to ascertain
if necessary ingredients were proven (Pa. St.
1920, § 560).
The Supreme Court, on appeal from con-
viction of first degree murder, will inquire into
evidence only for purpose of ascertaining if
ingredients necessary to constitute murder in
the first degree were proven to exist, as re-
quired by Act Feb. 15, 1870, § 2 (P. 1. 15; Pa.
St. 1920, § 560).
Appeal from Court of Oyer and Terminer,
Philadelphia County; Harry S. McDevitt,
Judge.
Carl Nolly, alias Scissors, was convicted of
first degree murder, and he appeals. Af-
firmed.
Argued before MOSCHZISKER, C. J., and
FRAZER, WALLING, SIMPSON, KEI’-
HART, SADLER, and SCHAFFER, JJ.
Henry P. Cheatam and Robert N. C. Nix,
both of Philadelphia, for appellant.
Fugene V. Alessandroni, Asst. Dist. Atty.
Chas. Edwin Fox, Dist. Atty., both of Phil-
adelphia, for the Commonwealth.
SIMPSON, J. The jury convicted defend-
ant of murder of the first degree, and fixed
the penalty at death, From the sentence im-
posed in accordance with that verdict, he now
appeals.
{1,2] The only question we are asked -
consider is whether or not the court below
erred in admitting in evidence certain let-
ters, which the commonwealth claimed, bot
defendant denied, were written by him.
They were identified by the witness to whom
they were addressed, and who received them
through the mail. She testified that she knew
defendant's handwriting, had seen him w rite
many times, and that they were all written
by him, On cross-examination, she said she
had not seen him write, but, on her attention
being called to this discrepancy, sald she
thought the question, which she thus at
swered, related to these particular letters
and written according to plan devised by de-
which had been sent to her from a distance,
—
; < ea
G=For other cases see same topic and KEY-NUMBER In all Key-Numbered Digests and Index:
iC T PS 7 ELEM! NMR Ah sae
7 (6) In compliance with the requirement of
Pa.) IN RE BROGAN’S ESTATE 837
(138 A.)
and reiterated her knowledge of defendant’s valid,
notwithstanding. that interest thereon
handwriting and of the authenticity of the; may exceed what is sufficient to keep up such
letters. The apparent contradiction thus ap-| lot, in view of Act May 16, 1891, §1(P. L. 88;
pearing could not properly. have resulted in
>
Pa. St. 1920, § 2486), notwithstanding Act May
the exclusion of the letters; what weight, it | 26, 1891 (P. L. 119; Pa, St. 1920, § 2485),
any, Should be given to them, in view of that
testimony, was a matter for the jury to con-
sider when deciding the question of defend-
ant’s guilt,
[3-5] Moreover, we would not reverse the
judgment, even if we agreed with defendant
on the proposition just considered. When the
letters were produced, they were read aloud,
in the hearing of the jury, as part of the wit-
ness’ evidence in the case. Defendant made
no objection while this was being done, and
did not afterwards move to strike out the evi-
dence, or ask that the jury be told to dis-
regard it. The letters were signed with a
fictitious name, by which defendant was
known to the witness, dealt with matters
with which they alone were familiar, and
were written according to a plan devised by
defendant, known to him and the witness
only, whereby their real meaning was differ-
ent from that which they appeared to ex-
press. These facts were sufticient to justify
their admission in evidence, even if their
writing by defendant had not been proved.
Com. v. Bassi, 284 Pa. 81, 180 A. 311. Aside
from this also, since the jury already knew
the contents of the letters, and had heard the
witness’ explanation of them, their formal
admission in evidence, even if erroneous,
could not have harmed defendant, and for
harmless error we do not reverse. Chase vy.
Hubbard, 99 Pa. 226; Indian v. Delaware,
Lackawanna & Western R. R. Co., 262 La.
117, 104 A. 871.
section 2 of the Act of February 15, 1870 (P.
L. 15; Pa. St. 1920, § 560), we have carefully
read the evidence to ascertain if “the ingre-
dients necessary to constitute murder in the
first degree shall have been proved to exist.”
Assuming the commonwealth’s evidence to be
true, it is clear that they had, and this is
the extent of our inquiry under the statute.
Com. v. Diaco, 268 Pa. 305, 111 A. 879; Com.
y. Bishop, 285 Pa. 49, 131 A. 657.
The judgment of the court below is af-
firmed, and it is directed that the record be
remitted for the purpose of execution.
(20 Pa. $19)
In re BROGAN’S ESTATE,
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. June 25, 1927,
1. Charities C=4—Bequest of residue of estate
to cemetery for upkeep of lot held valid,
though interest thereon exceeded amount re-
quired (Pa. St. 1920, §§ 2483, 2485, 2486).
Bequest of residue of estate to cemetery,
| and Act March 18, 1909, §1 (P. L. 41; Pa. St.
| 1920, § 2483),
2. Charitiese=31—Bequest to cemetery for up-
keep of lot should be liberally construed to
allow surplus to be used for convenience and
attractiveness of lot.
Bequest to cemetery, interest to be used for
upkeep of lot, should be liberally construed so
that surplus, if any, may be devoted to adding
to convenience and attractiveness of lot, since
chancery court may vary precise terms of char-
itable trust when necessary.
Appeal from Orphans’ Court, Lancaster
County; Eugene G. Smith, President Judge.
In the matter of the estate of Ellenora
Brogan. From a decree of the orphans’ court
declaring a bequest to the Greenwood Ceme-
tery Company void, it appeals. Reversed and
rendered.
Argued before MOSCHZISKER, C. J., and
FRAZER, WALLING, SIMPSON, KEP-
HART, SADLER, and SCHAFFER, JJ.
J. W. Appel and T. Roberts Appel, both of
Lancaster, for appellant.
William H. Kready and Robert Ruppin,
both of Lancaster, for appellee.
WALLING, J. Ellenora Brogan, the tes-
tatrix, died November 28, 1924. Her will,
after providing for payment of debts and for
certain specific and pecuniary legacies, di-
rects:
“And as to all the rest, residue and remainder
of my estate, real, personal or mixed, of what-
soever nature or kind, or wheresoever situate at
the time of my decease, I do hereby give, devise
and bequeath to the Greenwood Cemetery and
the interest of it to go toward keeping up my
‘burial lot in Greenwood Cemetery, Lancaster
City, Pa.”
The net residue of the estate so given
amounts to $3,760.80. In the final distribv-
tion, the orphans’ court held this bequest
void, and awarded the residuary estate to
her next of kin, on a finding that as to it she
died intestate. Thereupon Greenwood Cem-
etery brought this appeal. We are unable to
affirm the decree,
Testatrix was a widow, ‘with no lineal
descendants, and the cemetery was a duly
chartered corporation, legally qualified to
accept the bequest, as section 1 of the Act of
May 16, 1891 (P. L. 88; Pa. St. 1920, § 2486)
provides:
“That on and after the passage of the act, it
shall and may be lawful for any duly incor-
porated burial or cemetery company within thig
interest to be used for keeping up burial lot
ee
» is
commonwealth, and said companies are hereby
authorized and empowered to accept from any
>For other cases see same topic and KEY-NUM
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arm and elbow extended beyond the left side
of the truck, was clearly submitted and pre-
sented to the jury by the defendant’s fifth
and sixth prayers, although the uncontra-
dicted evidence of the plaintiff and his wife
was that his arm and body were inside the
truck at the time of the collision.
By the defendant’s fifth granted prayer
the jury were instructed that, if they find
from the evidence in this case that the plain-
tiff’s arm was. struck and injured by any
part of the automobile of the defendant while
the plaintiff's arm was protruding or ex-
tending beyond the side of the automobile
in which he was riding, then the verdict of
the jury must be for the defendant, there
being no evidence in this ease legally sufti-
cient from which the jury can find that the
plaintif(’s arm was caused to protrude or ex-
tend beyond the side of the automobile in
which he was riding by any act or negligence
on the part of the defendant.
By the sixth granted prayer the eourt in-
structed the jury that, if they find from the
evidence in case that the plaintiff either vol-
untarily or inattentively protruded his right
arm or’ elbow beyond the left side of the
truck mentioned in the evidence in which he
was riding, and that while so protruded the
plaintiff's right arm or elbow was struck by
the automobile of the defendant (Pittsburg
& GC. R. Co. v. Andrews, 39 Md. 350, 17 Am.
Rep. 568) mentioned in the evidence, while
the said truck and automobile were passing
on the road mentioned in the evidence, then,
under the ‘pleadings in this case, the verdict
of the jury must be for the defendant even
although the jury find from the evidence that
the defendant was driving the automobile
and was driving the same negligently.
[2] While we do not approve of the law
submitted by the defendant's fifth and sixth
prayers, as applicable to the facts of the
ease, they were, however, granted at the in-
stanee of the defendant, and he cannot be
heard to complain, as having been injured
thereby.
There was conflict in the evidence as to
who was driving the automobile at the time
it passed the automobile truck, and at the
time of the accident, and it is conceded that
this question was properly left to the jury
by the defendant’s eighth and ninth granted
prayers.
There was clearly no error in the action of
the court in overruling the defendant’s spe-
cial’ exceptiop to the plaintiff's first prayer.
The prayer was the usual damage prayer in
such cases, and there was evidence legally
sufficient to support the prayer.
YVinding, no reversible error in the rulings
of the court of which the defendant can com-
plain, the judgment will be afiirmed.
Judgment aflirmed, with costs in botb
116 ATLANTIC REPORTER (Pa.
’ ROLSHOUSE v. WALLY et al.
(Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. Jan, 8,
1922.)
1. Equity @=427(1)—Neither unproved alle-
gations nor matters not alleged can form
basis of equitable relief.
A decree must conform to the pleadings,
and neither unproved allegations nor matters
not alleged can be made the basis of equitable
relief.
2. Partnership @==330—Affirmed decree con-
clusive in so far as it sets forth basis, meth-
od, and the subject-matter of accounting re-
quired. :
In a proceeding for a partnership account-
ing, where the defendants denied any duty to
account, and appealed from the decision of the
‘eourt below in holding that this was their legal
duty, which resulted in affirmance, such deci-
sion is conclusive in so far as the decree sets
forth its basis, method, and the subject-matter
of the accounting required.
3. Partnership @==332—Amendment of order,
appointing master on decree for accounting
held properly refused.
Amendment of an order appointing a mas-
ter on decree for an accounting so to include
an accounting as to a matter additional to the
requirements of the decree was properly re-
fused. ;
4, Partnership €==330—Decree for alt account-
ing held not to be amended to include trans-
actions not pleaded.
TEven if there has been no adjudication of
matters to be included in an accounting, a de-
cree for the accounting cannot be amended to
embrace additional transactions, where there
is nothing in the pleadings to justify it.
5. Partership @==327(5)—Amendment of plead-
ings after appointment of master for ac-
counting comes too late.
After a master is appointed on a decree
for accounting to adjust the rights of the par-
ties, amendment of the pleadings so as to in-
clude additional transactions, comes too late.
6. Partnership @==83—In absence of contract,
partner not entitled to pay for services.
In absence of contract, a partner igs not en-
titled to pay for services. :
Appeal from Court of Common Pleas, Al-
legheny County; Joseph M. Swearingen,
Judge.
Suit by’ Charles O. P. Rolshouse against
WwW. C. Wally and others, and from a decres
favorable to the plaintiff, the defendants ap-
peal, Aflirmed.
Argued before FRAZER, WALLING,
SIMPSON, KEPHART, SADLER, and
SCHAFFER, JJ.
William A. Wilson, L. Kk. Porter, and
Thomas L. Morris, all of Pittsburgh, for ap-
pellants. ; :
John E. Winner, of Pittsburgh, for appel-
eourts to the appellee.
A
lee.
C=>For other cases sce same topic and KEY-NUMBER in all Key-Numbered Digests and Indexcs
5
= !
Pa.) COMMONWEALTH v. PATTERSON
(116
SADLER, J.-[1,2] The plaintiff asked for
an accounting from the defendants for profits
arising from the operation of oil and gas
wells located upon his land and the adjoining
property of Swan. An answer denied any
such liability. After hearing, the chancellor
‘ found a partnership relation, not only as
to the wells mentioned, but as to one drilled
upon a third property, known as that of
Alston. No decree was made, however,
which required a settlement of accounts as
to the latter well; there could not have been,
as the judgment necessarily conformed to
the pleadings in the case. Neither unproved
allegations, nor matters not alleged, could
have been made the basis of any equitable
relief. Luther v. Luther, 216 Pa. 1, 64 Atl.
868; Spangler Brewing Co. v. McHenry, 242
Pa. 522, 89 Atl. 665; Saupp v. Streit, 258
Pa. 211, 215, 101 Atl. 939. It was not at-
tempted to amend the pleadings so as to
bring the third transaction properly before
the court. On the contrary, the defendants
denied any duty to account, and appealed
from the decision of the court below in hold-
ing that this was their legal duty. The re-
sult was an affirmance (Rolshouse Vv. Wally,
263 Pa. 247, 106 Atl. 227), which was con-
clusive, in so far as the decree sets forth
its basis, method, and subject-matter of the
accounting required.
[3] A master was then appointed to adjust
the rights of the parties, whereupon a mo-
tion was made to amend the order entered
so as to include in the accounting the Alston
operation, which had been conducted at a
considerable loss. This application was re-
fused, and properly so.
“The purpose of a preliminary proceeding on
a bill for an account is to determine for what,
if anything, the defendant shall account. If, as
here, plaintiff claims to be interested in more
than one transaction with defendant, the decree
conclusively determines for how many of them
defendant should account; or if, as here, they
differ as to whether or not in regard to one of
those transactions plaintiff is to have an agreed
compensation, a specified commission or a share
of the profits, the decree conclusively deter-
mines that matter also; each determination be-
ing with the same effect as if there had been
separate suits as to the particular subject-mat-
ters of the accounting.” Robinson v. Fulton,
262 Pa. 265, 105 Atl. 276.
[4,5] Even if there had been no adjudica-
tion of the matters to be included in the ac-
counting, the court below could not have
amended its decree so as to embrace addition-
al transactions, for there was nothing in the
pleadings which justified its broadening.
Had an effort been made to alter the latter,
objection could well have been made that the
attempt was too late. Schenck v. Borough
of Olyphant, 181 Pa. 191, 837 Atl. 258; Muehl-
hof y. Boltz, 215 Pa. 124, 64 Atl. 427. Cer-
475
A.)
son v. Thomson, 203 Pa. 622, 53 Atl, 506;
Pittsburgh v. Railway Co., 230 Pa. 189, 79
Atl. 235.
[6] Further complaint is made of the re-
fusal of the master to award compensation
to the defendants for the personal services
rendered in the operation of the wells. ‘The
relationship of the parties was that of part-
ners, as conclusively established by the ear-
lier proceeding, which was affirmed. Under
such circumstances, no allowance could be
made, in the absence of some proof of a con-
tract to pay. Delp v. Edlis, 190 Pa. 25, 42
Atl. 462; Marsh’s Appeal, 69 Pa. 30, 8 Am.
Rep. 206. In view of the former finding, the
authorities, cited by appellant, bearing on
the respective rights of tenants in common
in the settlement of their affairs, are clearly
inapplicable. The credit asked for was prop-
erly disallowed.
The decree of the court below is athrmed,
at the cost of the appellants.
COMMONWEALTH v. PATTERSON. &
(Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. Feb. 6,
1922.)
{. Homicide ¢=>145—Acts held to manifest in-
tent to kill.
Under the rule that a man is presumed to
intend the natural and probable consequences
of his voluntary acts, an intent to take life was
manifested by plunging a knife into the vic-
tim’s neck and thence into the lungs.
2 Criminal law ¢=-938(1) — New trial held
properly denied for after-discovered evidence.
After-discovered evidence which related to
minor matters not vital to the case, and should
not, and probably would not, result in a differ-
ent verdict on another trial, did not require
the trial judge to grant a new trial in a homi-
cide case, and where it might have been pro-
duced at the trial by reasonable diligence.
3. Homicide €=>319—After-discovered evidence
as to whether victim was standing or sitting
held not to require new trial.
Where defendant, charged with murder, ad-
mitted that he armed himself with a deadly
weapon and did not strike in self-defense, and
the jury found that it was not an accident, aft-
er-discovered evidence as to whether the vic-
tim was sitting or standing did not require a
new trial.
4, Criminal law €=71129(1)—Confession not
before court where error not assigned on its
admission.
Where no error was assigned to the admis-
sion of a confession, & contention as to the
manner in which it was secured is not properly
before the court.
Appeal from Court of Oyer and Terminer,
Northampton County; William M. McKeen,
tainly, it is not to be permitted now. Jack-
Judge.
€=—>For other cases see sume topic and KEY-NUMBER In all Key-Numbered Digests and Indexes
226 *€ TIWdV
uo (£4un0
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True Detective Mysteries
man in the street car say the fellow died.
Bill said: ‘I killed the —; Jesse couldn’t
hit a barn door.’ That was Saturday.
HE next Monday Jesse came to see us
alone. He said he was glad Phillips
thought he shot him. George said: ‘This
whole thing is making me sick!’ Parker
said: ‘What the hell are you sick about.
I’m the one that should be sick.’
“The next day Bill came in and asked
George to help him move his stuff to another
room in Chester. I didn’t see him or Jesse
again. George told me Thursday night he
was going away, so I came over here to
stay with my folks.”
After Mrs. Yanks had completed her
narrative, she told me that Weir had come
to see her once in Pennsgrove, and would
probably be back. I asked Detective Kidd
to set a watch on the home of the girl’s
mother, while the Wilmington Police
promised to guard the Delaware end of the
ferry.
The next night, Arthur Weir, a brother of
the man we were seeking, was recognizeo
by a policeman at the Wilmington entrance
to the ferry. A phone message was sent to
Mr. Kidd, who waited at the other side for
a ferry-boat which was crossing. As it
drew to shore, he stepped on board and
soon picked out Weir in a crowd waiting to
get off the boat.
An hour later the third and last member of
the gang which I had been tracking for
days was safely in custody in the Media
Court House. Weir proved to be a well-
dressed ‘man ‘of: about“thirty, who looked
more like a mechanic or shop-keeper than a
crook.
As soon as he was confronted with his
sweetheart, Ella Yanks, Weir threw up his
hands and agreed to answer all questions.
“T might as well tell the truth,’”’ he declared
resignedly.
He explained that he had become in-
volved with the other two men through a
chance acquaintanceship with Phillips, and
had sometimes gone with them on their
marauding expeditions near Chester and
sonar He admitted being present during
shooting of Gibson, but made an earnest
act § on the ground that he hdd taken no
part in it and had objected to the brutality
of his companions.
In spite of this, he was speedily arraigned
and indicted with the other two ‘on a charge
of first degree murder!
On June 12th, more than a month later,
the three men were placed on trial for their
lives in the historic Media Court House.
. Members of Phillips’ family, including the
wife and children he had deserted iin Vir-
ginia, were present at the trial. They en-
gaged lawyers to defend him, and these
contended that he was not only insane, but
had never developed a mentality beyond
that of a child of twelve. r
Doctor Samuel Sturgis, who had been a
captain in the medical corps during the
World War, testified that Phillips had
attempted suicide three times, while at
Camp McPherson, and had finally been
sent home in the care of his mother, Mrs,
Ella White. Other experts declared that
Phillips was no doubt a psychopathic type,
but that he knew right from wrong, and was -
not actually insane.
Similar testimony was presented in behalf
of Parker. His mother, Mrs. McKenny,
told how the boy had changed after his
father, William, was mysteriously murdered
on a lonely road near the Penn Tapestry
Mills at Rockdale, in 1919, ten years before.
The scene of this slaying, which was
never solved, was not far from the spot
on Mill Creek Road where Gibson was
killed. Mrs. McKenny said that after her
first husband was slain, young Jesse became
unmanageable, and his whole character
changed for the worse.
“His father was the only one who could
control him,’’ she added.
Perhaps the most tragic testimony of all
was that which showed Parker and Gibson
had grown up together as boys in Media,
and had even been baptized at the same
church font twenty-one years before: Later
they had been Sunday school classmates.
This made. clearer than ever the dying
words which the murdered youth had
uttered in his desperate attempt to reveal
who killed him: ‘I knew one of them—it
was——”’
At 9 o'clock on the night of June 15th,
twelve weeks almost to the exact minute
after Gibson had been fatally wounded on the -
lonely Mill Creek Road, the jury returned to
the court room with the verdict which sealed
the fate of the band which slew him.
All were found guilty—but Weir, by a
special postscript to the verdict, was to
receive only life imprisonment as a punish-
ment. The others—Parker and Phillips—
were to die in the electric chair.
The silence which followed this announce-
ment was broken only by two sharp screams
—uttered by Phillips’ wife and Parker’s
mother.
Weir was hustled out of the court room
and sent immediately to the Eastern Pen-
itentiary in Philadelphia to begin the life
sentence meted out to him. He seemed
more cheerful than his companions, who
glared at him jealously. Whatever may be
said about murderers preferring the electric
chair to prison for life, I have never seen one
yetswho would not have taken Weir’s sen-
tencé instead of those of the other two.
Parker and Phillips remained in the
‘Media Jail for a month while their lawyers
endeavored to obtain stays and new trials.
When these failed, they were brought into
court again on July 13th, and the sentence of
death was passed upon them.
A few hours later they were on their way
to grim Rockview Prison in the northern
part of the state, where their last days on
earth were spent.
On the second of October, nearly three
months later, the two men were awakened
at 5 o'clock in the morning, and two hours
later were led to the little green door
through which all of Pennsylvania’s con-
demned murderers must pass.
Both were brave in the face of death, and
recited the Lord’s Prayer aloud as they
passed the cells of their fellow prisoners.
Phillips was placed in the electric chair
at 7:02 and pronounced dead at 7:08
A. M. Ten minutes later, Parker had also
forfeited his life. The latter, who was only
twenty-one, was said to be the youngest
murderer ever to pay the extreme penalty
at Rockview. The bodies of both were
immediately claimed by their families,
And so Justice was done—although it
could not restore Norman Gibson to his
parents and to the girl who had expected
to behis wife. I hope the two lives which the
State exacted for the murder on Mill Creek
Road may be a lesson to others in Delaware
County and elsewhere that crime never
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FRED PARSONS (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
"Fred Parsons, paroled convict, was charged in Philadelphia with
having shot and killed Policeman Maurice Handloff during a holdupe
A feklowepatrolman beat Parsons into submissione His long record of
arrests may now well be at an end since not one of the criminals who
during the past 12 years killed 27 Philad&lphia policemen is alive
today e"
LIFE MA GAZINE, Septe 27» 19376
ens dilnse ters nasn =
Though manacled here, the man who told the elderly Campbell he’d “lost his fountain
pen” during his stay at the house, goes through the motions of opening the garage door
as District Attorney Laub watches. With his confederate, he later pleaded guilty.
drove to Bay City, where they located
the hotel without trouble.
The register claimed their attention
first. Guests had not been too plentiful
and during the several weeks that had
elapsed since the Campbell murder only
two men had registered Pennsylvania
as their home state. The names signed
were J. D. West and R. W. Pepperman.,
This didn’t help a whole lot, although
the desk clerk was able to describe the
two men vaguely as being young—prob-
ably in their 20s——and of slender build.
He knew nothing about the type of car
which they drove or where they were
heading when they checked out of the
hotel,
Disappointed, the officers were pre-
paring to leave when a phone call from
Canton reached them at the hotel. Ser-
geant Schauers answered.
“Two men picked up a car at Mead-
ville,” he was informed. “They tried to
rent it at first and gave their names as
Jack West and Robert Pepperman.
When the deal fell through, they simply
drove off. We figure it might be the
men you're looking for, since they
pulled out the moment County Commis-
sioners posted a $500 reward for their
apprehension.”
“That was the wrong thing to do,”
Schauers said promptly. “Naturally,
they’d leave the minute they realized they
were hot. Haven’t you been able to trace
them at all?”
“A police cruiser trailed them as far
as Saegertown,” he was told. “From
there on the trail was lost.”
Schauers groaned. “Get an alarm out
on that car right away. They’re the men
we want, all right. They signed those
Their benefactor’s car, housed here,
served as the getaway and joyride vehicle.
ee
same flames to the hotel register up
here.”
Back in Williamsport, Pa., officials
had finally completed a list of their
known criminals, which was forwarded
to Erie. This was done in response to
the request made soon after the Camp-
bell murder, when the stolen Williams-
port car had been found abandoned in
Erie. The list was quite impressive, but
most startling of all were the names Jack
West and Bob Pepperman, listed as habi-
tual criminals.
The Erie trio doubted the evidence of
their eyes. This was too good to be true.
Syrely no one could be so dumb as to
sign their real names to a hotel register
when they were being hunted on a mur-
der rap! A novice, perhaps, but West
and Pepperman had long records.
Both had landed in reform school at
the age of 14. Released, they stole an
automobile and went behind bars at the
Huntington reformatory. They got out
only to spend several months in the local
jail. Released again, their peculiar pas-
sion for prison walls landed them in
the Eastern Penitentiary at Philadelphia,
where they served four years. In each
case they had been charged with larceny
of an automobile!
“There are a couple of boys who like
their cars,” Sheriff Lamberton remarked.
’“T think we'll give them a free ride all
-the way from Williamsport to Erie!’”
«
Williamsport officials had little troubte
locating the unholy pair. They were
arrested on Sunday, August 12 in one
of their known hangouts, and brought to
Erie on the following day. Glib and confi-
dent, they refused to answer questions
and denied all knowledge of the murder.
“It's no go, boys,” District Attorney
Laub said smoothly. “You're not quite
as smart as you think you are. For one
thing, you signed your names at too
many different places—that hotel regis-
ter in Bay City, the car agency in Mead-
ville. Those people remember you and
will identify you without hesitation.”
“West did the whole thing,” Pepper-
man blurted suddenly, eager to talk. ‘All
I wanted was to rob the old man of his
dough and swipe his car. West beat him
over the head with his slipper.”
“That’s a lie!” West yelled savagely.
“Bob is the one who hit him.”
Laub settled back in his. chair. “Sup-
pose we have the whole story,” he sug-
gested. “One at a time, please.”
The story wasn’t pretty. The pair
Pee ft. Ft
Pe. a q
Rey
Sipe eG 5
wy dé
STARTLING
PEPPERMAN.and WEST, elec. Pa. SP (Erie)
of her father, Joseph B, Campbell, on that warm
August day in 1945. It would be good to see the
old dear again, she was thinking—more than two
weeks had elapsed since her last visit, and she was a
bit anxious.- , :
Mr.: Campbell lived alone in a spacious and luxurious
‘home atop'a shady knoll just outside Erie, Pennsyl-
vania. It was not that the old man couldn’t afford
. servants—everybody in Erie knew. the retired indus-
| ee - trialist had amassed a fortune early in life—but he
mii , liked to live the life of a hermit. It had not always
.
Tr eae
f portant real-estate man and had taken a tremendously
active part in business and:civic affairs, but when his
a wife: died the man’s interest in business seemed to
' die, ‘too. He ‘had-sold most of his possessions and re-
tired: to his country, estate to tend his flewers—and to
ne ae the sprawling verandah, she experienced a feeling of
te | bee foreboding. Father wasn’t sitting in his usual place
ipa? fis on the :porch this afternoon. *:Could he be sleeping?
|i Pushing open the front door, the woman stepped into
ai the living room and gave a little-stifled cry. Every-
ec where was disorder—chairs were. overturned, vases
were smashed. Glancing down at the carpet Ruth Van
Cleve saw ‘something that made her eyes bulge with
terror—there in the center of the rug was a large brown
stain of something not unlike blood. : ©
“Father, ‘where are you? What’s happened, father?”
she cried. | ; . '
There was no answer.- .
“Dad, are you upstairs?” y ;
Mrs. Van Cleve rushed into the dining room and
noticed a distinct trail of blood leading toward the
kitchen. Dredding what she might see, she shoved
the swinging door that led into the kitchen, and drew
back in horror, There, lying in a grotesque heap, was
the bound body of her seventy-two-year-old par-
cheeks, the blood-caked forehead, the staring,
eyes. She needed no one to tell her that her father
‘was dead.
After uttering one terrible shriek, she turned on her
to the home of the) nearest ‘neighbor, where she banged
onthe door for admittance.- All but collapsing in the
middle of the neighbor’s kitchen, Mrs. Van Cleve gasped
her horrible story. - : Peron:
The friend ran to the phone and dialed “Operator.”
“Give me police headquarters,” she called. “And hurry,
4L DETECTIVE, Feb.,. 1946,
3-25-1946,
UTH*VAN CLEVE quickened her. steps. as she r
walked up the winding lane leading to the’ home
been thus; for many years Campbell had been an im- .
broods: * - o § 8A i é . ane’ t oa ¥
‘“vAs his young married daughter climbed the stairs to”
ent. Moot] #2 hs :
Horrified, the woman glanced at the puffy, bruised.
heel and dashed madly out the house and across fields .
| ap Q #
Fos aS
HE desk sergeant at Pennsylvania State Police bar-
racks took the call. “Just be calm, lady; I’ll‘send
some one over right away. What’s that? .. ... Joseph B..
Campbell? ... Golly! We'll be there in a jiffy.”
In less than ten minutes Corporal John Mehallick
and C. M. Mathias drew up in front of the Campbell
house. Immediately behind came District Attorney
. Burton R. Laub, Assistant County Detective John Coates
“and a host of State Troopers, — :
The investigators followed the bloodstains that led
from the living room to the kitchen, and came upon the
victim lying in front of the refrigerator. Solidified
pools of blood covered the floor in the immediate area
of Campbell.’ =~
Stooping down to untie the heavy towel which had
been placed on the poor old man as a gag, Mehallick
gave a gasp. “Whoever did this must have been a fiend
ee lips are all swollen, it was put on that
‘The victim’s hands and feet were bound together with
neckties—one tying the feet. together; another the
wrists, and a third’ connecting all four members. «”.
The old man had obviously been hit many times on.
the head, for there were huge gashes covering the crown
and the forehead; here the blood was dried, giving an
even more ghastly appearance to the corpse. ,
“There must have been two of. them,” Mathias an-
nounced. “One to hold him while the other fetched the
neckties and towel.” . :
“Looks like he.certainly gave them a fight,” District .
Attorney Laub remarked. “‘From the disordered rooms
TI take it they had quite a time subduing him.”
. “I knew the old man a little,” one of the troopers put -
in. “He was strong and wiry, in spite of his years, and
was just the kind to have fought back like a tiger. I.
guess he gave his assailants something of a banging
up; hope so, anyhow.” ay
The kitchen floor was marked up with bloody foot- -
prints, and investigators, looking at them closely, could
see that they consisted of two different sets. Mehallick
-and Mathias, following the shoemarks, saw that they’.
led to the garage.
“IT guess that was the motive,” Mathias commented.
“Car stealing.” ee
. “It.was apparent that the car had been driven away.
by. the murderers, since. it was not in the garage, but
whether or not they had killed for the automobile was
still a question. - ‘ /
Back in the kitchen, the men reported their findings
- to Laub. “They must have found the key in Campbell’s
pockets,” Mathias explained, “because the lock hasn’t
_ been broken.” Boe ns.
Laub nodded. “That’s not. all they found: in his (
pockets; they’ve been- picked bone-dry of every article (5
aR 3 phe may have been carrying.” - °
aeae.
had stolen a car in Williamsport in
which they went for a joyride through
Pennsylvania and New York, stealing
gas whenever they needed it. They
finally wound up in Erie, where they de-
cided to abandon the machine before
they were picked up by the police,
“We started to hitch hike,” West re-
lated. “When we reached Campbell’s
place we stopped and asked for some-
thing to eat. Told him we were hiking
to Pittsburgh. He fed us and talked a
lot about himself. I guess he was sort of
lonely, living alone like that. Anyhow,
we figured he was a good setup for some
easy cash.”
Mehallick asked, “You robbed the man
who fed you?”
“Not right away,’ Pepperman admit-
ted, as though that fact mitigated the
circumstances somewhat. “We hung
around for three days. Then we went
back in the evening and told the old man
West had lost his fountain pen when we
were there the first time and that we had
come back for it. He offered to get his
flashlight and help us look through the
bushes where we said it had been lost.
That’s when we grabbed him.”
“We didn’t mean to kill him,’ West
insisted. “But he put up quite a battle.
We hit him over the head with his slip-
per and dragged him into the kitchen. He
was unconscious, so we searched the
house. I found a revolver in the bedroom
and Pepperman took a wallet from a
dresser. It had about sixty bucks in it.
That’s all we got.”
“Where’s the gun now?” Laub de-
manded.
West shrugged, “I threw it away. I
was afraid we’d be picked up and it
would be traced back to him.”
“How. about those neckties that you
had him tied with?”
“That was West’s idea,” Pepperman
claimed. “The old man was groaning
DETECTIVE
when we came downstairs and we figured
he’d be able to call the cops before we
were able to get very far. So we tied
him up, just to make sure. I thought
he'd be able to get loose after wile and
go for help. I never expected him to
die.”
Leaving their victim on the floor,
West and Pepperman then drove away
in his car. With blood money in their
pockets, they took a joy ride through
Michigan, where they changed plates on
the machine to throw pursuing officers
off the trail. With the money spent, they
decided to abandon the car in Canton,
fearing that its description was by that
time too well known, They intended to
hide out in the Ohio town, but when the
proffered reward warned them that their
presence was suspected, they again stole
a car and left. After abandoning this,
they returned to Williamsport, confident
Campbell’s wallet was stolen from the
small bureau in the corner, above. This
is the kitchen where he was left beaten
and bound up with his own neckties.
ee
that they would never be apprehended.
Their chief mistake was in not using
the bar of soap for its’ intended purpose.
With the name of the hotel washed off,
it would have been worthless as a clue.
On August 30, both West and Pepper-
man pleaded guilty to first degree murder
and asked the court for mercy. Less than
a month later, on September 27, Judge
J. Orrin Waite of the Erie County court
sentenced both men to die in the electric
chair,
After hearing the testimony, the court .
had found West and Pepperman guilty of
murder in the first degree. If the two
men go to the chair, they will be the first
to pay the death penalty in Pennsylvania
after pleading guilty and asking the court
for mercy.
Thus, in spite of the lapse of a week
between the commission and discovery of
the murder of Joseph Campbell, the
Pennsylvania law enforcement agencies
and courts tracked down, tried and sen-
tenced the two killers,
As to Horst and Passerotti, who were
questioned by the police after the car they
stole was wrecked at Westfield, both
were charged with theft. Passerotti
pleaded guilty and was given an in-
definite sentence at the State Industrial
School at Camp Hill, Pa. Horst was so
seriously injured that his case had not
come to trial at the time this was written.
23
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ger. I
inging
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could
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ented.
p
hasn’t
in his
article
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CO., Dept. 101A, Box 114, Battle Creek, Mich.
There was no doubt as
Branded as
to his criminal leanin y
Judge Francis
a wanton killer by .
a member of Mr.
staff at that time, Johnny
*t. even blink. However,
e had had a
oved. What
a‘drink or two?
did the defendant
(Continued from page 27)
prosecuting
Scheer didn
it was brought out that h
He sat unm
Police caught
Scheer after a running gun
f the men succeeded
he gun. Johnny ad-
t in the robbery, but
he said nothing. At
end him to Chil-
liquor store.
battle, but one o
in escaping wi
mitted his par
further than this
least they wouldn’t s
dren’s Village. He was 18—a man. .
Detective Clifford Smith of the
Staten Island squad knew
Johnny’s friends an
Ballistics routine e
| that bullets fired in th
_ liquor store we
those extracted
bert Holtz.
the missing .45 t
| the killer’s frien
few drinks.
if a man does have
Question: , What
vith Coca Cola
d to his feet in
he shouted. No-
p and say he couldn’t
The prisoner leape
“That’s a lie!”
body could get u
take his-liquor straight.
man. Other testimony as
ing left him calm, so long as chasers
were not mentioned.
On June 30th, Jud
lace sentenced
ment at Sing
accepted his fate
sidered to be a manly fas
dren’s Village was, of
the question. He was over age.
a number of
stablished the fact
e vicinity of the
ked exactly like
from the body of.Her-
Detective Smit
o the home of one of
ds and got evidence
from participants in the store robbery
which broke the case. Johnny Scheer
was charged with murder in the first
to his drink-
ge James G. Wal-
him to life imprison-
Sing. Johnny Scheer
in what he .con-
hion. Chil-
course, out of
He was tried during the middle of
ww EXPO
DETECTIVE
That afternoon he compared_them
footprints on. C
h, but they didn’t
police continued to
with the bloody
bell’s front pore
quite fit. Westfield
hold the boys o
charge, however,
that they were
nated from our 1
But it was not
were definitely eliminate
next day, Tuesday, broug
(Continued from page 26)
at 2:30 p.m.’ There aren’t any Gurneys
| in Erie who have had business deal-
_ ings with Campbell. This guy is from
d Bricker. ‘“That’s
to. track down pronto.
through his ‘other
urney will. be men-
d Laub declared
‘by no means elimi-
nvestigation.”
long before they
d. For the
ht the first
out of town.”
one we want
Keep on lookin
papers. Maybe
tioned somewhere else.”
On the heels of this discovery _came
another, equally sens
in the nearby to
ported they
men who ha
stolen car 9n
helping in the examination
of Campbell’s private pap
business card whi
ers, found a
“Z, B. Gur-
f Westfield re- Cleveland Heights,
holding two young
d left Erie hurriedly in a
the previous night, just
f the murder had been
later came word that
09 10u STOP TOBACCO?
WANT TO
»
thousands have.
and happy with Tobacco
treatment which has
THE NEWELL COMPAN
after, news 0
flashed over the ra
not Campbell’s;
from a parking 1
already foreseen
might have been a
road south of
s were elated. -Here were
leads, both in Ohio!
ias and County Detec-
s were rushed to Cleveland
and question Gurney.
honed Sheriff Fred
on, whom he had been keep-
nformed of developments.
d better rush over to Canton my-
dio. The car was
had been. stolen
ot. But Erie police had
that Campbell’s car
bandoned by this
Banish the ai y for tobacco as
yourself free two important
er. Write for free booklet telling of
Injurious effect of tobacco and of &
relieved many men. FREE Heights to locate
30 Years In Business |angK Laub immediately
went to Westfield to question them. In
h they had wrecked on
District Attorney
163 Clayton Sta, St, Louis, Me.
"cm Beh WAWE
MAKE $25-$35 A WEEK
pert care. You can learn practi
60
quired, Men, women, 18 to 60.
SCHOOL OF NURSING
a bottle of acid and a
found. They de-
e of Campbell’s
hat they had ‘ob-
crowbar for the
sheriff. “If it’s okay with
Corporal Mehallick: and
d Schauers along with
self,” said the
you I’ll take
Sergeant Willar
large crowbar were
nied all knowled
murder and said t
tained the acid and
purpose of cracki
In the course 0
Practical nurses are needed in every
community... doctors rely on them...
patients appreciate their cheerful, ex- said Lieutenant
can solve this
cked the Wilk-
you'll be fam-
Bricker. “If you three
one as neatly as you cra
inson case last spring,
’
hias and Coates
f questioning them,
Laub looked. at their feet. One pair
the other narrow.
| “Take: off your shoes,
the District Attorney. “I-wan
nursing at home in spare time. Course
endorsed by physicians. 47th yr, Earn
- while learning. High School not re-
Trial plan, Write now!
” commanded ous. :
Late that night Mat
CHICAGO
: Dept. 192, 100 East Ohio Street, Chicago 11, ti,
¥ Please send free and-16-sample—lesson pages.
Name.
62 City Biate. VT)
on Gurney. The
them along phoned in their report
antique dea
making regi
cinity in sea
and had pr:
from Campt
“He saw
ternoon
dishes and
$58 for ti
immediat:
fectly norn
That $58 co
deal Camp
daughter
else had
like this %
The men
EANW!}
: three E
ing more
they learne:
man had
good fing:
Campbell's
car and visit
found, the.
clues.
In the ca
Lindsay, Oh
and some
stolen from
branch of t}
In the gras
were other
hotel soap, :
the advertis:
Michigan, es
“ave you
cars since
Lamberton
“No, none
That mear
probability,
in the vicir
hopped a f:
but Lambert
have taken
The police
were keeping
hikers. Lam}
Bricker.
“We're on!
now,” he
long as the
up the Linds:
check on the
parently the
across Mich
through Ohi
them short],
The next d
ports of stol:
there fine-co
Picious chai
might fit th.
seen on the C
ing of the
finally elimi:
from Erie.
r In additior
In the Chev:
tors found a
a can partly
was plain th
no chances «
station oper
siphoning th¢
The car w
scopically fo:
other clues, }
found, Stil!
.32-calibre
keys, and thi
the murder
At the end
of the killers
the Canton vi
-in the other (
been able to ;
grown cold a
the porch, said:
rlooking some-
killers weren’t
ell. They might
yugh a window
taal
said Corporal
yack door was
side and all the
were locked.
the door to
t have jumped
then dragged
room .-d over-
We've been
Erie (Pa.) indus-
r who met violent
ed country home.
the murder
find it. They
ith them so that
suld be discov-
his assistants
body to Hamot
Erie.
judge now,” said
oks like he was
lays ago. I'll try
iefinite after the
Coates called at-
n the wall of the
| give us the date
marked. “Camp-
) were interested
in scientific farming. kept a log of weather con-.
ditions. At the enc of each day he entered the
data on that chart. The last entry is on August
Ist. That was last Wednesday.”
“That also checks with something else I found,”
said Mehallick. “The last newspaper that he took
from his mailbox was the Erie Times of July 31st.
It was mailed to him, so he didn’t receive it until
August Ist.”
“Good!”” commended District Attorney Laub.
“That establishes the time of the crime as last
Wednesday evening. We’ll leave some men here
to continue looking for clues. Right now we
ought to get back to state police barracks and
talk this over with Lieutenant Bricker.”
-
JACK WEST: Square-jawed, hard-eyed, he'd been in the
rogues’ gallery before his preferred , auto theft,
led him into a far more serious crime. Now it was marder.
THEY SAID IT! Killers West and Pepperman hear 6
ROBERT PEPPERMAN: Don't be fooled by that contrite expres-
sion, those neatly folded hands. With stee! bracelets shackling
his wrists, it was the most convenient position for a killer to
hold bloodstained hands. Now his life is in the hands of the law.
play-back of their confession in the presence of
Corp. John Mehallick and Sheriff Fred Lamberton _
(standing) and Sgt. Willard Schauer (seated). ~
It was Mehallick and Schauer of Pennsylvania
State Police who brought
the murderers in.
24
4 ‘ |
she stepped inside of the front door,
“Thank you,” Laub said. “We'll
try to be brief, but there are certain
things we’ll have to learn right
away if we’re to make progress. In
the first place, I don’t suppose you’
have any idea who might have done
this?”
She shook her head. “T’ve never
known my father to have trouble
with anyone, in business or in per-
sonal affairs. In the last few years,
especially, his contacts with others
have been few. He led an almost
hermit-like existence here. I do be-
lieve that he had some business in-
terests aside from truck farming,
but I don’t know what they were.”
“I see. And he never had been
robbed or‘had trouble with prowlers
here?” A
“No, I’m positive of that. Every-
one around here knew that he kept
only a few dollars in the house. In-
asmuch as he lived alone, he feared’
that someone might attack and rob
him, so he wrote a check for almost
everything he bought, instead of
having cash with him.”
“Didn’t he have a gun to protect
himself?”
“Yes, he always kept a revolver
by his bedside. Isn’t it there?”
“No; it seems to be missing,” re-
plied the — District Attorney. “I
wonder why he didn’t use it? May-
be he: knew the men who killed
him.”
“He saw only a few people. I
don’t know who they were. He
didn’t mention the name of anyone
he expected when I was here two
weeks ago, but ——” She paused,
“I just remembered something. ~ It
was about money. He said then that
he was expecting Shortly to receive
a large sum of money. Someone else
may have known about that. But I’m
sure father would have kept it in
the bank.”
District Attorney Laub frowned.
He rose from his chair, walked the
length of the room and ‘returned.
“Tell me,” he said slowly, looking
at the woman with narrowed eyes,
“just why did your father live like
this? Why did he cut himself off
from all his old friends?”
The woman hesitated uncertainly.
“Why, I suppose it was because he
preferred living in the country.”
“He seems to have lived a very
secretive life here.”
“My father always liked his
privacy. Naturally, when he was
younger, he used to be more social.”
“But you don’t know what other
business interests he had _ besides
the small amount of truck farming
i eli. mie LE eT a aren
here? You don’t know, for example,
from whom he was expecting that
large sum of money?”
A shadow passed over the wo-
man’s face. “No,” she replied, “I
don’t.” ’
“I see. I guess that will be all
right now.”
The murdered man’s daughter
rose, walked out to her car and
drove to the neighbor’s home.
“I can’t believe robbery was the
only motive behind Campbell’s
death,” said one of the investigators
to Laub after she had gone. “In the
just come in from the porch, said:
“Maybe we’re overlooking some-
thing. Suppose the killers weren’t
admitted by Campbell. They might
‘have sneaked in through a window
or the back door.”
“I checked that,” said Corporal
Mehallick. “The back door was
bolted from the inside and all the
downstairs windows were locked.
No, Campbell opened the door to
these men. They must have jumped
on him immediately, then dragged
him into the living room and over-
powered him there. We’ve been
&
LETHAL WEAPON: The marauders J. B. CAMPBELL, Erie (Pa.) indus-
used one of his own shoes to beat the trialist-turned-farmer who met violent
aged man into submission—and death. death in his secluded country home.
a i aan as tc A
first place, whoever did it must have
been known to him, otherwise he’d
have been more careful about letting
them in the door. They came here
at night. We know that because the
shades are down. He had a revolver,
and he’d have been wary of strang-
ers coming to the house at night.”
“There’s another thing,” said Ma-
thias. “If he was acquainted with
these men—and it appears he was—
wouldn’t they have been likely to
know he didn’t keep a lot of money
around the house. I think the job
must have been pulled by a couple
of local men. Strangers wouldn’t be
apt to know that Campbell was in
the house alone.” .
One of the detectives, who had
looking around for the murder
weapon, but can’t find it. They
probably took it with them so that
no fingerprints would be. discov-
ered.”’
The coroner and _ his assistants
were removing the body to Hamot
hospital morgue in Erie.
“As far as I can judge now,” said
the doctor, “it looks like he was
killed about five days ago. I’ll try
to make it more definite after the
autopsy.”
County Detective Coates called at-
tention to a chart on the wall of the
front room.
“T think that will give us the date
of his death,” he remarked. “Camp-
bell, like others who were interested
in scic
dition
data «
Ist. T
“Th
to cor
ought
talk t
JACK W
rogues’ «
led him ir
MURDER SCENE REVISITED: The killers—Robert
Pepperman, left, and Jack West, right—stare
down at the spot where they left the battered
body of the man who tried to befriend them,
IEUTENANT John C. Bricker of the Lawrence Park
barracks was the officer who had assigned the in-
vestigators to: the crime. Corporals Mehallick and
Mathias accompanied the District Attorney to Bricker’s
office and gave him a detailed account of the dis-
coveries.
“Well, we haven’t much to work on so far,” said
Bricker when they had finished. “But the first thing
to get after is that car. The killers have a five-day
head start on us. In all probability, they’ve abandoned
the car by now and stolen another. Anyway, we’ll
send out an alarm through eight states. As soon as
we find it, we’ll know the direction in which they
were heading.”
The records showed that Campbell’s car was a gray
1940 Chevrolet coupe—Pennsylvania license number
Y-1540.
“Have we got anything to indicate what the mur-
derers looked like?” asked Lieutenant Bricker.
“Very little,” replied Mehallick. “The footprints on
the porch showed that one of them.wore narrow shoes
and the other had extremely wide ones. The length
of the steps also indicated that both men were of
medium height.”
Later that evéning, however, the investigators were
in possession of additional clues regarding the killers’
appearance. A neighbor of the slain man reported that
three days before the murder she saw a pair of “tough-
looking” men walking up the private lane leading to
Campbell’s house.
“T don’t know whether they were friends of Mr.
Campbell; or were just prowling,” she told an inves-
tigator. “However, I thought it was strange because
he very rarely has visitors, especially of that type.
The men were wearing rough-looking clothes—blue
shirts and dark trousers. Neither of them wore a coat,
hat or necktie. , Yes, they were of about medium
HOUSE INTO TOMB! Attractive house where J. B. Campbell
lived a solitary but contented existence—until one fateful night.
height. I couldn’t tell their age from a distance, but
I’d say they were young.”
This additional information was relayed to the police
in other Pennsylvania cities and in neighboring states,
with a request that any suspicious characters fitting the
description be questioned.
“We might get a lead from those private papers
scattered around Campbell’s bedroom,” suggested Me-
hallick. ‘Apparently he had some business dealings
that his daughter didn’t know about.”’
Lieutenant Bricker nodded. “Yes, and it wouldn’t do
any harm to question some of the neighbors and other
people around town who knew him. He may have
been mixed up in something that was dangerous.”
The news ‘created a city-wide sensation when it
appeared in the Monday morning papers. Many citi-
zens had once known Joe Campbell well, but few had
even seen him in recent years.
“T heard that his fortune had dwindled lately,” said
one business man. ‘No, I don’t know what his busi-
ness interests were since he moved away from town.”
. Two other interesting facts came from neighbors.
One said that on the previous Tuesday—the day before
the murder—a taxicab drove up to the Campbell home
and a man with a brief case got out. He resembled an
ordinary business or professional man. None of the
neighbors recalled. having seen Campbell leave his
estate either Tuesday or Wednesday.
“Then the guy with that brief case probably was the
last man to have seen him alive,” conjectured Lieu-
tenant Bricker. ‘And who knows that the brief case
didn’t contain. the big hunk of cash that Campbell told
his daughter he was expecting?”
The neighbors also reported the mysterious fact that
Campbell’s mail box had been ripped from its post
several months previously—presumably by someone
who believed something of value was inside. Camp-
bell, however, did not report the theft. He merely
replaced the box.
Seabees mid-morning Corporal Mehallick phoned
Bricker from the Campbell residence:
‘“Here’s something for us, Lieutenant,” he said. “I
just found Campbell’s diary and appointment schedule.
On Tuesday, the day before he died, there’s this entry:
“‘Gurney coming with cash (Continued on page 62)
a
A
to the <
easily |
but to
. thing e
| To his
dren‘s
foram
He es
made |}
New B
was co
treated
Johnny
his fist
snatche
out of :
went to
to his «
ploits a
Police
Tough a
they to
Village,
man wh
after six
his old
course c
he burg
Staten |
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However, the confessions related,
the two men could see the garage was
padiocked, and they knew Campbell
had an automobile.
It was they who had stolen the car
in Meadville and later cracked up
in it, they said. Then, they remem-
bered about Campbell’s car and de-
cided to steal it.
' According to the two men, they
arrived at Campbell’s estate just be
fore dark on August Ist and decided
to wait until night fell. At ten o’clock
they went to the garage but it was
locked, so they concocted a story to
tell Campbell.
“We-knocked at the door and he
came and we told him one of us
dropped a fountain pen the other
night,” Pepperman said. “He said
he’d get a flashlight to help us look
for the pen and we hit him. I threw
him to the floor.”
As the elderly man struggled, a
slipper came off and while Pepper-
man kept Campbell on the floor, West
struck him over the head. West went
to the bedroom and obtained some
neckties to bind their victim, and the
two robbers dragged the still battling
victim through the living room, into
the dining room and then to the
ki .
: i asked Bob if he was dead, but
Bob wasn’t sure,” said West. “I bent
‘down to feel his pulse, but I was
‘shaking too much to tell if he was
‘alive. We took the wallet and got
some tools to crack the padlock on
{Re garage, but then I realized he
‘must have his keys on him, so I went
back and got them. We took the car,
drove away heading for Michigan.”.:
While in the room obtaining the
neckties, West said, .he observed.
Campbell’s gun and he took that, but ©
threw it away somewhere in Ohio.
He also took two suits of clothing.
From Erie the men went to Wind-
sor, Canada, then to Michigan, regis-
tering at the Republic Hotel in Bay —
City. Before leaving that city, they
stole Michigan plates from another
automobile and put them on the car.
On their return trip, they stated.
they ran out of money, because they
had gotten only sixty dollars from
and they had used it up.
They sold the spare tire to raise
money for gasoline and food. Finally,
just outside Canton, they were forced
to abandon the car and steal a ride on
a freight train as far as Pittsburgh.
Both men reenacted their crime on
Monday, August 20th, standing in
the kitchen, which still bore the
blood they had spilled.
They were indicted for murder a
week later.
~ On September 5th, the two slayers
pleaded guilty to an _ indictment
charging them with. murder. Two
days later,- Judges J. Orin Waite and
Elmer L. Evans took under advise-
ment the arguments of state and de-
fense and announced that they would
impose sentence later. Defense plead-
ed for life terms; the state urged the
death penalty.
Note: The names of Rita Hoagland
and Pete Lang are fictitious to spare
unnecessary embarrassment to per-
sons innocently involved in this mur-
der investigation.
BEER HALL
BELLE AND
THE DRUNKEN LOVER
(Continued from page 25)
out two claw hammers from beneath
the furniture. Z
Parker took it eagerly.-“It’s not on-
ly wet,” he announced, “around the
edge of the handle—where it goes
into the hammer head—there’s a clot
of blood!” ;
The trail was growing warmer now,
Beyond any question of -a doubt, this
hammer was the murder weapon. And
the fact that it was still damp indi-
cated that the murderer had discarded
-. that his-mother was still alive, greeted
it only a short time before. Lewis’ lips
thinned. “I think I want to talk to
Jack Atkins,” he said.
The youth, still dazed with shock,
but laboring under the impression
them eagerly. “When can I see my
mother at the hospital?” he pleaded.
“You'll see her soon. Now can you
tell us what happened,” Lewis asked.
“I woke up this morning, dressed
and went downstairs. It was pretty
early—about eight o’clock, I guess.
“Do you always awaken at about
that time?” Lewis asked. “Or could
there have been some particular rea-
son for it—a scuffle in your mother’s
room, perhaps.”
Atkins shook his head slowly. “I
don’t think so. At least, I didn’t rea-
lize it if there was. Anyway, I went.
downstairs and I prepared to open
the bar. John Dufner came do
then.” e— ea
Lewis leaned forward. “Who came
down?” he asked sharply.
Atkins looked surprised. “John
ner, our bartender. Didn’t I men
him before?”
“You certainly didn’t! Is he in
habit of staying here over night?”
The youth shrugged. “Once in
while. Mostly when we stay ope
pretty late like last night. He s
in the bedroom opposite
“That’s odd,” Chief Bachman ©
marked. “Seems to me that UU
has a wife and children.”
OLICE. D
One of the officers who had ques-
tioned neighbors of the murdered
man reported that although nobody
had heard any unusual noises on the
night Campbell was believed to have
been killed, three persons had volun-
teered information which might be
of value in providing a lead to the
slayers. .
About eleven o’clock on Wednesday
night, August Ist, a farmer noticed
Campbell’s sedan traveling out on
East Lake Road in the direction of
New York State. The farmer won-
dered what Campbell was doing driv-
ing there at that time of night, be-
cause he knew Campbell usually was
home at that hour. :
Another neighbor stated that on
Sunday evening, July 29th, about sev-
en o'clock, he noticed Campbell
standing near his garden talking to
two men who were eating. The men
had berries, sandwiches and milk, the
neighbor said. When questioned
about how he knew that the men
were eating, he replied that he was
driving past the Campbell house and
intended to stop and visit a while
with him.
“I slowed down and I was going to
get out of the car,” he explained, “but
just as I stopped I saw that Mr.
Campbell had company, and I didn’t
get out of my automobile. Mr. Camp-
bell often gave food, and sometimes
money, to anybody who would stop
and ask him. He didn’t have the heart
to turn anybody away. While most
of the rest of us would insist on a
stranger’s doing some work in return
for food and pay, Mr. Campbell was
overly generous. He used to say that
if you cast your bread on the water
it would come back a thousandfold.”
This neighbor did not like the looks
of the two men he saw with Camp-
bell, however. He described them as
shifty-looking and typical hoboes who
would rather get a handout than do
a day’s work, They wore old, torn
trousers and soiled shirts open at the
collar with shirt sleeves rolled up
above the elbows. Both were: dark-
haired and appeared to be in their
late twenties. :
* * *
B* this time, police technicians
were ready with a report on the
slipper found in Campbell’s living
room. They had no doubt that it had
been used in the murder, for on its
heel were bloodstains, of the same
blood type as the congealed pool in
which the body was found on the
kitchen linoleum. There were no fin-
gerprints except Campbell’s on the
slipper or on the wallet or the tools,
which obviously had been abandoned
near the garage door.
“Those fellows were pretty slick; if
they didn’t wear gloves, they were
careful to wipe away all prints from
anything they touched,” one of the
experts declared.
And as for the handkerchief which
had been stuffed into the elderly
man’s mouth, it was his own, for the
laundry mark was identical with that
on freshly Jaundered linens and other
the autopsy, adding no further infor-
mation but corroborating the theory
that Campbell had died on Wednes-
day, August Ist. Death was due to a
fractured skull, doubtless caused by
a blow on the head with the heel of
his slipper. The handkerchief forced
into his mouth was an apparent effort
to prevent his shouts from being over-
heard, but it was not wedged far
enough down to cause strangulation.
Rita Hoagland’s survey of the
house provided an interesting bit of
information. The two suits delivered
by the tailor on Monday were miss-
ing. She could not state whether any-
thing else had been taken.
Sheriff Lamberton’s men, mean-
while, were uncovering additional da-
ta. For example, at the gasoline fill-
ing station where Campbell custom-
arily bought his fuel, an attendant
stated that Campbell had stopped
there about five o’clock on the after-
noon of August Ist and had pur-
chased eight gallons of gas, which
‘just about filled the tank. His tires
were checked and inflated with the
proper amount. of air. Everything was
favorable for the killers’ getaway.
And in a clump of-bushes, about
two miles from the Campbell home-
stead, the sheriff’s aides had discov-
ered a pair of begrimed trousers,
torn and smeared with dark brown
stains. The garment was rushed to
state police laboratories for an an-
alysis of the stains.
Through Sunday night and well in-
to Monday morning, authorities
worked on every possible clue, bring-
ing in more than a dozen men of
shady reputation, questioning them
closely, and then permitting them to
leave when they proved that they had
no knowledge of the retired indus-
trialist’s violent death.
With the publication of the account
of the murder in morning newspapers,
a flood of telephone calls came to the
sheriff's office and to state police.
This, the officers knew, was a familiar
occurrence, for cranks always call
with their pet theories. But no call
was ignored; and county and state
police tracked down every lead, no
matter how vague, nebulous and far-
fetched it seemed. But Monday noon
brought them no nearer a solution
than they were when they responded
_ to Mrs. Van- Cleve’s call to find her
father’s body on the kitchen floor.
Nor was there any satisfaction to
be derived from the pair of trousers
retrieved from the woods, for careful
examination disclosed that the stains
were caused by animal blood, and in-
vestigation stemming from a cleaner’s
mark proved that the pants were the
property of a respectable farmer, who
had discarded them because they
were no longer fit for wearing.
A couple residing about a half mile
from the Campbell home returned
Monday afternoon after a week-end
spent visiting their son at his army
post. They had some interesting in-
formation to offer in answer to the
questions that the police put to them.
“Come to think of it,” said the hus-
band, “on Wednesday, August Ist,
about half past five in the afternoon
Pete Lang came to the back door and
asked me if I could use him tor any
chores. Well, Pete’s worked for me off
and on for a couple of years, and I
never could. depend on him. He'd
promise to show up and then stop
’ ‘at some bar first, and he’d never ar-
rive. So I told him I didn’t have
work for him. He had a strong sm: ]
of liquor on his breath, too. And the
funny part of it all was, he asked me
if Mr. Campbell might have some
work for him. I told him I wouldn’t
know, but he could find out for him- -
self. I didn’t think much about it at _
the time, but he remarked something
about Mr. Campbell’s living
alone.”
The man described Lang as about
twenty-eight years old, tall and
husky, with black hair and clad in
dark trousers and blue shirt, without
tie,
Schauers immediately sent men
hunting for Pete. Since the farmer
had said Pete had liquor on his
breath, Schauers suggested that a
tour of the taprooms made, .
“He’s been in and out of the place
for the past week or so,” related a
bartender. “Strange, too—he used to
drink the cheapest stuff in the place,
but lately he seems to have more
money, and he orders the better
Scotch. I asked. him if he was work-
ing, and he told me he didn’t need to
work yet because he had a windfall.”
Could that windfall have been
Campbell’s money?
* *
q Beare evening Pete Lang was
‘nabbed as he approached the ta-
vern, and was hustled, snarling and
demanding to know the reason for
the rough treatment, to Schauers’
office.
Deeming it wise to come right to
the point, Schauers suggested, “It
would have been pretty simple to rob
Mr. Campbell wouldn’t it?”
“Sure, it would be a pushover,”
Lang agreed. “He’s a sucker for a
handout, and he lives alone so heist-
ing him wouldn’t be tough at all.”
“When did you see him last?” The
sergeant demanded.
“About a week ago. I went there _
to see if he had some work. He said -
he didn’t but he offered me something _
to eat. I wasn’t looking for a free
meal; I wanted work, so I went: —
away.” :
Schauers glared at the man. “You®
went away? After you robbed him?” >
Now it was Lang’s turn to stare.’
“After I robbed him? You're crazy.)
That’s one thing I don’t do, go around;
robbing people.” 3
“Where'd you get all the money”
you’re spending on pooze lately?’
Schauers persisted. q
don’t suppose you know he died ©
few hours after you went to 4%
house.” i
Lang’s face fell. “No, I didn
know,” he stammered. a
“well,” continued the officer, “7%
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died: he was murdered and robbed.”
Lang, now thoroughly frightened as
he sensed the implication of Schauer’s
remark, asserted, “I swear I didn’t
have anything to do with it. He was
perfectly all right when I left him. !
went back to Erie and I had supper
and then bummed around a while.
Good gosh, I didn’t rob him, and |
didn’t even know he was dead! You
gotta believe me.”
The man’s apparent sincerity .was
disarming. Schauers was inclined to
believe him, but he questioned him
further, obtaining names of persons
who had seen Lang on the night of
August Ist.
While. Lang remained in Schauer’s
office, his alibi was checked thorough-
ly. It stood up in every detail. More-
over, it was learned, Lang did not
even know how to drive an automo-
bile.
In the course of his painstaking in-
vestigation, Sergeant Schauers stud-
ied police reports from various sec-
tions of the state for the latter part
of July, and was especially interested
in cards relating to stolen automo-
biles One, in particular, attracted his
attention. It referred to the theft of
a car from the shopping district of
Meadville, not far from Erie. Accord-
ing to the record, two-men in dark
trousers, with shirt sleeves rolled up,
entered the automobile and drove off
with it. =
This was on the 30th of July. The
next day, according to the report, the
same automobile was proceeding at
a rapid pace along the road near
Cambridge Springs, when it appar-
ently got out of control and was over-
turned as it careened down a short
embankment, Two men, attired in
dark trousers, wearing light colored
shirts rolled up at the elbows, escaped
from the wrecked sedan and vanished
in the nearby woods.
Other reports,told of automobile
owners’ complaints that gasoline had
been syphoned from the tanks of cars
left parked in secluded areas, and one
gasoline service station reported that
a car left outside the station over-
rent was drained of its gas on July
1.
Still, on Tuesday morning, August
7th, there was no visible progress in
the hunt for Campbell’s slayers; nor
had police of Pennsylvania or nearby
states found any trace of the victim’s
automobile.
But at noon that day, Schauers got
his first real break. Buffalo police
telephoned that they had discovered
that on August 2nd, the day after
Campbell had been murdered, two
men in an automobile had registered
their car on the Canadian side of the
Peace Bridge in the name of Joseph
B. Campbell. A photostatic copy of
the registration, signed by. one of the
men in the car, was being forwarded
to Schauers.
And that afternoon, a telephone
cal] from police at Canton, Ohio, cre-
ated a stir. An officer on patrol had
found an abandoned sedan, out of
gasoline and bearing Michigan license
plates. The serial number on the mo-
tor was that of Campbell's car'
In less than a nali Nour, Schaucis..
Corporal Mehallick and Sheriff Lan.-
berton were on their way to Canton.
When they arrived, police were
waiting for them.
“Our fingerprint men have been all
over the car,’ an officer reported.
“But except for one print on the right
front door handle, they've found.
nothing. The one print they did get
was a little smudged. but they’re trv-
ing to get something out of it. When
our man found the car the motor was
still warm, and we've thrown a Gor-
‘don all around the neighborhood to
try to spot stolen cars. When this bus
ran out of gas, whoever was in it
must have picked up another. auto.
Lamberton was examining the in-
side of the vehicle. On the floorboard
near the front seat were a number
of crumbs and tiny scraps of food.
“Our men didn’t eat in restaurants.
you can bet,” he said. “They got food
somewhere and ate it in the car.”
Mehallick and Schauers were go-
ing through the woods in opposite di-
rections. For about thirty minutes
they walked, and as Schauers finally
was about to leave the woods, he ob-
served something beneath a patch of
growth. He stooped to pick it up, then
quickly fished a handkerchief from
his back pocket and lifted the object
in the kerchief. It was just a bar of
soap; similar to those he often had
seen in hotel bathrooms, but what
interested him particularly in this bar
of soap was the neat, almost spotless
wrapper, which bore the imprint of
the Republic Hotel in Bay City, Mi-
chigan. He studied the wrapper, then
looked at the Michigan license tag on
the rear of the sedan.
“Looks like our friends have done
a lot of touring,” he remarked. “Penn-
sylvania, New York, Canada, Michi-
gan and Ohio. And from the direction
in which the car’s headed, they ap-
parently were on their way back to
Pennsylvania. You know, soap’s good
for a lot of things, and I’ve got a
hunch it’s going to be good for us.”
He picked up a stone, stood along-
side the sedan and tossed the rock
into the woods. It landed a short dis-
tance from where he had found the
soap. He commented:
“Our killers must have discovered
the soap in the car when they had
to abandon it, and since they didn’t
have any use for it at the moment,
they threw it into the woods. Men,
we're going to Bay City and talk to —
people in the Republic Hotel!”
N hour later, armed with a finger-
print impression obtained from
the automobile door handle, Schauers
catessens and out-of-the-way
‘shops and diners in an effort to pick
ip the trail of any men who might
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farmers and others along the road, ‘in
case the men we want stopped for
handouts,” he suggested.
If. only Buffalo police would hurry
the copy of the Peace Bridge automo-
bile registration, Schauers felt the
cake of soap might tell a dramatic
story soon. He realized that a pair
of killers, no matter how secure they
might feel in their getaway, certainly
would sign fictitious names to a hotel
register; and these murderers were
smart enough to leave no fingerprints
in the house of death. However, a
comparison of the handwriting on the
hotel register with the Canadian sig-
nature would suffice. But what if the
men were not guests of the hotel?
Schauers felt cold sweat as he real-
ized they might have obtained the
soap without staying in the hotel.
Well, he would cross that bridge later,
if he had to.
These and a thousand and one
other thoughts came to his mind as
he rode back to Erie.
Immediately upon his return, he
handed the bar of soap and the Can-
_ ton, Ohio, print to identification men.
From the soap wrapper a clear im-
pression was obtained; but it did not
match the print from the stolen au-
tomobile. Schauers’ heart leaped. Had
he been lucky enough to obtain the
whorls of both slayers? And if so,
were their measurements on file with
state police?
/The next afternoon, August 8th,
Schauers had his answer—or part of
it, for Sheriff Lamberton and Cor-
poral Mehallick telephoned that they
had been mighty busy individuals in
Bay City, Mich. Studiously, they had
gone through the register of the Re-
public Hotel for the period from Au-
gust lst to August 7th, and had come
up with the names of five men who,
in signing in, had given Pennsylvania
addresses. Moreover, two men who
checked in on August 3rd, arrived
in a Pennsylvania automobile. These
two men arrived without baggage
and were required to pay in advance.
They remained only one night, did
not eat in the hotel or in nearby res-
taurants, so far as could be ascer-
tained, and remained in their room
virtually all of the time. They gave
their address as Williamsport. Two
other men registered on August 4th,
from - Philadelphia and apparently
had no automobile. They remained
two days. The fifth man checked in
on August 5th and remained one day.
He, too, did not have an automobile.
“By any chance, were the first two
men dumb enough to give their
names as Jack West and Bob Pepper-
man?” Schauers inquired. sd
“That’s right, but how did you
know?” Mehallick countered. -
“Because we found their calling
cards. They’re ex-convicts. Bring
copies of their signatures with you
and hurry back.”
The fingerprint records disclosed
that Jack West, twenty-seven-year-
old hoodlum, had served time for
burglary and had been in bad with
Williamsport and Harrisburg police
since he was seventeen years old.
Dannarman. twentv-nine. was a
house. burglar and an automobile
thief who had served timé. And both
men had been inmates of the Hun-
tington Reformatory at the same time.
Williamsport police kept watchful
eyes for the two men, at Schauers’
request, for the sergeant felt that if
their money had run out they would
be likely to return to where they
were known in the hope of getting
another stake.
But for several days, there was no
sign of the men.
However, Lamberton and Mehal-
lick returned with the hotel signa-
tures of the two hunted criminals,
and handwriting experts who com-
pared them with the Peace Bridge
registration declared emphatically
that Pepperman had signed the Can-
adian card. There could be no doubt
of it, they asserted.
Rogues’ gallery photographs of the
- two suspects were shown, with others,
to the farmer who had said early in
the investigation that he had seen
Campbell with two men. Unhesitat-
ingly, he selected Pepperman’s and
West’s pictures and declared:
“They're the men I saw in Mr.
Campbell’s garden. I’d remember
their shifty eyes anywhere. I told
you I didn’t like their looks.”
Though the pattern for murder now
was clear to the officers, finding the
elusive suspect was a difficult task.
Schauers knew. now that Pepperman
and West must have gone to Camp-
bell’s house, enlisted his sympathy in
their pretended plight, ate his food
and drank his milk, and engaged
him in conversation, doubtless learn-
ing that he was comfortably fixed fi-
nancially and that he lived alone.
Then, several days later they must
have returned on some pretext, to rob
and kill him, and escape in his own
automobile.
And eventually, on the night of
Sunday, August 19th, Williamsport
police caught sight of Pepperman
walking toward his home. They
seized him and hustled him off to
police headquarters. An hour latér,
Jack West was arrested in the lobby
of a midtown hotel, a few minutes
after he had abandoned a stolen au-
tomobile.
Lamberton, Schauers and Mehal-
lick hurried to Williamsport where
they wasted no time parrying with 7)
the men. Confronted by the evidence |
against them, ‘both broke down and |
admitted they had killed Campbell; ~
but both insisted they did not mean —@
to murder him. All they wanted was @
his money and his car, they pl
In signed confessions they said they ~
stole a car in Williamsport on July”
25th, drove around for a couple of |
days in New York State, stealing gas~*
oline here and there, and finally re-
turning. to Pennsylvania and aban .
doning the machine.
“We were hitchhiking along Ws
ford Pike on the 29th of July, and we;
saw the house up on a knoll so \
walked up the driveway and told #18
man we were hungry and broke.
West’s story ran. “He gave us som
thing’to eat and we thanked him a
left him after a while”
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ay Fa i SLE?
TLL. a ae
Lay pen are hestdtind EL SS OE
Boyet Wrcatontd 2 Cul 1x rba7 0f togto
frrudduigitn Mtb oboe Wpalus ip Lif alone ts Kase, Maveg
ed» PO Denulio Latin, fer Korky facen UZh.
SL Madar Ha adid han ther kody bore denwat tenwae thyh igs :
Dae Whee tae ceed tile changioty ert inAoons Caden Ua?
hot hilt hte Werd2ant hagie Halmilid kicwvia.g Arid & hither biflrr
a , 7 ee / roared Had his harskhled lay hsebose ff. :
264 (IILADELPHIA, DECEMBER TERM, 1846,
nity of entering such exception, no auditor or master shall file his
report until ten days after he has notified to the parties his intention
so to do, on a day designated, and given them ..n opportunity of
having access to such report. And it is further ordered, that on the
hearing of the question of confirming or setting aside any auditor or
master’s report, the party excepting thereto shall be confined to the
exception made by him before the auditor or master according to
the previous requisition of this rule, reserving to the court, how-
ever, the power of committing the report again, should justice re-
quire it.
CoMMONWEALTH v. CHARLES Moster.(@)
The fact that a confession is made to an officer having the prisoner in custody, is no
reason for its exclusion as evidence against the prisoner, provided that it was not in-
duced by improper advantages taken of the situation in which he stood.
insanity, to constitute a proper ground of defence to a criminal accusation, must be
shown to exist to such an extent as to blind its subject to the consequences of his-
acts, and deprive him of all freedom of agency.
Ordinary provocation given by a woman or child to a man of average strength, even.
though it amounts to a blow given, does not, it seems, lower a homicide from murde:
to manslaughter.
Tue prisoner was indicted for the murder of Eve Mosler, his wife.
It appeared that the parties had been marned about eleven years,, ~
and that there was a great disparity of age between them, the pri-
‘soner being nearly twenty years the younger of the two. On the day ~
of the homicide the prisoner came into the house, about one o’clock;.
and shortly afterwards commenced taunting one Boyer, a son of the
deceased by a former husband, and at the same time threatening to
cut the throat of her grand-daughter. About six o’clock the prisoner
and deceased were left alone in the house, having previously had
‘ Jae Aa ae :
a shght quarrel, and about twenty minutes past six o’clock the de
~ceased was found lying in the house with her throat cut.
gut:ty agent. His shirt was torn—there were several bruises on the
person of the deceased, and her left eye was black as from a blow.
No ques-
tion was made on the trial as to the fact of the prisoner being the.
He was arrested while changing his shirt, in the room where the act se
(a) This and the following case were decided at the Oyer and Terminer, in Nov
1846, in Philadelphia, before Gibson, C. J., Coulter, J., and Bell, ds
were prepared for the Law Journal, whose editors have kindly furnished them to the
reporter
The reports
COMMONWEALTH v. CHARLES MOSLER. &
was done. He immediately said that he « did it,” and said that he
« had done it with her own son’s razor;”? that he « was ready to go
_anywhere,” «he had tried to do it before,” «had done it this time
right,” «it belonged to her,’ « she had never treated him right.”
The defence was insanity; and in support of it evidence was of-
fered to show, that, a year or more before, he had attempted to
fire his wife’s house; that some time previous he had started to
Pittsburgh, but soon returned, saying that every night the deceased
and her grand-daughter stood at the foot of his bed ; and that when
arrested, his appearance and conduct, according to the impression
of one witness, were those of a crazy man.
In the course of the trial, the attorney-general proposed to ask a
witness what the prisoner had said to him immediately afier the wit-
ness had told the prisoner that he must consider himself under ar-
rest. This was objected to by the prisoner’s counsel, on the ground
that the confessions of a prisoner while in custody are not admis
sible as evidence.
Per Curtam.—Cases on the statutes of Philip and Mary, or on
the 7 Geo. 4, . 64, which has supplanted them, are inapplicable to
a confession made to an officer who has the prisoner in custody.
The examination by a magistrate is an official act, and must be
done as well with due solemnity, as with an observance of every
form proper to prevent intimidation or surprise. A confession to a
constable, as well as to a private person, must be unattended with
any inducement of hope or fear; and it must not be founded on a
question calculated to entrap the prisoner: for instance, a question
which contains an assumption of the fact of guilt. But in no case
has it been ruled, that such a confession must be preceded by an
admonition to put the prisoner on his guard. On the contrary, that
was not deemed necessary in Rex v. Jane Richards, 5 Car. &
Payne, 318, (24 E. C. L. R.,) in which it was held sufficient, that no
inducement had been held out by the constable. Considerable expe-
rience in criminal trials, at one period of my life, enables me to
say that thus the law has been held in Pennsylvania. The arrest of
the prisoner without warrant was undoubtedly legal; but no ad-
Vantage was taken of the predicament in which he stood. Indeed,
he had Voluntarily confessed the perpetration of the act before he
vas arrested ; and the subsequent inguiry by the witness, who had
4m in charge, had regard only to the circumstances. Whatever
he said in reply to the question thus put, may undoubtedly be
given in evidence to affect him.
Vou. IV 34 Zz
*LNQT-Ez-] f*ed Setyudtepetryud ‘sepan ostm a0y pesuey *TG feqtum ‘seTaeyO “SUFISOW
aii
AE ee I OMNES EEN sae be en a a
Fe
RS
ate ees at
he
266 __ILADELPHIA, DECEMBER TERM, 1846.
The evidence being closed, after arguments by Stokes, and Read,
attorney-general, for the Commonwealth, and Barnes and Barton,
for the defence, the jury were charged as follows:
Nov. 20. Gisson, C. J.—The fact of killing is not denied. Twa
points of defence have been set up: the first, that of insanity, imply-
ing an entire deprivation, on the part of the prisoner, of the power of
self-control, and constituting a complete defence to the charge ; the
second, that of temporary fury induced by adequate provocation,
‘reducing the offence to manslaughter. The first, if sustained, will
acquit him altogether ; the second, while acquitting hia of murder,
will leave him guilty of manslaughter.
Insanity is mental or moral; the latter being sometimes called
homicidal mania, and properly so. It is my purpose to deliver to
you the law on this ground of defence, and not to press upon your
consideration, at least to an unusual degree, the circumstances of
the present case on which the law acts.
A man may be mad on all subjects; and then, though he may
have glimmerings of reason, he is not a responsible agent. This is
general insanity; but if it be not so great in its extent or degree as
to blind him to the nature and consequences of his moral duty, it is
no defence to an accusation of crime. It must be so great as entirely
to destroy his perception of right and wrong; and it is not until that
perception is thus destroyed, that he ceases to be responsible. It
must amount to delusion or hallucination, controlling his will, and
making the commission of the act, in his apprehension, a duty of
overruling necessity. The most apt illustration of the latter is the
perverted sense of religious obligation which has caused men some-
times to sacrifice their wives and children.
Partial insanity is confined to a particular subject, the man being
sane on every other. In that species of madness, it is plain that he
is a responsible agent, if he were not instigated by his madness to
perpetrate the act. He continues to be a legitimate subject of pun-
ishment, although he may have been labouring under a moral obli-
quity of perception, as much so as if he were merely labouring under
an obliquity of vision. A man whose mind squints, unless impellec
to crime by this very mental obliquity, is as much amenable to pun-
ishment as one whose eye squints. On this point there has been ¢
mistake, as melancholy as it is popular. It has been announced by
learned doctors, that if a man has the least taint of insanity entering
into his mental structure, it discharges him of all responsibility te
the laws. To this monstrous error may be traced both the fecundity
COMMONWEALTH v. MOSLER. x07
in homicides, which has dishonoured this country, and the immunity
that has attended them. ‘The law is, that whether the insanity be
general or partial, the degree of it must be so great as to have con-
trolled the will of its subject, and to have taken from him the free-
dom of moral action.
But there is a moral or homicidal insanity, consisting of an irre-
sistible inclination to kill, or to commit some other particular offence.
There may be an unseen ligament pressing on the mind, drawing it
to consequences which it sees, but cannot avoid, and placing it under
a coercion, which, while its results are clearly perceived, is incapable
of resistance. The doctrine which acknowledges this mania is dan-
gerous in its relations, and can be recognised only in the clearest
cases. It ought to be shown to have been habitual, or at least to
have evinced itself in more than a single instance. It is seldom
directed against a particular individual; but that it may be so, is
proved by the case of the young woman who was deluded by an
irresistible impulse to destroy her child, though aware of the heinous
nature of the act. The frequency of this constitutional malady is
fortunately small, and it is better to confine it within the strictest
limits. If juries were to allow it as a general motive, operating in
cases of this character, its recognition would destroy social order as
well as personal safety. To establish it as a justification in any par-
ticular case, it is necessary either to show, by clear proofs, its con-
temporaneous existence evinced by present circumstances, or the
existence of an habitual tendency developed in previous cases, be-
coming in itself a second nature. Now what is the evidence of
mental insanity in this particular case?
1. The prisoner’s counsel rely on his behaviour, appearance, and
exclamations at the time of the act, or immediately after it. Accord-
ing to one witness, his conduct was that of reckless determination,
evincing an unsound mind. «<I do it,’? he repeated three times, it
is said, like a raving maniac. But you must recollect that, to com-
mit murder, a man must be wound up toa high pitch of excitement.
None but a butcher, by trade, could go about it with circumspec-
tion and coolness. ‘The emotion shown by the prisoner was not
exiraordinary. He seemed to know the consequences of his act
—Was under no delusion—and was self-possessed enough to find a
reason for the act, that reason being her alleged ill-treatment.
2. It is urged that the want of motive is evidence of insanity. If
a motive were to be necessarily proved by the Commonwealth, it is
shown in this case by the prisoner’s own declaration ; but a motive
need not always be shown—it may be secret; and to hold every
SLOT: OEY
pe
h Nafus in an
{ us to Nanti-
Chick’s Auto
e place where
ery.
ind I asked him
» had sold it to
erks in the store
that he didn’t
there. Then the
‘ed a man.
imediately told
scomer was the
2 man, Joseph
ed that he was
ye store.
iad bought the
lays before the
a special trip
th. A checkup
made the trip
take us to the
nught the wire.
mouth and we
m, waiting for
o stop. Finally
added: “If that
‘ire in the. base-
ought it.”
the car and en-
walked down to
he very counter
d. It was New-
Sarah George as
the wire to him.
go to the Trues-
»w us how the
red. He had no
cription Big Joe
4s over the same
where the bat-
He crouched be-
imatic pose, and
position he was
: coming of the
Wyoming Bar-
rival there, | was
al suspect Nafus
zen picked up.
lue handkerchief
seeing that hand-
e’s possession the
train. He waved
namiting the pay
continued.
elf say what you
1 the money, that
take it with you
hide itp”
» take the box as
then hide it?”
id the Truesdale
y previous to the
2p”
money box was
get the dynamite
in the explosion?”
he mines at Ply-
for a long time.’
he hanger or pole
ss; was that used
~ July, 1933
Harry Powell of Wilkes-Barre, Penn-
sylvania, motorman of the lockie, who
miraculously escaped death when his
train was blown up
for any purpose in your dynamiting
lot ?”
. “When the motor got even with that
we were to touch the battery to blow
it up, but the motor got past it.”
hat was enough for the present
from Nafus, and [| had him removed
into another room. P
Big Joe then was brought into my
office and also the additional yout
named by Nafus as having had a part
in the dynamiting. I asked Big Joe
whether or not this young man had
been in the car on the day of the out-
rage.
“No, that kid wasn’t in it,” he told me.
Strange. Nafus had said he was
there.
The youth was taken from my office
_and Nafus was brought back. I asked
Bi poe to tell his story over again.
on e proceeded giving the same de-
tails as he had given persons Nafus
agreed to the story. Both insisted that
the men they had named had _ been
with them on the fateful day. Nafus
did not know that Big Joe had elim-
inated one of the young men.
ON February 23rd, I had Powell, the
motorman on the “lockie”, come to
State Police Headquarters and in his
resence I asked Big Joe if he had
heaté anyone shouting right after the
dynamiting. And he said he had heard
a man yell, “Hello, Roscoe,” |, three
times.
Powell asked him if he were not mis-
taken about the name as he had called
“Hello, Rocky,” three times. Big Joe
said that he could have been mistaken.
Two days later Big Joe made a
signed statement in the presence of
Chief County Detective Powell, Cor-
ere Santee, Chief of Police Edward
aycock, of Warrior Run; Trooper
Stanley A. Gabrysh and myself. He
again named Nafus and three other
young men as being in on the job with
lim, even though we had no evidence
maptiamne the three.
was puzzled at the insistence of Big
The
Joe on this particular point so again
on March 6th, I questioned him. He
made another statement, to which
Chief County Detective Powell was a
witness.
After it was typewritten and signed,
I had Nafus brought in and told him
what had taken place.
“He’s trying to put something over
on me,” said Nafus. “I want him to
read it.”
Big Joe read the statement, but
Nafus objected to the part where it
was said that he had placed the dyna-
mite under the track.
“] didn’t put the dynamite under the
track,” he said. “Joe did.”
“You stated that you put the dyna-
mite under the track,” I told him.
“Well if I said so,” he came back,
“then it must be right.”
I decided to make another test in re-
gard to the four boys held. I had them
brought into my office to face Big Joe
and Nafus.
I started out by saying that some-
one was going to the electric chair for
this crime, and if any of the men in
the room were innocent now was the
time to talk, I told them that I wanted
only the truth.
re Joe spoke up.
“*Fex’ (Nafus) and | had agreed, if
we were arrested for this crime, we
would implicate others, in order to con-
fuse the police, so that we might slide
out from under it.”
Nafus agreed with what Big Joe
said,
I was taking no chances, however, on
anyone slipping out of the clutches of
the law for so horrible a crime.
Master Detective
ON the following day, March 7th,
Nafus decided to change his state-
ment. In the presence of Chief County
Detective Powell, County Detective
Grohowski, Captain W. S. Hennig, of
the Lehigh Valley Railroad police, Cor-
.
Lehigh Valley Railroad tracks looking east from the “‘lockie” tracks. The ravine to the
shy
63
poras Santee and myself, he told how
e and Big Joe alone had planned the
dynamiting; how they had gone to the
colliery, not. by automobile, but by
street car; looked over the place; and
decided where the dynamite was to be
planted.
“We figured out how much wire we
thought it would take, but we didn’t
figure enough,” he said. “Then we
went back the same way we came.
Four days later, about half past five
or six o'clock in the evening, | met
Joe at Oxford Street (Wilkes-Barre)
and we got on the Hanover car and
went down to the end of the line. We
got off the car and waited a while as
It was not dark enough. After it got
dark we went up the path to the pow-
der house. | hit the lock with a piece
of iron, and Joe hit it with something
else. We knocked it off and went in.
We got a box of dynamite and put it
in a burlap bag that we found there;
then we carried it up over the hill to
the Valley tracks. I carried it first;
then Joe carried it; and we went down
the tracks to near the ‘lockie’ bridge
and hid the box of dynamite in a ra-
vine near a big stone, and covered it
up with some tin cans and stones.”
"THEN he told about the planting of
the dynamite about five nights later.
“Joe broke the box open and I took
fourteen sticks of dynamite out of the
box and put two caps on it. Joe dug
the hole under the tie on the ‘lockie’
tracks and I put the dynamite in; then
we hooked up the black wire and we
ran it under the track and down the
‘lockie’ bank toward where we were
going to put the battery in. Then we
covered up the dynamite with dirt, and
the black wire with dirt and brush.
Joe took eighteen sticks out of the box
and put them in the bank along the
‘lockie’ tracks, about fifteen or twent
feet from the other dynamite. We
right is where the box of dynamite was secreted
64
didn’t hook it up because we didn’t
have enough wire.”
On pay day they met again on Ox-
ford Street, Wilkes-Barre, and went
to the colliery. He continued his story:
“Joe hooked the green wire on the
black wire and ran the wire down be-
hind the tree. Then we dug a hole and
put the battery in, and Joe hooked up
the one wire to one side of the battery.
We went down the hill and hid for
about an hour; then Joe went up along
the ‘lockie’ tracks to watch when the
pay-car was coming and I went to the
battery. When the pay-car was com-
ing Joe waved the handkerchief to me
and as the ‘lockie’ got near the hanger
I touched the wire to the battery and
she (meaning the dynamite) exploded.”
AFTER the dynamiting they had
gone back to Wilkes-Barre on the
street car without a nickel of the big
loot they expected to get. But they
left behind them four dead men and
two seriously injured.
Not satisfied with that, they had
planned that four innocent persons
would pay for the crime, if they were
caught.
Big Joe Szachewicz and John Nafus
were subsequently indicted by the Lu-
zerne county grand jury. Big Joe was
the first to go to trial, and on April
4th, 1930, was convicted of first degree
murder with death in the electric chair
recommended. He claimed that he had
been working on the afternoon of the
dynamiting and that he was absolutely
innocent of the crime, but the jury did
not believe him. Nafus, too, had an
alibi. He claimed, when brought to
trial, that he had been gathering coal
near his home on the fateful day, and
The Master Detective
Captain William A. Clark of Troop B,
Pennsylvania State Police, in charge
of State Police activities in solving
this mystery, and author of this story
for Master DETECTIVE readers
had not been near Warrior Run. On
June 6th, 1930, the jury returned a ver-
dict of first degree murder against
him and recommended that he also die
in the electric chair.
Then started a long drawn out and
bitterly fought legal battle in an effort
to save the two men from death.
Both finally appealed to the State
Supreme Court but the decision of the
lower court was upheld, and on No-
vember 15th, 1930, for the first time in
the history of Luzerne county, two con-
victed slayers were sentenced simul-
taneously to die in the electric chair
at Rockview on March 3th, 1931.
They then appealed to the State
Board of Pardons for commutation of
their sentences to life imprisonment.
Their appeals were continued at both
the February and March sessions of
the Pardon Board. Governor Gifford
Pinchot granted them respites staying
their executions until May 25, 1931.
The cases were finally considered in
executive session, and the board de-
clined to ask the Governor to commute
the sentences of the two to life impris-
onment.
A final appeal was made to the State
Supreme Court through the submission
of after-discovered evidence. Affidavits
accompanying the papers were returned
to the Luzerne county courts, which
has the discretion whether to grant
rules for new trials.
Such rules were granted and testi-
mony submitted. On May 22nd, 1931,
decisions were handed down by Pre-
siding Judge W. S. McLean and Judge
W. A. Valentine, for the court en banc,
discharging the rules for new trials.
ON May 25th, 1931, both men paid
with their lives for the crime in the
electric chair at Rockview Penitentiary,
near Bellefonte. Big Joe was the first
to go; seven minutes later Nafus fol-
lowed. Neither of the men showed any
emotion as he was led into the deat
room. Neither of them responded
when prison officials asked if he cared
to say anything. Both were calm to
the end. The executions were the 210th
and 21lth in the electric chair in
Pennsylvania.
Pfaff recovered and was able to
leave the hospital on June 4th, 1930.
Minus both legs and otherwise maimed,
he is a wreck of the man he once was.
Solving Chicago’s Sensational Cabaret Murder
Hoffman studied Marcella; the girl
who got paternal spankings for stay-
ing out late! There, under grilling in a
murder case—
He talked in. kindly fashion to her.
“Your mother and father want you
to tell the truth, little girl, and this is
a very serious jam you've got into.
We've got most of the gang locked up
—and the charge is murder!”
Marcella paled. She was silent.
“Come in here and see a friend of
yours.” Hoffman led her into a side
room. The stage was set. Frank Free-
man sat there handcuffed, under guard
of two detectives.
“Oh, you’ve got Frank!” There was
a note of fright in her voice.
“Sure, the bird that led the gang into
the Beach View.”
The girl put the finger on Freeman
immediately.
“Ves,” she said. “He was the cause
of it all. He got us all into it. If, it
hadn’t been for him—”. Her voice
broke.
Hoffman — smiled. piomy Caplis
would be avenged, surely. He brought
a chair for the girl and called a sten-
ographer.
(Continued from page 13)
Marcella talked.
“Freeman got Jack Burlison'and the
other boys into the hold-up, after try-
ing to line up some other fellows to do
it. They made Dorothy Evans and me
go along just for fun, They said it
would be easy. Freeman made us stand
at the entrance with guns.
“HE had a shotgun when he went up-
stairs, with Jack and Nick and
Rocco and Frank. Tony was the
driver, and he stayed in the car. |
heard the shots. Then the boys came
running down and. said a cop had been
shot. We were scared and ran for the
car.
“One of the boys was excited and
said: ‘It wasn’t me that shot him.
Look, there aren’t any shells in my rod.
But it wasn’t me.’ Then he said: ‘I
had to shoot him or he would have
killed me!’”
Freeman glared at the girl, and
cursed. :
“Sure, tell all you know. Let’s get it
over with. Give me the chair. I'll
burn,” he said.
Burlison was led in, and while the
stenographer wrote her words, Mar-
cella identified him as taking part in
the stick-up.
“l’m_ sorry, ph she said, “But
Oey know all about it.”
onfessions followed in rapid suc-
cession. The stenographer recorded the
statements of Freeman, Burlison and
Dorothy Evans.
Hoffman now visioned a complete
clean-up .of the case, as the prisoners
gave the names and addresses of two of
their accomplices: Tony Pape, 1514 W.
Taylor Street; Nick Bruno, 2616 Au-
gusta Street. Marcella named the other
two as “Rocco the Barber” and Frank
Piazza. She did not know their ad-
dresses.
Hoffman again chose the hour of five
o'clock in the morning. Shortly before
that hour he took his “West Side” gun
and loaded it with chick cartridges, look-
ing fondly at its blue 67-inch barrel.
‘The only time you’re sure of finding
a gangster at home is five o’clock in the
morning he said to his squad-men.
Their car sped to Laflin and Taylor
Streets, while Hoffman and Hunt and
Laloski went on foot to 1514 Taylor.
The name “Pape” was scrawled on a
card on the door,
July, 19
Hoffr
opened
toed ir
around
door o
into tl
snappec
A s\
blanket
Hoff:
placed
the slee
“Ton
The
and he
beam;
cheek.
The
as the
ror, ar
shrank
blue st:
“Vou
“and )\
bed fo:
Tony
was dr
two d
to his :
Bureau
The
Hoffm:
of five
He ray
given
old m:
“Pol
THE
re:
“Wh
man a
“Ke
“Turn
Hoff
room :
did no
onawy
ready
The:
turned
dow, 1
Hofi
warm!
“Co
Vl sh:
The
Hofi
ne
62
_ 1 had Nafus and the three others
implicated by Big Joe rounded up.
Nafus, the father of three children,
was thirty-eight years of age. He was’
a small, wiry man with a shock of
black hair and shiftless appearance.
The others were mere boys.
All promptly denied that they had
any part in the dynamiting.
as Big Joe telling the truth? He
had admitted owning the handkerchief
not only to me, but also in the presence
of Chief County Detective Powell,
County Detective Grohowski and Cor-
porals Hess and Santee. He said he
knew it was his, because he had torn
the end off.
Big Joe had said that they had used
a car in making the various trips to
and from. the Truesdale colliery and
that Nafus had driven it. Nafus did
have a car but it wouldn’t run, None
of the others had a car.
Nafus could not explain where he
had been on the afternoon of January
13th. He had no job. The others
offered explanations of their where-
abouts on the fateful day.
On February 21st I asked Big Joe if
he would take me and other officers to
Warrior Run and go over the scene
with us, explaining everything he and
the four others had done. He said he
would.
THE trip was made by automobile.
I was driving and in the car also
were Corporals Santee and Hess and
County Detective Leo Grohowski.
I] asked him to direct the way. Start-
ing from Oxford and Division Streets,
Wilkes-Barre, he told me where to
drive and finally the Hanover road
was reached. This road runs right
along the entrance to the Truesdale
colliery. Big jee directed me to go to
the main road and to stop at a path
at the lower end of the colliery.
When we reached there Big Joe
started up the path. I walked a little
to the rear, and following me were the
other officers. Finally he stopped.
Fifty feet away was the powder house.
He explained that while he and an-
other of the men he had implicated had
stood at this point, Nafus and the two
others had broken the lock on the
powder house door. After the dyna-
mite was obtained he said that he and
his companion went on ahead, ue, over
the mountain to the Lehigh Valley
tracks. The others followed.
He then took us through a large or-
chard to the “lockie” track. The track
and road-bed had been repaired by this
time, and there was nouns to indicate
to him the place where the explosion
had occurred.
I asked him if he could point out the
place. He took twelve steps and
stepped on the very spot. —
I asked him in which direction the
wire had run and to what point. He
promptly answered, “South,” which
was as it had been found.. Then out of
several trees he picked the one behind
which the battery had been hidden. He
showed the officers where limbs of trees
had been broken off to make the bar-
ricade, and also led us into the little
ravine where the box of dynamite had
The Master Detective
been uncovered alongside the railroad
tracks.
I] questioned him as to how he had
hidden the box, and he said in a bur-
lap bag. This, too, was the way it had
been found.
The reader will remember that there
were two kinds of wire used to con-
nect the battery and the dynamite.
When I asked him where he had ‘ob-
tained the wire, he asked: “The black
wire?” And he pointed to the rock
dump.
Big Joe appeared anxious to geto
everything off his chest. He pointed
out the different places where he said
the several conspirators had been sta-
tioned.
He told how four had run away
after the explosion while he walked
up to the place where the dynamiting
had occurred. He viewed the bodies
lying to the left of the track, and saw
the money chest and the money scat-
tered about. He remained there until
he saw men coming toward him, then
he ran.
General W. S. McLean, Jr., President
Judge of Luzerne County, Penn-
sylvania, who refused the last appeals
of the dynamite fiends
Returning to State Police Headquar-
ters I again questioned Nafus; this
time about the green wire and the bat-
tery. He decided to talk, and his first
words implicated not only the men Big
Joe had named but an additional youth.
Nafus admitted purchasing the bat-
tery, and when asked how much he had
aid for it, he said $1.19. He also said
e had bought the green wire and had
paid ninety cents for it.
I asked him if he would take me to
the stores where the purchases had been
made. While’ the battery had been
traced, there was nothing uncovered as
to where the green wire had come from.
Big Joe had said he didn’t know. If
Nafus were guilty he would know the
source of that wire. He agreed to take
me to the stores,
The next day, February 22nd, Chief
County Detective Richard Powell, of
Luzerne county; Corporal Santee and
Hess and myself left with Nafus in an
automobile. He directed us to Nanti-
coke and pointed out Chick’s Auto
Supply Company as the place where
he had bought the battery.
We went into the store and | asked him
to point out the clerk who had sold it to
him. There were three clerks in the store
at the time and he said that he didn’t
buy it from any of those there. Then the
door opened and in walked a man.
Nafus saw him and immediately told
the officers that the newcomer was the
clerk. I questioned the man, Joseph
Mensavage, and he stated that he was
a part-time worker in the store.
afus said that he had bought the
battery two or three days before the
explosion, having made a special trip
by bus from Plymouth. A checkup
proved that a bus had made the trip ©
at the time he set.
Then I asked him to take us to the
store where he had bought the wire.
He directed us to Plymouth and we
cruised about the town, waiting for
him to tell us where to stop. Finally
he told us to stop and added: “If that
store over there sells wire in the base-
ment, that is where I bought it.”
All of us got out of the car and en-
tered the store. Nafus walked down to
the basement and to the very counter
where the wire was sold. It was New-
berry’s. He identified Sarah George as
the clerk who had sold the wire to him.
Nafus volunteered to go to the Trues-
dale colliery and show us how the
whole thing had occurred. He had no
knowledge of the description Big Joe
had given, but he led us over the same
route, and to the tree where the bat-
tery had been found. He crouched be-
hind the tree, in a dramatic pose, and
told us that was the position he was
in while awaiting the coming of the
auxiliary pay train.
We returned to the Wyoming. Bar-
racks and upon our arrival there, | was
told that the additional suspect Nafus
had implicated, had been picked up.
I produced the blue handkerchief
and asked Nafus,
“D? you remember seeing that hand-
kerchief before?”
“Yes, I saw it in Joe’s possession the
day we blowed up the train. He waved
it to me.”
“The purpose in dynamiting the pay
car was to rob it?” I continued.
“Yes,” he answered.
“Did Joe or yourself say what you
were going to do with the money, that
is were you going to take it with you
or did you intend to hide itP”
“We were going to take the box as
far as we could and then hide it?”
“Were you around the Truesdale
colliery on a pay day previous to the
dynamiting?
“Ves.”
“For what purpose?”
“To see how the money box was
fastened to the car.” ‘
“Where did you get the dynamite
caps that were used in the explosion?”
“I got them in the mines at Ply-
mouth. I had them for a long time.’
“You remember the hanger or pole
on the ‘lockie’ tracks; was that used
~ July, 193
Harry
sylvan
miracu
for any
plot?”
“When
we were
it up, bu
hat
from Na
i anot
ig Jc
office an
named b
in the d
whether
been in t
rage.
“No, tl
Strang:
there,
The yc
_and Naf
Big Joe
ant fo Pp
tails as h
agreed to
the men
with ther
did not |
inated on
ON Fet
moto
State Po
resence
eard an
dynamiti)
a man
times.
Powell
taken ab<
“Hello, F
said that
Two c
signed st
Chief Co
pores Sai
aycock,
Stanley /
again na
oung me
lim, ever
implicatir
was p
' Hery to the tunnel when the ex-
» of Glen Alden Coal Co. was in Scran-
Twenty-Two
trocuted Pennsylvania (Luzerne)
The. brutally executed explosion cost the lives of
Martin Burns, James Shovlin and Arthur E. Webb,
below, and permanently crippled Fred Pfaff.
4 Killed When
Bandits Wreck
Mine Pay Car
(Continued from Page 1)
Notch and adjacent municipalities
Sad by men who volunteered for the
task. ¥
The point at which the explosion
occurred is at the site where the
narrow gauge tracks of the ey
the right of way of Lehig
‘alley Railroad overhead.
The explosion which made tinder
of the heavy mine car torce the-lid
from the strong iron box containing
the payroll money and flattened into
tin-like strips the iron compartments
and trays. The topmost layers of
envelopes were scattered about the
scene. However, by a peculiar freak,
the bulk of the money was com-
Pressed into the bottom of the case
and was removed with great diffi-
culty, envelopes split and clinging
together with a cohesion not to be
secured through human effort,
offeri resistance to the attempts
of clerks to make a check-up.
Officials on the Scene
Brezinski was riding from the col-
jom occurred. He had come as
as Truesdale on his way to the
tunnel for his pay, when he took a
lft for the two-mile stretch.
George England, chief paymaster
ton When the explosion occurred, but
pospepes to ony nae was
grea! unnerv pening,
removing as it did one of his most
5 i asabannasstnasstendancicnmmnmeanpaseesssneasmmmene oe?
MARTIN BURNS JAMES SHOVLIN
FRED W. PFAFF
DYNAMITING OF PAY CAR
RECALLS PITTSBURGH CASE
Pittsburgh, Jan. 13 (#)—BShatter-)ed from the highway to the robbers
ing of a Glen Alden Coal Company | hiding place.
car by explosive & ne Wikes-| Evidence of the bandit car was
/truated iperdingies. Se. Webb. Mr.
-England was | - to make. a
mr
STARTL
—}
i\ ix
4
area 2 the simi-/lost after it had been traced into
larity to the Pitts! Washin
Pant Carnanve tian
SCTIVE, September, 1942.
? bs ?
ington county.” Several days Ra
RECALL ATTEMPT TO ROB
VALLEY PAY CAR IN 1914}
HE
and
20, \
late. Now
tugged imyq
as he lashe
the wooden
in to the wz
“Hurry i
called fron)
small elect:
coal cars.
Eight me
run. Webb
Powell and
the assista
Shovlin anc
sky, a mine
foreman.
“Okay,”
chest with ;
her go.”
Rain had
day and the
were wet al
ing to make
throttle gra
rails.
As they
which led t
vanced his
Suddenly t
plosion. Ri
motive stre
Blasted loo
car, this loc
two passer
safety while
and his assis
todeath at s;
ay ,not rec iT, Hl
, was a the
fa ° in the Masonic Bal, Home- ; 4 Ts aues i _The four men arrested were
pene Ee econ . “spore S in| jena
“Our Relations. 1th
\— War is fu
antagonism. |
(ares ot (oar eereehel MLL = fod
: vations of: lent, bi Co i .
| Porter said: beg Sa ee) callgys 19; rn praia
re commercial and Che rt
It ig not moncy alone, |
-but it is men, money and industrial
‘organization.; The lest war proved
} it. ones Osi war between .
nl be the pri sickle had
the sheriff during’ the},
e Court}
ary Slayer. .
Gecdted Blamips st
‘Japan and tHe United Htates ia im- ;
-Dosalble. mm j prs the within
'Y. S. ds Japan’s Best Customer. | Pai for Murder. ass -|a| few minutes after that) officer
TW st pped into &| restaurant oF lunch.
Ninety-t t h lk -
aerated ee ceat cele Oe | ee a
‘United Stat¢s ;. by year. ¥Forty- yxou HW 22, ALSO | ded with | towns-
9:
'elght:per c int of all Japan’s ex-
, ports comes ita this country. | Last ti ers. . Thoso nedrest
| year! $400,00).000 worth of goods apie ; into ged
Tim irections. .
gd been. accused by
were x toithe United States. In
| of moonshining — ac-T\:
: aban- pacer bays Jes
eae ‘The glider]:
It|@as court day in Albany. and the
{Srcaas. Tenax ro Tus Ga
ie wonaae "state: last year. Other eres rd wl hag FA. April 8.—
fy quarters | Cmmodities were exchanged in like | ™€n were electrocuted at thé R
pry com-| wapa Andi75 per cent of Jup- | view Penitentiary here this
he bieck | anese government officials ure silk
rally, they would not | Paying the death penalty for, crinjes five ‘or six jchildre
cent of the cotton
came: from the
tterson leaves a widow and family
Young Pat-'
ad Ross} owners. Na
: risk their fortunes in waging: «
he Pans |: Tse: thee fortanes ote vate hicn .] med. in, Padagaiphia and R terson was ninave fa a and.
ey, - om atc of heared sradian ing. One of the men, Grant A J whorg both jhave § fam es. :
or romigration question é. . ey
age ave international, law. pat aged 22, from Berks count), is. : : > “ige lige = with fh | tlew
s dou t can ust ; ; ne : ;
in calling ite law. it has we court, to have -been the “youngest bitso pod f “abba io?! | a Ae Be 8 bya it ol ing
and right Has no consideration— | ever electrocuted here. \ s AFAN } ats James F. Me
right is right. Entrance tnto the Adams was * convicted “of ‘gla fins the bot. A.
| nr
United States js not a right, but a this yea
privilege. every country has a | Policeman Henry Cc. Btoudt of Re ad : a : i A his year any
‘Cpattn Comer Page. Si
complete right to say who shall to; ndox
{institu-| stay out. eohere car been Gene ing, after the officer caught him, | si { eh ected |
ed by cra! ce and traffic ‘of fidials:| ;
It} was felt b ‘officiats| that : as oon’
he use of | xidcrable discussion about the ¢x- | robbing a store, A special effort |gotoleed
lof thost of the automobile: drivers!
; clusion t, but America cannot aas- 3 7
epod Sixth ve a Sgt rivow race. It an made to save him, there being 28, 193 id be ‘0
the |subway;
de | Who found it heeessary [to park ‘their{] Bix
hines in the downtown area fas! that have b
” Diamond assienjiate other races, but not t the, ‘names on! a petition to the Board) ue
stree ie
4
x the pro- yellow. ; aE: § ate enti eette :
eegover the Congressman ‘Porter then explained Pardons. | An’ appeal was also mi:
|e
spe shes Governor Jast week. fee ilidrize themselves with the jew co! pleted. ff!
rking code, | the number of” viola tention 'to the fact
3 pire hoy that talk and’ press comment tn Japan
viaduct. ]is redentful over the passage of: the Ux Makes NoC
o onfession.
tions will be radically decreased and.| for| Mayor And} Cofee
a| vaet improvement jn the t1 c lected by the elect
mjine busi-|exclusion act, but. sald it “was not
. Invited log much importance,” as most of the y ip walked to the ehair, at 7310
ditions noted. ecto a nore EE ee he declared, that t 4
2 have a@ moze placif 3
Sea into thel;eople in Japan believe the United | oclock and nine minutes later he i
of the Traffic (Bureau are completing, sider a bong issue Fy
gaing Com-/]States has the right to pass such ap pronounced / leas.’ Tho boily
claimed and wilt probably be we the work of ipainting the mrs ne election. yea | S44 + F
r of the act. | a ;
ng on telegraph A ; _
only “Neg aa to be completed rts i Urge ih Action .
king the] In’ painting a picture of aeates
the decision $f the disarmament con- “ that ‘on poles lo decks oP. J.
ference in Washington. As chairman Arams, who neither denled or | isle is perm frdm 10 = 2 eck | mbnner of
of the Foreign Relations Committee, mitted the crime. Protesting bis ry “|p| _m. for one hour jonty. i] the sub
r. Bigger] Congressman: Porter represented ‘he nocence and declaring that his “bne hour only” and “no wae discts |
j on
might bel srouse of ie betes at ese panion, ‘Violet Dickerson fired the shot} t - 10 a. } and 6 p.m.‘ a
Oe | meeting. |; ebb, : painted z je poles on are Boy
FY which killed iouis Hirach, \e, j f res ues cal restricted coed
jail and conditions, the: speaker said he was} to. Reading ‘for interment. The Rev
“doubtful if; the world appreciated” Schuldt _ was sptritual Avisoe
count .
y Navy Fisst | of ‘Defense. of Philadelphia,” about. a 4 te,
“The navy; is the first line of de-| Charles, Oefinger, aged 35, of Ph
fense,” -Congre n Porter ‘said.| delphia,, was taken to|the chair a} 7
“No nation would losing contro! | o'clock and eight rainutes Inter
cf the sea unless in time of impera- pronounced dead. Ocfinger
the prob-j lve need. This was shown by the ‘accused of shooting Hirsch when ihe
action of thd British fleet during 'the| was caught, in the act of robbia
World War,|when the German /ficet | safe fn the dowetry store about a yrar
attempted Jeave the North | 8e@.| ago. To his spiritual advisor, ithe Hev.
Their, were not to risk the] rather |A. N. Angelus, Ocfing a loomed ei tig
The |loss of one phip.” | i tl that let Dickerson fired the shot MG, April §—(A! P.)
d finally
a tonight p
new) “According to, the rei the con-|'and asj he led to the chair this
ference, Am was given five capl-] morning, ho| repeated the n.
tal ships, ae Britain a like hut} Mins Dickerson was tried ood ce
ifying and
e|poor laws. |The meas
drafted by the Poor Com
niand was submitted | jwhen 1 pase unless
ion “wal filed. cial bl BE ‘vote of the ning
n.
he
| ber and Japan three. In case of &| quitted. The body of Oefin
war between England and the United | ciaimed) and) will be* bu
| States, which I do. not believe! will prison cemetery.
‘lever happen] F:ngland would not risk
Toending her capital ships to America
Jas the effect of that 4greement) Bey
‘| “Singtand fwould keep her ships at
Lihomo for,t defense of her | own
‘| country an the He States hins
would also remain at home |!
fense of | territory. And |wit th
1 Japan giver Wut threq ships, nqither
‘| country 1d dare td send ita ships
ne } away and leave ite cogat unprotected
power of} from airsti , |neroplh id and | sub-
but the | marinas,” “ ¥ 4 sense}
PO Iago Foy » aig
oa § ee
|
bot
(Pa,
i} pure
, 1887,
M4). ag
‘f-
eld not
of guilt.
accused
charge
rape,
he mur-
as de-
gree of
i+
rminer,
‘Devitt,
fes, ali-
| murder,
I., and
KDP-
ae
). Co-
Nt
e
‘ herles
viladel-
young
re of
in the
a pur-
‘ile at-
or, the
F
7 pucw
fend-
he oth-
i be no
d by de-
ting to
The
“oncern
draw a
district.
Age,
‘he ju-
fondant
Ye was
mpt to»
nt evi-
the re-
‘uprop-
other
ne un-
whom
before °
ing da-
for the
im the
deed it
neeep=.
nee
a
a
»
I's.) APPHAL OW KARMMERLING 439
(VET A.)
tntion, although evidently not Intended to be
80 here.
[2] Defendant complains that. the district
attorney, in the course of his nddress to the
jury, improperly referred to the failure of
defendant to testify in his own behalf. The
prosecuting officer contends his remarks are
not capable of such construction, and that
what he actually said was that defendant’s
counsel, at the end of a two-hour speech, did
not deny the presence of defendant at the
store of. deceased for an unlawful purpose ;
namely, to commit robbery. The trial judge
understood the language used to be as indi-
cated by the district attorney. It thus ap-
pears that the reference was not to the de-
fendant himself and concerning his failure
to testify, but a legitimate argument to the
jury bearing directly on the main question
submitted to them, to wit, whether the homi-
cide was ‘committed while defendant was in
the act of robbing the store or its proprietor,
A somewhat similar reference by the trial
judge to the failure of defendant to contra-
dict the facts presented by the commonwealth
was held no cause for reversal in Common-
wealth v. Chickerella, 251 Pa. 160. In that
case we said (page 163 [96 A. 129]):
“Tha case was submitted without argument,
and in his charge to the jury the learned trial
judge said: ‘You have listened to the testi-
mony with patience, and it has been very direct,
and been delivered with much detail, so that all
the facts developed in the case must be clear
before your mind. There has been no dispute
as to the facts; that is to say, the defense has
not made any denial of the testimony as of-
fered by the commonwealth. And with that in
view it will not be necessary for us to go into
detail in analyzing the testimony in order to atd
you in determining the question at issue.’ It
is urged that this was error, as it was in vio-
lation of section 10 of the Act of 1887 (P.
L. 158), which prohibits. any adverse refer-
ence by counsel or court to the failure of de-
fendant in a criminal case to offer himself as
a witness. There is.no reference in that por-
tion of the charge complained of by the first
- assignment to the failure of either defendant
to testify on his own behalf. All the court said
and all that it intended to say was that the
facts as presented by the commonwealth had
not been contradicted, and it would be a severe-
ly strained construction of the act of 1887 to
hold: that this simple statement of the learned
court was an adverse reference to the failure
of the defendants to offer themselves as wit-
nesses. The jury could not have so under-
stood it.”
[3] The trial judge, in the course of his
charge to the jury, in distinguishing between
the words “intent” and “attempt,” said, “An
intent to commit one of the felonies to which
T have referred [rape, robbery, arson or bur-
glary] could not be murder in the second de-
gree.” Te might properly have gone further
and added; or in any other degree... It is
contended the words quoted took. from the
Jury their statutory right and duty to fis the
degree of guilt. In thts contention we do
not agree; the language objected to was used
in connection with a discussion of the dis-
tinction between murder of the first degree
and second degree under the statute. The
court used substantially the language of the
statute itself which provides, inter alia, that
all murder “which shall be committed in the
perpetration of or attempt to perpetrate any
arson, rape, robbery or burglary, shall be
deemed murder of the first degree.” In a
subsequent part of the charge, and in an-
swer to points, the court repeatedly told the
jury it wags their duty to fix the degree of
the crime, and that they had the power to
render a verdict of not guilty or guilty of
murder of the first or second degree.
Finding no error in the proceedings, the
assignments of error are overruled, and the
judgment affirmed, with directions that the
record be remitted to the court below for the
purpose of execution.
Appeal of KAEMMERLING.
(Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. Jan. 5,
1925.)
1. Taxation @=>493(7)—Price paid for coal
land held to overcome prima facie correct-
ness of valuation of land by board of revl-
sion.
Price paid for coal lands at a recent public
sale held to overcome, as evidence of market
value, within Act May 15, 1841, § 4 (P. L. 393;
Pa. St. 1920, § 20590), and Act July 27, 1842,
§ 13 (P. L. 445; Pa. St. 1920, § 20620), the
prima facie correctness of the valuation of
such lands by the board of revision, where such
sale was not shown to be other than a bona fide
one, and the land did not increase in value from
the time it was so sold up to the date of the
assessment complained of.
2. Appeal and error ¢=>1010(1) -- Supreme
Court is not bound by trial court’s findings of
fact not based on proper proofs.
Supreme Court is not bound by trial court’s
findings of fact which are not based on proper
proofs, or those merely giving expression to an
inference or deduction from that offered.
3. Taxation @=>493(7)—Evidence held not to
show public sale of coal lands was pretense
or colorable, to release owner from liability
for payment of just proportion of taxes.
Pvidence held not to support conclusion that
a public sale of coal lands was a pretense or
colorable, to release owner from liability for
payment of just proportion of taxes.
Appeal from Court ‘of Common Pleas,
Schuylkill County; Charles 1. Berger,
Judge.
Proceedings in the court of common pleas
to review the valuation nnd assessment of
the Board of Revision of Taxes for Schuyl-
por other cases see same topte and KEY-NUMBER In all Key-Numbered Digests and Indexes
Lee Fi
eA P= re > Oe Son—reray s
a:
Swersoere
ENS SRY =
OEFINGER, Charles, white, 35, elec. Pa. (Philadelphia) 1-6-1925,
488 7 ATLANTIC REPORTHR (Pa,
Statement of facts. The authority of the
agent, as stated in the agreed facts, was Iim-
ited to soliciting, receiving, and transmitting
of funds. He had no authority to make any
contract with the defendant, and did not
attempt to do so. He simply gave her a
temporary receipt which informed her that
a regular receipt would be sent to her signed
by the authorized officials of the company
after the funds had been transmitted to it.
The authorized ollicials were to accept the
funds and issue the contract in Boston. The
contract which was a promissory note was
dated and made in Massachusetts, and was
payable at the office of the company or at
any bank. Such a transaction is a Massa-
chusetts contract and governed by Massachu-
setts laws. Bank of Orange County v. Colby ;
Stevens vy. Norris; Whitney v. Whiting—
all above elted,
“If a note ia’ made payable at a particular
place, the law of the place where it is thus made
paynble will govern its construction; but a note
made and dated in a particular place will be
deemed to be a note of that place and governed
by the law of that country, whether it is ex-
»pressly made payable there or is payable gen-
erally without naming any particular place.”
Orcutt vy. Hough, 54 N. HF. 472.
In Shoe & Leather Nat. Bank y. Wood,
142 Mass. 563, 8 N. 1. 753, it was held that
a note made, signed, and by its terms pay-
able in Kentucky, although sent by mail to
the payees in Massachusetts, is a Kentucky
contract, and is to be governed by the laws
of that commonwealth.
The plaintiff's actions contain a count in
assumpsit for money had and received, but
he does not present in his brief any reason,
argument, or authorities in support thereof,
and it is therefore assumed and understood
that he waives that count.
Judgments for the defendants,
All concurred,
COMMONWEALTH v. OEFINGER.
(Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. Jan. 5,
1925.)
!. Criminal law @=>722(2)—Designation of ac-
cused as “man of the world” in argument not
improper.
Where accused was known by two other
names, and was admittedly living with woman
not his wife, whom he had recently met, argu-
ment to jury, designating him as “man of the
world,” held not improper,
2. Criminal law @=>721(3) —Argumont that
’ counsel did not dony presence of accused at
store of deceased for unlawful purpose not
reference to failure of accused to testify,
In prosecution for murder, argument to
jury that cbunsel did not deny presence of ac-
cused in store of deceased for unlawful pur-
pose, held not yilolation of Act May 23, 1887,
§ 10 (I. L. 158; Pa. St. 1920, § 21864), as
being a reference to failure of accused to teg-
tify in own behalf.
3. Criminal law @=2768(4)—Charge held not
to deprive jury of right to fix degree of guilt.
_ In prosecution for murder, where accused
was admittedly trying to rob deceased, charge
that killing while intending to commit rape,
robbery, arson, or burglary could not be mur-
der in second degree was not improper as de-
eve jury of statutory right to fix degree of
guilt.
Appeal from Court of Oyer and Terminer,
Philadelphia County; Harry §, McDevitt,
Judge,
Charles Oefinger, alias Charles Bates, ali-
as Jack Martin, was convicted of murder,,
and he appeals, Affirmed.
Argued before MOSCHZISKER, ©. J., and
FRAZAR, WALDLING, SIMPSON, KDP-
HART, and SOHARVDR, JJ, '
Ifarold B, Borneman and Thomas F. Co-
gan, both of Philadelphia, for appellant.
Samuel P. Rotan, Dist. Atty., and Charles
I. Kelley, Asst. Dist. Atty., both of Philadel«
phia, for the Commonwealth,
FRAZDR, J. Defendant, with a young
woman companion, entered the store of
Louis Hirsh, at 18283 Market street, in the
city of Philadelphia, admittedly for the pur-
pose of committing robbery, and, while at-
tempting to “hold up” the proprietor, the
latter in endeavoring to escape by running
toward the street was shot by either defend- |
ant or his companion and wounded to such
extent that he died six days later. Defend-
int and his companion each accused the oth-
er of having flred the shot, There can be no
doubt but that the crime was committed by de-
fendant or his companion while attempting to
rob either the store or its proprietor. The
only questions argued on this appeal concern
the refusal of the trial judge to withdraw a
juror owing to remarks made by the district.
attorney, and alleged errors in the charge, —
[1] In the course of his address to the ju-
ry the district attorney referred to defendant
jas a “man of the world,” This language was
objected to as being an improper attempt to.
prejudice or influence the jury without evi-
dence to sustain it. Under the facts, the re-
mark cannot be fairly objected to ag improp-
er. Defendant was known by two other
nimes. He admitted Uving at the time un-
lawfully with a woman not his wife, whom
he met in Philadelphia a short time before ‘
the crime was committed. Designating de-
fendant as a “man of the world” under the
circumstances was not a departure from the
hounds of legitimate argument, tf indeed it
was not complimentary in its usual accep-.
¢€-For other cases see same topic and KEY-NUMBER in all Key-Numbered Digests and Indexes
Se =o tet Se
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conte:
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on groundd phe legislature.’’? Considerable feeling and un-
pleasantness arose over the matter, but it finally died away and
1s now only remembered in a spirit of amusement and laughter.
Judge Scott was suceecded by Ilon. William II, Jessup, of
Susquehanna County, who was commissioned April 7, 1838, By
reason of a change in the Judicial District he was succeeded by
Ilon. ae: Kidder in the year 1845. Judge Kidder, by reason
of another change in the Judicial Distr r :
‘Judge Nathaniel Eldred in the year 1849, oe
Ifon. Nathaniel P. Eldred was born on January 12, 1795, in
Orange County, New York, but at the age of sixteen, ane to
live at Milford, then the County Seat of Wayne County. He
was appointed President Judge of the Twenty-Seeond District
@ January 27, 1849, by Governor Johnston. The Judiciary
wever, became elective by the Constitutional Amendment of
| 1850. Under the provisions of this Amendment, Judge Eldred
was elected to his offiee in October, 1851. Tle resigned in April,
1253 to accept the appointment of Naval Officer in the Philadel-
phia Custom Iouse.
George R. Barrett, a young lawyer of Clearfield County,
was appomted to fill the vaeaney eaused by Judge Eldred’s
resignation. Tis appointment was unpopular beeause he was
not a resident of the Judicial District. Ife declined to be a ean-
didate for election, and in October, 1853, James Madison Porter
was honored with the office.
In 1855, Judge Porter suffered an attack of paralysis, and
resigned. IIe was sueceeded by Thomas S. Bell, of Ghecier
County, who was appointed by Governor Pollock to fill the va-
Gacy. Ilis appointment was as unacceptable as that of Judge
eves :
: Judge Barrett, in 1855 announced his candidacy and was
| elected. He was re-elected in 1865, without opposition, He pre-
| sided over the Courts of Monroe County for nearly nineteen
_ years. Tradition deseribes him as a stately, dignified and
scholarly gentleman,
During his term of office the first capital case in the County
» grew out of the murder of Theodore Brodhead by William
q pie BS 2
_ Brooks and Charles Orme. Both were convicted of murder in
°18
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Bigs ecu teeiinaae seid Oa
en
the first degree. Judge Barrett’s remarks to these men when
ealled before him for sentence are of particular interest, in that
they disclose Judge Barrett as a man of profound religious be-
liefs and convictions. <A portion of the remarks are as follows:
‘‘There is but one thing for you to do in this your
hour of extremity. Go back to your cells and engage
in secret, earnest and devout prayer to Almighty God.
He alone ean grant you the pardon you most need;
with Him there is hope even for you. Read and study
your Bibles; confess your sins to Ilim; implore IJis
merey; look to Him and to Tim alone. When you
leave this world you must enter upon eternity! . This
life is at best but a brief period; Eternity is unend-
ing. Seek for God’s favor that you may meet the re-
deemed in Heaven. It only remains for us to pass
upon you the sentence of the Law, which is:
Sentence
‘““That you, William Brooks, be taken to the jail
of Monroe County from whence you came, and from
thence to the place of execution within the walls or
yard of said jail, and there be hanged by the neek until
you are dead. And may God have merey on your
soul,’’
Identical sentence was passed upon Charles Orme. Brooks
escaped but Orme was hung in the jail yard by Sheriff Peter
Merwine on August 11, 1869"
A reprint of the story of the hanging as it appeared in the
‘Jeffersonian’? on August 12, 1869 is to be found in the edition
of the same paper, published Thursday, December 18, 1902. The
Stroudsburg Times in the edition of Thursday, February 26,
1903, earries the pictures of both Brooks and Orme and also
of Charles Grether, who was the second and last person hung
for murder in this County.
‘The following ‘‘Lament’’ appeared in the ‘‘Jeffersonian”’
in 1869, by Peter Merwine, Sheriff:
‘*Sad and gloomy was the
Town of Stroudsburg the day
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Carefully they went over the entire
house, upstairs and down. The bedrooms
had been ransacked thoroughly. Sheets
and other bedclothing had been tossed
haphazardly on the floor. Closets were
emptied of their contents.
In grim silence, the two men made
their way down the stairs. There they
found that Sheriff Fred Lamberton had
arrived with Coroner Warren W. Wood
and District Attorney Burton R. Laub.
Wood was already busy with his pre-
liminary’ examination,
“Dead about six days,” he remarked
without glancing up. “This is August
5, 1945. I'd say the killing took place
sometime on July 31.”
“Was he shot?” Mehallick demanded.
“T doubt it.” Wood thoughtfully
probed the wound at the base of the vic-
tin’s skull, “I’m inclined to believe he
was struck with something.”
Sergeant Schauers grimaced. ‘This
looks like a tough one. The killers have
a big headstart.”
The district attorney grinned. “You
three musketeers solved the big Wilken-
son murder last spring,’ he reminded.
“This couldn't be any tougher than that
one,”
“We'll argue the point later,” Schau-
ers told him. “Right now I’m going to
find out why the murder wasn’t discov-
ered before this.”
CURIOUS neighbors, who had already
gathered about the grounds, were
quick to answer that question for him.
The Campbell home, despite its preten-
tious location, was kept aloof from neigh-
horing farms by heavy shrubbery and tall
shade trees. “We all know old Joe was
rather well to do,” several neighbors
volunteered. “But he kept pretty much
to himself and no one bothered him.
That’s why we didn’t think anything of
it when he wasn’t around for several
days.” .
Schauers thanked them and strolled
toward.the garage, which was located at
the rear of the home. Corporal Mehal-
lick’and Sheriff Lamberton were busy
giving this the once over. “Mrs. Van
Cleve said her father drove a gray busi-
ness coupe,” the corporal remarked.- “A
1940 Chevy.”
Schauers peered into the empty ga-
rage. “You figure it was stolen 2”
“Probably. But it’ll be found some-
where. The killers had no idea when
their crime would be discovered, and it’s
a cinch they haven’t been driving that
hot car around for the past five days.”
“Harrisburg can give you the license
number,” Schauers said. “Get in touch
with them and put out an alarm.” He
nodded toward a long, black machine
which had just pulled up in front of the
house. “Looks as though the identifica-
tion men are here.”
As yet, nothing had been touched,’
pending the arrival of photographers and
fingerprint men. Now, however, the
place hunimed with activity. Flash bulbs
flared in the darkened rooms. Experts
checked doorknobs, walls, furniture.
searching for forgotten fingerprints.
%
Joseph Campbell had put up a struggle
for his life. That much was evident. He
was dressed in overalls and denim shirt,
and was in his stocking feet. His hard-
heeled bedroom slippers lay across the
room. Beside the body was a pair of
spectacles, one lens ground to powder
under the tread of a heavy shoe. Mehal-
lick picked up one of the slippers, glanced
at it carefully. “Here’s the weapon,” he
called. ‘“‘Apparently they beat him to
death with the leather? heel. There are
still traces of blood and hair on it.”
“I’ve been talking to Mrs. Van Cleve,”
District Attorney Laub said soberly.
“Her father never kept any valuables in
the house, but she isn’t so sure about
money. Her last visit here was on July
22 and at that time he was expecting a
rather large sum of money through the
nail. He's also supposed to have a re-
volver in the house for protection.”
“It was probably stolen,” Sergeant
Schauers remarked. “We went over the
rooms carefully and it wasn’t about.”
“One more item to look for,” Laub
said, turning away. “I hope it shows up
in a pawn shop somewhere. The first
thing’ to do though, is get an alarm out
for that car. You fellows will attend to
that, of course.”
“There'll be an eight-state teletype
broadcast going out as soon as we check
the license number,” Schauers reassured
him. “And here’s. another angle that
might be worthwhile. A Williamsport -
car was picked up in town about a week
ago. It had been stolen and abandoned.
It's a long shot, but Williamsport might
know if any of their hoodlums have been
out of town for a few days.”
Laub nodded. “Better get in touch
with them right away.”
With the investigation moving into
high gear, the body was removed to
Hamot Hospital, where an autopsy was
performed. A report said that death was
caused by hemorrhage and multiple frac-
tures of the skull.
There were no other clues. The neck-
ties used to bind the victim’s hands and
feet, bore the same trade mark as other
ties belonging to Campbell, and it was
assumed they had been taken from an
upstairs rack. A few latent fingerprints
were found, but these were badly
smudged and valueless. The bloody
footprints served to indicate that at least
two men were involved in the murder.
As evening papers spread the story of
the brutal crime, a telephone call to Lieu-
tenant Bricker’s office, opened up the
first promising lead. Bricker immedi-
ately called Mehallick, Schauers and
Sheriff Lamberton, and passed on the
news. “
“Two young punks picked up a car
and left town,” he informed them. “The
machine was lifted from a downtown
parking lot and belongs to a Gerald
Saunders of Somerset.”
“How do you know they actually left
town ?” Sergeant Schauers asked quickly.
“T don’t,” the Lieutenant replied, “but
they were heading that way. A patrol-
~man stopped them for cutting in and out
of trafic. He remembered the license
number as soon as we flashed an alert.
Said the two fellows were just kids
about sixteen or seventeen years old.”
“Did he get their names?”
“No, but we have a good description.
This lead looks hot.”
It still looked hot on the following day
when Westfield police reported finding
the wrecked machine. The driver and
his companion were injured and had been
removed to a hospital. A can of acid and
When the fatal attack occurred, the victim was dragged into his house roughly then
beaten to death with one of his own slippers.
clearly visible.
The drag marks on the floor are
The lethal bedroom slipper, leather-heeled, is the one at left.
19
By Alan Fasnacht
HE children found the old
man’s body first... .
With the bouncing efferves-.
cence of 'youth, they jumped from their
mother’s automobile the moment it had
stopped in the drive, and raced toward
the big house set on a high knoll over-
‘looking the city of Erie, Pa.
It was a rare treat—visiting Joseph
Campbell, their 73-year-old grandfather.
A well-to-do industrialist, long since re-
tired, Campbell, whose philanthropies
were widespread, lived alone and farmed
for a hobby. His big house was a treas-
ure trove of childish delight. Always
there was candy and unexpected pres-
ents. Laughing and shouting, the boy and
girl danced across the porch and opened
the front door. The ominous: trail of
bloody footprints leading from the door-
sill to the steps held no significance for
them, In the unusual stillness, they found
no cause for alarm... .
Ruth Van Cleve, hastening after her
son and daughter, frowned thoughtfully.
Usually her father was on hand to greet
them with enthusiasm that belied his
years. But today, although she had
honked the horn loudly as the car swung
into the drive, her father had not ap-
peared. Wondering about the possi-
bility of sudden illness, the young woman
mounted the porch steps. Her eyes
widened as she noted the trail which the
children had passed by.
Then from inside the house came a
thin, childish cry. Little Barton rushed
PEPPERMAN, Rebert We, and WEST, John De, whites, electrocuted Pennsylvania (Erie County)
on March 25, 19,6.
FOOTPRINTS
STARTLING DETECTIVE MAGAZINE,
January, 196.
Evidence of haste was apparent in the footprints (circled, above) left by the slayers of
old Joseph Campbell. The pair arrested for the crime are being questioned by
Corporal John Mehallick, Sheriff Fred Lamberton and Sgt. Willard Schauers.
to the door. ‘“Grandfather’s dead,” he
announced. “And he’s all tied up.”
Lieut. John S. Bricker of the Pennsyl-
vania State Police listened carefully
when a desk sergeant reported the call
which had come over the phone from
the frightened woman. “That must be
old Joe Campbell,” he said. “Have
Mehallick and Schauers run out there
at once. And you’d better get in touch
with the D, A. and the coroner.”
Minutes later Sgt. Willard Schauers
and Corporal John Mehallick drove up
to the Campbell estate. Mrs. Van Cleve
and her two wide-eyed, silent children
were waiting in their parked car.
“Tt’s my father,” the woman explained
simply. “He—he’s lying on the kitchen
floor.”
The Campbell home was well fur-
nished, but the building itself was lifeless
and deserted. The officers saw the.crim-
son footprints on the porch and walked
carefully around them and through the
vacant rooms. In the kitchen, Campbell
lay on his side with legs doubled up and
bound to his wrists by several neckties.
A kitchen towel had been knotted about
his throat. Ominous splotches were
everywhere and the back of his graying
head was matted with blood.
“What do you make of it, John?”
Schauers asked.
Mehallick pursed his lips. “Dunno
yet. Robbery is the probable motive,
considering that the old man was pretty
well off. I doubt that a man like him
would have any enemies.”
The sign posts were clear whena joyride
' turned into a weird nightmare of violence
schol NGA ges !
set ised it ty) us
Campbell’s simply furnished bedroom was left in this disordered state. A wallet
containing money and a revolver were stolen here. Other rooms in the house were simi-
larly ransacked by the callous murderers who strewed the contents of drawers about.
and left on the front porch. These fel-
lows must have swiped it.”
The rear seat also gave up a number
of match folders with Michigan adver-
tisements. And Campbell’s Pennsylvania
license plate lay on the floor.
“They evidently got rid of that,’ Me-
hallick remarked. ‘'There’s a Michigan
plate on the back. No doubt lifted from
some car.”
These various bits of confusing evi-
dence failed to make sense. But their’
very lack of reason spoke volumes to
the Erie trio. For one thing, the get-
away seemed to be entirely unplanned,
indicating that the men had no. connec-
tion with an organized gang. The aim-
less driving, the territory covered, the
stolen groceries—all indicated that the
murderous duo had no particular desti-
nation.
“Just a couple of bums,” Sheriff Lam-
herton said disgustedly. ‘They left this
car without making plans for some other
means of transportation. They don’t
know where they’re going or what they
want to do, except keep away from the
law. And those stolen groceries—either
they didn’t get much money from Camp-
bell or they’ve spent it all.”
“They’ve probably spent it,” Mehal-
lick agreed. “What’s more, this type is
the most difficult to catch up with.”
Since the car was presumably aban-
doned in haste, it was decided to search
the shrubbery on each side of the road,
on the off chance that some incriminat-
ing bit of evidence might have been dis-
carded by the fugitives. But an hour of
fruitless hunting netted nothing more
than an empty milk bottle with a Michi-
gan label. This, in itself, was of no
value, }
In the West, thunderheads reared
DETECTIVE
themselves ominously and lashed with
dark, thickening fingers across the face
of the sky. Sheriff Lamberton cast a
wary glance at the gathering clouds.
“We'd better get out of here,” he warned.
“That storm’s coming up fast.” .
The others agreed, and redoubled their
efforts. So many disappointments had
been encountered during the baffling
chase. Was this to be the end? The
last worthless clue which would come
their way? Unknown and afoot, the
murderers stood a good chance of mak-
ing their getaway stick. There was not
a fingerprint nor even a vague descrip-
tion to connect them with their crime.
Several big drops of rain splattered
against the thirsty leaves as Mehallick
started for the car. Something white
caught his eye. He hurriedly scooped
up a small bar of soap and thrust it into
the pocket of his blouse as the rain began
to fall in torrents.
Inside the snug sanctuary of their
automobile, Sergeant Schauers peered
out through the streaming windows. “Of
all the luck!” he groused. “We might
just as well have stayed at home.”
Corporal Mehallick fished the cake of
soap from his pocket. “I found this,” he-
said. “I don't know if it’s worth any-’
thing.” iets
They looked it over with interest.
The soap was small and unused, of the
type issued by hotels to their overnight
guests. Stamped on the soft surface
were the words: “Republic Hotel, Bay
City, Michigan.”
Sheriff Lamberton said, “Our men
were driving all over Michigan. This
looks as though they had stopped at a -
hotel overnight.”
“They undoubtedly registered. under
phony names,” Mehallick mused. “But
there’s a thousand to one chance that:
two men traveling together like that
might be remembered. At any rate, it’s
the first decent break we've had so far.
Might as well play it out to the end.”
They drove into town, and Sergeant
Schauers wired headquarters in Erie,
advising them of this latest development.
He received instructions to investigate
the new angle. From Canton then, they
“4
oy
na
<2
2
se
2
roe
2
|
1h
A deadly tableau is reenacted on Campbell’s porch. Corporal Mehallick, in the door-
way, plays the victim, in the center is the man accused of wielding the slipper later
(his accomplice has his back to the camera), and at right is D. A. Burton R. Laub.
21
a crowbar were found in the car. The
youths identified themselves as Daniel
Passerotti and William Horst. Neither
would explain the presence of the acid
or the crowbar.
Convinced of the possibility of an
positively, when they reached the cor-
ridor. ‘Those boys might be dangerous,
but they lack experience. Planning a
bank stickup on the spur of the moment
with tools like that is almost childish.
The men we want are cold blooded and
ruthless. And they’re not amateurs.”
“T wouldn’t be too sure of that,’ Me-
hallick argued. “A pair of young punks
like this just might have pulled that job.
They could be green at bank robbery and
smart at something else. I’m going to
call the D. A. and see if they have a
record.”
From a downstairs phone booth he
called District Attorney Laub. “We'll
check their record later,” he was told.
“T want the boys held on an automobile
stealing charge, but they had nothing to
do with the Campbell murder.”
“Okay—” Mehallick was doubtful—
“but how can you be so sure ?”
“Campbell’s car has just been located
out in Canton, Ohio,” Laub informed
In his hilltop home, Joseph Campbell,
a retired industrialist, lived alone. Phil-
anthropic, his last generous act was bru-
tally repaid—at the cost of his own life.
early break in the case, Erie’s manhunt-
ing trio—Schauers, Lamberton and
Mehallick—drove to the hospital at
Westfield to question the youths. Horst
had a broken arm and other possible
injuries but Passerotti had escaped any
serious results of the accident. He was
surly and noncommittal when the officers
confronted them.
Questioned for nearly an hour, the
youths denied any knowledge of the
Campbell murder. Horst admitted
finally that they had planned to stick up
a bank, using the acid and crowbar.
When this information came out, Sheriff
Lamberton got up and left the room,
motioning his companions to follow.
“They didn’t do it,’ he announced
20
him. “A flash came in on it a few min-
utes ago. I want the three of you to go
out there and see what you can turn up.”
Sheriff Lamberton watched him quiz-
zically as Mehallick emerged from the
phone booth. ““Was my hunch right?”
he demanded. .
The corporal nodded. “One hundred
per cent. These punks couldn’t have
been in two places at the same time.
Campbell’s machine has just been picked
up in Canton. We’re to go out there
right away.”
Realizing the importance of their find,
Canton officials had posted a guard about
the abandoned car. “Everything is just
as we found it,” the Pennsylvania trio
were told. “Nothing has been disturbed.”
Sergeant Schauers tested the radiator
with his hand and found it warm. “This
thing hasn’t been here very long,” he
decided. “Have you had any reports on
stolen cars? I doubt if our men left here
on foot.”
“We haven’t had a car stolen in over a
week,” he was advised. “But there are
plenty of places in town where your men
could hide out. They’re probably in the
vicinity right now.”
A quick examination of the Campbell
machine showed that it had been driven
hard since the murder of its owner. A
film of brownish dust covered the wheels
and body. Sheriff Lamberton looked at
the door handle, noting the traces of
white powder which still clung to the
crevices,
‘You've checked for fingerprints ?”’ he
asked, ae
“That’s all we did do,” the Can- -
ton officer explained. “Theré were a
couple of smudges but nothing of any
value.”
Opening the door, the sheriff turned
on the switch and saw the tank was half
full of gas. He stepped on the starter.
The motor roared into life. ‘Probably
figured it was too hot to drive any fur-
ther,” he said, turning the key. “Won-
der where they got the gas.”
Corporal Mehallick grinned. ‘“There’s
a rubber hose and a funnel in the back
seat. A lot of A card motorists are
probably cussing these guys plenty for
siphoning gas out of their tanks.”
One puzzling factor was the presence
on the back seat of a large cardboard box
of groceries. This contained bread and
canned goods, all of which bore the
labels of a nationally known grocery
chain.
‘We have a report on those,” the Can-
ton officer said. ‘““Some housewife phoned
in that her grocery order had been stolen.
It was delivered while she was away,
STARTLING
= nt RE DIDE M lad EA OaPOES Say -w
MBP Eine. <
&
HE sleek, black car ground to
a quick stop in front of the at-
tractive cottage, and a second
later a woman was hurrying out of
it. She was handsome in a matronly
sort of way, but she was also dis-
traught and worried. You knew that
from the way she bounded up the
stairs, jabbed at the bell, and then
began pacing nervously the length
of the porch waiting for somebody
to answer the door. The only an-
swer she got was silence, a deep,
ominous silence . .. Finally she
tried the knob. To her amazement
the door swung open. With a
startled cry, she entered.
Inside a disturbing sight greeted
her. The living room, normally as
neat as a pin, was in wild disorder.
The rug w7s bunched in a corner.
The floor was littered.
“Father!” she called out. ”Father!
Where are you?”
Frantic now, she burst into the
kitchen. There beside the retriger-
ator, twisted and limp, lay the
trussed-up lifeless form of her
father, Joseph B. Campbell, retired
and respected industrialist of Erie,
Pennsylvania.
1 & was a little after four on that
afternoon of August 5, 1945, when
half a dozen state troopers, led by
Corporals John Mehallick and C. M.
Mathias, raced to the scene. They
were followed shortly afterward by
District Attorney Burton R. Laub,
Erie County Detective John Coates
and men from the coroner’s office.:
“Bludgeoned to death, undoubt-
edly,” remarked Corporal Mehallick
as he glanced at the pool of dried
blood on the kitchen floor. “Judging
from the amount of blood, he must
have lived quite a while after he
was attacked.” ‘
One of the other detectives, who
had gone out on the porch, gave an
» exclamation of surprise.
.
“This must have been a gang job!”
he said. “Look here! There are
three distinct sets of bloody foot-
prints leading away from the door:
One set may have been made by
Campbell, but at least a couple of
men attacked him.” -
“What a fight he put up, too!” ob-
served Detective Coates. “Think of
a man of his age almost holding his
own with two killers!”
Evidence of the furious struggle
that Campbell had waged lay all
about them. As they studied each
detail, they reached the conclusion
that the fight had started at the
front door, continued ,on the front
porch, then in the living room.
From the front door, two sets of
footprints led across the porch in
the direction of the garage, a small
frame building 50 feet east of the
house. The doors of the garage were
open.
“They took his car, so they must
have come here on foot,” said Cor-
poral Mathias. “Look at the door.
They tried first to pry the lock off,
but finally managed to open it with
the key. Incidentally, the lock’s
missing.” :
The coroner, who had been ex-
amining the body, announced that
Campbell, apparently, had died
from~two severe skull fractures.
“The mugs who did this were
pretty tough babies,” he added,
“He’s been trussed up expertly. And
they weren’t very gentle about it.
That gag in his mouth was almost
tight enough to choke the old ‘man
to death. The skull fractures seem
to have been made by some heavy
instrument with an edge.”
Detective Coates examined the
gag and the neckties which had
been used to. bind Campbell’s limbs.
The ties were of excellent quality
and had labels of local Erie stores.
He decided they must have belonged
to the victim, not to his attackers.
andes —ver-v; et
This is a tale of four cities in which a discarded
box of matches and a cake of soap help a pair
of sagacious sleuths solve a savage Slaying
BY WILLIS PRATT
One of the other investigators
pointed to the victim’s pockets,
which were turned inside out.
“Looks like they were after
money—but in a case like this you
can never be sure that’s the real
motive,” he observed. “For ex-
ample, it wasn’t necessary to kill
him merely to rob him; in fact,
you’d almost think that the hijack-
ers hadn’t meant to kill him, judg-
ing from the fact that he obviously
bled for a long time, probably for
some time after they had left. Yet
he couldn’t have untrussed himself
and summoned aid, even if he’d re-
covered consciousness... He was
bound and gagged too tightly. We
_ can pretty safely assume, therefore,
that they meant for him to die.”
Corporal Mehallick and one of the
other men went up to the second
floor and surveyed the disordered
scene there. There were no signs
of blood. The struggle had been
confined to the ground floor.
“The murderers were interested
in Campbell’s private affairs, evi-
dently,” said Mehallick. “Look at
all these papers scattered out on the
bed and bureau. That shows they
might have been looking for some-
thing besides money. Say, the old
man’s daughter might know who’d
be interested in his papers.”
“She’s still over at a neighbor’s.
She said she’d come back over here
to answer any questions we might
want to ask.”
A® they descended to the porch,
where. Detective Coates was
pacing off the footprints to get an
indication of the height of the kill-
ers, they saw the daughter walking
across the lawn toward the house.
She was still weeping, but making
a strong effort to compose herself.
“I think I’m ready to help you
now, if there’s anything I can do,”
she told District Attorney Laub as
23
it
On: the floor lay the twisted,
trussed-up form of her father
—to all appearances—lifeless !
(Specially posed)
CURIOUS CASE
OF THE
N SLAIN
| SAMARITAN
School and the by, <sity of Pittsburgh
to get the names of students studying
philosophy. In the case of the high
school students, they searched espe-
cially for those taking courses that
might introduce them to Nietzsche.
Twenty-four hours passed. Plain-
clothesman Louis Hamel of the East
Liberty Police Station, an officer with
a memorable number of arrests—
walked into the South Hills Sports
Center on Brookline Avenue. Arthur
Robinson, the proprietor, greeted him
with: “Say, Lou, you might be inter-
ested in something you might want to
check on.”
“Tf it has anything to do with the
sale of a gun to a young fellow, I am
interested,” Hamel replied.
“That’s it exactly,” Robinson an-
swered. “Last Thursday &@ young fel-
low came to my office to look over some
revolvers. He said he lived out in Oak-
land and that he wanted the gun be-
cause he was going into the Navy ina
couple of days. The more I of
this mysterious Amberson shooting.
the more I think that it might have had
something to do with it.”
“That sure sounds worth checking.
What was his name?”
ROBINSON got the sales records for
revolvers. “His name is William
Blader and he lives on Forbes Street.”
Robinson gave the exact address. “May-
be I should have been suspicious about”
selling him the gun, but he told what
sounded like’ a straightforward story
about going in the Navy. He said he
was a student at the University of
Pittsburgh.”
Hamel walked to a telephone and
called Headquarters. The information
was relayed swiftly to Inspector Maas,
who in turn had it sent to the detectives
checking the students at the University
of Pittsburgh. Word came back that
Blader was a student who had a decided
complex on Nietzsche’s theories.
Late that night Inspector Maas, Lieu-
tenant Pieper, plain-clothesmen Albert
Gans and John Kosloki entered the
One Souvenir to the Chair (Continued from Page 6)
Campbell near his garden,” the farm-
er related. “Both of them were eating
sandwiches. They looked like tough
g and were of about average build
and height. One combed his hair part-
ed on the side and the other brushed
his hair back. Both had black hair.”
E EXPLAINED that he noticed the
men particularly because he had
slowed down, intending to pay Camp-
bell a visit.
“But when I saw he had company I
went right along,” the farmer said.
He, too, stated that both men wore
dark trousers, and their shirts were
open at the collar. He estimated their
40
“What did you do with it?” Inspector
Maas demanded.
“J don’t know.”
It took another half hour of ques-
tioning before Blader informed them
that he believed he left it in a street
car. Then came the question about kill-
ing a man in Schenley Park. The youth
shrugged and said he knew nothing
about the slaying.
As the officers questioned him.
baffied by the ease with which he tossed
off his answers and the phraseology
used, they had in front of them the
report of Doctor Stanton C. Crawford,
Dean of the College at the University
of Pittsburgh. ;
[7 STATED that Blader was a part-
time student who had originally en-
rolled for chemistry, but who had
switched to philosophy and one course
in German. He was a firm believer in
Nietzsche’s theories and talked a great
deal about them. He was brilliant in his
studies and in high school had shown
intellectual interest in such subjects as
- bio-chemistry, paleontology and astro-
physics.
The piece of paper found in front of
the library, with the writing about
Nietzsche on it, was shown him.
“That is your handwriting,” In-
spector Maas said. “The few words
we had you write before establishes
that. It matches the writing on this
paper which was found near where the
man stood who shot Amberson. You
believe in Nietzsche’s theories, don’t
you?”
“Thus spake Zarathustra: I teach
you the Overman. Man is something
which shall be surpassed,” Blader re-
cited to them as if in a dream. “He
that prefers the beautiful to the useful
in. life will, undoubtedly, like children
who prefer sweetmeats to bread, destroy
his digestion and acquire a very fretful
outlook on the world.”
The officers looked at one another,
puzzled. Then Inspector Maas turned
back to Blader.
“Okay, cut out this monkey business.
ages as between 27 and 30.
At that very moment, Sheriff Lam-
berton was questioning Ray Matthews,
a local youth whom he had overheard
talking about the murder in a tavern.
It had been the Sheriff’s theory that if
the killer or killers had not left town
they might frequent a saloon, spending
there whatever money they stole from
Campbell. Matthews, who frequently
had had difficulties with the police, us-
ually was to be found in an Erie tavern.
He worked only long enough to earn
money for a spree.
“Why shouldn’t I talk about that
job?” he asked indignantly. “It’s all
over the front pages.”
a Walt io Ledd you what happened,”
Blader said softly. “Seeing that cell
made me change my mind. I—1I don’t
want to stay there. It’s better that I
tell you the truth.”-
For an hour the officers listened to
a confession so*bizarre and fantastic
that it sounded almost unbelievable.
Blader said he was from Brooklyn and
that two years before he had been a
— in a New York psychiatric hos-
pital. _
When he had completed his confes-
sion, a part of his statement read:
“At about 2.05 p.m. on October 11,
I bought the gun and then went to a
department store to the music depart-
ment and listened to the Scotch Sym-
phony by Mendelssohn. When that was
finished at about 5 p. m., I went home
by trolley car and unwrapped the gun
and put my packages down. Then I put
the gun in my pocket after loading it
with shells and started for work at the
Pittsburgh Playhouse. I left the gun
in my pocket and worked until 12.30
a.m., October 12, 1945. Then I walked
down Forbes Street to a diner and got
something to eat, and from there I
walked into Schenley Park to the rear
of the Carnegie Library. I took the gun
out of my pocket and tried it out.
a“ : WALKED up four steps in the rear
of the Library and fired twice in an
upward direction toward the trees.
Then I walked down the steps, turned
to my left and fired two more shots. I
held the gun just above the level of my
chest. After a few seconds somebody
ran toward me and then past me. This
person was a man and he was kind of
stooped over as if in pain. He ran to
‘the walk nearest the building and then
fell. I had started toward this man, but
when I saw him fall, I turned around
and went home and went to bed.”
Inspector Maas asked: “What did this
man say as he passed you?”
“Not a word. He didn’t utter a sound
as he passed me.” :
Superintendent Scott said: “I've
learned you are proficient in first aid.
Why didn’t you help him?”
He was evasive, however, about his
whereabouts for the past several days.
“T took a little trip,” he said.
He admitted, however, that he was
“right here in Erie” on Wednesday
night, but insisted that he “didn’t go
anywhere near that house.”
AMBERTON didn’t like the way the
youth was answering his questions.
It seemed as if he were hiding some-
thing.
“Maybe you'd better come along with
me,” the Sheriff told him. “I think a
little trip to the courthouse might do
you good.”
“I'll go with you,” Matthews replied.
bus terminal on Liberty Street. In-
spector Maas went to the terminal and
got the revolver and found $80 in bills
in his wallet. Blader denied that he
had taken any money from Amberson,
explaining the money by saying he had
drawn $100 from an Oakland savings
bank to buy a flute.
Police Superintendent Scott was not
satisfied with the confession. Blader
was taken to the library the next day
to re-enact the shooting. When Su-
perintendent Scott called his attention
to certain discrepancies in the direction
the bullets were fired, Blader replied:
“No, you are mistaken. I told you this
was the way it happened and this is
where I stood when I fired into the
bushes.”
AS HE was led away from the scene
of the slaying, he added: “This is a
frightful tragedy. I wish it had never
occurred. It was an accident. I wish I
was dead.”
The explanation for the disappear-
ance of the two-diamond ruby ring and
the gold watch came in an unexpected
way to Superintendent Scott. An assist-
ant’ Bertillon operator for the Police
Department had found the ring and
watch in Amberson's car—where the
victim must have left it for some un-
known reason—when he went out with
the technicians to examine it. When
he got back to Headquarters he was
stricken with appendicitis and lost con-
sciousness before he could turn the
articles over to his superior officers. He
was rushed to his home and days passed
before he was able to think clearly
again and tell of his discovery.
Meanwhile, Blader later indicated
that in his confession he did not tell
all he could. He declared that he had
justification for killing Amberson.
What that justification could have
been undoubtedly will be disclosed at
his trial.
The names of Paul Gold, Roy Kim-
berly, Jane, Ed Morgan and Dick Lawt
are fictitious to protect the identities
of persons not involved in this crime.
Read It First In
OFFICIAL DETECTIVE STORIES
“but you ain’t got nothing on me.
You're picking on an innocent guy.”
A few hours in the Sheriff’s office.
however, broke down Matthews’
bravado and he told the Sheriff an ela-
borate story to account for his move-
ments, providing a number of names
and telephone numbers.
“And while you’re checking my story
I’d like a lawyer,” he said.
Lamberton replied, “That won’t be
necessary, I’m letting you go. But I
warn you you'd better stick close be-
cause you'll be watched.”
Matthews’ alibi stood up, and Lam-
berton was convinced that he could
have had no connection with the brutal
jie eAL Gay, the automobile crack-
ed up on a bridge on the Spring-Mc
Lallen Corners Road three miles north
of Cambridge Springs. Neighbors who
rushed to the scene of the accident saw
" two men craw] from the wreckage after
the automobile hurled down a short
embankment. They had disappeared
into some nearby woods.
Schauers discovered from the reports
that there had been an epidemic of au-
tomobile thefts, and that in almost
every case when the cars were found
after they had been abandoned, they
bore plates not originally on them.
On Tuesday, August 7, a telephone
call came from police at Canton, Ohio.
Schauers listened attentively then an-
swered tensely, “We'll be right out.”
In less than ten minutes he had noti-
fled Mehallick and Lamberton.
Campbell's sedan has been found!”
he exclaimed. “Let’s get out out there!”
In another ten minutes all three of-
ficers were on their way to Canton,
where, on their arrival, they learned
that fingerprint experts had examined
the car but had obtained nothing but
smudges. The sedan, when found, bore
Michigan license tags.
The sedan, they learned, had run out
of gasoline on a side road and had been
discovered at the edge of some woods.
“I’d like to go to the exact spot where
you found the car,” Schauers told Can-
ton officers.
He and his companions were then
driven to the scene, and police pointed
out the painted lines in the road, mark-
ed by them to indicate the position of
the front and rear wheels.
Schauers trudged through the woods
for nearly a half hour. What he hoped
to find, he did not know. As he emerg-
ed, slapping at an insect attacking his
face, he nearly tripped headlong over
a stump, and as he caught himself he
noticed a tiny object in the under-
‘ prush. He picked it up and examined
it casually. He was about to toss it
away when he thought better of it,
for 2 foot or so away was a sandwich
wrapped in wax paper.
GAIN, Schauers studied the object;
it was a small cake of soap, wrapped
in paper bearing the imprint of the
Laramie Hotel, Bay City, Michigan.
Schauers pocketed the soap, then
paced off the distance from the spot
where he had found it to the mark in
the road showing the position of the
right front wheel of the abandoned
Campbell auto. He noted that the dis-
tance was less than ten feet.
The officers then returned to Can-
ton Headquarters, and a few hours later
headed back to Erie.
Throughout the journey to Penn-
’ sylvania, Schauers thought of the cake
of soap. Could it fit into the murder
puzzle, he wondered. And if so, how?
And while he was trying to figure out
some answer, he suddenly realized that
the spot where he had found the soap
was screened from the road by a cluster
of weeds: that it had been purely by ac-
cident that he had discovered it.
“Hey!” he exclaimed. “That bar of
other hot
fictitious
Meanwh:
thinking a
found nea:
recalled w)
about the :
talked to C
crooks wou
rants and
out-of-the-
And imme:
Canton px
question e
diners and
whether tv
eral descri}
have boug}
authorities
wives along
been founc
CHAUEF
the stok
vinced that
another le:
elderly ma
wondered >
had been :
gasoline f:
station ope
out ration
too, that :
fleeing fro:
not hesita'
other cars
rang. It wa
Bay City, }
“Sergean’
a good lea
ported. “W:
mie’s regist«
and we've :
sylvania ac
from Pitts!
port and o1
are five to
didn't give
tering unde
dresses.”
“We can’
we'll talk to
replied. H«
on the res
and Henry
D. West ai
of Williams
of Erie.
414 AORRI:
togel
and Pepper
Pranklin o:
liek. “And t
all had aut
find out wh
And anoth<
man seem t:
got—dark
black hair 2
or thirty. T}
and had to :
stayed one
baggage an‘
Schauers
excitement.
rapid-fire n
slaying. Undoubtedly the youth had
not cooperated with police because he
wanted to show his dislike of law en-
forcement officers,
Campbell’s maid had been located,
but the last time she was at the house,
she said, was July 30, She was unable
to go to the house on August 3 as she
had been supposed to, because of ill-
ness. This was verified. She knew noth-
ing about the money Campbell kept in
his home.
‘And so it went all Monday night.
More than a score of men were picked
up, interrogated and released.
And also, to add to the officials’ dis-
couragement, no sign of the Campbell
automobile was discovered.
MEANWHILE, Sergeant Schauers was
poring over a number of police re-
ports, particularly those involving
stolen automobiles, for the week before
August 5. One report intrigued him.
On July 30, an automobile was stolen
from the downtown business section of
Meadville, and witnesses reported that
two men in dark trousers and wearing
shirts open at the throat had driven
the car away.
The next day, the automobile crack-
ed up on a bridge on the Spring-Mc
Lallen Corners Road three miles north
of Cambridge Springs. Neighbors who
rushed to the scene of the accident saw
two men crawl from the wreckage after
the automobile hurled down a short
embankment. They had disappeared
into some nearby woods.
Schauers discovered from the reports
that there had been an epidemic of au-
tomobile thefts, and that in almost
every case when the cars were found
after they had been abandoned, they
bore plates not originally on them.
On Tuesday, August 7, a telephone
call came from police at Canton, Ohio.
Schauers listened attentively then an-
swered tensely, “We'll be right out.”
In less than ten minutes he had noti-
fled Mehallick and Lamberton.
Campbell’s sedan has been found!”
he exclaimed. “Let’s get out out there!”
In another ten minutes all three of-
ficers were on their way to Canton,
where, on their arrival, they learned
that fingerprint experts had examined
the car but had obtained nothing but
smudges. The sedan, when found, bore
Michigan license tags.
The sedan, they learned, had run out
of gasoline on a side road and had been
discovered at the edge of some woods.
“T’d like to go to the exact spot where
you found the car,” Schauers told Can-
ton officers.
He and his companions were then
driven to the scene, and police pointed
out the painted lines in the road, mark-
ed by them to indicate the position of
the front and rear wheels.
Schauers trudged through the woods
for nearly a half hour. What he hoped
to find, he did not know. As he emerg-
ed, slapping at an insect attacking his
face, he nearly tripped headlong over
a stump, and as he caught himself he
noticed a tiny object in the under-
brush. He picked it up and examined
it casually. He was about to toss it
away when he thought better of it,
for a foot or so away was a sandwich
wrapped in wax paper.
AGAIN , Schauers studied the object;
it was a small cake of soap, wrapped
in paper bearing the imprint of the
Laramie Hotel, Bay City, Michigan.
€chauers pocketed the soap, then
paced off the distance from the spot
where he had found it to the mark in
the road showing the position of the
right front wheel of the abandoned
Campbell auto. He noted that the dis-
tance was less than ten feet.
The officers then returned to Can-
ton Headquarters, and a few hours later
headed back to Erie.
Throughout the journey to Penn-
’ sylvania, Schauers thought of the cake
of soap. Could it fit into the murder
puzzle, he wondered. And if so, how?
And while he was trying to figure out
some answer, he suddenly realized that
the spot where he had found the soap
was screened from the road by a cluster
of weeds; that it had been purely by ac-
cident that he had discovered it. ©
“Hey!” he exclaimed. “That bar of
soap wasn’t tossed there or dropped ac-
cidentally! It was placed there delib-
erately.”
Lamberton was staring at him now.
Then, slowly: “I'll bet you're right.
When the ones who killed Campbell left
the auto there, they must have realized
that soap might be damaging evidence
and they decided to get rid of it. And
the handiest place was in those weeds,
Yes, Bill, I think you've got a real lead.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the murder-
ers used that car to get out of the State
and in their getaway they went to
Michigan, stopping at the Laramie
Hotel. Then, for some reason, they
must have headed back to Ohio.”
The officers told Lieutenant Bricker
of this latest development and he im-
mediately detailed Corporal Mehallick
to “get to Bay City. in a hurry.” Sheriff
ie volunteered to accompany
But where would the trip lead?
Bricker frankly was doubtful about its
results, for trailing two men to or from
a hotel with incomplete descriptions
was not going to be an easy task. Be-
sides, he realized, if the suspects
stopped at the Laramie, or at any
other hotel, they undoubtedly used
fictitious names.
Meanwhile, Schauers could not help
thinking about the sandwich he had
found near the cake of soap, and he
recalled what a neighbor had told him
about the two men who ate while they
talked to Campbell. A couple of smart
crooks would keep away from restau-
rants and would buy provisions at
out-of-the-way places, he realized.
And immediately Schauers telephoned
Canton police, requesting them to
question employes of roadside stands,
diners and grocery stores to determine
whether two men, answering the gen-
eral description of the suspects, might
have bought food. He also asked the
authorities to make inquiries of house-
wives along the road where the car had
been found.
CHAUERS went patiently through all
the stolen automobile data, still con-
vinced that somewhere in those records
another lead to the slaying of the
elderly man might be unearthed. He
wondered whether the robber killers
had been smart enough to buy their
gasoline from black market filling-
station operators who would sell with-
out ration coupons, and he realized,
too, that a couple of desperate men
fleeing from a murder certainly would
not hesitate to steal gasoline from
other cars parked at lonely spots.
On, Wednesday afternoon, August 8,
Schauers was busy conferring with
Lieutenant Bricker when the telephone
rang. It was a long-distance call from
Bay City, Michigan.
“Sergeant, it looks like that soap was
a good lead,” Corporal Mehallick re-
ported. “We've been through the Lara-
mie’s register for every day this month,
and we've got five names with Penn-
sylvania addresses. Two men signed
from Pittsburgh, two from Williams-
port and one from Erie. But the odds
‘are five to one that the boys we want
didn't give themselves away by regis-
tering under the right names and ad-
dresses.”
“We can’t overlook a single bet, and
we'll talk to all five anyway,” Schauers
replied. He took the names that were
on the register—Ernest L. Morrison
and Henry Nagle, of Pittsburgh; John
D. West and Robert W. Pepperman,
of Williamsport, and Richard Franklin,
of’ Erie.
MN AORRISON and Nagle registered
together on August Third. West
and Pepperman on the same day and
Franklin on the Fourth,” said Mehal-
lick. “And the funny thing is that they
all had automobiles. We’re trying to
find out where they garaged the cars.
“And another thing, West and Pepper-
man seem to answer the description we
got—dark trousers, no suit jackets,
black hair and both about twenty-nine
or thirty. They didn’t have any luggage
and had to pay in advance. They only
stayed one night. The others all had
baggage and were dressed better.”
Schauers could barely suppress his
excitement. He gave instructions in
rapid-fire manner and before he hung
up he tolt-the-Corporal; “I want to
know just-where all these fellows ate,
whether they bought gasoline, if they
tipped well and if they hung around
the lobby, went out or stuck close to
their rooms.”
The Sergeant detailed men to get
busy tracking down the five men.
Somehow, two of those names were
familiar, but before he could go to his
files, the telephone rang again. He
answered it, listened attentively and
wrote furiously on a pad.
4I@END me a_ photostatic copy,
please,” he asked, then hung up
the receiver and hurried to Lieutenant
Bricker's office.
“Two men registered on the Cana-
dian side of the Peace Bridge early in
the morning of August second, and one
of them signed himself as Campbell,”
he sald breathlessly. ‘“‘Buffalo police are
getting photostats of the registration.
Now, if the signature is in the same
writing as one of the five men who
stayed at the hotel in Bay City, we'll
be getting somewhere.”
The Sergeant hurried to the tele-
phone again, put through a call to
Bay City police, asking them to notify
Corporal Mehallick to obtain copies of
the signatures of all five men.
Within two hours reports came in on
three of the men. Morrison and Nagle
were respectable residents of Pitts-
burgh. on vacation now and headed for
Canada in Nagle’s automobile, a 1942
Buick coupe. Franklin, the Erie man,
was a salesman and it was established
definitely that he had been in Cleve-
land, Ohio, on August 1 and 2.
“That leaves us only West and Pep-
perman,” Schauers said with a sigh.
So far no report had come in on
them, but the Sergeant was positive
that those were the men whose names
sounded familiar to him.
He telephoned State Police Head-
quarters in Harrisburg.
Twenty minutes later he had his
answer. West. 27, and Pepperman, 29,
aye both served prison terms for burg-
lary.
Schauers was elated by this infor-
mation, but still he remained cautious.
The fact that they had criminal rec-
ords, did not necessarily mean that
those two men were connected in the
slaying. Perhaps this was just a coin-
cidence that would only confuse the in-
vestigation.
The Sergeant requested copies of
Rougue’s Gallery photographs. When
they arrived several hours later, he
summoned the two farmers who had
told of seeing the shirt-sleeved sus-
pects. ; ;
The two photos were mixed in with
a batch of other pictures when the
farmers viewed them, but after only
a few minutes both farmers Picked
them out.
4IT HEY'RE the two men that worked
for me,” one farmer said.
“And they're the fellows I saw with
Mr. Campbell,” the other farmer de-
clared.
Finding West and Pepperman, how-
ever, was another story. Though
Schauers now had good reason to be-
lieve they were involved in the slaying,
he knew that as yet he had no conclu-
sive evidence against them. If only the
handwriting on the Peace Bridge and
Laramie Hotel registrations would
match! If only he could prove that one
of the two suspects had tried to pass
himself off as Campbell in Canada!
And then came two important
breaks within a few minutes of each
other. Canton police telephoned to
say that careful re-examination of the
Campbell automobile disclosed a fin-
gerprint on the right door handle, and
a local technician announced that he
had succeeded in bringing up a thumb-
print from the soap wrapper.
Schauers decided to go to Williams-
port, himself, after receiving word from
that city that neither West nor Pep-
perman could be found.
He spent two days there, and picked
up considerable information. There he
learned that both men had been in a
local soft drink establishment on
August 8.
“There was a woman in here reading
the paper telling about the murder,”
the proprietor said. “She was reading
it out aloud and both these guys ran
out of the place. I thought it was
strange but I never put two and two
together until just this minute.”
And _.at a tavern, the proprietor told
Schauers, “Those two guys have gone
on a trip. They were in here the night
before and they said they'd probably
go to New York.”
Williamsport police put a watch on
their homes, but the men seemed to
have disappeared. New York police
were asked to look out for them.
Meanwhile, Lamberton and Mehallick
returned from Bay City, and a photo-
static copy of the Peace Bridge regis-
tration in Campbell's name arrived by
special delivery. Handwriting experts
compared it and the hotel registrations
and asserted that it was definitely in
Pepperman’s writing.
OREOVER, the fingerprint taken
from'‘the automobile door handle
matched West's and the print on the
soap wrapper was Pepperman’'s thumb
mark. But the two suspects still were
missing.
And then on Sunday night, August
19, exactly two weeks after Mrs. Van
Cleve discovered the body of her father.
Pepperman was seized as he ap-
proached his home in Williamsport;
and a few minutes later West was taken
into custody in a midtown hotel. Both
men had just returned from an auto-
mobile trip—in a stolen car. Lamber-
ton, Mehallick. and Schauers raced to
Williamsport, and the two prisoners,
realizing the weight of the evidence
against them, readily confessed the
brutal murder.
They said that on July 29, they had
been walking past Campbell’s house
when they decided to go in and ask for
a handout. Campbell had given them
food and drink. On July 30, they stole
a car in Meadville, only to crack it up
the next day. And then on August 1—
“‘We remembered Campbell and knew
he had a car, so we decided to steal it,”
the confession read. “We got to the
place around half-past seven and waited
around until dark, and about ten o'clock
we went to the garage. It was locked.
We only wanted the car, and we went to
some bushes and talked things over,
and we decided that we would cook up
a story to tell the old man.
“We knocked at the door and he an-
swered. We told him one of us dropped
a fountain pen when we were there be-
fore and we'd like to find it.”
When Campbell offered to get a flash-
light to help them look for the pen, the
two slayers said they pounced on him.
Campbell’s wallet contained only $60,
the men stated. They said also that
they stole the revolver which the vic-
tim kept in the house, throwing it away
later in Ohio.
They drove first to Windsor, Canada,
then went to Detroit, they said, and
from there went to Bay City, where
they stole Michigan plates from an au-
tomobile and put them on Campbell's
vehicle.
N THEIR return trip to Pennsyl-
vania, they abandoned the auto in
Canton, then hitchhiked to Williams-
port, arriving there on August 8. Later
they took the trip to New York, and
then on the 19th returned to their
home city where they were picked up.
As for the bar of soap, they had taken
it as a souvenir from the hotel in Bay
City—-a souvenir that was to send them
to the chair; then, when they aban-
doned the car, they realized that they
had to get rid of the soap also. They
knew that the officers would be able to
check up at the Laramie Hotel and, in
that way, backtrack on their move-
ments and past records. They thought
that by hiding the soap in the weeds,
no one ever would discover it.
West and Pepperman went on trial
before Judge Elmer L. Evans. On Sep-
tember 27, 1945, both men were sent-
enced to die in the electric chair.
Ray Matthews, Ernest L. Morrison.
Henry Nagle and Richard Franklin are
pseudonyms used to protect the identi-
ties of innocent men. The name of the
Laramie Hotel also is fictitious.
4|
SP Ae te,
inton protested.
em, you did a
° same as Mrs,
very complete,
>, You didn’t do
son the desk;
! at ease.
point out,” he
‘OU could or
‘cture doesn't
2 world would
proof of guilt.
¥ Sat back and
to excuse you
iS pretty sure
S particularly
a’t. No mur-
3 on trying to
‘e’S caught or
ay, the print’
> Palace, had
tion omitted
22 cut by the
‘he print was
differ from
the Palace
‘Sy error to
1. The ob-
en removed,
iin,
of you saw.
' Texas dis-
—played at
JU Saw, Mr.
‘er expect-
Realiza-
slowly. It
. Prentice
ed of mur-
ely by
safest,
d.
tammered.
our diffi-
ven up all
‘him. You
: the mat-
2and was
u wanted.
look like
eing seen,
face was
1 relent-
out your
it. Far-
than you
ing to do
‘ent with
to. He
lly. He
you re-
i'd killed
could—
the last
not see
ukilled -
ting his
ting. If
hink of
looked
faces,
.t burst
outh to
Sud-
ids and
county
‘e only
“arrell,
1e had
nervously drawn out his pocketknife and
was paring his nails when the showman
i Farrell had brushed past him
without a word and gone down to the
lounge, Prentice, angered by the snub, had
followed him. He ran into him at the turn
of the steps, as he was coming up. He still
had the knife in his hand. Farrell, accus-
tomed to the darkness and Seeing the knife,
misconstrued the Situation. He flung his
arms around Prentice, and the latter, sur-
prised and Panic-stricken by the attack,
lashed out blindly,
He struck Farrell with the knife, knock-
ing him unconscious,
The reasoning behind Prentice’s actions
from then on were not even clear to himself,
vive him, Perhaps he was merely follow-
ing the age-old instinct to conceal, however
foolishly, the evidence of a crime. At any
He was horrified, he declared, when he
learned that he had inadvertently strangled
him.
But the same fate that had made him
a murderer seemingly provided him with an
Prentice went on trial on November 7th,
1944, in the District Court of Judge Robert
tt Se Be creas joe ~-.
Lee Arrowman. Under the vigorous attack
of County Attorney Radford, his story of
that, although he was practically without
ready cash, he had promised several credit-
ors substantial Payments in the immediate
future only a few days before the showman
was killed,
In other words, there was strong evidence
of premeditation.
Moreover, a person who attempts to con-
for his act.
On November 23rd, the jury returned a
verdict of guilty, with a recommendation
for leniency.
Prentice was sentenced to forty years in
the State Penitentiary,
In conclusion, I would like to say that the
Palace is thriving under Mrs. Farrell’s man-
(Continued from page 21) thought it was
& good spot to ask for a handout. We walked
up the driveway and told the old guy there
that we were hungry and broke. He gave
us something to eat, and after talking for
a while we left. We saw that the garage
was padlocked, so we figured the old man
had an auto and we didn’t count on doing
much hitchhiking,
“We went back to Meadville and Stole a
car, but it was working lousy and we left
it in a farmer’s yard. We told the woman
we'd be back for it when we got gasoline.
Then we remembered about Campbell’s car
and it wasn’t too far away, so we decided
to grab it.”
The two men related that they had ar-
rived at the Campbell estate just before
dark, on August Ist. They waited until ten
o’clock before trying to get the car from
the garage. After they discovered the gar-
age was still locked, they decided to go to
the house and tell Campbell some story
that would enable them to rob him of his
keys.
“We knocked at the door,” said West, “and
when he opened it we fed him a tale about
one of us dropping a fountain pen when we
were there before. He said he’d get his
flashlight to help us look for the pen. That
was when Bob hit him. The old guy kind
of surprised us. He sure put up an awful
battle. We fought him clear through the
house to the kitchen, and when we finally
got him down, one of his slippers came off.
Bob held him down, and I hit him over the
head with the slipper. We didn’t intend to
kill him. We just wanted to knock him out
so he wouldn’t bother us. I looked around
for something to tie him with and finally
went upstairs and got some neckties,
“We trussed him up with them and stuck
a towel in his mouth in case he should
wake up. But he was pretty quiet then,
and I asked Bob if he was dead. Bob said
he wasn’t sure, and I got down to feel
his pulse, but I was shaking so bad [
couldn’t tell if he was alive or not. We
emptied his wallet of the sixty dollars that
was in it and then grabbed a screwdriver
to break the lock on the 8arage. After we
got the door open, we realized he must
West further admitted that while he was
in the room getting the neckties he saw
with two suits of clothes. They threw the
gun away, somewhere in Ohio. Since this
gun played no Particular part in the case,
the police made no effort to find it,
From Erie, the men had driven north to
Windsor, Canada, then to Michigan, where
The sixty dollars stolen from their victim
did not last long, and they ran out of money
the railroad detective.
From then on they hitchhiked their way
home, planning to raise some money so
they could continue their flight, although
they fully believed they had left no finger-
prints or any other clue by which the po-
lice could trace the crime to them.
On Monday, August 20th, both men were
taken to the Campbell estate, where they
reenacted the crime in detail for the Police.
They went on trial on September 5th, 1945,
and pleaded guilty to the indictment
charging them with murder. On September
Orin Waite and Elmer L. Evans sentenced
them to the electric chair, An appeal was
denied, and they were executed at Rock-
view Penitentiary on March 25th, 1946.
Nore: The names H. B. Meltzer, George
Colette, Edgar Linwood and Joe Conway, as
used in the foregoing story, are not the real
names of the persons concerned, These inno-
cent persons have been given fictitious names
to protect their identity.—Ep,
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refriger-
’ that had
he crimi-
carefully
ed. Two
ined, but
2d to be
ers, held
mn’s office,
is opinion
mitted by .
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the police
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igust 6th,
it was the
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the crime.
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Ley LEST as
they still stuck to their assertions of inno-
cence, but they were held pending fur-
ther developments.
On Monday, following the notice in the
newspapers requesting information con-
cerning the Campbell murder, a farmer
came to the State Police barracks at
Lawrence Park and told Lieutenant
Bricker that on Tuesday, July 31st, a
local character named Joe Conway had
come to his place and asked him for a
job. The farmer said that he had plenty
of work, but that Conway was quite un-
reliable because of his drinking. He
would promise to appear for work and
then fail to show up, so the farmer had
told him that he had nothing for him.
Conway then asked if he thought
Campbell would have any work for him
to do and added that he would-go on over
and inquire. The reason the farmer was
reporting the incident was that Conway,
who had appeared to be broke when he
applied for work, now seemed flush with
money and was spending freely in the
taprooms,
He was a well-known character in
Erie, and Shauers and Lamberton had
no difficulty picking him up on the street.
He was indignant at being accused of any
connection with the murder. He said
that he had approached Campbell on
Tuesday for a job; however, the old man
had nothing for him, and he had not seen
him since. He said Campbell had done
him a great many favors and he was
very fond of the former industrialist.
When asked where he had got all the
money he had been spending, Conway
claimed, with a twisted grin, that he had
“hit the horses” and made a “killing.”
But he, like Colette and Linwood, could
furnish no alibi for his movements on
Wednesday and he likewise was held
without bail.
Later in the day, a farmer’s wife called
the State Police and informed them that
One of the slayers demonstrates to District Attor-
ney Laub ( left)
ffs Wi
how he broke victim's garage lock
on the afternoon of Tuesday, July 31st,
two youngish men had driven into her
yard. Claiming they were out of gas,
they asked her if they could leave the car
until they returned with fuel. She had
given them permission; then, as the men
left the car, her suspicions were aroused
by their conversation, which inclined her
to the belief that they did not intend to
return for the’machine. After they had
been gone an hour, this woman had called
the Meadville police. On the officers’
‘arrival, the car was found to have been
stolen from that city, and the police had
returned it to its rightful owner. The.
woman described the men as being about
twenty-seven to thirty years old, roughly
dressed in overalls and dark shirts with
sleeves rolled up.
Motorists reported that gasoline had
been siphoned or otherwise stolen from
their parked cars. One man reported that
his gasoline tank had been completely ©
emptied, leaving him stranded.
On Tuesday, August 7th, Lamberton,
Shauers and Mehallick sat in the Law-
rence Park Barracks going over the case.
“What do you think of these three fellows
we have in jail?” Shauers asked.
“T’m afraid we still haven’t got our
killers,” Sheriff Lamberton replied
thoughtfully. “All three of these fellows
have been in trouble, but mostly for dis-
orderly conduct and stuff like that.”
“It’s these wild kids like Colette and
Linwood who are committing most of the
crimes today,” Mehallick remarked. “If
they were hopped up on a little booze
and out to steal a car, a lot of them
wouldn’t stop at murder to get some
spending money. We've had too many
cases just like that.”
Shauers nodded slowly. “But usually
youngsters like that would break under
police questioning if they were guilty, .
and we haven’t a single piece of evidence
as yet to tie this murder to them. I think
we have more on Conway than we have
on thé kids.” :
‘We haven’t anything on Conway,
either,” the Sheriff pointed out, “except
the fact that he is flush with money and
he went to see Mr, Campbell on Tuesday;
and we do know that people win money
betting on horses.”
“If Conway would name the man who
paid him his bet, it would do a lot toward
clearing him.”
“Yes, if the man would admit it, but
that would mean the pay-off man would
be walking into jail himself on a gam-
bling charge. He would never confess it,
unless Conway was in danger of going
to the chair.”
Shortly before noon on August 7th,
Buffalo, New York, police telephoned
that in response to the police broadcast
on the Campbell coupé, they had dis-
covered that on August 2nd two men in
an automobile had registered their car at
- Peace Bridge, which connects New York
with Canada. The name on the registra-
tion was Joseph B. Campbell. The in-
formant advised Sergeant Shauers that
a photostatic copy of the signature was
being forwarded. It was quite obvious
that the men who had stolen the Camp-
bell car were using his registration plates
and cards and had therefore been com-:
pelled to sign the name of the murdered
man. ;
It was only an hour or so later that the
Canton, Ohio, police telephoned Law-
rence Park Barracks that the victim’s
car had been found abandoned on a dirt
road a few miles outside that city. Sher-
iff Lamberton, Shauers and Mehallick
started immediately for Canton. On
arrival there, they were met by local
officers and driven out to the isolated
spot where the gray coupé had been
found. The first thing the police noticed
was a Michigan license plate on the rear
of the car. The Canton police had checked
In: reenacting the crime, one of the killers shows the Prosecutor
where revolver and suits were stolen from Campbell's bedroom
pipooning \
the engine number, to discover that it
was the wanted Campbell coupé.
The first act of the officers was to go
over the car thoroughly for fingerprints.
Fairly good prints were found on_ one
door handle, on the trunk compartment
and on the instrument panel. Other fin-
gerprints, which later proved to be those
of the victim, were found on various
parts of the car.
Inside the coupé were canned beans,
canned meat, bread and other foodstuffs.
Further investigation proved that these
articles had been stolen from an A & P
store in Canton. Also in the car was a
bottle of milk, the cap of which carried
the brand of a dairy in Lindsey, Ohio, and
match covers advertising business places
in various towns in Michigan. No guns,
blunt instruments of any type, or any
traces of blood were found. However, in
the back was a five-gallon can partially
filled with gasoline, a funnel and a sec-
tion of rubber hose, which apparently
had been used to siphon gasoline from
other cars. In the rear was the crumpled
Pennsylvania license plate that had been
issued to Campbell.
The officers attempted to start the car,
but then discovered the mechanical fail-
ure that was undoubtedly the reason it
had been abandoned.
“That empty tin can over there seems
to have a fresh label,” Shauers remarked,
pointing to a can lying in’ the bushes a
few feet from the road. The Sergeant
walked over and picked it up. “This can
hasn’t been empty more than a few hours;
the stuff is still fresh inside. I think it
would be a smart idea to search these
woods right around here.”
The other officers agreed, and the men
began to circle the area to the depth of
two or three hundred feet. Other empty
cans and two bottles were picked up.
Suddenly the alert eyes of Sergeant
Shauers picked out a small white object
lying half hidden under a bush. Bending
over, he picked up a cake of hotel soap
with the wrapper still fresh and clean.
On the wrapper was printed, “The Repub-
§ yf
fae | stasis y
District Attorney Laub (right) watches as slayers
show their position when first attacking Campbell
ve “
lic Hotel, Bay City, Michigan.”
“I think we have a find here,” Shauers
called out to the others. “This may put
us on the trail, Lamberton, I think our
best bet is for you and Mehallick to go to
Bay City and see if our men stayed at
the Republic Hotel there. Try to find
out what signatures they used.”
With the hope that the wanted killers
might have previous records, their fin-
gerprints, taken from the coupé, were
sent to the State Police Identification Bu-
reau at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and to
the FBI at Washington.
Orders were left for the stolen Chevro-
let to be brought into Erie.
Canton police were requested to check
delicatessens, lunch rooms and grocery
stores to see if the wanted men had
visited any of these places for food; also
to check at farms and isolated gasoline
stations to learn if they had tried to get
handouts or gasoline, in the hope that an
accurate description could be given.
The Pennsylvania officers returned to
their headquarters to find that Detective
Coates and Trooper Mathias had re-
turned from.questioning Meltzer, the an-
tique dealer, at his home in Cleveland
Heights, Ohio. Meltzer told the officers
that he had called on Campbell on Tués-
day afternoon, July 31st, and had bought
some antique dishes, for which he had
paid fifty-eight dollars in cash. He told
the officers that Campbell had laughed
about the transaction, saying the pay-
ment had come just in time, since he had
only two or three dollars and would have
had to get the money from the bank the
next day, excepting for this sale.
Shauers’ first act on his return to Erie
was to get in touch with the Buffalo po-
lice and ask if the photostatic copy of
the Peace Bridge signature had been
sent. He learned that it had been dis-
patched some hours earlier, so there was
nothing he could do but control his im-
patience until it arrived, because it and
the fingerprints were the only real clues
they had so far.
It was necessary that the officers make
Corp. Mehallick and Sheriff Lamberton stand
by while Sergeant Shauers questions killers
the trip to Bay City, but Shauers was
quite sure that the criminals would not
be foolish enough to sign anything but
fictitious names to the hotel register; if
they had stayed there at all. He realized
that it was quite possible that they might
have obtained the soap in some other
way, or that it had been dropped in the
bushes by someone else.
From the soap wrapper, the Pennsyl-
vania State Identification Bureau was
able to obtain a clear fingerprint impres-
sion, which did not match any of those
found on the stolen automobile. The
Sergeant now believed that he had been
fortunate enough to get the prints of both
slayers. It only remained to find out if
they had previous records. If so, the
State Police would at least know the |
identity of the men who had brutally |
murdered the aged Campbell.
The next afternoon, August 8th, Cor-
poral Mehallick telephoned from Bay
City, Michigan, and told Shauers that
they had gone over the register of the
Republic Hotel from the period of August
1st to August 7th. While there was no
assurance that the names and addresses
were in any way bona fide,.they had
found the signatures of five men who had
signed the hotel book during that period,
giving Pennsylvania addresses.
Two of these men had arrived at the
hotel in an automobile bearing a Pennsyl-
vania license plate and had checked in on
August 3rd. They were without baggage
_ and had paid their rent in advance. They
had stayed only one night, and so far a
could be learned, had not eaten at the
hotel restaurant. They gave their ad:
dress as Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
Two other men had registered on Aug:
ust 4th. They were from. Philadelphi:
and there was no record that they had ar
automobile. They had remained at the
hotel until the 6th. ;
The fifth man had checked in on Aug:
ust 5th and left on the following day. A:
he had made inquiries about train sched.
ules, it was assumed that he, too, hat
not been traveling by automobile.
- =. . on
que —~i eee
enn
2rton stand
ions killers
hauers was
; would not
iything but
register; if
He realized
they might
some other
pped in the
1e Pennsyl-
sureau was
‘int impres-
ny of those
obile. The
ie had been
‘ints of both
find out if
If so, the
know the
ad brutally |
L :
st 8th, Cor-
from Bay #
iauers that |
ister of the
d of August
ere was no’
d addresses
, they had
en who had
that period,
es.
ived at .the
‘a Pennsyl-
ecked in on
nut baggage
ance. They
id so far as.
aten at the
> their ad-
/lvania.
‘ed on Aug-
‘hiladelphia
they had an
ined at the
in on Aug-
agday. As
rain sched-
e, too, had
bile.
While this conversation was going on,
a trooper came in and laid a report from
the Identification Bureau on the desk in
front of Shauers. It was the photostatic
copy of the Peace Bridge signature, along
with other related reports. As he was lis-
tening to Corporal Mehallick he_ was
looking through these reports. Then he
interrupted Mehallick. “Just a moment,
Corporal—by any chance, did those first
two men who registered sign their names
Jack West and Bob Pepperman?”
“Yes, that’s right,” came Mehallick’s
voice. “But how did you know?”
“Because they signed their names to
the job. They are ex-convicts and they
left their fingerprints on their work.”
A dragnet for the two suspects was
now thrown out by the police. With their
identity known, the Erie County officers
believed it would be only a short time
until they had the criminals in custody.
The records disclosed that Jack West
was a 27-year-old hoodlum whose home
was in Williamsport. He had served
time for burglary in that town and Har-
risburg and the record of his Police
offenses covered the past ten years.
Bob Pepperman was twenty-nine, a
‘car thief and burglar who had been con-
victed on various occasions and served
short prison sentences.
The men had been associated while
serving time in the Huntingdon Reforma-
tory in Pennsylvania. :
Sheriff Lamberton and Mehallick re-
turned with the local hotel signatures of
the two wanted men. Handwriting ex-
perts compared them with the Peace
Bridge registration signature and de-
clared unanimously that Pepperman had
signed the Canadian card. a
As the days went by and there was no
trace of the criminals, the State Police
sent out fliers bearing rogues’ gallery
photographs of the suspects. When these
were shown to the farmer who said he
had seen two rough-looking characters
talking to Campbell-on the Sunday prior
to the murder, he unhesitatingly identi-
fied the photographs as those of the two
men he had seen. Likewise, the woman
in whose yard the stolen Meadville car
had been abandoned, declared that un-
questionably those were the men who
had left the auto.
On August 11th an authentic report
was received by the State Police that the
two criminals were seen in the neighbor-:
hood of Harrisburg. The efforts of the
police were now intensified to locate
these men. Two days later, the railroad
police reported that two bums had been
arrested in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania,
by a railroad detective and had been
taken before a Justice of the Peace, fined
four dollars and released. It wasn’t until
hours later that the railroad: detective
saw a flier and realized that he had un-
wittingly released two probable mur-
derers. : 4
No further trace was found of the sus- ;
pects for a week, despite the heightened
activity of the police. Then, on August
‘19th, a city officer in Williamsport recog-
nized Pepperman as he walked down the
street of his home town. He immediately
seized him and hurried him to. Police
Headquarters.
With this man now in custody, it was
only a few hours later that Jack West
was arrested near .a small hotel in the
same town. This arrest was a fortunate
break for the police, as only a few min-
utes earlier West had parked a stolen
Impassive and unmoved, the
guilty men stand in kitchen
where victim: was left to die
BRS he oo TT ne Ee TT nal apnipemmaguanioeeian ceed
automobile in which he and Pepperman
intended fleeing to New York State.
When Mehallick and Lamberton
brought the two suspects to Erie, they
denied any connection with the crime.
They held out for several hours, but
when the State and county officers con-
fronted them with the indisputable evi-
dence of their guilt, they broke down
and made a complete confession.
In their signed statements, the mur-
derers said they had stolen a car in
Williamsport on July 25th and, stealing
gasoline wherever the opportunity offered
itself, they drove around New York State
for days. Returning to Pennsylvania,
they had abandoned the machine because
they were afraid it was “hot.”
“We were hitchhiking around Water-
ford, near Erie,” Pepperman said, “on
the 29th of July. We spotted a house up
on a knoll that seemed to be pretty well
hidden, and we (Continued on page 85)
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