By MIKE THARP
AND CHITRA RAGAVAN
mericans love conspir-
A acy theories. Was there
a second gunman on
the grassy knoll? Did James
Earl Ray really act alone? To
the determined clutch of
antigovernment types, there
are conspiracies without end.
And they're reinforced, for
many, by a glimpse of demon
government’s hand in Ruby
Ridge, Waco—even the pros-
ecution of Timothy McVeigh.
Through its own blun-
ders sometimes, government
gives new life to old tales of
collusion and coverup. Until
last week, a country grown
increasingly doubtful about
the death penalty. was
near certain that if anyone
deserved to die, it was
McVeigh. Then came word
of the FBI foul-up. Incredi-
bly, six days before McVeigh
was to die by lethal injection,
the bureau admitted it had
been sitting on thousands of
pages of potential evidence—
interview reports, pho-
tographs, tapes. The omis-
sion forced Attorney General
John Ashcroft to reschedule
the execution of McVeigh. Now the re-
morseless Oklahoma City bomber is to die
on June 11. The nation, meanwhile, has
added another notch to its paranoia belt.
An unfortunate mistake, the feds say of
the FBI screw-up, but no big deal. None
of the evidence withheld would have
changed the results of McVeigh’s convic-
tion, prosecutors say. There was, after all,
a mountain of evidence, and McVeigh re-
cently told biographers that he had or-
chestrated the bombing of the Alfred P.
Murrah Federal Building by himself.
Legally, the FBI’s 11th-hour surprise
might not mean much for McVeigh in the
end, but it gives him a new megaphone to
make his case as a martyr. His lawyers say
McVeigh is “distressed” by the FBI snafu
and might fight a case that even he said
was over a long time ago. Delaying the ex-
ecution provides time for a new dissection
Timothy McVeigh is led into a building at Tinker Air Force Base under heavy guard on April 21, 1995.
®@ “Contrary to Tim’s statements, there were at least six and as many as eight conspirators. i
of the case. Delay will put new wind be-
hind those, including his former lawyer,
who insist that McVeigh had several ac-
complices. For conspiracy buffs, it’s like
the ballgame just went into extra innings.
For the FBI, of course, this is yet another
black eye. Any agency as big as the FBI,
and with as complicated
and sensitive a mission, is
bound to make missteps.
The Robert Hanssen spy
case, the Wen Ho Lee inves-
tigation, and the botched in-
vestigation of the 1996
Olympic bombing in Atlanta
all embarrassed FBI brass.
Outdated. But the McVeigh
case isn’t the first where the
FBI failed to turn over evi-
dence. It happened in the in-
vestigations of the tragedies at
Sketch of John Doe No. 2
A notch in the paranoia belt
The FBI's blunder in the McVeigh case delays his execution
BILL WAUGH—AP|
Waco, Texas, and Ruby Ridge, Idaho. Mo
broadly, many in the FBI have complaine
about the outdated computer system that
one of the principal reasons cited for nq
turning over the McVeigh documents. “
state of the bureau’s computer syste
and their ability to determine what info
mation they have,” sa
Michael Bromwich, a form¢
top Justice Department off
cial whom Ashcroft has aske
to look into the handling «
the McVeigh documents, “
extraordinarily poor.”
Those fond of conspirac
theories, however, are
likely to be real impressed I
the computer explanatio
Even before last week, the
were grounds to doubt t
government's assertion th
mw ty vw Re re Ne
w
FBI gaffe makes Mc
ideal for death p
By REx W. HurrKE
Associated Press Writer
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — Because of
the crime he committed, Timothy
McVeigh has been a difficult figure for
death penalty opponents to rally
around.
But the revelation of an FBI oversight
in his trial has transformed McVeigh’s
case into what abolitionists call a perfect
example of America’s flawed death
penalty system. .
“Tf with the scrutiny they had in this
case, they can have a bungle, then what’s
happening in the cases that nobody’s
watching?” said Abe Bonowitz, director
of the national group Citizens United for
Alternatives to the Death Penalty.
“That’s something that everybody
should be worried about.”
Bonowitz and other activists gathered
Sunday in Terre Haute for anti-death
penalty activities originally scheduled to
precede McVeigh’s execution, which was
delayed from Wednesday to June 11.
About 50 people filled folding metal
Veigh case
chairs at a Unitarian church to hear a
morning sermon about abolishing the
death penalty, then about 30 others took
to the Vigo County Courthouse to
protest executions.
Their numbers were far fewer than
the crowds of demonstrators that had
SF ——
enalty opponents
Cheri
Wallingford,
right, a member
of the Terre .
Haute Abolition
Network, sings
with others
before the Rev.
Bill Breeden
speaks at the
First Unitarian
Universalist
Congregation
Sunday in Terre
Haute, Ind.
AP
‘been expected to descend on this far
western Indiana city for what would
have been the first federal execution
since 1963. Still, abolitionists believe the
delay will help them get their message
across and keep the issue in the public’s
mind for at least another month.
men erie an Arenopl
‘Timothy McVeigh were
‘pared from execution next
eek, he might expect to
the rest of his life locked
8-by-12-foot federal prison
or 23 hours a day, with
the most spartan furnish-
virtually no contact with
human beings and just
our a day for exercise. He
endure that bleak rou-
65 days a year, for 40 or 50
with no hope of ever
ng another free breath.
ead, McVeigh will be
_ by lethal injection next
That’ s the sentence he
ven for blowing up a fed-
‘fice building in Oklaho-
_ ty, killing 168 people.
‘case presents the issue of
‘| punishment without
o mplicating factors that
iy attend it. He got a full,
, ‘ial with a topflight law-
fe doesn’t deny his guilt,
ot mentally handicapped,
e appears to have been
:tly rational when he car-
Sut the bombing.
Veigh, unlike many Death
‘amates, can’t claim to be
-ctim of racial bias. He
horribly abused as a
He’s not repentant, and
‘n’t found Jesus. And his
was about as shocking as
a imagine. So this is the
/ occasion to ask if we
r justified in premedi-
killing a convicted
al in the name of justice.
ticans harbor considera-
divalence about the
denalty and how it is ad-
red in this country. Illi-
_ yv. George Ryan has im-
», moratorium on execu-
~ }cause so many inno-
onle have ended up on
Steve Chapman
Death Row, and the Supreme
Court of Maryland has effec-
tively stopped them there for
the moment. A dozen states, of
course, don’t permit capital
punishment at all, and several
others haven’t seen the need to
actually use it in the last quar-
ter-century.
When it comes to the Oklaho-
ma City bombing, though, peo-
ple put their doubts aside. Only
two out of three Americans en-
dorse the death penalty for
murder—but, according to a
new Associated Press poll, four
out of five want to see McVeigh
executed.
But not all the orebiema that
go with capital punishment
disappear just because the con-
demned is one of the most de-
spicable killers in American
history. It’s still a grossly ex-
pensive luxury: A Duke Uni-
versity study found that every-
thing involved in putting a
criminal to death costs some $2
million more than just locking ~
him up and throwing away the
key.
The “ultimate punishment”
is a miserable failure as a
crime-prevention measure:
The Death Penalty Information
Center notes that homicide
rates, on average, are one-third
lower in states without the
death penalty than in the rest
of the country. The South,
which accounts for 80 percent
of executions, has the highest
jothy McVeigh’s execution will be carried out on May 16 at this Terre Haute, Ind.-based federal prison.
y we shouldn’t kill McVeigh
AP photo
“The problem is not that Tim-
othy McVeigh (above) dies but
that the rest of us kill.”
murder rate of any region.
The last resort of capital pun-
ishment supporters is to point
out that it at least prevents the
person executed from killing
anyone else. But in that respect
it offers no real advantage over
lifetime incarceration. How
many people has Charles Man-
son killed since he was locked
up? The chance that an inmate
sentenced to life without pa-
role will escape and commit
new murders is not small— it’s
microscopic:
Advocates of abolition, I
should point out, are generally
not motivated by a mushy-
hearted concern for vicious
murderers. If McVeigh were to
take a fatal fall in the prison
shower, many of us would be
happy to hear the news. For
that matter, it’s safe to say that |
even among death-penalty op-
ponents, not a single tear will
be shed when he is pronounced
dead May 16.
|
|
|
|
|
But that doesn’t make his ex- |
ecution wise or right. The
problem is not that McVeigh
dies but that the rest of us kill.
Selecting a specific individual
to be executed involves us-all in
a cold-blooded homicide that
we commit not because it is
tragically necessary—as kill-
ing someone in self-defense
may be—but because we want
to.
What makes the death penal-
ty appealing is what ought to
make it unconstitutional: its
calculated cruelty. We put mur-
derers to death precisely be-
cause we want to inflict need-
less suffering. Incarcerating
someone for life may be harsh
- forthe criminal, but it’s no
harsher than necessary to pro-
tect society. In the case of exe-
cutions, self-protection is
irrelevant. The point is
vengeance. '
Defenders say only execution
can satisfy our sense of justice.
Well, once upon a time, only
torture or drawing and quar-
tering or other excruciating
forms of execution could
satisfy people’s sense of
‘justice.
Sadism, fortunately, has
largely been abandoned as a
method of dealing with crimi-
nals. We should likewise have
advanced beyond the point of
thinking that the intentional
sacrifice of human life can ever
be a positive good. So far, we
haven't.
Steve Chapman is a member
of the Tribune’s editorial. E-
mail: schapman@tribune.com
ATION
5
a |
McVeigh
finds chink in
government’s
armor, sees
reason to live
By Rex W. HuprKke
Associated Press Writer
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. —
Preparing for his execution at
_ the hands of the government
he despises, Timothy McVeigh
, gave’ fellow death row
inmates everything he owned,
_ arranged for his body to be
turned over to family mem-
bers and readied himself for
what some saw as martyr-
dom.
He sat in his stuffy 8-by-10-
foot cell and waited.
Then he learned of an FBI
error, saw a chink in the gov-
ernment’s armor. Now instead
of waiting to die, the man con-
- victed of killing 168 people in
the Oklahoma City bombing
has found a reason to live.
“T would say he has some
new resolve,” said attorney
Robert Nigh, who described
his client’s. demeanor after a
meeting in the federal prison
here Thursday.
McVeigh’s attorneys have
filed court papers in Denver
and now await a Wednesday
hearing to argue for a stay of
McVeigh’s June 11 execution.
They say they need more time
to review thousands of docu-
ments the FBI failed to turn
over during McVeigh’s 1997
trial, and they hope to show
that the government’s mistake
could mean a new trial.
pee
McVeigh first since 1963, —
but 19 more inmates in line
By Rex W. Huprke
Associated Press Writer
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — The
planned execution of Timothy
McVeigh will leave 19 other
men in the cramped cells of
federal death row, all wonder-
ing if his fate will someday be
their own.
“There certainly is a psy-
chological barrier that will be
| passed on May 16,” attorney
Gregory Wiercioch said. “To
start up the machinery of the
federal death penalty after
it’s been lying dormant for
four decades. It may make it
easier for the next one to take
place.”
That next execution may
well be Wiercioch’s client. Juan
Garza, a convicted drug king-
pin and murderer, is set to die
by lethal injection on June 19, a
little more than a month after
McVeigh.
As Garza’s legal team fights
for clemency or a delay, Wier-
cioch said it was ludicrous to
compare McVeigh’s situation to
anyone else on death. row.
McVeigh was found guilty
of one of the most heinous
crimes in American history, the
Oklahoma City federal build-
ing bombing that killed 168
people. His fellow inmates are
guilty of lower-profile crimes,
most involving drug-related
murders or murders commit-
ted during bank robberies or
carjackings.
Fourteen of the remaining
19 federal prisoners facing
death sentences are black and
three are Hispanic.
All that, say Wiercioch and
other death penalty opponents,
points to a federal death penal-
ty system that is not being used
fairly or consistently.
“You've got a death row that
is almost all minority,” said
Elisabeth Semel, director of the
American Bar Association’s
Death Penalty Representation
Project. “What are the reasons
for that? The system is broken,
and the only way to ensure that
it gets fixed is to stop it.”
Anti-death
penalty
activists
Glenda
Breeden,
top, and
Al Branch
assemble
a large
puppet of
Jesus
Sunday in
Terre
Haute,
Ind.
joe em AP
McVeigh in good
spirits in final hours,
convinced he is victor
By. SHARON COHEN
Associated Press Writer
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — Timothy McVeigh count-
ed down his final hours Sunday in a stark isolation
cell, described as confronting death in good spirits
and confident he is the “victor” in his twisted one-
man war against the government. .
McVeigh spent the day in the 9-by-14 foot cell, a .
short walk from the execution chamber, writing let-
ters of appreciation and goodbye to friends as he
awaited death by chemical injection at 8 a.m. EDT
Monday. He communicated with family members
Saturday, his attorneys said.
McVeigh was sentenced to die for the April 19,
1995, bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah federal build-
ing that killed 168 people, including 19 children —
the worst act of terrorism on U.S. soil.
“He once told me that in the crudest of terms, it’s
168 to one,” Lou Michel, co-author of “American Ter-
rorist: Timothy McVeigh & The Oklahoma City
Bombing,” said Sunday on ABC’s This Week.
“He feels he is the victor,” said Michel, who will be
one of McVeigh’s witnesses. “He has made his point,
and he’s now going on to whatever is the next step.”
McVeigh attorneys Rob Nigh and Nathan Cham-
bers met with their client for about two hours Sunday
afternoon.
Please see Execution, 3-A
Execution
Continued from 1-A
“He is calm,” Nigh said at a
| press briefing afterward. “He is
‘| prepared to go forward. .
, i | Quite frankly, he is ready to
4
| die.”
___ Nigh also conveyed
_McVeigh’s regrets about the
| people he killed, but stopped
short of offering an apology,
saying his client has “struggled
_ with that mightily.”
__ He has “tried to express as
best he can that he is sorry for
_the deaths that occurred,” N igh
said. “That is not to say that he
doesn’t believe that he was
right.”
“I don’t think there’s any-
‘thing that he could say that
‘would ever make it any better
or would ever ‘reduce the suf-
fering,” Nigh added.
_ Chambers said McVeigh’s
‘mood was upbeat.
__ “He continues to be affable,”
the attorney said. “He contin-
‘ues to be rational in his dis-
course. He maintains his sense
of humor.”
| McVeigh was. transferred
from his 8- by 10-foot cell at the
US. Penitentiary to the holding
cell at 5:10 am. EDT Sunday
and secured 20 minutes later.
He was cooperative and the
/move occurred without inci-
dent, U.S. Bureau of Prisons
Officials said.
“He was able to look up in
the sky and see the moon for
the first time in a number of
years,” Nigh said. McVeigh, he
added, slept a few hours Satur-
day night and planned to do
the same before his execution.
The isolation chamber has
bare tan walls, a narrow bed, a
sink and toilet; a television and
a window that allows a guard
. inan adjacent room to check on
him.
“Watching the video of him
being moved was surreal,”
Chambers said in an interview
outside the prison. “Look
around us, all those people
gathered to watch someone
die.” ;
McVeigh had been sched-
uled to have the last meal of his
choice at 1 p-m. EDT, which
could be anything from a local
restaurant as long as it cost less
than $20. Prison officials would
not confirm if the meal had
been served.
In Oklahoma City, survivors
and victims’ relatives mingled
with tourists Sunday in front of
a memorial to those killed. Sur-
vivor Richard Williams, who
volunteers at the site, said he
felt a heightened sense of antic-
ipation as he approached the
area.
“I think I’m ready,” said
Williams, who was an assistant
manager at the building and
had to be dug out of debris
after the bombing. “I’m ready
for this part of the journey to be
over.”
In a Sunday service at St.
Margaret Mary Church in Terre
Haute, the Rev. Ron Ashmore
told about 80 parishioners to
pray for the families who lost
loved ones in the bombing. He
also asked them not to con-
demn McVeigh.
“If we approach people with
harshness, if we approach peo-
ple with violence — whether
it’s the violence of Oklahoma,
or whether it’s the violence of
what we reinstated in our
country, capital punishment ...
we create violence in our
world,” he said.
By late Sunday afternoon,
only about 75 anti-death penal-
ty activists embarked on a
three-mile march to the peni-
tentiary to protest the execu-
tion. Some carried 14-foot pup-
pets of Uncle Sam and Jesus
and banners that read “Stop the
Killing.”
In Washington, the U.S.
Supreme Court on Sunday
rejected without comment an
attempt to videotape
McVeigh’s execution, which
was part of an unrelated case
alleging the death penalty is
cruel and unusual punishment.
McVeigh, 33, a decorated
Gulf War veteran, will be the
first federal inmate executed in
38 years.
Dan Herbeck, co-author of
the McVeigh book, said Sunday
that the FBI’s recent disclosure
that it didn’t hand over nearly
4,500 pages of documents to
the defense confirmed
McVeigh’s suspicions about the
government.
“Tf aman can smile on death
row, Tim McVeigh was smiling
these last few weeks,” he said
in an interview outside the
prison. “He always believed
they were withholding docu-
ments, and it turns out he was
at least partially right.”
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Driver, Judy Fisher, Laura Jane Garrison. Bottom row
AP
Oklahoma City bombing are displayed at the
Top row from left, Sgt. Benjamin Davis, Sheila
from left, Diana Lynn Day, Susan
Photos and personal items of victims of the
Oklahoma City National Memorial museum.
Ferrell, Linda Florence and Jamie Genzer.
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McVeigh
Continued from 1-A
McVeigh’s lawyers had
wanted more time to review the
nearly 4,500 pages of belatedly
released FBI documents that
cased the bomber’s original
May 16 execution date to be
delayed. But their request for a
stay was turned down last
week by U.S. District Judge
Richard Matsch in Denver and
the 10th Circuit Court of
Appeals.
Jritico said McVeigh gave
_ponseeking a stay because he
was convinced the Supreme
Gout wouldn’t grant it after
fe two lower courts turned
im down. :
=. “| don’t view that as ‘I want
todie’ ” Tritico said outside the
‘federal prison. “T view that as a
realization that ‘I’m going
nowhere with this process, s
let’s stop doing it.” :
McVeigh, 33, is scheduled to
die by chemical injection at 8
a.m. EDT Monday, the first per-
son to be put to death by the
federal government since 1963.
A friend who traveled to
Terre Haute at McVeigh’s
request said Saturday that
McVeigh would have chosen a
different target had he knowna
day care center was in the
Alfred P. Murrah Federal Build-
ing.
McVeigh, a Gulf War veter-
an, had called the children “col-
lateral damage” in a book about
the bombing written by the two
Buffalo News reporters who
received the recent letters.
“I do believe he has remorse
about the innocent people and
Particularly the children that
died in the bombing,” said Bob
Papovich, who lives about
three miles from convicted
bombing conspirator ‘Terry
Nichols’ farm in Michigan,
where McVeigh lived at one
time.
“Had he known there was a
day care center, contrary to
what has been reported, he
would have chose another tar-
get, there’s no doubt in my
mind,” Papovich said.
Tritico said McVeigh has not
asked to have a spiritual advis-
er, but a priest at a Catholic
church near the prison said the
convicted bomber has asked
that a passage be read for him
‘during a Sunday evening serv-
ice.
Father Ron Ashmore would
not say what the passage is, but
said the service would be
broadcast on local radio and
that he hoped McVeigh would
listen.
oo RRR RRORRE DEERE RN TST IS
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|
|
WSIS Okt cryteee) laa Oe
4 Monday, June 11, 2001
NEWS
THE EXECUTION OF TIM
Oklahoma Gi
He spent final day writing lettters;
few protesters gather at prison
By MARK SKERTIC
STAFF REPORTER
TERRE HAUTE, Ind.—In his final hours,
the worst mass murderer in U.S. history wrote
letters to friends, ate a final meal and met with
his attorneys.
Toward the end, there was one thing Timo-
thy McVeigh never said: That he was sorry for
what he did.
McVeigh lawyers Robert Nigh Jr. and Na-
than Chambers met with their client for about
two hours Sunday afternoon. _
“He is calm,” Nigh said at a press briefing
afterward. “He is prepared to go forward. ...
Quite frankly, he is ready to die.”
Nigh also conveyed McVeigh’s regrets about
the people he killed, but stopped short of
offering an apology, saying his client has
“struggled with that mightily.”
He has “tried to express as best he can that
he is sorry for the deaths that occurred,” Nigh
said, ‘That is not to say that he doesn’t believe
that he was right.”
McVeigh was sentenced to
die for the April 19, 1995,
bombing of the Alfred P. Mur-
rah federal building that killed
168 people, including 19 chil-
dren—the worst act of terror-
Rae a ee ‘the
crudest of terms, it’s 168 to
one,” Lou Michel, co-author of
American Terrorist: Timothy
McVeigh & The Oklahoma
City Bombing, said Sunday on
ABC’s “This Week.”
“He feels he is the victor,”
said Michel, who will be one of
McVeigh’s witnesses. “He has
made his point, and he’s now
timing of the events ensured it would be too
late for many newspaper deadlines and long
fter evening newscasts. —
. Officials had prepared for thousands of
demonstrators, both for and against the death
penalty, to show up. But only 75 anti-execution
protesters gathered. They carried 14-foot-high
puppets of Uncle Sam and Jesus and banners
that read “Stop the Killing.”
Railroad inspector Chuck Scions is a staunch
proponent of the death penalty, but tears well
in his eyes and his voice cracks when the
Dayton, Ohio, man talks about Timothy
cVeigh.
w Mc veigh is a hero and should be honored,
not executed, Scions said.
He was across the street from the federal
penitentiary entrance 12 hours before McVeigh
was to die, holding a sign supporting the
Oklahoma bomber for standing up to what
Scions called government tyranny.
“He fought for values, and he’s standing tall
for what he did,” he said. “Is Janet Reno
standing tall for what they did
in Waco? Somebody needs to
answer for it. That’s why I’m
here.”
Scions was among several
who was there to show support
for McVeigh. While not all pro-
testers in Terre Haute fit easily
“into the pro- or anti-death pen-
alty ranks, those groups made
up the majority of those who
rallied outside the federal pris-
on.
Unitarian minister Bill Bree-
den said he believes the gov-
ernment is wrong to kill
McVeigh. “He’s not afraid of
death, he’s afraid of insignifi-
cance. And here we are, giving
going on to whatever is the
next step.”
McVeigh ate his final meal
Sunday afternoon, although he had the option
of eating again when dinner was served to the
other prisoners, a federal spokesman said.
Officials did not say what McVeigh ordered.
He spent his final day writing letters, Nigh
said. “They were primarily letters of goodbye,
expressing appreciation to people, his friends
and those close to him,” he said.
McVeigh offered no apologies, they said.
“He’s never the kind of guy who tells people
what he thinks they want to hear,” Nigh said.
“I guess he tries to be honest about his true
feelings of sympathy and empathy without
being inaccurate about them.” .
Lawyers for a Pennsylvania man who could
face the same method of execution asked for a
videotaping to show it is cruel and unusual
punishment, but the Supreme Court rejected
the request Sunday.
As McVeigh counted down his final hours,
federal, state and local officials continued to
ramp up security in this southern Indiana
town. Until this weekend, the biggest crowds
Terre Haute had to deal with came from
crowds at Indiana State basketball games.
Pro- and anti-death penalty activists were
mostly restricted to two Terre Haute parks.
Seven hours before the execution, buses were
to bring them to two demonstration sites set up
on the prison grounds. “a
Prison officials promised that the events)
would be: orderly without infringing on ‘the:
rights: of the two sides to protest, although: the.
Timothy McVeigh
“Ready to die”’
him tremendous significance.”
Five death penalty support-
ers showed up at their. desig-
nated gathering area.
Kenster D. Hilmas, 33, was one of a few
protesters who spent most of the day on a
corner across from the prison grounds. His face
beet-red from the sun, he and his daughter,
Amber, 9, carried posters urging McVeigh to
accept God.
“I understand these people’s anger,” Hilmas
said, referring to those who want McVeigh to
die.
A resident of Columbus, Ohio, he said he has
been fasting and praying for McVeigh. “Anger
only begets anger,” he said. “Vengeance is mine
sayeth the Lord.”
The final journey for McVeigh is a short one.
The death chamber in the federal prison is
just a few steps from the special confinement
cell to which he was moved just after 4 a.m.
Sunday. ©
Early today, McVeigh was to be moved from
the cell and taken to a small room with tile
walls and a carpeted floor, The sole item in the
room is what looks like a gray hospital exami-
nation table.
McVeigh, 33, was to be strapped to it. At 7
a.m., poison was to begin flowing into his body.
Sodium thiopental causes loss of conscious-
ness. Pancuronium bromide halts breathing,
while potassium chloride stops the heartbeat.
Within minutes, the man who called the
children he murdered: “collateral, damage’? in
his war on the government is dead.
') Contributing: Associated Press
ost didn’t want to watch McVeigh die
CBse2 Men were twice as likely as women to
« they would watch the execution.
Chicago Sun-imes 5.
0 Forty-one percent of men would have
watched, compared with 20 percent of
SURVEY USA
By GARY WISBY 2ejegt
STAFF REPORTER P| 1)
Fewer than one in three Chicago
area residents. wished 'they could
watch Timothy McVeigh’s' execution.
women.
African Americans (44 percent) were
more willing than whites (26 percent) or
Even fewer believed the’execution
should have been broadcast on television, according H
to a CBS 2/Chicago Sun-Times poll.
McVeigh was scheduled to die early this morning
for blowing up the Alfred P: Murrah federal building .
By CATHERINE TSAI
Associated Press Writer
DENVER
dashed
for the
| second
|, day ina
row,
Okla-
homa
City
bomber
Timothy
McVeigh
aban-
doned all McVeigh
appeals
Thursday and
Runs
it
4
ee wa *. < a
prepared to
Continued from 1-A
“We have informed Mr.
McVeigh about the circuit’s
decision and I would like to tell
you that he intends to petition
... to the U.S. Supreme Court,
but I cannot. Mr. McVeigh does
not want to proceed any fur-
ther in legal actions in order to
try to stop his execution,” said
his lawyer Rob Nigh, who
appeared shaken and close to
tears. .
McVeigh’s stunning deci-
sion came exactly a week after
he had agreed to let his attor-
neys file for a stay because of
revelations that the FBI with-
held thousands of pages of
documents from the defense at
his trial. Before those docu-
ments came to light, McVeigh
had
2c wa aioe
ET RRS
— His hopes
appeal and ha
steadfastly refused to
UA He eanonsartene
Attorney: No more
_ appea Is, McVeigh s
‘stn. VS. GOVERNMENT
ie
be executed Monday for the
worst terrori
pian ior aie attack ever
McVeigh’s decision
. . . .
within minutes of his learn.
Ing that a three-judge panel
a the. 10th US. Circuit
ro of Appeals ruled that
S lawyers “utterly failed to
demonstrate . Substantial
Brounds why he should
ees put to death next
McVeigh could hav i
. e 7
tioned the full appeals ean
or taken his case directly to
the Supreme Court.
Hh:
Please see McVeigh, 6-A
ae ERS eto Ee
d sought a swift
execution. He would be the
first federal prisoner executed
since 1963.
Attorney General John
Ashcroft issued a statement in
Washington, saying: “Today’s
ruling by the 10th Circuit Court
of Appeals is a ruling in favor
of justice. ... Timothy McVeigh
is responsible for the brutal
murder of 168 people, includ-
ing 19 children, and he will
now be brought to justice.”
McVeigh also declined to
ask President Bush for clemen-
cy, Nigh said.
“T think his resolve was
clear. He takes this much more
in stride than probably his
lawyers do, most certainly,”
Nigh said.
He: said McVeigh now
would prepare to die by injec- |
tion at a federal prison in Terre
Haute, Ind.
: ARS? pan
ispanics (27 percent).
The older the person, the
said they would watch, c
in Oklahoma City, killing’168 people. =? 3&2 eI te 5dcyeat-dlds and 15 per
Asked if the execution should bé
. percent said no and 27 percent! said‘yes’ Four perce
4 were undecided. =
itelévisdd,i69 >! The'survey! df ‘500 adults,
ot! Bubvdy USA, has a‘ margin'of
_45 percentage paints. 4
j
i
| forward with
_ said.
tion,” Robert
AMERICA’S WORST
MASS-MURDERER
SAYS HE’S ‘VICTOR’
By MARK SKERTIC
STAFF REPORTER
TERRE HAUTE, Ind.—Timo-
thy McVeigh spent his last few
hours saying goodbye.
The Oklahoma City bomber
whose destruction left 168 people
dead, called and wrote to friends
and family Sunday, his lawyers said.
He is pre-
pared to go
the execu-
Nigh Jr., one
of his lawyers,
_ “He feels he
is the victor,”
Lou Michel,
co-author of
American Ter- 'mothy McVeigh
: ae ji a”,
rorist: Timo- He is prepared
thy McVeigh & The Oklahoma
City Bombing, said Sunday on
ABC's © “This Week.” “He has
made his point, and he’s now going
on to whatever is the next step.”
McVeigh was scheduled to die
by lethal injection at 7 a.m. today
at the federal penitentiary in Terre
Haute. He was moved to the cell
near the execution chamber at 4:10
a.m. Sunday. There he slept, ate
his final meal and planned to sleep
again before being walked to the
death chamber, his lawyers said
_] Details, Pages 4-5 ,
less interested in watching
McVeigh die. Among respondents 18 to 34, 43 percent
ompared with 29 percent of 35-
dent of thede ovel 65, 21% 5:
conducted ‘Friday by
(ror of plus or’ minus
ea RE ae ag Ss hh io E
MONDAY, JUNE 11, 2001
apr
ial
Message
~ to world
= bewildering
siiNeither Chambers nor Nigh
“would disclose what McVeigh’s last
words would be. °
ou!.Nigh spoke of McVeigh’s regrets
+xbout the people he killed but did
tarot offer an apology, saying his
client has “struggled with that
mightily.”
WG
1S: He has “tried to express as besthe ~
-can that he is sorry for the deaths
-tthat occurred,” Nigh said. “That is
not to say that he doesn’t believe
_that he was right.”
-— McVeigh was allowed visits with
his lawyers, a spiritual adviser and
family up until two hours before the
execution. But McVeigh, an agnos-
tic, did not ask for clergy, and his
family was not expected at the
prison.
He was expected to eat his last
meal at lunch on Sunday. Nigh and
Chambers would not reveal its con-
tents. ;
The execution would be the feder-
al government’s first in 38 years.
Chosen as the site for federal exe-
cutions because of its central loca-
of -
tion in the United States, Terre
‘Haute may be the site of another
federal execution in just eight days,
when Juan Raul Garza is scheduled
to die for his involvement in three
drug-related murders. Garza, 43,
was the leader of a drug ring that
smuggled tons of marijuana into
the US. between 1983 and 1993.
Garza has appealed his sentence to
the U.S. Supreme Court.
' The city has readied itself for le-
gions of demonstrators and media.
As many as 1,400 members of the
media from around the world filled
the front yards along Route 63 on the
eastern edge of the prison.
By Sunday afternoon it became
clear the contingent of death penal-
ty opponents would be drastically
smaller than expected.
Rev. Bill Breeden of Spencer, Ind.,
had planned to take part in a large
anti-death penalty march from St.
Margaret Mary Church on Seventh
Street to the penitentiary.
Yet only a handful of demonstra-
tors had gathered by 3 p.m. when the
march was scheduled to start. Two
hours later, about 60 demonstrators
proceeded down the highway.
Breeden said the anti-death penal-
ty movement was ready to show up
in big numbers when McVeigh’s ex-
ecution was scheduled for May 16.
But when the FBI disclosed just five
days before the execution that it had
withheld 4,400 investigative docu-
ments from McVeigh’s defense
team, the execution was resched-
uled for today. Death penalty oppo-
. Distributed by Knight Ridder
nents expected that legal mane
vering would create another po:
ponement.
But McVeigh’s abrupt decision
drop all appeals last week “caug!
us all by surprise,” Breeden said.
would have bet $100 last week th
this wouldn’t happen tomorrow.”
In Oklahoma City, preparations
continued to allow some 300 sur.
vivors and victims’ relatives to view:
the execution via satellite. ie
As a forest of television sate
dishes sprung up in the center/of.
downtown, visitors thronged the out -
door portion of the Oklahoma City
National Memorial Center Sunday, de- ’
spite a blazing sun and temperatures ©
that neared the 100 degree mark. —~
Dipping her hand into the shallow
3
waters of the memorial’s reflecting ©
pool, Ruby Leonard of Okemah, Ok- ©
la., pressed her damp palm against —
one of the bronze arches framing the |
| private schools, opposes the bill for
monument. Her print joined hun-
dreds of others leaving dark stains in
tribute to the bombing victims.
Asked why she made the gesture,
she said she had watched children
doing the same thing. “I know it’s a
gesture of love. There is always a
feeling of love in a person’s hand,”
said Leonard, tears streaming down
her face. Her only regret about |
McVeigh’s execution, she said, was
that “he’s going real easy.”
Chicago Tribune reporter Lisa i Te
Anderson in Oklahoma City... 5
contributed to this report.
FROM PAGE Al
Bills allow
- education
credits
“If we are going to be talking
‘about a tax credit for public school
parents, we should be talking about
4a tax credit for private school par-
sents,” said Glen Walstra, director of
‘the Michigan Association of Non-
* Public Schools. “Otherwise, it tips
the scale against people who are
choosing an alternative education
for our children.”
The MEA, normally no ally of
the same reason it opposed private
school vouchers in the 2000 elec-
tion: It believes both are unconsti-
tutional.
“We want to stay consistent with
‘our message,” MEA lobbyist Linda
Myers said.
Constitutional prohibition |
Article 8, Section
use of public money for privat
“The legislature shall maintain and support a system of free
ublic elementary and secondary schools as defined by law. —
ol district shall provide for the education of its pupils
Every scho de
“ s to religion, creed, race, color or
without discrimination a
national origin.
“No public monies
any public credit uti
subdivision or agency of the state,
or maintain any private, den
pre-elementary; elementary or secondary school.
“No payment, credit, tax
tuition voucher, subsidy,
property shall be
attendance of any student or t
any such nonpublic
instruction is offere
students.”
From The Associated Press
2 of the Michigan Constitution prevents the
e schools. Here is an excerpt:
or property shall be appropriated or paid or
lized, by the legislature or any other political
directly or indirectly, to aid
ominational or other nonpublic,
benefit, exemption or deductions,
grant or loan of public monies or
provided, directly or indirectly, to support the
or the employment of any person at
school or at any location or institution where
d in whole or in part to such nonpublic school
Hhs Se ae
raise $16 million for private school
scholarships and $17.5 million for
public schools, Gifford said. She
added that the law is possible be-
cause Arizona’s constitution is
silent on the issue of private
schools.
“Michigan’s law is pretty explic-
it,’ she said of the constitutional
ban on tax credits for donations to
private schools. “It would require a
ballot measure to pass a law like
Arizona’s.”
Greg McNeilly is spokesman for
Choices for Children, a group that
supports private-school vouchers
Wednesday, January 17, 2001
McVeigh’s |
execution
date set
By RICHARD GREEN
Associated Press Writer
OKLAHOMA CITY — The
government set a May 16 exe-
cution date Tuesday for Okla-
homa City
bomber
Timothy -
McVeigh,
who has |
dropped
his appeals
and is
apparently
pinning all
.his hopes
on winning
clemency
from the
president.
The execution date was set
by the Federal Bureau of Pris-
ons. Spokesman Dan Dunne
said the agency will try to
meet the needs of victims’ rel-
atives and survivors, some of
whom have expressed interest
in watching McVeigh die by
lethal injection.
McVeigh, 32, who is on
death row at a federal prison
in Terre Haute, Ind., has said
he doesn’t plan any more
appeals and last Thursday
allowed a deadline for resum-
ing that process to expire.
However, he has reserved the
McVeigh
right to seek executive
clemency.
“That’s something Mr.
McVeigh has under considera-
tion,” said his attorney,
Nathan Chambers.
McVeigh has 30 days to
file a petition for clemency
with the Justice Depart-
ment, which would make a.
recommendation to the
president.
George W. Bush, who will
be inaugurated Saturday; is a
firm death penalty supporter:
152 inmates were put to death
during his tenure as Texas
governor, and only once dur-
ing nearly six years in office
did he ever use his power to
stop an execution.
McVeigh was convicted of
murder and conspiracy for the
April 19, 1995, bombing of the
Alfred P. Murrah Federal
Building that killed 168 people
and injured hundreds of oth-
ers. It was the deadliest act of
terrorism ever committed on
USS. soil.
Prosecutors said McVeigh,
a decorated Gulf War veteran,
was motivated by hatred of
.the U.S. government and a
desire for revenge for the
April 19, 1993, deaths of about
80 people in the cult disaster
near Waco, Texas.
Terry Nichols was convict- .
ed separately and sentenced
to life in prison.
The federal government
has not put a prisoner to death
since 1963, when it executed
Victor Feguer for murder and
kidnapping.
There is one federal execu-
tion set before May 16 — that
of David Paul Hammer, who
is scheduled to die by injection
on Feb. 21 for strangling his
A photo of one of the Oklahoma City bombing vicitms and ot
City National Memorial site Tuesday, the day it was announc
May 16. :
cellmate. But he is pursuin
appeals.
“If there is any individual '
who deserves the ultimate ,
punishment, it is Timothy
McVeigh, who forfeited his
life the moment he detonated
that deadly cargo he had
brought to downtown Okla-
homa City,” Gov. Frank Keat-
ing said.
But Kevin Acers, president
of the Oklahoma City Chapter
of Amnesty International,
said: “I don’t believe that
granting an execution date for
Timothy McVeigh in any way
compensates for the. tragedy
of his violent act.”
Betty Robins, who was
working in the Murrah build-
her mementos hang o
THE DOTHAN EAGLE 9-A
“He can be forgiven, but he must pay restitution, and his
death will be that restitution. I just wish he would tell people
why before he dies and what he wanted to accomplish.”
— Betty Robins
worker in Murrah building
ing at the time of the bombing,
said the execution date is fine
with her.
“He can be forgiven, but he
must pay restitution, and his
death will be that restitution,
she said. “I just wish he would
tell people why before he dies
and what he wanted to accom-
plish.”
Oklahoma City Attorney
Karen Howick said she is pur-
suing an effort to get a closed
circuit television hookup for
families to watch the execu-
tion.
McVeigh has never pub-
licly explained why he wanted
to drop his appeals and get a
AP
n the fence that surrounds the Oklahoma
ed that convicted bomber Timothy McVeigh would be executed
prompt execution date.
McVeigh’s father, retired
Pendleton, N.Y., factory work-
er William McVeigh, has said
that his son explained his
decision to drop appeals to the
family. He told The Buffalo
News: “I guess his feeling is,
he knows he’s going to die —
it might as well be sooner than
later.”
Others speculated McVeigh
wants to become a martyr for
anti-government causes, OT
wants to mock the govern-
ment with his petition for
clemency, knowing that feder-
al authorities haven't put any-
one to death in nearly 40
years.
ATED TIRE ITEM HT ME AIT
McVeigh appeal
seen as attempt
to make him
become martyr
By The Associated Press
DENVER — Some people
think Timothy McVeigh wants
to become a martyr for anti-
government causes. Others
believe the convicted Okla-
homa City ,bomber wants to
control the
only thing
he can —
his execu-
tion date.
Ever
since his
arrest just
90 minutes
after the
April 19,
1995, "
bombing of McVeigh
the Alfred :
P. Murrah Federal Building
that killed 168 people,
McVeigh has never admitted
involvement or given any rea-
son for his actions.
US. District Judge Richard
Matsch, who presided over
McVeigh’s trial, ordered a
hearing on his execution
request for Thursday in his
Denver courtroom. McVeigh
will participate by a videocon-
ferencing link from a federal
prison in Terre Haute, Ind.,
where he is on death row.
oS The'-32-year-old™Gulf War.
veteran became angered by
govern-
He has always — ment
. actions
seen himself. asa including
soldier of the the raid on
. the Branch
anti-government ie
$ Davidians
movement, and com-.
the most pound
near
misguided thing aco,
a soldier can do Texas, and
. the FBI
oa die jo r standoff
misguided with
nity loc? Randy
P rinciples. Weaver
—Scott and his
Robinson family at
attorney Ruby
Ridge,
Idaho.
~ Prosecutors argued at his trial
that McVeigh hoped the
bombing would capitalize on
anti-government sentiment
and ignite a revolution.
McVeigh realized the fight
was over when he lost two
appeals, speculated Denver
attorney Scott Robinson, who
also has observed McVeigh’s
court proceedings.
“He has always seen him-
self as a soldier of the anti-gov-
ernment movement, and the
most misguided thing a sol-
dier can do is die for misguid-
ed principles,” Robinson said.
SF
2ob Nigh Jr., - ) . |
attorney for | |
Oklahoma . |
City bomber |
Timothy . | . |
McVeigh By S . oo, : ni than 500 in the © |
, TEVEN K. PAULSON - 2 : + ; bombing survivor. McVeigh and injured more han
aa i faedia Associated Frese Writer tary contniarct ihe wea canee “capture the headlines of tre deadliest act of terrorism ever on US.
Friday in hi DENVER— The _ three-month McVeigh could still bring a last- United States and the world beforehe _ soil. h after
ay in his seit ; : : ; ic Anal exit.” McVeigh had one month a
countdown to Timothy McVeigh’s minute court action alleging new evi- makes his final exit. . Con date wes set to flea
Tulsa, Okla., execution began Friday after the dence has been found, but such a The government has received 250 ns execution cate _ US. Bureau
office to Oklahoma City bomber let the dead- _ move was considered unlikely. requests from victims and relatives clemency p # dhe execution daté
_ announce line pass for asking the president to He is scheduled to die by lethal who want to watch McVeigh die,and of Prisons he dropped . all
his client will spare his life. injection May 16 at a federal prisonin _ is considering a Closed: circuit televi- J ae ° after he pp
not seek McVeigh, 32, figured there was no Terre Haute Ind. sion broadcast of the execution. appeals. ; ;
clemency point in esking President Bush. for No federal prisoner has been exe- The decorated Gulf War veteran The office or pardon aM, oe |
from President clemency, said one of his lawyers, cuted in37 years. iba sis Wes Coxwiced Ob miner ene ole ot ice Department s okeswoman
Bush Rob Nigh Jr. McVeigh didn’t believe McVeigh is “trying to be a mar- charges in the April 19, 1995, bomb- Justice Depar d ft Phe midnight
Bush would spare him, and even if tyr,” said Dr. Paul Heath, a retired ing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Chris Watney said after S
AP
the president did so, McVeigh had
Veterans Administration psycholo-
Building. The blast killed 168 people
EST deadline expired Thursday.
Saturday, February 24, 2001
Hundreds want to view McVeigh execution
By JENNIFER BROWN
Associated Press Writer
OKLAHOMA CITY — Constance
Favorite. offers a half-serious sugges-
tion for how to accommodate the 250
people who want to watch Timothy
McVeigh’s execution: Hold it in the
middle of an Oklahoma field.
Favorite says she wouldn’t look,
but she would be there for the sake of
her daughter Lakesha Levy, a 21-
year-old Air Force airman who was
among the 168 people killed in the
1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah
Federal Building.
“To see it happen is not the impor-
tant thing to me,” Favorite says. “It’s
not anything that I need for myself. Let
the people see if that’s what they need
to heal.” |
The New Orleans woman is among
the hundreds of victims and family
members who have notified the gov-
ernment they want to watch the Okla-.
homa City bomber die on May 16 — so
many people, in fact, that the US.
Bureau of Prisons is considering show-
ing the execution on closed-circuit tele-
vision.
ness the execution in person, says Kath-
leen Treanor, whose 4-year-old daugh-
The _ execution paz
chamber at the-fed- | 4
_ eral prison in Terre
Haute, Ind., where | |
McVeigh will |
receive a_ lethal
injection has room
for only eight wit-
nesses representing
the victims.
Some feel a
strong need to see
McVeigh take his
last breath.
“T’d like to go to Indiana” and wit-
McVeigh
ter and in-laws died in the bombing.
“But what are my chances? I’m not set-
ting my expectations too high. As long
as I get to view it, I’m a happy camper.
To see it happen is going to help me
realize that this is-over.”
McVeigh, 32, dropped all appeals
last month without explanation. And .
last week he let the deadline pass for
' asking President Bush to spare his life,
saying through a lawyer that it would
have been a futile gesture.
That appeared to clear the way for
the first execution by the federal gov-
ernment since 1963.
Several states have shown execu-
tions on closed-circuit television to
small groups of people gathered near
where the executions were held. The
federal government has never done so.
Officials have not decided whether
they would show the closed-circuit
broadcast in Terre Haute or Oklahoma
City, spokeswoman Linda Smith says.
But she says officials have rejected
McVeigh’s suggestion, made in a letter
to a newspaper, that the execution be
broadcast nationally.
Mr iret cae Cra
8A - WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2000 - USA TODAY
Nationline
° By oe
Symbol of hate?: Some say Confederate symbol on
Mississippi's flag is synonymous with segregation.
Miss. panel calls for
state election on flag
A state commission recommended Tuesday that
Mississippi hold an election next year and vote to get
rid of the Confederate symbol in the state flag. The
commission appointed by Gov. Ronnie Musgrove said
the state could heal wounds by eliminating an em-
blem many black people say is synonymous with seg-
regation. The panel advised getting rid of the Confed-
erate battle symbol and replacing it with a white star
design. The panel will ask the Legislature to hold a
statewide vote on the issue so residents may choose
between the 106-year-old flag and the new design.
“’'m elated this day has finally arrived. We don’t
need to draw lines and be polarized over an emblem,”
said state Sen. David Jordan, a civil rights leader. He
said that to many black people, any design without the
Confederate symbol would be preferred. But during
the often-contentious review by the panel, supporters
of the flag said the flag reflects the history of Mis-
sissippi and is not a symbol of hate.
Solis, AP
« One other state, Georgia, has the Confederate battle
flag in its design. Black leaders have pushed for
changes in both Southern states’ flags. South Carolina’s
McVeigh asks jidge to set an exec
By Kevin Johnson
USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — Con-
demned Oklahoma City bom-
ber Timothy McVeigh has
asked that all remaining ap-
| peals be halted and for a federal
judge to set his execution date
within four months.
In a brief statement filed in a
Denver federal court where he
was tried and convicted three
years ago, McVeigh, 32, said he
would undergo psychological
testing to prove his compe-
tency to make such a decision.
“Twill not justify or explain
my decision to any psycholo-
gist,” he wrote in the Dec. 7
statement that was made pub-
lic Tuesday, “but will answer
questions related to my com-
petency.”
The Nation
McVeigh was sentetied to
death as the masterminin the
1995 bombing of the Alfed P.
Murrah Federal Building The
blast, which killed §
168 people and
wounded 500 oth-
ers, stands as the
most lethal terrorist
attack on U.S. soil.
McVeigh’s accom-
plice, Terry Nichols,
was convicted of
conspiracy and sen-
tenced to life in
prison.
- Nathan Cham-
bers, one of
McVeigh’s attor- =
neys, said his client's Tequest
was filed against their advice.
“We believe there af mul-
i
tiple grounds left for appeal and
ultimately a new trial,"Cham-
net... explain.”
bers said. “But he doesn’t want
to go on. I can't tell you why Mr.
McVeigh did what he did.”
McVeigh, confined on federal
death row in Terre
Haute, Ind., was in
the midst of his fi-
nal round of appeals
when he filed the
statement last
week.
Last year, the U.S.
Supreme Court al-
lowed McVeigh’s
conviction to stand.
Reuters Jn October, U.S. Dis-
“T will trict Judge Richard
Matsch denied a de-
fense claim. that
McVeigh was not adequately
represented at trial by Oklaho-
ma attorney Stephen Jones.
Federal prosecutor Sean
Connelly, part of the govern-
ment’s trial team, expects
Matsch to schedule a hearing
on McVeigh’s latest request,
perhaps to evaluate the bomb-
er’s competence.
“The legal effect of
(McVeigh’s request) is not en-
tirely clear,” Connelly said.
McVeigh said his attorneys
had explained issues they
would raise on any remaining
appeal. “I understand the ap-
pellate issues and understand-
ing those issues | persist in my
decision to forgo appeal,” he
wrote.
“It is not my desire by waiv-
ing appeal to delay my execu-
tion. | request that the court set
an execution date, or order the
director of the Bureau of Pris-
ons to do the same.”
‘While intending to waive fur-
ther review by the courts,
ution date
McVeigh did leave one poten-
tially life-saving option open: A
possible clemency request to
the president.
“I believe | am fully compe-
tent to make this decision,” he
said. “If the court thinks that a
psychological evaluation is nec-
essary to make certain that |
am competent, | will submit to
such an evaluation.”
Roy Sells, whose wife was
killed in the blast, said he wel-
comed McVeigh’s request.
“I'm ready to see him put to
death,” said Sells, who was in
the courtroom when the guilty
verdicts against McVeigh were
announced in 1997.
“Tomorrow, I’m going to ask
about putting my name in the
pot to be there to watch him
die. | don't know who | have to
call, but I'll find out.”
Icy blast fre
Thousands of
flights canceled
as snow and
temperatures
fall across USA
By Traci Watson
USA TODAY
Winter weather clobbered
nearly every state east of the
=
8
:
#
4
i
®
4
ezes travelers, others
duty police officer. “It’s scary
out there,” Chicago police
spokesman Dave Bayless said.
The 5 million residents of the
Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex
experienced temperatures in
the mid-20s and a sub-zero
wind chill Tuesday morning.
Austin had a high Tuesday of 29
degrees with freezing rain.
“Brrr. ... Is this Austin, Tex-
as, or Austin, Minnesota?” won-
dered Maria Caloy as she bun-
dled her large outdoor plants
with plastic sheeting. “Maybe
Yankees are used to this (cold),
18 +. ‘THE LAW ENFORCERS
noticed that Tony had fallen out of the car. I went
ground to his side and figured he must have slid out
when the aliens opened the door on his side and pushed
the seat forward so they could get away. Tony’s feet
“were still in the car but he had fallen face down in the
+ gravel. I°felt his pulse but I knew he was dead. I took
“his gunand stuffed it into my belt.”" a sae
“A cab driver stopped and Red asked him to call the
sheriff. Then Red Fouquette went back to the ditch to
‘gee if the smuggler was ‘there. The ditch had two feet
cof water in it and Fouquette felt around with his feet for a
body. There wasn’t one. Behind the. ditch were. trees,
then some railroad tracks. But Fouquette couldn’t pursue
the killer: He had to stay with the two remaining aliens.
A few moments later the sheriff's men arrived and they
immediately called for roadblocks to seal off the entire
area. They stopped all traffic, searching for Ochoa.
_. “We knew he still had to be in the area,” Fouquette -
said. When the blocks were thrown up, the sheriff's men ~
took Red to the hospital where his shoulder was dressed
and he was released.
Carlos Ochoa crouched in the muddy ditch only long
“enough to be sure the Border Patrolman had empticd
_ his revolver. Then Ochoa crawled quietly up the bank,
slipped through the trees and walked quietly across the
railroad tracks. Once on the other side he began to run
through the desert country. Ochoa knew one of the
- bullets had hit him. But he could run. His left and right
- side and his back pained him. Had he been hit three
times? It didn’t matter now, because Carlos was sure
he had killed one of the officers. If he wanted to keep
living, he had to keep running! :
Ochoa was on no wild, ‘pointless flight. He lived in
Brawley, about 60 miles to the south. He knew this area
“well, and less than five miles ahead was the town of
Thermal. His goal. Several times he almost gave up. His
muddy shoes and wet pants chafed him. He stopped
frequently, gasping for breath to fill his tortured lungs, and
he worried about the bullets in him. But each tinfte he
got up and ran again. wie
"Phe Border Patrol. would never stop now until it
caught him, but he had plans to make that impossible.
Jf there was a roadblock set up between Indio and
Thermal, it didn’t bother Ochoa. He was in the desert
yehind the railroad tracks, well away from the road. He
of what sagebrush there was
#=-tan low and took advantage
to hide him.
Ochoa went directly to his married sister’ in
om. There, his wound was bandaged; it ce out
ee ee painful than serious. The first shot from
Eatro Ouquette’s .38 had entered Ochoa’s side
: a Was a steel-jacketed slug, and instead of breaking up,
% slanted off a rib, turned outward and circled Ochoa’s
just under the. skin. -It nicked his backbone and
on. around to_ his other side where the slug came
uquette had © loaded his revolver alt As ;
osed..bullets and with steel-jack seein witli
of the draw of the steel jacketed ones. Only the
a. tong! jacket had kept Ochoa
“Within a few minutes after he arrive is si
Wi d at hi :
we ae had on dry clothes and was in a sai tending
. _ h to Mexico and safety! But the network of
sat oc | was too extensive and the block at Trifolium
ust north ‘of Brawley, netted the prisoner. He was taken
-without i
til .. a. shot—almost 50 miles from the site of the
Red Fouquette
but he has forgotten little
Red works on the Mexican si
nage side of the border, tryin
‘to pick up smuggling leads. His Spanish is eeeelek kita
ane snide the fullest cooperation of both city and
sy aaasae in Mexico. Part of his job is to get
den help Mexican authorities prosecute smugglers.
is. illegal for Mexican nationals to induce persons to
e:that nation without proper credentials.
Border Patrol in ‘Action +. 19 | - ;
HDS Bisa AEDS ai Aas SE en RT AT ree aes Cabbage a vty
_
PYRAMID BOOKS are published by Pyramid Publications, Ince
‘Border Ba we ao. See
‘Scotland Yard Sees : 27
VD. Cop Trackdown eae 42 =
Inside the CIA eg as ee
¢
Texas Rangers ee ee 67:
Fd
“" BDAC—Cops Who ‘Are Hell on Piltheads <....8 © 82
Moonshine Warr .occcccscsecscseccejesssvigssecosssossceessscsessaee, 290
Anerica’s Rugged Forest: RONZETS ...0.ciccestescseessetes ‘il
- Interpol sacs anit nsbcenbebapecbadeelcptegeip bacon 126
FBI oa ome 142 -
PT he Mounties 5.35 sscvce<inicssnstscatsissgniegevestenoneerse R99
- Crackdown on Gator Poachers: See, S96:
THE LAW ENFORCERS
A PYRAMID BOOK
First printing June, 1969
Copyright © 1969 by Pyramid Publications, Inc.
‘All Rights Reserved
Printed in the United States of America
444 Madison Avenue, New Yost. New York 10022, U.S.A.
*gi6T-OT-cL (Teteped) *srpeo *xdydse *6z **stH Sozowoy sotzeg *YOHOO
ad
°14 + THE LAW ENFORCERS
' roads 12 to 14 feet wide which are dragged once and
sometimes twice a day with a “broom” made of stiff
nylon bristles that leave a fine, undisturbed coating of dust
on the road. The drag strips are too wide to jump over,
-and it is impossible to go around: them,. so -alien’ ‘must
“walk across them. As soon as they’ do, they leave a sign«
post for their own capture. = ©." See eee
Nights are the favorite crossing times. After dark on
regular schedules Border Patrolmen jump into their four-
_ wheel-drive utility rigs, mostly. International Scouts, and
_ Yide these dusted roads in search of footprints or “cutting
“signs.”
_<set-close to the ground and directed toward the side of
the ‘road. These lights help the driver to see the faintest
‘ disturbance in the dusted road path. The shadows on a
footprint show up plainly at night ‘under these. lights.
-/2To.a skilled Border. Patrol tracker a-footprint in the
dust reveals many things. If the steps go across the road, ~
the angle indicates a possible “line” or goal the alien
has in mind—often a filling station or lighted sign along
the freeway. Usually, the officer can determine the kind
of heel or sole or boot the man is wearing. Charts are
worked out and heels and soles numbered. Trackers on
other roads can check for this same type of heel or sole
print. The overall length of the foot is reported, which
indicates the size of the man and about how fast he can
walk. eee .
The officer draws a circle around the footprints he
spots in the dust and moves on down his road. Meanwhile,
he radios the information to headquarters and other track-
ers. are alerted. so
There are roads that run parallel or at angles to
the first tracker’s road. Border Patrolmen move down
these roads, looking for a “cut” (cutting sign) there as
well. When he finds one, he calls it in with his guess as
to the general direction the alien is headed, the ap-
. proximate time the prints were made, and his estimation
of where the suspect might be. Other patrolmen are sent
ahead of the suspect and often he walks right into their
clutches. : ;
Networks of.drag strips on both the east and west side
of the border can pinpoint with remarkable accuracy
where an alien is headed. If the man does not reach ‘his
supposed destination, and if he does not “cut” the next
Each vehicle is equipped with low-mounted’ lights, -
dusted ‘trail, he is much h
he has proba
walkers, as well
they keep a sha
Border Patrol in Action “+ 1
t to find. This means that
that he is lost or hurt.’*“..
keeps cutting
ing him before
Border Patrolmen ane :
>
ks
y ai¢ waved through. 4
such as a low-hanging
n, the car is pulled out —
li sits dies 02 nero aims
=\@ THE LAW ENFORCERS
-* Oneto, were on routine check-point work 35 miles south
“of Indio at Travertine Rock. .
~~ The car, a 1935 Chevrolet club coupe, stopped and Tony |
Oneto glanced inside. The light was dim in the car but
“Tony saw five men with swarthy complexions, and so he
“waved the car to one side-for closer scrutiny of the
occupants. ie
- Red Fouquette stayed at the check point, waiting for
“other cars to appear on the desert highway. He knew
Tony was questioning the men, finding out where they
--were born, where they went to school. Obvious questions
but yardsticks a Border Patrol officer can use to ferret
out aliens. oS
Tony unloaded the Chevy and herded four men toward
their patrol car, a two-door Pontiac.
“.“Four aliens, and a small time smuggler,” Tony said
as he passed Red, and ‘put the Mexicans in the back seat
of the Pontiac. Then Tony went back and searched the
smuggler, Carlos Ochoa, driver of the Chevy. Ochoa had
no weapon.
“Shall we put this one in the Pontiac, too?” Tony
asked Red, nodding toward smuggler Ochoa. The Border
’ Patrolmen talked it over and decided that Ochoa shouid
- drive his. car ahead of them.as they went to the “Oasis,”
a filling station two miles away.
would ask for instructions from headquarters.
Red, the junior man of the team, drove; and when
they arrived at the station, Tony made the telephone call.
He came out in a minute and said they were to take the
men on to Indio.
Then Tony went to Ochoa’s car. “Drive ahead of us
into Indio,” Tony told the smuggler. “You're in big
trouble now, ‘Ochoa, so don’t make things any worse for
yourself.”
Ochoa, a U.S. citizen of Mexican extraction, nodded.
“They drove awhile. The little convoy just passed the
Coachella junction and was only two miles from Indio
when Ochoa’s car began stuttering and slowing.
“Suppose he’s out of gas?” Red Fouquette asked. *
Tony Oneto shrugged. “If he is we'll push him into
\ town. Can’t be more than two miles.”
‘Just as the smuggler’s car came up to a line of tamarack
“trees beside a ditch, Ochoa pulled it off on the shoulder,
the motor dead. Le
Ochoa got out immediately and came back toward the
At the station they“
Fue =
nae
ae
ered turned on the
ay
NE LESS _ Border Patrol in Action 7 aot
order Patrol car. Red Fou
-B quette kept his vehicl ne 2
and edged up to the bumper of the Chevy. Since’ thee
were oe to push the car, the officers remained in
the ey prt apy walked up with nothing in his hands
e car—we’ i io,”
Fi on told the rigger an: ~ ge —
‘ush me into Indio?” Ochoa asked as he ae th
— 8 window. Without warning, Ochoa whipped oe
ap Set shot eeet firing through the open window
4 in front of Fouquette. T. ; a
Le had leaned forward to see the suspect, et: he a
bullet between the eyes. It killed him instantly The
uggler fired so rapidly then, that as Oneto fell forward, é
in Red Fouquette’s right shoulde
For the next 15 min
Shot. utes
he ram ;
stepped out and faced the rear of fe cae G0Gr
I fired blind, hoping to shake Ochoa up a little, the -
may seh caer mage Fouquette said. “But he kept running
anc ot t see much yet, but
— I saw him last.
own there and
I saw a hat and thought he might Bop
“Then I saw tw alt ;
at run off the ate the aliens we’d had in the back
sed tu light in the car and tried |
: peer to
Tiff on his radio. They couldn’t hear me. Said nA
o1ce i
7 © Was SO weak they didn’t bother to reply. Then I
ae
feNOAM,
Carl,
2
aa ee ae
WOLULES 9
fe
h “y
be aad OP)
ms T ¢ TO NWaARst kh Lh” ey “ , or CA
EQ due & Venwor Ul, aans. 3é€pt 1934
“the—excention: -ofthat of a federal
‘ment only. for treason... Padzran,
|peka, Kas., the prisoner wrote a let. !
~~. <.
RoGRES=
a,
be
A
[191929 at frenzy-of rages = —
| Carl Pavran Hanged for. Mure ,
} ae a re we jae
~—
” dering: Civilian- Employe.:
ae at. -Leavenworth: ee ia
agit ~ WALKS: ‘TC. GALLOWS:
Padi - 5 Spe.
bao eee’ s : ee
“ade nit
Orders. Chaplains From. ‘Scene:
= hearted That, He be Put; |
AE
hig Re . to: Death — “a Be
ee
oe
LEAV EXWoOnTH. KAS: Rept. Ss.
YP)—Car) Panzran,. self-.dectared stayer
of 22. persona, was hanged at the fed
eral prison early. today for the mur-
der of R. G. Warnke, civillan laundry
foreman.-at the penitentiary where
Panzran was serving a sentence for
burglary:: imposed: by. 7 District : of
fommbla court:
: President. Reaver last night denieg
a plea foreclemency. | :
: ham phd was pronounced. aras al
ice |... | Crowd -- 12 ee
: Vestitns the crowd as he’ walked to
the: Valows;-Panzran: Noted to chate
laine: preséat....: tle asked the’ warden
that. they be removed, The chaplains]:
cordance’ with: his willSs:.2"
~ Panzran,: serving -his. sixth Pp
Kentence, struck- down~ the- laundry
‘oreman. with a. heavy. fron. bar. June
4 same
“ae
a
3 The hanging was the first. eral ex:
ecution: In Kansas: since 1870. with
' on a ———
prisoner at Wichita-- in:-1t38 The
Kanras Jaw provides capital punish.
however; was prosecuted unde? fag.
eral’ statutes, his crime: having. been
~aer eae nae
committed on federal property. ~= =
- Before his trial‘ for murder at To],
ter to the trig} Judge demanding: Jus-!
tice which he described as-“that ] be |;
found guilty of murder. in pe, ‘Arst
dan
degree and sentenced to die.” ses:
~ _[ADdDEx
VT Var
“Bats | 30) (1)
Carl, white, hanged Leavenworth, Kans.(Fe
oe
y=
d
Recalls the Well-Stock
s: of Old and. $3,300,
a simple hook ‘and’ a: homely: worm;
He committee’ reported:
é ‘ ppearance’ of fish« from
_{ our smaller inland lakes and streams
| Membership’ of. this= House is: proof
“9 { the riv
<in= our: boyhood: days;- from
one: jis _ now taken:
inexhaustible What has-taken place
th: respect to our forests and other
of nies owns
a similar: figure.
{caught in: boastable: abundance: with
“Vand® then: were: turned: back: to’ they.
/realities of: today; when: those fish
‘| are fast: becoming: extinct, there’ was:
jlittle: trouble in passing a bill’ pro-:
viding» for’ a five-year. construction:
j and: maintenance program’ for™ the.
Bureau of Fisheries at'a cost exceed:
g.| N88: been: no: less: marked,’”’ the: re-
‘port continued: ‘‘The: memory of the:
, | Of this’ assertion... There’ is no-one:
{Of us who: cannot recall’ the-brooks,
“and: the: lakes: filled: with
- Nature.
| has been- generous, but: nature’is not:
: “was: enough: for: the
House: Instead of. cutting down any.
of the: authorizations: for: economy's
| sake; two fish-cultural. stations: were
-radded,; one aah elle at a cost.of:
$50,000 and another:in:M ississippl at
Execation of Convict Made
datory Although the: Stat. :
_ Bars the-Death Penalty.
ving
TOPEKA, Kan; April 16) (=A
‘Verdict’ which= makes: mandatory- By:
sentence of death on the/gallows for!
Carl Panzran,: prisoner? at” Leaven-.
worth’ Federal’ penitentiary, for the.
slaying’ of R. G. Warnke,. civilian”
laundry foreman: of _the» prison; ‘was
| returned’ in: Federal court. today by’
_|a jury of Kansans whose State long:
ago abolished capital punishment: .
|. Judge» Richard J. Hopkins sen- |.
_|tenced Panzran to be hanged Sept: 5;
between 6 -and 9 A. M., at” the: peni
‘|. The* convict objected: to any move: :
|for:a new*trial,: but: Judge Hopkins.
‘granted. the defense ninety days<in|
| which. to file pigeon AERA
| The jury received the case late yes-:
, terday after a sanity commission ap-
a ‘pomteae by the« court reported: its
|-belief that the defendant: “was of.
§-| unsound: mind, but: knew‘ the‘ differ-
|. ence between: right.and wrong.
FRAUD: LAID TO ACTOR.
“CHICAGO, April 16 GP).—Lou Clay-
ton; of the vaudeville: team of Clay.
ton, Jackson: and’ Durante, © was
arrested’ tonight: on: a charge. of
obtaining $5,000 under. false pre- 4
tenses: The complaint was made “by-
Louts:Simon,-a theatrical‘agent, who
said that. Clayton’ borrowed | $5,000
from him: {n° October,. 1928,. giving
him’ a check and saying he wanted
to-bet on’:the world series. Then,|..
‘We
OMFORTABLE APARTM
n S
4) “—® TERRIFIC CRASH of thunder awoke me at 2 a.m.,”
writes Fire Warden Johnson. “Without waiting to dress, or
put on shoes, I snatched up my flashlight and rushed outside
to ‘ground’ the telephone so the lightning wouldn’t put it
out of service.
NATIONAL CARBON COMPANY, INC.
30 East 42nd Street; New York, N.Y.
feet!
tended to me!
Unit of Union Carbide (fq and Carbon Corporation
3 ean LEAPED OVER the porcupine © =
and ran to the box, attending to my
unwelcome visitor later—but if it
hadn’t been for dependable ‘Eveready’
fresh DATED batteries, he’d have at-
Ota VITAL TELEPHONE SWITCHBOX was some dis-
tance from my cabin. As I raced madly toward it, the beam
of my flashlight revealed a huge porcupine directly ahead
of me in the narrow path—wicked quills awaiting my bare
AUG. 1940
(Signed) At Le. oe ” reac i
Ex TRI
The word Eveready” is a registered trade-mark of
National Carbon Co., Inc,
FRESH BATTERIES LAST LONGER..._(004 for the DATE-LIN®
BEFORE
SULTS
©" FOR gesT
HOW THEY DIED
By JOSEPH FULLING FISHMAN
Former Federal Prison Inspector
(No. 2 of a serics.)
Ariee a long career in prison
work, during which I have
met many thousands of criminals
of every gradation of abnor-
mality and sub-normality and
cruelty and downright vicious-
ness, I believe that Carl Panz-
ram was the most complete
and thoroughgoing criminal I
ever saw. He thought of crime
in terms of killing, not: indivi-
duals, but hundreds, and even
all the inhabitants of entire cities.
“Y’m the man who goes around doing
people good,” he used to repeat over and
over again.
“What do you mean, doing them good?”
I asked him once.
“Putting them out of their misery,” he
replied. “Life’s no good, so I relieve them
of it.”
He claimed to have murdered twenty-
seven men. As about twenty of them had
lived in Africa, there was no way of check-
ing this. But it was certain that he had
killed seven or eight, and it was not his
fault that he had not slain more. He tried
hard enough. One of his planned projects
was to wreck a train while it was in a
tunnel near Cumberland, Maryland, and
then, by explosions, to choke up both ends,
so that those who escaped the wreck would
suffocate before they could be gotten out.
Another of his grandiose schemes was to
poison the water supply of a large city.
Mr. Fishman
He was doing a long term at
the Federal Prison at Leaven-
worth when he killed a guard.
Unlike his other murders, this
one could be proven, and Panz-
ram was convicted and sen-
tenced to be hanged.
At his trial he spat at the
judge and indulged in a stream
of obscenity. The jurist was
visibly shocked at the man’s
wild language.
“What do I care about dy-
ing?” he shouted. “Can’t die soon enough
for me.” He lunged out with his foot at
one of the court attaches,
Back in Leavenworth Prison he was
placed in solitary confinement and watched
day and night. He showed no fear whatever
as the time for his execution approached.
It has always seemed to me that he was
one of the few men who really was anxious
to die, and who was not bluffing or indulg-
ing a sense of bravado.
In a modern penitentiary, there is not
much you can do with a criminal of Panz-
ram’s stamp. He knew death was coming,
and hé welcomed it. But while he awaited
the hangman’s noose, he devoted all his ef-
forts to making himself as obnoxious and
offensive as possible to everybody with
whom he came in contact.
In less enlightened times, Panzram might
have been subdued by torture. But Uncle
Sam does not countenance such treatment
of his prisoners. There was nothing to do
about Panzram except to wait for his exe-
cution—and meanwhile to steer clear of him
if possible.
But if he couldn’t wait until the time of
his execution, the guards couldn’t either.
The sight of a blue uniform set off a
stream of profanity, while it was unsafe,
from the standpoint of personal cleanliness,
for any guard to go near him, as he spat
at them, threw on them such garbage and
filth as he was able to obtain, and con-
ducted himself in other ways which cannot
be described here.
He seemed genuinely glad as the days
passed and his end drew nearer. “Just ten
more days,” he’d scream at the top of his
voice, keeping this up for long periods of
time. Then he’d suddenly stop and settle
down to writing the story of his life. This,
curiously enough, he was doing for a guard
at the jail in Washington, perhaps the only
representative of authority he had ever met
whom he had not wished to kill. I have
read this manuscript. If one-tenth of what
he says is true, he had done enough to get
himself hanged many times over.
When the day of his execution finally
approached, he acted as though it were a
holiday, dressing more carefully than usual
for the great occasion, and singing about
what fun it was to die at last. With the
usual string of obscenities pouring from his
lips he walked up the steps to the scaffold
where, true to form, he spat at the guards
on each side of him. While the cap was
being adjusted over his head, and up until
the very moment of the drop, he never
ceased cursing those around him. And then,
just ten seconds before he swung into
eternity, he threw the upper part of his
body around, in the belief that he was near
enough to one of the guards to hit him
with his shoulder, a last defiant rebellion
against all authority which had character-
ized his entire life.
to show tl
Woo Dac
Harry Mc
made a “‘g
After tl
son, who
“You had
place. Re
Then Rx
HIL
myst
was found
eben, ee. Dtetue
eset / 74. mo
Fay /ZRAM
TheNEW
MURDERERS’
Who’s Who
J. H. H. Gaute and Robin Odell
Forewords by
Colin Wilson and Richard Whittington-Egan
DORSET PRESS
New York
win
about his work. He seemed subdued.
“I’ve been wrong about this con,”
Warnke decided.
Then came the day when prison au-
thorities were to obtain their first insight into what that
queer, eager, hard light in Carl Panzran’s eyes signified.
It was the day that the new prisoner stepped up to
Warnke, who was idly watching the others at work, lifted
an iron bar high in the air and brought it crashing down
on the civilian foreman’s skull,
Even hardened criminals shuddered and gasped their
amazement. Carl Panzran, in that mad moment, had the
strength of a superman. He was smiling—a grim, compla-
cent smile—as fellow convicts and guards clustered about
the prone foreman. It was only too gruesomely obvious
that there was nothing to be done for Warnke.
He was dead!
“What the hell is eating you?” gulped one of the prisoners
to the new convict.
PANZRAN only smiled—with those queer eyes of his,
Then they led him away and threw him in a cell far re-
moved from the other prisoners.
“T'll do it again,” he promised the guards as they shoved
him into the cage.
After that, guards never went into his cell alone. When-
ever it was necessary to approach him, two always went in
together.
That night convicts whispered to each other about the
“new guy.” The news of the killing was carried on the
“grapevine” to every nook of the big house.
What was “eating” this new man? The murder had been
brutal in the extreme. Absolutely unprovoked,
He was “stir crazy,” one of the cons insisted. He had an
aggravated case of that insanity which sometimes visits men
who face a long prison stretch.
But he wasn’t crazy, others who had talked to Panzran,
asserted. On the contrary, he was one of the coolest, one
of the most intelligent prisoners in the whole penitentiary.
They knew. Men behind bars take little time to size up
their companions,
50
The walls of Leavenworth Penitentiary
where Panzran brutally murdered
R. G. Warnke, a crime which shocked
even the hardened convict eye
witnesses
Why had he killed? And why had he
dicked upon Warnke? Those questions
needed an answer. The convicts de-
cided upon one thing that night.
This unprovoked slaying had been nothing less than
suicide for Panzran. And this despite the fact that Kansas
has no death penalty.
But Leavenworth was a Federal penitentiary. And Fed-
eral authorities would have the power to hang Panzran if
they accomplished the comparatively simple job of finding
him guilty of the murder,
This new prisoner at Leavenworth undoubtedly was
cognizant of this. He had realized fully the possibilities of
his action. Again, the question: Why had he committed
this murder?
Neither Warnke nor Panzran had set eyes upon each other
until the day Panzran came to work in the prison laundry,
So there could be no chance that the murder was settlement
of an old score.
As the days following the slaying passed, the motive
became apparent. Prisoners and prison authorities knew,
now, why the man who raged like a beast in solitary con-
finement, had wielded those strong arms of his in murder.
Panzran was a misanthrope—a hater of all mankind. He
was a cold-blooded, cruel man who derived pleasure from
killing the fellow men he detested with such an intense fury.
He had a mania for murder.
But for all of that, he was a sane man, apparently.
IS peculiar crime aroused nation-wide curiosity concern-
ing him. But that curiosity could not get far in the
face of his stubborn refusals to answer questions about him-
self. Only snatches of his history became available—
snatches that were told when he was in just the right mood.
Then, from his prison cell, Panzran suddenly startled the
world with an announcement. That announcement supplied
an even wilder, more unbelievable motive for his brutal
crime.
Panzran promised officers that if they would let him act
as his own attorney at his trial he would tell his life
history. Not only that, he assured them, but he would
as f
ae
trial
the
defe
defe
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for ¢
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mur
that
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inflic
comn
tent:
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But
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Mranted un
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\
FAN 2LAM, Car
The STRANGE STORY of the
WORLD'S WORST
MURDERER
By
RICHARD SWALLOW of the DAILY CaPITOL
OT many days
before, the mas-
sive gates of the
Federal _ Peni-
tentiary at
Leavenworth, Kansas,
had swung shut behind
Carl Panzran.
Twenty-five years!
The thirty-eight-year-
old prisoner with the
quarter-century stretch
ahead of him had been
committed in Washing-
ton, D.C. It was a rap,
his fellow prisoners
learned, for highway rob-
bery.
And that was about
all they learned; was, in
fact, about all that ap-
peared on the peniten-
tiary records
Not a talkative man,
this new fellow. Slanting
eyes—cold, biting eyes—
looked out disdainfully
at the world from be-
neath shaggy eye-lids.
There was bitterness in
those agate eyes—and a
contempt that made
Panzran’s fellow convicts
wonder.
They put him to work
in the prison laundry and
he went about his duties
without a word. R. G.
Warnke, civilian foreman
of the laundry, showed
the new man what he
was expected to do.
During the explana-
tion, Warnke chanced to
look directly into Panz-
ran’s eyes. The next mo-
TOPEKA, KANSAS
Carl Panzran, considered by many the most hardened
criminal ever incarcerated within the walls of Uncle Sam’s
largest prison, Leavenworth
Wl ez V2
ment the laundry fore-
man’s voice stumbled a
bit. Those cold eyes were
staring at him from a
poker face; a hard, ex-
pressionless face.
Warnke wasn’t afraid
of “tough guys.” There
are plenty of them in
every penitentiary and
Leavenworth is the larg-
est in the country. It
wasn’t that. It was the
way in which the man
was looking at him. This
fellow was dangerous. He
would have no scruples
about killing.
But there was yet
something more about
the signal in those
strange eyes of Carl
Panzran that Warnke
read. It was the thing
that had made the fore-
man’s voice involuntarily
falter for a split second.
Those eyes of the new
prisoner were telling him
as plainly as if the con-
vict had spoken:
“yy OU’VE guessed it.
I'll murder, all right.
And it might as well be
you as anyone else.”
He was a bad one,
Warnke decided.
But the days of that
first week were passing
without incident. Panz-
ran, silently, morosely,
with some of the careless
indifference of a man
who had been behind pri-
son bars before, went
49
WHEN PANZRAM WAS
DONE, HE FED THE
BODIES TO THE
CROCODILES.
THE EMBODIMENT OF EVIL
Reform school had turned a potential criminal into a confirmed
one. Institutional life seemed only to accentuate the monstrous side
of his nature. Panzram joined the army while drunk ond spent the
next 37 months in military prison rather than be broken by regimen-
tal discipline. After his dishonorable discharge, Panzram traveled the
world—leaving a trail of raped, murdered bodies behind him.
After a large heist, he rented a yacht and lured several sailors
aboard with the promise of free liquor. He drugged them all and
raped each in turn, Then he slit their throats, threw them overboard,
and sailed away. He called it “a party.” ‘In Portuguese West Africa, he
hired eight native carriers to help him hunt crocodiles.’ Instead, he
killed them and committed sodomy on their corpses. When he was
done, he fed the bodies to the crocodiles,
In 1928, Panzram was orristed for a series of burglaries in the 4
Washington D.C./Baltimore area, (He was suspected of several mur- ]
ders, but he was not tried for them.) He was convicted of burglary.
and sentenced to 20 years in federal prison. . Pe
On his arrival at Leavenworth, Panzram informed everyone he 4
saw that he would kill the first man who got in his way. True to his
word, he crushed the skull of a civilian laundry superintendent named
Robert Warnke. That little stunt put Panzram on Death Row, where,
one suspects, he wanted to be. When opponents of capital punish-
ment petitioned for a commutation of his death sentence, he sent
them venomous letters. One note threatened, “I wish you all had one :
neck, and | had my hands on it.”
Corl Panzram’s final burst of fury was directed at the hangman, 4
As he stood on the platform on September 5, 1930, he berated the
executioner for his slowness, and urged him to hurry it up: “I could 4
-hang a dozen men while you're fooling around!” Given the chance, he q
might have.
CRIMES OF THE 20TH CENTURY
had he
estions
ts de-
5
Kansas
d Fed-
zran if
finding
y was
ities of
imitted
h other
aundry.
tlement
motive
; knew,
ry con-
urder.
id. He
re from
se fury.
-oncern-
r in the
git him-
ilable—
t mood.
‘tled the
supplied
; brutal
him act
hi
2
The Strange Story of the World’s Worst Murderer 51
plead not guilty so that he would be certain to get the
death penalty; he would refrain from putting on any
defense at all and he would so question the prosecution wit-
nesses that they would be forced to make the case all the
stronger against him. Then, to climax all of this, he
promised to put himself on the stand and startle the court-
room with a story of ruthless crime, bloodshed, murder.
The inference, weird as it may be, is too clear to be
ignored. Panzran’s crime had gone far to put a rope about
his neck. But he was not content. He wanted to assure
himself that nothing would go amiss in the courtroom.
Carl Panzran wanted to hang.
Had that, then, been the other half of the double motive
for the slaying of the civilian laundry foreman? Appar-
ently, it had.
Before his trial, in a letter to Federal Judge Richard J.
Hopkins, Panzran explained his strange attitude. He wrote
as follows:
“T intend to plead not guilty; I intend to demand a jury
trial: I intend to act as my own counsel; | refuse to accept
the services of any counsel which the court may appoint to
defend me; | do not intend to call any witnesses in my own
defense: I do not intend to cross-examine or challenge any
of the men or women of the jury; I do not intend to plead
for either pity or sympathy; I demand justice.
“My conception of justice is that I be found guilty of
murder in the first degree and then sentenced to death, and
that sentence be carried out; regardless of what the outcome
and the sentence of this trial may be, | will refuse to appear
for a new trial.”
THE world suddenly took notice of this strange man who,
from solitary confinement in Leavenworth, was demand-
ing that the Federal Government hang him, and be quick
about it.
The State of Kansas had not had a legal hanging since
1870. There exists a strong sentiment in the state against
infliction of the death penalty, but since the crime had been
committed on federal property in the United States Peni-
tentiary, the State had no jurisdiction. However, the
people of Kansas could voice protest of an execution within
the borders of their state as they had on two previous
occasions. In those instances their petitions had won for
condemned men commutations by the President of the
United States.
Thus, had Panzran been eager to save his neck, he could
have won sympathy for himself and, in all probability have
obtained a life sentence.
But Carl Panzran did not want to keep his neck out of
the noose; did not want to win public sympathy. By nature,
he had remained aloof from others and when the murder of
the prison foreman placed him in solitary confinement he
didn’t care. He had no desire for companionship, was not
even interested in women. He had, apparently, but one
diversion—and that had been taken away from him, now—
the joy of killing fellow humans.
A huge man and powerful, with long, clenching fingers
and an infrequent, but engaging smile, he said he would
rather choke a man to death than eat when he was hungry.
And he meant it!
He killed just for the pleasure he derived from seeing a
victim writhe and die; out of feeling their necks contract
between his ape-like hands. Men or women, it was all the
same to Carl Panzran.
Now, by the murder of Warnke, he had earned himself
a new delight—the pleasure of dying himself. He seemed
sincerely anxious, eager, to get upon the scaffold. He
seemed just as delighted at the prospect of feeling the Gov-
ernment’s hempt tighten about his neck in its deadly clutch,
as he had felt in killing Warnke.
Naturally, Panzran’s request that he be permitted to act
as his own attorney, was denied. When Panzran was in-
formed of the decision he paced up and down in his cell,
cursing those who had thwarted his desires.
Federal Judge Richard J. Hopkins who
sentenced Panzran to be hanged. Panzran
thanked the judge for the death sentence
Naturally, too, authorities became suspicious that Panz-
ran’s entire attitude was a pose; a skillful defense whereby
he hoped to evade punishment by laying a foundation for
an insanity plea. Accordingly, Judge Hopkins appointed
a committee of doctors to test the slayer’s sanity. They
reported that far from finding anything mentally wrong
with the man, there was evidence that at one time he had
been a cultured person.
Panzran, from his cell, sneered his contempt for all of
these movements of the authorities. He boasted to news-
paper men who visited him that he had been in a dozen
penitentiaries. Investigation later proved that he had served
time in at least half that many.
ANZRAN asserted that he had turned to minor crime,
robbery, etc., in order to make money on which to live
while he pursued the pastime of murder. And with Panz-
ran it had amounted to a maniacal pastime.
For Carl Panzran, by his own boast, had snuffed out the
lives of twenty-eight men and women.
“If [| ever get the chance,” he announced from his cell,
“PIL kill another twenty-eight.”
Panzran had the world completely baffled by this time.
It was recalled that in the past another prisoner had taken
an attitude almost like that of Panzran. His had been a
posed attitude, an assumed eagerness to die. It had been
disproved later when he expressed his happiness at having
evaded the death penalty. Was Panzran merely duplicating
this pose? Was he stalling? Would he sing a different song
when he went to trial?
Public opinion was divided. Some said that Panzran was
a fake, an insincere, scheming rascal. Others—and many
of these were prison guards and those who had had an
opportunity to study the man at close range—insisted that
Carl Panzran was utterly sincere when he said he looked for-
RP Ny ORT LE RT ED .. Rage
Death Row at the Washington
District Jail. Panzram occupied the
last cell, near window. At right,
Warden Spud Murphy remembered
Panzram as ‘that flag carrier.’
Illinois Central Railroad as a strike-
breaker. “I licked every striker I saw,”
he wrote.
Carl heard the churches in Old Mex-
ico were full of silver and gold so he
left Chicago, stealing anything he could
along the way. By the time he hit
Jacksonville, Texas, in 1911, he had
collected two pistols, a few dollars, and
a new partner. Pinched, they were
sent to the road gang at Rusk, Texas.
Carl’s sentence called for 40 days or
$19.70 at 50 cents per day. He escaped,
got caught, was whipped and 20 days
was added to his sentence. Five days
later he escaped again.
Dodging possemen and bloodhounds,
he zigzagged to Palestine, Texas,
hopped a freight, and disembarked in
Houston. The stuff he filched there,
helped him endure until he hit El
Paso. There, he met a man who said
he had worked a few days on a R.R.
gang and had been paid $35. They
became pals until Carl beat him up, tied
him to a tree, took his $35, and sodom-
ized him. “I left him in the woods to
die,” he scrawled.
46 ,
In Agua Prieta, Me
Foreign Legion ot
Army of Nortt
could rob chu
ed he took alone
thing that wasn’t n:
posse on his heels
death and had to at
fore he got safely
Working his way
robbed chicken c
in ashes.
“T burned down b
snowsleds or any
when I couldn’t bt
would set fire to t!
I had a pistol and
my spare change |
take potshots at fa
saw cows or horses
cut loose at them
His first day in Fi
got pinched for sv
cle. Sentenced to 3
He headed north «
cific line. In Seatt
for robbery and so
days. In Dallas, ‘
rested for high)
sodomy. He broke
in the hoosegow a
1912, Again, he e
He was 23 year
vre Sheriff J. V
him from a wante\
the cuffs on him
was shackled ins
the Oregon E
ported to the
Salem, to serve a
Now a new hor
was Warden Ha:
former mantrack
vorite way to brea
him on a pillar :
cat-o-nine tails. 1
utation for being
pleted in 1871.
tained in a so¢
convicts were nol
dure its brutal lat
ture chambers.
There were 40
into three overc
cellhouses. The
strictly enforced
mush, hominy o1
marched in a slo
prison, one han
the man in front.
who got out of st
whisper, felt the
cane.
Charles “Spud” Murphy. He didn’t
believe in harsh punishment for minor
infractions. He granted a blanket
amnesty to all prisoners, wiping their
slate clean. “It’s what you do from here
on in, that counts,” he said.
As a gesture of extending mercy to
the most incorrigible prisoners, he
took Panzram out of solitary confine-
ment and asked him if he wanted to play
on the newly-formed prison baseball
team. Panzram had never played base-
ball, and couldn’t learn, so Murphy of-
fered to give him music lessons to join
the band. Panzram couldn’t learn that
either. Finally, Murphy let. the prison’s
most uncontrollable inmate carry the
flag in front of the band. Carl Panzram
was getting closer to freedom.
At times, Murphy went overboard
while trying to make prison life more
acceptable for the convicts. Every
week, 30 or 40 men would pile into
trucks or on the train with only one
guard, and they would go to towns all
over Oregon, playing baseball.
“I thought he was crazy,” Panzram
wrote of Murphy.
Panzram’s escape almost ended Mur-
phy’s career as warden. He made his
way into town, swiped a bike near
Shedd, and peddled into the farming
community of Tangent. With the bay
of hounds ringing in his ears, Panzram
broke into a house, stole some food,
clothes and a loaded pistol, and head-
ed for Albany. Sheriff Joe Frum spot-
ted him and a running gunfight ensued.
Out of ammunition, Panzram surren-
dered and was returned to prison.
Panzram had two trials in Septem-
ber, 1917; one in the morning for as-
sault with intent to kill, and one in
the afternoon for burglary. He was
found guilty in both trials and sentenced
to eight years for assault and two for
burglary. Where Panzram had four
years to go before his escape, he now
faced 14 years, which he had no in-
tention of serving.
One night at bed count Panzram
was gone. Of his escape, he later wrote,
“I made a clean break. I have never
been back since. I still owe 14 years
there.”
He was 27 when he crossed the
Oregon state line. Handbills were
tacked everywhere, on fence posts, post
office bulletin boards, shop windows;
they offered a $50 reward, a goodly
amount then, for his capture. Aliases
he used were listed as Jefferson Bald-
win, Jefferson Rhoades and Jeff Davis.
48
.
Inmates constructing a new cellhouse at Fort Leavenworth Prison at
turn of century. Panzram would meet the hangman there.
Through war-absorbed 1918, clear into
the Armistice-wild era that beckoned
the twenties, Panzram eluded mantrack-
ers dogging his footsteps every step
of the way.
He went to Frederick, Maryland,
and stuck up a liquor store for $1,200.
In 1920 he broke into a:‘home in New
Haven, Connecticut. He got $40,000 in
jewelry and Liberty Bonds that were
signed by W.H. Taft, the same man who
had given him three years in the U.S.
Military Prison when he was Secre-
tary of War in 1906. He fenced the stuff
for $3,000 and bought a yacht. He hired
a few sailors, took them out to sea,
got them drunk, and committed sodomy
on them. His sexual urge satisfied, he
robbed and killed them and fed them
to the fishes.
“T did this many times,” he confessed.
“When they were asleep I would get
my .45 Colt Army Automatic I stole
from Mr. Taft’s home, and blow their
brains out. Then I’d dump them over-
board.”
“In Portuguese West Africa I went
to work for Sinclair Oil Co. While I
was there, I bought a native girl from
her parents for $8. The reason I paid
such a big price for her was because
she was a virgin. Yah, so she said.
She was 11 or 12 years old. I took her
to my shack the first night and took her
back to her father
demanded my mone
wasn't a Vv
younger girl b
but it didn’t wun 5
her back and qui!
more virgins. I look
one. He was our t.
cated him into the
When Panzram +
he was keeping a sc
him out of the jun;
clear into Luanda. |
another boy, arounc
took him out to a ¢
ted sodomy on hin
Moving into Lot
hired a canoe anc
went crocodile hu:
waters. He shot al
crocks did the rest
“It was very muc
kill those six natiy
me to kill only one
I killed later, and s
only 11 or 12 years
He stowed away
for America after 1
prostitute of 10,0:
eventually ended u
achusetts. Here, he
murdered an |1-ye:
ing his head with a
He signed on a s!
Rouge, Louisiana,
Marine Hospital at *
he left, he robbed
two suitcase: f
and opium,
He stole a yacht at
Island, sailed it to \
a young fellow wh«
buy his boat. They
run. Once they \
Panzram shot him.
chor, and dumped |!
In New Haven, P:
er boy. After comn
him, he tied a bel!
and strangled him.
in the bushes,” he
Panzram held up
at Larchmont, N¢
caught in the act.
to five years in Sin;
put on him which
available to serve th
Oregon. He was |
would be fifty whe
Due to his record <
had been on the do
burning, raping, ro!
ing innocent victims
Panzram how to rob church poor boxes.
Panzram taught Benson how to burn
down the church after they robbed it.
By the time they arrived in Fargo,
North Dakota, each had a six-shooter,
new clothes, pocket money, and an
accumulation of watches, rings and
other trinkets they had harvested. They
decided to split up. Benson returned
to Butte, got caught, in a holdup, and
received a ten year stretch in the pen-
itentiary at Deer Lodge, Montana.
Carl Panzram rode the rails into Hele-
na, Montana. Hungry and unemployed,
he fibbed about his age and joined the
army, seeking adventure and salvation
with the Sixth Infantry Regiment.
From the outset, Panzram rebelled
against the rigid military discipline. He
landed in the guardhouse on his first
day in camp. No sooner out, and he
was back in again, sentenced to thirty
days on bread and water for fighting.
Out again, he became an obedient
soldier long enough to be rewarded
with a 24-hour pass. On April 8,1907,
he was stopped by sentries as he tried
to walk off the post with two stolen
army overcoats he planned on selling.
He was only in the army a month
when the Secretary of War, William
Howard Taft, reviewed his hearing
and recommended that he serve three
years in the U.S. Military Prison at Fort
Leavenworth, Kansas. His number was
1874, and most of his bit was done
by swinging an 18-pound hammer in
a rock quarry.
Built ten years after the Civil War,
Fort Leavenworth Military Prison
was a crumbling, airless firetrap held
together by iron braces and blocks of
wood. Panzram was given a lecture
by Commandant Major George S.
Young, walked through a shower, is-
sued a denim uniform, and handed a
pamphlet explaining a list of prison
rules. The mandate included manda-
tory silence, and a list of official dis-
cipline.
It wasn’t the Waldorf. The food con-
sisted of smelly codfish, fatty stew or
rice or beans. Beatings were common,
supertight straitjackets caused uncon-
sciousness. Panzram wasn’t incarcer-
ated long before he tried an unsuccessful
jailbreak. One of his punishments was
to be shackled to a 50-pound iron ball
for six months. He lugged it in a wheel-
barrow and marched behind a line of
cons, out to the rock quarry where he
worked nine hours in the Kansas sun,
‘busting boulders.
When he was paroled in 1910, “I was
the spirit of meanness personified.”
They gave him $5, a suit of clothes,
and a train ticket to Denver, Col-
orado, where he got a job as a mule-
skinner. Compactly built, within a week
he had licked everyone in camp and
was getting ready to start on the boss
when he got fired and banished at
gunpoint.
The early difficulties which beset
Carl Panzram included a case of gon-
orrhea, which he picked up from a local
whore. Although his good looks at-
tracted the opposite sex, he vowed to
avoid women, except for virgins, fol-
This was Panzram’s medieval looking cell at Oregon State Pen.
lowing his vanereal disease experience.
He joined up as a rider for Col. Dick-
ey’s Circle D Wild West Show, but was
fired for fighting the first week. He
went over to the Kansas State Militia
soldier camp, and was stealing a tent
when a sentry caught him. He was
giving the sentry a thrashing when a
hundred more came to his rescue. They
chased Carl all the way to the railroad
yard, where he hopped a freight head-
ed for Dedalia, Missouri.
He got a job with a carnival, had a
run-in with the boss, burnt the carni-
val down, and hopped a freight to St.
Louis, where he got a job with the
45
In Agua Prieta, Mexico, he joined the
Foreign Legion of the Constitutional
Army of Northern Mexico just so he
could rob churches. When he desert-
ed he took along his horse and every-
thing that wasn’t nailed down. With a
posse on his heels, he ran his horse to
death and had to abandon his loot be-
fore he got safely across the border.
Working his way through Yuma, he
robbed chicken coops, leaving them
in ashes.
“T burned down barns, sheds, fences,
snowsleds or anything I could and
when I couldn’t burn anything else I
would set fire to the grass or woods.
I had a pistol and I would spend all
my spare change for bullets. I would
take potshots at farmers’ houses. If I
saw cows or horses in the fields I would
cut loose at them.”
His first day in Fresno, California, he
got pinched for swiping a kid’s bicy-
cle. Sentenced to 30 days, he escaped.
He headed north on the Southern Pa-
cific line. In Seattle, he was arrested
for robbery and sodomy, and drew 30
days. In Dallas, Oregon, he was ar-
rested for highway robbery and
sodomy. He broke out. He was thrown
in the hoosegow at Salem, Oregon, in
1912. Again, he escaped.
He was 23 years of age when Lou-
vre Sheriff J. V. Burns recognized
him from a wanted poster and slapped
the cuffs on him. In June, 1915, he
was shackled inside a baggage car on
the Oregon Electric Railway and trans-
ported to the Oregon State Prison at
Salem, to serve a seven-year stretch.
Now a new horror came. His name
was Warden Harry Minto. A gruff,
former mantracker, the warden’s fa-
vorite way to break a rebel was to hoist
him on a pillar and lash him with a
cat-o-nine tails. The prison had a rep-
utation for being a mankiller. Com-
pleted in 1871, it was poorly main-
tained in a soggy climate. Many
convicts were not rugged enough to en-
dure its brutal labor conditions and tor-
ture chambers.
There were 400 prisoners crammed
into three overcrowded, rat-infested
cellhouses. The no-talking rule was
strictly enforced. Meals consisted of
mush, hominy or potatoes. Cons were
marched in a slow shuffle through the
prison, one hand on the shoulder of
the man in front, heads down. Any man
who got out of step or appeared to even
whisper, felt the blow of a steel-tipped
cane.
Melee a
aa ia thy vet
Pitas Ss ihe Oo weir De *% * ty
Pat ane dF pate WR ee
Clinton State Prison at Dannemora, N.Y., in the mid-twenties, one of
Carl’s many homes behind bars.
The good news for the prisoners
was that Warden Minto was shot dead
while chasing escaped prisoners. The
bad news was that his brother, John,
took his place.
Warden John took an immediate
dislike to Carl Panzram and proceed-
ed to make life more miserable for
him than it already was. Panzram re-
taliated by setting fire to the prison
shops. For his stubbornness, he was
stripped naked and tossed in the dun-
geon for 61 days, bread and water his
only nourishment. When he got out,
he was assigned to Cell No. 128 in
the bullpen. Panzram, and other re-
bellious prisoners were forcéd to walk
constantly around a circular path 12-
14 hours at a time. Stopping, or wan-
dering from the path was considered
an attempt to escape. The guards were
sanctioned to shoot to kill.
On May 26,1916, the flax mill burst
into flames. Guards and prisoners
formed a bucket brigade. Flames were
doused after $20,000 worth of dam-
age had been done. Panzram was
identified as the man who tossed a torch
into the storage bin. He was sent to
his old abode, the hole.
John Minto was fired and the new
warden was an ex-army captain named
47
a eal
. ae
ee naa
xt adel
or, at age ninety-
day his cousin,
nged. McMurry’s
e author at left.
be missed. Mr.
nall hill and had
itry and he had
and was sound-
ious rate to get
‘ellar as soon as
s ae into the
1 the team to a
the cellar right
ral other neigh-
ve ever knew
and when it
down every-
IAL. Ballard had
tton in his yard
2r from the past
| a better price.
ighs about 500
3; of cotton were
+. Ballard found
1e other he never
night. The only
ecasional flashes
cow were far off,
ider sounded like
nnon.
1 had no way to
ig the road, and
2re square across
f limbs big and
home to get our
ind Mr. Ballard’s
nally cleared the
) that they could
was near twelve
t through and I
I have to make it
\bye.”
f April 16, 1885,
rn statement to
, U. S. Commis-
that he was not
red that Bob Hill
ackey’s gun and
ther. Maintaining
ery end, he stood
king straight at
rectly below him,
nocent as an un-
’ se words he was
’ the Fort Smith
ount of the hang-
most all of the
orge Maledon, the
.ver fails to break
3 was a big man
the hangman’s
True West _ September-October, 1966
oose almost severed his head from his
body.” :
McMurry’s account of the hanging as
passed on to his children was: When it
was over, Bob Hill drew a long, audible
breath and said calmly, “I feel better
now.” He then walked rapidly away.
Four months after Phillips died on
the scaffold, Bob Hill made a public
confession that he had killed his own
father for the humiliation of the horse-
whipping before his girl friend, and
shortly thereafter committed suicide by
taking poison.
Will was a good man, but he was
wrong about one thing. In Isaac Par-
ker’s Court of No Appeal, they could
hang a man for having big feet, and Will
Phillips was that man.
Truly Western
(Continued from Page 63)
_Crazy Horse
Dear Joe:
In your issue of TRUE WEST Febru-
ary 1966, there is an article “My Friend
Crazy Horse,’’ by Bertha Shafer Howey.
Could I give you my version of how and
where Crazy Horse was buried?
My grandfather was Sam Deon, a
French-Canadian fur trapper who was
the first white man to make his home
in Pine Ridge. He came in with five loads
of merchandise and started a general
store. He married a. Sioux woman, my
grandmother, and raised a big family.
As a child of eight or nine, I very clear-
ly remember Red Cloud and my grand-
father, also the many tales that they
told. I am now sixty-eight and remember
very clearly when Red Cloud was buried.
When Crazy Horse returned from an
eastern Government School he found that
all of his people had been driven out of
the Black Hills into the Bad Lands by
General Custer. After the battle of the
Little Big Horn, Red Cloud persuaded
Crazy Horse to give up and make peace
with the Government. He was bayoneted.
While the greatest of all Sioux Chiefs
was dying, his wife came to his side.
After the Army doctor pronounced him
dead, the garrison commander gave per-
mission for his wife to take and bury
him. She brought his body to Pine Ridge
and asked John Nelson to help her. They
went with his body to the head of Medi-
cine Canyon, then she bade Mr. Nelson
goodbye, and she went alone with her
husband’s body and where he is buried no
one knows. She never told anyone.—Ross
Lpie P. O. Box 1598, Ogden, Utah
02.
Seri Indians
Dear Sir: .
Perhaps you will think I am asking
for free advertising, but I don’t have
anything to sell. I am a collector of Seri
Indian artifacts and their history. Dur-
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three sunken ships in shallow water. I
briefly examined one the Indians report
to be over 100 years old. It is over 100
feet’ in length, a sailing vessel.
I am in hopes of determining their
origin and cargoes and also their connec-
tion with the Seri Indians. I need help
of persons interested in the historical
value of these ships and other ruins in
this area.
I know the country well and have kept
in contact with the Seris these past
years. Perhaps‘ you can pass this in-
formation on or instruct me on finding
interested parties—Tom Crutchfield, 440
Belvedere, La Jolla, California.
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oe oe NB +
>s bs Teno
ease
SIT a
een
1a Rita,
sf “Prot until the day before Phillips was slated
ot reprieve—possible justice—fade. On that day, when
le alLwas lost, he wrote a letter home...
E Fey
INNOCENT WERE HANGED, T
Oo
By OLEVIA E. MYERS
NDER THE terrible “Court of No
Appeal,’”” over which Isaac Parker
reigned supreme for several years, Wil-
liam Phillips died on the old gallows at
Fort Smith in 1885 for the simple reason
that he had big feet, and that he had
talked too much and made idle threats.
Will was a man of ape strength,
weighing around 180 and standing just
under six feet. He was always first to
show up at a log-rolling or a house-
raising or- a land-clearing around the
small village of Ozark, Arkansas, some .
twenty-five miles from Fort Smith.
He was an Irishman and his heritage
was apparent in his good looks, gay
laughter, and willingness to fight at the
drop of a hat. Will was never known to
use anything other than his ham-like fists
and few were-the fights he ever lost;
but on the rare occasion when he did
lose, he would. laugh heartily, get -up,
shake the hand of his opponent and say,
while ruefully rubbing a sore jaw, “Man,
man! You sure do pack a wallop!” Will
held no grudges and the only two men
who ever bested him in a fist fight were,
to the day of his untimely death, his
warm friends.
Will’s folks lived around Ozark, White
Oak and Altus, Arkansas, all small vil-
lages and all recently carved out of the
wilderness. Will’s family had come from
Virginia. ‘
When he was twenty, Will married a
neighbor girl, and by the time he was
twenty-eight, there were three children.
The following year-his wife was taken
by the scourge of the early settlers,
typhoid fever, and the three children
were ean’ ny out among his kin.
Will worked here and there, not being
able to stand. the loneliness of his own
cabin after the death of his wife. He
drifted over into the Cherokee Nation
just across the river from Fort Smith
and about a year later he married again.
Although he was only thirty-five miles
or so from home, transportation con-
sisted of a lumber wagon pulled either
by a team of horses or by slow-moving
oxen and he did not go home to visit
Photo
Letter written by William L, Phillips the day before he was hanged
very often after making a trip back to
get his children, whom he loved devotedly.
Will lived quietly in the Nation until
trouble came which cost him his life
under the Hanging Judge, and left his
helpless little children orphans.
LL’S SECOND WIFE was Mary
Hill. Her father, William Hill, was
a cranky, mean old man who was a tyrant
with his own family and known to his
neighbors as hard to get along with. Hill
had had trouble with a Mr. Lackey who
lived on a neighboring farm, and the
quarrel had almost come to blows, but
Hill was not a man to fight with his fists,
referring to vent his anger on his fami-
y or someone who would not, or could
not, fight back. ’
TRUE WEST
Hill and Lackey had had treailes
val,
5
the latter’s livestock which ke
rere pet crops, and Hill had t t
to kill them if it hap again. Later
countered by tellin, pee ee be wed.
fix his old broken
could not bother him,
that if Hill killed the livestock
would shoot him for it.
Hill had a son just
overgrown boy who stood in
of his father, having felt the ,
(xi
eet
ae
.
t
é
rawhide quirt many a time A Ge
meeting was in progress ina i
just down the road from old mm
ing.
home from meeting. wy
d told him to
Hill ha
place, and the boy, Bob, had bees
One night he walked a neig!
Photo Courtesy Author
s hanged
- had had trouble over
ck which kept getting
ind Hill had threatened
iappened again. Lackey
ig him that if he would
-down fences, the cattle
him. He also stated
-he livestock he, Lackey,
for it. ;
n just sixteen, a big,
ho stood in deathly fear
ving felt the lash of a
rany a time. A camp
rogress in a brush arbor
iad from old man Hill’s
y, Bob, had been attend-
> ‘walked a neighbor girl
| to leave the girl
True West
Photo Courtesy Glenn Shirley Collection
The old Federal building with its basement jail at Fort Smith, Arkansas, where thou-
sands of prisoners were confined. Judge Parker's courtroom was on the first floor above
. basement jail to left.
alone and get right home from the meet-
ing, with no fooling around. For a night
or two Bob did as his father ordered, but
the girl was pretty, the moon was full,
and once again Bob walked the little girl
home. They arrived at her gate and as
d a stood there talking for a moment,
s
Hill suddenly appeared from behind some
blackberry briars that grew outside the
gate. He had the dreaded rawhide quirt
coiled in his hand and he must have been
a frightful sight indeed to the little girl
and to his son. Bob well knew what was
coming though even he, knowing his
father as he did, could not imagine the
sick humiliation he was to suffer here.
With a hard, loud snap the dreadful
whip descended and when it was with-
drawn for the second blow, a path of red
was already showing across Bob Hill’s
shoulders. The. girl stood in petrified
silence witnessing the terrible thing that
was happening here in the darkness.
Gripped in violent rage, the old man
poured blow after cutting blow upon his
son. Bob was writhing upon the groun
when at last the girl fled screaming from
the gate and her father came running
from the house to find Hill stripping the
clothing from his son. When Bob Hill
lay completely naked, the father once
again brought the whip down, and com-
manded that his son get up and walk.
They disappeared down the road with
the dag 2 still cracking across the back
of the hapless youth.
Mary, the Hill girl whom Will Phil-
lips had married, was a good looking
woman, but according to all reports she
had nothing else good to her credit. Will
was having trouble with his new wife,
and the children were beng. neglected.
Will worked hard and kept his troubles
to himself, but the whole neighborhood
soon knew that the new marriage was
not going smoothly. Every time they had
a fuss, Mary would go home and stay for
a day or two. It seems that old man Hill
had a soft spot somewhere in his heart
for this girl, for he warned Will that
he had better never touch her or he
would have to answer for it.
Hill and his son-in-law were having
trouble, also, over the farm’s broken-
down old fences; there was just no way
to keep livestock, which had open range,
out of the green fields of corn. A lot of
bickering back and forth and a lot of
threats made on both. sides took place
before Will said flatly, “You shoot my
cows or bother me again, and I’m going
to put a hole through you.”
September-October, 1 966
(THREE WEEKS later, Hill was dead,
shot at close range with a 12-gauge
shotgun loaded with buckshot. It was
July and very hot in the bottoms along
the Poteau River. where Hill and Phil-
lips lived. The old man had knocked the
mud chinking from between the logs of
his house near where his bed stood, in
order to catch a little of the vagrant
breeze that blows in Oklahoma during
the summer, and he had lain down early,
about 8:30, and gone to sleep. His back
was to the logs where he had knocked
out the chinking, and, his small grand-
daughter, three years old, was asleep
on his arm.
The killer poked the barrel of the shot-
gun between the logs smack up against
the back of Hill’s head and pulled the
trigger. Mrs. Hill was asleep on a pallet
near the front door. Hill’s head was
almost severed from the shoulders, but
ie child slept on, not a shot touching
er.
Within a few days, Mr. Lackey, Bob
Hill, and Will Phillips were rounded up
and brought before the U. S. Commis-
sioner at Fort Smith for questioning.
‘All three had threatened to kill Hill, but
at the scene of the murder, just outside
the cabin, was a clear and distinct set of
footprints of large size, leading toward
Phillips’ cabin. Will Phillips had the
largest feet in the neighborhood. He also
owned a 12-gauge shotgun, but so did
Mr. Lackey.
After questioning, Lackey and Bob
were released but Will Phillips was
bound to the old Fort Smith jail to await
trial for murder.
He steadfastly denied that he knew
anything about the killing and main-
tained at all times that Bob Hill had
borrowed Lackey’s gun and had killed
his own father. It was known that Bob
had been visiting Lackey quite frequent-
ly after the affair of the whipping, and
it was also common talk that Bob had
said his father would pay for beating
him and stripping him naked.
Time dragged for Will, locked up in
the dungeons of the old Fort Smith jail,
and he wrote several letters to his folks
especially to a cousin, William Sanfo
McMurry, who lived at Ozark and who
was helping to care for Phillips’ children>
In all his letters he declared his inno-
cence, and he fully expected to be re-
leased when his case came to trial, as he
said nag “You can’t hang a man for
having
Phillips was wrong.
BAFLY IN 1885, Will was brought to
trial and sat stunned in the old court-
room, which had seen so many men go
to their deaths, when Parker ronounced,
“You shall hang by the nec until you
are dead.”
He sat unbelieving. To hang for a
crime he. never committed, upon such
small evidence as a set of footprints and
a threat made in anger, was something
he couldn’t accept. Will had told over
and over again that he had lent Bob
Hill a pair of shoes to wear to the camp
-meeting, since Bob had none of his own
fit to wear, and that the shoes had never
been returned.
William Sanford McMurry was, present
in the courtroom as the sentence of doom
fell upon his cousin, and well. he knew
there was no appeal. This very thing had
given this seat of justice the name of
“Hell Court.” It was done now. Will’s
(Continued on page 66)
A courtroom scene in the old Federal building at Fort Smith, Arkansas. Judge Isaac
Parker on the bench, trial jury on the right.
Photo Courtesy Glenn Shirley Collection
ig feet.” That is where Will \
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-'The Innocent Were Hanged, Too’
: (Continued from page 23)
life was declared forfeit.
The prisoner was taken back to the
-old dungeon to await the fateful day of
April 17. William Sanford McMurry re-
ceived the following detter, still kept by
the family:
Fort Smith Jail
April 16th, 1885
Mr. W. S. MeMurry—
Dear Cousin, I seat myself with pen
in hand to tell you that tomorrow is my
time to die. All I regret is to leave my
innocent children and to die for a crime
I did not commit.
I want you to come up here and take
my body back to Ozark and bury me by
my wife’s side. ‘
I now bid you a long farewell and
4° that I hope we shall meet again in
a la
nd where we will never be so cruelly -
parted from our loved ones.
I say again that I am as innocent as
-a babe that was never borned.
Goodbye from your cousin
William L. Phillips
Postscript: take my shoes off and put
them in the coffin beside me. They are
to tight and hurt my feet.
WLP
William Sanford McMurry, Jr., aged
ninety-eight, lives at Tucker, Oklahoma.
Almost totally blind, “Grandpa,” as he
is known to all the farm folks for miles
around, can remember the long-ago day
when the letter arrived. .
-“T yemember—remember as though it
was yesterday, the day the letter came.
Pa took the letter and went to his close
friend and neighbor, a man named Press
Ballard, a veteran of the War between
the States. He showed the letter to Bal-
lard and asked if he would make the sad
journey with him after the body. Bal-
lard made arrangements with the neigh-
bors to have the grave ready in the
little cemetery beside the young wife and
then he started getting ready for the long
trip. The two men planned to drive all
night, getting to Fort Smith around day-
light and starting back soon after two
o’clock, at which time the hanging was to
occur.
“Pa asked me if I wanted to go along
and I said no. I had always thought the
world of Cousin Will, ‘and the thought
of making that long ride with him dead
in the wagon was too much for me. I
went about getting the team and wagon
ready, though, and I put in plenty of
corn and hay for the horses. I also put
a couple of quilts in the back of ‘the
wagon. I felt it would make easier rid-
ing for Will, even though he was dead.
I wanted to do this much for him.
“Tt was getting late, almost dark,
and was time for Pa and Mr. Ballard
to be going, when all at once dark clouds
which had been gathering all evening
began to thicken up, and ~it started
thundering and lightning, and looked
real stormy.
“Mr. Ballard had a big rock cellar
and often when it looked threatening he
would sound his old army bugle and the
folks in hearing distance would go to
Mr. Ballard’s’to get into the cellar. We
had some pretty bad storms along about
then.
“Just as Pa started out of the barn
lot, all hitched up and ready to go, that
old bugle began sounding and blowing
long and loud and clear. It had an
5 ee ee te Be
William S. McMurry, center, at age ninety ae”
nine recalls vividly the day his cousia,.
William Phillips, was hanged. McMurry’s
wife is on the right, the author at li @
°
urgency that could not be missed.
Ballard lived on top a small hill
a good view of the country and
seen the cyclone coming and was
ing the ‘alarm at a furious rate
his neighbors into the cellar as
possible. A
“Ma and all the kids piled into
wagon, Pa whipped up the
gallop, and we were in the cellar
away, along with several other
bors. ee
“It was the worst storm we ever c
in that part of Arkansas and when &,
was finally over, trees were down every —
where. I remember that Mr. Ballard bad »
a couple of bales of cotton in his yan @
that he. was holding over from the past
fall because he wanted a better price =
A bale of cotton weighs about 500 =)?
pounds, but those bales of cotton were 97
gone. One of them Mr. Ballard found 7
a half mile away and the other he never” #7
did hear of. eee
“It was a pitch-black night. The only”
light came from the occasional flashes =
of lightning which by now were far off, sy”
and the mutter of thunder sounded iy Ai
the distant firing of cannon. Ds &
“Pa and Mr. Ballard had no way ®
get out without clearing the road, and
a couple of big trees were square across
it, besides hundreds of limbs big and
small. Pa sent me back home to get oar
chopping ax, and that and Mr. Ballard’s 2
ax and crosscut saw finally cleared the ©
trees from the road, so that they could %
get on their way. It was near twelve
o'clock before they got through and T 97”)
remember Pa saying, “I have to make a
in time to tell Will goodbye.” Rc
On this same day of April 16, 1885, (ay -
Phillips made a_sworn_ statement te
Colonel Thomas Boles, U. S. Commie 95
sioner for the district that he was nt.) 7
guilty and again declared that Bob Hill” 5
had borrowed Mr. Lackey’s gun and By
had killed his own father. Maintaining
his innocence to the very end, he p
on the scaffold and, looking straight at
Bob Hill who stood directly below him,”
declared, “I am as innocent as an Wh’
born babe.” With these words he was
plunged into eternity. at 4
A yellowed copy of the Fort Smith*}>
paper, in giving an account of the hang: @
ing which occupied almost all of the”
front page, states, “George Maledon, the
champion hangman, never fails to b
a man’s neck. Phillips was a big man,
and the jerk at the end of the hangm:
we
~ Oe
AT POINTER WUNITED SPATHS/! 12
the naletent Upon’ various grotinds,
of which was that it charged two* ‘als!
int? felonies!’ ‘That’ notion wad’ overrildd.
The’ defendant! called’ the’ ‘attention ‘ot “tHe
iH tothe Pact! that | “he had’' been served’
‘Wile thmé before With’ a sun of 87 Yurors, |
f iit) “Subsequently,” with ‘an! addftional : list! |
‘He‘objected ‘to, that mide “of Bering lists" of |
‘fitets by “plédemedl, * opo" this: the court’ re
qikd: “In thé ‘fitst Place," tte list’ of thirty?
‘in Was served, dnd’ 1t! always happens |
‘'sdtde of the original ‘thirty-seven’ ‘cannot!
@, by #eAson' df’ “{ncdtipetencey Sor’ sick |
and, out of ‘abuffddnee' of pteciittion;
“We lave 'the additional list" servéed° on the
‘Wtendant) so’'that ‘theie Will bela -sufticiene |
‘itiinbér’ setved''to “go bh Awith?'the tal of
é ose} without ‘waits for! twWd- days? Serv!
the defendant’ When thé ¢asé' is called
tial “Tt Ys’ nét A Servite’ ‘by piecemeal,
t service of ‘additional taleinen.71"9 9 i
o "entire: panel” of “the” “petit! suity” was
“ecalled,| , and the jurors were Meékdmithed ‘a8’ to
elt £ qualititations, ‘and, ‘thet journal! ‘eitty
‘Astites, 87 in’ number were’ foutld’ to’ Kel Ben-
Ferilly"quilined ‘utder thé'taw) that is, “ih
Tthe' Words of the ‘Bilt ‘Of éxdebtions, “qualiffed
{Mol this cise.” The defchdant' ‘Ana ‘thd
egovernment, were then furnished; ¢héh, with
otithe 37° Jurvrs' thus Seledtow, that! ‘they
nivlit | ‘make? respective’ cMallentes)| 1)
y the’detendant anid S"by the’ edVernment,
‘Hinlaining’ frst! 12 iithies "nbt Challetiged
eotistituté the’ trial’ jury, "THe aefetidant
t the time Sbjetted to" this mode’ or Nelécting
Muth: “My "Bedhade it “wal (HOt 'Hedortlinng
to the rule préschibed: bythe IWS of the'state
of Arkuinsas;'()' beck tise, # vad not thé Pulé:
cticed by bond law 'Gotirts;’ (3) pecause
_ the defe nflantbouta Hot RAdw' ithe particular
Hitots bétote Wwhdm “he ‘would: be’ triéa ‘tntil
ter his, challenges, "ds bs ghdiiitied ‘by’ the
tutes’of the’ United State’; nia been, “ex.
atisted 4) a) becatise’ the ‘governttient aia ‘aot
tehdé? to’ tne!
“Ut ater hig’ Retala to challenge’ ‘was ended: Ms
“Ht the tine this’ objection. awas midé! “thé |
defendahts' counséf saveil“dn ‘exception’ to.
| dictment! ‘dgdinst thé’ sate’
a?" *The point wei mike J8'that thé gov-—
dit mist offer ‘us the twelve’ men 'they |
writ! to try ‘the case.” 'The ‘court ‘obsérvéd: |
1¢y Offered you thirty-seven.”' “We thder- |
nd,’ counsel said, “put, We: Walt to Baye |
thé ‘tiode pursued’ In forthing’’ ‘the’ Jury, and
nc
86
at i
bre’ the Case Was wiflnsd to! the fulry
the ‘xovernnétit, the defendant’ thoved tt
fay
Beto
the’ district a tied y be required, to elect on
fi
= Win heh | ‘count, ‘of e indictment he would
aint conviction. "that diotion ‘Having been
ettuled, ‘he was ‘Fequired | ‘to, BO. to, trial ‘up-
the coun nie
tthe icluston. ‘of. ane ilihe steele
: “the motion thi tthe pey.!
‘defendant the” jury before |
bite was td be’ tried, But! tétidered seven! |
vé, “ana” made’ mat
ype for aefeidadt to know, the twelve |
“hel, beford’ whom he! wis ‘tobe ‘tried were.
Ait
| erhment' Be ‘Fequitted oto Telect! upon which!
| count! of ‘the’ ‘indictment’ iti would’ prosecute!
him. This ‘motion! was overriled.. After an’
| dlabotaté charge by ‘thé! !cburt,. the jury ‘re-
; titted’ ‘to’ consiter their! verdiet, and treturned
tito thé court the: ‘following: ndeWye, thd jury):
“find the @éferidant, ‘Jonn'Potnter) guilty: ot8
murder as’ clilirged: in the’ fitstwedunt! of the»
indictment. Fi 'M.' Barrick, Foreman"! wer
| the Jury, fiid'the’ deferidant,'Jolin Pointer,
guilty /of’ murder''as charged. in.'the’ third
—eount of: ‘the’ indictment, : BW. Me Barriéley
| Woréman,’” SED oe ake hE MT SE
ae motion ‘for’ ‘a thew evs was’ mde. ‘ind
- overruled, and’ off the’ 30th of April,’ 1892,
the court sentenced ‘thé’ defendant to suffer
| the. punishment of’ death 30 ol 6S atiie
4) The motibii'to quash ‘the indictmént, and
the? motion: td ‘require ‘the 'goverhment to
elect upon‘ which count ‘ft‘would’ try the de:
fendant,, present! the” quéstlon whether?’ as
distinct - chatgés" ‘of murder?’ ‘can’ ‘properly’ bé
embraced in one indictriént: " aes i
“ATL is provided by section’ 1004 Sf the’ Révis-
ed’ Statutes Y tonlowing "substantially: thé
wotds 'éf"the act’ ‘of’ February 26, 1883," c.
86,° (10 Stat. 161)—that “whiert’ théte dre ‘sey:
eral dhitgds dgaitist” ‘in¥' person! fot the sine
act’ ot transaction, Or two ‘or''thore acts ot
trifisattions cotinectéd thgdtiet, “ot {for ‘two
or' mote acts or transittions of’ the isatnd eladd
of crintes ‘or ofteristls, whith fay propdity be
joined, “insted ot having’ séveral' indietments,
the? Whol ‘may ‘be Jothed in ote’ thdtetinent,
if Sepiirate ‘counts!’ And, if two: of more ‘in-
aiétmeénts' ‘dre Jottied "ih such’ cies) the Gotirt
may order them:td ‘be’ Corisold ated? 3s 10571)
“Atthough thé two niurder's' in” tiéstiod Are
aAlleved’ to‘ Have! ‘peeti' ‘committed’ ‘by the de,
fendint'6h ‘thé sime ‘day, ‘dnd in‘ the same =
county ahd’ district, it does ‘hot! affikmatively *
appear from ‘the indictitent’ that’ they ‘were
the rest of one ‘tiansaction; or’ that they
Were’ “cohriécted together.” But “thé indict:
thent does ‘show ‘port’ its’ face that ‘the ‘two
tees are | of the Sabie! Clss’ ‘or prade of
ptihishment,
Geenane! fn rer cota The iataituite
dobs rot, Solve! this” question; “but? Tedves ‘the
court to * ‘determine ‘whether,'In a’ given case,
a ‘joindet of two ‘or more ‘offenges in one ib-
yerson | ‘is con-
sistent with the: ‘settled prineip es ‘Of ériminal
law. ‘It those’ ‘principles 'peritt'the joindet
‘of’ two or ‘more felonies’ in ‘the’ ‘sare! indict-
mént, ‘in separdte ‘ tiers then’ the Joinder in
‘question Here was goers es
“tn ‘People ¥.' Gates,'13 Wend!” 339) 398,
‘Chief Justicd Savage, speaking’ for the aoule,
sild: erpha’ first question | ‘atising’ ‘apo ‘the
trial Was whet er thé ‘court should have’ com-
‘pelle’ the district, attorney to eect Which
‘count he Would gd upon.! TH’ Young’ ¥. King,
3 Term B.'106, Buller, J, ‘shys: that, whete
‘diferent felonies’ are Ynclided ja “the same
fhdictment, the jiidge may ‘quash the [Hdidt-
‘pert, lest tt shotdd ‘confound {HY biisdier tn
Ft tae OR eR
i
‘
“4
sl
ry
ho es CATATS TATIAD 2 LEAT HAIOF
414 _SUPREME COURT REPORTER, Vot. 14.
Lois bhenes dx Ov sil Vali sitals US fal 4 |
présence «when the: ‘aamaod ‘his: right ! of |
challenge) ithe judgment would be. reversed
‘forthe reasons’ stated’in Lewis v.U. S.! ‘We;
adhere to the decision in! that mei as A saccagah
“upon: ‘sound: principle, ''
‘othe -objéction: that: the: surore:d were, not.
selected ‘in theparticular’ mode! prescribed |
by’ the. laws’ of ‘Arkansas; cannot be ‘sus-|
tained»! By section’ 800 of 'the Revised) Stat- |
utes of'the United States it-is provided, sub-'
stantially} im‘the words ofthe act ‘of July 20,
'1840,-(5 Stat. B04; ¢,'47,)' that. jurors to serve |
in! the’ ‘courts! of: the "United States, ‘in’ the |
‘several states, ‘shall have'the same qualifica- |
‘tions,—subjeet ‘tothe provisions ‘contained in |
lother’ sectioris;! and/'which | ‘have! no: bearing |
‘upon’ this. ‘eiise,—and be entitled ‘to’ the same |
exemptions; as jurors’ of the highest ‘courts |
oflaw' in the respective ‘states “may” have, |
and be’ entitled’to atthe’ time “when : such |
_ jurors'for ‘service in’ the courts ‘of the United |
‘States are summoned} and they bre required |
to be‘designated ‘by ° ‘ballot;: ‘lot, or otherwise, |
‘according to ‘the imode of ‘forming such’ juries
‘then practiced 4n’ such state court;'so far as|
‘such ‘mode | may 'be praeticable' by the ‘courts |
of the’ United! States or the officers thereof. ,
, And" for” this ‘ ‘purpose the’ Said: courts: may, |
opy rule or ‘order,-conformi ‘the designation and’
impanelling of’ juries, “in: osubstance, to the:
‘laws ‘and usages relating to juries jn the!
ts Staté'¢ourts, from time to' time An’ such state. sid i;
Rev. St. '§ ‘800." “And by the’ act tot: ‘June’ 30,
‘11879,’ @, §2,'§ 2! (21 Stat. 43,) all’ jurors; grand |
“and' petitiin: any court ofthe United ‘States,
‘inchiding’ those’ ‘summoned | during the'session!
of the ‘court, ' are ‘required © “to abe’ publicly
avnwih’ ‘from A Dox" containing ‘at the time of
‘each ar awing the saice of not less’ than’ 300
per sons’ possessing! ‘the ‘qualifications: pre-
‘scribed: in’ séction 800 ‘of ‘the Revised’ Stat-
Lares! which! names ‘shill “have been’ placéd
‘inthe pox by’ the clerk ‘of court and' a ‘com-!
“niissionér | appointed by the judge, who: shall)
“e-a"citizen“of good standing) residing ‘in' the|
“distriet in’ “which such ‘court ‘is held, and‘'a
well-krid>wn ‘member of' the principal’ political,
Lparty! Hin" ‘thé district’ in’ whi¢h ‘the! court''is.
held épposing ‘that to’! lwhich ‘thé ‘clerk! ‘may!
‘belong, he'cleti'and'‘the’ comniissioner: each! |.
“to! place | one ‘name’ in ‘said ' box’! alternately,
without “reference 'to' party’ attiliations. ‘That
“netfurther provides: “that” ‘nothing’ containéd|
“in it shill:be construed to'prevent' any’ ‘judge;
“from” ‘ordering! the’ naines' of’ jurors ‘to ‘be!
drawn ‘from: the’ boxes used by the state au-
*thoritiés ‘in’ selécting ' juries “in « the “highest
“courts of the’ state; and’ that “no. person! ‘shall
Ogerve’ as‘a! petit furor more’ that’ one’ term'in
‘anyone year}'and Yall Juries’! to! serve in,
J 'courts*‘after’ the’ passageof! this act’shall'b
“drawn in=! ‘conformity ‘therewith: ‘provided
Uthat! no ‘citizen ‘possessing all’ other qualifica,
“tions which dre or May be’ (prescribed “by|
‘Yaw’ shall bedésignated “for ‘service'as ‘grand
or ‘pe etit juror in! ‘arly court ofthe! Unit
“Stated! 6n’ aécount of Pace} color, ‘or pré\
rondition of servitude.”
eh
ene Te na ne eee
4
‘ ' hy 5 es hy
AG cpanel
hy hgh ys
ee fio] yatta:
ae
A RA Lott sy:
atte pet pile i Ort
serie Way ete ar pe ae
‘eused \ig!that:the: particular: mode in which
“fllegaleo"Lt 4s true! that modet!was ' not! fn”
-necused Lhe end of challenge)’ ‘says Coke,
dicted : of his lawful challenge’ igs to’ bar‘him
i conoid. ett Byandg. uc Bow 4 wells
«There! is: nothing! ind these secvisieue: sus
‘taining the objection i made ‘to the: modeiin q f
which the trial jury was formed. «In wes peck oe
to ‘the ‘qualifications and exemptions ‘of ~ a
jurors:to serve inthe courts of the United #
‘States, thel:state laws are controlling. Bat a
congress ‘hasi not’! made the laws.and usages —
relating tothe designation and impaneling
‘of jurors in! the respective state courts ap?
iplicable ‘to. the ‘courts of the:United States) |
except as’/the latter shall by general stand
ing ‘rule or ‘by’ special order in a. particular
case ‘adopt the:state’ practice ‘in! that veg
-Uy' 8. v. Shackleford, 18 How. 588; U.S,
Richardson, 28’ Fed. 61,; 69. In the abseno® |
of ‘such a:rule:or order, (and no such ruler,
order ‘appears’ to have been made-iby ‘the?
eourt) below,)::the mode. of» deaignatingnantil ;
impaneling jurors for the trial of :casesiin ~
the courts of the United States is within the —
control of those ‘courts,’ subject. .only to the
restrictions congress’ has prescribed,’ and’ al
‘go to‘ such limitations as are: recognized. by ~
the:'settled principles of criminal law ‘to be ~ i 4
iessential in: tr hegh te Apantias juries for tle”
trial oftoeffenses. para D . yelp a
“There is no dlalin;: ini the presenti case,/that ©
‘ithe! jurors for general service: in: the: court |
below during the: term at whichi the: defend: —
vant! was tried‘‘were not seléeted in ‘accord: ©
ance with ‘law:!')'The‘record ‘shows ‘thatvlie 7
was duly served (witha full and complete ™
‘list’ ‘ofthe’ petit ‘jurors selected ‘and drawn ~
by 'the'jury commissioners’ of the court. '!: Nor |
‘is it/contended ‘thatthe’ jurors’ who: were’ ¢x: 7
amined’ as’ to? their! qualifications ‘befora!'the 7
list of 87 qualified! jurors was ‘furnished ‘were ©
notiproperly ‘selected for ‘general service dur ©
ing ° the 3 term.) 'The:complaint.tby theiac ©
othe jury that‘tried him was impaneled was’
‘eonformity® »with’. the’ statutes: of! Arkansab, -
-But-thati objection; as: already” suggested) can -
‘not avail the!accused.: ‘So that the inquiry”
must “be! whether “the! jury ‘was organized -
\in> violation ' of‘ any’settled’ principle: of erith:
inal'law relating'to the subject 6f challeng ek
!oo'Dhe! right ‘to’ challenge: ‘a’ given ‘numberof -
Jurors without ‘showing cause’ is-one of ‘the |
most! important? Jof the rights secured: to the
“1s ‘to have'lan indifferent trial, and which'ts |
required ‘by ‘law; ‘and’ to” bar''the! party (in
Yofta’ principal ‘matter’ ‘concerning his "trial"
8 Col Inst.:276. 2,» He may, if he choosés,
\perenaptorily challenge! “on ‘his: own’ ‘dislike,
~without‘showing any! cause,” +‘ He: may
‘ercisge that right!) without: reason" or’ for! no
‘reason, ‘arbitrarily. ‘and ‘-eapriciously! he) q
Litt) @156b;'!4 BR-Comm: 353; “Lewis: v. Ui Be
14613) S870) 18) Sups' Ct. 1862 Any? ‘sy
) tein! forthe’ impaneling of a jury that: pre
events “or “embarrasses ‘the full)/unrestricted
“exercise by! the accused ‘of that right mitat' be
idondemnedy’. and therefore he-cannot be'con-
| pelled to make a peremptory challenge until
412
his, defense;, but’.these rare only.matters of
prudence or discretion. This,,court hag. re-,
cently said, in the case of People v. Rynders,:
12. Wend. 425, that there is:‘no impropriety in, |,
trying a prisoner for different offenses, at the
_saine time, if the, offenses are, charged in the
‘same, indictment, and are of the same grade,
*402
ment, says:
and subject to the.same punishment.” Sub-
stantially to the same general: effect.are the
decisions of other, American courts. U. S..yv.
O’Callahan, 6 McLean, 596; Kane v. People, |
8 Wend. 208, 211; Carlton y. Com., 5 Metc.
(Mass.) 582, 534; Com. v. Gillespie, 7, Serg.
& R. 469, 476; Com. v. Hills, 10 Cush. 530,
533; Campbell y. State, 9,,Yerg. 333, 335;
Burk v. State, 2: Har, ;& J. 426, 429; Storrs
v. State, 3 Mo. 7; Baker v. State, 4 Pike, 56,
58;, Wright v. State, 4,Humph. 194, 196;
J ohnson Vv, State, 29 Ala. 62, 67; Weinzorp-
flin v, State, 7.Blackf.. 186, 188; State y.
Hazard, 2, R. I, 474, 482; Hoskins v. State,
11 Ga. 92,. 95... See, also, Logan.y. U. S.,°144
U. S. 263, 296, 12 Sup, Ot. 617.
The rule in England is not qnaterially dit:
ferent, In Chitty’s Criminal , Law it is said:
“In cases of felony, no more than gone dis-
tinct offense or. criminal transaction atone
time should regularly be ¢charged..upon the
prisoner in one indictment, because, if that
should be shown to the court, before plea,
they will quash the indictment, lest it should
confound the prisoner in. his defense, or prej-
udice him in his challenge to the jury;,, for
he might object to a juryman’s trying one of
the charges, though he might have no rea;
son so to do in the other; and if. they do not
discover it until afterwards, they .may com-
pel the prosecutor to elect on which charge
he will proceed.” “But,” the author adds,
“this is only matter of prudence and, discre-
tion, . which it rests with the judges to *ex-
ercise.” Volume 1, pp., 252, 253. The rule is
thus stated by Archbold: “If different fel-
onies -or misdemeanors be stated. in several
counts of an indictment, no objection can be |
made to the, indictment on that account, in
point of law..
This is what is technically , termed, putting
the prosecutor te his election, But this prac-
tice has never. been extended to. misdemean-
ors.”.Archb. Crim..Pr, &)Pl (8th Ed.) p. 95, |
ce. 3. In Roscoe's Criminal Eyidence, the au: |
thor, after observing that there was. no ob-
jection in point of law, to inserting, in sep- |
arate counts of the. same indictment, several
, distinet felonies of. the same degree, and gom-
mitted by the same offender, and that such
joinder was } ‘not a ground for arrest. of judg-
‘dictment, and, the party, had pleaded, or the
jury were, charged, the court, in its discre-
tion, would. quash ‘the indictment, or, if ‘not,
son out till, IE the jury were. charged, |
would d compel ; the, prosecutor to. elect, 9 |
SUPREME, CQURT, REPORTER, VoL, 14, :
‘which charge he. would proceeds ”- 8th tg
In cases of felony, indeed, the |
judge, in his discretion, may require the |
counsel for the prosecutor to select one of |
the felonies, and > confine , himself to that, |
“In practice, -where a _ prisoner |
was charged with several felonies in one in- |
ae By 1 '
The question of, ‘election between distingt
charges has always seemed to depend on,;the
special circumstances of the case ,in ; which,
it has arisen, For instance, in Reg. v. True
counts, each charging the firing of a house
of a, different owner, it appeared, from, the
opening by the prosecutor that the houses
in question constituted a row of adjoining
| houses, and thatthe fire was communicated
to four of them, from the one. first. set. on
fire. As the burning of each house was 4
distinct felony, the prisoner asked that the
prosecutor be.; put to his election, Erskine,
J., said: “Ag it is.all one transaction, we
must hear the evidence, . and. I do not see
how, in the present stage of the proceedings,
I can call on the, prosecutor to elect, I shall
oner is not tried for more than one felony,
The, application for a prosecutor to elect is *
an application.to the discretion of the judge,,
founded on the supposition that the case ex:
tends to more, than one charge, and* may,
therefore, be likely to embarrass. the. prison:
er in his defense.” ,
, While recognizing as fundamental the prin;
ciple that the court must not permit the de
fendant, tq be. embarrassed in his defense by
a multiplicity of charges embraced in one in-
dictment, and. to be. tried by one jury, and
while conceding that regularly or usually, an
felony, the authorities | concur in holding that
a joinder | in one indictment, in separate
indictment upon, demurrer or upon motion to
quash or on motion in arrest of Judgment,
and does, not, in every case, by reason alone
of, such Jjoinder, make it the duty of; the
court, upon ‘motion of the accused, to compel
the, prosecptor to elect upon, what one of the
charges he will go. to trial. ‘The court is in-
do justice between. the government, and the
accused, .
during 4 trial that the substantial rights of
the accused, may; | be prejudiced by a submis
sion to, the. same. jury of..more than one dis-
the same class, the court, according , to, the
established - ‘principles . ‘of. criminal law, can
discretion has not been taken away. by see
tion 1024 of the Reyised Statutes. On the
contrary, that section is consistent with the
settled rule that the. court, in its discretion,
may compel an ‘election when it appears from
‘the prisoner. ‘may. be embarrassed in Ne de-
fense, if that’ course be not’ pursued. |
_, in the present case we cannot say, ‘from
apythi ing on, the face of the indictment, th
ai XK
BBY 0 VL Oss
Lid
PRRGEN Har CT Pee ak 7 hee ers
Bids is Wigts WRA ONE W
MO PRPUTY TANG Pe Na
man, 8 Car. &, P, 727, which was an indict, —
ment for. arson,, containing five separate —
counts, of different. felonies, at least of the:
same class, or grade, ‘and subject to the same:
punishment, igs not necessarily fatal to the’
yested with such discretion as enables it to
If it be. discovered at any time:
tinct charge of felony among two or more. of
compel an election, by the prosecutor. That “a
the. indictm nt, or ‘from the evidence, ’ that
take care that, asthe ¢ase proceeds, the pris
indictment should not include more than one ri.
alO V5 ‘Fl Lod Of:
®e court erred or heist its aaa in
werraling the deféndant’s: motion) torquish |
Me indictment or his: motions: for an election |
ptie government between the two charges
W murder.’ The! indictment showed that the
inurdet's) were committed on the» same
in the same county! and district, and
ththe same kind of instrument: » These
#ts alone justified the court; in forbearing,
tthe beginning of ‘the trial,'and before the
} were disclosed,+to compel an élection |
the prosecutor between ‘the ‘two. charges |
murder: + When, however, the evidence
8 concluded,—indeed, as soon as’ the»de-
fedant testified in his own behalf,—the wis- |
‘> tom of the course pursued’ by the court, be-
) ‘uiemanifest, ‘for it appeared’ that the two
) Paurders were committed at the same place,
gi -the same occasion, and! under such: cir-|
mstances, that the proof in respect to one
ssarily threw light upon the other,, The
ised’ and the two men alleged, to: have
murdered were companions in traveling, |
nd were: together, in. camp, . at. the place
heresthe killing occurred.:;; The killing. of.
ndiveer immediately. preceded / that of,
dingy. There was such close ‘connection
veen the: two killings in respect of. time, ;
ace, and: occasion that it: was difficult, if.
+ apomaraigye lie separate the: proof of one
» fromthe proof of the other. »; It, is,
) fore, clear that the accused: was not con-
mnded in: his defense by! the-union of the.
two offenses of murder in ‘the, same’ indict-,
ment,;and that: his substantial rights, were
prejudiced by: the refusal of. the court to,
ae: the prosecutor to’ elect: upon which |
af the two charges he would: proceed. °
Is, appropriate to isay that we lay no
ss'upon the circumstance that «the mo-)
ng in question were not made until after
» defendant had pleaded. not ‘guilty. We |.
faye-already said that if,.in the progress’ of: |)
trial, it.appeared that the aceused might
mbarrassed or confounded in his defense,
steason of. being compelled.to meet; both |.
rgesof. murder at the same-time, jand :be-
the, same. jury, it-was-in the: power: of
é court, at:any time before: the trial: was
“eoncluded, to require the: government: to elect!
‘tpon which charge it would :seek: a verdict.,
Jt is also proper to say that we have: not. re-
garded , as ‘part of, the record. that which, ap-
pears in the brief of counsel for. the: defend-
amt purporting. to.be an order made: in the
eonrt. below on the 2d day,of October, 1893,
ea
_ amendatory and explanatory of, the order of
March 23, 1892, relating to the impaneling of
the Jury that tried this case, The, object of
thls, amendatory order: ‘was; to show,,more
3 “tly, than was done by the order of March
423, 1892, how the trial jury was. impaneled.
§The motion of defendant ‘to ‘strike: from the
“record, a copy of that.order was unnecessary,
~ because the government has. not moved. that
“tt be treated:as part of the,record,.and dis:
aims any. purpose ‘to ask that it shall. be
considtred,,on. this writ ‘of, CRTOR. Under
Mau 99 soll ss 3 iat oF boiled }
merry typ orev
i] loge THC]
i oa
cig ae 0. iid aberead STATES.
413
“EET TE pr
‘reas circumstances we have not considered
‘whether the’ alleged order of October 2,.1893,
‘was within the power of the court.to; make,
‘nor have we based our conclusions upon any-
thing contained in its oly Acodegell,
2. The next question, to be considered re-
lates to the impaneling of the jury that tried
the defendant. . It is contended that, the ‘ac-
tion of the: court: below in that: respect was
substantially that ).condemned. in’ Lewis v.
U..S.,.146 U. S..870, 13 Sup. Ct..186. But
this contention cannot be sustained. The de-
‘cision in that case proceeded upon the ground
that it did not appear affirmatively. from the
record: that the: prisoner, when required to
‘make ‘his ;.challenges,, was, brought, face to
face with, the jurors whose names. appeared
upon the list of 37 qualified,,jurymen that
-was furnished, by direction of the, court, to
the accused and: the-government. This.court
said: “It does,: indeed, appear that the clerk
called the entire panel: of the petit jury, but
it does not appear that, when-the jury an-
swered to said call they were present, so that
they: could be inspected by the prisoner;.,and
it is evident. that the process,of challenging
did. not begin..until after said call had ,been
‘made:, We.do not think that: the,record af-
firmatively, discloses that the prisoner and
‘the. jury.,.were brought face, to, face at. the
time, the challenges. were made, but we think
that a fair reading of the record leads to the
‘opposite conclusion, and that the. prisoner,
was not brought face to face with the.jury
‘until after the challenge had been made, and
the. selected ; sarees were brought into, the
box to be sworn.:.Thus reading the: record,
and holding, as "we do, that. making of .chal-
lenges was an essential part of the trial, and.
that it was one of the substantial rights of
the prisoner to-be brought face to face with
the jurors at the time when the challenges
were made, we are brought to. the conclusion
that the record discloses an error for which
/the judgment of the court must be reversed.”
‘The record, before us: discloses .a ‘wholly »
different state of facts. It shows that theg
jurors were all,examined as to their*qualifica-*
.tions, and that :37,were found to be qualified
to sit in the case,—that is to say, not liable
to -objection -for cause; that. the, defendant
was. in court during ,this examination, was ©
face to face with the, jurors.so, examined,
,and had an opportunity..to participate. in the
examination to such extent as. was necessary
..to ascertain whether any of them were. liable
to objection for; cause; and,,that he was at
liberty to strike from the list of those thus
found .to .be. qualified. the names of. those,
not exceeding 20,. whom he did not wish to
serve on the jury. . If it, didnot appear af-
firmatively from the record of this case that
‘the..accused:. was in..fact brought face -to
face, with all the jurors who were examined
,as to their, qualifications, and whose names
were on. the list. of 37 furnished to him, or
that he; was not, present,;during such ex-
amination, or that,they, were not.all ir his
AD 10 SOEIWIS8 WILSON) 0514651
4 nt Inflleted. While the: record: of:a!critn-)
"inal case must state what will affirmatively’
thow the offense, the steps,’?withotit .which
“senterice cannot be'good;iand the sen-
itself,,,all;parts;of the;record :are; to
tence, i
nterpreted together, effect being given to: |;
ail, if possible, and a deficiency at one place
4 - tayrbe'supplied' by what appears in'anoth-
ee!!! Bishe Criay Proe. $$ 1347): 1348) For
these \reasons: the! objection” last stated is),
maustaindd. niiod dove ody ssonts Ja diiw
Some 'referéticeshould’ be’’made’fo an: |
er entered on the same day; but! after’
eatee “was passed,. in, these -words:
ered by’ the court, that sentence. be sus-,
nded on the third count of the indictment,
‘which the defendant was tried and con-
ftted bythe Yury for the killing of William,
Bolding.”" "The record does’ not’ state” the’
rounds upon which this? order “was based)’ |)
Object?’ Wwe Biippose, WHS ‘to Testrict’ the
inde!toone of the two charges of’ mur.
embrited'in ‘the indictment, ‘although!
rdefondant had: Been tried? aid! found
> pillty: upon! both: ' Be this ‘as'it may) that? |,
order! constitutes ‘rio ‘reason! in‘ itself ‘for the’
trersaliof thé judgment.o It did not ‘preju-'
‘dice the substantial rights ‘of the’ accused,
cluse it did not prévent) this ‘court, upon’
oobadan writ oferror, from reversing the’
idgment in its application’ to all the char-'
contained in ‘the indictment.) This! court’
Yaving reached the conclusion that ‘the ‘judg-
ment must be affirmed; ‘any ‘question ‘as: to’
¢ propriety or legality of the order sus-
‘spending; the sentence’ as' to the ‘court ‘char-’
‘Sting the murder’ of: Bolding' ‘is: immatertal/" |!
* It ls necessary; however,» in ‘order: 'to*avold! |)
“tay misapprehension; to say: that: this: court |!
most, not be, understood as. expressing: any’
hion upon’ the ‘question suggested: by.the: |:
rds ofthat order, whether a court ‘of ‘the:
alted States; in-the-absencé’ of authority! |
‘nferred by statute; !has' 'the:‘power, Jjafter: |
ssing sentencé:in:a-criminal case, to» stis:! |.
d {ts execution; indefinitely, and until.the
irt/;in \its discretion,’ removes..such suse)
" pension. }A decision of that) question is not’
hecessary..to the disposition of, this case ‘up-) |.
ite;meritss: fossoreg cork Ritalin, ott tuev
ere are assignments of error’other than’
@ above, examined, but:they are without |
terit, and, pieremre need. not ‘be: a bah bi int |!
opinions: ere aire? aad} oo boyron
@.perceive, no -error(in the peter pe the;
Judice,; of, the -substantial. bigaral of: ate
plaintiff,in error... ;: yovonod noititeg
selement: atrpiedy "
TT dalek il i eh ¢yetes
, Sait Pore: , x ’ torts Qt
»; LEWIS. ¥. WILSON et. pe fn) "ative
Suttle, (Kebruary . By A808) toy arn
fom yom end Nes QOS tedthiot burn
HowRNt oo Repvcridx oF: hitkeoher BY’ Coxsint |
Hes heloparolse STIPULATIONS. (1 | terion
,One who consents ;to, the the reduction of a:
ct in his favor, upon the court’s statement
a aida
weteybs ¢
i recover of and from the defendants:
sheers
419°
‘that’ unless he:does so\# few trial will be grant: '
he and also upon the.,defendants’ promise to;
unectintaly, ay, the judgment,to be entered, is
Fe thereby, when the | arrangement has
| been: fully carried out,'‘even -if the. court was
/ without power to: fgrant, ‘a new: trial or; reduce’
the. judgment. |.
. A ‘party may in’ ‘open ‘court, without’ any.
writing, consent to the’ reduction of a verdict:
in/his favor, atid. the-ndting: of his'consent by
ithe, clerk-on;the journal, is: \sufficient .evidence:
thereof, and cannot, ibe | duestioned, . iW ave
‘Im error: to the: eireuit: court of. the United
| States: for: the ORUeRN: mesic of Florida.’
(Affirmed::.: fajaon sid’ b: )
- Statenient. by Mr. Justice BREWER:
| The facts In this case areas follows:: Plain-
| tiff in ‘error'(the plaintiff below) brought. suit.
‘against the defendants to recover damages
for libel. At the December;'1887, term, and
| on April 9, 1888; a jury returned, a verdict: in:
i his favor, assessing the damages at $10,000.
'On April 16, 1888,:the: defendants: filed a tio- pa
‘tion for a new trial on the ground that the *
‘damages were. excessive. || After the entry of
this motion the ten wing, appears of record:
“Hdwatd H. Lewis va. Geb Oo Nwilsox état.
“December Term, 1887," Mi ipel.
‘“Aatter the rendition, of the verdict of the
jury Jn this action, and a motion by the de-
'fendants for 4 new trial on, the ground that,
the. damages, assessed, by. the jury were ex-
cessive, the, court said from ‘the bench that,
_ the, defendants’ motion would be granted un-
less the plaintiff consents to reduce the ver-
dict from ten to five. thousand dollars, as the
i verdict is clearly excessive if. we eliminate
dll damages which ‘arose out of the claim of*
| the plaintif€ for special damages, to his, busi-.
“ness in Texas, and to which che could lay no.
claim under the pleading and evidence in this
case, and which the court withdrew from the,
consideration of the jury. pe 8
“And the court further ‘said, if the plain»
tiff consents to reduce the’ verdict to five
‘thousand dollars in pursuance. of this sug-
gestion, and the defendants decline to pay’
the judgment for that amount, and desire to.
‘prosecute a. ‘writ of érror to the supreme
court, theti, in that evetit, judgment will be
‘entered up for the sum of ten’ thousand dol.
-lars upon the verdict of the jury.
“And afterwards, to wit, on the 23d day of
April, A. D. 1888, comes the plaintiff, by his.
| attorney, and enters his consent to the reduc-
: tion of the verdict of the jury. to the sum of,
five thousand dollars. :
. ‘| “And then come , the ‘defendants, ‘by their
attorney, and submit ,to pay the said five
: | thousand dollars, fie hei
n i “Tt fg therefore considered by the court that
‘the plaintiff, Edward H. Lewis, do have and
Geo.
C. Wilson; John N.,C. Stockton; * Mumby,
|, Stockton & Knight, composed of, Frank W.
'Mumby, | John N. ©. ‘Stockton ‘sind Raymond,
D.. Knight; Wightman’ & ‘Christopher, com-
posed of William $. Wightman and John @.
PORTER, James, white, hanged Philadelphia (Federal) July 2, 1830.
"PORTER, THE MAIL ROSBER = The Philadelphia BULLETIN, to gratify public opimion, has
procuked all the particulars which could be obtained, of the life of James Porter,
who is under conviction for having robbed the U. S. Mail. He was born in the north
of Ireland in the year 1800, and is represented as having exhibited, even in child-
hood, a reckless and wicked disposition which defied control, Like Wilson, he was
not under parental authority, and his associations were with the miserable and aban-
doned class of the lowest profligates, He belonged to a gang of petty thieves, who
finally commited a burglary; and at the age of 17 was compelled to fly to Liverpool
to avoid pursuit. He remained concealed there for some weeks until he shipped as a
sailor in a vessel bound to New York. Here where his crimes and his person were un-=
known, he might have lived by honest labour, But the old leaven was still at work
within him. He was employed for some time on the Erie Canal, where his conduct was
noticed as extremely profligate for his years. He was foremost in many riots, some
of which had sanguinary results, On one occasion, a man to whom Porter had been
opposed in conflict - a fellow countryman and fellow labourer, was found murdered in
a gloomy and unfreauented part of a neighboring thicket, his body mangled in a manner
too shocking to be here described, An inquest was held upon the body, and a verdict
of ‘murder ed by some person or persons unknown,' was returned by the jury, although
as Porter and one of his companions in the preceding affray, were seen to come out of
the thicket on ly a few hours before, strong suspicions rested upon them as being pers
petrators of the foul and dreadful deed, No absolute proof could #e adduced that
they committed the crime, and they were consequently suffered to go at large, Some
years after this event, he committed a crime not specified, for which he underwent an
imprisonment of several years in the Maryland Penitentiary where he became hardened
altogether and accomblished in villainy, and made an acouaintance with Poteet, the
accomplice and State's evidence in the late robbery, who has been 5 times convicted
of felony, and with Wilson, the other robber, When these 3 were discharged from the
Penitentiary, they renewed in concert their mepredetions on the public, and committed
many small larceniese Being dissatisfied with their petty gains, the projected the
robbery of the mail, They stole the pistols for this purpose from a gunsmith s shop
yn West Philadelphia. The manner of the robbery has been detailed in the testimony
given at the trial, as already published. Porter was most active in the transaction,
and tied singly and robbed all the passengers. His countenance is described by the
BULLETIN, as being absolutely the blackest and most fiendish ever looked upon, ;
‘Imagination can scarcely picture a face in which the elements of murder, eee
all other grades of crime, are grouped up, together with such horrid accuracy. e
dark scowl of an eye sunk deep into a black and weather beaten socket = strese
marked lines of countenance, bleared and disfigured by the ravages of the small pox,
added to the knowledge of his atrocious career, altogether form a picture which
cannot be contemplated without a secret and involunatry shudder. A single par :
peing appeared to sympathize with him in his awful difficulty, a pn e arg |
apparently thirty years of age, who watched the progress of the sia wi a “ = 1
agonizing interest, frequently anpdcing R20 lee, are’. ely no wife pen seis
is crimes. She was said to be w -
kr tenchtec At Rer affection for a husband more evidently than she — erage
jury came in with their verdict, she was not to be seen within the ee
usual stand = Fearful perhaps, that the ded ceri re ue cudeed tetas ,
gai im. might cause too great a pressure a :
oer ae wena Anosti the schemes of plunder devised by this trio in a aac sag
bobbing the Penn Tomenip Ben Tae Crobshly have suoeede1f thelr arzet
only are generally present, which might probably Aa tae on ee - che ribtery. and
nad not taken place. The BULLETIN contains a woodcut of » sated bia Keeper te
its vicinity. It happened that on the night when it was co : an att eaaned
G: it open, as is usual, near the hour when the Reading Pp 9
aoe et Pe Cae sleep. His wife had been unable to a nee age was
i ies of the passengers. She is confident that she heard
first alarmed by the ores : 1 of the house, some time oreviously
persons pass in a hurried manner over the piazz& 0° vn”. - NEW YORK COM, ADV."
and it is probable the robbers were examining who waS awak€e :
COURIER, Charleston, Se Ces 6-2-1830 (1:1.)
PORTER, James, white, hanzed Philadelphia, Pa, (Federal) on July 2, 1830,
"EXECUTION. = On Friday, July 2nd, PORTER the Mail Robber was hung at Philadelphia,
His accomplice in quilt, HILSON, was reprieved by the P,esident. It appears from
the following letters, that this act of clemency has given great dissatisfaction:
'Prom THE PHILADELPHIA GAZETTE: In another place will be found the execution of
JAMES PORTER. Among the innumerable host assembled to witness the spectacle, but
one opinion was heard, and that was constantly expressed - injustice had been
done - the letter & spirit of the law had been violated - & a distinction made
between two culprits, that denoted an improper bias or a total want of discrimina-
tion, We have never witnessed a decided expression of public disapprobation of
any proceeding, than has been made and is now being made, of the pardon of WILSON
without that of PORTER, They had both been tried for one offence, found equally
guilty, and condemned to the same punishment. It is not pretended that Porter had
committed more crimes than Wilson; and though he HAD, still he was not tried for
more, One token of disapprobation of the proceedings was mentioned to us yester-
day, and inay be considered as emphatic. The sigh of a tavern having the present
President of the United S,ates painted on it in the south part of the city, was
taken down and rehung bottom upwards. ‘ve mention this only as testimony of
feeling on the occasion,!
'From a correspondent of the N. Y, COMMERCIAL, Philadelphia, July 2, 1830. -
Messrs. Editors, - The execution of Porter the Mail Robber, took place this day
about twenty minutes before eleven o'clock, The inhabitants of the city appre-
hended an assault, with intent to rescue the prisoners; but the spectacle ended
without any attemt of the kind, though much dissatisfa,tion was every where
expressed in regard to the course the President has taken in the matter. =- “e
obtained a fair view of the execution by ascending a tree a few yards distant, and
surveying the scene with a telescope. The prisoner made a few remarks, before
leaving Arch stredt prison, He descended the steps of that edifice, inaa kind of
run, and ran up with the sam exhibition of SANG FROID, into the cart which was to
bear him to thepplace of punishment. On the scaffold a pathetic prayer and
address was made by a clergyman, of the Episcopal order. The culprit followed in
a sententious harangue, It was pronounced in a very low voice, and few ears
devoured his discourse, The clergyman then descerided; the cap was drawn over the
prisoner's eves, and he was left alone. = His port was bold, and firm to addacity;
and it seemed as if he anticipated pardon, His last words were 'God have mercy on
my soul', = Just before the drop fell, he clenched his hands spasmodically to-
gether, as if to nerve himself to an unexpected trial: - in a moment he was sus=
pended between the Hea,ens and the earth, He died almost instantly, there being &k
but a slicht perceptible struggle, - The moment the drop fell, a tremendous rush
took place among the crowd, from the idea that the rope had broke, and great
confusion was the conseouence, - “omen and young sirls were knocked down,
trampled upon, stripped of their shawls and bonnets, and some of them without doubt,
severely injured. Several panics of this kimd occurred in succession afte r the
drop fell, and the rapitiity with which the alarm extended itself was astonishing -
The whole mass of people were apprised of a rumor that Porter's friends intended
to rescue him; and to this cause may be principally attributed the wide, dangerous,
but wholly groundless alarm which existed, So great and irresistable was the rush,
that the wonder is no lives were lost in the confusion.*® " REGISTER AND NORTH
CAROLINA GAZETTE, Raleish, NC, July 15, 1830 (ane/five & six)
Gerhardt Puff, wounded but handcuffed, lies on sidewalk him without resistance, but Puff gave battle. Pedestrians recei
outside of a New York hotel after the smoke cleared away. ran for cover as bullets flew. One of the federal agents was Here
G-men had traced him to this hideout and hoped to bag fatally wounded, hit in the back by slugs from Puff's gun.
i) ait So a
Se
El Portal Police Chief Barron Shields examines wound . Annie Laurie Moore, 17 (eft), and Joan Evans are es-
in back of Patrolman Robert Dubray. Both were held corted by G-men in New York. FBI said they identified
hostages by Heroux before the fugitive was collared. themselves as wives of Puff .and Heroux respectively.
/3/ G Dswecr Y= Case =
a ity ae
DOOMED BANDIT
SHOOTS WORKS
ON LAST MEALS
Ossining, N. Y., Aug: 12 a—
Gerhard A. Puff, 40, doomed
to die tonight for slaying an
FBI agent, today ordered two
of the most sumptuous last
meals in the memory of Sing
Sing prison officials. The bank
robber who shot agent Joseph
Brock in July, 1952, drew up
these menus:
For lunch: shrimp cocktail,
soup, steak, peas, carrots,
cauliflower, lettuce salad,
honeydew melon, rolls, straw-
berry. ice cream, soda, candy,
and cigars; | \”
For supper: fried chicken,
sweet potatoes, ‘brussels
sprouts, combination salad,
strawberry ‘shortcake, coffee,
“and Ace cream.
Co wee neo wee eee
Other True Crime Stories
in SIGNET Editions
The Amazing Crime and Trial of Leopold and
Loeb by Maureen McKernan
The actual story of the bizarre “thrill killing.”
‘Court testimony and the stirring plea of Clarence
Darrow. (#D1469—50¢)
I Stole $16,000,000 by Herbert Emerson Wilson
The life story of the “king of the safe-crackers,”
who stole millions in the twenties. (#1293—25¢)
A Murder in Paradise (revised and expanded)
by Richard Gehman
A seemingly normal man is driven to commit the
brutal unpremeditated murder of a pretty secretaty.
(#S1307—35¢)
The Execution of Private Slovik
by William Bradford Huie
The story of the only American soldier to be shot
for desertion in World War Ul, (#1113—25¢)
ek
THE FBI
IN ACTION
by KEN JONES
(957
A SIGNET BOOK
Published by THE NEW AMERICAN LIBRARY
TA Nd
nn §
/
g¢ *oeTe feqgtum Spaeudeo
BUT
te
=)
09
‘xj
®
oF)
id
es)
~~
ae
MN
NS
ld
D
WL
I=
— HELL HAS A MIDDLE —
Two of the men topping the FBI list of ten most wanted, ranged this country
from north to south, animal-scared, animal-mad; killing, robbing, wounding
A tourniquet on his injured leg, Puff, manacled and harmless, lies outside hotel waiting arrival of ambulance.
(3 te
Annie Laurie Puff checked out of the hotel and into jail
where she was booked for giving shelter to criminals.
™ HELL HAS A MIDDLE. And the assistant manager of New
York City’s Hotel Congress was certain he was in dead
center of it on Saturday, July 26, when armed FBI men set
a trap in the lobby of the hotel for Gerhard Puff—one of
the country’s ten most wanted criminals. Puff, sought along
with George Heroux for a Kansas bank robbery and as sus-
pects in the murder of a Massachusetts state trooper, was
registered there with his wife and Heroux’s wife.
Puff was as alert to trouble as a cocked .45. He went
down the firestairs instead of the elevator, smashed into
the trap in the lobby with-two guns blazing. FBI agent
Joseph Brock, whose back was to the firestairs door, was
drilled with five bullets before the other agents even were
S { =
George Heroux's Florida getaway car smashed into Police Chief Barron Shields, one hostage, examines
tree; he was overpowered by cops he had kidnaped.
T
ON
V
LOaLa
GNIZ
GAT
Gis a ei,
Ruth Heroux left hotel in taxi, was followed by FBI men
with walkie-talkies, arrested and is held on $50,000 bail.
aware that their quarry was within shooting range.
While the hotel manager dropped flat to the floor,
mumbling prayers, and horrified onlookers jerked back out
of line of fire, Puff was cut down by a barrage of FBI
bullets. He staggered to the street and collapsed.
He was arraigned for Brock’s murder in the prison ward
. of Bellevue Hospital that afternoon.
- His wife and Heroux’s wife were held in $50,000 bail as
accessories ‘after the fact in the robbery and were booked
for giving shelter to criminals.
The hotel manager summed up the feeling of a score
of witnesses. “I wouldn’t want to be in the middle of
that again for all the money in the world,” he said.
continued on next page
wound of second hostage, Patrolman Robert Dubray.
id
i
tian
"S61 §21 gsndny uo (Tedepeg) sutg sutT¢ peqnoozqoete faqtym f*y paeysen Saand
w
N
@® @ INOW
Heroux is camera-shy after capture. A few minutes earlier he had told hostages: "If they get me, you get
sith nib inde asin reins hie eS bE G AN nwa daneelD VAatd menty!ies
it first."
Mild looking, ferret smart, George Heroux abducted cops who captured him
.
. Ml ONLY THE DAY BEFORE, the middle of hell had been El Portal,
Fla. That’s where Puff’s curly-haired green-eyed 22-year-old
partner in crime, Heroux, was nabbed.
His capture was almost accidental.
Neighbors had overheard loud conversations about large
sums of money from a cottage where the young bank robber
was hiding out. Their suspicions grew and they phoned police. -
Chief Barron Shields and Policeman Robert Dubray showed
up and asked Heroux to take a ride to headquarters. Heroux
said sure, put on his jacket, walked with the cops to the car
and then reached into his jacket pocket for a revolver. He
4, ms
4
!
ap
ordered the men into the car, told Dubray to drive. “Get me
out of here,’’ he snarled. ous
Again, amazed neighbors who’d been watching phoned the
police. An alarm went out and five patrol cars, sifens scream-
ing, took up the chase. Within minutes oné of them was on
the getaway car’s tail. Heroux smashed the back window and
began to fire. The police car spit bullets back. Dubray saw his
chance. He jammed on his brakes, and rammed the escape ear
into a tree. Heroux’s gun was jolted from his hand. He threw
up his arms. “Hell,” he mumbled. He’d been in the middle of
it and now he was sorry. rae
El Portal residents flock to see battered escape car.
The sounds of qunfire and crash were heard by hundreds.
a
Policeman Dubray peers into the back window smashed by
Heroux when he opened fire on the pursuing patrol car.
remely brutal, Below,
holster. :
rai oo
vela, inset, was ext
ver had a chance—his gun is .in
pant
Slay
Broc
W hen th
consin swun
. sheriff shove
putting a re
in the disme
‘\ been spawn
\ Itwasan
curred in +
freaks of ne
uc “ing at each
\ lie dead, te
spread hav
\, enforcemer
ue 5 ; ‘an attempt
tet : ‘ is'( ak ir ‘label them
: s ry ORE ~. 4 ie America.
“ta George
-been the |
cell. Only
ship in crir
Midway
socket, Rh
man over
4 been one
- two’rolls «
Fit had bee
The Kic
running of
TRUE POLICE CASES, June, 1956
3
Slaying of FBI Special Agent Joseph ‘Ruth Her,
state. ' - ime
Brock, above, was avenged by
it a ae
W hen the door of the Milwaukee Count fait in Ni
consin swung open on that fateful s ring“al d ithe
» sheriff shoved inside a sleek, sly individua
‘\\ putting a rat in the same cage-With 6
in the dismal cell. was asdead|
\ been spawned by the underwé} j taty stop when he was
, It was a meetin al killer there oc ed k a cha
curred Jin“that e oO é
’
M. McDermott.
ned thé trick for th
However, kicked him out
keting in Germany had bee
ited States afte
liane
e, a submachine
he had stoleh,
\an attempt to tra BI was:to:..” sheriff “Opened the door an
‘label them as among the '! i
America.
George "The Kid" Heroux, a
i g a4 cigaret, when the
thrusté wi hin the ratlike
The Kid's eyes sullenly took in the franger. @ was in
ferret-faced thug, fad ais Ife 30s, slim and about five f, etgfeh. inch s tall—
ilwe r i uch the same build as Heroux’, Th
ack “at
in his teens as
socket, Rhode Island, he
; ing Up: his’-razor-creased rouser legs, the
man over '@ minor traffic arg
Inger sa down and-comiien €e hing his already
t pure skill—Heréux had carried ‘in. his fists shining, shoes with the-blanke
i 4 sharpie," said
been y comparing the oth
The Kid beat the assault by . isstied-deni n. te vpn?
running off and Yoining the Army. A ye A
r added to his, sate:
mincing, steps, he walked over to an adjoining
tened FO: the cell wall. by twin chains. Meticu-
eu
ialf ‘to himself, enviously
ensive suit with his own prison-
’ fou in, for?" ‘the suave. character asked,
, 4 mi a WV ok ; 4 ; ees af
In the Ineeting of the two* codlQUENGre decuiia, one those unaccountablex*” .:. *
\ ; ty es 7 no? he nit : ae : Rae u ue ax eo" ove
freaks of naturesthectat and the ferret, © es a,
gre oot Se Saale reget”
instead & tearing at each other’ at, teamed up: in an°unhot
A 19
extreme right, °
t onthe Sao of his cell-bunk
n 4
=a
é
Honey Puff was doing an Oriental strip tease when-she
caught the eye of kill-crazy gunman, who married her.
y
“Spittin’ on the sidewalk,” Heroux answered contemptu-
ously. He was irked by the newcomer’s patronizing man-
ner.
“You're a fresh punk, aren’t you?” the stranger remarked
pleasantly, a half smile playing around his thin mouth.
Heroux flipped his cigaret into the other’s face.
Without sound or change of, expression, the older thug
leaped at Heroux. His left arm encircled the back of The
Kid’s neck. His right forearm jammed into the youth’s throat.
Heroux’ face purpled. He fell backward, doubled his legs
and kicked his assailant hard in the stomach.
But the ferret-faced stranger did not loosen his grip until
The Kid lay gasping and semiconscious.
“T’m not ready yet to take on another rap,” the smug
stranger remarked. “So let’s forget this whole thing.”
The Kid sat up and rubbed, his throat. “You're pretty.
tough,” he said. “Got a*tailor-made cigaret?”
His erstwhile opponent proffered a flashy cigaret case.
“Egyptian this side, Turkish, that.” The deadly alliance was
in the making.
The jail-born friendship grew during-succeeding days. The
newcomer introduced himself as Gerhard Arthur Puff, a
native of Milwaukee. He had a crime record dating back
to 1934.
“The law first grab me when I’m a little younger than you,
for stealing a prize-winnin’ pooch from a dog show,” Puff
reminisced. “I sell the mutt for $50 and I get a year in the
clink for it.
“I’m just about to be sprung when a guard gives me a bad
time for making noise in the mess hall. I decked him with
a pair of pliers I had stolen from the tailor shop, and they
gave me an additional year. |
Ruth Heroux is escorted from hotel by Federal officers
after her husband’s accomplice shot and killed G-Man.
/
“When I got out I wise up that this petty larceny stuff
is strictly for moochers.
“So I branch out and begin knockin’ over gas stations and
the like. I’m living pretty good ‘until I get grabbed on a
robbery charge and I draw three years in Wisconsin State
pen. .
“The diet there don’t agree with me too well, sa.one dic
-back in September, 1945, when I’m working on the prison
farm, I see an unguarded milk truck—just left there, keys
and all—and the next thing-I’m in it and heading west.
“On the way, I ditch the truck, and I pick up a nice
Cadillac from a parking lot. But the sheriff puts the arm
on me through the license tags when I reach Fallon, Nevada,
just about two weeks later.
'“T get sprung last month after six moré years in stir. When
I get out I’m a little short in the vest, so to fatten the bank-
roll, I stick up a doctor in his office right here in Milwaukee.
I took him for 900 bucks and, as cover, I made the sap ride
down with me in the elevator to the street floor, where I took
off in the crowd on Wisconsin Avenue. .
“But instead of powdering out of town right away, I buy
some new clothes and, like a sap, I leave my prison-issued
suit with the clothing store guy. He gets suspicious, tips off
‘the police and I get nabbed on the street a day later. So
that’s why I’m here. They set $3,000 bail on me for trial and
I can’t get a bondsman to spring me.’
Heroux had been studying his cellmate ‘with growing
admiration as the slick hoodlum outlined his checkered—but
highly unprofitable—career. “You’re O/K.,” the kid said
approvingly. “I got ideas of the big time, too. Boy, if I could
get my hands on a gat now—even a .22 popgun—we'd blast
‘ our way out of this trap!”
“Kid,” Puff announc
going to get places tog
Two months later, /
ing’served his sentenc
once again free. For
Federal Firearms Act
was placed on probai
Released from jail <
minor hoodlum fron
Heroux had teamed 1
had both received onc
their resources, boug
England.
a After the two mad:
, stopped off at Provide
mother. Elliott went c
friends.
On August 30, a
Heroux drove to Ly
going to hole in at
buddy.
It was the followin
by: the savage slayir
Alje M. Savela, gunn
about a mile from \
9 mm. automatic!
Eyewitness accoun
ing, brought forth th
y. It was growing dus
’ ing along Route 122,
toward Worcester.
Savela gave chase
A pistol, smuggled
mate’s girdle, blazed
She!
tel by Federal officers
hot and killed G-Man.
this petty larceny stuff
in’ over gas stations and
itil I get grabbed on a
ears in Wisconsin State
ne too well, so one day,
working on the prison
k—just left there, keys
1 it and heading west.
and I pick up a nice
1e sheriff puts the arm
I reach Fallon, Nevada,
aore years in stir. When
, So to fatten the bank-
ight here in Milwaukee.
er, I made the sap ride
treet floor, where I took
ue.
own right away, I buy
leave my prison-issued
gets suspicious, tips off
street a day later. So
dail on me for trial and
ae.”
‘ellmate with growing
ned his checkered—but
> O/K.,” the kid said
me, too. Boy, if I could
22 popgun—we’d blast
“Kid,” Puff announced, “I got the feeling you and me are
going to get places together.” i ‘ N
Two months later, August 23, 1951, George Heroux, hav-
ing’served his sentence for the planned armed robbery, was
once again free. For his additional crime of violating the
Federal Firearms Act by illegally transporting weapons, he
was placed on probation. :
Released from jail at the same time was John P. Elliott, a
minor hoodlum from Peabody, Massachusetts. He. and
Heroux had teamed up in the plarined armed robbery and
had both received one-year sentences. The pair now pooled
their resources, bought a used car and headed for New
England.
After the two made arrangements to meet later, Heroux
. stopped off at Providence, Rhode Island, where he visited his
mother. Elliott went on to Lynn, Massachusetts, to stay with
friends. ;
On August 30, after buying a 9 mm., automatic,
Heroux drove to Lynn, where he contacted Elliott. “I’m
going to hole in at Worcester for a while,’ he told his
buddy.
It was the following day that New England was horrified
by the savage slaying of a Massachusetts State Trooper,
Alje M. Savela, gunned to death on a lonely stretch of road
about a mile from Worcester. And the slayer had used a
9 mm. automatic! .
Eyewitness accounts, plus the circumstances of the kill-
ing, brought forth the following picture: '
It was growing dusk when the 34-year-old trooper, driv-
ing along Route 122, spotted a car streaking at high speed
toward Worcester.
Savela gave chase, forced the car to a stop at the road
A pistol, smuggled into prison under his
mate’s girdle, blazed in break-out try...
shoulder. He walked from his car to the other and spotted
his flashlight beam on the driver’s face.
A short conversation ensued. Following custom, the officer
no doubt told the offending motorist to trail him to police
headquarters.,
Witnésses peering from the window of a nearby farmhouse
then saw the officer enter his own car. Seconds later, a
sport-shirted figure emerged from the first auto and walked
over ‘to the officer’s car. ,
The darkness and quiet were rent by the flash and crack
of gunfire. Eleven slugs were poured into the body of the
trooper.
Then the slayer darted back to his own car and dis-
appeared into the night before the watchers could fully
recover from the nightmarish sight.
The brutal, senseless murder triggered police activity up
and down the East Coast. Meanwhile, Massachusetts authori-
ties operated upon the theory that Trooper Savela had been
slain by a fugitive who would rather kill than have his
whereabouts known.
The lawmen concentrated on ascertaining if any much-
wanted criminal had been seen in the Worcester area on the
night of the slaying. They quickly found that, among the
circulars issued by the FBI, was one on George Heroux.
The Massachusetts authorities had been asked to be on the
lookout for the thug as a probation violator. Heroux had
left the Milwaukee jurisdiction without official consent.
With this information as a lead, the Massachusetts police
learned from Worcester residents that the youth had re-
cently. visited his mother in Providence. Next, a local
merchant revealed that he had sold a 9 mm, automatic to a
hard-bitten young man answering [Continued on page 49]
... Guard L. Wainwright, below, ‘wounded in thigh, is comforted by his
wife. Another guard was shot, too, and prison superintendent was slain.
"
ale
BY FRED COOK
Felled by one of dying agent's last shots, vicious ‘gunman collapsed on sidewalk outside
hotel; he receives first aid from ambulance doctor while FBI men keep grim watch on him
High road from Florida to
New York ends for young | {
Mrs. Joan Heroux, shown © :
in custody of FBI agents; |
she said she knew nothing
of husband's activities
Lobby of Congress Hotel
where gunman became
aware of impending arrest
and sought to flee; bullets
soon filled the air, five
cowardly shots hit agent
They called in El Portal’s Police Chief, Barron Shields.
Detectives came, searched the neighborhood and asked
questions. Although they were unable to link the two
couples to the Miami murder, the neighbors’ curiosity served
one purpose—it interested the officers in these fast, free-
spending people who had left abruptly and mysteriously,
and with a month still to go on their lease.
“If they return,” one detective said, ‘“‘call headquarters
and let us know.”
The neighbors promised, and after the police departed,
they telephoned Mrs. Bennett, told her of the wild goings-
on that had disgraced her home and advised her that it
might be a good idea to come back ‘quickly to make certain
that she had more than four bare walls standing.
Mrs. Bennett heeded the advice and returned to El
Portal on July 24th, two days before her tenants’ time was
up. In the month that had intervened between their abrupt
departure and her arrival, Mrs. Bennett’s home had stood.
dark, deserted and almost ominously quiet.
As soon as she arrived, the owner unlocked the door and
stepped inside. She was shocked at what she found. Furni-
ture was flung about in disorder; some of it bore the
scars of deep burns where cigarettes had been allowed
to smoulder, The walls were chipped and dirty and marked.
The high-living couples had obviously done a wrecking
. job to stir the envy of the most ingenious of youthful
vandals.
Outraged, Mrs. Bennett rented a room at a neighbor’s
house and set up watch. She had not long to wait.
At 9 o’clock the next morning, July 25th, she saw a
pickup truck stop in front of her house.’ A workman
alighted from it, followed by another man—the well-built,
sulkily-handsome Robert Matthews, who had rented Mrs.
Bennett’s. house.
Matthews entered the house and began to take out his
personal belongings. Mrs. Bennett called out to her friends
to summon police and fairly ran along the sidewalk and
across the lawn to her home. Angrily, she accosted Mat-
thews just as he was supervising the removal of the last
of his personal possessions.
“You have ruined my house and my furniture!” Mrs.
Bennett accused. “I’ll make you pay for this!”
aoe = a
"Make up your minds you are going to
die," he told two Florida lawmen, who
i knew he was. one of ten “most wanted"
Matthews was polite and apologetic:
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Bennett,” he told her.
everything.”
The truck containing Matthews’ belongings drove away,
but Matthews remained behind, discussing the damage
with Mrs. Bennett.
At this juncture, an El Portal police car driven by Patrol-
man Robert Dubray drove up to the house. Dubray had
sped at once to the scene after being summoned by the
i neighbors’ telephone calls. Chief Shields wanted to know
why Matthews and his friends had left so suddenly, and
what the “big-money” discussions were about.
The policeman pretended that he was interested only in
seeing that justice was done to Mrs. Bennett. He kept
in the background while the home-owner and the tenant
discussed .the damage, item by item. He watched carefully
_ for a moment when Matthews’ attention was focused else-
where, then jerked his head at Mrs. Bennett in an almost
imperceptible “come here” motion.
She edged toward him and he whispered: ‘‘Keep stalling
for time.”
Dubray wanted the argument to be protracted because
he knew that Chief Shields was driving to the scene from
his own home and he did not want to make a move until
the chief arrived.
Mrs. Bennett followed instructions and kept Matthews
in a heated argument about the amount of money she
would need to fix up her house. The dispute was still go-
ing on when Chief Shields appeared.
The chief asked Matthews a few routine questions about
his name, home and business. He pretended that he was
satisfied with the answers, then told Matthews:
“I’m probably wrong, but it seems to me I remember
some kind of a warrant out for you. You'll have to come
with us to the police station until we straighten things out.”
“All right,” Matthews said.
He was nonchalant, indifferent, almost bored.
Clad in slacks and a short-sleeved white sports shirt,
_he stepped back into the house to pick up a sports jacket
he had tossed carelessly aside. He shrugged into the
jacket, then quietly followed Chief Shields and Dubray
toward the chief’s private car. They did not notice that
Matthews was keeping one hand in his coat pocket.
The three reached the car and were about to step in
when Matthews’ hand whipped out of the pocket. It held
a snub-nosed Smith & Wesson .38 caliber revolver.
With his free hand, Matthews yanked the guns from the
holsters of the startled policemen.
“Get in the back of the car!” he told them, jabbing his
own revolver at them like a pointer.
Grim-faced and angry, they had no choice but to obey.
Keeping them covered, he proceeded to search the vehicle
methodically to make certain no other guns were con-
cealed in it. He checked the glove compartment and
looked under the front seat. Satisfied, he then grabbed
Dubray’s handcuffs and snapped them, on the wrists of
Chief Shields.
“Crouch down in the back,” he ordered the chief,
shoving him toward the floor.
He jabbed the gun again at Dubray.
“You do the driving,’ he ordered. “And don’t forget
T’ll be sitting right behind you with this gun.”
He hopped into the back of the car with the recumbent
chief.. ,
“Now get me out of town the quickest way,” he snapped.
The kidnaping of the two police officers had been wit-
nessed by Mrs. Bennett. As Chief Shields’ car moved
away fromthe curb, the shaken and astounded woman
“T’ll pay for
OOS TION SECT Hee
turned and ran for a telephone to summon assistance.
Other neighbors had also witnessed the startling drama
and had already snatched up their phones to tell the
police that the chief and Dubray had been captured.
In seconds, the police radio crackled the alarm, alerting
surrounding municipalities and sending cars of the Dade
County Sheriff’s Patrol converging on the northern Miami
metropolitan area.
In the meantime, Matthews continued to order about his
two police hostages. As their car sped down 90th Street,
he apparently realized that Dubray’s uniform cap and
coat would attract attention. _
“Take off that hat and coat,” he told Dubray.
Gun at his back, the patrolman had to follow orders. He
struggled out of his garments, peeling until he was naked
to the waist. As the car picked up speed again, Matthews
began to boast, like a man keyed up by the whole episode.
“You know who I am?” he asked the officers. “I’m
George Heroux, one of the ten most wanted men in the
nation.”
_ The name was a dread one. The Federal Bureau of
Investigation had given Heroux his ranking in the select
hierarchy of the nation’s most ruthless desperadoes. He
was a man who had held up banks single-handed; he was
a suspect in the slaying of a Massachusetts State: Trooper;
he was known as a man who liked to kill for killing’s sake.
Just driving along a highway, he often shot down stray
Joan Heroux carried grip
filled with guns to hotel
where her husband's pal
later attempted to shoot
his way out of FBI trap
J. Edgar Hoover (/.), Director of FBI, attends funeral services for the
valiant agent with his right-hand man, Associate Director Clyde Tolson
| dogs and cats for the pleasure of watching their death
kicks as they fell.
Despite the gunman’s awesome reputation, Chief Shields
growled out a rejoinder calculated to wound his pride.
“Aw, I never heard of you,” he said.
The remark, if anything, only made Heroux nastier.
“Just make up your minds you are going to die,” he told
the two officers. “If they get me, you get it just that much
quicker.”
The car, by now, had sped west through El Portal and
reached NW 27th Avenue. Along this it raced to the north..
The miles clicked off and nothing happened. The car
was nearing Opa-locka, and still there was no sign of
pursuit.
But, though the occupants of the car could not know it,
the chase was about to begin.
Earlier in the morning, Miami Detectives E. C. Bush
and R. E. Esser had driven out to the Marine Air Station
on a routine auto theft investigation. They had stopped
at the Provost Marshal’s office, and the marshal had loaned
them Marine Technical Sergeant Lowell Dykstra to aid
in the search.
Esser was driving as the three headed toward the Master
Field end of the station, traveling south along NW 27th
Avenue. It was here that they picked up the radio alarm
for the kidnaper of Chief Shields and Patrolman Dubray.
Seconds after they heard the alarm, they spotted a car
traveling north at high speed. As the car passed them, Bush
caught a glimpse of two men crouched in the rear seat.
Esser whipped the detectives’ car around in a screaming
% U-turn, and the chase began.
\ AS the pursuing car drew abreast of the fleeing sedan,
Heroux began firing. With Dubray’s revolver, he smashed
out the rear window, and after emptying his own Smith &
Wesson, he fired two more shots from the heavier service
revolver. One of his shots crashed into Esser’s car just
ahead of the front door, inches from where Bush. was
sitting.
Bush and Sergeant Dykstra, an expert marksman, re-
turned the fire. Bullets whined back and forth across the
narrow stretch of road separating the two speeding cars.
Baby-faced Annie Laurie Puff met
gunman when she was: an exotic,
: Oriental dancer for a Miami club
44 ‘
o anything
» him shoot
2r, Heroux shot
son official and
ards before he
he reader won-
rict himself was
bullets it must
guards at Rai-
t armed.
rown into soli-
ivy, round-the-
an investigation
begun. The in-
the question of
0 possession of
four inches long,
ake. It is small
‘aled in the palm
. was ideal for
ver, prison au-
out, all visitors,
alike, are care-.
ore they are per-
contact with in-
aave gotten the
m many sources.
one would have
> prison ‘under-
as it would have
in view of the
of all visitors
a friend or rela-
o smuggle in a
2en a mistake on
ities, though, not
atter possibility.
1 that Heroux
, had full visit-
eceived regular
two persons—his
rmer wife, Mrs.
, however, were
n” when they
n—staff members
nem a thorough
understand, cer-
vestigation went
ies had not ac-
hemselves in the
atty Ruth Staffa.
re thought “gun
ut with the “Dil-
Dog Colls and
dal types. It has
2 since any such
tales as cigar-
slinging Bonnie
for her ex-husband... 7
his way out of jail.
Parker and the like have been on
the loose.
But today we have Ruth Staffa,
tidy little Ruth, who probably
never even smoked a cigar. She
could play the role of gun moll
along with the best (or rather, the
worst) of the old-time machine
gun mamas.
Turn back to a sweltering July
day in 1952 in New York. The
scene was the spacious lobby of
the big Congress Hotel in West
69th Street. Twelve FBI men were
staked out in the lobby and around
the hotel.
Acting on an underworld tip,
the G-Men were waiting for Ger-
hard A, Puff, a killer and a pistol
pal of George Heroux, wanted for
a bank robbery in Prarie Village,
Kansas.
It was 1:30 P.m.:when Puff ap-:
peared. He sauntered in from the
street and walked toward the
clerk’s desk. But he had gone no
more than half: way across the
lobby when he sensed that some-
thing was “wrong.”
Puff whirled. about, unlimber-
ing a gun—and then all hell broke
loose. Scores of guests and loung-
ers scrambled wildly for cover as
the lobby was turned into a verit-
able battle ground, with a dozen
guns roaring and lead flying.
G-Man Joseph Brock, who was
closest to Puff, fell and the gun-
man turned and pumped several .
bullets into the. helpless agent’s
back. Then he made a break for it.
Did killer arrested in
‘Florida finger wife .and
a : | second pair in New York?
in BABY DOLL S . ai a ee ;
o
Puff was brought down just,out-
side the front entrance with a bul-
let in the leg. As he lay there on
the hot pavement, wounded, he
still stuck to his “tough guy” part.
“T don’t remember nuttin’,” he
growled at his captors. ‘““‘Why don’t |
you guys cut it out?”
They cut it out all right. He had
a murder charge to face.
It is too bad that the govern-
ment slug didn’t catch Puff in the
heart instead of the leg. It would
have saved considerable trouble
and expense. For it was necessary
to try and convict Puff of Agent
Brock’s murder and, last year, to
blast him into eternity in Sing
Sing’s electric chair.
“s
W ITHIN twenty-four hours but some 1,200 miles apart,
two of the FBI’s ten most wanted men were captured
in blazing gun battles last July 25 and 26. They were Ger-
hard Arthur Puff, seized in New York’ City, and George
Arthur Heroux, taken near Miami, Fla.”
Both had been sought since the robberies the preceding
November of the South Side Bank in Kansas City, Mo.,
and the Johnson County National Bank in Prairie Village,
Kans. Their. partnership in crime stemmed from a chance
meeting last year in a Milwaukee, Wis., jail.
Heroux was captured first after a wild auto chase marked
by a storm of gunfire. Leaping into an El Portal (suburb
of Miami) police car, he forced Officer Robert Dubray to
drive at gunpoint after handcuffing Dubray’s superior Chief
Barron F. Shields. _
As other police cars closed in under a hail of bullets,
Chief Shields kicked the blazing gun from Heroux’ hand
and Dubray rammed the car into a tree. Then both officers
leaped on the bank robber-gunman. Dubray was wounded
in the back of one shoulder during the gunfight.
The next day in New York, FBI men trailing two girls
believed to be linked with Puff, set up a trap in the lobby
of the Hotel Congress at 69th Street and fashionable Central
Park West. Apparently warned of the ambush, Puff, gun
in hand, walked down nine floors instead of taking the
elevator. ;
In this way, he surprised and fatally shot Agent Joseph
Brock who was watching the elevator entrance from behind
a frosted-glass door. Wounded in one leg during his wild
dash across the hotel lobby, Puff was captured after he
collapsed on the sidewalk in front of the hotel entrance.
* Police probe for bullets in wall where Brock fell behind
the frosted-glass door off the lobby of the Hotel Congress.
Detectives take into custody for questioning the blonde
and brunette (top) whose trail finally led them to Puff.
VAS
Deceptively sweet in appearance and
manner, tough gun moll figured in
murders of prison guard and G-Man.
ing little blonde, aged 23,
with a beguiling, . sweet
smile, when she wants to
turn it on, and a quiet, almost de-
mure, manner of carrying herself.
i
figure her mixed up in anything
| more violent than a girl’s’ school
pillow fight or a Saturday morn-
ing rumble in a bargain basement.
Moreover Ruth, as the wolves
would say, ‘is “stacked.” ’
' Standing about 5-foot-2 in her
nylons, Ruth is so curvy and cud-
dlesome that—if you didn’t know
i Ruth—it would seem nothing short
—_ of silly to suggest she ever found
{ it necessary to wear a girdle.
From here on in, it is hoped, it
will become clear who so much
has been made cof .(1) Ruth’s dis-
arming girlishness and (2) the
seemingly irrelevant fact that, de-
spite a beautiful, succulent body,
- 16
A " 7
LO WEA
R UTH STAFFA is a good-look- ©
Just loking at Ruth, you’d never.
she sheathed her smooth, creamy
thighs in a two-way stretch girdle.
She had but recently remarried
and, technically might have been
considered still on her honeymoon.
‘Nevertheless, on a bright, sunny
Sunday, Ruth went to spend part
of the day with her former hus-
band. It was not exactly an outing,
since Ruth’s ex is George Heroux,
25, bank bandit and free-lance
desperado,
Florida State prison at Raiford.
Of that visit, more later. It’s
enough to say, now, that less than
two months later, on April 4th,
George Heroux made a desperate
bid for freedom.
With a dainty but deadly little
CAS
ea (1S
serving 25 years in |
She would do anything
even help him shoot
.25-caliber revolver, Heroux shot
and killed a prison official and
/ wounded two guards before he
was subdued. If the reader won-
ders why the convict himself was
not riddled with bullets it must
be explained that guards at Rai-
ford prison are not armed.
Heroux was thrown into soli-
tary under a heavy, round-the-
clock watch and an investigation
was immediately begun. The in-
quiry centered on the question of
how he ‘came into Possession of
the death weapon.
The pistol, only four inches long,
was of foreign make. It is small
enough to be concealed in the palm
of the hand, and was ideal for
smuggling. However, prison au-
thorities pointed out, all visitors,
men and women alike, are care-
fully searched before they are per-
mitted to come in contact with in-
mates,
Heroux could have gotten the
gun, of course, from many sources.
The most likely one would have
been through the prison under-
ground, inasmuch as it would have
been hazardous—in view of the
rigid examination of all visitors
to the prison—for a friend or rela-
tive to attempt to smuggle in a
weapon.
- It would have been a mistake on
the part of authorities, though, not
to consider the latter possibility.
Records disclosed that Heroux
who, at that time, had full visit-
ing privileges, received regular
SECRET
visits from only two persons—his
father and his former wife, Mrs.
Ruth Staffa. Both, however, were
apparently “clean” when they
came to the prison—staff members
recalled giving them a thorough
searching,
It is hard to understand, cer-
tainly, as the investigation went
on, that authorities had not ac-
tively interested themselves in the
background of pretty Ruth Staffa.
One would have thought “gun
molls” had gone out with the “Dil-
lingers and Mad Dog Colls and
other such homicidal types. It has
been a long while since any such
tough female fatales as cigar-
smoking, gun- slinging Bonnie
CR 4M Se
ie ee ett
COTES Be
for her
his wa:
Parker anc
the loose.
But toda
tidy little
never ever
could play
along with
worst) of
gun mama:
Turn bac
day in 19:
scene was
the big Cc
69th Street.
staked out i
the hotel.
Acting o
the G-Men
hard A, Pu:
pal of Geor
a bank rob}
Kansas.
At was 1:
peared. He
street and
clerk’s desk
more than
lobby when
thing was “
Puff whir
ing a gun—a
loose. Scores
ers scramble
the lobby w:
able battle ;
guns roaring
G-Man Jo
closest to Pi
man turned
bullets into
back. Then h
In
Puff was br
side the front
let in the leg
the hot pave
Still stuck to }
“I don’t re:
growled at his
you guys cut
They cut it .
@ murder char
It is too be
ment slug did:
heart instead .
have saved c
and expense. }
to try and cor
Brock’s murde
blast him int.
Sing’s electric
Where does shapely Ruth Staffa
fit into this strange saga of guns
and senseless killing?
We find her registered there in
the same hotel with another rather
“shapely young’ woman-—Mrs. Ger-
hard Puff. The two make an ex-
tremely interesting pair.
Mrs. Puff turns out to be a
17-year-old striptease artist who,
when she had not been: busy serv-
ing as gun-bearer to her ever-
loving husband, had been shed-
ding her garments to bump tunes
in various night clubs across the
country. /
As: for Ruth, who. insisted she
was just a small town girl from
Everett, Massachusetts, the cops
promptly pegged ‘her as the wife
of George Heroux, accomplice ‘of
Puff in the Kansas stickup.
. The cops also broke the sad
news to Ruth that Heroux had
been arrested the day before in
Miami and it was believed that it
was he who put the finger on his
chum, Gerhard Puff.
Heroux’ capture also was not
without its dramatic side — al-
though three years were to pass
before he killed anybody. ;
Much-wanted around the coun-
try, Heroux was specifically want-
ed in Miami, Florida, for sticking
up a bank in broad daylight in
suburban El Portal.
Cops and G-Men everywhere
were looking hard hard for him.
But two Miami officers probably
didn’t have Heroux on the top of
their thoughts ‘that night when
they knocked on an apartment
door in connection with a routine
investigation of a reported “dis-
turbance of the peace.”
Heroux met the investigating
officers at the door and said he
would be glad to come outside and
talk things over to their satisfac-
tion. This he did...
As the cops stood beside their
car, Heroux leveled a gun and or-
dered them to climb inside. He
took their pistols and told them to
start driving.
Where Heroux intended to have
the officers transport him is still
not known. At any odds, as they
drove along, Heroux covering
them, the man at the wheel got
an idea.
Suddenly the driver, with ab-
solute disregard for his immediate
Bank bandit shot down by bullets of
a dozen FBI men just after killing
G-Man in a New York hotel lobby.
personal safety, swerved the car
off the road and rammed it into a
tree. By the time Heroux’ head
had cleared, the two cops were on
top of him. ;
Whether or not they clobbered
him is now of no importance. The
vital fact is that he was very much
captured and, in time, wound up
in Florida State Prison, with a
long, long time to go.
Meanwhile, Ruth and her girl
friend seemed to relish their place
in the glare of the big city crime
spotlight. They smiled and mug-
ged for the newspaper camera-
men, simpering at times like a
couple of Atlantic City, N. J.,
bathing - beauty hopefuls caught
with clothes on.
But affairs began to assume a
grimmer complexion after the cops
made known what they had found
in the girls’ luggage besides the
conventional “filmy” underthings
and four or five changes of modish
garments.
A sawed-off shotgun, newly oil-
ed and in perfect shooting order,
was discovered nestling among
Mrs. Puff’s extra bras and panties.
Before authorities were done with
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mile
from the bank. There they transferred to Heroux’s black
Dodge. ;
For the ensuing eight months the partnership operated
in high gear. Half a dozen Midwest banks were held up
with great success. When the FBI took their trail, Heroux
and Puff moved the area of their operations eastward to
Massachusetts and New Hampshire. During one job near
Boston, State Trooper Alje M. Savela was shot and killed
by Puff. On another occasion a burned and abandoned
car, found in New Hampshire near the scene of a robbery,
was traced back to Puff. Both men had, by Christmas of
1951, achieved places on the FBI’s ten most wanted
criminal list.
During this period George Heroux acquired a wife and
a .357 caliber Magnum revolver. This is the world’s
most powerful pistol. It has a 2700-yard range and can
penerate a brick wall. Puff who spent money on women,
at crap tables and high living thought the Magnum an
unnecessary expense. “What do you want that for?” he
demanded. “It'll blow a man’s head off.”
“I like the feel of it,” said Heroux. “It’s good to know
you’ve got the best gun in the world.”
He demonstrated exactly what he meant two days later
when he and Puff were driving along a country road.
A dog ran from a farmhouse, barking at the car. Heroux
whipped out the Magnum and shot the animal in the
head. The impact of the high caliber bullet knocked the
dog across the road into the ditch.
“Are you nuts?” said Puff. ‘What did you do that for?”
To accelerate crime career, he picked friends with care.
Pal Puff’s last stand ended when FBI bullet hit its mark
Heroux grinned happily and patted the Magnum with
affection. ‘I told you it was a good gun,” he said. “It sure
kills ’em real dead, doesn’t it?”
Somewhere between bank jobs George Heroux met
Joan Evans. He decided to marry her. The fact that she
was already married to a Brooklyn truck driver and had a
3-year-old daughter of that marriage, deterred neither
of them. They were wed in February, 1952, in Columbia,
South Carolina.
Some four months later, Puff was also married. His
bride was Annie Laurie Moore, a 17-year-old dancer,
whom Puff had met in a Miami night club. Puff had been
married to another woman for several years, had never
been divorced. But he had no more objection to bigamy
than he had to armed robbery. The pair was married
on June 3rd in Darlington, South Carolina.
During this entire period, Heroux and Puff were suc-
cessfully holding up banks all over the country. In addi-
tion, Heroux was still using his Magnum revolver on any
stray cat or dog that happened to cross his path. It was in
late May, 1952, that the pair decided they had earned a
vacation. Heroux and his wife set out for Miami to rent
ahouse. Puff, who was to be married a week later, planned
to join them there.
It was on May 26th that Heroux, using the name of
Robert Matthews, leased an elegant ranch house on 90th
Street in Miami’s northern suburb of El] Portal. They
moved in, paying two months’ rent in advance to the
owner, Mrs. Peter Bennett. On the day that Heroux and
With Chicago Policewoman Conlon, expert roller skater and
murderer Beausoleil (1.) hoped to foil arrest with disguise
23
wR
pti i ee.
Born a Killer
(Continued from page 25)
evidence that Heroux had ever killed a
man. True, the Massachusetts officials be-
lieved he was involved in the murder of
Trooper Savela, but they could not prove
it.
It is also true that there are a score of
incidents in the life of Heroux which in-
dicate that he is possessed of strong mur-
derous tendencies. But since in all prob-
ability he had never committed murder
up to the time of his imprisonment, it
seemed highly unlikely that an oppor-
tunity to do so would ever present itself
again. If George Heroux actually had been
born to kill, it appeared that a 50-year
prisen term would effectively frustrate the
fulfillment of that destiny.
It didn’t.
George Heroux did not like the Rai-
ford Penitentiary. He hated the discipline.
He violated the rules. At the time of Ger-
hard Puff’s trial in New York, Heroux was
in solitary confinement.
Loneliness is conducive to thought and
Heroux thought of a way to achieve a
temporary variation of his routine life. He
wrote to Puff’s prosecutor, Assistant U. S.
Attorney Joseph P. Martin, in which he
offered to give evidence against his former
partner.
As a result of this letter he was taken
under heavy guard to the Tombs prison
in New York. There he announced that the
city prison was a genuine treat after the
Florida jail. He announced further that
instead of testifying against Puff he had
decided to appear as a witness in the
killer’s behalf.
When Martin relayed this news to Puff’s
attorney, the defense lawyer advised,
“Send him back to Florida. I don’t want
him. A witness like that can only injure
my client.”
Heroux was returned to Florida. Puff
was tried for the murder of Agent Brock
and found guilty. He was executed in
Sing Sing prison on August 12th, 1954.
George Heroux Sr., perhaps regretting
his neglect of his son, now came to Rai-
ford and talked with George Jr., on almost
every visiting day. On several of these oc-
casions Heroux slipped his father sealed
letters, requesting that they be delivered
to Mrs. Raymond Staffa. Mrs. Raymond
Staffa, was Joan Evans, who had formerly
been Heroux’s wife.
Since he had begun serving his term she
had divorced him. Cleaning up all her
loose romantic ends, she had divorced her
Brooklyn truck driver husband, too. In
March, 1955, she had married Raymond
Staffa, a 27-year-old exercise boy who
worked at the Florida race tracks.
After receiving Heroux’s communica-
tions, Joan Staffa paid several visits to her
former husband at Raiford. On April 4th,
at 9:30 in the morning, George Heroux was
locked in a special detention cell. He had
been, and not for the first time, guilty of
an infraction of the prison rules. He
walked to the barred door and called to
the guard on duty. The guard, Guy Ed-
wards, approached the cell.
"All | know is that as soon as they led you out of the
courtroom | missed my valuable watch!"
“Take me to the men’s room,” demanded
Herouk.
Edwards nodded. He produced a bunch
of keys and unlocked the door of Her-
oux’s cell. Heroux stepped into the con-
crete corridor. He thrust his hand into his
shirt and produced a .25 caliber pistol,
jammed its muzzle against Edwards’ head.
“All right,” said Heroux, “I’m getting
out of here and I’m taking the superin-
tendent with me as a hostage. Take me to
his office or I’ll blow your head off.”
Edwards, having no choice in the mat-
ter, went along with Heroux through the
cell block, into the corridor where the
office of Superintendent L. F. Chapman
was situated. Standing before the office
door were J. C. Godwin, the assistant su-
_ perintendent, and Guards E. Dodds and L.
Wainwright. None of them was armed.
This fact did not restrain them. The in-
stant the trio saw the gun in Heroux’s
hand, they charged.
Heroux swung his pistol from Edwards’
head and fired five shots. He missed with
only one. Godwin was hit in the stomach
and shoulder. Dodds was wounded in the
right shoulder. Wainwright took a slug in
his left thigh. But they bore down on Her-
oux, threw him to the floor.
Other guards rushed up, disarmed Her-
oux and put him into solitary confinement.
The wounded men were rushed to the
prison hospital. Dodds and Wainwright
were not seriously injured, but within two
hours Godwin was dead.
State Attorney T. E. Duncan immediate-
ly began an investigation. Heroux, when
questioned, sullenly refused to explain
how the gun had come into his possession.
Duncan checked the prison records,
learned that Heroux had received but two
visitors since his term had begun. These
were his father and Joan Staffa.
George Heroux Sr. told Duncan of the
letters he had delivered to his former
daughter-in-law. He denied that he had
ever been privy to their contents. Duncan
sent for the girl. She weepingly admitted
that she had smuggled the weapon in to
Heroux during one of her visits. Her hus-
band had obtained it for her, she told the
officials.
“But why did you do it?” asked Duncan.
“You've divorced Heroux. Surely you
don’t love him any more.”
“I hid it in my girdle and brought it
here,” said the girl. “I did it because I
was scared what might happen to me if I
didn’t do as George asked.”
“How could you be scared of him while
he was in jail?”
“It wasn’t him so much as his under-
world friends. I was afraid they’d kill
me.”
But under further questioning Joan
Staffa was unable to name any specific
“underworld friends” of Heroux’s who
might have harmed her. She was held by
the county authorities and Raymond Staffa
was arrested.
He conceded that he had bought the gun
for his wife. “Because,” he said, “I loved
her so much. I couldn’t deny her any-
thing.”
At the conclusion of the inquiry, George
Heroux Sr. was exonerated. Raymond and
Joan Staffa, held on a charge of smuggling
the gun into the prison, pleaded guilty
and await sentence.
George Heroux was indicted by an Ala-
chua County Grand Jury on a first-degree
murder charge. He will go to trial on June
20th, 1955. At that time a medical board
will report on the results of the sanity
tests for Heroux, ordered by Circuit
Judge George L. Patton.
George Heroux, who was born to kill,
achieved his terrible destiny relatively late
in his career. Like all of us, he was also
born to die. That is a fate he might achieve
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Guard L. Wainwright was lucky to survive prison gunbattle
his wife moved in, Mrs. Bennett went north to stay with
relatives.
On June 5th, Heroux and his wife were joined by the
newly-wedded Puffs, who at: that time were using the
alias of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Scott. They decided to have
a housewarming party. It turned out to be quite an affair
and lasted, with short periods out for sleep, until June 24th.
It was a noisy party, punctuated by shrill screams, loud
argument and the sound of bottles and furniture breaking.
In short order, the Matthews and the Scotts became ex-
tremely unpopular with all their neighbors, with the possi-
ble exception of the proprietor of the local liquor store.
In addition to the noise of the continuous party, the
neighbors heard many shouted arguments regarding the
disposition of large sums of money.
On June 23rd a prominent Miami physician, Dr. Clifton
C. Springmyer, was murdered. On June 24th, the El
Portal party came to an abrupt end. The occupants of
the 90th Street house quietly moved out.
In the light of later events, it seemed that neither
Heroux nor Puff had anything to do with the violent death
of the doctor. But .a neighbor who lived opposite Mrs.
Bennett’s house figured, not without logic, that they did.
The fact that his noisy drunken neighbors who discussed
fantastic sums of money should disappear after a myste-
rious murder seemed to him a most suspicious circumstance.
He notified the police and wrote a letter to Mrs. Bennett.
The El Portal police, completely unaware that the un-
desirable 90th Street tenants held star billing on the FBI
wanted list, merely requested residents of the area to
notify headquarters should the Matthews couple and the
Scotts return.
When Mrs. Bennett received her neighbor’s letter she
became alarmed and returned to Florida. When she en-
tered her home she stood angry and aghast on the threshold.
The place looked as if a malicious and filthy cyclone had
struck it. Half the furniture was smashed. The rest was
overturned and black with cigarette burns. Broken whis-
key bottles were strewn over the rug. The walls were
smudged and chipped. The bed linen, which apparently
had never been changed during the occupancy, was gray and
unpleasantly fragrant. Mrs. Bennett was furiously angry.
However, the rent had been paid up until July 24th
and, she observed, her dubious tenants had left behind
a number of personal possessions. It occurred to her that
they might return to pick up their belongings. If so, she
wanted to talk to them, to demand a financial settlement
for damage to her property.
She rented a room nearby and waited. Her patience
was rewarded. On the early morning of July 25th, a pick-
up truck halted before Mrs. Bennett’s house and Robert
Matthews, nee George Heroux, stepped out. He entered
the building and began to carry out his possessions. Mrs.
Bennett asked a friend to.call the police. Then she ran
across the street and accosted her tenant.
Heroux was quite amiable as Mrs. Bennett upbraided
him. “Don’t worry about anything,” he said. “I’ve got
plenty of dough. V’ll pay for the cleaning of the house and
for any damage that may have been done. Just figure out
what I owe you and I’ settle in cash.”
While Heroux and Mrs. Bennett were estimating the
damage a police car drove up. In it was E] Porta! Patrol-
man Robert Dubray. Dubray, aware that Police Chief
Barron Shields was on his way in his personal car, asked
Heroux a few routine questions as he awaited his superior.
Heroux stated that his name was Robert Matthews and
that he was in the oil business. He added, “There’s no
need for any coppers around here. The landlady thinks
she’s got a squawk because the house was messed up. So,
all right. I’m going to pay her for it.”
It was then that Chief Shields, wearing civilian clothes,
drove up. Shields joined the group and asked Heroux
more questions. Heroux became slightly impatient.
“Look,” he said, ‘“there’s no need for coppers. This lady
and I can straighten out everything. Why don’t you guys
go back to headquarters?”
“You seem eager to get rid of us,” said Shields. ‘It
seems to me that your face is vaguely familiar. I think
perhaps there’s a warrant out for you. Suppose we all go
down to headquarters and check.”
“Why, sure, if you want to,” said Heroux. ‘Wait till I
get my jacket.”
He took a sports jacket from the rear of the pickup
truck. He walked towards the chief’s car with his hands
in his pocket. As Shields opened the door of his sedan,
Heroux’s right hand came out of his pocket. He held a
snubnosed .38 caliber revolver.
His amiable mask dropped and he glared at the officers.
He said, “Don’t move, either of you.” And with his left
hand he took their guns from their holsters. “Now,” he
said to Dubrday, “give me your handcuffs.”
Heroux snapped the handcuffs on Chief Shields’ wrists,
ordered him to crouch in the rear of the car. “You’re
driving,” he said to Dubray. “Get me out of town and
get me out the quickest possible way.”
They were halfway down the block when it occurred
to Heroux that Dubray’s uniform shirt might arouse the
suspicions of anyone who saw them. He ordered the pa-
trolman to stop the car and remove his shirt and cap.
“Now,” he said, “get going again.” He added, not with-
out pride, “I’m George Heroux, one of the ten most
wanted men in the country.”
In the meantime Mrs. Bennett, who had seen the kid-
naping, had called the local police. They, in turn, had
apprised the Miami officials. Heroux’s car was on NW 27th
street, headed north toward Hialeah, when a Miami police
car occupied by Detectives E. C. Bush and R. E. Esser re-
ceived the radio alarm. With them was Marine Technical
Sergeant Lowell Dykstra, who was aiding the officers in
an investigation of robberies at the Marine Air Base.
Heroux’s car raced past that of the detectives just as the
alert came in. Bush saw two men crouching in the rear
of the Shields sedan. He spun his own car around and —
gave pursuit.
Heroux fired two shots from the side window. As the
police car came nearer he smashed the glass of the rear
window and fired twice more. Esser and Dykstra returned
the fire. Chief Shields moved close to Heroux and at-
tempted to pin his arm against the seat. Heroux fired
at Shields and miraculously missed.
During this diversion, Dubray saw his chance and took
it. Deliberately he steered the car off the highway and
crashed the hood into a tree. The shock of the collision
temporarily stunned Heroux. Bush, Esser and Dykstra
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jumped from their car with drawn guns and at that mo-
ment, William Ross, a Hialeah policeman, drove by on his
way to work.
Since no one was wearing a uniform, Ross drew his
own gun and ordered everyone to put up his hands. After
Chief Shields’ explanation, Ross left the scene. Heroux
was promptly escorted to the Dade County jail. There
police found $1650 in cash in his wallet, along with a
return airplane ticket to New York and a room key which
had been taken from the Congress Hotel in mid-Manhat-
tan.
Heroux, easily identified by the police records, actually
boasted of his identity. “The FBI wants me,” he repeated.
“Tm one of the most wanted guys in the country.”
Fifteen minutes later three FBI agents arrived and ques-
tioned Heroux. They were particularly interested in the
whereabouts of his notorious partner, Gerhard Puff.
Heroux, moderately garrulous regarding his own activities,
refused to discuss his pal.
But the FBI agents possessed some tangible evidence—
the airplane ticket and the hotel room key. If Heroux in-
tended to return to New York, it seemed reasonable to
assume that Puff was there. If Heroux was staying at
the Congress Hotel, it was logical to believe that Puff was
also there. The Miami agents communicated with the
New York bureau.
Edward Scheidt, in charge of the New York office,
checked immediately with the hotel. He learned that a
man answering Puff’s description had registered there a
week before with his wife, using the name Mr. and Mrs.
Burns of Philadelphia. Later on the same day Heroux
and his wife, under the alias of Hanson, had also moved in.
At 1 o’clock on the afternoon of July 26th, Scheidt, ac-
companied by FBI Agent Joseph Brock and a half-dozen
other G-men, entered the hotel to arrest Gerhard Puff.
All the hotel entrances and exits were covered, as was
the elevator.
But somehow Puff became suspicious. He ran down
nine flights of stairs into the lobby. Called upon to sur-
render, he opened fire with a .38 Smith and Wesson.
The G-men returned the fire as Puff raced through
the lobby to the street, his gun blazing. Three bullets
smashed into the body of Joseph Brock. He fell to the
floor of the lobby, still firing. An instant before he lost
consciousness he plugged Puff in the leg.
Screaming, the bandit fell to the pavement. A moment
later he was disarmed and captured. Agent Brock was
unconscious. He died an hour later in Roosevelt Hospital.
Puff was held on a first-degree murder charge. His
wife and Joan Heroux, found half-hysterical in an up-
stairs room, were put in the House of Detention as material
witnesses.
In the meantime, back in Miami, it was learned that
Heroux and Puff had not merely come to Florida for a
vacation. During the time they had occupied Mrs.
Bennett’s house they had held up a loan company, ap-
parently just to keep their hands in. A clerk had been
beaten and shot in the arm.
Four employees identified Heroux as one of the robbers.
It was decided, therefore, to try Heroux on charges of
assault and armed robbery with intent to kill. Heroux,
dejected by his own capture and that of Puff, decided to
plead guilty. He was sentenced to 25 years in the Florida
State Penitentiary at Raiford.
Some time later the Federal authorities “borrowed”
Heroux from the state of Florida and took him to Kansas
City, where he was tried for the robberies of the Prairie
Village Bank and the Southside Bank of Kansas City. He
was convicted on each count, drawing 15 years for the
first crime, 10 for the second, these terms to be served
consecutively when the Raiford sentence had run its course.
Now, that makes a total of 50 years. George Heroux
would be well into his 70s when released. At the time of
his sentence there was no direct (Continued on page 62)
He had no intention of staying in prison until the age of
73 so he enlisted help of his ex-wife to attempt escape
Sf
cased the proposed job in prospect. His
car and belongings were confiscated,
and he was sentenced to a year in the
Milwaukee County jail, where he was
soon to complete his term when Puff
was so unexpectedly thrust into his cell.
During the 16 weeks the two were
together there before Heroux was re-
leased on August 23, 1951, the pair
spent all their waking hours in deep
conspiracy. They discovered quickly
that besides bearing a curious physical
resemblance, they thought alike. Both
had a deep contempt for law and or-
der, a profound dislike for honest work
and a keen desire to revel in luxury—
flashy clothes, fast cars, fast women,
gambling and nightly excursions in
fashionable clubs—without too much
effort.
With absolutely no work to do, be-
yond sweeping out their cell, the two
had plenty of idle time in which to
plot, and plot they did, their final ar-
rangement calling for Heroux to stick
up a small bank immediately after his
release on August 23, 1951, to get
$3,000 to post for bail for Puff, who
was still awaiting trial.
Of course this was not known to the
authorities at that time. But within
three hours after Heroux walked out,
crimping in his hand the customary
ten-dollar bill given each departing
prisoner after completing his sentence,
he stole a car and drove to Kansas City.
By devious means, he acquired a
long, razor-edged kitchen knife, and
a few days later, when the last of his
ten dollars prison money had run out,
he used the knife in the holdup of a
woman owner of a stationery-candy
store in an outlying Kansas City sub-
urb. He robbed her of $55 and some
change.
Fortified with this new bankroll, he
now began to lay plans for a real stick-
up—a bank. He finally decided that
the small Southside Bank of Kansas
City was a proper set-up for it. He
carefully cased the establishment for
more than a month, replenishing his
bankroll from itme to time by small
robberies, and acquiring a .38-calibre
revolver from some unknown under-
world source of supply.
By October 10, 1951, all his plans
completed, Heroux stepped up behind
the cashier of the bank just as he was
unlocking the front door.
“This is a stickup!” he snarled, prod- -
ding the terrified cashier in the back
with his gun. “Go on, unlock the door
and don’t make a sound. I’m right here
behind you and Ill give you the busi-
ness if you start anything!”
Once inside the bank, Heroux herd-
ed the cashier and a watchman to a
vault. He ordered them inside and then
waited. Heroux, at the time, was wear-
ing a new white coverall suit and an
ear-lapped hunting cap, and while
waiting, he scooped up a total of $4,-
641 in small bills which lay in a cash
box in one of the unlocked small vaults.
He pocketed this, and waited for the
50
other employes to arrive and for 10
o'clock, the titne for the time-vault to
be sprung. One by one the other em-
ployes came in and he herded them
back with the others in the open vault.
He forced one girl clerk to draw the
window shades, then paced nervously
up and down, smoking continuously
and occasionally voicing a threat to
shoot.
Finally the strain became too great
for one girl cashier, who started scream-
ing at. the top of her voice. Others join-
ed her. Then, while Heroux had his
back turned for an instant, one of the
men made a dash for the front door.
Heroux, for some unknown reason,
witheld fire, a mystery in view of the
fact that he is known to be sadistically
inclined to the point of shooting stray
dogs and cats from his car, just for the
fun of seeing them fall and writhe in
their dying agony.
Outside, Heroux leaped into a car
which he had parked there and made a
getaway before the police arrived. An
hour later, however, Kansas City police
identified the lone bandit by his finger-
prints, which he had carelessly left on
the polished steel vault handle, and
exactly one week later, a man later
identified as Heroux, appeared in the
office of a Chicago bail bonding com-
pany, planked down $3,000 cash in
small bills in an envelope, and $365
additional as a fee and for expenses,
to bail out his pal, Gerhard Puff, in the
Milwaukee jail.
Puff stepped out to liberty the fol-
lowing day, and promptly disappeared,
but the G-Men and Kansas City police,
"already on the trail of Heroux, quickly
figured out the transaction and con-
centrated on a search for both of them.
Then, hardly six weeks later, came the
robbery of the Johnson County, Kan-
sas, National Bank,
Several other smaller bank robberies
in the middle West followed in rapid
succession, revealing that the robber
duo was undoubtedly Puff and Heroux,
and it was then that FBI Director
Hoover ordered “flyers” placing them
at the head of the department’s “10
Most Wanted” list.
By this time, both bandits must have
realized they were literally “hot as a
pistol,” for they ceased operations, and
for weeks Hoover and his men kept
up a nationwide search, planting Spe-
cial Agents in night clubs, swanky bars
and fashionable hotels in almost every
large city in the country, without find-
ing any trace of them. They also kept
a sharp watch qn the homes of the
wanted pair, but never once did the
two communicate with their relatives.
Nor, so far as the G-Men could learn,
did they do any considerable spending
which might arouse suspicion. Could
the pair have “made their pile” and
retired from crime for good?
‘ Hoover didn’t think so. Relentlessly
the search for. the phantom robbérs
went ‘on, and eventually, the tedious,
tireless activities were rewarded. The
FBI received a mysterious tip that Her-
oux had married a Brooklyn girl who
had abandoned her husband and baby.
G-Men never revealed the source of
this tip, but among the many of hun-
dreds which they investigated, it turn-
ed out to be paydirt. Heroux and the
Brooklyn girl, according to the tip,
were living in luxury in a swanky Phi-
ladelphia hotel, and also living there,
and very friendly with the couple,
was another, older man, who looked
like he might be an elder brother, and
his bride, a girl still in her teens.
The tip was turned over to New York
Agent-in-Charge Edward Scheidt, who
assigned almost his entire staff to the
investigation, also calling for co-opera-
tion of the FBI agents stationed in the
Quaker City. Among the New York
agents assigned was the ill-fated Brock,
destined to be slain by Puff a little
more than a week later.
The two couples in Philadelphia were
quickly located, but the G-Men could
not be sure of their identities. Puff, it
was finally revealed, had been repre-
senting himself as the head of a large
and well-known business concern, and
had been entertained by—and had en-
tertained—some of the Quaker City’s
socially-prominent and wealthy busi-
ness men and their wives.
But before the FBI men could defi-
nitely establish the suspects’ identities
—both had disguised themselves, Puff
by donning dark glasses and Heroux
sprouting a luxurious black mustache
and posing as Puff’s confidential secre-
tary — they apparently became suspi-
cious they were under official scrutiny
and secretly checked out, leaving no
forwarding address.
Then, through a tireless round of
taxicab stands, railroad and bus sta-
tions and ticket offices in both Phila-
delphia and New York, Scheidt and
his G-Men, including Brock, picked up
the trail. Puff and his “wife,” had
checked into the Hotel Congress at 19
West 69th Street, near Central Park,
at 1:20 P.M. on Sunday, July 20, 1952,
where they registered as “Mr. and Mrs.
J. Burns, Philadelphia, Pa.” They were
assigned to a two-room suite on the
sixth floor of the fifteen-story building
in one of the city’s most quiet residen-
tial sections.
At 3:10 P.M. the same day, another
couple identifying themselves as ‘‘Mr.
and Mrs. John Hanson, Troy, N.Y., reg-
istered and were given an_ identical
suite on the ninth floor.
It was not until Friday, July twenty-
fifth, that things began to shape up for
the G-Men. They’d had considerable
difficulty in trailing the two couples to
their hideout, and they still were not
exactly sure of their identities. Then,
shortly after noon, Friday, Scheidt and
his agents learned that “Hanson” had
ordered a plane ticket for Miami, Flo-
rida, leaving that same afternoon, and
further questioning of the hotel em-
ployes disclosed the fact that he had
already gone. He was trailed to the air-
ia
ne
5
days to see a friend.”
Donner, detecting a note of alarm in
the woman’s voice, said that he’d be
out to her home to question her furth-
er. But before he left, the newly ap-
pointed chief of the homicide bureau
put through a long distance telephone
call to the Illinois State Police Detach-
ment in East St. Louis.
“Chief Dispatcher Robert Cronin
speaking,” came the voice at the other
end of the line.
Donner identified himself. Then he
mentioned the recent Columbus mur-
der and asked the Illinois police to be
on the alert for a 28-year-old Navy
man traveling in a late model, maroon-
colored Studebaker sedan.
“Oh, you mean Gemmell!” Officer
Cronin replied with a dead seriousness
that must have concealed the thoughts
going through his mind. And then, be-
fore the Columbus homicide man could
give utterance to the surprise with
which he heard those words: “We were
just putting a message through to you
people on the teletype. Gemmell was
picked up less than half an hour ago
by Sergeant Walter Sauerwein and Pa-
trolman Oliver Reichery in Washing-
ton Park, a suburb of East St. Louis.
He was just telling us all about it when
your call came through.”
When Sergeant Donner and Detec-
tive Charles L. Phillips arrived in the
Illinois city the following night to re-
turn their man, they learned the de-
tails. Gemmell had driven direct from
his home to the town where he was
later to be arrested. There he stayed
with a former Navy acquaintance, one
Lloyd Robins.
On the second day of his visit, Gem-
mell mentioned that he was in trouble.
Under questioning by Robins, Gemmell
allegedly admitted that his trouble in-
volved the death of a woman back in
Ohio. Later, according to the story told
by Robins to State Police at the Edge-
mont Station, Gemmell said that he
had killed a woman and dared not re-
turn to his family until he learned
whether he was under suspicion for the
crime.
Soon after that, Robins left for work,
leaving his former sailor companion
alone in his home. But when he arrived
at his job the friend realized he had
involuntarily been made a confidant to
information which, if not divulged to
the police, would make him an acces-
hordes of war-orphaned boys and girls
who roamed the streets of Dresden and
other large German cities like wolves
on the prowl.
The younger Puff mingled with these
arrogant, sneering bands of adolescents,
holding to none of the ideals of his
father’s and stepmother’s teachings, and
48
sory after the fact of a major crime.
He lost no time, therefore, in putting
through a telephone call to the nearest
police office, and half an hous after
that Gemmell was being questioned.
While the questioning of Gemmell
- was continuing in East St. Louis, and
the two Columbus detectives were pre-
paring to fly west for their prisoner,
Captain Scholer went to the home of
the suspect in Amvet Village. Lona
Gemmell, the prisoner’s pretty brunette
wife, expressed shock and surprise upon
learning her husband was being held
for a killing he was supposed to have
admitted to the Ilinois officers.
“Why, Bob wouldn’t hurt a fly,” she’
cried. “During the five years he’s lived
with me and the children he’s never
struck any of us. He was hot-tempered —
now and then, but he’d never resort
to violence.”
It was only later, after Gemmell’s
return to Ohio and his arraignment on
a charge of first degree murder, that
his wife allegedly made the formal state-
_ ment which the State hopes may be
allowed into the evidence when he goes
on trial for his life. That statement, as
quoted by Columbus police, follows in
part: ‘
Question: When your husband re-
turned home early Thursday morning
what did he say when you asked him
why he was leaving the city?
Answer: He said, “I’ve done some-
thing I shouldn’t have done. I’ve got to
go away.”
Question: And you asked him what
he meant by that?
Answer: Yes, and he answered, “I
think I killed somebody.” I° asked.
“With your car?” And Bob replied,
‘No, with my hands,”
After making a written statement
confirming the conversation related by
his wife, Gemmell was taken to the
scerie of the crime and there told how
he had met his victim nearly six months
before at a Fifth Avenue cafe where
she was then employed. He told of sec-
ret trysts carried over a period of
months, finally being climaxed by the
fatal meeting after the service men’s
dance near Laura Grimshaw’s home.
He had seen Laura at the dance, but
left before she did. He drove to her
home, parked his newly-acquired car
out in front and went around to the
back where, according to the statement
given police, he gained entrance by re--
moving a pane of glass. Then...
waited in the dark till I heard Laura
come in. I went to her and we sat talk-
ing awhile and she became angry over
something and threatened to tell my
wife of our affair. 1 commenced to
argue with her. From then on, I don’t
remember things too clearly.”
Under continued questioning, the ac-
cused slayer, police say, admitted that
he struck the girl and knocked her
down during their argument; that he
then beat and choked her into uncon-
sciousness. And while she lay there
helpless, he went out into the kitchen,
cooked himself two eggs and leisurely
sat eating them.
After that, the statement continues,
Gemmell calmly returned to the front
of the house, strangled the unconscious
girl and criminally assaulted her. Then
he took the twelve dollars in bills she
had in her pocket book . . . picked up
a piece of lingerie in the bedroom to
use in eradicating his fingerprints... .
snatched up the egg shells with the
slip (‘“Why, I don’t know.) and left
the house.
“She was crying softly, ‘Lover...
lover,’ as I beat her, but something
made me go on. | was in a rage at
her threat to tell my wife of our rela-
tionship, but I’m no longer in a rage
and I think I’d do the same thing again
if I had it to do over,” the stocky sailor
is alleged to have boasted after his ar-
rest.
As this is being written plans are be-
ing made to bring Gemmell to an early
trial for his life before a civilian jury.
Following his arraignment before Judge
Charles Petrie on the charge of first
degree murder, he was returned to a
prison cell to await that trial.
Thomas Morgan, the man whose tip
to police led ultimately to their learn-
ing the alleged killer’s identity, even
as police officers a thousand miles away
were listening to his story of the crime,
was fully exonerated of any connection
with the murder and freed from cus-
tody a few minutes after Gemmell was
returned to prison to await trial.
All names used in this story are correct.
Quotations taken from written state-
ments made to the police, and verbal
conversations between police and> wit-
nesses and later recalled by officers
who worked on the case.
G-Man’s Rendezvous With Death
(Continued from Page 15)
finally was sent to a reformatory. While
he was still there, his father, discourag-
ed to the point of desperation by his
futile efforts to obtain steady employ-
ment, and worried for the future of
his family, finally joined up with a
group of similarly-situated Germans
and, financed by his parents, came to
America.
He left his wife, Johanna, his son
Heinz and his son, Gerhard, who was
still in the school for incorrigibles, be-
hind him, and upon the group’s arrival
here almost all were taken under the
wing of a middlewestern German-
American Association and transported
to the M
A yea!
his new
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that youn
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summer
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young P
country !
was ther
leniency
that area
cent—let
mand. B
Puff’s $C
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That was
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thorities
time he
time in
as a fr
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His o!
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1934, bi
refused
youth, a
their car
1935, ac
into his
picked u
three ca
his farm
deliverin;
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For t
to from
Penitent
until Av
being tr:
to Gree:
ed a gue
For this
addition
Puff's
in no w
in prisc
only b
make
torces \
Alonzo
classmat
formato:
Milwaul
To tt
turned
gilist. 7
he defi
them cx
lice arr
to ten \
returned
free exa
entered
Decemb
For :
anythin;
quarrele
Mn. wate
rd Laura
sat talk-
igry over
tell my
enced to
1, I don’t
g, the ac-
itted that
cked her
that he
o uncon-
ay there
> kitchen,
leisurely
sontinues,
the front
conscious
ner. Then
bills she
vicked up
droom to
rifita ¢.64
with the
and left
over...
omething
1 rage at
our rela-
in a rage
ing again
sky sailor
er his ar-
is are be-
) an early
lian jury.
ore Judge
2 of first
ned to a
whose tip
eir learn-
ity, even
iiles away
he crime,
onnection
‘rom cus-
imell was
al.
e correct.
ten state-
nd verbal
and > wit-
officers
his son
who was
ibles, be-
Ss arrival
nder the
German-
insported
to the Milwaukee area.
A year later the elder Puff, happy in
his new environment and encouraged
by the word from his wife, Johanna,
that young Gerhard had been released
from the reformatory, sent them pas-
sage money. They arrived during the
summer of 1927.
Shortly before Christmas in 1928,
young Puff was first arrested in this
country for stealing an automobile. He
was then 14. His parents pleaded for
leniency, and the good-hearted folk of
that area—almost all of German des-
cent—let him go with a sharp repri-
mand. But that was the end of young
Puffs schooling. He returned home
with his parents and was caught steal-
ing from his father’s wallet. The elder
Puff whacked his erring son soundly.
Young Puff, husky for his age, fought
back. He struck his father over the
head with a stick of firewood and fied.
That was the last his family heard of
him for almost five years, but the au-
thorities established that during this
time he had engaged from time to
time in farm work, but usually more
as a front for his petty pilfering than
as a matter of salaried: gain.
His official police record shows ar-
rests for speeding in 1933 and again in
1934, but in each instance the victims
refused to prosecute because of his
youth, although he had actually stolen
their cars for his reckless joy rides. In
1935, according to the records, he got
into his first “real trouble.” He was
picked up in a stolen truck containing
three calves which he had stolen from
his farm employer and which he was
delivering to a Milwaukee livestock
dealer.
For this offense he was sentenced
to from one to five years at Waupun
Penitentiary, but he was not released
until August 5, 1942, because, after
being transferred because of his youth
to Green Bay Reformatory, he assault-
ed a guard in a futile attempt to escape.
For this brutal attack he was given an
additional sentence.
Puff’s respect for law and order was
in no way enhanced by his seven years ,
in prison. Instead, it appears, it had
only bolstered his determination to
make a career of crime. He joined
torces with two other young punks,
Alonzo Tuggle and Steve Bemoski,
classmates from Waupun and the re-
formatory, and attempted to rob a
Milwaukee beer garden proprietor.
To their great surprise the victim
turned out to be a former amateur pu-
gilist. Tough as they were, and armed,
he defied their threats and knocked
them cold, holding them until the po-
lice arrived. All three were given five
to ten year terms in prison and were
returned to Waupun. Puff had been
free exactly four months when he again
entered the Wisconsin prison’s gates in
December 1942.
For almost three years now he was
anything but a model prisoner. He
quarreled and fought with his fellow-
convicts, and on several occasions had
to be subdued by the guards. On Sep-
tember 6, 1945, Puff escaped from
Waupun in some still-unexplained man-
ner, but was recaptured two weeks lat-
er while driving a stolen auto in the
small town of Fallon, Nevada. After a
bitter extradition fight he was returned
to Waupun and served until November
14, 1947, when Wisconsin’s parole
board turned him loose because Puff
promised to be good.
Then, for almost three months it
appeared to parole officers that Puff
intended keeping his word. He kept
out of bad — and obtained a
job in the machine shops of a long-
distance bus concern in Milwaukee. But
next, on one of his days off, police
raided his furnished room and caught
him in the act of prying open a small
safe stolen the previous night from a
Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, retail store.
He was duly convicted for this theft
and again given a five-to-ten year sen-
tence in Waupun.
Puff must have cast some sort of a
spell on the members of the parole
board, for despite his long and vicious
record he was again placed on parole
on April 25, 1951 and returned to the
great outside. This time his freedom
lasted exactly one week. On the even-
ing of May 2, 1951, he strolled into the
lobby of Milwaukee’s fashionable Am-
bassador Hotel and, single-handed,
stuck up the desk clerk.
After cleaning Out the cash till, Puff
walked out as unconcernedly as he had
walked in. No one lifted a finger, but
the clerk, as soon as he was out from
under the muzzle of the intruder’s gust,
pushed a button which connected an
alarm to a near-by police station. Puff
was quickly spotted by two patrolmen
in a prowl car and taken into custody.
In his pockets were found the total pro-
ceeds of the robbery—$250 cash and
a .32 calibre revolver which had been
in the money drawer. He also had a
.38 which he had used in the stickup.
He was arraigned and held in $3,000
bail, meanwhile being thrown into the
same cell with young George Arthur
Heroux, as already disclosed. The lat-
ter was ripe for the older felon’s tute-
lage, inasmuch as he had quite a color-
ful criminal career himself. Heroux had
been drafted into the U.S. Army short-
ly after the end of World War Il, and
while he was in training at Fort Sam .
Houston, Texas, he was seriously in-
jured when a commercial truck struck
him as ‘he was riding an army motor- —
cycle.
He sustained two fractured vertebrae
and a broken shoulder-blade, and was
in the post hospital for almost nine
months. Eventually, before he sailed
overseas for occupation duties in Ger-
many, he was awarded $2,000 for his
injuries by an insurance company. Be-
cause he was a minor this money was
turned over to his mother, Mrs. Beat-
rice Murgot, in Providence, Rhode Isl-
and, for safekeeping.
. Heroux’s army career abroad ended
almost as abruptly as it began, for
within a few ‘months after being sta-
tioned near: Frankfurt, he was caught
loan-sharking and black-marketeering
and was sentenced to serve six months
in the army prison. Upon his release
he was given a dishonorable discharge
and returned to his native Providence,
where he obtained the $2,000 insurance
money from’ his mother, which, added
to the monies he had acquired while
in Germany, gave him a capital of near-
ly $4,500 with which to embark on a
life of crime.
He bought himself a new car, three
automatic pistols and four revolvers,
all of which the G-Men later traced;
an electric drill, a business-like acety-
lene blow torch, diamond drills and
various other paraphernalia necessary
to pursue the science of bank robbery.
Then, in the company of an unnamed
friend still sought by the Massachusetts
State Police, but known to have been
a youth who became acquainted with
Heroux in an army hospital, he set out
on his unholy career.
They took it easy at first, confining
their jobs to gas station stickups, raids
on isolated: roadhouses and bordellos
and similar easy pickups. Then, during
a getaway from a stickup of an out-
lying suburban-Boston tavern, Massa-
chusetts State Trooper Alje M. Savela
was slain.
It was not until recently that Boston
police uncovered evidence revealing
that Heroux and his unnamed army pal
may have been involved in this hitherto
unsolved murder. The G-Men records
indicate, however, that Heroux and his
unnamed pal took off for the middle
west immediately after the shooting.
They wanted less crowded fields for
their endeavors and they finally landed
in Milwaukee in Heroux’s car which
was still axle-strained with the weight
of their robbery tools and weapons.
Their presence in Milwaukee was
not greatly appreciated. A few days
after their arrival, the pair, who had
made elaborate plans to rob a Milwau-
kee small loan bank, went to a dive
known to be frequented by criminals,
seeking a third man for their venture.
During the evening—this was in Aug-
ust, 1950—Heroux became enamored
with the charms of a blonde floor show
girl and gave battle to her regular boy
friend when he objected to his pawing
tactics. The police were called and Her-
oux, still battling, was arrested.
During the excitement, Heroux’s ex-
army pal disappeared, and though his
identity is known, he has not as yet
been apprehended. Police soon discov-
ered Heroux’s arsenal and robbery
equipment which were tucked away in
his car parked at an adjacent lot. In
a pocket of the car also was found a
complete diagram of some loan com-
pany offices, the best manner of en-
trance, the number of employes and the
time of their arrival, etc., which attest-
ed to the fact that Heroux had well-
49
tip that Her-
<lyn girl who
ind and baby.
the source of
nany of hun-
zated, it turn-
roux and the
to the tip,
. swanky Phi-
living there,
the couple,
who looked
¢ brother, and
er teens.
- to New York
Scheidt, who
e staff to the
for co-opera-
ationed in the
i¢@ New York
J-fated Brock,
Puff a little
adelphia were
G-Men could
tities. Puff, it
| been repre-
‘ad of a large
concern, and
—and had en-
Quaker City’s
wealthy busi-
en could defi-
ects’ identities
smselves, Puff
and Heroux
ack mustache
idential secre-
became suspi-
ficial scrutiny
it, leaving no
ess round of
and bus sta-
on both Phila-
Scheidt and
ck, picked up
“wife,” had
Songress at 19
Central Park,
July 20, 1952,
‘Mr. and Mrs.
a.” They were
suite on the
-story building
quiet residen-
e day, another
elves as “Mr.
roy, N.Y., reg-
an identical
, July twenty-
) shape up for
{ considerable
wo couples to
still were not
entities. Then,
y, Scheidt and
‘Hanson” had
r Miami, Flo-
ifternoon, and
the hotel em-
: that he had
iled to the air-
port and the flight number and destina-
tion of his plane were ascertained. This
information was flashed to the Florida
authorities with the request that Her-
oux, alias Hanson, be picked up there
on his arrival. This was done quietly,
with no information of his capture be-
ing released at the time, although he
subsequently put up a desperate strug-
gle with his captors.
It was late when New York G-Men
received word that Heroux was safely
in custody, and the Puffs, or “Burnses”
had gone out, with two of the FBI men,
including Brock, trailing them. Some-
where, during the evening, however,
Brock and his fellow-agent “‘lost” them.
There was nothing for them to do then
but return to the hotel.
Meanwhile, it had been definitely as-
certained that Heroux’s “wife,” “Mrs.
Hanson,” was still in her suite. Appar-
ently she had been ill and had decided
to remain in New York, rather than
accompany her “husband” on his sud-
den and mysterious flight to Miami.
The purpose of this flight has never
been revealed.
Where the Puffs, or “Burnses”, spent
the night is also still a mystery, even
to the G-Men, but Mrs. Burns reap-
peared about 10:30 A.M. Saturday, un-
accompanied by Puff. She went direct-
ly up to the “Hanson” apartment. A
little later, both women left by taxi-
cab, trailed by G-Men equipped with
walkie-talkie sets on which they kept
up a conversation with their fellow
agents planted at the Congress. The
women drove directly to the Park Cres-
cent Hotel, at West 87th Street and
Riverside Drive, where apparently both
had already registered.
At 12:50 P.M., the two women re-
turned to the Congress, still trailed by
the G-Men, and ten minutes later, Puff
appeared, apparently wholly unsuspect-
ing of the FBI ambush. Just why he
was not taken into custody at this mo-
ment is one of the mysteries still unan-
swered. He walked directly past four
special agents parked at vantage points
in the lobby, and took the elevator to
the ninth floor.
Meanwhile, Chief Agent Scheidt
posted four of his men at new stations
in the hotel lobby, and planted Brock
behind a frosted-glass door near the
elevator and near an exit from the stair-
well. There was one other exit—down
to the basement, then up to the street
by a separate door. This outlet too was
covered, while several other agents were
posted out on the sidewalk and in door-
ways.
What happened upstairs to arouse
Puffs suspicions is still another mys-
tery in this ultra-mysterious case, Any-
how, it is certain that something did.
Perhaps it was the fact that Heroux had
not called him from Miami. But more
likely it was that queer, sixth sense, de-
veloped by both criminals and detec-
tives when opposed to each other. Any-
how, he did become suspicious, as evi-
denced by the fact that instead of com-
ing down a few.minutes later in the
elevator, he walked down the nine
flights, from: the lower flight of which,
unobserved, he could see Brock crouch-
ing behind the frosted pane.
Without warning he yanked out his
.38-calibre Smith & Wesson and opened
fire on the unsuspecting Brock , who
never had a chance. Yet in spite of
the fact that his back was riddled by
the bandit’s bullets, the ill-fated Brock
called once for help, then managed by
heroic effort to fire three shots at the
fleeing Puff. One of these shots struck
Puff in the leg, and actually was direct-
ly responsible for his prompt capture.
The other agents in the lobby also
joined in the shooting, but none of their
bullets appear to have found their mark.
It was not until Puff, now screaming
with pain from his leg-wound, collaps-
ed on the sidewalk outside, that two
of the G-Men finally fell on the wound-
ed bandit, whose gun was now empty,
and demanded: “Where are the girls?”
“I was alone,” he wounded bandit.
groaned. “I don’t remember nothing.”
“Well,” announced one of the gov-
ernment men, “you don’t want the girls
to get hurt, do you?” cae
“T’hell with ’em,” snarled Puff. “I
don’t know nothing.”
The two women were taken without
any resistance and were rushed to the
FBI New York offices at 290 Broadway
for questioning. Both Puff and the dy-
ing Brock were ambulanced to Roose-
velt Hospital, and Brock died there five
hours later. Puff’s injuries were found
to be not serious, and he was transfer-
red to Bellevue Hospital prison ward
where he refused to answer questions.
In Scheidt’s office the two women
companions of two notorious gunmen
talked quite freely. The younger of the
two, brunette wife of Puff, gave her
name as Annie Laurie Moore, only 17.
She said she also was known in night
club circles as Honey Emerie O’Brien.
She said she had married Puff as Rich-
ard E, Rogers on June 3, 1952 — only
seven weeks before — in Darlington,
South Carolina, She said she was born
in Bangor, Maine, March 6, 1935, and
had worked in night clubs in Massa-
chusetts, California, Florida and Penn-
sylvania. She said she had first met
Puff late in May while working at the
Club Tabu, in Philadelphia, where “It
was love at first sight,” she said.
At that time she did not know that
Puff was a bigamist, and that only
three months earlier he had sent an-
other wife home to Kansas City, to
have her baby. This unfortunate’s wife’s
name has not been revealed, nor the
circumstances under which the philan-
dering Puff met her.
The other girl, a vivid, artificial: red-
head, identified herself as Joan Evans,
23, alias Ruth Barrow, alias Joan Allen,
a native of Everett, Massachusetts. She
said she too had been in the cabaret
entertainfnent business. She said she
had married Heroux in Columbia,
South Carolina, on February 18, 1952,
when she knew him, as Robert Allen.
Both girls denied they had ever had
any trouble with the law before.
Scant, credence was given the girls’
. stories by the G-Men, and their skep-
ticism was borne out the following day
when both were arraigned in Federal
Court before Judge McGohey, charged
with “harboring and abetting a known
criminal.” Annie Laurie Moore, alias
Honey Emerie O’Brien, was a little
tramp well known to police in Massa-
chusetts for her toughness and as an
incorrigible runaway.
As for her girl friend, her real name
was found to be Mrs. Sam Bucini. Her
husband, a truck driver residing in
Brooklyn, said she had deserted him
and their daughter, Barbara, three, a
year earlier, because she wearied of
home life and “wanted to have fun.”
They never were divorced, he said.
Both women were held in $50,000
bail each as material witnesses and to
await possible action by the Federal
grand jury.
Long before Killer Puff recovered
sufficiently to stand trial for the un-
fortunate G-Man’s murder, his wife,
comely, brunette Annie Laurie Moore
Puff, no longer the tough little, flirta-
tious New England girl who insisted
she was an “entertainer,” met the law
head on,
In New York’s Special Sessions
Court Justice Herman Hoffman waved
aside her tears and pleas for leniency,
and sentenced her to serve two years
at Westfield State Farm, the Women’s
Reformatory at Bedford Hills, New
York, for her adventures as a gun
moll.
Her bigamously-married girl friend,
Ruth B. Bucini, also Known as
Joan Evans and “Mrs. George A. Her-
oux,” for some strange reason was
treated more leniently. “Joan” was
given a six-months term in the same
institution.
Of the pair of them Justice Hoffman
had this to say: “There is very little in
their careers that justifies considera-
tion. A good man was killed (Brock),
but we are not considering that in im-
posing sentence.”
Finally convinced that there was no
way to beat the rap, “Annie Laurie,”
Puff’s girl friend, collapsed and had
to be carried from the room by court
attendants. Still pending against both
girls, and to be considered after they
have completed their reformatory terms,
are Federal charges that they harbored
known criminals.
At this writing it has not yet been
decided whether Heroux will be re-
leased to the Massachusetts authorities
for the prosecution on charges of mur-
‘dering State Policeman Alje Savela.
As for Puff, so important does U.S.
Attorney Myles Lane consider his case
that he will personally prosecute, de-
manding the death penalty for his fatal
shooting of G-Man Brock.
51
Le
74
laid plans. The best theory to explain it
is that Mrs. Heroux somehow had
learned of the capture of her husband
in Florida. When she told this to Puff,
he reacted with the cunning and ferocity
of a hunted beast.
No elevators for him. Instead, he
slunk silently down the stairs, all the
way from the ninth floor. Halfway down
the flight from the second floor to the
first, he spotted Brock, gun in hand,
crouching behind the frosted glass door,
peering into the lobby through the peep-
hole. The agent’s back was toward Puff;
he never saw the bandit until Puff be-
gan blasting him with a snub-nosed .38.
Puff’s first shot smashed into Brock’s
shoulder and passed clean through his
body. Four more hit him in rapid suc-
cession, but even as he fell, mortally
wounded, the FBI man swung his own
gun around and returned the fire, squeez-
ing off shot after shot until he had emp-
tied his pistol.
With his last ounce of strength, he
cried, “Get him, get him!” as Puff raced
past him and burst through the frosted
glass door into the lobby, where hotel
employees dove for cover as the street
floor echoed with shots like a firing
range.
Somehow, Puff managed to reach the
street, but that was the end of his road.
Stumbling, staggering, he bounced off a
parked car and crumpled to the side-
walk, clutching a wound in his left
thigh. He had been but a split second
away from eternity, for as he fell, three
bullet holes appeared in the side of the
car, exactly at the spot where Puff had
careened off it an instant before.
Apparently one of Brock’s last shots
had splintered Puff’s thigh bone.
As he fell, a half dozen voices yelled
at him, “Drop that gun! Drop it!”
There was no mistaking the alterna-
tive to that authoritative command; Puff
knew he would die if he didn’t obey. He
flung the revolver away from him, slid-
ing it along the sidewalk.
In the next second a swarm of FBI
agents converged on him, guns still at
the ready. A pair of handcuffs was
snapped on him. Knowing hands ran
swiftly over his body, but no other wea-
pon was found. To all questions, Puff
gave the same snarling answer: “I don’t
know nothing. Get off my back!”
Both Puff and Agent Brock were
rushed to Roosevelt Hospital in ambu-
lances, with sirening police cars and
motorcycles clearing the streets of traf-
fic ahead of them. Less than two hours .
later, Agent Brock died.
Puff would live, doctors said. His life
was in no danger—not from his wound,
at least. «
Mrs. Heroux and Mrs. Puff were
picked up in the hotel suite on the
ninth floor. They were charged with
harboring a fugitive and being acces-
sories in a bank robbery. On July 3ist,
Puff was indicted for murder in the first
degree. In Florida, George Heroux was
indicted on kidnaping charges.
On September 10, 1952, Annie Laurie
Puff and Joan Heroux were found guilty
on Sullivan Law charges of carrying and
concealing weapons for their husbands.
Annie was sentenced to two years at
Westfield State Farms at Bedford Hills.
Joan drew a six-month sentence in the
Women’s House of Detention in New
York City. On May 15, 1953, Gerhard
Puff went to trial for the slaying of FBI
Agent Brock. When all the evidence had
been heard, a jury of 11 men and one
woman deliberated for three hours and
35 minutes, then returned a verdict of
guilty. He was sentenced to death im-
mediately.
On September 18th, 1953, in Florida,
Heroux was sentenced to serve 25 years
in the penitentiary. Of this term, he
served less than seven years, for on
February 13, 1960, George Heroux died
of acute hemorrhagic pneumonia.
For Gerhard Puff, however, the killer
of a G-Man, there was a different fate.
Though convicted and sentenced to die
in May 1953, the inevitable series of ap-
peals delayed his final accounting. On
August 9, 1954 President Eisenhower’s
rejection of his bid for clemency shat-
tered his last hope of escaping the death
sentence. And on the night of Thursday,
August 12th, he was executed in the
electric chair at Sing Sing.
Witnesses said he died “with a sort of
rueful smile” on his lips.
Undoubtedly, underworld veterans
pointed to Gerhard Puff as an object les-
son to the current crop of young punks
and warned: “Never kill a G-Man!”
44
EpritTor’s Note:
The name, Mrs. Josephine Grayson,
as used in the foregoing story, is not
the real name of the person con-
cerned. She has been given a fictitious
name to protect her identity.
Strangling of the
Ex-Follies Girl
(Continued from page 13)
4 inches tall, weighed 150 pounds and
appeared to be of Latin descent. He had
brown, curly hair, graying at the tem-
ples, and hazel- colored eyes. He did not
wear glasses, was right-handed and had
a 5-inch scar on one shoulder. Cusson
had a long police record for felonies, in-
cluding armed robbery.
“He should be considered dangerous,”
Detective Cash warned.
Back in St. Petersburg, detectives had
learned that Mrs. Andrews cashed a
check for $500 on October 26th. Cusson
had been noted to have an unusual
amount of cash in Jacksonville.
In Gulfport, a friend of Mrs. Andrews
identified Cusson as the man seen walk-
ing with the widow on the beach late
on November 6th, the day she was killed.
The asphalt-stained shoes were sent
to the Florida Sheriff's Bureau in Talla-
hassee for analysis in the crime lab. Mrs.
Andrews’ car was to be returned to
Gulfport when Jacksonville authorities
completed their investigation.
Chief Deputy Billy Smith of the Pasco
County Sheriff’s Department now re-
turned to Zephyrhills. The molds of tire
tracks found at the Hazel Green mur-
der site did not match the tires on the
Chrysler. The original treads were not
alike. The wear marks were not simi-
lar. Hazel Greene’s killer, 25-year-old
Donald Dwayne Jones, was apprehended
by Sheriff F. Leslie Bessenger on De-
cember 7th.
In Jacksonville, a package store own-
er said he saw a man resembling the
composite sketch in the newspaper. A
National Guardsman reported that a
man of Cusson’s description had tried to
sell him an expensive transistor radio
in a bar. Officers visited pawnshops,
searching for the yellow-gold_ wrist
watch bearing the initials L.F.A., which
had belonged to Mrs. Louise F. Andrews,
presumably the watch the suspect had
offered to the Jacksonville waitress.
Proceeding on the theory that Cusson
might still be in Jacksonville, the Pinel-
las detectives, along with Sergeants Fred
Gruber, James Parker and E. R. Deyo of
the police department and a squad of
seven men, traced Cusson’s movements
in Jacksonville.
On Friday, November 16th, officers
discovered that Cusson, using the name
of Allen Williams, had rented a room
in the Columbia Hotel on Bay Street on
November 7th, the day Mrs. Andrews’
body was found. He had checked out on
November 9th, the day she was buried.
The last definite proof that Cusson
was in Jacksonville was on November
9th. Detective Cash said, “There’s no
proof that he’s still there, and no proof
that he’s not.”
The Pinellas County detectives now
prepared to return to the West Coast.
There, they would coordinate all evi-
dence and leads and check on latent
prints taken in Jacksonville with prints
of Cusson on file in St. Petersburg.
When questioned about a motive for
the murder of Mrs. Andrews, they an-
swered, “She was said to carry large
sums of money wherever she went.”
Back in Pinellas County, as the detec-
tives were preparing to leave Jackson-
ville, an affidavit charging Alfred Wil-
liam Cusson with murder was signed by
Gulfport Police Lieutenant Rudolph Roth
and issued by District No. 5 Justice of
the Peace Donald McNevin at 1:30 p.m.
on Friday, November 16th.
Gulfport Police ‘Chief Jopson said,
“Cusson has a criminal record dating
back to 1943.” Records showed that Cus-
son was originally from Springfield,
Massachusetts. He had been arrested
also in Rhode Island and in Georgia.
Meanwhile, Jacksonville police con-
tinued a check of pawnshops, rooming
houses and taverns, but failed to turn
up any further trace of Cusson. Detective
Sergeants C. H. Touchton and K. O. Hel-
sabeck said they had checked on two
dogs, but neither was the missing Ger-
man Shepherd, Buddy.
Investigators talked with a man who
said he believed he saw Cusson on
King’s Road about 9 p.m. Friday, No-
vember 16th. Tom Ramsey, operator of
a restaurant in the 1900 block of Kings
Road reported that he saw a man re-
sembling Cusson in the company of a
Negro man loitering in his block that
same night. He said the fellow was un-
shaven and wearing a dirty white shirt.
He and the Negro finally drove away in
an old-model automobile.
After this, the itinerant roofer faded
from sight. His trail went cold. But cold
trail or not, police never give up on a
case. They are always alert for any
clue, however slight, which will lead
to a killer.
But it was not until the night of
February 26, 1963 and across the coun-
try in Los Angeles, that a break came
in the Andrews case.
An off-duty Los Angeles police officer
happened to be in a bar. One of the
patrons became noisy and abusive. The
owner of the tavern threatened to throw
him out. When the fellow continued his
drunken tirade, the off-duty officer
warned him, “Unless you keep quiet,
Pll run you in.”
The drunk didn’t believe the other
man was an Officer. He retorted, “Be my
guest!”
The officer promptly booked him on
a disorderly conduct charge and took
him in. His name and local address were
obtained. The name was Alfred William
Cusson.
Los Angeles Police Chief W. H. Park-
er said that a routine check of Cusson’s
fingerprints revealed he was wanted for
questioning in St. Petersburg, Florida,
in connection with the Andrews murder
ease. In a telegram to Gulfport Police
Chief William G. Jopson, Chief Parker
stated, “Cusson denies any crime in
Pinellas County.”
Further investigation disclosed that
Cusson also was wanted for questioning
by Massachusetts authorities in connec-
tion with six strangulation murders in
Boston during the summer of 1962. Cap-
tain Michael J. Cullinane of the Massa-
chusetts State Police Detective Bureau,
said Cusson was also wanted for parole
violation in that state.
The Pinellas County Sheriff’s office
started action for Cusson’s extradition
on February 27th. Cusson eventually
waived extradition, and on Monday,
March 1ith, Captain Earl Newberry of
the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Depart-
ment, returned him from Los Angeles
and put him in the Pinellas County Jail.
Cusson told Captain Newberry that he
met Mrs. Andrews in a bar five weeks
prior to the murder. At that time he
was living with another woman, work-
ing part time to help with expenses. He
gave the officers her name.
When the officers questioned her, she
told them Cusson had left her, saying,
“T have found another woman who wants
me to live with her, I won’t have to
work for the rest of my life.” That, she
said, was a month before the murder of
Mrs. Andrews.
From this woman the investigators
learned that Cusson lived off women, a
Latin Lover, charming woman after
woman, always trying to find one
wealthier than the one he was currently
romancing. That Mrs. Louise Andrews,
ex-Follies girl was twenty years his
senior, made no difference to him, the
woman said.
After leaving Jacksonville, Cusson
told Captain Newberry, he hitchhiked to
Tallahassee, then to New Orleans. From
there he followed the route to Los An-
geles. He was unable to attract another
woman during his stops along his hitch-
hiking trip, he said.
He confessed that he had killed Mrs.
Andrews, but would not reveal any mo-
tive.
On June 20, 1963, Albert William Cus-
son pleaded guilty to manslaughter in
Circuit Court in Clearwater, withdraw-
ing his previous innocent plea to the
charge of first-degree murder. On June
27, 1963, he was sentenced to 6 months to
20 years imprisonment by Circuit Court
Judge John U. Bird in Clearwater. This
is the maximum sentence the law allows
for manslaughter.
Asked if he had any statement to make
before sentence was imposed, Cusson
said, “Nothing. I have nothing to say.”
As he was being led to jail after the
sentencing he told officers he should be
given a medal for killing Mrs. Andrews.
The dog Buddy was never found.
Cusson was questioned about four of
the Boston strangulation murders. He
had alibis for all four, as he was work-
ing in St. Petersburg at the time the
murders occurred.
But the Latin Lover allegedly con-
fessed he slew the ex-Follies girl. He
took her white Chrysler and went seek-
ing a younger woman, only to leave his
ae shoes behind in the car when he
Today he is in prison at Raiford, Flor-
ida paying the penalty for the brutal
end to his last romantic fling. eeo¢
Eprror’s NOTE:
The names, Alvin Cook, the E. W.
Bremer Asphalt Company, and Tom
Ramsey, as used in the foregoing
story, are not the real names of the
persons concerned. These persons
have been given fictitious names to
protect their identities.
“I'm not listening to the evidence . . . it would only confuse my intuition"
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u.s.QEws
McVeigh acted only with Terry Nichols.
Their original indictment, in 1995, said
the pair “with others unknown conspired
to use a weapon of mass destruction.” That
language might be the convenient boiler-
plate of a prosecutor, but now it has taken
on a new urgency, with the government
faced with the unusual burden of con-
vincing the public that those “others un-
known” do not in fact exist.
Speculation about “others unknown”
was given more credibility when Stephen
Jones, McVeigh’s trial attorney, spoke
strongly against his former client’s
declaration in the recently published
book, American Terrorist, by Lou
Michel and Dan Herbeck, that
McVeigh alone blew up the Mur-
rah building. “Contrary to Tim’s
statements, there were at least six
and as many as eight conspira-
tors,” Jones told U.S. News. “Based
on the things he told me, I feel I
can now reveal this.”
So far, Jones hasn’t named
names or provided any stunning
new detail. Jones says McVeigh’s
actions and words since the trial
mean he has effectively waived
his attorney-client privilege, but
McVeigh hasn't signed a formal
waiver. Besides Jones’s version,
some witnesses consistently have
claimed that they saw people other
than Nichols with McVeigh before
the bombing. The day after the
bombing, for instance, the FBI
flooded the world with photos and
descriptions, based on eyewitness-
es, of John Doe No. 1 (who turned
out to be McVeigh) and John Doe
No. 2, a man said by several wit-
nesses to have been with McVeigh
in and around Junction City, Kan.,
right before April 19. Later, agents
said that John Doe No. 2 had been
a case of mistaken identity.
Others dispute that. At least six
people have said independently, ei-
ther in sworn testimony or inter-
views, that just days before the bombing,
they saw other people with McVeigh. One
resembled the stocky tattooed man initially
identified as John Doe No. 2. Lea Mc-
Gown, owner of the Dreamland Motel
where McVeigh stayed several nights be-
fore the bombing, recalls two different
Ryder trucks parked in her lot. “There were
others involved,” she says. “They were
known at the motel to meet with Tim.” Mc-
Gown didn’t testify at McVeigh’s trial.
Shadows. In the months before and
after the bombing, Kansas seethed with
antigovernment activity—common-law
courts, militia, Freemen, and posse comi-
tatus. “We've always felt there were peo-
22 U.S.NEWS & WORLD REPORT, MAY 21, 2001
Attorney General Ashcroft grants a 30-day delay.
@ “... the system has to work—even for Tim McVeigh.”
ple in Kansas who had helped [with the
bomb],” Jones says, “but without Tim’s co-
operation, we couldn’t get there.”
(The Michel/Herbeck book, based on 75
hours of interviews with McVeigh, says he
remains adamant that “he had no guests
in his room at any time during the four
days he spent at the Dreamland watching
television and reviewing his plan.”)
Some jurors at Nichols’s trial in 1998 said
they deadlocked on convicting Nichols of
murder because they believed that the gov-
ernment failed to pursue other credible
leads. One of those leads came from Charles
Farley, a mechanic who lived near Fort
JIM. LO SCALZO FOR USN&WR
Riley, Kan. He testified that around 6 the
evening before the bombing, he saw five
men at Geary State Fishing Lake, alongside
a yellow Ryder truck, a green-and-white
pickup truck, a brown automobile, and an
old stake-bed truck piled high with white
bags of what he thought was ammonium ni-
trate (chemicals used in the bomb).
After Nichols was found guilty of in-
voluntary manslaughter and conspiracy,
jury forewoman Niki Deutchman said that
“the government dropped the ball. I think
there are other people out there, and de-
cisions were made early on [by the gov-
ernment] that Tim McVeigh and Terry
Nichols were who they were looking for.”
(In American Terrorist, the authors
quote McVeigh as saying he and Terry
Nichols spent just three hours building the
bomb at the lake by themselves early on
the morning of April 18.)
The problem with most of the theories is
that the person who would benefit most
from them, McVeigh, has forcefully dis-
avowed them. Even so, sources close to
McVeigh’s appellate defense team told U.S.
News that when it asked for the investiga-
tive files on two men they thought might be
accomplices, the FBI said no files existed.
In at least one case, there should have been
a file from an earlier Secret Service inves-
tigation, and the photos of one of
the men, the sources said, were
used during the Oklahoma bomb-
ing probe. In another case,
McVeigh’s lawyers said they were
never given a file they requested on
one antigovernment activist from
Kansas because a judge sealed the
case after prosecutors cited “na-
tional security” concerns.
For its part, the FBI points
to 30,000 witness statements,
136 million telephone entries,
100,000 photographs, hundreds
of video and audio tapes, and 1 bil-
lion total records, all of which,
they say, pointed conclusively to
McVeigh. Weldon Kennedy, one
of the bureau’s leading investiga-
tors after the bombing and now
vice chairman of private security
firm Guardsmark Inc. in Mem-
phis, says: “I feel so strongly that
we identified everyone involved in
the conspiracy. I don’t have one
scintilla of suspicion that there is
somebody else out there.” Adds
Danny Defenbaugh, lead investi-
gator in the bombing: “Every even
inconsequential lead or conspir-
acy theory we investigated as thor-
oughly as we could.”
Even former senior FBI official
Danny Coulson, who helped in-
vestigate Oklahoma City, writes in
his book No Heroes that he was bothered
by phone calls McVeigh made to radical
right groups in the days before the bomb-
ing. “Perhaps there was no conspiracy at
all,” Coulson writes, “but a common thread
of inspiration and opportunity.” Before last
week, it looked as if the conspiracy theo-
ries might well die with McVeigh. Now,
thanks largely to the government’s own ac-
tions, those theories, at least, will live. “It’s
difficult, it’s frustrating,” said Tom Kight,
whose stepdaughter Frankie was killed in
the blast, “but the system has to work—
even for Tim McVeigh.” e
With Angie Cannon
@QEOPLE
A thespian and a gentleman
| n the glory days, actors
used to be called “ladies
and gentlemen of the the-
ater.” At a salute at the
Kennedy Center Honors
last year, actor Frank
Langella reminded the
audience of the fact.
“Those have become anti-
quated terms,” Langella
editor Ben Bradlee, in
All the President’s Men,
then as Dashiell Ham-
mett, in Julia. But Ro-
bards professed little
regard for his movies,
saying he made them so
he could “grab the
money and go back to
Broadway as fast as I
said, “but Jason Robards can.” It is there that his
lives up to the tradition: legacy lies, his genera-
He remains a gentleman tion’s leading interpreter
of the theater.” And so he does, even after of Eugene O’Neill. The Iceman Cometh,
his death last week, after a long struggle Long Day’s Journey Into Night, and. A
with cancer. Many will remember Robards Moon for the Misbegotten were master-
for his back-to-back Oscars in the ’70s, pieces all, not to be forgotten, never to be
first as the Washington Posts unflappable = duplicated. —Brian Duffy
Another spy, in from the cold
miley would have understood and last that I had found a cause I could
doubtless, despite the endearing moral _ serve,” Le Carré told the BBC. A reviewer
ambiguity that informed the core of his in the Times Literary Supplement once
being, approved. Still, itcame asabitofa described the atmosphere of a Le Carré
shock last week when David novel as one of “grubby
Cornwell, better known as realism and moral squalor,
John le Carré, told British the frazzled, fatigued sensi-
television that he had spied tivity of decent men obliged
on his fellow students while to betray or kill others no
at Oxford. The admission, in worse than themselves.” That
The Secret Centre, broadcast was the world of George
by BBC2, came as Le Carré Smiley, Le Carré’s enduring
devotees were diving into The creation. It is Le Carré’s ge-
Constant Gardener, the mas- nius to have spun his own,
ter’s latest exploration of the more modest time in harness
trapdoor world of smoke and into something so much
mirrors. “I really believed at more resonant. -B.D.
The return of No. 66
uper Mario to the rescue—again.
No. 66 first breathed life into the
Pittsburgh Penguins as a rookie phenom
way back in 1984. Seven years later, he
presented the city the first of
two consecutive Stanley Cups.
But it wasn’t easy. After two
back surgeries, a bout with
Hodgkin’s disease, and
medical leave for the en-
tire 1994-95 season,
Mario Lemieux was
spent. He retired in
1997, at age 31, and
was promptly in-
ducted into the Hall of
Fame. Two years later,
the Penguins were bank-
rupt, Lemieux the team’s
biggest creditor. It was time
for another rescue. Lemieux
bought the Penguins. But would
he play again? Last week, the
standing-room crowd in the Igloo
had its answer: Would he ever!
Seconds after the opening face-
off, Lemieux had his first assist.
Before the night was out, he added
a goal and a second assist. There have
been other great sports comebacks,
most famously, Michael Jordan’s to the
NBA, after a silly dalliance with base-
ball. Jordan went on to win three more
NBA championships. In Pittsburgh for
now, they'll take it a game at a time.
-Nora Keating
8 U.S.NEWS & WORLD REPORT, JANUARY 8, 2001
MUG SHOTS
@ He was acareful, methodical
man, seemingly immune to
stress. In the Navy, he served on
a nuclear sub
_ under the Arc-
» tic. But last
week, a dispute
over back taxes
sent Michael
McDermott
over the edge.
Prosecutors
say the hirsute software tester
killed seven colleagues at an In-
ternet consulting firm in Wake-
field, Mass., murdering them
one by one. There were “few, if
any, missed shots,” an official
said. McDermott pleaded not
guilty. More than halfway
across the country, a judge set-
tled in for a closed-circuit TV
broadcast from
a federal lock-
up in Indiana
to consider an
unusual re-
quest. Timothy
McVeigh, the
Oklahoma City =
bomber, said
he wished to forgo all appeals
and set a date to have his death
sentence carried out. U.S. Dis-
trict Judge Richard Matsch gave
the Gulf War veteran until Jan-
uary 11 to change his mind. “To
put it plainly,” Matsch told
McVeigh, “you’re making a deci-
sion today that may be the final
decision on your future.”
McVeigh
stared im-
placably
through the
50-inch TV
monitor. “I un-
derstand,” he
said. Ina new
low for way-
ward rock musicians, Eric
Franklin Rosser, a former key-
board player with John Cougar
Mellencamp’s band, became the
first alleged child pornographer
to make the FBI’s 10 Most
Wanted list. Rosser is charged
with distributing kiddie porn in
Indiana and Thailand—where
he ran a music school for kids.
-Carolyn Kleiner
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: WARNER BROS.—AP; MATT WEST—AP / POOL; AP (2); JASON COHN—REUTERS; WYATT COUNTS—AP
MeVeigh tells pap
By The Associated Press
HOUSTON — Timothy McVeigh has
written a letter to the Houston Chronicle stat-
ing unequivocally there
was never a John Doe |
No. 2 who helped him
blow up the Oklahoma
City federal building.
McVeigh’s former |
attorney Stephen Jones }
has alleged. McVeigh
was one of a group of |
conspirators in the April
19, 1995, bombing that L.
killed 168 people. McVeigh
“Jones has been thor-
oughly discredited, so I’m not going to break
a sweat refuting his outlandish claims point-
by-point,” McVeigh wrote in the letter
mailed from the federal prison in Terre
Haute, Ind. “The truth is on my side.”
McVeigh said in the book “American Ter-
rorist: Timothy McVeigh & The Oklahoma’
City Bombing,” that convicted co-conspira-
tor Terry Nichols helped mix the fertilizer
bomb, but claimed he alone carried out the
bombing.
“Does anyone honestly believe that if
there was a John Doe 2 (there is not), that
Stephen Jones would still be alive? ... Think
about it,” McVeigh wrote.
McVeigh’s single-page letter was hand-
written May 2, a week before the govern-
ment’s decision to delay his execution so
McVeigh’s attorneys could examine thou-
sands of FBI documents related to the bomb-
ing.
e efense attorney Robert Nigh of Tulsa
told the newspaper that he could not com-
ment on McVeigh’s statement or on whether
it would hamper any efforts to seek a new
trial based on the newly revealed evidence.
“Well, I bet he wishes now he’d followed
my advice and kept his mouth shut,” Jones
told the newspaper. “And I bet he wishes
he’d followed (appellate attorney) Nathan
Chambers’ advice and not dismissed those
appeals.”
McVeigh, 33, was scheduled to die
er there was no
John Doe No. 2 in Oklahoma bombing
Wednesday for the bombing. The execution |
has been delayed until June 11. 3
The search for John Doe No. 2 began §
when the FBI released sketches of two men |
it believed had rented the truck that blew up |
outside the federal building, based on/
descriptions from a worker in the rental |
shop. i
John Doe No. 1 was Timothy McVeigh, |
investigators said. The heavyset John Doe |
No. 2 was eventually identified by authori-’
ties as an Army private who had been in the
rental shop the day after McVeigh. The man:
was cleared by the FBI of involvement in the”
bombing.
Nichols has contended that John Doe No.
2 was real and that his existence sheds doubt
on Nichols’ purported role in the bombing,
He is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to con:
sider whether the newly released FBI docu:
ments could cast doubt on his guilt. |
A constitutional law expert said McVeigt
effectively ambushed his attorneys’ possible
appeals with this statement to the newspa
per.
THE DOTHAN EAGLE 7-A
Novelist Gore Vidal to
attend McVeigh execution
By The Associated Press
OKLAHOMA CITY — Nov-
elist Gore Vidal plans to attend
the execution of Oklahoma City
bomber Timothy McVeigh, a
man with whom he shares some
views about the federal govern-
ment.
Vidal, whose works include
“Burr,” “Lincoln” and “The Last
Empire,” said he began corre-
sponding with McVeigh when
the bomber wrote him about
Vidal’s 1998 article in Vanity Fair
on “the shredding” of the Bill of
Rights.
“We've exchanged several let-
ters,” the author said. “He’s very
intelligent. He’s not insane.”
McVeigh is to be executed
May 16 at the federal prison in
Terre Haute, Ind., for the 1995
bombing of a federal building in
which 168 people died. Vidal
was chosen for one of three wit-
ness spots allowed v eweten for
REF RE eA,
friends or family.
The 75-year-old writer said he
and
McVeigh,
33, have .
similar ~
views about
the erosion
of constitu-
tional rights
and about
the federal
govern-
ment’s 1993
raid on the
. Branch
Davidian compound near Waco,
Texas, that left 80 people dead.
“This guy’s got a case — you -
don’t send the FBI in to kill
women and children,” he said.
Vidal said he will write an arti-
cle for Vanity Fair about the execu-
tion and may write a movie about
McVeigh “and those of us who
object to the tyranny of the U.S.
government against its people.”
McVeigh |
NATION
/hursday, May 31, 2001
McVeigh to meet with attorneys to
discuss equest to delay execution
Timothy
McVeigh’s
attorney
Nathan
Chambers
walks out of
the Federal
Courthouse in
Denver
Wednesday.
Chambers told
the Rocky
Mountain
News in the
Wednesday’s
editions there
is a strong
possibility the
convicted
Oklahoma City
bomber will
push for a
delay in his
scheduled
June 11
execution.
AP
By CATHERINE TSAI
Associated Press Writer
DENVER — Timothy
McVeigh is expected to decide
Thursday whether he will ask a
federal
judge to
block his
June 11 exe-
cution for
the Okla-
attorneys
say.
Two
members of lati
McVeigh’s McVeigh
defense
team say they will meet with
him at the federal prison in
Terre Haute, Ind., while attor-
ney Nathan Chambers remains
in Denver to file the necessary
documents if McVeigh gives
permission.
The attorneys refused
Wednesday to predict what
McVeigh will do, though
Chambers said McVeigh
believes newly released FBI
documents are worthy of judi-
cial review.
At his office in Tulsa, Okla.,
Rob Nigh declined to specify
what legal documents will be
discussed, but said: “You can
certainly anticipate it will
request a stay.”
McVeigh is to receive a lethal
injection for the 1995 bombing
that killed 168 people and
injured hundreds of others.
What would have been the
first federal execution in 38:
years. was postponed this
month after the Justice Depart-
ment turned over thousands of
FBI documents it admits should
have been given to McVeigh’s
lawyers during his trial.
Justice Department spokes-
woman Chris Watney declined
to comment on the agency’s
options. Attorney General John
Ashcroft said the government
would fight any further delay,
saying that failure to carry out
the death sentence “would deny
justice for the victims of this
crime and for the American peo-
le.” |
P Last December, McVeigh
went against his attorney’s
advice and asked a federal judge
to stop further appeals. He also
requested an execution date.
“Obviously his lawyers have
gotten toward the first hurdle,”
said Denver attorney Scott
Robinson, who _ observed
McVeigh’s trial. “They have
multiple hurdles to get through
to stay the execution. The first
one is Timothy McVeigh.”
Thursday, May 17, 2001
NATION
By JESSE J. HOLLAND
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON — FBI
agents this week have found
still more Oklahoma City
bombing documents that may
not have been turned over to
Timothy McVeigh’s attorneys,
FBI Director Louis Freeh said
Wednesday.
He told Congress his
agency was guilty of “serious
error” in dealing with docu-
ments in the case.
Freeh’s comments on
Wednesday, the day McVeigh
had been scheduled for execu-
tion, came less than a week
after the revelation that more
than 3,000 pages of docu-
ments were withheld from
_McVeigh’s lawyers before his
trial. That discovery led Attor-
ney General John Ashcroft to
| postpone McVeigh’s execution
for the bombing of the Okla-
| homa City federal building.
| Freeh said he did not think
the documents found this
week or last week would
| change McVeigh’s conviction
_ or sentence for the April 1995
_ federal building bombing that
| killed 168 people.
ss abies? Ss a ee SS ae ae
ee Pena
Freeh says some documents
Still not turned over to McVeiat
FBI Director Louis Freeh testifies on Capitol Hill Wednesday before a House Approp
subcommittee. Freeh acknowledged a “serious error’ in the bureau’s failure to
Timothy McVeigh’s lawyers with evidence in the Oklahoma City bombing case.
Networks: McVeigh authorizes
attorneys to seek execution stay
By The Associated Press
DENVER — Convicted
Oklahoma City bomber Timo-
thy McVeigh has authorized
his attorneys to draft a request
to block his execution, but will
make the final decision before
anything is filed, one of his
attorneys said Tuesday.
The request would be
based on about 4,000 docu-
ments the FBI turned over to
McVeigh’s. attorneys earlier
this month, just days before he
originally was scheduled to be
executed.
“Mr. McVeigh believes that
the information that we have
discovered is worthy of judi-
cial review,” McVeigh attorney
Rob Nigh said in a statement
provided to CNN. “We are
optimistic that he will permit
us to make a filing on his
behalf. No final decision will
be reached until we meet with
him in person later this week.”
ag wiv dh ss ulba ne te aoa aie Pee
ABC, CBS and NBC also
reported Tuesday that the
attorneys were preparing a
request for a stay. Nathan
Chambers, McVeigh’s Denver-
based attorney, did not return
messages from The Associated
Press seeking comment.
Dianne Mullen, legal assis-
tant to Nigh, said he was in a
meeting Tuesday at his Tulsa,
Okla., office and would have
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she said.
ABC and NBC reported
that McVeigh’s lawyers were
prepared to file documents in
federal court in Denver as
early as Thursday. CBS report-
ed that the attorneys now
believe they have enough
grounds to appeal McVeigh’s
death sentence.
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AP
Kathy Graham Wilburn is seen April 14 in her Oklahoma City
home office talking about her six-year search for information
about Timothy McVeigh, who killed her grandsons in the
Oklahoma City federal building bombing.
Woman who lost
grandsons in
bombing retraces
McVeigh’s footsteps
By JENNIFER L. BROWN
Associated Press Writer
OKLAHOMA | CITY
Kathy Graham Wilburn has
spent six years finding out as
much as she can about Timothy
McVeigh, the man who mur-
dered her grandsons in the
Oklahoma City bombing.
She has traveled to
McVeigh’s hangouts, slept in
the seedy motels he frequented
and faced some of the people
who knew him best.
Wilburn is using her
research to help a film company
make a documentary, “A Cry
for Justice: The Untold Story
Behind the Oklahoma City
Bombing,” that contends the
attack was the work of a wider
conspiracy. The documentary is
due for release after McVeigh’s
execution on May 16.
Wilburn’s search for the rea-
son McVeigh killed 168 people
— including her grandsons, 3-
year-old Chase Smith and 2-
year-old Colton Smith — has
ee
brought her many places other
victims’ relatives wouldn’t go.
She spent a “creepy” night
trying to sleep in the same bed
McVeigh did two nights before
the April 19, 1995, explosion.
She visited white supremacist
camps where the bomber
allegedly developed his anti-
government views. She had
dinner with the woman who
made McVeigh’s fake driver’s
license and could have alerted
authorities before he carried:
out the attack.
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LALA LL EEO A INL iG SORE EH
By Rex W. HUPPKE
Associated Press Writer
McVeigh
deadlie
her back yard.
McVeigh, 32, is set to die by lethal injection for the
act of terrorism on U.S. soil — the April 19,
1995, bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City
that killed 168 people.
tentiary.
McVeigh.
| Indiana city awaits
| McVeigh execution
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — In little more than a month,
Terre Haute’s schools will close for the day, just to be
safe. Some people will get out of town. Death penalty
supporters and foes will rally in the
shadows of the watchtowers and
barbed-wire fence of the U.S. Peni-
This self-proclaimed City of Char-
acter is nervously preparing for the
May 16 execution of Timothy
“Ym fearful. I can’t believe that
he’s going to go out without some-
thing happening,” said Loretta John-
son, who lives across the street from
the prison. She is so worried that she
recently installed a powerful light in
It will be the first execution carried out by the U.S.
government since 1963.
a “WIG VEIQI. MOGEIS Says about lerre Maule; “Its a Tantastic piace To live, you cant walk down
Please see McVeigh, 8-A
the street and not know somebody.”
McVeigh
Continued from 1-A
Many people in and around
this quiet city of 60,000 cannot
wait for May 16 to pass.
“T just think it’s really
almost going to paralyze, in a
sense, the whole city,” said Sis-
\ter Rita Clare Gerardot of the
Sisters of Providence.
When McVeigh’s execution
date was set, all 1,600 hotel
rooms in the city were booked
within hours. In addition to.
protesters, hundred of journal-
ists and their satellite trucks
are expected to descend on
Terre Haute. People will no
doubt sell T-shirts.
And a grocery store plans
to peddle shish kebabs in the
parking lot, calling it a
“McVeigh special.”
Some residents plan to
leave town, worried about
crowds or even the possibility
McVeigh’s execution will
spark another act of terrorism.
' “We really don’t know
who’s coming to Terre Haute
that week,” said Sheriff Bill
Harris.
The time of day the execu-
tion will be held has not been
announced. But the 16,500-stu-
dent Vigo County ‘school sys-
tem decided to close all 30 of
its schools on May 16.
“We're not exactly sure
what's going to happen in the
community,” said Ray Azar,
the school system’s student
services ‘assistant. “But we
didn’t want to take any
chances, and we don’t want
the students getting caught in
the middle of anything.”
Ww
ox s
Among other things, the |
move frees up more than a 1-
dozen police officers who n
work in Terre Haute schools. 3t
The sheriff’s department ly
has worked with the Terre is
Haute police and federal agen- n
cies to work out security pro- d
cedures, including placing le
patrols on all roads leading jo
into the county. le
Harris said 25 of his 37 offi- |
cers will be on prison detail on is
May 16, and all law enforce- le
ment personnel will workn
extended shifts in the weekte
leading up to the execution. 5.
“We've - canceled vaca-n
tions,” the sheriff said. “Every-'o
body will be working at least
one of their scheduled daysre
off. It’s probably the biggestn
law enforcement effort thatal
we've experienced in ourle
county.” d
EDITOR’S NOTE — The writer was
one of 10 media representatives
who witnessed Timothy McVeigh’s
execution Monday morning.
By Rex W. HupPKE
Associated Press Writer
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — Near the
end, Timothy McVeigh took two deep
breaths and fought to keep his eyelids
open, as if steeling himself against the
chemicals that were quickly shutting
his body down.
That last show of defiance lasted
less than a minute.
Then all was still.
At 8 am. EDT, we had lined up
before two of the death chamber’s 4
by-4 foot windows, waiting for the
dreary green curtains to open and
reveal the man many called a monster.
Minutes later, the curtains opened
and he came into view, strapped to a
gurney, a light gray sheet pulled up
A view from the chamber:
McVeigh dies silently
and neatly folded across his upper
chest, as if someone had tucked him.
face carried a bit of
in. His head-was closely shaved, his
stubble and his
| shoulders peeked
#, out from the sheet,
covered by a plain
M, white T-shirt.
| That first glance
seemed suspend-
ed in time.
Here was the
Oklahoma City
bomber, the man
whose rage against
the government
drove him to slaughter 149 adults and
19 children six years ago. Here was the
enigma many struggled to under-
stand, but never could. Here was the
face seen only in the same small pool
of oft-repeated footage.
Please see McVeigh, 5-A
ees Cente ne
|
Tuesday, June 12, 2001
McVeigh
Continued from 1-A
The moment lingered, as
McVeigh watched Warden
Harley Lappin and U.S. Mar-
shal Frank Anderson move
about the rectangular chamber,
curiously taking in his sur-
roundings.
He turned his head to the
left and looked into the room
that held the witnesses he had
selected — attorneys Rob Nigh
and Nathan Chambers, who . i.
speak affectionately of their 33-
year-old client; Cate McCauley,
a former member of his
defense team; and Lou Michel,
a Buffalo News reporter who co-
authored a McVeigh book.
These were the people he
felt a bond with, some of the
few he kept in touch with and
trusted. He looked at them
with a soft expression as they
placed their outstretched
hands on the glass. He nodded
his head and _ partially
mouthed words, as if to say,
“It’s OK.”
That gentle moment ended
quickly as the bomber strained
his neck against the pull of his
chest strap and took in the 10
media witnesses.
Quickly and methodically,
he looked into the eyes of each
reporter, bobbing his head
slightly as he went from one to
the other, forcing us to face him
head-on.
After panning the room —
pausing to squint toward the
tinted glass shielding the 10
survivors and victims’ repre-
sentatives — McVeigh rested
his head on the gurney and
stared straight up, seeming to
concentrate on the closed-cir-
cuit camera beaming the exe-
cution to about 230 witnesses
gathered in Oklahoma City.
His gaze remained fixed.
The warden, standing to
McVeigh’s right, spoke, his
voice coming through speakers
in the witness rooms: “Inmate
McVeigh, you may make your
last statement.”
A few seconds passed.
WIREGRASS/NATION
AP
Execution witnesses who want to talk to the press get off the bus at the media area following
Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh’s execution Monday in Oklahoma City.
McVeigh fidgeted slightly, but
his eyes still stared into the
camera, rarely blinking.
A half-minute, a minute,
and still no words.
Breaking the silence, the
warden began reciting the
charges — using a weapon of
mass destruction, conspiracy
and eight counts of murder,
stemming from the deaths of
eight law enforcement agents
in the federal building. Again,
no change in McVeigh’s
expression, just a focused stare.
“Marshal, we are ready,
may we proceed?” the warden
asked Anderson, the only
other person in the death
chamber.
The marshal picked up a
bright red phone sitting on a
metal tray attached to the wall.
Someone on the other end
spoke, Anderson hung up the
phone and said simply, “War-
den, we may proceed with the
execution.”
Then, again, silence. One of
the IV lines extending through
the wall jumped slightly, as the
first chemical began flowing
into a vein in McVeigh’s right
leg.
He swallowed hard. His
eyes moved slightly from side
to side. His chest moved up
and down and his lips twice
puffed out air, as if he was
fighting to maintain conscious-
ness.
A guard in the witness room
announced the first drug had
been administered. Ten min-
utes had passed since the exe-.
cution process officially began;
it was 8:10 a.m. EDT.
McVeigh’s eyes remained
open, but they began to glass
over, started rolling up just
slightly.
His pale skin started to turn
slightly yellow, almost jaun-
diced.
At 8:11 a.m., the guard said
the second drug had been -
administered. The warden
looked straight ahead, glanc-
ing down at McVeigh only
occasionally.
Two minutes later, the final
drug had been injected.
*« Over the next minute, Timo-
thy McVeigh’s lips turned the
slif test tinge of blue. He was
still. His eyes remained open.
It was 8:14 a.m.
It was over.
AP
This evidence photo of
Oklahoma City bombing
suspect Timothy. McVeigh was
introduced at his trial in
Denver on Monday, May 19,
1997. It was taken April 19,
1995, just hours after the
Oklahoma City bombing, at
the Noble County Jail in Perry,
Okla., when McVeigh was
booked on a firearm charge.
AP
Oklahoma City bombing
defendant Timothy McVeigh is
escorted by an unidentified U.S.
Marshal to a change of venue
hearing in Federal Court in
downtown Oklahoma City in this
Jan. 31, 1996, file photo.
McVeigh re-
his original position on
wanting to be
evaluates
executed
By BRIGITTE GREENBERG
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON — Timo-
thy McVeigh’s lawyers said
Sunday he is re-evaluating his
position on wanting to be exe-
cuted after learning the FBI
failed to disclose evidence in
the Oklahoma City bombing
case.
The FBI’s lapse has prompt-
ed members of Congress to
urge hearings into how it hap-
pened, and one Democrat
wants President Bush _ to
appoint a blue-ribbon commis-
sion to review the FBI.
McVeigh has not instructed
his defense team to pursue a
particular legal strategy. But
attorney Robert Nigh said
when McVeigh made his origi-
nal decision not to pursue fur-
ther appeals, he had no idea
the FBI had withheld evidence.
“In light of that, it’s com-
pletely reasonable for him to
re-evaluate his position,” Nigh
Please see McVeigh, 3-A
weeny pepe pone awe REST
Sheriff’s deputies discov-
ered the stranded group 10
minutes after the distress call
was made, said Moates. Once
the helicopter reached the
group, Moates said the resi-
dents of Pike and Covington
counties were hoisted up one at
a time and were flown to Ft.
Rucker at approximately 10:30
m.
“We were — concerned
because it was rainy and had
gotten cold, and they had on
nothing but bathing suits,” said
Moates, adding nobody was
transported to the hospital,
however.
McVeigh
Continued from 1-A
told “Fox News Sunday.” “The
facts of the case are now cer-
tainly at issue.”
McVeigh “has indicated
now that he is at least willing to
take a fresh look at things, hear
our analysis of the facts con-
tained within the documents
and our legal analysis of his
options,” Nigh said on CBS’
“Face the Nation.”
A second defense lawyer
questioned whether the FBI
has disclosed all evidence.
“Are we going to learn next
week that there are yet more
documents?” Nathan Cham-
bers said on ABC’s “This
Week.” . |
“There are a lot of questions
that a lot of people have for the
FBI, and as we move forward
in these next few days, that
question will be one that is
answered,” said Mindy Tucker,
spokeswoman for Attorney
General John Ashcroft.
A former prosecutor in the
case said she believed the foul-
up was unintentional.
‘Ashcroft approves ciosed-tircun
By JENNIFER L. BROWN
Associated Press Writer
OKLAHOMA CITY — Timothy
MeVeigh’s execution for the Oklahoma
City bombing will be shown on closed-
|| circuit television to the more than 200 sur-
|” vivors and victims’ relatives who want to
watch him draw his last breath.
Attorney General John Ashcroft
announced his decision Thursday, saying
it may help the group “close this chapter
on their lives.”
“It just pleases me to
no end,” said Dan
McKinney, whose wife,
Linda, died in the
‘bombing. “I’m very
thankful. I don’t know
what we would have
done if we didn’t get to
see it.”*
The U.S. govern-
ment has not carried
out an execution since [ycVeigh
1963. McVeigh’s lethal
‘telecast of McVeigh execution
injection at the federal prison in Terre
Haute, Ind., on May 16 will also mark
the first time it has broadcast an execu-
tion.
The broadcast will be shown at a still-
undetermined site in Oklahoma City.
Ashcroft said the FBI and other agen-
cies will make sure the broadcast is not
recorded or pirated. He described the |
broadcast as “state-of-the-art videocon-
ferencing.” 7
Please see McVeigh, 8-A
WIREGRASS/NATION
McVeigh
Continued from 1-A
“The Oklahoma City sur-
vivors may be the largest
‘group of crime victims in our
history,” Ashcroft said. “The
Department of Justice must
‘make special provisions to
‘assist the needs of the sur-
vivors and the victims’ fami-
| lies.”
_ .The bombing on April 19,
1995, killed 168 people and
injured hundreds in the dead-
liest act of terrorism ever on
US. soil. Some 250 victims and
family members had expressed -
a wish to watch McVeigh die
/_— many of them saying it
would help them deal with
their grief — and a smaller
| group petitioned the govern-
_ ment for the broadcast.
AP
Ginny Moser, right, hugs Kathleen Treanor as they talk at the
The execution chamber at Oklahoma City National Memorial site Thursday after it was
Terre Haute had seats for only announced that there will be a closed circuit telecast of Timothy
eight victims’ witnesses before McVeigh’s execution. Moser’s husband was in the building
Ashcroft on Thursday raised during the bombing and Treanor lost three family members
_ that number to 10.
McVeigh, 32, has said he is
not opposed to a closed-circuit
telecast and has suggested that
his execution be televised
nationally. He has dropped all
appeals but will have one last
in the bombing.
chance to seek a stay of execu-
tion two hours before he is
scheduled to die.
Those watching the broad-
cast will be able to see McVeigh
on the execution table and hear
any final statement he might
make.
Some in Oklahoma City
wish he did not have that right.
6-A THE DOTHAN EAGLE
~ NATION
Some of the condemned go |
willingly to death chamber
“By CALVIN WOODWARD
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON — Most
people who take another life
strive mightily to preserve their
own. Not everyone. Like Timo-
thy McVeigh, dozens on death
row decide not to stay the hand
of the executioner.
Clifford Boggess wanted to go
on his 33rd birthday.
“T like 'the idea of leaving this
little world on the day I came in,”
said Boggess, who killed two
men a month apart. “There's a
nice symmetry to that.” Texas
granted his wish on June 11, 1998.
Motives vary among prison-
ers who drop their appeals and
submit to the death chamber
willingly, or at least without
protest.
Some become repentant and
say they don’t deserve to live.
McVeigh, the unremorseful
Oklahoma City bomber who
killed 168 people, is not among
them.
A few like the control they feel
in the timing of their death.
McVeigh, who favors the poetic
line “I am the master of my fate”
and may use it among his last
words, seems to fit this pattern.
At least a few are suicidal. -
They want the state to do what
they could not bring themselves
to do.
Most just want to get it over
with.
“T ama rational man,” Robert
Lee Massie wrote before helping
California executioners find a
vein for his lethal injection in
March. “I do not consider forgo-
ing the raptures of another
decade behind bars to be an irra-
tional decision.” Massie had
killed again after being paroled
for a 1965 murder.
McVeigh, scheduled to die
next Wednesday, appears to be in
the camp of those who see no
sense in postponing the
inevitable.
“T guess his feeling is, he
knows he’s going to die — it
might as well be sooner than
later,” his father William said
after McVeigh dropped his
appeals. McVeigh could still
change his mind.
Amnesty International, which
opposes the death penalty, has
chronicled about 90 “consensual
executions” among the more
than 700 conducted in the United
States since a 1976 Supreme
Court decision brought capital
punishment back.
Volunteers were first to be
executed in 11 of the 31 states
that have put people to death
since 1976, starting with Gary
Gilmore in Utah. None of the
people executed since then in
Idaho, Ohio, Oregon and Penn-
sylvania had exhausted their
appeals, according to Amnesty
International. ;
a
Timoth
: m 16 at the U.S. Penitentiary in Terre Haute
a
eg
aban
Thursday, May 10, 2001
: y McVeigh, center, convicted in th
Building, is Surrounded by law ment
cae enforcement
k bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal
thouse in Perry, Okla., in this 1995 file il as he leaves the Noble County
Oto. McVeigh j
aia cVeigh is scheduled to be executed
drug as lasSt-resort palit reuer LUDULULULD Wa parcpue ee
Federal execution looming, family [= 0)
prepares for convicted killer's death |
By Rex W. HUPPKE
Associated Press Writer
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — In his teen-age years,
Juan Raul Garza worked the fields in Michigan
with his parents, who were migrant farmhands,
and sold fruit door to door. He eventually saved
up money for a bed to replace the mats he’d
always slept on.
But that enterprising nature evolved into
trouble after Garza returned to his hometown of
Brownsville, Texas, where he started a drug
smuggling operation. He would later kill and
order the deaths of others.
Now Garza himself is scheduled to die Tues-
day by chemical injection, the second federal
inmate put to death in just eight days. Okla-
homa City bomber Timothy McVeigh was exe-
cuted Tine 11. the first to be put to death since
Garza’s acts have not drawn as much public
attention as McVeigh’s more notorious crime,
which killed 168 people in April 1995.
And unlike the unmarried bomber, Garza
has a wife and four children with whom he has
remained close during his nine years in prison.
“He’s still my dad,” said 24-year-old daugh-
ter Norma Garza. She and the rest of the family
planned to see Garza for the last time on Sunday
— Father’s Day.
While the family says Garza is not the mon-
ster he’s been made out to be, prosecutors say he
was one of the most violent drug dealers in
south Texas.
His death sentence stems from a series of
brutal murders. In one case, he shot a suspected.
informant in the head, dragged his body into a
field and shot the man four more times, leaving
his corpse to rot. In two other cases, Garza
Juan Raul
Garza arrives
at federal!
court holding
his court
records in
Brownsville,
Texas, in this
March 1993
file photo.
Garza is
scheduled to
die Tuesday
by chemical
injection, the
second
federal
inmate to be
put to death
over a period
of just eight
days.
AP
McVeigh nears
end of journey
By CAROLYN THOMPSON
Associated Press Writer
PENDLETON, N.Y. — He
has lived for a month on bor-
rowed time — borrowed, ironi-
cally, from the government he
despises after its admission it
withheld documents from his
lawyers.
~ Now the hours wind down
on the life of Timothy McVeigh,
who grew up playing by the
Erie Canal near Pendleton,
who at age 20 became a soldier
and then, four days before his
27th birthday, became a terror-
ist
City bomber will be injected
with a cocktail of lethal drugs
at the federal prison at Terre
Haute, Ind., punishing him for
the worst act of terrorism on
American soil.
“Collateral damage,” he
called the 19 children who
were among the 168 people
killed in the bombing of the
| Alfred P. Murrah Federal
Building, the military jargon
opening a window into the for-
mer soldier’s mind. He was on
a mission to bring what he saw
as a bully — the U.S. govern-
ment — to its knees.
“1 did. it tor the larger
good,” he told the authors of
“American Terrorist: Timothy
McVeigh & The Oklahoma
City Bombing.”
The Gulf War veteran and
Bronze Star recipient went to
America’s heartland to strike
his blow, making a weapon out
of a rented Ryder truck filled
with-a bomb of fertilizer and
fuel oil.
Kay Fulton planned to be in
Terre Haute, Ind., to watch
McVeigh die. The blast killed
‘her 42-year-old brother, Cus-
toms Service agent Paul Ice.
“The importance is Paul Ice
and the other’ 167 victims,”
said Fulton, who was so deter-
mined not to miss any possible
execution date that she made
hotel reservations for every
night through October. SOnge
McVeigh the monster is out of
the picture, I can focus on
tat. 54
Bill McVeigh will hold onto
a different Timothy McVeigh
— “Timmy,” his skinny son
who appears in home movies
being pulled on 4 wagon
‘On Monday, the Oklahoma
From boy to terrorist
AP
Timothy McVeigh is seen as a young boy in this undated
handout photo taken from video. McVeigh, whose execution
is scheduled for 7 a.m.
Monday is expected to be moved
from his cell to the death house no later than Sunday morning.
behind his father’s tractor. The
young man who had perfect
attendance in high school,
flipped burgers and worked
security at the Buffalo Zoo. The |
Timothy McVeigh who loved
animals and his first car.
A new McVeigh seemed to
emerge in the Army, and the
final wraps were removed by
the federal raid on the Branch
Davidian compound near
Waco, Texas, that had ended in
a fireball and some 80 deaths.
During their final visit in
April, McVeigh told his father
that Waco was “the final straw.”
The change puzzles the Rev.
Paul Belzer of Pendleton’s
Good Shepherd Catholic
Church, who remembers din-
ing with a polite and funny
McVeigh after the Gulf War. It
also puzzles Liz McDermott,
the former neighbor who
entrusted her children to a
teen-age McVeigh as a baby sit-
ter, and has kept in touch
through letters.
“The Tim I know? Good-
natured, good sense of humor,
a very nice person,” she says.
Saturday, January 13, 2001
NATION
THE DOTHAN EAGLE 7-A
McVeigh lets deatline for resuming appeals expire
By STEVEN K. PAULSON
Associated Press Writer
DENVER — Prison officials started making
plans Friday for the execution of Oklahoma City
bomber Timothy McVeigh, including how to
accommodate victims who may want to-watch.
McVeigh, held on death row at a federal prison
in Terre Haute, Ind., let the deadline for pursuing
any appeals to pass Thursday, while reserving the
right to seek clemency from the president. Last
month, a federal judge agreed to let him drop all
appeals and receive a prompt execution date.
The 32-year-old Gulf War veteran could be exe-
cuted by lethal injection as early as May. Inmates
typically are given four months’ notice of an exe-
cution date.
U.S. Bureau of Prisons spokesman Dan Dunne
said the agency will not set a
date until officials are confi-
dent they will have adequate |g
staff and will be able to meet |
needs of victims’ relatives and f
survivors of the blast, the
deadliest act of terrorism on
USS. soil.
“The number of victims
involved in this case certainly
is unique. Other cases don’t
have the same notoriety, and
obviously there are things we
have to consider for plan-
McVeigh
ning,” Dunne said.
McVeigh was convicted of murder and con-
spiracy in the April 19, 1995, bombing of the
Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building that killed 168
people and wounded more than 500.
The federal government has not executed a
prisoner in 37 years.
Under bureau guidelines, 10 seats in the Terre
Haute execution chamber are reserved for news
media representatives, eight for victims and other
citizen witnesses, six for those selected by the
inmate and eight chosen by the Justice Depart-
ment.
Karen Howick of Oklahoma City, an attorney
who has represented victims’ relatives and sur-
vivors,said she may go to court to ensure the exe-
cution is broadcast on closed-circuit television for
those who are not allowed to be there in person.
Howick, who successfully lobbied Congress to
allow McVeigh’s Denver trial to be broadcast in an
Oklahoma courtroom for victims’ relatives,
believes more than eight victims will want to
watch.
“I would not want to be the person to say, “You
get to attend and you don’t.’ No matter how they
do this, someone is going to be unhappy,” How-
ick said.
Jim Denny, whose two young children sur-
vived, said he has no desire to watch McVeigh die.
“I. know there are some people who want to
watch it, but it won’t bring closure to anyone,” he
said.
AP
Train passengers walk past the taped-off scene of an afternoon shooting at Chicago’ s Union Station on Tuesday as they prepare
to board a train. Police said one man was killed and two people were injured in the shooting.
y }
By DAVE CARPENTER
Associated Press Writer
CHICAGO — A shootout between a
police drug unit and two suspects in Union
Station killed one person, injured two and
sent waiting train passengers diving for
cover Tuesday.
The officers had tried to stop the two
men to question them, but one of the sus-
pects grabbed a female officer and there was
an exchange of gunfire, police spokesman
Pat Camden said.
One of the suspects was killed, the
Ronco werat) was shot in the leg, and the
. other suspect, also hospital-
ized, .was in critical condi-
tion, Camden said.
said.
The shooting took place
in the Amtrak concourse of
the sprawling station next to
train platforms, police said. A statement
from Amtrak said that the two men had just
arrived on a train from New York and that
the incident was an “apparent federal drug.
interdiction.”
McVeigh asks that
appeal be stopped,
execution date set
By P. SOLOMON BANDAS
’ Associated Press Writer
DENVER Timothy
McVeigh asked a_ federal
judge to stop all appeals of his
conviction in the Oklahoma
City bombing and to set a date
for his execution. .
In a federal court filing
made public Tuesday,
McVeigh said he wanted to
waive further review of his
case by the courts. However,
he reserved the right to seek
executive clemency, his
lawyer said.
McVeigh was convicted of
-murder and conspiracy and
sentenced to death in the’
April 19, 1995, bombing of the
Alfred P; Murrah Federal
Building that killed 168 peo-
ple and injured more than a
If he is put to death,
would be the first execution se
a federal prisoner in 37 years.
The former Army soldier
asked that his execution date
be set within’ 120 days of his
Dec. 7 statement, which was
filed with the* court on Mon-
day.
Tuslice Department spokes-
woman Chris Watney
declined to comment on the
request.
McVeigh has filed two
unsuccessful appeals, and his
lawyers had been researching
additional challenges.
McVeigh acknowledged
that he submitted the state-
ment against the advice of his
attorneys, but he said he
believes he is competent to
make the decision. He said he
would undergo a_ court-
ordered psychological evalua-
tion if necessary.
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_ It wasn’t immediately |
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Inez Hart, a traveler from Africa, was in
the waiting room when the gunfire erupted
“When they got off the train, they appre-
hended them right in front of where the
lounge was for Amtrak. They tried to grab
_ the bags and take the bags away from them.
There was a struggle, and during the strug-
gle, they pulled guns,” Hart said.
“The bullets came flying right through
the window where we were, and glass shat-
tered everywhere. Everybody had to drop
to the ground, the whole waiting area, and
we. crawled like we were in a movie, an
action movie,” she said.
Crime
Nae wae ett ge i a
—:
Ege bY aorste fi
i » PEE BES ES hat
fo het hehe owl b> Ke
Timothy James
McVeigh, -a suspect
in the bombing of the
Oklahoma City Federal
Building, leaves the
Noble County
Courthouse in Perry,
Okla., in this 1995 file
photo. In a federal
court filing made public
Tuesday, McVeigh.
asked a federal judge
to stop all appeals of
his conviction in the
Oklahoma City bombing
and to set a date for
his execution.
AP
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stroke.
But new re
gests the danger m
more imminent. tl
believed.
In a study of 1;
180 had strokes v
months of a TIA, a
rate that was in line
ous research. But
‘ 2
\ 4
Fin, & A
Ai Oy
Bag WA
Cale} “L felt greatly relieved
“| Because I think this area cries
for justice. And, quite frankly, I
“ylet out a little ‘Whoopee!’ too,”
said Erie County District Attor-
A month later, his car was
found abandoned at the
Newark, NJ., airport. Authori-
ties have said it was spotted in
Slepian’s neighborhood in the
ft
VW
40, adal
ney Frank J. Clark.
Dr. Barnett Slepian, 52, had
just returned from synagogue
and was heating soup in his
suburban Amherst home in
October 1998 when he was
killed by a rifle shot that came
through a window.
Investigators have said a
scope-equipped »rifle... found
buried near the Slepian home a
few months later represented a
Book: A remorseless McVeigh calls
dead children ‘collateral damage’
By CAROLYN THOMPSON
Associated Press Writer
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Detail-
ing his motives in the Okla-
homa City bombing for the first
time
publicly, Timothy
McVeigh
says he pul-
verized the
federal
building to.
avenge
Waco and
Ruby Ridge
— and that
he regrets
having
killed chil-
dren only
because _ it
undercut his cause.
“T recognized beforehand
that someone might be ... bring-
ing their kid to work,”
McVeigh says in a new book.
“However, if I had known
there was an entire day care
center, it might have given me
pause to switch targets. That’s a
large amount of collateral dam-
age.”
In 75 hours of prison inter-
views, McVeigh talked to Lou
Michel and Dan Herbeck,
reporters for The Buffalo News,
near his hometown of Pendle-
ton, about how and why he
bombed the Alfred P. Murrah
Federal Building. The April 19,
1995, attack killed 168 people,
19 of them children.
In the interviews, which
began in May 1999, McVeigh
got choked up while talking
about killing a gopher in a
field, but never expressed
remorse for the bombing. — -
“T understand what they felt
in Oklahoma City. I have no
sympathy for them,” he told
the authors of “American Ter-
rorist: Timothy McVeigh and
the Oklahoma City Bombing.”
Before deciding to bomb the
Murrah building, McVeigh
says he considered a number of
possibilities, including ‘assassi-
nating elected officials.
But he chose the bombing,
in part, for its visual impact
and decided on the Murrah
building because it had federal
agents and glass in the front,
making it vulnerable and giv-
ing TV cameras a good shot.
Michel told ABC’s “Prime-
Time Thursday”
McVeigh’s only regret was that
the children’s deaths proved to
be a public relations nightmare.
McVeigh
that.
weeks before the shooting.
Law enforcement sources
have also said that Kopp has
been linked, through DNA test-
ing, to a strand of hair found
near where the sniper fired.
Kopp had. been. in Ireland
for about a year, living in hos-
tels and doing clerical work,
FBI agents in Butfalo said. He
left the country March: 12.ass.
Irish police were closing in.
protection since 1941.
continue to do.
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(334) 673-7663
Buffalo, .N.Y., Thursday, Abov
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Top: FBI Special Agent in Charge Hardrick Crawfor
announces the arrest of FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitive J:
Charles Kopp in Dinan, France, during a news conferer
: French policemen enter
headquarters’ Thursday in’ Dinan
in,northwesierm France, whe SUR ay
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AP
Buffalo News reporters Dan Herbeck, left, and Lou Michael,
authors of the upcoming book “American Terrorist: Timothy
McVeigh and the Oklahoma City Bombing,” pose in the
newsroom in this Jan. 10 file photo.
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MOSS, George, half-breed, hanged Fort Smith, Ark. (Fed,) 1-27-1888
*
"April 27, 1888=Advices from Fort Smith say that three men were hanged there this morning
for crimes~committed in the Choctaw and Chickasaw nations, The men - George Moss, Jack
Crow and Owen Hill --were all colored with part Indian blood, The condemned men spent
the night in crying, praying and shouting, Neither.of them selpt but.a few moments here
and there and ate nothing at breakfast. At 7 o'clock the crowd of morbid sight seekers put
im their appearance, and an hour later the jail yard was filled with a miscellaneous group
of men, women, and children, The jail corridors inside were filled with friends and rela-
tives of the condemned men, who shook hands with them and madethe walls reeecho with gospel
hymns and prayers, led by a group of colored clergymen, Each of the mean leaned against
the bars, the picture of utter despair, Hilled acted like a half-crazed man. He bade
his relatives goodbye, one by one, uttering his farewell words in a dreary manaXasHAy
SUAKXKHAXKNSXEXKAKA monotone, shaking their hands and jumping about from one place to
another, The parting with his sister was very sad. She is a tall, very neat looking
colored girl, and wore a heavy crepe veil, through which her face could be seen distopted
with grief, Hill kept repeating continually that his faith was with the Lord, and that he
knew he would be saved, to which the crowd would fervently shout "amen," The other men
had but little to say, and leaned against the bars as though too weak to stand, Occa-
sionally the crowd would sob aloud, and Moss wuld move nervously about with wide open
eyes that showed the abject terror he felt at his impending fate, BAAKAXKXMAXAK Captain
Maledon, the hangman, had made the final preparations before dawn, and everything was
in place long before the march to the scaffold began.
"When Deputy Marshal John Carroll came in to read the death warrant, Moss was engaged in
listening attentively to spiritual advice offered him by fellow prisoners, His brown
face seemed blamched with terror, and he glanced nervously about him as though he espected
the drop to fall any minute, Hill did his best to be cheerful and S&MxsasASHASRASER
composed and although he was extremely nervous he answered all questions put to him and said
he was very happy. On his breast he wore a white card with the letters M. S. B made of
the hairof his mother, sister and brother, which, he said was the last token of love he
hop d they would ever remember, Crow at the last moment showed tlat he could talk English
ouite well, and conversed with a reporter as well as the rest of them, He said goodbye and
asked that nothing else be published in the papers. Dmring the reading of the warrants,
the three men sat side by side, listening attentively, Hill kept tappin on the ground with
his feet, singing in his d reary monotone, 'God have mercy,' ‘Let not your hearts be trou}
bled, It is God's well,! He smiled continually. Moss and Crow X&#K@# looked stolid and
indifferent, On the scaffold Hill seated himself and began shouting 'We are on our journey #
home.' He could not stand or sit stillg but drummed with his feet, clasped his hands and
rolled his eyes wildly about as though half dead with fear, His spiritual adviser shook
KEXMRXAMAXKAXKSA hands and wished him goodbye, thileiangman Maledon arranged black caps and
noosese Moss and Crow looked straight out into the space below the gallows and did not
move their lips; they seemed quite composed at the last moment, but Hill shouted incessantly.
When led to the trap Hill kept up the same crazed harangue and Moss and Crow trembled vio-
lently, but said not a word, The noo es were adjusted, The last prayer was said and the
black caps were slipped on, The drop fell with a crash, and the three wretched victims were
suspended in mid-air, Aftkr the drop had falled for 13 minutes, the attending physicians
pronounced them all dead. Moss'&pulse stopp d first, and then Crow's and lastly Hill's.
In thirty minutes the bodies were cut down and subsequently buried in Potter's field,"
"The crime for which GeorgeMoss was hanged was the mrder of George Taft last fall in the Red
River Valley of theChickasaw nation, Taft was a man of prominencein the nation and an extra-
ordinary effort was made to arrest his mrderers, The last seen of him alive he was on horse=
back looking for some live stock, and in his search met George Moss, Mulatto; Dick Butler and
Factor Jones, Indians, and Sandy Smith, a white man, They had just shot a yearling hog, and
fearing that Taft had noticed it and would report the matter to the citizens' committee, they
decided that 'dead men tell no tales,' and following the unsuspecting man he was ambushed and
dropped from his saddle, His body was found by friends several days later, and the remarks of
the four hog hunters soon resulted in their arrest, Federal authorities took charge of Smith
and Moss, and safely landed them at Fort Smith, Ark, Smith died pending his trial, The
Indian police took charge of their countrymen, and reported a few days later that on their way
ey em eee TT a ee ee ee a a Le ee eT ee ee ER GE ee ee ee eee ee ee oe ete
. . e . ¢
to the nation's prison men had set upon them and lynched Butler and Jones.
Their bodies were found a short time afterward riddled with bullets, Moss
made the usual fight for life, and t roughout mintained that Butler did ;
the killing; that he was powerless to interfere as hewas unarmed, His appli-
HARKAKXKARXAXHKKXEKIAX cation for a stay of proceedings was denied... He was
hanged." & NEWS, Galveston, Texas, -28-1888 '1-3).
!
| ‘96. ‘THE LAW. ENFORCERS :
"His quarry Ochoa was one of the early “body smug-
~ glers.” Today there are hundreds of them scattered across
the Southwest and Southern states—anyplace where there '
3
are people who want to get into the U.S. who cannot
: » enter legally.
‘: “They try tocome in by sea as well as land.‘ But most
"smugglers have learned that to isolate a group of aliens on
~ @ boat is the wrong path to success. A ship on an unusual
“ -eourse, or acting strangely, is easy to trace, track and
“intercept. 2 : A oe
..-In the last big ship-smuggling operation known to the
“Border Patrol in San Diego, the “arranger” won twice, ©
= “but ’on the third round a jail sentence ended the match.
= About three years ago the Patrol learned through its
-anti-smuggling liaison men. across the border that there
“was a new smuggling operation from Rosarita Beach,
“a town 30 miles south of the border. The patrol also
“established that one boatload of aliens had already landed .
"somewhere on a Southern California ‘beach. With ‘this:
- ‘small lead the Patrol began the slow, monotonous but:
essential process of questioning every alien they picked up
to find out what he knew about the operation.
Pefore long they had questioned 6,000 aliens for leads.
- Finally an alien in custody in San Francisco said he: had:
“been on the boat. Yes, he would tell them -what he —
knew... ae ; Woe
The next weekend the Border Patrol had its Piper Cub
“in the sky, watching for the wake of a small boat moving
out of Rosarita Beach at night. The Piper found it and
followed its wake through the night until it was almost.
opposite San Diego; then the wake disappeared. The boat
had stopped at the Coronado Islands, a popular sport
- fishing area, frequented by many boats day and night. It
was impossible to pick up the Rosarita boat’s wake again.
Information indicated that another shipment was. set
for the following weekend. Again the Patrol made ready,
‘this time with a tighter, more foolproof operation. The
plane went up, made contact with the ship's wake and
- reported it. The smugglers had previously tried San Diego
Bay and had almost been surprised there by a watchman.
‘They could land at La Jolla. as well, so one patrol car
was dispatched to each spot. Other men were located
along the beach on both sides of the Mission Bay harbor
His
Border Patrol in Action e 9
“entra ince. The Mission Bay area seemed the easi
for a landing to be made. ae whe
This time the plane did not lose the wake and it soo
reported that there were three wakes, not one. The shore
the Mission Bay channel. They immediately made.
Mission Beach side and vated: up to coals a
the end of the first street. As soon as the landing
“was..made, the aliens and their ships were under the
diction of the Border Patrol.
Aliens aboard the boats scrambled ashore and moved
i i a large moving van and a Thunderbird parked
On: signal the Border Patrolmen closed in, and before
the ‘aliens could escape or even get into the van, they
‘were: captured along with the brains of the smuggling
w, Richard Loghranj a Canadian alien. _- me
= As soon as the trap :closed..on the aliens, the three - ~~ i
exican boatmen made a run for the open sea. But by this ;
ne a rented power launch manned by Patrol officers
had moved into the center of the channel, blocking their
‘ape. The beatmen fled into the 4,000 acres of land and
: operation, E. E. Wilson, a U.S. citizen, and his brother
“Water and bays and marinas that make up San Diego’s
sion Bay recreation area.
~ At this point the Border Patrol radioed for help from
the San Diego City Police. Two of the boatmen were —
captured with little trouble, but the only trace of the
third, the head boatman, was his boat—beached in the
a near Belmont Park. The boat was equipped with a
quality two-way radio, matching the set found in
*the Thunderbird that Wilson had used.
Deputy Chief Batchelor began tracking the alien through
ne sand, and soon trailed him over the parking lot and
o the Toadway. By this time it was nearing 4 a.m. and the
h was slowed until daylight. Just about dawn Batch-
r picked up the trail again and found that the man
: moved back across the parking lot to some shrubbery.
that time it was getting light enough, and Batchelor
fent into the brush and captured the boatman.
Wilson was fined and given a three-year prison sentence.
brother-in-law received a suspended sentence and
} deported. The boatmen were returned to Mexico for
OCHOA, Carlos Romero, His., gassed San Quentin
(Federal ) on 12/10/19h8,,,
\
ANTSUNY L. ONETO
D.O.B. December 29, 1916
MILITARY SERVICE: June 1935 - June 1939
June 1942 - January 1946
E.O.D. INS: October 24, 1349
TITLE: Patrol Inspector
D.O.D. March 11, 1947
DETAILS:
On March 11, 1947, while conducting routine traffic check near
indio, Califernia, Patrol Inspectors Anthony L. Oneto and
John L. Fouquette arrested Carios Ochoa Romero in the act of
hauling four smuggled aliens. ‘The aliens were placed in the
back seat of che Goverauent car and Ochoa was instructed to
drive his car to the Border Pacrol office. After a short cime
Ochoa stopped his car which was being followed by the Governmert
car, walked back, said somethin; about his car stalling, pulled
a .32 caliber pistol from his pocket and began firing at the
officers. Inspector Cneto was struck four times in the head and
died instantly. Patrol Inspector Fouquette was wounded but
returned the rire, wounding Ochoa who esceped in the darkness.
In spite of this activity, Inspector Fouquette was able to retain
custody of the smuggled aliens until help arrived.
Ochoa was arrested four hours lacer near Brawley, California, by
other patrol inspectors. He was convicted in the U. S. District
Court, Los Angeles, for murder. The macter of fixing the date of
execution was set for August 19, 1948; however, the case was con~
tinued until November 22, 1948, by request of counsel for Cchoa
for additional time within which to petition for executive clen- ‘
}
ency. Ochoa was executed on December 10, 1948, after the petition
was denied by President Trumen cu November 30, 1948.
—_—
eo
Source; Undaiad Listins; cf Officers in CO 718-P.
Blographical Muterial Transmitted 2/2/56 in 56364/41.14,
Parc 2.
INS *onthly Review, Nacch 1947,
INS Monthly Review, January 1949,
AALS ro ta BORER Sat eee a!
be To fe | eee eo
&
*
‘ar
Gilmore Ne ot The First
nae a i py Tae ROBERT NASH : pe ,
Gary Gilmore’ s ‘downright fanatical aiteropes to if H
have himself executed for murder recall a legion |:
of U.S. criminals who, either out-of bravado, or an | |.
idea of self-retribution (or plain stupidity), insisted;
; upon the final solution of the law. Many went out/
Soryese2 <, without demanding their execution, but their atti-)
— » tudes, their final words and actions, convinced | .
:
journalists, historians and riches reed that their
“ER
- Crime Journal
* bizarre ends were ‘nothing more than casual, al-
» most mundane occurrences.
The earliest of these “routine” happenings inour | |
history was the execution of the New England :
highwayman, Michael Martin, better known in i
saga and song as “Captain Lightfoot.” Condemned. - |
- to death in 1822 for stealing a horse, Martin stood _ .
upon a horse-drawn cart with a noose about his ~'
.. heck, the other end tied firmly to the limb of a
sturdy oak outside of Cambridge, Massachusetts. ~ f§)/Ili
’ Scores of curious spectators gathered to witness ty
his finish. Lightfoot cavalierly withdrew a long [K ©» :
«piece of silk from his pocket and politely asked the
- hangman: “When shall I drop the handkerchief?”
“Whenever you’re ready,” réplied the sheriff. 2
Martin studied the crowd for a moment with a | j..
? sre Racy id orga ae ae eee: Saravana Bee "Train Robbers lack Tack Ketcham Raced To His Hanging In 19OT i.
~ high and let it flutter to the ground. The second the yole aiee : ;
silk touched the earth, the cart driver whipped the. oUt of the way and ran up the gallows stairs, drag- Yes!” Panzram spat out, grabbing the rope and
‘, horse forward and Lightfoot dangled into eternity. \sing the hangman after him gnd yelling: “Let’s get putting it about his own neck. “Hurry it up! I could
‘The outlaw Black Jack Ketchum met a similar ‘going! What are we stalling afound for?” . hang a dozen men while you're fooling around!”
fate on the gallows in Clayton, New Mexico, on “Anything you want to say?” the executioner The hangman finally kicked the trap open and
April 25, 1901. His crime was train robbery. His asked. ; a | ‘ Pranzman dropped to his death. /
.2»..utlook was identical to Martin’s, but hisdemeanor *, 77 . - i
and verbal farewells were much more colorful.
‘The witnesses to Ketchum’s end were hardened
i -Westerners and yet they were shocked when he. __
y-s=-t00k the stairs two-at-a-time, eagerly racing up- ~~
- ward to the scaffold. As the sheriff placed the
'’. noose around his neck, Ketchum shouted to all pre-
Sent ie il be in hell before you start breakfast,
2. He. then: glanced sideways at the sheriff and -
i Saintes
&
Ao ture. agai
4 _fore him and, a moment before the lethal -current ~~
|) coursed through his body, said: “Well, gentlemen,”
Helin 1981. Sa ayis ay cake a ‘Na
~-! = Crowley’s partner-in-crime, the hulking Rudolph
. .. Lawes nodded: “Name it.” An
| gust, 1959. “I knew this was the way it would be.” 3.
> will ever. get from me for your efforts on my
rg had my hands on'it'.. . I believe the only wax
suvt Gown and his head was torn from the trunk.
Others possessed Ketchum’s air of braggadocio—
murderer and jewel thief Gerald Chapman in par-
ticular. He was executed on a Connecticut scaffold _ }
~_ In’1926 for killing a ‘policeman: His final words — , IY
~~ were?-“Death itself isn’t dreadful, but hanging” i.
seems an awkward. way of entering the adven- [&
,
_,. Another cop-killer, George Appel delivered what °
Can certainly be considered the worst pun in the :
history of executions. Calmly sitting down in Sing _ }
Sing’s electric chair, the killer smiled at the news- f
men and officials. gathered in the witness pews be-
~-NOw you're really going to see a baked Appel!” gc
.., Sing Sing was the site of many a celebrated exe-.
cution during the 1920’s and 1930’s. The most spec- «
tacular was that of the 20-year-old mass killer, .
Francis “Two-Gun” Crowley, who was electrocuted :
“Fats”, Duringer, had informed on “Two-Gun” but
went to the chair anyway, only a few. minutes be-
fore his leader. When Crowley sauntered into the
death chamber, he Squinted at the chair that had
Moments before done in his associate, and then
_ turned to Warden Lewis Lawes and said: “I got a
favor. to ask you.” 4.2 Hae P18 apa
-. “Twant arag.” wey
- . A rag? What for?” ee ate" See oe
<“T want to wipe off the chair after that rat sat in
~ Lawes ignored the request as Crowley plopped _
_indifferently into the chair. He was given a cigar f
and puffed heartily, He suddenly. hissed out his §
“hatred at the reporters Seated in front of him and
flipped the burning cigar. into their ranks. The
_ burning stogie hit one reporter in the forehead, but
he was too startled to protest. A second later, '
Crowley. smiled at the warden and said: “Give my
love to mother.” Another second and he was dead.
. Rapist and murderer. Harvey Murray Glatman, phe
like Gilmore, demanded that his lawyers Sstopa hem
trying to save his life as he awaited the gas cham:
- ber in San Quentin. “It’s better this way,” Glatmar
.. Said as he stepped inside the gas chamber in ‘|
No convicted murderer, however, including Giy
more, ever matched the self-destructive deter
nation of Carl Panzram, burglar, robber and se
| proclaimed murderer of at least, twenty-one Pe
ple. He was condemned in 1930 for killing a civ
ian foreman in Leavenworth and suddenly fou®
himself a cause celebre. The Society for the Ab
ishment of Capital Punishment, fought to save le
life with petition and pleas. The murderer wrote
the society: “I do not believe that being hanged’
the neck until dead is a barbaric or inhuman pi
ishment. I look forward to that as real pleasv ’
and a big relief to me... when my last he
comes I will dance out of my dungeon and on
_the scaffold with a smile on my face and happin _
in my heart... . the dnly thanks you or your k _
half is that I wish you all had one neck and thi .
- reform people is to kill °em!”
Panzram lived up to his words. On the day of
execution, September 5, 1930, he pushed specta’
CY) OPERA ED a
es
' Panzram, Carl
q
system, and he practised sodomy on his victims
whom he variously assaulted, robbed and killed.
In 1920, Panzram carried out robberies which
netted him over $45 000, and by his own admission
killed 10 men in the process. He kept on the move,
sailing to Europe and working in Africa.
In August 1928 while in Washington awaiting
trial for burglary and murder he wrote his
memoirs. On receiving a sentence of 25 years
to be served at Fort Leavenworth he said, ‘I'll kill
the first man who bothers me.’ On 20 June 1929,
Panzram killed the prison laundry foreman.
For this murder he was tried and convicted. He
objected when a reform group sought to prevent
his hanging; he said (perhaps unconsciously
quoting!) ‘I wish you all had one neck, and I had
my hands onit.. . . I believe the only way toreform
people is to kill them.’ He wrote to President
Hoover demanding his ‘constitutional rights’ in
the form of a prompt hanging. This self-confessed
killer of 21 persons and sodomizer (on his own
admission) of a thousand more was hanged on 5
September 1930 at Fort Leavenworth. His
autobiography was published 40 years later, edited
by one of his gaolers.
(320, 693]
PARKER and HULME. Pauline Parker, aged
16, and her friend Juliet Hulme, aged 15, stood
accused of murder in a sensational New Zealand
trial in 1954.
The 2 girls developed a close relationship
with lesbian overtones and aspects of fantasy
which Mrs Honora Mary Parker was at pains to
break up. Early in 1954 Juliet Hulme’s father
decided to take his daughter to South Africa. Juliet
was determined not to be separated from Pauline,
who made plans to go there too.
The girls knew that Mrs Parker would oppose
their plan, so they killed her. Pauline’s diary
referred to their intentions: ‘We decided to use a
brick in a stocking rather than a sandbag.’ On 22
June the girls reported finding Mrs Parker’s badly
battered body. Their claim that Pauline’s mother
had slipped and fallen was difficult to square with
the 45 separate injuries to the dead woman’s head
which the girls said were caused by her head
bumping on the ground as they carried the body.
Pauline readily admitted killing her mother with
a half-brick inside a stocking. Hulme said they
intended to frighten Mrs Parker into consenting to
Pauline travelling to South Africa. The pair were
tried for murder at Christchurch. It was clearly
shown that the teenage girls were precocious, self-
Patrick, Albert T.
centred and had engaged in various sexual
practices—the prosecution referred to them as
‘dirty minded little girls’. The defence pleaded
paranoia and insanity. The jury found them guilty,
and as they were under 18, they were sentenced to
be detained during Her Majesty’s Pleasure. They
have since been released.
[307, 372, 393, 792, 1000]
PATRICK, Albert T. American attorney tried
for murder of a millionaire business-man in a
sensational case.
The 84-year-old William Marsh Rice had made
a fortune in Texas oil, hotels, property and land.
He had married twice, but had nochildren. In 1896
he took on 23-year-old Charles F. Jones as a
general factotum, who became his secretary and
confidant, by 1900 having full charge of the old
man’s banking arrangements.
Albert Patrick, a Texan lawyer, handled a legal
action regarding Mrs Rice’s will, in which under
Texas law she laid claim to half her husband’s
estate for her relatives. When she died Rice
disputed this, as he wished to leave all his funds to
establish “The Rice Institute’, a non-profit-
making organization to further art and science.
Patrick was engaged to represent the late Mrs
Rice’s interests.
On 24 September 1900 a cheque was presented
for $25,000 at Rice’s bank. The cheque was in
Jones’s writing, and payable to ‘Abert T. Patrick’,
being endorsed ‘Albert T Patrick’ onthe back. The
signature appeared to be that of William Rice, but
the clerk refused it because of the faulty
endorsement. The man left and returned with a
correct endorsement. The bank telephoned Jones,
who said that the signature was that of Rice. Still
not satisfied, a bank official later telephoned,
insisting on speaking to Mr Rice, only to be told
that the millionaire was dead.
Patrick told bank officials that he had another of
Rice’s cheques for $65 000, and also an assignment
for all his bonds and securities. A post-mortem on
Rice revealed traces of mercury in his organs, and
congestion of the lungs due to ‘some gas or vapour’.
On4 October Patrick and Jones were arrestedon
charges of forgery. Jones made a confession in
which he accused Patrick of administering
chloroform to Rice, and said he had later
committed the murder following Patrick’s
instructions.
Patrick was tried for murder in January 1902.
Bank officials and document experts declared that
Rice’s signature on various of the papers and
Pe
|
A LL ARTE: OS
«/20UITOIA JO DUI 94} YUIIp pue ssoupeHorm jo peosq oy} 3e2 Aang}
Joy ‘Aeme ssed pue 31 wo um 41 Aq you ssed 491 proAe ‘usu pad
Palmer, William
In 1855, hard-pressed as always for money and
in the hands of moneylenders, Palmer attended
Shrewsbury Races in the company of John Parsons
Cook who won his bets while Palmer lost. To
celebrate his winning, Cook arranged a supper
party at which he became ill. The racegoers
returned to Rugeley, where Cook stayed at the
Talbot Arms Hotel opposite Palmer’s house.
Palmer kindly volunteered to collect Cook’s
winnings for him, and promptly used them to pay
off his own debts. Meanwhile Cook deteriorated
and, following Palmer’s ministrations, died on 21
November.
The dead man’s stepfather was suspicious, and
an autopsy showed small traces of antimony. The
inquest returned a verdict of wilful murder against
Palmer even before he was arrested. A great wave
of hostility arose against him, and the ‘Palmer Act’
was passed by Parliament making it possible foran
accused person to be tried in London if he was
Palmer: Words on Cook’s gravestone
,eUIS JO SpIOO 9} QIIM wapfoy eq [eqs
aq pue ‘JJasuny peyorm 943 axe) [legs sa1yimbyUy UMO SIH,
SACRED TO THE MEMORY
John Parsons Cook,
LATE OF CALTHORPE LODGE,
IN THE COUNTY OF LEICESTER,
Wibose Life was taken away
at Rugeley,
On the Night of the 22nd Nov., 1866,
IN
THE 29th YEAR OF HIS AGE.
ai ee
AMIABLE AND AFFECTIONATE IN
HIS DISPOSITION, KIND AND GENEROUS
IN HIS CONDUCT.
lest
He was sincerely beloved,
and will long be lamented by his
kindred and friends.
jo Aem 94} 02UT 3OU O2 pue ‘poxorm on} JO Yzed on} OZUT 30U I9}Uq,,
thou give thine honour unto others and thy life unto the cruel ; lest thou
mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy substance are consumed.”
“ Keep thy heart with all diligence; ponder the path of thy feet;
“‘Whoso hearkeneth unto Me shall dwell safely, and shall
be quiet from fear of evil.”
Panzram, Carl
unlikely to get a fair trial in his own county.
Palmer was tried at the Old Bailey in May 1856,
and despite an 8-hour plea by his counsel, was
found guilty of murder and sentenced to death.
He was hanged outside Stafford Gaolon 14 June
1856. He made no confession, and the large crowd
which witnessed his execution hissed ‘Poisoner!’
at him as he mounted the scaffold.
(1, 21, 48,-87, 110, 111, 120, 134, 141, 152, 231,
244, 259, 286, 332, 358, 500, 606, 724, 795, 872,
880, 907)
PAMELA COVENTRY CASE. The body of
11-year-old Pamela Coventry was found in fields
near Hornchurch, Essex, on 19 January 1939. She
had been strangled and sexually assaulted.
Most of the girl’s clothing was missing. Herlegs
had been trussed up with electric cable, and a
cigarette end, presumed to have been dropped by
the murderer, was found lying on the body.
Extensive police searches in the district turned
up various items of the missing clothing. It was
thought that the wanted man was still living
locally. Pact of the house-to-house questioning
was based on information gleaned from the
cigarette end, which was hand-rolled from used
tobacco. This line of inquiry quickly produced a
suspect, 28-year-old Leonard Richardson.
Richardson was co-operative. Police learned
that he had been home from work on the day of the
murder. He rolled his own cigarettes, often from
used tobacco, andelectriccable of the unusual type
used to tie up the dead girl was found in his home.
Richardson was tried for murder at the Old
Bailey in March 1939. On the fifth day the jury
informed the judge that they would be unable to
convict him, and a formal verdict of ‘Not guilty’
was given. The case remains unsolved.
[157, 914, 920]
PANZRAM, Carl. Cynical murderer and
incorrigible hard-case. Thirty-year-old Panzram
declared, ‘I don’t believe in Man, God nor Devil.
hate the whole damned human race including
myself.’
Much of his early life was spent in corrective
institutions where he was brutalized by punish-
ments. Of his term in Fort Leavenworth Prison,
completed in 1910, he said, ‘All the good that may
have been in me had been kicked and beaten out of
me long before.’
His adult life consisted of robberies interspersed
with terms of imprisonment and gaol breaks. He
also indulged in arson to get his revenge on the
Panzram
system, ar
whom he \
In 1920
netted him
killed 10 n
sailing to |
In Augi
trial for
memortrs.
to be serve
the first m
Panzram k
For this
objected v
his hangi
quoting!) |
my hands «
people is
Hoover de
the form o:
killer of 2
admission
September
autobiogra
.by one of 5
(320, 693]
PARKER
16, and he
accused of
trial in 195.
The 2 ;
with lesbic
which Mrs
break up.
decided tot
was determ
who made |
The girls
their plan,
referred to
brick in a si
June the gir
battered bo
had slipped
the 45 separ
which the
bumping or
Pauline r
a half-brick
intended to
Pauline trav
tried for mi
shown thatt
: Es fees
eee MERA a aed
SUCRE ari ape SP conned Setar weintion,
sneha De
ee ee
CRIME
OF THE 20TH CENTUR
A CHRONOLOGY —
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS:
BILL G. COX
BILL FRANCIS
WILLIAM J. HELMER
GARY C. KING
JULIE MALEAR
DAVID NEMEC
SAMUEL ROEN
BILLIE FRANCIS TAYLOR
Crescent Books
an
SEPTEMBER 1930
BLACK-HEARTED CARL PANZRAM HATED ALL
- MANKIND, AND HIS LONG LIST OF EVIL DEEDS
PROVED IT
Criminologists often speculate on what drives a man to commit crimi-
nal acts. There are as many different reasons as there are different
degrees of criminality. There has never been a more likely candidate
to represent the nth degree than Corl Panzram. He may not be the
most famous criminal who ever lived, but never has there been any-
one who acted with such fury and criminal intent as he did. Before he
died, he left behind a remarkable listing of his crimes and misdeeds, —
The napoleonic boasting of Panzram’s account may seem unbeliev-
able, but enough of it has been proven true to lend credence to the
rest.
In my lifetime | have murdered 21 human be-
ings, | have committed thousands of burglaries,
robberies, larcenies, arsons and last but not
least I have committed sodomy on more than
1000 male human beings. For all these things |
am not in the least bit sorry... .
Carl Panzram was born in 1891 in Warren, Minnesota. His par-
ents were Prussian immigrants. Amazingly, at the tender age of
eight, he was arrested for being drunk and disorderly. At 11, he went
ona robbery spree that landed him in reform school at age 12. Not
what one could describe as a meek lad, young Panzram later burned
down the reform school, causing over $100,000 in damages. He en-
joyed that fiery act so much that he burned down a warehouse in St.
Paul, Minnesota, just for a thrill in July 1905. Following another year-
long stretch in reform school, he was discharged and began his adult
life of crime. From that point, Panzram’s whole existence became a
wild excess of sins, |
CRIMES OF THE 20TH CENTURY
EMBODIMENT
OF EVIL ~
FROM THAT POINT,
PANZRAM’S WHOLE
EXISTENCE BECAME A
WILD EXCESS OF SINS.
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52 The Master
ward to death. There were arguments on both sides.
Then one day Panzran was brought into the Federal
Court Building at Topeka to go on trial for murder in the
first degree before Judge Hopkins.
“Have you an attorney?” the Judge asked the prisoner.
“No,” replied Panzran, “and I don’t want one.”
There was a buzz in the courtroom. Was Panzran still
posing?
Judge Hopkins told Panzran that since every accused
person had a constitutional right to be represented by coun-
sel, the court would appoint a lawyer to defend him.
At this news Panzran took the opportunity to curse the
Judge fluently.
Judge Hopkins then appointed Ralph T. O’Neil, Topeka
attorney, a past National Commander of the American
Legion, to defend the slayer.
Panzran refused to consult with O’Neil or to help him in
any way. O’Neil, nevertheless, attempted as much of a de-
fense ‘as was possible under the queer circumstances.
When called upon to state whether he was guilty or not
guilty, Panzran replied:
“I plead not guilty. Now you go ahead and prove me
guilty, understand.” He glanced in the direction of O'Neil.
“You can have him here,” he said, “but I don’t want him.”
And, during the remainder of the day Panzran refused
to reply to his attorney’s questions, He refused, likewise,
to make good his offer to tell of his past life.
“You and the Judge,” Panzran said to O’Neil, “wouldn't
let me be my own lawyer, so go ahead.”
ONEIL tried his best to get Panzran on the stand. Dan
Cowie, youthful Government attorney, had examined
prosecution witnesses, including several prisoners, guards and
penitentiary officials. All declared Panzran had slain Warnke
by striking him over the head with an iron bar. They said
the fatal attack had been entirely unprovoked.
O'Neil, realizing that this sort of thing was scoring heav-
ily against his reticent client, cross-examined the prosecu-
tion’s witnesses in spite of Panzran’s refusal to recognize
him as his attorney.
Then, hoping he might save his unwilling client from the
noose, O’Neil requested Panzran to take the stand.
“Hell, no,” the prisoner replied. “This is your show. Go
ahead and run it to suit yourself.”
The defense rested its case without further argument.
The jury, composed of Kansas farmers, retired to decide
upon one of three possible verdicts: acquittal, guilty with a
recommendation that capital punishment be not imposed
and guilty without that recommendation which would leave
the Judge no course other than to impose the sentence of
death.
Forty-five minutes later, the jury returned to the court-
room with the verdict. It was sealed. Court adjourned and
the verdict would be opened on the following morning.
The next morning, the verdict was opened and read. It
was guilty without a recommendation of mercy.
“Carl Panzran,” Judge Hopkins ordered, “stand up.”
The murderer obeyed.
“Have you anything to say before sentence is pro-
nounced upon you?” the court asked.
“Hell, no,” said Panzran and grinned happily.
“Then I sentence you to be remanded to the care of the
warden at the Federal Penitentiary at Leavenworth, there
to be confined until the fifth day of September nineteen-
thirty, when between the hours of six to nine o’clock in the
morning you shall be taken to some suitable place within
the confines of the penitentiary and hanged by the neck
until dead.”
As the Judge’s solemn last words filled the courtroom, the
prisoner’s already broad grin expanded noticeably. He took
a deep breath. He seemed vastly relieved—and pleased.
“I certainly want to thank you, Judge,” he said. He
looked serious for a moment, then grinned again. “Just let
me get my fingers around your neck for sixty seconds and
Detective
you'll never sit on another bench as judge,” he assured the
court.
Judge Hopkins granted ninety days time in which a move
for a new trial could be filed. The condemned man ob-
jected.
“I don’t want a new trial,” he complained; “let this sen-
tence stand.”
There was almost a pleading note in his voice as he made
this statement before being led away.
After his trial in which he had been sentenced to hang;
Panzran’s attitude changed almost at once.
The reader may be inclined to believe, from this state-
ment, that Panzran had been bluffing; that he did not want
to die and that now, sentenced to hang, he threw sham to
the winds and disclosed feelings of resentment, self pity and
even terror.
Such was not the case. Panzran became almost sociable;
almost jovial. He chatted pleasantly with his guards and
answered most questions civilly—a thing he had declined to
do previously. He informed his captors that he had never
been so happy in his life as the moment when he was
sentenced to be hanged. He seemed a perfectly contented
man during all the weeks that elapsed between that time
and the day of his execution.
Panzran’s attitude following the sentence of death com-
pletely blasted all charges that he was shamming; proved
conclusively that he actually did desire death.
As has been noted, sentiment is strong in Kansas against
legal hangings. It was but natural then that a group in-
terested in the odd prisoner’s case should visit him with
an appeal for clemency and ask him to sign it.
Panzran cursed them roundly; told them to go away and
take their appeal with them.
“Do you wish to take away from me the chance to be
hanged?” he asked. “Do you want to rob me of the only
pleasure I ever had?”
The committee left and Panzran wrote to Judge Hopkins
pleading that no change be made in his sentence. Then,
feeling much better, he walked up and down in his cell and
told guards of his plans for the morning of the execution.
He had, he confided, one burning desire.
“I’m going to spit right in the executioner’s face,” he told
his guards.
Then he sighed. It was a sigh of blissful anticipation.
“1 can hardly wait,” he concluded.
AS the day of his execution approached, the happiness of
the killer seemed to grow. He actually appeared to be
enjoying himself immensely, Panzran, the man of mystery,
repeated to what few persons he spoke to that he never had
known joy in his life until after he had been sentenced to
die. His reason for pleasure in that anticipation is unknown.
Perhaps he wished to depart from this world, yet did not
wish to take his own life.
It was during this period that Panzran put into writing
his boast that he had murdered twenty-eight persons. He
wrote a letter to a prosecutor at Salem explaining that
he had killed George Henry McMahon in Salem and
reiterated the hope which he knew to be futile that he
might have the opportunity to murder “another twenty-
eight.”
It was about this time, too, that he wrote another letter
‘to Judge Hopkins. In it he thanked the Judge for the
“justice” he was getting, referring to his approaching hang-
ing as “justice.”
“Just before his execution, the condemned man asked
the authorities not to assign a priest or minister to him. He
said he had no interest in religion. At the same time he
promised to assist as much as he could in his own execution
and promised his utmost cooperation.
Panzran, styled one of the most hardened criminals ever
known in America, received a defense shortly before his
execution, from Doctor Karl F. Menninger, nationally
known psychiatrist, (Continued on page 79)
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February, 1933
The Master Detective
The Strange Story of the World’s- Worst
Murderer
(Continued from page 52)
Different treatment for him as a
child, or at least at the beginning of
his criminal career, would have pre-
vented the later crimes, Menninger
believes.
“Panzran was right when he said that
he had been abused all his life,” Men-
ninger, author of The Human Mind,
said. “I believe the criminal is as much
the product of society as of the indi-
vidual.”
The author continued with the asser-
tion that industrial schools and reform-
atories are filled with boys who will
continue in criminal paths, despite all
the talk about the great work being
done in these institutions.
STTHEY won't go as far as Panzran,”
Menninger continued, ‘because they
are not so intelligent as he is. Panz-
ran is—or was—a remarkably intelli-
gent man. But those in charge of him
didn’t use intelligence in handling him
early in the game. Had they done so,
much—probably all—of his later crimes
would have been avoided.
Menninger and others interested in
the queer turn of Panzran’s mind were
in communication with him between the
time of his sentence and his execution.
During this period the prisoner was ac-
commodating and was willing to do all
in his power to assist the investigators,
who were trying to explain his men-
tality. But he would not tell of his
early life.
Despite his offers to help his execu-
tioners, Panzran had well-defined ideas
of what he wishes to do on the way to
the hanging. He wanted to express his
hatred for all mankind, and he wishes
to spit in the executioner’s face.
As the guards arrived to escort him
to the gallows, he became surly again.
Shouting defiance and hatred at a world
that had been none too kind to him,
Panzran began his last walk shortly
before sunrise on the morning of Sep-
tember 5th, 1930.
Unrelenting in the hatred that had
become part of his life, the convicted
murderer walked to the gallows with
clenched teeth, defiantly facing the
crowd of officials, newspaper men and
guards gathered in the enclosure. But
he kept his promise to cooperate by
offering no physical resistance.
Escorted by two deputy United
States marshals he walked with head
erect and body taut. He looked straight
before him except for two side glances
at the crowd. Then it seemed he had
to give vent to that burning hatred by
spitting twice at the crowd, as if to
say, “That, for you!”
Mounting the thirteen steps to the
gallows—it was on a Friday morning
—Panzran stood rigid while the eye
bandage was about to be adjusted
and the black hood placed over his
head.
But before this could be done, and
while he stood on the gallows, he turned
and attempted to spit on the man whose
touch was to send him to eternity.
In this he was partly successful for he
succeeded in striking the clothing of
the victim of his spite. Then he stood
still. There was no hesitation after the
hood was placed on him. The guards
stepped away quickly. Panzran made
no move.
At exactly 6:02 A. M., hardly a min-
ute after he had mounted the scaffold
steps, the trap was sprung. Panzran
fell and his body jerked. His neck was
broken.
He had lived a mystery man. He
died at the end of a rope as he desired,
and took his secrets with him to a
grave within the prison cemetery.
Leavenworth Federal Prison where the world’s worst murderer committed his most
daring crime and where he later paid the supreme penalty
79
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A large towel was soaked in salt water
and spread on their backs. The whip-
ping took place with a strap that had
little holes, so that every time the
whip came down on the boy’s bare but-
tock, skin would ooze through the
holes. After 25 or so lashes, blisters
formed, then burst, mixing with the salt.
The victim couldn’t sit down for sev-
eral weeks.
The boys in Cottage No. 2 were
used to seeing Carl dragged away for
“spankings.” Among his minor of-
fenses: failure to fold napkins proper-
ly, using impudent language, breaking
dishes, whistling and attempted escape.
After he had been tortured with the
“hummingbird,” which involved plac-
ing an inmate in a galvanized bathtub
filled with water, chaining him hand
and foot and rubbing him down with
a sponge electrified with a battery, Carl
decided to strike back.
First he urinated or masturbated in
the soup when he was assigned to serv-
ing the officer’s dining room. Anoth-
er time he put rat poison in the rice
pudding. Caught, he was beaten se-
verely. He retaliated by burning down
the paint shop, causing $100,000 dam-
age. After two years, he got wise to
the system. He fed the parole board a
lot of hogwash about how he found
religion. It worked. He was sent home.
According to Panzram, when he left
the correctional facility, he had already
decided to rob, burn, destroy, and kill
everybody he could as long as he lived.
“That’s the way I was reformed in the
Minnesota State Training School,” he
wrote.
On March 29,1906, at age 14, Carl
Panzram left his mother’s farm and
hopped a freight headed West. He was
young, destitute, ignorant and friend-
less when he was raped and sodom-
ized by four hobos in a box car. From
this day, he looked with suspicion and
hatred on his fellow man. He decided
to impose his will on others.
After hoboing around the country for
several months, Carl was caught bur-
glarizing a store in Butte, Montana.
He was sentenced to the Montana State
Reform School at Miles City, Mon-
tana for one year. By now he was a
pretty big boy, mulish, contrary, con-
temptible and dangerous. He escaped
with a boy named Jimmy Benson.
While hoboing their way east, they
engaged extensively in robbing and
burning, terrorizing women and chil-
dren along the way. Benson taught
44
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Leavenworth
September 5, 1930
CARL PANZRAM
AN AMERICAN
MONSTER
by BILL KELLY
here was a time when
; hardened’ offenders
were placed naked in
solitary confinement, flog-
ged, and treated with con-
tempt and brutality. Prison-
ers were also shackled
naked to a wall and a high-
pressure hose turned on
them at full blast. The un-
bearable pain consisted of
whippings, the straightjack-
et, the iron yoke, the thumb-
screw, the sweat box and the
stretcher. But such treatment
often intensified a prisoner’s
hatred toward society.
Brutal treatment in various correc-
tional facilities turned Carl Panzram,
self-confessed killer of 21 human be-
ings and sodomizer of 1,000, into one
of the most vicious, cold-blooded, mass
killers America has ever known.
He was as
“IT don’t believe in man, God nor
devil,” he wrote in his ledger. “I hate
the whole damn human race includ-
ing myself.” In 1928, when he was sen-
tenced to Leavenworth for house-
breaking and murder, he warned, “I’ll
kill the first bastard who bothers me.”
Born into a destitute family of six
boys and a girl on June 28, 1891, his
parents were German-born, hardwork-
ing, farmers who worked a bed of hard-
scrabble land in Minnesota. At age
six, young Carl was already a house-
breaker and a thief. At age eight he was
arrested for drunkenness. The older
he got, the more despicable he became.
When he’ was nine years old, his fa-
ther deserted his family. The remain-
ing Panzram clan worked from day-
light until dark in the fields. As fast
as the older boys grew up, they left.
According to Carl: “Everybody
much of a
monster behind bars as he
was in the free world. No
con wanted to share a
cell, even the same air
space with h
im. And they
had good reason to steer
clear of Carl.
thought it was all right to deceive me,
lie to me and kick me around. That is
the way my life was lived until I was
11 years old.”
So he decided to run away, but be-
fore he did, 11-year-old Carl Panzram
broke into a neighbor’s home, stole
everything of value, including a pis-
tol, and hopped a freight going West:
“T intended to be a cowboy and shoot
Indians.”
Caught, he was returned home. The
hearing in Judge E.J. Sullivan’s court-
room resulted in young Carl’s com-
mitment to the Minnesota State Train-
ing School at Red Wing, Minnesota.
Entrance records in 1903 list him as:
age 12, 47-inches tall, 95-pounds, a
mastoid operation scar behind left
ear. Father living; address, unknown;
character, poor; religion, blank. Moth-
er, gardener; character, good; educa-
tion, poor. Conjugal relation of parents,
quarrelsome; previous environment,
bad; character of associates, bad; habits,
bad; education, fifth grade; moral
susceptibility, blank.
Some 250 boys ranging in ages
from 7 to 21 were housed at the facility
on the Mississippi outskirts of Red
Wing. “The first year I was there I
got a beating every Saturday night
and three or four more during the week
for doing something I wasn’t suppose
to do,” Panzram recalled.
Various methods of punishment in-
cluded the “paint shop,” where boys
were stripped naked, bent over a big
wooden block and tied face downward.
43
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DELILAH. A
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AN
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a
While incarcerated, Panzram wrote
to a New Jersey farmer, demanding $10
in back wages. His old friend, Henry
Lesser, smuggled his letter out and
the answer back. The farmer sent him
$2. Panzram returned the money with
a note suggesting that the farmer buy
some potassium cyanide, and drink half
of it and send the rest to him.
On June 20, 1929, Panzram went
berserk in the prison laundry room,
attacking Foreman Warnke with an iron
bar and sending several inmates scram-
bling for their lives. His hands and face
smeared with blood, he emerged from
the laundry room, walked across the
yard, back to the isolation building, en-
tered his cell, and calmly sat down.
When Dr. C.A. Bennett examined the
remains, he said that any of the three
blows that opened Warnke’s skull were
sufficient to cause death.
As federal authorities, pressured by
capital punishment groups, proceeded
with a murder case against Panzram for
killing the prison guard, Dr. C.B. Van
Horn, a psychiatrist, attempted to
visit the killer in his isolation cell.
The rebellious prisoner attacked him.
The doctor opted for photostats of
Panzram’s prison record, as well as
his last will and testament, deposited
with Warden White. He noticed with
astonishment that Panzram had be-
queathed his body to the dog pound
of East Grand Forks, Minnesota.
As the trial neared, authorities be-
came concerned that word was being
leaked to the press that Panzram was
eagerly awaiting his hanging. They
worried he could be playing for insanity
by appearing to wish for his self-de-
struction. A shrewd attorney might save
him. After all, Kansas had not al-
lowed a hanging since 1872.
On December 5, Carl Panzram was
indicted for the murder of prison
guard R.G. Warnke in Kansas City,
Kansas. He and his only friend, Henry
Lesser, now stationed at the Washing-
ton, D.C., jail, corresponded regular-
ly. In one of his letters Panzram gave
Lesser full rights to his autobiogra-
phy. In another, he scribbled: I expect
to be found guilty of murder in the first-
degree and then sentenced to be hanged
by the neck until I am as dead as a dodo
or the man I killed here last June.
And you can take it from me, neither
will ever be any deader than they are
right now.”
A crowded calendar delayed the
trial until April, 1930. During this
time Panzram decided he would have
to appear sane and responsible if he
were to increase his chances of a clear
verdict and a death sentence. He al-
lowed visits from the distinguished
criminologist, Austin H. MacCormick,
who was impressed with Panzram’s
ideas about prison improvements, - as
well as his preoccupation with death.
man of Alcatraz.” Stroud, who had
come within eight days of execution
in 1920, when President Woodrow Wil-
son commuted his sentence, visited him
up until the time of the trial. The panel
consisted of 12 Kansas farmers, and
Judge Hopkins appointed Ralph O'Neil
to defend the accused man. “I don’t
want a lawyer!” Panzram screamed.
His social life nonexistent, Panzram “I intend to act as my own lawyer! I
befriended Robert Stroud, “The Bird- won’t cooperate with any attorney!”
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crawling around with a broken back.
He was not allowed mail or visits
from friends.
According to Panzram, when he
was paroled five years later, his de-
sire to rob, rape, and kill everybody
he could, had increased. Shortly after
his release from prison, Panzram com-
mitted a rash of burglaries in Baltimore,
Maryland, and murdered a boy after
sodomizing him. He was arrested and
returned to Washington, D.C., on Au-
gust 16,1928. He was now 37.
Following his booking, quarantine
and quartering in a one-man cell in
the segregation unit of the Washington,
D.C., jail, Panzram curiously bragged
about the murders of three young boys.
He told this to a prison guard named
Henry Lesser who took an interest in
him and slipped him cigarettes and
mail. He said he enjoyed killing peo-
ple and told Lesser, “I’m going to see
that you get the story of my life. Just
keep me fixed with pencil and paper.”
And so Lesser smuggled writing
materials to Panzram. After reading
Panzram’s incredible story, Lesser
was determined to save the killer’s writ-
ings. One of the most remarkable crime
documents in history was epitomized
in the Washington Post and later pub-
lished in book form.
“I’m not writing this because I ex-
pect some benefit by doing it. I am
not trying to do myself or anyone else
either harm or good. My only motive
in writing this is to express myself
and my beliefs,” he wrote.
The old oaken Washington District
Court was crowded with spectators
anxious for a glimpse of the monster
who allegedly had bragged about
sodomizing and killing an uncounted
number of men and boys, although he
was not on trial for that. A gasp fell
over the spectators when Panzram en-
tered the courtroom in shackles. Peo-
ple cowered, or held hands when his
chains were unfastened for the trial. He
smirked and flaunted his front gold-
tooth and black handlebar moustache
as he surveyed the audience.
Judge Walter McCoy asked the de-
fendant, “Do you have a lawyer?”
“Pll be my own lawyer!” Panzram
scowled. Prosecutor Bill Collins called
witness after witness without cross-ex-
amination. The only witness Panzram
called was himself.
Facing the jury, he said: “You peo-
ple got me here charged with house-
breaking and larceny. I broke in and I
50
stole. What I didn’t steal I smashed.
If the owner had come,in I would
have knocked his brains out. There’s
something else you ought to know.
While you were trying me here, I was
trying you, too. I’ve found you guilty.
Some of you, I’ve executed. If I live,
I'll execute more of you. I hate the
whole human race.
“You think I’m playing crazy, don’t
you? I’m not. I know right from wrong.
No delusions. I don’t hear anything you
don’t hear. My conscience doesn’t both-
er me. I have no conscience. I believe
the whole human race should be ex-
terminated. I'll do my best to do it every
chance I get. Now I’ve done my duty.
You do yours!”
The jury obliged by finding Panzram
guilty in 58 seconds. The judge im-
mediately sentenced Panzram to 25
years in Leavenworth. It was a long
trip to Leavenworth by train. On Jan-
uary 30,1929, Panzram was shackled
to a petty thief who was terrified to find
himself handcuffed to the infamous
killer. “Just don’t bother me,” Panzram
warned him.
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While incarcerat:
to a New Jersey fi
in back wages. I
Lesser, smugglea
the answer back. |
$2. Panzram return
a note suggesting
some potassium c\
of it and send the |
On June 20, 19.
berserk in the pris
attacking Foreman \
bar and sending se\
bling for their lives
smeared with blooc
the laundry room.
yard, back to the is:
tered his cell, and
When Dr. C.A. Be
remains, he said th
blows that opened \
sufficient to cause
As federal autho
capital punishment
with a murder case
killing the prison ¢g
Horn, a psychiat
visit the killer in
The rebellious pris
The doctor opted
Panzram’s prison
his last will and te
with Warden Whit
astonishment that
queathed his bod,
of East Grand For!
As the trial ni
came concerned
leaked to the press
eagerly awaiting
worried he could be
by appearing to w
struction. A shrewd
him. After all, K
lowed a hanging s
On December 5.
indicted for the
guard R.G. Warnh
Kansas. He and his
Lesser, now statior
ton, D.C., jail, cor
ly. In one of his le
Lesser full rights
phy. In another, he
to be found guilty «
degree and then se!
by the neck until I a
or the man [ kill
And you can take
will ever be any d
right now.”
A crowded cal«
trial until April.
The only witness called by the de-
fense was Panzram, himself, who bel-
lowed from the witness stand: “You and
the judge wouldn’t let me be my lawyer,
SO go ahead. I have nothing to say.”
After 45-minutes of deliberations the
jury returned with a sealed verdict.
Judge Hopkins delayed reading of the
verdict until the next day. Panzram was
manacled and returned to his cell at the
Shawnee County Jail.
The following quotes from Panzram
were printed in the press:
“There isn’t a man in this room I
wouldn’t kill. I’m mad, plenty mad
right now. I don’t believe there is any
good in any man. I’d like to have the
Opportunity to go away, gain power and
brains and then I’d like to kill off the
rest of the world.”
The following morning Panzram
had nothing to say about the guilty ver-
dict pronounced by Judge Hopkins.
“You are to be remanded to the care
of the warden at the federal peniten-
tiary at Leavenworth, there to be con-
fined until the fifth day of September,
when, between the hours of six and
nine o’clock in the morning, you shall
be taken to some suitable place with-
in the confines of the penitentiary and
hanged by the neck until dead.”
No man had been sentenced to be
hanged in the state since capital pun-
ishment had been abolished in the
18th century. Before the defense at-
torney could announce his right to ap-
peal, Panzram interjected: “Hold it! I
don’t want any attorney to file for a
new trial or appeal anything. I am
satisfied with the verdict.”
At 6 a.m. on September 5,1930, War-
den White appeared at Panzram’s cell
door with two clergymen toting Bibles.
“These gentlemen came a long way
to comfort you,” White said.
“Get’em out!” Panzram snapped. “I
don’t mind being hanged, but I don’t
need any Biblebacked hypocrites around
me! Run’em out, warden, or you’re
going to have one hell of a time get-
ting me out of this cell. Every man I
get a hand on is going to the hospital!”
After the clergymen were escorted out,
Panzram smiled impersonally. “Okay,
warden, let’s tend to business.”
He hurried up the thirteen steps of
the gallows, the warden and the hang-
man taking long strides to keep up with
him. “Anything you want to say?”
asked the hangman somberly.’ “Yes,”
Panzram answered. “Hurry it up, you
bastard! I could hang a dozen men
52
’
while you’re fooling around!”
Dr. Justin K. Fuller pronounced
Carl Panzram dead at 6:18 a.m.
When Spud Murphy, the old Ore-
gon prison warden, then an engineer
for the Portland school system, was
informed of Panzram’s hanging, he
remarked, “Panzram? Wasn’t he the one
who carried the flag in front of the
prison band?” *
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Mary Rob
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shoulder |
in her filn
kissed he:
grabbed u
was Off to
the bride ;
hold e
the d ¢
The Case °
was on the f:
88-unit build
Jackson Heig
cation was |
from Frank's
hattan office
ing with inc:
on each floo:
and an adequ
At 30, Fran
ing and rapid
ecutive with t
poration. Mar
her husband.
er, Pa., and ha
lege at Sarat
she had work
specialty sho;
period that s!
her job when
With her ht
brunette beaut
fee and thumb
ing newspaper
grocery list.}
bedroom whé
nightgown, gld
Prison at
ere.
itustied, he
ted them
» confessed.
would get
auc I stole
blow their
them over-
ica | went
o. While |
e girl from
ison I paid
as because
) she said.
| took her
| took her
back to her father’s shack the next. I
demanded my money back because she
wasn’t a virgin. They gave me a
younger girl. Maybe she was a virgin
but it didn’t look like it to me. I took
her back and quit looking for any
more virgins. I looked for a boy. I found
one. He was our table waiter. I edu-
cated him into the art of sodomy.”
When Panzram’s boss discovered
he was keeping a sex slave, he chased
him out of the jungles of Quimbazie
clear into Luanda. In Luanda he found
another boy, around 12 years old. He
took him out to a gravel pit, commit-
ted sodomy on him, and killed him.
Moving into Lobito Bay, Panzram
hired a canoe and six natives and
went crocodile hunting in the back-
waters. He shot all six natives. The
crocks did the rest.
“It was very much easier for me to
kill those six natives than it was for
me to kill only one of the young boys
I killed later, and some of them were
only 11 or 12 years old,” he wrote.
He stowed away on a ship bound
for America after robbing a Spanish
prostitute of 10,000 eschudas, and
eventually ended up in Salem, Mass-
achusetts. Here, he sodomized, then
murdered an 11-year-old boy by beat-
ing his head with a rock.
He signed on a ship, went to Baton
Rouge, Louisiana, and landed in the
Marine Hospital at New Orleans. When
he left, he robbed the drugroom of
two suitcases full of cocaine, morphine
and opium, which he sold.
He stole a yacht at Providence, Rhode
Island, sailed it to New York, and met
a young fellow who said he wanted to
buy his boat. They took her for a trial
run. Once they were out at sea,
Panzram shot him, tied him to an an-
chor, and dumped him overboard.
In New Haven, Panzram met anoth-
er boy. After committing sodomy on
him, he tied a belt around his neck
and strangled him. “I threw his body
in the bushes,” he said.
Panzram held up the express office
at Larchmont, New York, and got
caught in the act. He was sentenced
to five years in Sing Sing. A hold was
put on him which would make him
available to serve the 14 years he owed
Oregon. He was thirty-one and he
would be fifty when he got out.
Due to his record and background (he
had been on the dodge for five years,
burning, raping, robbing and murder-
ing innocent victims) Panzram and sev-
eral other hard-cases were transferred
to a dead-end bastille in northern
New York, the Clinton prison for
hardened criminals at Dannemora. As
they passed through the gates, they
could see unsmiling guards with shot-
guns and rifles staring down at them
from high grey walls.
Sing Sing # 75182 was given a
drab-grey uniform, and assigned Dan-
nemora #17531. He had no sooner
entered his North Hall cell when he
began planning his escape.
The North Hall cellblock had been
completed in 1845 and still had no
plumbing and not enough light to
read a book, if the prisoner was lucky
enough to get one. Extensive rows of
piggyback cells with tiny, barred win-
dows were too small for anything but
standing or lying down. Inmates slept
on lice-ridden straw mattresses with no
pillow. Galvanized buckets were toi-
lets. The budget allowed six cents a day
per meal.
Panzram wrote of this experience:
“I was there only a few months when
I made a timebomb and tried to burn
down the shops. The screws found it
and blamed it on a couple of other guys
and put them in isolation. Then I tried
to murder a con. I sneaked up behind
him as he was sitting in a chair and I
hit him on the back of the head with
a 10-pound club. It didn’t kill him. I
was severely punished.”
After six months, Panzram attempt-
ed to escape. He fell 30 feet to a con-
crete landing, breaking both ankles,
both legs, fracturing his spine and
rupturing himself. He was dumped in
a cell without benefit of medical or sur-
gical attention whatsoever. He was
left in that condition for 14 months.
“At the end of 14 months of con-
stant agony, I was taken to the hospi-
tal where I was operated on for my rup-
ture and one of my testicles was cut
out.”
Five days after his operation, he
was caught trying to sodomize a bed
patient at the hospital. He was dragged
from the ward and tossed into a cell,
where he remained for many months,
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49
Yq
POINT ar,
'
Johnny,
¥
’ ba cs vy or Tin ws rn 4
WO, nged Fort 3mit
h, AR (Fed.) 9/24/1894
410 eo, SUPREME, COURT, REPORTER, Vous 14 1.
Mason, 35, 46, Mr, Justice Story had o¢ea-
sion, tO, construe ‘the, meaning . of the word
“inhabitant,” as used. in the, first judiciary
act, and said; “But I lay no particular, stress
upon, the word. ‘{nhabitant,’. and deem; it a
niere equivalent description of ‘citizen’ and
‘alien’ inthe, general clause conferring juris-
diction over parties, ent:
In, Shaw y.. Mining Co., 145 U. S. 444, ‘12
Sup. Ct, 935, . Mr. Justice Gray, speaking for
the court, said in effect, that the word “in-
habitant,” in the act of 1887, was ‘apparently
used in no. i or SeenE, meaning than
“citizen. ”
If, as already ‘shown, ‘the latter, clause of
the first section of the act of 1887, declaring
that. “where. the jurisdiction . is founded, only
on; the; ‘fact that. the, action is. ‘between citi-
g zens of, different, states, suit shall, be brought
{only in the district of the residence of either
* the plaintiff, or.the defendant,” has novappli-
cation. to, the present, suit; and if the prior
clause, containing, the,. word “inhabitant,”
is inapplicable to, ‘sults between an alien and
a citizen, as held in Hohorst’s. Case, or if
the word. “inhabitant” is used in, the sense
of ;citizen” or. “alien,”—then | it, is clear. _ that
the plea in abatement interposed in the pres-
ent..case; by the. Texas corporation is not a
valid objection, to, Fa, jurisdiction | of the cir. |
cit, court, ,
The. opinion. of t the, court, holding. to the |
contrary, rests. upon grounds baad Have, 20
; Spollentienata Fk FAG ei boty. ei crbad |
wlgosiths ails < of
“Mr, ‘Justice, HARLAN, ‘congurs in, this dis.
gs fecplnaiag “uk cMbod: otuuequed det
Ata “HGR.ad fy. eid: ad aide
BL Y; S., 396).
HOE ENTE, a UNITED STATES |
vé
eee otitalh af “No; 759. he ecgigbo: iq
we.
MonDRR 5 _ INDIGTMENT _ ' ELECTION —Evypence—
Motive—Juky — CHALLENGES © = Phtet het |
hist he tac TE) CURTIS: ab Oe dG | yON Le at 5,
“1/'The’ jofnder, in’ separate: cotiitil of the
to require an election ‘between’ them, “but ‘the
matter'rests ‘inthe court’s discretion, : provided
the accused, he not iactually ‘embarrassed. jin his |
defense,.by,a-multipli¢ity, of charges,.to be tried |
‘by. one jury; and there is no error in refusing
to'compel an‘ electionbetween “two murders ‘so
charged. when)‘it appearsi:that they: were ¥so
closely; connected jm respect, of time, place, and
occasion that, itis, difficult, if not imp ossible, -to
separate, the proof of one ‘from the preor ‘of ‘the |
other,“ ' Lewis'‘vs'U2 8.13 Sup. Ct. 186, 146° U.
$370, distinguished. 620i citi yolk bun |
ae Bay "While: the,, laws. of. the respective: states |
relatin; ‘to the qualifications, and exemptions of |
jurors’ ave been’ made’ controlling’ in‘the federal
‘courts, ! (Rev. St.' § 800;.21 Stat. 43,). the state |
laws, and{ usages, regulating the, Sesignation and
im aneling of jurors haye, pet. b een so adopted, |
ate not binding on the féderal’ "epuirts, except |
a5 the latter may adopt the pilerth) ‘by standing |
rae eee orderanigncu ols auweoetd’!
In; the, abse nee. reo rule of court. OF, @ |
speqia order adopting Rtate 2 Jaye and practice te *{o|
| fon of the court. ‘’ BRAGHOUD ICON SOT Ae
district
January :22,::1894.) iii feuwiogs |
same’ indictment, “of !:differentt felonies ::of. the | feloniously, Ww Y, and of his’ malice afore
same grade.and,class, and eubdert to the;same |
punishment, does not of itself compel the court |
the COnTEEY he rights of the accused are not —
infringed ‘by’‘'requiring “him ‘to make: his: per-
emptory © challenges from’ a. list'iof. qualified
jurors not, subject to. challenge. for: cause, with;
out knowing. the peremptory, cae mare made by
the government, although this may ‘result in 43
_ both: Biss challenging’the same person: ‘Lew. §
‘ig. v. 18 Sup... Ct, 136,146. 0.8. 870, fol oe
lowed
‘4. Proof’ ofa motive for the crime is ‘hot
indispensable’ ‘to conviction, ‘for malice’ may ‘be
inferred from the mere fact of the killing. »: But
the absence: of evidence suggesting|.a motive is ©
a circumstance in favor of the accused, to i ia
given such weight as the jury deems proper. ;
. The ‘practice’ of: alluding in the: charge
toi the details of other cases ‘given: in‘ the boo 3
is not to be.commended, but an appellate cout §&
will , -neyertheless assume, unless the contrary §
appears,” that’ the’ jurors understood these‘allu. 9
sions ‘to’ be merely by..way of ' jlilastra tiony/aad
that: they,-were not, misled’ thereby.
6. An objection - that the sentence does not
itself state the offense of which the defendant @
was found guilty, or that'he was guilty of-any ©
named crime, is not.well: taken, when it contains —
a reference, to the “‘verdict heretofore returned
against him,” and the record as a whole shows
everything necessary to Justify the ‘punishment
inflicted. «'.? |: ila dno
09 7, There is no preindicial error in suspend:
ing sentence, already passed,.as to one of two |
murders of which defendant has been convicted
under separate counts ‘in the same indictment, ~
when ‘this does: not prevent; an appellate | court
foal reversing the judgment; in ‘its, application
all the charges of the indictment. ; “ove Tie
“In error ‘toithe) seireuit: court: of: the : United
States ifor. the: western’ district of! PAS
Affirmedsicar esl) 40k) aiads 4 oc. hoo Hie
“'§/°B!'Maxey;' for’ plaintiff in’ error.’ Asi
Atty.’ Gen. Whitney, for the: ‘United ‘State
MU ta Mihi Bs Rast J gil iM)
*Mr. Justice LAN delivered the’ ‘opin.
At the February term, 1800! ‘of ' the: clreulty
court of” ‘the ‘United States’ for’ the’ westerng |
of Arkansas the grahd*jury returned' |
an indi ictment ‘against’ John’ that tor the a
crime of murder, 7)“ “© ON
In ‘the’ first: count’ it’ was’ (ghiaegea’ that’ th =
defendant, on''the 25th of December, 1891, at 7%
the Choctaw Nation, in’ ‘the ‘Indian country,
within’ the above’ ‘district, ‘did, ‘with an aXe, ‘
thought’ “strike, | cut, penetrate, and wound® @
‘upon’ the ‘head. one’ Samuel BH. Vandiveer,"aY |%
white’ man, and’'not ‘an ‘Indian, inflictiigt
thereby’ a ‘mortal Ww und, from’ which ‘death’
instantly ensued." ’ The second ‘count charged a
the same offense, ‘and differed’ from _the first
‘only’ in usi the! ‘words ’ beat,’ “bruise,” fh @
‘place’ of Karas} ar eiang Spel aia a 1001) a
‘In ‘the’ ‘tnird net defendant was her . |
ged, in’ fhe eae of the’ first count,' ;
having, in ‘the same manner, on the 2th ot
‘December, is9i, feloniously, willfully, ‘and of ; 4
‘his. mialie pegmenstt at‘ the ‘Choctaw Na
‘tion, in the’Indian country, Within the same
district, 1 ed’ and” murdered: one William D.
if
a
Bolding, * ‘white’ Aisle and” pot, an “Tndian,: -
3
The fourth: count differed from‘the third on 9
dy as | ‘the seh count differed from the first P|
‘The det fend dant ° pleaded’ not’ ean, “On a ' 3
‘subsequen aay. Ot, the fe Fm he $F. P39 o¥e4,
a
POINTER, Johnny, white, hanged Fort Smith, Arke ( Federal) on 9=2h-189).
Hanging Judge Isaac Parker Condemns
Carroll County Horse Thief in 1894
PREFACE
Johnny Pointer was tried and convict-
edin Judge Parker's famous court at Fort
Smith.
Carroll county was included in the
western part of Arkansas to come under
the jurisdiction of Parker's court. Parker
servedas judge from 1875 to 1896 and was
known as ''Hanging Judge'' Parker. Seventy-
nine men met their deaths on his gallows.
During this time sixty-five of his marshals
were killed trying to bring about order,
The first gallows was .open to the pub-
lic and big crowds cameto See the hangings
which included up to six at a time.
The second gallows was built in 1886
and was enclosed with a high board fence.
To gain entrance to the enclosure to
witness a hanging, it was necessary to get
aticket as shown elsewhere in this article.
Todaytourists visit the Fort Smith
Historic Site and see the buildings, mu-
Sseum and re-constructed gallows. --Coy
Logan, President of the Carroll County
Historical Society, wrote and supplied the
information contained in this story.
13
Replica of the Gallows
at Old Fort Smith which
disposed of Outlaws sen-
tenced in Hanging Judge
Parker's Court, 1872 -
1896.
This is a replica of the
Second Gallows used from
1886 to 1896,
Johnny Pointer was born at Eureka
Springs, Arkansas. His parents were reli-
gious, well-to-do and highly respected peo-
ple, butapparently had never heard the old
adage: "Spare the rod and spoil the child."
What Johnny wantedhe got, and if they
expressed any opposition, Johnny still had
his way. At the age of twelve he set fire to
a neighbor boy. He was reprimanded. A
year later he stabbed aplaymate with
a knife and was fined $50 ina Carroll Coun-
ty Court. His father paid the fine and little
Johnny boasted: ''My old man will never let
me go to jail."
Within a month he pickeda quarrel with
another boy and beat him senseless with a
rock. True to little Johnny's prediction,
the father made a settlement with the par-
ents of the injured child and Johnny was
neither arrested or punished. By the time
he was seventeen, he was so completely
out ofhand at home that his parents decid-
ed what was needed was a change of scen-
ery. They sent him to live with relatives
in Missouri.
Johnny had grown up to be a bully and
a braggart. There were no younger boys
here to mistreat. Things were too peace-
THE CARROLL COUNTY (ARKANSAS) HISTORICAL QUARTERLY, Vol. XVII (1972 Spring Edition) No, 1
Berryville: Carroll County Historical Society.
This is a photograph of Judge Parker's Bench from whence he dispensed a Stern jus-
tice for Many Years, There Was No Appeal. The Old Brick Building at Fort Smith
in which it is Now Housed is a National Historic Site.
ful, so he decided to gohome. He stole
a fine ridinghorse from a man near Spring-
field and rode back to Eureka Springs. He
told his father he had purchased a small
pony at an auction and in turn traded it to
another man for the mare, agreeing to give
him $13toboot; that this man was in Eu-
reka Springs at the time, and if his father
would give him the money he could close
the deal.
Foolish father patted his son on the
shoulder, toldhim what a shrewd trader he
was and handed over the amount requested.
There beingno deal to close, Johnny spent
papa's money for a good time about town,
and within a fewdays the owner of the mare
anda Missouri sheriff called at the Pointer
home with a warrant for Johnny's arrest.
Still believing his son's story, certain that
the man to whom Johnny had traded his pony
was the real thief, father hired a lawyer,
put up the price of the mare: and did every-
thing possible to reach a compromise with
the man from Missouri.
The owner of the animal could not be
swayedandthe sheriff sent to Missouri for
requisition papers. Meanwhile father got
Johnny released on bail of $1,000, furnish-
edhim expense money to leave the country
and put him on a train for Texas.
No more was heard of the youth until
he turned up in jail at Decatur, due to an-
other misunderstanding over a horse. He
wrote home for money to make his bond,
the request was expedited by his father and
soon Johnny was on his way back to Eureka
Springs, traveling with two men named Ed
Vandiver and William Balding.
Vandiver and Balding were also from
Arkansas. They had driven to Texas ona
trading expedition and with a large roll of
money and a good team and wagon to show
for their trip, they left Decatur for their
homes. Onthe night of December 25, 1891,
14
PANS Dip
Ge we
ab otk
eran
eat 7
5 , SEPT. 20, 1894.
a a |
GEO. J.CRU
Execution of John Poynter
ADMIT BEARER
Lids Sek xe *
Tickets were issued to
Judge Parker's hang-
ings. This is a copy
of the ticket issued for
the hanging of Carroll
County's John Poyn-
ter, who was execut-
UPS Marschat western O-«cteooct of Arcansac. ed at 3:45 p. m., Sept-
Uy
ember 20, 1894,
they campednear the farm of W. G. Baird
at Wilburton, Choctaw Nation, where they
purchasedhay for their team. Pointer was
still with them. The following morning their
bodies were foundin a creek near the camp
and Pointer, with the team and wagon and
money was missing. His discription was
furnished deputy marshals who arr ested
him at McAlester attempting to di spose of
the outfit.
Throughout his trial, conviction and
‘sentence, Johnny was cocky and calm and
made light ofhis weeping parents, He even
asked Judge Parker for permission to set
the hour ofhis departure from earth. Judge
Parker consented and Johnny set half past
three in the afternoon. When the time ap-
proached, he weakened. He asked for a
fifteen-minute delay, which was granted.
At 3:45 he was brought from the jail into
the gallows enclosure. He began to trem-
ble. On the scaffold he turned white. His
knees buckled so that he was scarcely able
to stand. He died as he had lived--a cow-
ard.
EDITOR'S NOTE-the above was taken from
the book, 'Law West of Fort Smith" writ-
ten by Glenn Shirley. Page 228, appendix A
Chronology of Hangings, September 24,
1894, Johnny Pointer. "'
This Bullet Mold for a .38 cal, Gun
sold for $2.50 back in the early
1900's,
One of these molds may be seen
in the Carroll County Museum.
PRODUCTION METHOD
CHANGED ON YOUR
HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
This issue of The Carroll County His-
torical Quarterly comes to you with a new
type face due to the fact that its production
is now entirely by offset, the composition
being done on a typewriter.
Facesprevious1y available through
Linotype composition failed to produce the
desired results and the availability of the
useofprinting equipment created prob-
lems, hense the change.
It may not be generally known, but for
the past six years the editor of this pub-
lication has been doing all the composition,
much ofthe writing, proof reading and re-
search which goes into this publication...
all because ofhis interest in the preserva-
tionofhappenings of the past. This has all
been gratis...the only expense outside of
a few photographs has been for the actual
printing and mailing.
This has grown into quite a task, there-
fore to make it perhaps a little easier, the
Historical Society purchased a new type-
writer at a cost of approximately $600.00
to be used for the type composition at the
editor's home office.
Since most Societies of this kind are
normally always short ot money, some may
wonder how this new typewriter was financ-
ed. Over the past few years there has been
ademand for the quarterly and the financ-
es have somewhat accumulated along with
the fact that some help was given by the
County and the Berryville Chamber of
Commerce, andalso with the generous re-
sponse by the members in paying up back
and present dues. All this enabled the So-
ciety to make this purchase without bor-
rowing money from the bank.
ty POINTER :0;) UNITED STATES. 712
8, beem, brought. face -to- face, in, the;
“a ce.of the court, with, each ; proposed: |
J , and, an; ‘opportunity «giyen for..such; in-,
epee ton, and, examination of;him as,is re,
ad. for) the due. administration; of, justice
ere his rights in these respects, impaired,, |
‘@ thelr exercise embarrassed, by,,what took
. ' rah the,.trial?,. (Wey;.think; not.;,,The,
fators legally summoned .for, service . on.-the,
¥ Bare, were, as we have seen,, examined:
in his presence.as to. their qualifications,.and;
SL were, ascertained,,; upon, such examinas,
thon, to be qualified ;to sit in the. case,; Both,
# accused and the government, had; ample;
Me : ape as. this, sxamnination ‘progressed,
‘(hose ‘fo und, to., ibe; -qualified. ander sthe lowe
and_not an te. ehallenge,.for, cause, was;
tn hed, to the accused. and to, the. govern-,
mt, each, side, being required. to.,,. make;
‘the! challenges at. the same ‘time, and hav-,
‘Bs notice; from, ithe: court, that the, first, 12,
wehillenged | would, constitute the;jury for,
be trial of the case., It is,apparent, from,
t be record , that; the ,,persons. named. .in: the;
4 + £0, furnished ,, were--all,, brought face. to.
with the prisoner. before, she, was. directy.
A to make, and. while, he was.making, bis:
smptory,, challenges. ., moindh gorda. blr:
i the prisoner entitled of right: to, have,
meavveroment ,make,.its :peremptory chal-
)) ages first, that, he, might be informed, be-+
Teles fan » making his challenges, what,names Ahad,
bee h, stricken, fromthe, ; list, .,by,; the,, prosey
tor? In, some. jurisdictions, it ,is, required.
ystatute. that the. challenge, to; the. juror
be, made, by the, state, -before;;he,, is |
ad: to, the defendant. for; rejection Or - ac
ptance. , Such is the; law of, ,Arkansas,,and,
tbe court below, ; was at. liberty. to: pursue, that
we hod, (Mansf, Dig., §. 22425) and, such, As,
mrded. by, some . courts ; as, the, better. -prac-,
even. where, no. particular mode, of, chal-,
. * ng s, 5, La. Ann. 330,,332;),,,but,.as. no such;
Weovision is embodied, in any., act, of congress,
Bwas not bound by any. settled. rule of, crim,,
al lay, to; pursue. the particular, method : re-
ve pared ed by: the local law. ; , The uniform,practice
|) @.England,,,as appears: from the; observa-
>) tens.of Mr. Justice Abbott, afterwards, Lord
a Giesterden,, in, Brandreth’s Case, was,to, re;
art i the, accused . .to, exercise ; his ,right,..of
ange, before* calling . upon: the govern-
. He said; “Having .attended, _1,,be-
e, more trials of, this kind, than any, other;
wal the, judges, I, would state; that, the ,uni,,
fart practice has; been, that,,the: juryman.
as presented to the, prisoner or his counsel,
tithey, might . have a.,view; of his person.,
bm, the officer .of , the court, looked , first..to,
counsel: for'the prisoner, to,,know: whether,
Bey; ‘wished to ; challenge. him. He; them
et i to.the counsel. for, the crown to know;
shether, they challenged him.”,,: In, the: same
igs Lord, Chief Barom Richards, said. that. he, |
elved it, to be; clear; that ‘‘it: is, according;
415.
; to; the; practice of .the;:courts,,that; the pris-
oner should first declare, his. resolution as to
| challenging.’ ” . Mr. Justice Dallas expressed.
| his, concurrence in»those ‘yiews. \-32, Howell;
| StI. 771, | 774,, 775..,; Bud the} general rule:
is, that, , where: the. subject: is not: controlled,
| by. statute;, the order, : in. -which’ peremp-}
| tory, challenges, shall,,be; exercised: is, in; the
‘discretion of the.court. - Com. v. Piper, 120.
Mass.; 185;.; Turpin, v., State; 55;,Md. 464;
Jones. v. State, 2 Blackf;, 475; State v.-Hays,,
| 23 Mo.) 287; .State,:v.;;Pike,;. 49 N.;;H.) 4063;
| State:v.; Shelledy, 8, Iowa; 480,: (504; | State -v.;
Boatwright,.10 Rich. Law, 4073,; Schufflin v.:
Ohio, ; 20 Ohio St.. 233. Moot pharle tel]
_ .jIn-some jurisdictions the: mode: pursued in
the challenging; of jurors: is for, the accused’
and ‘the; government :to make, their peremp-
tory challenges as.each juror;previously, as-
-_certained, to be;qualified,, and: not, subject to:
_ be: challenged ; for ;cause,|:is : presented ' for
challenge, or acceptance. ; But: it is not essen-
tial that this, mode should be, adopted.);!In ~
| Reg. ,:v.: Frost,° (1839,)..9: Car. & BP, 129, 137, «
‘the names: of jurors, were taken from: the
ballot box,:and: each was sworn on the. voir
‘dire as to his);qualifications . before: ;being:
. Sworn’ to; trys, When»the government, ;per-
emptorily :challenged :one who’; had .;!been
' gworn:on:the;voir dire: asrto his, qualificas
tions, it); was..objected: that ‘the';challenge
ALIAS L Pasay
/ came too late, because the juror; had taken:
' the; book :into, his. hand: to; be. sworn) to: try.
In;-disposing :of: ‘this,.objection,; Chief, Justice
Tindal :saidz+ “The,,rule,is .that» challenges
| must: be; made .as.the jurors come,:to the
book,. and before ;they:..are sworn.,;;;The mo-
ment. the, oath.,is; begun -it sis..too,.late, and»
‘the oath is begun.;by::the juror. taking them
' book,*having been: directed, by; the. officer -of*
the, court to do:so; ,If the jjuror. takes the
| book, -without; authority, neither, party. wish-
| ing to challenge is to be prejudiced thereby.’
| These observations, it. is apparent, -had,refer-
ge is. preseribed., by. statute,, (State, Bi Cums
ence only -to the, question whether.a.peremp-
' tory challenge. could.be, permitted ;after the
| juror,jhad, in;;fact,,taken the, book. into, his
hand. for the purpose, of. being sworn. to; try,,
Atimost,;in;connection with the report.of. the,
ease, they tend to show that the. practice. in.
| England,, as. -in some. of., the, states.- was, to, .
haye the, question; of; peremptory, challenge
| as: to,each juror sworu on his ;voir dire, and
/ found to; be free, from) legal, objection, ;de-+
| termined! as to; iim) before another.-juror is
examined as to,his qualifications.; But there
is.;-no suggestion; by; any;,of;the; judges. in
| Frost’s Case that that mode,,was, the only
one: that, could,.be,, pursued, withowt embar-
rassing the,;accused im: the;,exercise of his
right; of , challenge.,;The,,authority.,of the
- eircuit;.courts. of: the United. States, ;to, deal
with; the subject, of impaneling:;juries jn
eriminal -cases . by,:rules; oftheir ;own , was
| recognized; in, Lewis,.v..U. 8.,,;subject: to; the
. eondition,;that such,rules must be,adapted
| to;secure: all, the rights of, the accused,).) 146
U. Ss: 370, 13 Sup. Ctj 136.) 11; Vere ik Alon ?
—_—F
| ihe committed. |. The Jaw says: that motive
) Gistsoforvevery act done by a ‘person. of.
Wind mnindy it is:not indispensable, to-convic-|} in
* quite motive; ‘for thei: killing; | As» said in’!
' Oifton.v. State, 73'Ala, 473:.. “The presence’ +
theoffense charged: is always,-a- legitimate:
manifested’ by direct::and )pdsitive ‘evidence
| POINTER ¥. UNITED: STATES: 13° '2 417!
r the» étixtre | ‘of: willfully, -and« -déliberately ;
‘king hmman life: There is no| motive: /adexiy
gate tot! There is! nothing that;can be:
Feighed: upon the onei side of: the; scale’ with
‘ctime of deliberate;and wicked) miurder:
‘won the other side of) it,:and be; pronounced '
oy honest’ meh sas equal -in! weight) to: the:
wednot ibe proportionate; to’ the: enti owen
thecrifme? rotaio mifot bine set saree Ene
eid® not! pércéeiverany substantial error +
thaw in:;what;the;court said;upon the sub-):
) Retlof'motives ‘While,'‘as; stated, a;motive,
ton ithat the particular, motive; for taking the’
te: of:a7 human being shall ;be!,established’:
bitproof to, the! satisfaction of the: jury.’! The’
“ abse ence of evidence suggesting a motive :for:
_the-commission)of the .crime;:;chargedhis a
‘dreunstance| in favor of+the accused,)to be
“given such weight’as the jury; deems: proper;
bat proof of miotive is never indispensable. to«
/@hviction. 1 Bish. Crim.:;Proc. §1107,;' and) |
tathorities there cited. ;+Malice, may: be pre-
mnied from: the mere:fact of killing;. nothing;
further being shown.; ;©om,/v::York;;9 Mete..
(Mass:)98,;! 11453) :Com.v. Hawkins, 3, Grayp»
#8; 1Greenl.' Dv. -§ 34: 'The:charge being
murder, if the facts constituting that offense:
were, established ‘beyond’ a reasonable doubt,
wis:the duty of :the' jury to have-found the’ |
defendant guilty! as. charged, although it may. |
have ‘been impossible .to:idiscover any!.ade-!
absence of a: motive for the commission of!’
| subject. of inquiry, -*. * | * but: it-is notin:
‘iy case indispensable’ ito a. conviction, It:
not'an.element:of the burdenof proof. the’
Wi devolves: upon’ the prosecution “whether
he Agency:.or connection: of ‘the dccused is:
or only. by circumstantial eviderice that 4’ mo- :
ve) or inducement:.to ‘commit*the: offerise:
thotld be ‘proved. The criminal act, and the:
conection; 6f the: accused with: ‘it, » being’
proved: beyond a reasonable doubt, the act
tself furnishes ithe evidence that’ to: its ‘pers’
tration there Was some cause. or. influence
foving' the mind.” So in McLain: v.*Com.,’
‘Pa St. 86,' 89, “it was further urged -that |
no adequater motive’ was‘ shown. to induce
the: accused to.‘cormmit the: crime charged:
The court well said the’ commonwéalth was:
“bot bound’: to: establish’ an adequate /motive
forthe alleged’ crime,!‘and declared, ‘in the:
words of this court, ‘the fact! of murder be-:
Ing-establistied; the inability to’ ‘discover the
inotive does inot disprove the crime,’”
There was: evidence. before the’ jury tends:
ing to:show ‘that the murders in question were
committed:in order that the defendant might
appropriate ‘certain property of: inconsider. :
ble value‘in thé’ possession of the murdered '
men) Under the circumstances ‘the inquiry”
Would naturally ‘arise in the minds of: jurors”!
v.148.0.—27
whether: murder ‘would: be: ;committéd for '
reasons*so trivial.;:; The ¢ourt,: after observ- |
ing: that all persons Were apt to: act on inad-:
equate) motives, and that the history of crime |
shdwed: that murders were: génerally ‘com-
itted from ‘motives comparatively trivial,’
Said: “So, also,::for. the:;smallest’ plunder,
murders: have: been | deliberately : executed.
tile thave ‘an (illustration ‘of this:,in. the’ trial
of: ‘Muller,' in England, :iti:1878; for the mur- ‘|
der, of: Briggs. » Briggs’!iwatch ‘wasi'seen by
Muller. in a railway icar.:.. Briggs was ‘asleep. :
The watch ;was}:exposed, tatid Muller killed
Briggs vby a-sudden ‘attack, and!'succeeded’!
jimaking his eseape..;:He was afterwdrds ° ~
arrested, convicted . on) circumstantial | evi-
dence, and: before: exectition ‘confessed the |
crime, of' the murder. )! Until: the confession,
the:;justice of the conviction © was’ largely '
criticized.on the ground: ‘that the ‘stealing of |
a watch; was not a motivé'that could explain
a&-murder ‘so: 'bold,.. so cruel; and the chances ‘
of: exposure! so great.” But'the court added |
inthe. same: connection:':But' the: reply ‘to’ |
this is‘obvious. » Crime is rarely “logical. | Un- ’
der a government: where the laws are éxecut-
ed, with ordinary :'certainty; all (crime i& a |
blunder, as well as'a wrong) If: we' should’
hold that no crime is'to' be'punished exvept '
such as is rational; then ‘there would be no.
crime: to be :punished,: for: no crime can ber
found*that is rational. ,;The motive is never*
correlative : to; the crime, never: accurately”
proportioned to it. Nor does this apply sole-'
ly. to the very poor; very 'rich men have’ been /
known to defraud others evenof trifles, to ’
forge wills, to kidnap and ‘kill; so that an
inheritance might be theirs. ‘When a power-
ful passion seeks: gratification, it is no ex-
tenuation that the act is illozical, for when
passion is once allowed : to re reason
loosens its restraints,” |: |
‘Reference was also made ‘to'a' portion of a
charge: delivered by a judge in New York’
upon the subject of motive for the commis- |
sion of crime, in which it was‘said that a
Small sum of money,:a word spoken in anger, |
an insult, wrongs real or imaginary, revenge, '
jehlousy, hatred, envy, and malice often lead
to the: commission of the crime of murder.”!
In that connection, the court below said:’’
“Therefore, in finding the existence of these '
elements that go to characteérize a killing so:
as to make it murder,’ you may find their
existence, though you do not Bityey any mo-
tive.” (gts)
| The defendant excepted. to that part of the
charge referring: to the circumstances of the
murder case in England ‘as: an exaggerated
statement of another case’ in'a manner well °
calculated to influence the minds of the ju-
rors against the. prisoner,’ and to convict
without sufficient. evidence and hope for a
confession from the prisoner to prove the’
correctness of their verdict. - We’ do not
think the exception well founded, Although"
the practice of alluding to the' details of ‘oth- =
er''cases given in the books while “a jury is °
th
ee
tes eae
*412
416 SUPREME COURT REPORTER, Vori 14,
We cannot say that the 'mode'pursued in’
the court! below, although different from that
prescribed _by': the laws of -Arkansas, “was “in?
derogation’ of - the ‘right of | peremptory: chal-:
lenge’ belonging! to‘ the» acoused.+ ‘He: ‘was’
given; by’ the’ statute, the’ right” ‘of perem p-'
torily challenging 20 jurors. “That right was:
accorded to” him:**Being' required to’ make
ill of his peremptory challenges at one time,’
he was’ entitled to'have a full-list' of jurors
upon ‘which’ appeared ' the! names of: such’-as:
liad been-‘examined ‘under’ ‘the direction of
the* court’ ‘and ‘in his‘“presénce, ‘and ‘found
to be' qualified to. sit:‘on: the ‘case. “Such a
list was furnished to him, and he wa’s-at’lib-
erty: to strike from‘ ‘it ‘the whole’! number ‘al-
lowed by ‘the statute, 'with’ knowledge that
the first 12 on’ the list, not’ challenged ‘by
either side, ‘would ‘constitute the jury; and
after-it was ascertained, ‘in ‘this unode, '-who
would constitute'the trial jury, it was ‘with-
in the discretion of the court) to permit: them’
tol be again examined before ‘being sworn: to
try... But no ‘such course was*suggested, and
the record dis¢loses ‘no reason Why’a further
exainination ‘was ‘necessary in order to'-se-
cure an impartial jury. ' The right of per?
emptory ‘challenge, this‘court said in U.S. v.'
Marchant,‘12: Wheat... 480, ‘482, and in Hayes
v. Missouri, 120: U."S. 68, 71, 7:Sup. Ct. 850;
is. not: of ‘itself a right to meets ‘but: a right
to’reject, jurors.) vil oo OTL Ol Got)
‘It is: true ‘that,’ under ‘the: hetheid pursued
in this case, it ‘might‘occur that ‘the’ defend-
ant ‘would’ strike from‘the’list the same-per-
sons ‘stricken offby the’ government; - but
that circumstance ‘does‘not change)the fact
that the ‘accused /was' at! liberty to exclude |
from the jury all, to'the number of 20, who,
for any *reasbn, or’ without reason, ‘were ob-
jectionable “tohim!! No injury was ‘done if
the government! tinited' with him in exclud-
ing particular persons’ from‘ the: jury.’ He
was not entitled of right' to know in advance
what jurors would be! excluded by ‘the gov-
ernment’ in’ the exercise of its’right of per-
emptory ehallenge. ''‘He'was-only entitled of
right’ to- strike the names of 20. from’ the’ list
of impartial jurymen’ furnished ‘him: by“ the
court. ! If upon that list-appeared the! name
of one: who was subject''to legal: objection,
the facts in ‘respect'to that’ juror should have
been presented ‘in such form that. they could:
be passed upon by’ this ‘eourt.: But: it does
not ‘appear that‘any objection ‘of: that char-
acter was made, ‘or could’ have ‘been made,’
to any of | the 37 bDgiagied found; apon operant
Hon to' be! qualified. ih & JOT
“Thus, in our: opinion, ‘tho Gebdntial ight ‘of
challenge: to ‘which’ the defendant was enti-
tled was‘ fully’ ‘recognized;=‘and:'there is::no
reason ‘to suppose ‘that ‘he was not tried by
an impartial jury. The’ objection ‘that’ the
government should have tendered to him the
12’ jurors whom it wished to try: the case, or
that: he was entitled to ‘know, before making
his: challenges,’ the ‘names of' the jurors: by
whom it was proposed: to‘itry him, ~ must
| mean ‘that? the | government ‘should have been ; 4
‘required’! to exhaust all'of its ‘peremptoty A
challenges' before ‘he peremptorily ' challenged: ’
|any juror. ‘This objection ‘is unsupported’ by.
, the’ authorities; ‘and' cannot ‘be ‘sustained’ u
‘on any ‘sound principle.
gleich aub wey
Qo
_ 438. We'come now’ to examine some of thed
‘exceptions taken’ *by ‘the ‘defendant ‘to”the’ _
| charge’ of the’ court.' Among other observa~ i
tionsmade! by the ‘couit ‘to:the jury: were A
these: ‘At’ this~ point‘ it’ becomes necessary
‘for ‘us‘to ascertain ‘what’is meant by these
They must!’exist’ ‘as ‘a part’ of ‘that? crime,
There’ can‘ be: no’crime of this’ kind“without oa
expressions,’ ‘willfully and‘with malice’ afore
thought,’ because’ they are the characteris
tics ‘that’ énter into the“ crime of ‘murder,
them. “It 4is*neeessary,'!therefore,“for' us'to
understand’ correctly, and to understand'with
precision’‘and’ accuracy}” ‘exactly’ whatthe |
| law means ‘by ‘them, because they have'ale |
' peculiar to the law; and’ it’ ‘is ‘by ‘the’ ‘applica-
‘tion of ‘that meaning ’ to’ “the facts of the
gal ‘meaning; ‘they ' have’ a’ ‘meaning | that js
case, or'the''truth of the’case, ‘that ‘you, ay
intelligent,‘impartial, and ‘dispassionate! citt!
zens, are uble'to’ arrive at a just and correct a
and ‘honest’ conclusion. * In finding their’ ex:
istence; it’ is“not necessary’ ‘that’ ‘the! proof
should show that a motive’ for’ the’ act ‘done
existed? )'': rfto hsitias toes iS ei -
~The defendant insists! that’ the' reverse of —
this was'the'law; that proof of malice ought —
always to'show some motive forthe homicide
What! was in-the mind of'the‘court’when'the -
above’ observations were’made is apparent —
by the’ following clauses-of the charge’ that
immediately follow those to which exception |
was ‘taken?’ “There ‘isalways a motive’ for —
-every“hunian act that’ is done by -an' indl
vidual ‘who is’sane;- but ‘sometimes it is um
discoverable; sometimes it cannot be'’fath —
omed; sometimes, because of its inadequate —
| character, ‘because “of ‘its’ utter“ insignificant .
nature’ compared with: ‘a’ ‘great offense of that 7
kind, ‘Horiest' ‘men, ~ whose minds ‘and hearts —
have ‘not been corroded’ by’ the commission
of ‘crime, overlook it;'they’ pass it by,’ The
law ' does"! ‘not ‘require’ ‘impossibilities, “The =
law recognizes’ ‘that’ the’ cause’ of the! killing 7
is sometimes 80 hidden: in ‘the’ ‘mind! and
| bréast’ of ‘the party’ who'killed’ that it ‘cannot 7
| be: fathomed, and, as it does not require im-?
_ possibilities, it does not’ ‘require the- jury tor |
find it.» Yet if they’ do’ find “it; ‘it’ simply be" “a
comes an item’ of evidence in-the case, which —
. is only’ evidentiary at best; that is, it’ Mis only
an' item of evidence going to show whethery bi
a particular ‘party may have committed’ any 3
act, and sometimes going to show: the char* —
acteristics ‘of ' that‘act. The law says;’how- —
ever, that’ wherever motive can‘ be: found,
though ‘itis: not required to’ be found,’ it Is ;
the’ duty ‘of the’ jury'to find it, though when
they do' find it they are not to expect''that ; 4
it will ever be adequate,—that it will bein —
| proportion to: the ‘act \done,—because’ there ls
nothing’ on" this earth ‘that is in proportion x
lua
ig
r
«
*418
418 > SUPREME COURT REPORTER, Vou. 14
being charged upon the: facts:of the particu-’.
lar case on tria)is ‘by m0 means to. be com-:
mended, we cannot say that the jury in this:
case. were misled ‘by the reference: made to
what appeared, ori:was said by. judges,. in -
other cases. It must be assumed, if the con-:'
trary does not appear, :that jurors understand:
that these allusions’ to! other cases are made
only for: purposes of illustration... It is im-:
practicable ito prescribe the particular mode:
in which a judge shall express to jurors. his:
views of the case about to be’ determined by ‘
their verdict./. That. must, ‘of ‘necessity, be
left. to his discretion, If, in charging a jury, -
a judge.chooses-to employ the words of oth-:
ers in order to convey the exact*thought: in:
his own mind, or. if he prefers, for purposes
merely of illustration,' to.read from’ the opin-'
ions or judgments of other courts, we cannot
hold that such. practice, although not to be
encouraged,:.is, in the absence 'of.a statute
prescribing: a different rule,' ground for the:
reversal of the judgment of:the trial court.'
Ifa judgment should. in any case be re-'
versed upon ‘such ground,’ it should’only: be:
where it appears that the jury. has been mis-!
led by the particular:: mode’ in: which they’
were charged, to the: prejudice of the perrtaradt
tial rights of. the accused, ©:
4, It\is said that ithe record falls’ re aise
that all things) were'done in: the .court’ below’
that were necessary’'to be done: before! the
sentence of death was ‘pronounced, in’ this:
First, the record nowhere states that’the'
verdict was received and recorded;/ second, .
there is: no record: of: any judgment. declar--
ing plaintiff.inierror'to:be guilty of murder. '
In respect. tothe first: of these objections
it.is sufficient toisay:that.it, appears from the")
journal entries of the-trialjas well as from the’
bill, of exceptions, that the verdicts of guilty
on the first and third counts, respectively,
were, returnedinto andwere recorded by. the
court:in. the presence of the accused,: where-:
upon, the jury were discharged from the fur-
ther consideration of : the .case, andthe: de-
fendant remanded to. the custody of the mar-.:
shal to await the final: sentence.,. hte
The second of. the. objections shove stated)
is ,based upon .the ‘following. order, under
the caption. of) the “United States v.:.John:
Pointer. Indictment:for Murder. . ‘Now: 37,”
and made April B0,.18923 0) cs, 061!) elon
On motion:of; William: H. ‘Hb \Clayton;
Esq,, attorney. fon the western district: of
Arkansas, the said defendant, John Pointer,::
was brought to the bar.of this court.in cus-
tody of the: marshal of, said: district, and,. it
being demanded; of: him:what he has to say.
or; ean, say, why: the, sentence of. the. law.
upon the verdict. of guilty, heretofore return-:
ed..against -him.;by: the jury: in this: cause ;
on the 26th day. of.,.March,;1892,;;shall. not:;
now be. pronounced,:against him, :he: says
he has nothing further or other to say. than
he has: heretofore said...) Godiva oi oils
“Whereupon, the; oaomiaen being seen, andi
by; the court, well*and sufficiently understood):
te i eo cy avenaee hie
it is. considered: by the |court: that ithe said.)
marshal iof. ‘the: district aforesaid. cause the.)
said John’. Pointer ‘to: be taken hence, and)
him, the said John Pointer, safely and se,
curely keep from the date: hereof until ‘Tues: — 4
day, the 28th day: of June, A. D. 1892, and)
on that day, and between the hours of: nine!
o’clock ‘in the forenoon and five..o’clock in» _
the» afternoon ‘of: said: day, the, said..mar-.,
shal cause the said John Pointer to. be taken) —
to some'convenient place’ within this district,
to: be appointed: by: said»marshal, and ‘then:
and’ ‘there, between the said hours‘ of: nine)
o’clock in the forenoon and five-o’clock in.
the afternoon, on Tuesday, the said day.ot:
June, in the year-of.our Lord one thousand) —
Seat
eight hundred and ninety-two, cause thesaid!!
John Pointer to be hanged by: the neck until’
he: is -dead.i 6 ‘gfiilespoue sanohies To OLR ‘ §
| #And\it-is further considered by the ‘court’
that the: United States of America do have: |
and recover all their costs inand-about this; —
prosecution Jaid out and:expended, and that! 4
they have’ execution 'therefor.:! { livia @
“And the clerk of this court-is hereby re4
quired ‘to furnish the marshal of this district! ~
—
with a duly-certified copy of this judgment)! —
sentence, and ‘order, which’ shall: be return!) ©
ed by said marshal with a: full.and beh Ae! |
count of the execution: of the same”? (iol 7
| The specific-objection: to: the: aaitinns ‘ee
that itdoes not state’ the offense: of which! ©
the defendant was found guilty, or that the —
defendant: was’ guilty of anyonamed crime {
This objection is technical, rather than sub) ~
stantiak::.The record: of.the’ trial’ preceding) ~
the sentence'shows an indictment returned) 7
into-court by grand jurors! duly selected, ims —
paneled, ‘sworn,and chargedito. inquire in —
and for the/ body: of the western district of! —
Arkansas, in’which, in separate counts, they, !
upon their oaths, charge! the defendant with: —
having-within that district,:on amamed day,! —
killed and murdered::Samuel) H,! Vandiveer 7
and. William) D.! Bolding.. ‘The: indictment.‘ 7
itself is) given, iandvit appears that the de ')
fendant:.was ibrought sinto court upomiilts ©
that. he :was'i arraigned, and pleaded: not) ©
guilty to the chargesi:contained..in it}! that) ~
he was; tried’ upon* the same indictment ‘bea 4
fore::a \\petit) jury.) lawfully. impaneled: andy |
sworn; *and.thatia verdict ‘of guilty of:mun! —
der.as ‘charged in the firstiand: third counts)
respectively, of that:indictment was. return! —
edi into;.court March 26, :1802,0ands-was:re:! |
ceived and vincorporated: inte: the.vrecord of! —
the trial..|)When, therefore,::the! defendant:
was: brought..into court,:and) asked what! he) |
had: to!say. “why \the!sentence ‘of: the law’ |
upon the verdict of: guilty heretofore return) —
Pea ee
ed against him:by the;juryiinithis cause ony a
the 26th day. of March, .:1892,ishall not:now —
be pronounced against:him,’ all doubt:as toll
the -offense,, of: which .he ; was: found guilty; —
andion account of:which he..was sentenced: 9y 7
to, be hanged, iis: removed. The sentence it) —
self. is in.the record, and, the record! shows) |
everything unecessary to.justify the punish)
1S —. eb
4
Wy Carew ey Oe a)
-edestrians
agents was
Puff's gun.
ns are es~
* ntified
tively.
G-man Joseph ‘Brock, one of six teds
PUSuGLe
a*<e
te
Pcs St
who .closed in on Puff, received mor-
tal wounds and died in the hospital.
Right: George Heroux (shirt open)
sits dejectedly after capture
police of El Portal, near Miami.
TWO TOUGHIES TRIPPED
@ BULLETS WHINED when the FBI launched a de-
termined effort to trap George Heroux and Gerhardt
Puff, pals accused of bank robbery and listed among
the nation’s ten most wanted criminals. Within 24
hours of each other, both were nabbed—Puff in New
Mrs. Puff is seen entering FBI car after her husband
received leg wound in gun battle. Both she and Mrs.
Heroux were young, attractive and expensively dressed.
light on the past activities of th
York, Heroux in Miami. Both made a battle of it, and
in the melees a New York FBI agent was slain and two
Florida officers were kidnaped by Heroux. Pictured
here are dramatic scenes in the two showdown battles,
and two pretty women said to be criminals’ wives.
Mrs. Heroux likewise enters FBI car. She and Mrs. Puff
were to be questioned to see if they could throw
eir captured spouses.
"THERE'S A BODY IN
MY BASEMENT"
(TD August, 1955)
The baby sitter, Diane Hanks, 16,
spent the night of January 6th, 1954, at
the home of Wayne Fong and his wife,
Sherry, in Portland, Oregon. She was
not seen alive again.
On the morning of February 26th,
1954, a crew repairing a section of high-
way along the Columbia River came
upon a body wrapped in a green blanket
and bound with twine. It was identified
as that of Diane Hanks. ;
Evidence seemed to indicate that the
young girl had died in the Fong home
and on April 14th, 1955, Wayne and
Sherry Fong went on trial for the mur-
der of Diane’ Hanks. Both denied the
crime, but on April 29th, after deliber-
ating less than three hours, the jury
brought in a unanimous verdict of guilty
of first-degree murder, decreeing life
imprisonment for the couple.
On June 29th Judge Alfred P. Dodson
ordered the convictions set aside and a
new trial put on the calendar.
“The jury reached its verdict too
fast,” the judge declared. “Factual com-
plexities were submitted which would
require hours of discussion and demand-
ed the gravest sense of office and pub-
lic obligation. None appears to have
been within the consideration of this
jury.”
No date has been set for the new
trial.
Diane Hanks
Report of latest legal developments
BORN A KILLER
(TD September, 1955)
Born in Baltimore, George Heroux Jr.
left school at 16 and soon learned that
there were easier ways of making money
than working for it. His mentor was a
murderer. His best friend later died in
the electric chair.
In prison Heroux met Gerhard Puff.
On their release the pair held up half a
dozen Midwest banks. By Christmas
George Heroux Jr.
1951 both were on -the FBI “10 Most
Wanted” list. Police and FBI agents
captured Puff in a Manhattan hotel after
he had slain FBI Agent Joseph Brock.
Puff was executed on August 12th,
1954.
Heroux, captured in a Miami suburb,
received a 25-year sentence in Florida,
with two Kansas terms of 15 and 10
years awaiting him, to be served con-
secutively on his release from the
Florida prison. On April 4th, 1955, he
engineered a jailbreak from the Florida
state penitentiary at Raiford, in the
course of which Assistant Superinten-
dent J. C. Godwin was killed and sev-
eral guards wounded.
On June 28th, 1955, a circuit court
jury at Lake Butler convicted Heroux
of first-degree murder, but recom-
mended mercy. Judge George L. Pat-
ten immediately sentenced Heroux to
life imprisonment and he was taken, un-
der heavy guard, to Raiford prison.
on cases published by TD
“HE'S THERE AND HE'LL
SHOOT ME!"
(TD March, 1954)
On November 2lst, 1953, Andrew
Kmiec, 32, an insurance adjuster, left
his Beverly Hills apartment to drive to
a Los Angeles hotel to show his con-
vertible, which he had advertised for
sale, to a prospective customer. With
him was a young friend, Dolly McCor-
mick.
They picked up the man, Anthony J.
Zilbauer, 53, who asked Kmiec to drive
to his home in Whittier, to show his wife
the car. On a lonely road Zilbauer sud-
denly drew a gun, told Kmiec, ‘IT have
been hired to kill you,” and shot the
young man in the face, shoulder and
heart.
The terrified girl managed to escape
the assassin and put police on the trail
of the murderer. Zilbauer was arrested
in St. Louis when he called at the post
office to pick up a letter. Returned to
California, he was arraigned on Decem-
ber 18th.
At his trial the jury found Anthony
Zilbauer guilty of first-degree murder
in the death of Andrew Kmiec and on
March 8th, 1954, Judge Clement Nye
sentenced him to die in the gas chamber.
An appeal was made, but his convic-
tion was upheld by the California su-
preme court, which refused to hear a
second appeal. And the former Norwalk,
Ohio, machinist went to his death in the
California lethal gas chamber at San
Quentin.
HE WAS AFRAID OF GIRLS
(TD April, 1955)
In Passaic County Court, in Paterson,
New Jersey, John Heberling stood with
tears in his eyes on July 12th, 1955, and
heard the judge sentence him to serve
from 26 to 28 years in prison for the
knife-slaying on December 11th, 1954,
of his elderly next-door neighbor, Mrs.
Almira Force.
Between the hours of 7 and 11 o’clock
on Thursday night, December 16th, 1954,
four persons called at the home of Ken-
neth Force, a gabled frame house in
Clifton, New Jersey. One of them was
a murderer. When Mr. Force, a popular
Clifton restaurateur, returned home at
11 p.m., he found his wife, Almira, 59,
dead in their living room. She had been
beaten about the head and stabbed seven
times in the face, throat and body.
Three of the callers on that fateful
night obviously had no connection with
the crime
ling, 19, :
quent vis
been que:
and had }
of his m
murder,
vealed ce
ments.
On the
youth wi
test. He
proceedir
stopped i
Heberlin;
offered h
denly he
that she
slain her
been afra
His tr
Mrs, For
1955. At
Passaic (
Stafford ;
the follow
Superic
Davidson
trial bega
24th aj
men foun
ond-degre
HOW
ROBBER‘
On the
1950, An
wife and
home in }
to Chapp:
as a guar
afternoon
ploye to
Pleasanty
cash and
wantonly
men wh«
away wi
binding @
cen ploye,
On Dec
photo
ne of a
months
‘laimed
l-to-do
list re-
is
ut
ith,
.@ was
police
$25.00
a with
ernoon
fields,
iccom-
Cram-
r, Who
ivicted
Peni-
vondon
1, 1945.
>.
isband
tuated
> were
rward
me in
en she
that a
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id in-
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neck.
gave
m the
unded
onths.
nplice
terous
itiary.
ierzon
IN JANUARY 1933, George C. Matheson met and be-
came enamored of a young woman living at Council
Bluffs, lowa. She did not encourage his attentions,
however, and when Matheson called at her home,
the girl’s uncle informed the would-be suitor that she
was not there, Matheson, always the possessor of a
hot temper, became quite abusive and a heated argu-
ment developed, which was abruptly terminated by
Matheson shooting and killing the uncle.
Shortly therea fter, he was apprehended at Crescent,
Iowa, and subsequently tried, convicted on a charge
of first-degree murder, and sentenced to life impris-
onment in the State Penitentiary at Fort Madison,
As the years passed, Matheson was made a trusty
and in that capacity escaped from one of the prison
farms on July 30th, 1947, Prison authorities have
reason to believe that the escapee fled to Missouri
and then south through Tennessee and Louisiana,
George Matheson may be working as a fisherman
or painter. He wears steel-rimmed glasses and at
one time wore a mustache. The fugitive has a small
scar at the left side of his upper lip and bad, slightly
crooked feet. It is believed he will avoid towns,
taking refuge in more isolated sections,
GERHARD ARTHUR PUFF, previously convicted
on charges of breaking and entering, larceny, escape,
and assault with intent to commit armed robbery,
now is wanted as a bank robber,
Early on the morning of November 23rd, 1951, Puff
and an accomplice forced an employee to open the
front door of the Johnson County National Bank and
Trust Company of Prairie Village, Kansas. Both ban-
dits wore white coveralls and light-colored hunting
caps with earmuffs. One of the robbers herded the
employees together and stood guard over them with
an army type carbine, while the other made the
cashier open the vault. The loot, which amounted to
over $62,000, was collected ina muslin bag bearing
the Imprint of the Federal Reserve Bank, They made
their getaway in a late model, cream-colored con-
vertible, which was found abandoned a_ half-mile
from the bank. It proved to be a stolen car from
Tulsa, Oklahoma, and carried Missouri license plates.
Gerhard Arthur Puff has previously worked as a
farmhand, truck driver, machinist's helper, and also
has had experience in the printing trade. He is proud
of his personal appearance and walks very erectly
with chest extended,
GEORGE MATHESON. Murder & Escape. Reward: TRUE DETEC-
TIVE, $100. Age, 71; height, 5’ TM"; weight, 145; gray-brown
hair; blue eyes, If located, notify Director J. Edgar Hoover, FBI.
GERHARD ARTILUR PUFF. Bank Robbery, Reward: TRUE DE-
TECTIVE, $100, Age 38; height, 5’ 10%"; weight, 150; brown
hair; brown eyes. Lf located, notify Director J. Edgar Hoover, FBI,
_
$20,500 Rewards Paid By True
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Identity of Readers Who Furnish Information Leading to Captures Will Be
$400 REWARDS IN THIS ISSUE—AUGUST 1952—206 CAPTURES TO DATE
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Held Confidential Upon Request © More Than 1,500,000 Persons Will Read This Issue T
98
{{ ta fia
pom
| i ooo
{| cores Loz
‘ eonattti or. Bas
seins | ua
DRUM MAJORETTE'S
TRAGIC FOLLY
(TD July, 1954)
Joan Marie Ruzza was pretty and
popular. She also was frightened. At a7,
she did not want to think of marriage.
An honor student at high school in Cap-
itol Heights, a Maryland suburb of
‘ Washington, D. C., Joan was planning to
join the WAVES, but she could not dis-
courage a too-persistent suitor, Eugene
Elmer Bryant, 21. ’
On the night of April 8th, 1954, young
Bryant saw Joan walking home from a
drugstore, He offered her a ride in his
car. She refused. He parked the car,
caught up with her and pleaded with
her to marry him. She broke away and
started to run. He took a gun from his
pocket and shot her.
At FBI headquarters ballistics tests
proved that the fatal bullets had come
from Gene’s .38 caliber revolver. And
on July 23rd, in Ellicott City, Maryland,
a circuit court judge sentenced Eugene
Bryant to be hanged.
¢
Eugene Elmer Bryant
HUNTED MEN
AND THE SLAIN FBI AGENT
(TD November, 1952)
On November 25th, 1951, two gunmen
stuck up a bank in Prairie Village, Kan-
sas, and escaped with $60,000. Identified
as George Heroux, 22, and Gerhard Puff,
37, they were placed on the FBI’s 10
Most Wanted list and were objects of a
nationwide search. Heroux was cap-
tured on July 15th, 1952, in Miami,
Florida, while attempting to kidnap two
Police officers.
On July 25th, Puff was traced to the
Congress Hotel, a quiet hostelry on West
69th Street, New York. When the FBI
Report of latest legal developments
on cases published by TD
closed in on him the following day a
Savage gun battle ensued in the lobby
of the hotel. FBI Agent J oseph J. Brock,
44, was shot by Puff and died a few
hours later. A hail of shots from other
FBI men brought Puff down with a bul-
let in his thigh.
On July 31st Puff was indicted for
first-degree murder, Heroux on the kid-
naping charge. Heroux was tried on
September 18th, 1953, in a Florida crim-
inal court and sentenced to 25 years.
. Puff’s trial for the slaying of Agent
Brock began on May 13th, 1953. It
lasted eight days and 31 witnesses were
called by the prosecution. The defense
offered no witnesses. A federal court
jury of 11 men and one woman, after
deliberating three hours and 35 minutes,
found Puff guilty. Judge Sylvester J.
Ryan immediately sentenced him to die.
The date set for his execution was
June 24th, but appeals delayed it. On
August 9th, 1954, Gerhard Puff lost his
last chance of escaping the electric chair
when President Eisenhower denied him
clemency. He was executed at Sing Sing
prison on Thursday night, August 12th,
1954,
THE HUNTERS AND THE HUNTED
(TD December, 1053)
On June 5th, 1953, Eugene Lindsey,
47, a veteran hunter familiar with the
Gaspé wilderness, took his son, Richard,
17, and his chum, Fred Claar, 20, on a
hunting expedition into the Gaspé. They
said they would be back home in Holi-
daysburg, Pennsylvania, in three wecks.
On July 15th the skeleton of Eugene
Lindsey was found in the bush. On July
23rd’ the remains of the two youths,
partly-devoured by bears, were found in
a camp four miles further on. There was
a bullet hole through Richard’s sweat
shirt at heart level. The bodies had been
dismembered with a knife and an at-
tempt had been made to burn them. A
coroner’s inquest returned the verdict
that Richard and Fred had been mur-
dered, the older Lindsey dead of causes
unknown,
Property belonging to the dead hunt-
ers found in the home of Wilbert Coffin,
a resident of the Gaspé, led to his arrest.
He was the last person known to have
been with the Lindsey party.
At his trial, on the charge of murder-
ing Richard Lindsey, the prosecution
produced 85 witnesses. The defense,
claiming the evidence was circumstan-
tial, produced no witnesses. After de-
liberating 34 minutes, the jury found
Wilbert Coffin, 43, guilty of the murder
of Richard Lindsey. He promptly was
sentenced to be hanged on November
26th at Montreal’s Bordeaux jail.
hu Gia bec bit
ou, (157
With this formality out of the way, the
body of the blonde beauty was shipped to
her relatives in Dallas for private funeral
services. Jim Frederick was buried beside
his parents in the little Tempe cemetery.
While tension remained high and _ the
strange and contradictory case was the
sole topic of conversation in Scottsdale, the
D. A.’s and sheriff's investigators went
quietly and patiently about their work, ac-
cumulating scores of further statements
from men and women friends of the two
couples, digging unrelentingly into the lush
summer life of the little resort town.
With gossip and feeling running high
both pro and con, the preliminary hearing
on August 6th proved stormy. The state
called only four witnesses—Dr. Condon,
Captain McGovney, Constable Robertson
and Dortha Marie Frederick. Mrs. Fred-
erick told her story as before.
Demand’s attorney then asked her, “You
don’t believe Bill shot your husband, do
you?”
She replied, “I’m not accusing anyone.
That’s what officers are for.”
She said Bill was “quiet and moody”
when they visited his house for a few
drinks after dinner. She thought the mys-
tery convertible might have been light tan,
as his was. Asked if she thought it was
Bill’s, she replied, “I don't know.”
She said Bill always “watched his wife
very closely,” but she refused to say he
was unusually jealous. “Every -time my
husband asked Mrs. Demand to dance,”
she testified, “he would first ask permis-
sion. Bill did the same when he wanted
to dance with me. When I danced with
him, Bill always watched Faye over my
head.”
Asked if she once had disposed of some
sleeping pills after Faye had tried to com-
mit suicide, she didn't answer, as Justice
Fox sustained the D.A.’s objection that the
question was irrelevant.
Attorney Johnson then asked dismissal
of the murder charge, branding it “politi-
cal, monstrous, despicable!”
But Justice Fox refused. Declaring it
would be “a travesty on justice” to let
Demand go free, he said, “I don't believe
any honest man could decide who is guilty
and who isn’t guilty, from what we have
heard here. It is beyond me to settle this
case in this court. My only decision will
be that he go to Superior Court, where
these things should be settled.”
He proceeded to bind Demand over to
the Maricopa County Superior Court in
Phoenix on the murder charge. Bill re-
mained at liberty on the $30,000 bond,
In the normal course, Bill Demand's trial
will take place late in October. Till then
and possibly even thereafter, even though
the dashing young photographer has been
formally charged with murder, many
questions will remain unanswered in the
bizarre double tragedy.
County Attorney Mahoney's investiga-
tion Is still continuing and there are many
loose ends, but as of this writing he re-
mains convinced that he has enough evi-
dence of motive—jealousy of the other
man’s attentions to his beautiful heiress
wife—on which to convict Bill Demand of
killing his neighbor.:
Many Scottsdalers and others don’t be-
lieve that if Demand is shown to have
killed from jealousy he will be convicted—
at least not of first-degree murder. Some
expect an “unwritten law” plea.
At any rate, at this point, there is a
large question mark and the degree of
handsome Bill Demand’s guilt or innocence
remains to be determined by judge and
jury. As for Faye Demand, her case is
beyond determination, and the exact cir-
cumstances behind her death plunge into
the canal on that sweltering midnight
may never be known. o¢o¢
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“geant G. H. Christian. They cruised aror ind the city well away
from the Fair Street address, but about every half-hour either
Coppenger or Christian would dial the telephone number at
-. 243 Fair Street. Then they’d put the informant on. He was
- never given the telephone number, but he was instructed to
ask for Eddie, and if Eddie came on the phone, to engage him
4m conversation. Of course he didn’t, know who Eddie was
either. Meanwhile Captain Duncan and I, in unmarked car
109, were cruising or parked close by 243 Fair Street. ee.
= + << Byery time the informant called, we would receive a radio.
flash from car 166. Our plan was to stay out of sight of the 3
Fair Street house until the informant actually had North in 7%
conversation on the telephone. Then we’d move in fast andnab |
our man. 4
I don’t know where Eddie North spent that Saturday 4
night, but I do know that you could have twanged any one of .
my nerves and gotten a fat, pear-shaped “A” before, at ap-
proximately two o’clock Sunday morning, we got the signal we.
were waiting for from car 166. The informant was talking ©
with Eddie! oy "23 Nee eS 4
Captain Duncan took the back. I walked through the un-
locked front door, and right into Eddie’s room. There he sat,
in his underwear, on the arm of a chair—still talking to our
informant! es
“You can do the rest of your talking at Headquarters, a
Eddie,” I told him, as I lifted the receiver out of his hand and “3
placed it back in its cradle. Be
Of course Eddie North denied everything at first, but he
soon broke down and gave us the name of his accomplice,
Henry Hamilton. They both confessed, and are now serving
life sentences.
a
Mok Pare] ¢ aus SEARS ens pao
“© “He's Armed—and He'll Kill”
the President in Washington there couldn’t be a better fit!” _ di |
THE SALESMAN in the men’s clothing store in downtown
Brooklyn, New York, took a step backward, clasped his hands
in front of him, cocked his head appreciatively to one side, 2 3
and exhaled with a mellifluous swo-o-o-sh of professional ec-
“Perfect! Positively perfect! The shoulders! The drape! For
_“Y’know, pal, I think maybe y’got something! Me an’ th’ ay
President! Ha! What’s he got I ain’t got?” = ‘Soe Soll
The customer, 21-year-old George Arthur Heroux, strutted
critically a turn or two before the paneled mirror. His hard,
gray-blue eyes drank in the reflected details of the modish
tropical ensemble he was modeling. Yes, it certainly was a
sharp rig. And why not? When a young man drives a new Lin- -
coln and has ideas running to sizable yachts, he should look
‘the part. ote ;
He was a self-made success, George reflected.
“Okeh, I’ll take it!” snapped George after a lingering mo-
ment of final appraisal. “An” gimme a receipt, on account of
I’m paying cash.” P
“Yes, sir! The name and address. . .?”
“The name’s John Hanson,” lied Heroux, and he named an
obscure New York hotel, one in which he actually was regis-
tered as Hanson at the moment, as the address.
The receipt actually was just one part of a drama that
spread over many states, and involved many people. Most im-
portant of these were Heroux, his pal, Gerhard Arthur Puff,
and FBI agent Joseph Brock.
Joe Brock was born on April 30, 1908, in Milwaukee, Wis-
consin. He went to school there, and in 1932 he graduated
from Marquette University, and became a member of the Wis-
consin bar. He was accepted for training as an FBI special
agent in 1941.
By coincidence, Puff also grew up.in Milwaukee. He left
Germany with his stepmother in. 1927, was admitted to
United States citizenship because his father was a citizen, and
ae down to achieve an elementary education in Milwau-
On June 21, 1934, Milwaukee police arrested Puff for dis-
orderly conduct. August of the next year saw him sentenced
. 101 ©
_ ing and releasing his own service revolver. He died a few short
.... minuteslaterinanearby hospital = =«s—>—s—s, ieee ore
iis...’ Like a cornered rat, Gerhard Puff scooped up Joe Brock’s ~
gun as he ran and ran through the hotel lobby a gun in each
hand. Firing at converging Special Agents, Puff pursued a zig-
zag course and managed to gain the street outside. Here he
was challenged by other agents posted behind parked cars. His
answer to the challenge to surrender was more shots and so
he was mowed down in his turn by the bureau men who, how-
ever, were careful not to shoot to kill. They wanted Gerhard
Puff alive. \
The remainder of the story of bank bandits George Heroux
and Gerhard Puff is quickly told, but it has postscripts. Faced. 4
with heavy prison sentences, Heroux managed to get hold of
a loaded automatic, and tried to blast his way out of a Flor-
‘ida prison. He succeeded only in killing the assistant superin-
tendent of the institution, and wounding two of his colleagues.
He has been charged with first degree murder.
Failing of distinction in life, Gerhard Puff won distinction
—of a sort—in death: Before walking through the little green
door at Sing Sing Prison to meet his maker, Puff spent 15
months in the Death House. And during that entire time he
didn’t have a single, solitary visitor save for officials whose duty
required that they talk with him! Before he died, he was known
as “The lonesomest man in the Death House.”
re o
~ 6We'll Kill the* Hostages!”
Sheriff, Duval County, Florida
with KEN JONES
Six-FooT, 200-pound, good natured and efficient Patrolman
Thomas A. Robinson, Jr., of my staff, was killed a few short
months ago because he forgot to take his cap off. A faint
pencil of light from a couple of hundred yards away, reflecting
from his cap insignia, gave a kill-crazy bandit a perfect target
and enabled him to put a bullet dead center through Robbie’s
"forehead, . nee bee
The man who killed Robbie was the well-known bank bandit
and kidnap artist Myron Peter Goldman, and we got him. We
didn’t have to take him to the hospital; we took his body di-
rectly to the Jacksonville morgue. But before that tragic
night was over, there was plenty of gunfire, a blazing auto-
- mobile chase, and all members of the Duval County Patrol
and the Jacksonville Police Department, as well as every Spe-
cial Agent of the local FBI, were on the job fully armed. It
was a night which Jacksonville and Duval County will long
remember. ,
To achieve real understanding of the dramatic and tragic
events which took place on the outskirts of Jacksonville very
early on the morning of December 15th, 1953, you’ve got to
keep a couple of thoughts firmly in mind. First, we people in
Jacksonville and Duval County are strong protagonists for
local self-government. We figure we know our problems, and
we figure we can take care of them, too. Consequently, as
sheriff of Duval County, I have a uniformed force of some 60
men, known as the Duval County Patrol, backed up by about
an equal number of other personnel. We operate 23 marked
patrol cars ag well as 16 plain automobiles, and in my 22
years as sheriff, we haven’t yet run into anything we couldn’t
handle. Our performance requirements are high, and so is our
morale. We work smoothly and without friction with all other
law enforcement agencies. We try to help citizens, but when
it comes to dealing with major crime, we -go in swinging!
A second point of importance is this: Because of its loca-
tion, Jacksonville is the gateway to the playland of Southern
Florida. Crooks and gunmen like to play, even the toughest
of them, and we have a pretty steady stream of top-class
107
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Puff assaulted a guard and drew an additional term of from
tentiary after serving but three years and nine months on his
several convictions, Gerhard Puff was back in the same insti-
tution only a few months later, facing one-to-nine years for
assault with intent to commit armed robbery. And so it went,
until May second, 1951. On that date Puff was arrested by
Milwaukee police on a charge of armed robbery, and lodged
in the Milwaukee County Jail in lieu of $3,000 bail. There,as ¥
his cellmate, he met George Heroux, and the two quickly dis-
covered they had -.a mutual taste—the reckless craving for.
quick and easy riches. _ eee
George Heroux was released from the Milwaukee jail on“
August 23, 1951. Less than two months later an “unknown :
party,” acting through a Chicago bondsman, posted a $3,000
cash bond for the release of Puff, who promptly disappeared. @
And then, on the morning of November 23, 1951, Prairie a
Village, Kansas, got a rude shock! The Johnson County Na- |
tional Bank and Trust Company of Prairie Village was robbed * ©
of $62,000 in cash by two bandits armed with “an M1 car- 4
bine” and dressed in “white, mechanic-type coveralls.” The
bandits—who, of course, were Puff and Heroux—made their
escape in a late model, cream-colored convertible which had
been stolen in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Patiently, methodically, special agents went about identify-
ing—and did identify—the perpetrators of the Kansas bank
robbery as Puff and Heroux. Then, back in Washington, the
presses started to roll off wanted notices for both men.
Puff and Heroux were now in that dubiously select company
of the nations ten “most wanted” criminals. ;
What did Puff and Heroux think of all this? The chances
are that they had no clear idea of the forces they had set in
motion for their own apprehension and punishment. Using the
name “Robert Matthews,” Heroux was in Miami, Florida, ©
busy buying a 64-foot yacht, and arranging to have it refitted |
at a cost of $10,000. As “Mr. Rogers,” Puff drove his pal
around in a new Cadillac. The magnet of money had drawn .
a couple of women into the picture, and there seemed no spot |
at all on the bank bandits’ sun of sheer pleasure. But there
ee
Ba
Pe
Heroux, Puff and their “wives,” under aliases, lived on North
east 90th Street, in the police jurisdiction of El Portal. Finally, #
longing for the bright lights of New York, they checked out!
_ But Heroux intended to return before long, so he left some of
his belongings in the El Portal premises on which the rent had
been paid for some weeks ahead. He also left an unhappy
mess of scarred furniture and damaged drapes which didn’t at
all please his landlady. And, to paraphrase an old phrase:
“Hell hath no fury like an outraged landlady!” This particular
landlady was just dying to give Puff and Heroux a piece of
her mind. |
With the return of Puff and Heroux to New York, events
began to move toward their blazing climax. In July, 1952,
George Heroux checked into room 904 at the Congress Hotel,
in New York, under the name “John Hanson.” Gerhard Puff
checked into room 603 of the same hotel under the name
“J. Burns.” Subsequently Heroux visited the aforementioned
Brooklyn clothier to purchase his new suit, and on July 25th
he took a plane and returned to Miami without observing the
formality of checking out of the Congress.
Arriving in Florida, Heroux, posing as Matthews, pro-
ceeded to the apartment on Northeast 90th Street.
- Heroux hardly had time to look around before there was a
knock on the door and he opened it to find not only an irate
landlady, but Officer Robert Dubray of the El Portal Police.
As it chanced, the policeman was there for no such pur-
pose. He hadn’t the foggiest notion of Heroux’s true identity,
and readily accepted him as Matthews. He’d just been brought
along in case of trouble by the landlady, and as this became
clear to the quick-thinking Heroux, the bank bandit jovially
agreed to pay for the damage in the apartment, and thankfully
saw his unwelcome visitors depart.
Had Officer Dubray of the El Portal Police been less con-
scientious than he was in the discharge of his duties, Puff and
Heroux might be walking the streets of New York at this mo-
ment. But Dubray was conscientious, and when he returned
to headquarters he took time to check the name Robert Mat-
thews in the Department wanted files. Discovering that a
Robert Matthews generally answering Heroux’s description
was wanted on a bad check charge in New York, Dubray com-
municated the facts to his superior, Chief Barron Shields, and
the two went to the 90th Street apartment to make a second .
check, but they didn’t expect the reception they received.
The door of the apartment opened at the officers’ knock to
disclose George Heroux snarling over the sights of his re-
volver.
Disarming the officers, Heroux deftly knocked a pair of
~ dicated to Dubray that he was to drive. The car pulled away
- from the curb. It looked like a clean getaway. But bank bandit
' Hanson,” they found, carelessly tossed aside on the bed, this ©
red Heroux, herding Chief Shields into the back seat of the
lice car, where he made‘him get down on the floor, then in- _
Heroux had overlooked one other member of the cast: the
landlady. ;
_ She was still curiously watching, when the police car drove
away with its captor and captives, and she immediately alerted _
_ the police. ee ses
There followed as mixed up a chase as Florida had seen for
a spell. Police cars chasing police cars was a new wrinkle for
the ‘citizenry, who gasped in puzzled bewilderment as sifens ©
_ wailed, brakes screeched, tortured tires screamed, and shots _
paced the desperately racing vehicles. And then, as suddenly —
as it had begun, the chase ended. Seizing the opportunity pre-
sented by a gun duel between Heroux and pursuing officers, .
Dubray suddenly swerved the police car into a tree. Police
closed in; Heroux was disarmed, Chief Shields was freed.
George Heroux’s arrest (as Robert Matthews) took place in -
Florida on July 25th, 1952. It took Florida Police but a short
time to establish his true identity, and FBI Special Agents at
once joined local police in the investigation.
And it quickly became apparent that the hottest clue to be
found in Heroux’s effects was the receipt from the Brooklyn
tailor! This was the hottest lead yet.
It was timely—dated but a short while ago. It was promis-
ing—bearing the alias of “John Hanson.” And it was specific
—pointing to a very likely place to hunt for Gerhard Puff;
the Congress Hotel in New York.
In a matter of minutes the details of Heroux’s arrest in
Florida, and all facts relative to the clue of the Brooklyn
clothier’s receipt, were at FBI in New York. Special agents
were at once assigned to check the Congress Hotel, and here
they hit the jackpot! In room 904, still registered to “John.
note: :
Have checked out. Will call you about 8:30 this evening.
Otherwise stay here overnight. Will call you about 8:30 am. —
‘tomorrow morning. ae
' The note was signed J. BuRNs. :
This meant all they had to do was stake out the Congress 4
and wait for the return of Puff (Burns). ~
By nine P.M. then, on the evening of July 25th, special |
ss
agents had the Congress Hotel under airtight cover. The 3
te a wi
expected to be the scene of action.
At nine o’clock the next morning, Joe Brock took over a
routine assignment: He was put in charge of the detail of FBI
_. agents which relieved those who had maintained the fruitless.
_ -night-long watch at the Congress Hotel, and after posting his
men he took up his own position in the rear of the small hotel
_lobby behind a thick plate glass door. It placed Brock about
= “eight feet from the foot of the back.stairs of the hotel. Also, it
_ »placed him within a few feet of the two elevators which served
“the upper floors. The thick plate glass door which separated
him from the lobby was frosted upward from the bottom
about half its height, by crouching down in the corner, Joe
could keep the 35-foot-long, 10-foot-wide lobby under obser-
vation without too much risk of detection.
_ Shortly before noon two unidentified women entered the
‘hotel and went to room 904. They were not molested, but
when they left a few minutes later they were trailed to an-
other hotel by special agents in radio cars. At 1:30 P.M. they
again returned to the Congress and went to room 904. Min-
utes later an individual resembling Gerhard Puff entered the
lobby, boarded an elevator, and joined the women in 904.
Puff exhibited no undue nervousness or suspicion when he
entered the hotel and made his way to room 904. But when
he emerged from the room minutes later, he was all cunning,
suspicion, and predatory viciousness. No one knows to this day
what happened t¢é make him suspicious. Shunning the elevator
he slipped quickly through the door to the emergency fire
stairs, at the rear of the building. As silently as a jungle cat
he descended nine full flights to emerge, gun in hand, about
eight feet to the rear and slightly to the right of Joe Brock,
who was crouching in his corner, and intently watching the
lobby!
Whether Joe Brock sensed the man behind him, or whether
a tiny sound alerted him to his peril, is not known. He did,
however, whirl to face Gerhard Puff, gun in hand. But the
bank bandit gave Brock no chance to shoot. Puff’s gun roared
twice; two heavy slugs tore great holes in Joe Brock’s chest;
with a sickening gasp of horror, incredulity, and pain he fell
forward on the stone floor, the fingers of his right hand open-
ing suits worn by more conservative vaca-
tioners.
Friends of Mrs. Harlow notified her of
the mad capers. She hurried back to find
her lovely apartment a wreck—the beau-
tiful coffee table and the rugs scarred and
burned by the innumerable cigaret butts
still littering the floors.
Draperies were spotted with liquor and
burned, chinaware lay smashed, the
springs in one bed were utterly ruined.
Obscene photos were scattered about. No
one was in the apartment.
A day later, Heroux showed up driving
a small pick-up truck. He was moving
out and wanted to get some of his cloth-
ing.
Mrs. Harlow accosted him. “Look what
you have done to my apartment!” she
stormed. “You'll have to pay .for this
damage.”
Heroux tried to play the gentleman at
first. Then he became the plug-ugly that
he was.
“Scram!” he said threateningly. “You
won't get a dime!”
Neighbors overheard the heated argu-
ment and summoned the police.
At El Portal headquarters, Police Chief
Barrows Shields received the call. “One
* of those landlord and tenant fights,” he
said to Policeman Robert Dubray, “Want
to come along?”
The argument between Mrs. Harlow
and Heroux had settled down when the
police arrived. But there was something
about Heroux’ manner that prompted
Police Chief Shields to suggest that he
accompany the officers to headquarters.
“O.K.,” Heroux said indifferently, “I'll
be with you soon’s I get my jacket.”
The thug walked to the pick-up truck.
He reached in, dipped his hand in a pocket
of the coat and came up with a deadly-
looking snub-nosed .38-caliber automatic.
“I’m George Heroux—one of the ten’
most wanted men in the country!” the
hoodlum whispered menacingly, as he
covered the officers with the pistol.
“I never heard of you,” Shields began,
and walked toward the gunman. Heroux
cut him off.
“Get me outta town the quickest way,”
‘ he ordered. “Just make up your minds
you're going to die. If your men nab me,
you'll get it that much quicker!”
The bandit grabbed Patrolman Dubray’s
handcuffs, snapped them on Chief Shields.
He herded the officers toward Shields’
car, which bore no official designation.
“You drive,” Heroux ordered of Dubray.
“But first strip off that uniform!”
The officer started to protest. But a
steely glance from the slim, gray-eyed
gun wielder and a prod in the ribs with the
automatic.made him change his mind.
Clad only in his shorts, Patrolman Du-
bray took over the weel. Heroux pushed
the manacled Shields into the rear seat of
the sedan and then crouched beside him.
Dubray started the motor and turned the
car north at high speed.
Either through sheer recklessness or be-
cause he had overlooked her, Heroux paid
no attention to Mrs. Donald Harlow, the
landlady whose difficulties had touched
off the whole affair. From her apartment
pent she had watched the fast-moving
ama.
As the gunman and his hostages raced |
away, Mrs. Harlow telephoned headquar-
ters, spreading an alarm.
At the Marine Ait Station, in nearb
Opa-Locka, Miami, Detectives E. C. Bus
and R. E, Esser were on a routine auto-
theft probe. Their work completed, the
officers, in company with Marine Sergeant
Lowell Dykstra of the provost marshal’s
office, were heading homeward. Dykstra
50. UA
had been assigned to the police to aid them
‘ in the auto-theft investigation.
The three men had barely cleared the
air station’s grounds when. they picked up
the kidnaping alert over the short-wave
car radio. Almost simultaneously they
spotted the automobile containing the
captives, roaring north on the highway
barely 100 yards away.
With rear wheels spinning up bits of
sand and gravel and with siren scream-
ing, the police car, with Detective Esser
ie gave chase.
Inside the kidnap car, Heroux, snarling
and cursing, hammered out the rear win-
dow with hi
on the pursuers. One of his shots creased
the side of the pursuing car inches from
where Detective Bush sat with his own
’ pistol blazing away.
Sergeant Dykstra joined in the fray,
banging away with a heavy .45 as the
racing cars swayed and careened up the
highway. if
‘Faster, faster!” Heroux ordered Du-
bray as the police car began closing the
gap. The gunman took careful aim at De-’
tective Esser as the latter’s car came
within easy range.
Chief Shields, spotting Heroux’ pre-
occupation with his shot, took a gambler’s
chance. As the gunman squeezed the trig-
ger, Shields kicked his arm. The shot went
wild. The next moment Dubray, with a
squeal of the brakes, crashed the auto
against a tree.
, Heroux, winded and with the
knocked from his hand, tumbled out, fol-
lowed by the two captive police officers.
In a split second Detective Esser drove
up alongside. He, Detective Bush and Ser-
geant Dykstra advanced with drawn guns.
“You're just a bunch of lucky slobs,”
Heroux sneered as handcuffs were
clamped ‘on him. When the hoodlum was
frisked, $1,650 in bills was found on him.
“First I thought, this is a young punk,”
Chief Shields recalled later. “Then I heard
the hammer on, the pistol go back and I. .
knew this was no young punk but a kill-
crazy criminal!”
Events moved rapidly with the arrest
of Heroux. A label inside the gunman’s
jacket was traced within a few hours to
a New York City custom tailor.
“Sure,” the. clothier told FBI Special
gents. “I made up that suit-for Mr. John
anson of the Congress Hotel on West
69th Street.”
The investigators raced to the hotel
where a desk clerk identified a picture of
eroux as “Mr. Hanson.” What was more
romising—a photo of Gerhard Arthur
Puff was promptly recognized as “Mr.
Burns, also a resident of the hotel.”
, It developed that the two desperadoes,
with their wives, had rented rooms at the
highly respectable Congress Hotel some-
timie previously, unpredictably appearing
and disappearing for days at a time. ’
According 'to the desk clerk, Burns—or
uff—and his wife had vacated their room
at very day. But Room 904 was still
iy org under the Heroux alias, Hanson.
I Special Agents searched the room. -
On the bed they found a note written by
Puff and left for Heroux. It read: “Have
checked out. Will call you at about 8:30
this evening, otherwise stay here over-
hight. Will call you about 8:30 tomorrow
morning.” The note was signed “Burns.”
The message was found on the night of
uy 25, 1952—the same day as Heroux
ad been picked up in Miami. Apparently
the thug had flown down to Florida to
close out the apartment there and to pick
pp his clothing. That’s when he had run
3 to his indignant landlady—and the po-
ce. .
eS
gun butt and opened fire
i
At FBI headquarters in New York, plans |
were under way for a stake out at the
Congress Hotel, awaiting Puff’s telephone
on his appearance. On an electro-
' magnetic board, models of the hotel layout
and of the adjoining streets were studied.
Metal figures representing the various
special agents who were soon to go into
action were moved about in a realistic
preview of the planned operation.
Their briefing finished, a squad of
Special. Agents set up an around-the-
clock surveillance of the hotel. The G-Men
were strategically placed in the lobby, in
rooms on the ninth floor, at the hotel en-
trance and in the streets surrounding the
building, while FBI radio cars cruised in
the vicinity.
At about 9 a.m. on July 26, a new shift
of Special Agents of the FBI took over the
watch. Directing this group was Joseph
John Brock, 44, married and the father
of three children. Brock and two other
Special Agents stationed themselves in the
lobby.
Shortly before noon, the criminals’
wives were recognized entering the hotel.
They visited Room 904 and then left.
Special Agents in radio cars tailed them
to —_ hotel. Then, at 1:20 p.m. the
women returned to the Congress and again
went to Room 904.
Shortly afterward, a slim, light-haired,
nattily dressed man walked jauntily into
the lobby. He made a call on the house
phone to Room 904 and then went up in
the elevator. Through a prearranged sig-
nal—the lighting of a cigar—the hotel
clerk confirmed that the man was Gerhard
Arthur Puff.
It was decided to wait for the criminal
to return to the lobby before arresting
him. Special Agent Brock took up a posi-
tion at the foot of a fire-escape stairway
in the lobby.
Somehow—whether by tip or by recog-
nizing signs of the stake out—Puff became ,
alerted to his peril. Within a few minutes,
gun in hand, he was creeping down the
fire stairs into the lobby.
As Brock intercepted him, Puff fired at
point-blank range, sending two fatal slugs
through the Special Agent’s chest.
Then the killer seized the slain G-Man’s
pistol and ran wild through the lobby,
guns blazing in both hands. As he dashed
through the lobby door, FBI Special
Agents stationed behind parked cars out-
side called on him to surrender.
The public enemy’s only answer was
gunfire. Then the Federal men _ blasted
ag to the sidewalk with a fusillade of
e. + .
\
The cowardly slayer survived his
wounds, But justice caught up with him,
finally on the hot, sticky night of August
12, 1954, at Sing Sing Prison.
On that day, after eating two tremen-
dous meals of fish, meat, assorted vegeta-
bles and desserts, Puff ‘calmly assisted in
strapping himself in the electric chair.
ing to a Federal officer, he said,
“Good-by, Marshal.” Moments later—at
11:08 p.m.—he was pronounced dead.
Meanwhile, Heroux was behind bars in
the Florida State Penitentiary at Raiford,
serving a 25-year sentence for the kid-
naping of the El Portal policemen. He had _
been given different sentences totaling 25
years for the Kansas bank robberies, to
be served on completion of the Florida
term. i
While the gunman languished in prison,
his wife, the beauteous Ruth Baro, was
making the rounds with a new sweetheart,
Raymond Staffa, a 27-year-old race track
groom whom she had met at a Miami
track.
' Staffa, who knew more about horses
‘ |
than: he did about wome
’ when she said she had «
The horse groom, becar
several months later, w
ravishing bride.
Unknown to Staffa,
been secretly visiting
tentiary during the
was paying court to ne:
had become so infatuate:
that when she put the p
get her a pistol, he acg
sented her with a small
inch .25-caliber gun of -
On February 20, 1955,
Heroux. Strategically s
girdle was the little
‘ dealer.
So expertly was it
prison matron charged
tors missed it complete]
Somehow, during the
aged to slip the weapon
Heroux spent the n
» turning over in his mi
plans. Finally he hit o
At 9:30 am., on Ap
hailed Guard Guy Edw
wards to escort him fr
lavatory. As the pair w
block, Heroux dropped
guard. Soon the thv
pressed against Edwa:
concealing the small t
“Just keep on walkir
pened,” Heroux direc
“Just keep walking an
. Chapman’s office.”
L. F. Chapman was
the prison. As it deve!
planned to use the wa)
a desperate attempt to
Near the entrance t:
were accosted by Ass
ent J. G. Godwin and
pression on Edwards’ f
all was not well. The)
The gun-crazy despe
to open fire. When the
Godwin lay dead and
L. L. Wainwright anc
badly wounded. The
overpowered the kille
Heroux was
ment while State’
launched an inve _
sons who had visite
father and his wife.
The father was cle:
ing, Ruth broke do.
having smuggled in
“I was always scé
sobbed. “When he t
a gun, I was afraid:
he’d get out somehov
me.”
“She played Staff
State’s Attorney sa:
some money from .-
Ruth and her br
tenced to 10 years e<
| - playing both ends a;
gling charge.
Heroux tried to
. murder rap with a
this dodge failed. H
Florida court and
prisonment.
Authorities still {
secret of the strar
Savela in Massach
peated efforts to get
killer maintains hi
the grim prison ce]
(Note: The name
used in the foregoin:
real name has been
iensity of an innoc
police investigation.)
w York, plans ,
ce out at the
iff’s telephone
1 an electro-
e hotel layout
were studied.
the various
on to go into
in a realistic
cation.
a squad of
around-the-
‘l. The G-Men
the lobby, in
the hotel en-
crounding the
ars cruised in
6, a new shift
took over the
2 was Joseph
ad the father
nd two other
mselves in the
ae criminals’
‘ing the hotel.
ad then left.
s tailed them
1:20 p.m. the
cess and again
light-haired,
jauntily into
on the house
vent up in
anged sig-
-the hotel
was Gerhard
the criminal
ore arresting
ok up a posi-
‘ape stairway
or by recog-
-~Puff became ,
few minutes,
ng down the
Puff fired at
vo fatal slugs
chest.
lain G-Man’s
h the lobby,
As he dashed
FBI Special
ced cars out-
er.
answer was
men blasted
fusillade of
survived his
up with him
ht of August
two tremen-
orted vegeta-
y assisted in
tric chair.
cer, he said,
nts later—at
od dead.
shind bars in
y at Raiford,
for the kid-
‘men. He had
2s totaling 25
robberies, to
the Florida
--4 in prison,
Baro, was
veetheart,
wu race track
at a Miami
about horses
. Chapman’s office.”
b |
than: he did about women, believed Ruth
when she said she had divorced Heroux.
The horse groom, became a bridegroom
several months later, with Ruth as the
ravishing bride. ;
Unknown to Staffa, his darling Ruth had
been secretly visiting Heroux in the peni-
tentiary during the time that the groom
was paying court to her. Husband No. 2
had become so infatuated with her charms
that when she put the pressure on him to
get her a pistol, he acquiesced and pre-
sented her with a small but deadly four-
inch .25-caliber gun of Italian make. '.
On February 20, 1955, Ruth went to see
Heroux. Strategically situated inside her
girdle was the little four-inch death _
dealer.
So expertly was it concealed that. a
prison matron charged with frisking visi-
tors missed it completely.
Somehow, during the visit, Ruth man-
aged to slip the weapon to the gunman.
Heroux spent the next several weeks
turning over in his mind various escape
plans. Finally he hit on one.
At 9:30 a.m., on April 4, the gunman
hailed Guard Guy Edwards. He asked Ed-
wards to escort hint from his cell to the
lavatory. As the pair walked down the cell
block, Heroux dropped slightly behind the
guard. Soon the thug had the pistol
pressed against Edwards’ ribs, his hand
concealing the small barrel.
“Just keep on walking like nothing hap-
pened,” Heroux directed in a whisper.
“Just keep walking and take me down to
L. F. Chapman was superintendent of
the prison. As it developed later, Heroux
planned to use the warden as a hostage in
a desperate attempt to break jail.
Near the entrance to the office, the pair
were accosted by Assistant Superintend-
ent J. G. Godwin and six guards. The ex-
pression on Edwards’ face tipped them that
all was not well. They rushed at Heroux.
The gun-crazy desperado didn’t hesitate
to open fire. When the smoke had cleared,
Godwin lay dead and two of the guards,
L. L. Wainwright and L. D. Dodds, were
badly wounded. The other guards finally
overpowered the killer.
Heroux was ‘put in solitary confine-
ment while State’s Attorney T. E. Duncan
launched an investigation. The only per-
sons who had visited Heroux were
father and his wife.
The father was cleared. After question-
ing, Ruth broke down and confessed to
having smuggled in the pistol.
“I was always scared of George,” she
sobbed. “When he told me to bring him
a gun, I was afraid not to do it. I figured
he’d get out somehow and then come after
me.”
“She played Staffa for a sucker,” the
State’s Attorney said. “She was getting
some money from Heroux and she was
playing both ends against the middle.”
Ruth and her bridegroom were sen-
tenced to 10 years each on the gun-smug-
gling charge. :
Heroux tried to beat the first-degree
murder rap with a plea of insanity. But
this dodge failed. He was convicted: by a
Florida court and sentenced to life im-
prisonment.
Authorities still feel that he holds the
secret of the strange death of Trooper
Savela in Massachusetts. Byt despite re-
peated efforts to get him to talk, the sullen
killer maintains his brooding silence in
the grim prison cell. '
(Note: The name Mrs. Donald Harlow, as
used in the foregoing story, is fictitious. The
real name has been changed to protect the
identity of an innocent person involved in a
police investigation.)
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ked eye. Ruth Tay-
a blue rabbit-hair
er got a lot of these
rhen he attacked the
ag to send him to his
“What—what—do
Donnell”—Inspector
air on the top of his
xamined your over-
1ome while we kept
1 on it exactly 234
at came from the
or,
possible!” Harry
v what he was say-
s—sure, I probably
igs I bought for the
the baby sweaters
aughter would be
isholm countered.
her things. Your
rs and white oak
hey correspond to
n that ravine. We
3 at the garage that
around 11:15. We
w you walking in
‘ll Avenue.”
say something but
1 read about sus-
es into a confes-
ped and stared at
: walked into the
missed several
aterhouse was
i buried in the
the wrench to In-
7 examined it for
sty,” Waterhouse
hen the rust was
he initials ‘OD’ ”
the killer. “The
her, wrenches in
ge. D) .
its before Killer
-ol of himself. He
1€ was innocent.
cene, but better
et. x
\estioning failed
questions. When
n with the labo-
ere stained with
lly gave up try-
arry O’Donnell,
ed to a cell and
the murder of
O’Donnell’ was
stice Nicol Jef-
n Toronto. The
3 cell had taken
.e testimony in
is eyes off the
could not bear
wife, who at-
", which came
than an hour,
to him. “Guilty
ree,” he heard
ling of May 5,
e day, after
ravished body
ine—the killer
d unaided
1e gallows. His
* nor was he
| any more.
dead—his
| How the FBI Trapped the
Kill-Crazy Bank Bandits
[Continued from page 21]
Heroux’ description. Needless to state, the
lawmen wasted no time in issuing a “pick-
ae order for George “The Kid” Heroux.
¢ alarm was soon ticking by teletype to.
law-enforcement bodies throughout the
country. ae
But apparently their ferretlike quarry
had holed up.
Little more than a month went by.
Then, on October 10, 1951, as the cashier
of the Southside Bank of Kansas City,
Missouri, was about to enter the building,
he was accosted by a stranger.
The time was shortly before 8 a.m. No
other employes were due to report for
work for a while yet. Inside the bank the
phe other person was the building custo-
an.
“Don’t make any false moves,” the in-
terloper said quietly. “Just open the door
and walk in.”
The newcomer was dressed in coveralls
and wore a visored cap like that of a chauf-
feur. In his hand he held a small auto-
matic.
The cashier looked about him desper--
ately. There was no help in sight. He
selected a key from his ring and followed
the gunman’s instrictions. ur
In a matter of seconds, the startled cus-
todian, who was standing’ near the door,
found himself staring down the barrel of
the automatic. S
“This is a stick-up!” the bandit said,
just as if there were any need to label his
actions. Then, addressing the cashier—
“Open the vault and hand over every
dime inside!”
The cashier did as directed. He handed
$4,641 in bills to the gunman. Fortunately,
other funds were secure in a time-locked
safe inside the vault. While the bandit
grabbed the money, the custodian, on gun-
enforced orders, drew the blinds on the
windows facing the street.
But the bandit appeared to be in no
hurry to leave, even after stuffing the bills
into a large pocket of his coveralls. Coolly
puffing a cigaret, he waited until other
bank employes showed up for work.
Then, one by one, the gunman herded
them into a huge vault. “Your boss hasn’t
arrived yet,” the bandit sneered as he
slammed the vault’s door closed. “When
he gets here, he’ll let you out—if you’re
not smothered.”
Minutes after the bandit fled the bank,
an official entered. Muffled shouting and
pounding on the vault’s door attracted his
attention. Using combination and key, he
opened the depository and his white-faced
employes came tumbling out.
Kansas City police began their inves-
tigation in routine fashion. Scores of pic-
tures of known bank robbers and stick-up
men were laboriously examined by the
bank employes.
But they could not tie in the bandit with
any of the photos. ‘i
Then came one of those uncanny, in-
explicable quirks of fate that so often
bring success or failure to the best-laid
plans.
In Massachusetts, Heroux’ old partner
in crime, John P. Elliott, was undergoing
a stiff quizzing in connection with the
slaying of Trooper Savela.
here was Heroux? He didn’t know.
He didn’t know anything. Hadn’t seen The
Kid for weeks. Elliott didn’t have any-
thing to say. That is, he didn’t until it was
.
suggested to him that maybe he, himself,
mig t be charged with the trooper’s mur-
er. ;
He changed his tune. “Try Kansas City,”
Elliott told his questioners. “Heroux told
me that the East was getting too hot for
him. He.said he had some angles in K. C.
he wanted to case.”
Acting on the long-shot. chance, the
Massachusetts .lawmen sent Heroux’
photo to the Kansas City authorities with
a renewed pick-up request.
Here is where fate stepped in. The Kan-
sas City investigators, upon receipt of the
,alarm, played a hunch to the limit. The
showed the fugitive’s picture to the ban
robbery victims. |
“That’s the man!” was the unanimous
verdict. The search for George Heroux
took on greater impetus.
Meanwhile, in the Milwaukee County
jail, Gerhard Arthur Puff had not forgot-
ten the unholy alliance he had struck up
with his erstwhile cell mate. He became
impatient for action.
It was exactly seven days after the
Southside Bank Robbery that an unidenti-
fied man, acting through a Chicago bonds-
man, posted $3,000 in cash as bond for
the release of hoodlum Puff pending the
latter’s trial, which was scheduled for No-
vember 15, 1951. ’
Puff never showed up in the courtroom.
As events showed, .he was too busy else-
‘where. ath HE
‘A week after thesnitiny-tims loser dis-
appeared on bond, two thugs robbed the
Johnson County Bank at Prairie Village,
Kansas, of $62,000 in cash.
_ The bandits wore coveralls and hunting
caps. The method of operation—always a
valuable clue for law-enforcement au-
thorities—was virtually identical with that -
of the robbery of the Southside Bank of -
Kansas City. q
Mrs. Beverly Godfrey, a bookkeeper,
was waylaid on her way to work. With a
pistol jammed against her back, she was
‘ forced to open the door. One of the ban-
dits, armed with an Army-type M-1 car-
bine, covered the later-arriving workers
and ordered them back to a reception
room.
While this was going on, the other gun-
man, having forced the cashier to open the
vault, was busy stuffing stacks of paper
money into a muslin bag which resembled
a pillowcase. The bag bore the label of the
_ Southside Bank of Kansas City!
Less than an hour elapsed before the
bandits sped away in a cream-colored con-
vertible. After traveling a short distance,
they abandoned the car and, lugging their
.loot, entered a- big black sedan parked
nearby. They streaked off.
Witnesses to the robbery told FBI
Special Agents that the bandits resembled
Puff and Heroux. It was evident that the
pre and the ferret had begun their forag-
g.
Identification—like the modus operandi
—is always of prime importance in crime
investigation. But it is not conclusive in
obtaining. a conviction. Corroborating
evidence is needed. A fingerprint on the
hub cap of the abandoned convertible was
established as that of Puff’s. Thus the
‘‘noose of suspicion was tightened around
one of the bandits. But how about Heroux?
A grimly determined FBI fingerprint
expert, John Robyak, took care of that
situation. In answer to a tip from a-Kan-
sas City hotel clerk that two men an-
swering the bandits’ description had
rented a room shortly before the robbery
at nearby Prairie Village, Special Agent
Robyak began a minute search of the
room, .
_ The walls, furnishings, windows and
a=
- Fi
s
Fe were scrutinized. Nothing. Then
obyak set to work on the 1,100-page
Greater. Kansas City phohe directory in
e room. wae:
Page by page, he went through the di-
rectory, tearing each one out and soaking
it in a solution of silver nitrate. Minute
specks of perspiration from the fingers of
a person handling the directory usually
deposits body salts on the page. The re-
action of the body salts to the silver nitrate
produces silver chloride, a compound sen-
sitive to light. When the page is exposed
to a carbon arc light, the prints appear
and are photographed.
The painstaking work was rewarding.
or, from a.multitude of fingerprints that
howed up, four were firmly established
as Heroux’.
And of the four, two were found on a
classified advertising page under the head-
ing of “Banks”!
While police authorities from coast to
coast, in co-operation with the FBI, dog-
gedly set to work to track down the crim-
inals, the two partners in crime were liv-
ing on the hog.
Under assumed names, they rented the
plushiest hotel suites and saw to it that
ey were amply stocked with whisky
and women. .
They bought a $20,000 yacht, had it re-
fitted at Lantana, Florida, and—not being
particularly fond of fishing—used it mainly
for wild orgies at sea, where they and their
girl friends could not be disturbed by in-
quisitive hotel detectives..
One of their jaunts took Heroux and
Puff to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where,
during a gay party at a night spot, a volup-
tous brunette, her body undulating in
what was described as an “Oriental strip
tease,” caught Puff’s eye.
The desperado was not one to worship
~ from afar. He motioned’to the headwaiter.
Soon the girl, Honey Emerie O’Brien, was
presented at his table. oe
Puff fell hard for the 17-year-old strip-
per. They were married in Darlington,
South Carolina. Honéy said later that
she knew Puff only as Richard E. Rogers,
a prosperous young businessman.
Heroux, himself, had married a honey-
haired Massachusetts girl, Ruth Baro, a
few months previously.
The two couples teamed up in a series
of wild sprees from New England to
Florida. When money grew scarce, the
husbands would disappear for a couple
of days and then show up with a fresh
bank roll.
“Once I saw a brief case full of money
in rolls wrapped by rubber bands,” Honey
was to testify later.
Early in 1952, the bandits and their
wives showed up in El Portal, Florida.
A local resident, Mrs. Donald Harlow,
had advertised her elaborately furnished
apartment for rent. She, herself, was going
to take a trip for a few weeks.
Heroux introduced himself as “John
Hanson,” a New York* businessman.
“Down South for a little quiet relaxation
away from the tensions of Wall Street.
Lovely apartment. Like to rent it. Money
no object.”
So the deal was closed. Mrs. Harlow left
town blissfully unaware that her two male
tenants were on the FBI list of the “ten
most wanted” criminals in America.
The two couples “relaxed” with a series
of wild parties that had neighbors gasping
through partly drawn blinds.
Underworld friends of the bandits came
to join in the revelry.
With the coming of dawn, and to the .
tune of laughter, oaths and the smashing
of bottles, the merry mob would drive off
tb the beach for a swim—minus the bath-
ray 49
Joseph J. Brock (/.) was first New York area FBI agent to die in gun battle; one of 20 operatives assigned to
trail Mrs. Annie Laurie Puff (r.) and friend to hotel and set trap for fugitive, Brock was slain by shot in back
PUFF, Gerhard Ae, white, electrocuted Sing Sing (Federal) 8-12-195).
HUNTEL
MEN
and the slain FBI agent
EIGHBORHOOD SUSPICIONS mushroomed | this
spring in the suburb of El Portal, at the north edge
of Miami, after a flashily-dressed young couple
rented Mrs. Peter Bennett’s attractive ranch-type house
on 90th Street. At the time, even the most suspicious resi-
dents would not have guessed that the story was to end in
gun-blazing battles in two cities.
The couple had introduced themselves to Mrs. Bennett
as Mr. and Mrs. Robert Matthews. Matthews was dark and
handsome; his wife, a shapely, heart-faced blonde. They
had moved in, with a small girl, on May 26th, stating that
they planned to stay for two months. A few days later,
Mrs. Bennett left to visit friends in the North. She had
hardly gone when a second brassy young couple, who gave
their names as Mr. and Mrs. Frank Scott, took up house-
keeping with the Matthews. It was then that the partying
began. Those parties were something.
Under the influence of cheering beverages, they became
so buoyant that they discussed financial affairs at the top
of their lungs, with a reckless lack of reticence. The
neighbors, who could hardly be expected to stuff their
ears against such audible and intriguing details, overheard
arguments in which many thousands of dollars seemed to
clash head-on. .
The general consensus was: “Those two couples are just
plain no good! The police ought to be told about this.”
Such was the state of affairs when an even more starting
element was injected into the ruamors—a murder. On June
24th, Dr. Clifton C. Springmyer was foully done away
with in Miami. And on the next day, the Matthews, the
little girl and their bosom pals, the Scotts, departed from
El Portal as silently and precipitously as the tent-fold-
ing and stealthy Arabs of Longfellow. This was the
clincher as far as the residents of El Portal were concerned.
The score stands 2 to 1: the life of a heroic G-Man
for the capture of two desperate killers
‘ Trase Datectorr, Novel, 953
¥ er a a all EN! Poms, ao
FURAN MIE: RIC II Cea MAE CTS
a
The women took the clevator io the
ninth floor. They had hardly disappeared
when Puff came walking along the street
and turned into the hotel lobby. He walked
over to the desk and asked Denmark to
ring the ninth-floor suite. He talked for a
few seconds to his wife, then took the
elevator upstairs.
Puff’s manner was casual, unhurried. He
acted like a man who had not a worry on
his mind, and FBI agents were positive
that he suspected nothing. The instant he
stepped into the elevator, they started to
pull tight the noose of the trap.
“He’s going up!” The walkie-talkie radio
alerted the detectives who waited outside
on 69th Street. Inside the hotel, arrange-
ments were swiftly perfected. Agents were
stationed both upstairs and down. The
elevator exits were covered by one of the
FBI’s veteran agents, Joseph J. Brock, 44,
who crouched in a rear hallway behind a
frosted glass door leading into the lobby.
Through a diamond-cut design in the
frosted pattern, Brock could look directly
into the lobby and see everyone leaving
the elevators, only a few feet away.
There were only two other exits. A
stairwell came down into the hallway a few
feet in back of the spot where Brock
crouched. Another set of stairs led down
to the basement and then up to the street
through a separate door. Agents were
aware of this circuitous escape route and
had it covered; but their main concern
was with the elevators which Puff had
always used and by which he might be
expected to descend.
It was precisely here, however, that an
unknown factor entered the case to upset
the best-laid plans. Upstairs, something
happened. Even to this day, FBI agents
are not certain what took place; but they
believe that Mrs. Heroux must have
learned of the capture of her husband in
Florida the previous day, that she must
have told Puff. In any event, the non-
chalant, unsuspecting bandit who had
sauntered into the elevator with all the
aplomb of a privileged hotel guest was
transformed, in a few minutes, into a wary,
suspicious and dangerous fugitive.
Instead of coming back to the ground
floor in an elevator, Puff crept cat-footed
down the stairway. He came out unob-
served into the hallway at Agent Brock’s
back. His quick eyes saw the agent
crouched, gun drawn, peering through the
diamond-shaped glass peephole at the
elevator doors.
The sight ignited the mad fury of a
trapped rat in Puff. He drew his snub-nosed
.38 caliber Smith & Wesson revolver and
began firing.
Brock never had a chance. The first
bullet apparently struck him near the left
shoulder and passed completely through
the upper part of his body. Four more
slugs from Puff’s viciously spitting re-
volver tore into the FBI agent.
Brock returned the fire as he fell. He
fired until he had emptied his gun. Then,
as Puff fled past him, he sank forward on
his face, calling weakly: “Help! Help!”
Puff raced into the lobby, where the
other FBI men loosed a hail of shots at his
sprinting figure. Hy Denmark, behind the
hotel desk, dived for the floor as slugs
whined and ricocheted through the lobby,
splintering glass and woodwork and tear-
ing jagged gaps in upholstery.
It seemed as if a mosquito would have
had trouble dodging the fusillade, but Puff
performed the miracle and reached the
street. There he stumbled and collapsed on
the sidewalk, clutching his left leg. The car
beside which he fell had had a window
smashed by a bullet.
Apparently, one of Brock’s last shots had
taken effect, splintering the bone in Puff’s
leg near the thigh.
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FBI agents, who had been firing at Puff
from behind the shelter of parked cars in
the streets, called to him: “Drop that gun!
Drop it!”
Puff, who had kept a firm grip on the
gun even as he fell, finally released it,
letting it slide along the walk. FBI agents
raced up and snapped handcuffs: on the
wounded desperado. Even then, Puff was
tough and snarling.
“IT was alone!” he said.
“Where are the girls?” one agent de-
manded.
“IT don’t remember nothing. Why don’t
you cut it out?”
“You don’t want the girls to get killed,
do you?”
Puff just sneered and clamped obstin-
ately silent lips.
Ambulances rushed both wounded men
to Roosevelt Hospital, where Agent Brock
died shortly before 2 p.m. Puff’s condition
was not critical, but doctors said he would
not be able to walk for at least three
months.
The wives of Heroux and Pull were
arrested in the Congress Hotel room that
Mr. and Mrs. Heroux had occupied. The
women protested that they had known
their husbands by different names when
they married. Annie Laurie Puff, the
Oriental stripper, said she had married
Puff on June 8rd in Darlington, South
Carolina, under the name of Richard E.
Rogers. Joan Heroux contended that her
husband called himself Robert Allen when
they were married in Columbia, South
Carolina, in February.
Despite the stories of the two wives,
there was little doubt that they were fully
aware of the criminal activities of their
husbands. FBI agents disclosed that an
examination of the heavy suitcase they
had transported to the Park Crescent Hotel
on the morning of the fatal shooting showed
that it contained a large quantity of fire-
arms, including shotguns and .45s.
In addition, Annie Laurie Puff told FBI
agents that she once saw pictures of her
husband and Heroux decorating the walls
of a post office. She became so incensed,
she said, that she tore the posters down
and took them to a ladies’ room where she
destroyed them.
Bit by bit, details of the tangled lives
of the young couples were disclosed. Annie
Laurie received quite a shock when police
informed her that her husband had been
previously married and had neglected to
get a divorce. Joan Heroux, too, had been
previously married to a Brooklyn truck
driver who told reporters that they had
never been divorced. It was their daugh-
ter, Barbara, 3, who had been living with
the Heroux couple in El Portal, where
Joan had palmed off the girl as a sister.
The two wives were held in jail in de-
fault of $50,000 bail each on charges of
harboring a fugitive and being accessories
after the fact in a bank robbery. Puff was
indicted on July 3lst for first-degree
murder, while Heroux, in Florida, was held
on kidnaping charges on which officials
said they planned to ask the death penalty.
Meanwhile, follow-up investigations
were pressed by the FBI and police of
several states. There were many gaps to
be bridged in the crime careers of Heroux
and Puff. Officials hoped to clear up several
more bank robberies and, perhaps, the
slaying of the Massachusetts State Trooper.
No matter what the final tabulation
shows, the tragedy wrought by the des-
perate pair was something that could
never be undone. Brock was dead—the
first FBI agent ever to be killed in a gun
battle in New York. Ironically, the victim
and his killer came from the same city,
Milwaukee, where Brock was born and
where Puff grew up.
It was at this desperate crisis in the action, with life
and death hinging on the caprice of each wildly flying
- Shot, that Chief Shields made his gamble. Handcuffed
though he was, he edged nearer to Heroux. The gunman
sae his new danger, whirled and fired a shot at the
ief
The range was point-blank. The target, the chief’s body,
was only inches away in the cramped confines of the back.
seat. A miss would seem impossible; but, in the tenseness
of the moment, Heroux missed.
He never had another chance.
Chief Shields kicked upwards with all his strength. One
of his feet caught the gunman’s arm and pinned it against
the seat.
The chief’s attack gave Patrolman Dubray a chance. As
Matthews struggled desperately to free his arm and gun,
Dubray swung the wheel and crashed the car into a tree
at the corner of NW 27th Avenue and Vermont Street in
Opa-locka.
The impact of the ‘crash sent Heroux’s head smashing
into the hard frame of the door. He slumped down in the
back seat, stunned and nearly unconscious.
As the wild chase ended, another policeman appeared
on the scene. William Ross, of the Hialeah police, had
been driving to work when he saw the speeding cars and
heard the shots. As Dubray crashed one car into the tree _
and the second skidded to a stop, Ross leaped .out, gun
drawn, and covered everybody—Chief Shields, Dubray,
Esser, Bush and Dykstra—until he could sort: out the
desperado from the detectives.
Within minutes, the scene was swarming with other
policemen. Heroux, who had masqueraded behind the alias
of Matthews, was handcuffed securely and taken off to the
Dade County jail in Miami. The policemen whom he had
captured and those who had captured him were all unhurt.
Miraculously, despite the number of shots fired, the closest
anyone had come to injury was Dubray, whose arm had
been ' creased by a bullet.
When Heroux was searched, $1,650 in bills of large de-
nominations was found in his wallet. But this was not the
important discovery. Heroux had also had an airplane
ticket. After he was captured, he pulled this ticket from
Owner peers through shattered window of car that
was parked near spot where gunman fell in battle
_ only half done. Heroux was only half a Dillinger.
his wallet and tried to destroy it by tearing it into small
pieces.
Detectives spotted Sia, however, and recovered the
scraps of ticket. Pieced together, these showed that Heroux
had made reservations on a flight to New York the day
of his capture.
The discovery was an important one because detectives
knew that, even with Heroux’s capture, their job was
The
other half was his partner in crime, Gerhard Arthur Puff.
Their police records were notorious. Together they had
robbed so many banks that they had’ boosted each other
onto the list of the FBI’s ten most wanted men.
Heroux and Puff had met in prison. Heroux had done a
six-month stretch in an army prison after black-mark-
eteering in Germany in 1949. Discharged from the army,
he had embarked on a career of crime, assembling an
arsenal of guns and heading for Milwaukee, Wisconsin,
where he planned to hold up a savings and loan bank.
Heroux and a partner cased the bank and drew elaborate
diagrams, but finally abandoned the scheme as too dan-
gerous. They attempted to console themselves in a cheap
night club, where Heroux made the mistake of trying to
paw a floor-show chorine. A brawl followed, the police
came and Heroux’s crime blueprints and artillery were
discovered.
The sulky-featured young man was thrown into the
Miiwaukee County jail. There was an unused cot in his
cell, and on’ May 2nd, 1951, a bored turnkey shoved Puff
into the half-used pen.
Puff was 37, 15 years older than Heroux, and much the
more experienced crook. He was about the same height
and weight, with the same chestnut brown hair. Puff,
however, had blue eyes in contrast to Heroux’s brown, and
his features were chubbier. The extreme tip of the index
finger of his right hand had been amputated.
Born in Dresden, Germany, the son of a World War I
soldier, Puff had been brought to America by his father
in 1927, ‘a year after the father had emigrated and settled
in Milwaukee. Puff was always a problem child. He was
arrested for car theft when he was 14, and from then on,
except for brief periods, he was in and out of trouble.
On one occasion he assaulted a guard in the Waupun
Penitentiary in a jail-break attempt; later he was jailed
for assault and armed robbery. Finally, on May 2nd,
1951, the day he met Heroux, he was arrested for an
armed.robbery in Milwaukee’s Ambassador Hotel. He
was jailed to await trial when he could not post bail.
‘. Heroux and Puff, all evidence indicates, made the most
effective use of their jail-imposed leisure to improve crime
techniques that until that moment had been notable only
for their imperfection. On August. 23rd, 1951, Heroux was
released from jail and instantly embarked on a career of
big-time crime.
' His first move, according to the FBI dossier, was to get
a gun, steal a car and drive to Kansas City. There he
cased the Southside Bank, and on the morning of October
_ 10th, 1951, he stuck a gun into the back of the bank’s
cashier as he was entering the institution and pulled off
one of the few solo bank holdups in modern criminal
history.
\ Heroux, wearing a white coverall suit and an ear-
lapped hunting cap, herded the bank employees into a
vault one by one as they reported for work. He stuffed
$4,641 in bills into his pockets and paced up and down
nervously, chain-smoking cigarettes and muttering threats
that he would shoot to kill while he waited for the bank’s
huge time vault to open.
The task of keeping his eyes on all the bank employees,
however, eventually proved too much. As Heroux was
herding the last man into the vault, the cashier took ad-
vantage of his momentary distraction and fled into the
street calling for help. Heroux madé a quick scoop, collar-
ing a few more dollars, and fled himself, escaping in a car
that he had parked nearby. (Continued on page 84)
or ee me cole ee id SN SA ra Siok
Hunied Men
and the Slain
FBI Agent
(Continued from page 45)
The FBI investigation pinned the crime
definitely on Heroux through positive
identifications by the bank cashier and
several other employees. Exactly a week
after the daring robbery, a man answering
Heroux’s description walked into the of-
fices of a Chicago bail bond company and
posted $3,000 in cash for Puff’s release
from jail pending trial. Puff walked out of
the Milwaukee jail, promptly jumped bail,
and entered on an active crime partner-
ship with Heroux.
A month later, on November 28rd, 1951,
two gunmen wearing white coveralls and
hunting caps employed the same technique
Heroux had used in Kansas City to stick
up the Johnson County National Bank in
Prairie Village, Kansas. They escaped with
$62,655 in cash, travelers’ checks and gov-
ernment bonds. Eyewitnesses identified
Heroux and Puff as the bank robbers.
Bankrolled by the Prairie Village foray,
Heroux and Puff went on a bank-robbing
spree throughout the midwest. When this
section became too hot for continued opera-
tions, they apparently transferred their
activities to the east coast, where they are
believed by the FBI to have participated
in a number of bank robberies in Massa-
chusetts. In one of these crimes State
Trooper Alje M. Savela was shot and killed,
and police listed Heroux as a definite sus-
pect.
Despite the nationwide search, despite
the elevation of Heroux and Puff to the
select list of the most-wanted ten, despite
the posting of their pictures in post offices
and public buildings throughout the land,
the pair seemed to lead charmed lives. By
the time agents came across their trail, it
was always cold. A typical example was a
burned and abandoned car found in Hop-
kington, New Hampshire, the week of
July 14th, 1952.
Agents traced the car to Puff, but could
get no clue to his whereabouts. Then, just
a week later, the suspicions of the El
Portal neighbors bore surprising fruit in
the arrest of Heroux. Instantly, with his
capture, the FBI swung into action, at-
tempting to trace Puff through his captured
partner.
Heroux just laughed or snarled at ques-
tions. He wasn’t talking. But the plane
ticket he had tried so frantically to destroy
gave agents their clue. Checking with
airline records, they found that Heroux
had flown to Miami Thursday, July 24th.
Back-tracking on his trail, the FBI learned
that he had been living at the Congress
Hotel on West 69th Street, New York, a
quiet hostelry just off Central Park West.
A squad of FBI agents descended on the
hotel at 8:30 p.m. Friday, July 25th—just
too late. Their quarry had already skipped.
The agents showed hotel employees a re-
cent night club picture of Puff and his
17-year-old wife, brunette Annie Laurie
Moore, known professionally as Honey
O’Brien, an Oriental strip-teaser.
As soon as Hy Denmark, assistant man-
ager and desk clerk, glimpsed the picture,
he exclaimed: ‘‘Why that’s Mr. Burns and
his wife.”
Close questioning of hotel employees dis-
closed that Puff and his slender bride had
registered at the hotel at 11 a.m. Sunday,
July 20th, as “Mr. and Mrs. Burns of
Philadelphia.” At 3 p.m., a “Mr. Hanson”
had checked in with an eye-titiing blonde.
About 6 o’clock that night, Puff asked
the room clerk whether a “Mr. and Mrs.
Johnson” or a “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” or a
“Mr. and Mrs. Jones” had arrived. The
clerk said they hadn’t, but that a couple
named “Hanson” was at the hotel.
“Hook me up, please,” Puff said instantly.,
Hotel workers identified “Hanson” as
Heroux and the blonde as his wife, Joan
Evans Heroux.
Both couples stayed at the hotel during
the week. They kept to themselves and
minded their own business. Puff had made
a favorable impression on several clerks
and bellhops. He was a neat, bespectacled,
mild-seeming man who occasionally was
seen loitering around the lobby, wearing
a light blue polka dot shirt and sports
slacks.
Heroux left the hotel alone on Thursday
for his ill-fated flight to Miami. His wife
and the Puffs remained behind.
About 4 p.m. Friday, however, Puff called
the desk and had a porter and two bell-
hops remove most of the baggage from the
sixth-floor, two-room suite that he and his
wife had been occupying as “Mr. and Mrs.
Burns.”
Half an hour later, Puff appeared in the
lobby, suitcase in hand. Denmark asked
him if he were checking out, and he re-
plied: “I'll see you a little later.”
He returned at 7:30 p.m., and asked if he
couldn’t get a rebate on the room because
he wasn’t spending a full week at the hotel.
Told that such a rebate was against
regulations, he said, “Aw, forget it!”
He paid his bill and left. Just an hour
later, the FBI men arrived and learned
that they had been foiled, temporarily at
least, by Puff’s sudden walkout.
The FBI agents ascertained, however,
that the “Hanson” suite was still rented
and that there was still luggage in it,
even though Mrs. Hanson, really Mrs.
Heroux, wasn’t there. Deciding that some
etfort would probaply be made to reciaun
the luggage, FBI agents kept close watch.
Early Saturday morning, Edward Scheidt,
agent in charge of the FBI’s New York
office, put a special squad of some twenty
agents on the case. Five of the agents,
with the permission of Denmark, who was
stationed at the front desk, took over a
small waiting room off the lobby. They
had walkie-talkie radio equipment there,
tuned to the wave-length of similar equip-
ment in a car outside the hotel. Other
agents covered the streets around the
hotel, watched every exit and entrance.
At 10:30 Saturday morning, the watch-
ing agents got their first break. Blonde
Joan Heroux and brunette Annie Laurie
Puff returned to the hotel and went up to
the ‘“‘Hansons’” room.
They returned in a few minutes with an
obviously heavy suitcase. Mrs. Heroux told
Denmark that they were moving their
luggage to an uptown hotel and that she
would return to the Congress later for the
rest of her belongings. As the two women
walked through the lobby toward the
street, the hidden FBI agents fiashed the
alarm by walkie-talkie to the other agents
posted outside.
When the women hailed a cab, they
were followed. Unaware that they were be-
ing shadowed, the gunmen’s wives drove to
the Park Crescent Hotel at Riverside Drive
and 87th Street. There the heavy suit-
case was transferred to a room they had
rented.
Still there was no sign of the missing
Puff.
Agents kept close watch on both the
new hotel hideout and on the Congress,
where the two couples had lived for almost
a week. At 12:30 p.m., the two women left
their new hotel retreat and returned to the
Congress.
“We're going up to my room to get the
rest of the luggage now,” Mrs. Heroux told
Denmark.
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FBI target George Heroux gits sullenly as Chief Shields (wearing glasses) and bare-
chested Officer Dubray inspect his “wanted” card held by Deputy Sheriff Ernie Sistrunk.
Ambulance men examine
Gerhard Puff on sidewalk. Agent
Brock, above, was killed in gun
play preceding New York capture
of second member of robber team.
16
George
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20
POFF, forte a
BORN A KILLER
His mentor was a murderer, his best friend died in the chair.
Thus, at 25, George Heroux is himself a candidate for the executioner
by D. L.
T NOON on April 10th, 1930, an obstetrician in
Baltimore’s General Hospital lifted George
Heroux Jr. by his ankles and slapped him
sharply across the buttocks. George Heroux howled,
which was his way of announcing that from here on
in, when slapping around was called for, George
Heroux would be dishing it out himself. Never again
would he be on the receiving end. His infancy was
normal enough and if, when he was three years old,
you had guessed he was more likely to become a
murderer than President of the United States, it
could only have been because statistically there are
many more murderers than presidents.
Shortly after his third birthday, his parents separated.
His father, George Heroux Sr., accepted custody of the
child and took him to Rhode Island where he was farmed
out for various periods among various relatives. When he
reached school age he was living with an aunt, Aurore
Heroux, in Woonsocket.
He was graduated from parochial school and shortly
afterwards left his aunt to live with other relatives in
Worcester, Massachusetts. There, he attended public high
school. He quit while in the ninth grade and the school
report branded him “a poor student, dissatisfied with his
home and scholastic life.”
George Heroux returned to Woonsocket and obtained a
job as a weaver in a textile mill. It was during this period
that he met Isaie Aldy Beausoleil.
Now Isaie Aldy Beausoleil was even queerer than his
name. He was a dapper dresser, an expert at roller skating
and Chinese checkers and an amateur inventor. He was
about 40 years old and had a record as long as an elephant’s
memory. He had served two terms for robbery and one for
smuggling. He had been deported to his native Canada, but
had promptly and illegally recrossed the border.
He loved cats and was a:lady killer in both the amorous
and lethal sense of the term. In addition to all this he was
possessed of strong bisexual tendencies. There were pe-
riods during which he showed young men great affection.
CHAMPION
V
Some years after Beausoleil’s friendship with George
Heroux Jr., the Canadian murdered the woman with whom
he had been living. Her body was found in Michigan. Beau-
soleil was picked up in Chicago sporting feminine clothing,
a permanent, lipstick and artificial bosoms. He was indicted
and convicted of murder.
This was the man who became George Heroux’s friend
and mentor when the youth was 16 years old. It is estab-
lished that Beausoleil taught the young Heroux to drink
copiously, but during the term of their friendship Heroux
achieved no police record. However, since he seemed to live
luxuriously without working, the fact that Heroux was
never arrested is doubtless due to Beausoleil’s expert ad-
vice, not to the fact that he was leading a respectable, thor-
oughly legal life. Beausoleil certainly taught his protege
that work is something to be skillfully avoided, that there
are easier and more devious ways of making a living.
In 1947, George Heroux enlisted in the army. He was sent
to Germany. There he found methods of putting into cp-
eration the precepts which Beausoleil had taught him. The
first entry in Heroux’s criminal record is filed in the Pen-
tagon.
The army threw him into the guardhouse for unlawful
possession of ration cards and cigarette coupons. He was
also charged with carrying an unregistered revolver. A
court-martial sentenced him to six months at hard labor
and a dishonorable discharge. He served the term, but was
eventually permitted to leave the service with a “discharge
other than under honorable conditions.”
In November, 1950, George Heroux’s Massachusetts
relatives became concerned about him. He refused to
work, but in some mysterious manner he always managed
to have a few dollars in his wallet. He was surly and
uncommunicative. Eventually an uncle told the police
that Heroux was “acting most strangely.” A magistrate
decided Heroux needed psychiatric treatment and ordered
him: sent to the Massachusetts Veterans’ Hospital. It was
there that he met John P. Elliott.
Elliott, like Heroux, was on the threshold of his chosen
career, which was criminal. His profession was that of a
robber and he was destined to become a murderer a few
years before Heroux did. When the pair was discharged
aw 7 ye Pe. AYA.
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tel lobby.
her she was on her way, not back
to the realm .of the bump and
grind, but to prison for two years.
The cops said that Ruth was
packing along with her sweaters
and peekaboo waists a handsome,
fully-loaded revolver. Like Mrs.
Puff, Ruth was convicted of illegal
possession of a deadly weapon,
but she got only six months for it.
Some indication of how well
Ruth weathered her six months in
the Women’s House of Detention,
admittedly one of the toughest
“maximum security’ . institutions
Special Agent Joseph J. Brock was
shot repeatedly in back after falling
under killer's barrage of bullets.
gunman from hotel room they planned
as hideout from prying eyes of law.
for females in the United States,
may be gained when we come to
consider her “romance” — and . its
fatal consequences—with the man.
whose name she now bears. In:
other words, when Ruth emerged
from prison she was as seductively
desirable as ever. Whenever she
wanted to set her man trap, a man
fell into it.
Florida State Attorney Ted
Duncan in a classic understate-
ment, said that Ruth’s marital
record was “considerably mixed.”
“She says she married Heroux
February 18th, 1952,” according to
Duncan, “and got a divorce from
him in Miami last year.
“But,” continued Duncan, “she
had ‘previously married another
man, by whom she has a six-year-
old child, but whom. she never
“bothered to divorce.
“In other. words—well, to say
the least, Mrs. Staffa’s marital af-.
fairs are considerably mixed.”
On that Sunday afternoon, when
Ruth. visited’ George Heroux, not
only was’ she wearing her most
disarming manners: but she was
wearing a girdle.
We say she was radiating charm.
that day because she. must have
turned it full blast on the prison
matron who ‘searched her ‘when
she arrived at the’ prison. For,
there must have been something
about the girl that reassured this
lady — because she certainly did
not give Ruth a full-scale. shaking ©
down. . : ‘
Heroux was brought from’ his |
cell and; as is'the democratic cus-..
’ tom at the state prison, they went
with other prisoners and_ visitors
to a spacious, closed yard. There
Ruth and Heroux ‘sat on the lawn, .
beneath the warm Florida sun,
and laughed and casually chatted.
‘It was a simple. matter, then,
for Ruth to slip her slender fingers
inside the waist of her dress, to
. clutch the cold little object of steel,
to pluck it quickly from her girdle.
—and to hand George Heroux the
weapon with which he was to
murder one man and shoot two
others a few short weeks later.
That’s exactly what happened
despite the fact that at first Ruth
insisted, for some obscure reason,
that she had left the tiny gun hid-
den’ under paper towels in the’
ladies’ rest room. She said, then,
she didn’t know’ how Heroux fin-
ally got his hands on the gun, nor
could anyone else figure that one
out, either.
But from the beginning, Prison
Superintendent L. F.. Chapman
was convinced “it was strictly a
one-man job. and that Ruth de- .
livered the gun personally.”
Before the mystery of the smug-
gled death gun was solved, in-
vestigators uncovered what they
believed was a plan for a mass
break, to be engineered by Her-
oux. This was revealed in notes
smuggled out of the prison by
Heroux’ father in which Ruth was
given instructions for smuggling -
in at least three more pistols.
These guns were to be delivered
by Ruth to the prison’s cold stor-
age plant. There they were to be
hidden in a barrel of lard until
the time when they were finally
needed for their dirty work.
At the time they revealed this
escape plot, neither States’: Attor-
ney Duncan nor. Chapman would
‘say whether other Raiford in-
‘mates were involved in the plan.
On Monday morning, April 4th,
George Heroux summoned a guard
to his cell and asked to be taken
to the toilet. As he and the guard
’ walked:along the corridor, Heroux
drew the gun and pressed it
against the small ot his escort’s
back. :
“Take me to the super’s office,”
Heroux whispered menacingly.
Heroux and the guard began
the march toward Superintendent
Chapman’s office. But as they ap-
‘proached, J. G. Godwin, Assistant
Superintendent, and six guards
who were in the corridor spotted
the gun in Heroux’ hand.
Godwin and the guards began
closing in — and Heroux started
shooting. Ve |
Godwin was the first to fall,
fatally wounded. Then two of the
on-rushing guards went down. But
the others, despite the fact that
there was not a gun among them,
kept coming.
Heroux didn’t have a chance to
fire again as he went down be-
neath the heap like a tackled ball-
- carrier on the gridiron.
They put Heroux in solitary un-
der guard and an inquiry began.
The lid was blown off the gun-
smuggling mystery when the wea-
pon was traced to Ruth who was
arrested: in Miami. But it was only
after long, relentless questioning
that Ruth admitted buying the
gun in a Miami store, and con-
fessed smuggling it to Heroux in
her girdle. She was held on
charges of conveying” a weapon
to the prison to “aid in an escape
attempt.”
“Mrs. Staffa acts very remorse-
ful now,” said Duncan.
Ruth said she was afraid of Her-
oux: “He warned me that he had
‘friends on the outside who would
bump me off if I didn’t help him
get out.”
Nevertheless, everybody, in-
cluding a jury, believed that she
had helped Heroux of her own
free will. She was convicted and
sentenced to 10 years in prison, a -
term ‘which she is still. serving.
Heroux was lucky, considering
the serious nature of his offense
against a law-enforcement officer.
He was sentenced to prison for
life; where he still is since he
doesn’t have Ruth to help him
break out. THE END
19
i
22
Dying FBI Agent Brock fired one last well-aimed bullet
from the hospital they decided to join forces and go west.
They bought a car and three revolvers from which they
cautiously filed the serial numbers. They acquired an
electric drill, a stout jimmy and a couple of blackjacks.
Thus equipped they set out for Milwaukee.
They selected a downtown bank as the site of their first
operation. They cased the job carefully, making several
diagrams of its entrances and exits, jotting down nota-
tions of when the guards went to lunch, when the tellers
came on duty and when the biggest payrolls were made up.
They were in no hurry and, although this was their first
important job, they plotted it like the General Staff, They
wanted no slip-ups and there probably wouldn’t have
been one had not Heroux found Dawn Ewing such an at-
tractive girl.
Dawn Ewing was young, pretty and worked in the chorus
line of a Milwaukee night club. Heroux saw her one night
when he and Elliott were drinking in the club. Heroux,
quite drunk, suddenly decided that his life would be far
more interesting if Dawn Ewing played a part in it. Be-
tween numbers he invited her to the table for a drink.
“You're a beautiful girl,” said Heroux. “How about you
and me taking a trip to Florida together?”
Dawn Ewing suggested that Heroux take a trip all by
himself to an even warmer climate.
“Don’t be a sucker,” said Heroux, “in a couple of days
Pll have 50 grand, maybe 100. Stick with me and you’ll
wear pearls and mink.”
Dawn Ewing intimated that pearls and mink wouldn’t
turn the trick. Nor, for that matter, would emeralds and
ermine. It was then that George Heroux decided on the
direct approach.
He threw his arms around the girl, forced her face to
his and kissed her. Dawn Ewing struggled and screamed,
The manager ran across the dance floor and seized Heroux.
Elliott rose and promptly broke the manager’s nose. The
waiters closed in and the riot started. Someone snatched
up a telephone and within five minutes two squad cars
roared up. Elliott and Heroux were taken into custody
The police found the bank plans in Heroux’s pocket, the
three revolvers and the rest of their professional parapher-
nalia in the car. Elliott refused to talk. But under ques-
tioning, Hercux admitted the plot to stick up the bank. The
pair was charged with violation of the Federal firearms act,
transporting revolvers with the serial numbers removed
across a state line. They were thrown in the county jail
and held for trial in the United States District Court.
They shared a 9 by 6 detention cell until one hopeful
morning when they assaulted a deputy sheriff in an escape
attempt. They knocked the deputy down, kicked him in
the head and ran for the main door. There they were met
by two other armed deputies and subdued. After that
John Elliott was removed to another cell,
On May 2nd, 1951, George Heroux drew another cell]t
mate, one who was destined to accelerate the course of
his career. This was Gerhard Puff, who was neither an
amateur nor a novice in the field of crime. Puff was 37
years old, had been born in Dresden, Germany. At 14 he
had been arrested for car theft and before he attained
On the occasion of his meeting Heroux, Puff had been
picked up for the armed robbery of Milwaukee’s Ambassa-
dor Hotel. Since he could not raise any bail he was as-
signed to Heroux’s cell to await trial. Heroux and Puff
languished in their cell for 16 weeks. They found they
had a great deal in common. They abhorred work. They
were fond of easy money, easy women and fast cars.
Heroux quickly appreciated the fact that Gerhard Puff
as a partner was much superior to either John Elliott or
Frenchy Beausoleil. They agreed to work together as soon
as they got out of jail—an event which came to pass more
swiftly than they had any right to expect.
On August 23rd, George Heroux was tried in the Federal
District Court. He was found guilty, but obtained amazing.
leniency. He was put on two years’ probation.
Immediately violating the terms of his parole he left
Wisconsin, went to Missouri. In Kansas City, he bought a
black Dodge coupe, registering it under the name of G. H.
Cunningham. Then he picked up a gun which he didn’t
register under any name at all. After that he began a
careful casing of Kansas City’s Southside Bank.
As the police files will tell you, one-man bank holdups
are rare indeed. But that didn’t deter George Heroux. On
the morning of October 10th, Heroux, wearing immaculate
white coveralls and a hunting cap, stuck the muzzle of his
revolver into the cashier’s back as that official entered the
bank.
Heroux found some $4600 in the tellers’ cages and stuffed
this into his pockets. As other employees arrived, Heroux
herded them into a corner and chain-smoked cigarettes as
he waited for the time vault to open. However, when the
assistant manager entered the bank he sized up the situa-
tion as he stood in the doorway. Before Heroux could
swing his gun around, the assistant manager ran back into
the street calling for help.
Heroux cursed, ran out into the street, jumped into his
car and didn’t stop until he got to Milwaukee. The Kansas
City police got the license number of the car, but failed to
find the non-existent G. H. Cunningham.
Heroux called on a bonding company, paid them a $3000
premium out of his loot to post bail for Gerhard Puff. Puff
was released on October 18th and promptly jumped his
bail bond. Their first partnership job was pulled about
a month later at the Johnson County National Bank in
Prairie Village, Kansas.
They intercepted the cashier and a clerk at 7:55 in the
morning, accompanied them into the bank. Their cap-
tives and other employees were locked in a vault while
Heroux and Puff stuffed $62,655 into a muslin bag. They
took off in a stolen car which they abandoned a mile
dtl i
To accele:
Pal Puff’
HES 4
@ Annie Laurie Moore, 17, who married bandit Puff
being enacted.
In the yellow convertible, however, the bandits had left
a definite clue to their identities in the form of a white
muslin bag stamped, “Federal Reserve Bank, Kansas City,
Mo.,” in which apparently they had carried away their loot.
Within two hours J. Edgar Hoover's famous G-Men were also
hot on the trail, and after listening to the stories of Doherty
and Miss Godfrey and their descriptions of the two robbers,
as well as examining the muslin bag which was stolen in an
earlier bank stick-up, the FBI men knew their identities.
“It's Puff and Heroux,” they announced confidently. “It
couldn’t be anyone else.”
Heroux had already been positively identified in the earlier
Kansas City stick-up, and the fast-moving FBI men had
already adduced tangible evidence that Puff was the second
man. How this was accomplished is another of those almost
incredible epics of G-Man skill and thoroughness,
Gerhard Arthur Puff, a born malefactor, and a member
of the bandit duo, is probably one of the most vicious men
Hoover and his men ever had to contend with. Since earliest
childhood he was arrogantly defiant of the law, a cruel bully,
an attempted rapist of little girls, a safe and bank robber, a
cattle rustler, an auto thief, a bigamist—and a_red-handed
murderer. “9
His father, Wilhelm Puff, a hard-working, honest German
14
@ Joan Evans, 25, wife of bank robber George Heroux
immigrant, in halting English a dozen years ago had this to
say, to the Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin police: “Ach! Mein
Gerhard. Better off dead now he should be!”
And had the Wisconsin authorities accepted the elder
Puff’s characterization and taken more drastic steps to nip
his son’s crime career in the bud, FBI Agent Joseph Brock,
father of three small children, would still be alive. Brock, a
Milwaukee-born lawyer, was the first G-Man ever killed in
New York City. He was shot down in cold blood by the
younger Puff, in a desperate attempt of the latter to evade
capture in the lobby of the Hotel Congress, 19 West 69th
Street, just off Central Park, at 1:15 P.M. on Saturday, July
26, 1952.
Actually there are three factors in America’s laws to blame
for Puff’s long-continued career of crime, and the fatal shoot-
ing of Agent Brock. They are:
(1) The laxity of America’s parole boards;
(2) The weaknesses of America’s prison system which per-
mits perpetrators of major crimes to dawdle around in idle-
ness instead of performing hard labor which would make
them too tired to plot;
(3) The senselessness of throwing younger and less-experi-
enced offenders into cells of hardened criminals for weeks at
a time.
All of these breaches of common sense figured in the FBI
utive we
thumbin
Gerha
years in
a harass
towards
nile deli:
Puff was
His bz
er came
Puff was
married,
under K
G-MAN’S ©
-RENDEZVOUS
WITH DEATH
MB TRAILED FOR WEEKS, THIS ARCH CRIMINAL TRIED TO SHOOT HIS
WAY OUT OF THE HOTEL AMBUSH. IN SO DOING, ONE G-MAN DIED
By ARTHUR MEFFORD
Noruno much ever happens in Johnson County, Kan- ten,
sas, or so they say out there. With a population of barely aie
33,000, it is strictly a rural area composed of small vil- A
lages and crossroad towns where the good Johnson County- seem)
ians go to bed with the sparrows and rise with the sun. be |
So it was no wonder, therefore, that Hugh Doherty, a,
youthful cashier of the Johnson County National Bank, and aoe
a pretty clerk, Beverly Godfrey, received the shock of their fe
lives at 8:05 A.M. on November 23, 1951, when their rol- Hall!
licking chit-chat of the doings at the previous night's dance overt
was rudely interrupted by a slender youth adorned with a to }
false nose who held a revolver in his hand. , iid
“Stick ’em up!” he directed gruffly, poking the flabber- ane
gasted Doherty in the small of the back with his gun. “And aia
you, too!” snarled another and older gunman who menaced met
the fright-paralyzed girl when she tried to scream. He clapped aa
a rough hand over her mouth and stabbed her viciously in
the ribs with his weapon. mr)
The younger gunman quickly seized the keys from the
helpless cashier's hand and unlocked the bank’s front door.
™ Street scene directly after the shooting and capture Then, seconds later, and much cuicker than it can be vrit- nee
12
a \ Nn r i. “/) 7 | /) mar
Y V1AAe& be
tu ~
County, Kan-
:tion of barely
| of small vil-
hnson County-
the sun.
tugh Doherty,
ynal Bank, and
shock of their
vhen their rol-
s night’s dance
‘dorned with a
1g the flabber-
his gun. “And
who menaced
m. He clapped
viciously in
‘ys from the
s front door.
can be avvrit-
|
Saha he rnc 2B ea
*@ The wounded: bandit Gerhard Puff ‘as he.
was being ‘carried away to the hospital
ten, both the unfortunate young employes were thrust in-
side and the door slammed behind them.
“All you gotta do is just keep quiet,” the older bandit, now
seemingly in command, growled. “If you make any move it'll
be just too bad. We know there’s three more to come, and
maybe a customer or two. We will take care of that— so
don’t try to warn them!”
Doherty and the girl were ushered to a closet in the rear.
Half an hour later all the other employes were likewise
overpowered as they came in, and they too were forced
to join Doherty and Miss. Godfrey in the closet. Then the
two bandits, both wearing white coveralls and corduroy
hunting caps leisurely looted the bank of $62,655 in cash, a
large sum in travelers’ checks and negotiable U.S. Govern-
ment bonds, and made their escape in a yellow Nash con-
vertible.
Minutes later Kansas State Police and the local constabu-
lary were hot on the bandits’ trail and the yellow Nash was
found abandoned barely a half mile away, where the robbers
had transferred to a black sedan in plain sight of a farmer’s
household who were wholly unaware of the drama that was
N
@ Annie Laurie Moore, 17, and Joan Evans, 25, in slacks
13
rge Heroux
had this to
Ach! Mein
d the elder
steps to nip
seph Brock,
ve. Brock, a
ver killed in
nlood by the
tter to evade
9 West 69th
iturday, July
iws to blame
fatal shoot-
n which per-
»und in idle-
vould make
less-experi-
for weeks at
i in the FBI
noe a ET
SPT
M@ George Heroux, Puff’s pal, after his capture \by police in Miami, Fla., wheré he -fiercely resisted arrest.
agent’s death.
Nowhere in all the annals of American crime is the doc-
trine of item No. 3 better illustrated than in the cases of
Puff and Heroux who met by accident little more than a year
ago-—on May 2, 1951, to be exact—in the Milwaukee, Wis-
consin, jail. Ordinarily newly-arrested prisoners are isolated
in this modern institution, but owing to’ a shortage of cells,
and the fact there was a vacant bunk in Heroux’s cell, a
bored turnkey shoved Puff into it without any formal intro-
ductions. From that moment on, the 37-year-old Puff, a habit-
ual bad boy and criminal for two-thirds of his life, and the
22-year-old Heroux, had nothing more to do for 16 consec-
utive weeks, but to plot out a “new” system of “successfully”
thumbing their noses at the law.
Gerhard Arthur Puff, the G-Man killer, spent his early
years in a sea of juvenile delinquency which all but inundated
a harassed Germany after the First World War. His attitude
towards society and the law is fairly typical of today’s juve-
nile delinquents here in America. The only real difference is,
Puff was 20 years ahead of his time.
His background concededly was not a happy one. His fath-
er came of a good family in Dresden, Germany. The elder
Puff was only 19 years old and a little more than a year
married, when he was called into the Vaterland’s service
under Kaiser Wilhelm. In constant action at the front, the
elder Puff had no opportunity to see his son, Gerhard, until
he was four years old, but his wife, Elsa, was inclined to good
times, and while her youthful husband was away fighting,
she took Baby Gerhard to his paternal grandparents, and
disappeared. She never returned. \ .
So the killer-to-be never had the advantages of knowing a
true mother's love. Whether it would have made any differ-
ence is a question. When he was five, his father returned
from the wars, prepared to take up civilian life again. He
was broken-hearted over the fickleness of his yellow-haired
Elsa, and lavished his love on the baby who was still living
with his grandparents. But seldom does a broken heart re;
main unhealed, and a couple of years later Puff married
again. He took young Gerhard, now almost nine, to live with
him and his second wife, Johanna, and in another year she
presented Puff with another baby, Heinz.
Even then young Gerhard was giving his parents and
grandparents trouble. He snatched old women’s pocketbooks,
stole from the skimpily-stocked neighborhood stores, and
bullied his younger playmates.
Living conditions in Germany became increasingly com-
plex now for Papa Puff. It was almost impossible to get
employment of any kind, and crime of all kinds reached a
hitherto unheard-of total. Among the worst offenders were
(Continued on Page 48)
15
as
Pa
42
this axiom, wiser crooks have nothing
but contempt. They are the first to
denounce him with the epithet: “Mad-
dog idiot!”
This was what they called Gerhard
A. Puff, but when they did so, it was
an abrupt reversal of opinion. For
some considerable time before he had
the bad judgment to kill FBI Agent
Joseph J. Brock, the lawless ones had
been watching the career of Puff with
more than passing interest and a good
deal of respect. His earlier criminal
record had been undistinguished, but
he had finally achieved the big time
by a series of successful bank heists.
And ‘espite some positive identifi-
cation by a number of witnesses lead-
ing to his being assigned a high pri-
ority on the FBI's list of the 10 Most
Wanted Fugitives, Puff had success-
fully eluded capture for nearly a
year. Anyone who can do that auto-
matically becomes a big shot in the
eyes of his fellow hoods.
Puff’s position of eminence, however,
was a tenuous thing hanging by a
slender thread. As it happens so often
with such men, his downfall began
with a relatively trivial incident in
El Portal, a suburban community just
north of Miami, Florida.
Here, on May 26, 1952, a young
couple had paid cash in advance to
Mrs. Josephine Grayson for a two-
month rental of her ranch-type house
on 90th Street. Their speech was
that of northerners. They gave their
name as Matthews. Robert Matthews
was a dark complexioned, good-look-
ing young man in his early twenties.
His wife, a pretty blonde with an at-
tractive figure, seemed even younger;
she might have been in her teens,
though the presence of a cute little
three-year-old daughter suggested she
might look younger than her actual
age.
Mrs. Grayson, happy to have secured
even a two-month rental of her house
during the off season, turned over the
keys and departed on a trip north to
visit relatives. It was but a very short
time later that 90th St. neighbors were
provided with food for gossip.
Three days after the landlady left
for the north, another couple joined
the Matthews and, from all outward
appearances, moved in bag and bag-
gage. No one would have thought any-
thing about this, exce»t for a couple
of things. The arrival of the second
couple signaled the beginning of a
marathon party that had no end. In it-
self, even this might have occasioned
no more than passing comment, but
there was more.
On warm May nights in Florida,
everyone keeps :their windows open,
and in normally quiet residential dis-
tricts like the one on 90th Street, sound
is carried and magnified. The sound
from the ranch house rented by the
Matthews couple was loud, constant,
boisterous, and drunken. And. still
more intriguing, the voices were fre-
quently raised in raucous bickering
over large sums of money.
Inevitably, the permanent residents
began to compare notes on snatches of
these discussions they had overheard,
and very soon there was a growing
conviction among them that there was
something mighty strange about the
people living in Mrs. Grayson’s house.
Some went so far as to express the
opinion that they were crooks and
the police ought to be notified. They
were dissuaded only by the calming
words of one of the older residents.
“Let’s not leap to conclusions,” this
man said. “They’re all young folks,
and probably down here on a vacation,
so they’re just letting loose and having
a good time. I passed a few words
with the new fellow—Frank Scott, he
Said his name was—the first day he
arrived, and he seemed like a_ nice
enough chap.”
“But what about all that money
talk,” another neighbor asked. “I've
heard them yellin’ some mighty funny
things about thousands of dollars.”
The older man _ pooh-poohed this.
Attractive wives of the fugitive gunmen
were taken into custody by Federal men
“Shucks, lots of people are like that
when they get drinking. Makes 'em
feel big and talk big. I’m for mind-
ing our own business.”
For the time being, this man’s
counsel prevailed, but in the third
week of June something happened
that revived the earlier suspicions of
his neighbors. On June 24th a promi-
nent Miami physican, Dr. Clifton C.
Springmyer, was found murdered. The
city was stunned by the brutality of
the crime and it was headlined in the
local press.
To the good people on 90th Street, it
seemed far more than coincidence that
the noise from Mrs. Grayson’s house
was suddenly missing the very next
morning. It did not take them long
to determine that the Matthews and the
Scotts had decamped during the night.
The house was deserted.
Without further delay, Police Chief
Barron Shields of El Portal was no-
tified. He and a couple of his men
combed the neighborhood, but they
could not get into Mrs. Grayson’s house
because the door was locked. Since
they could find no real evidence of
a crime having been committed, they
could not break into the empty house.
Chief Shields’ curiosity was aroused
by the reports of the fast-living cou-
ples who bandied drunken conver-
sation about thousands of dollars, but
under the circumstances, there was
only one thing he could do.
“If they return,” he advised the
neighbors, “call us at once. I’d like
to ask those folks a few questions.”
Nothing happened then for a whole
month. On July 24th Mrs. Grayson
returned from her northern visit. The~
two-month rental paid for by Robert
Matthews still had two days to go, but
she dropped by 90th Street to see how
they were getting on. A friend stopped
her before she went up to the house
and briefed her on the wild behavior
of her tenants and their mysterious de-
parture a month before.
A look inside the house quickly dis-
pelled all hopes that her friend had
exaggerated. A Caribbean hurricane
could not have left the house in worse
disorder. The place was littered with
broken glasses and dishes. Furniture
was stained by spilled drinks and
marred by cigarette burns. In a couple
of places the walls had been gouged
by heavy ashtrays flung against them.
The shards of shattered glass still lay
on the floor.
Mrs. Grayson was heartbroken at the
damage done to her lovely house, but
even more, she was indignant. When a
nearby neighbor invited her to stay
with them, she accepted eagerly.
“From your window, I can watch
this house, and that’s where I’m going
to stay until they come back,” she de-
clared. “They’ve left a lot of stuff
here, so they’re bound to come back
for it. And the rental’s up in just
a couple of days, so it shouldn't be
long.”
She was right in her surmise. The
very next morning, Friday, July 25th,
a pickup truck drove up to her house.
Its doors opened, and Mrs. Grayson saw
two men get out. One, the driver, wore
overalls. The other was her tenant,
Robert Matthews. He led the way to
the door, opened it with a key, and
both men went in. A moment later
they emerged, carrying armloads of
the Matthews’ clothing, which they
deposited in the truck and then went
back for more.
Mrs. Grayson paused only long
enough to call the police and then
stormed over to meet Matthews as he
came out of the house with a second
armload.
“You've ruined my house and my
furniture,” she cried, “and I'm going
to see that you pay for it!”
If the landlady expected an argu-
ment, she was disappointed. Matthews
was politeness personified. He seemed
genuinely contrite, even embarrassed.
He readily accepted responsibility for
the havoc which had been done to
the house.
“J’m truly sorry, Mrs, Grayson,” he
said. “It won’t do any good to try
to explain how it happened—I guess
we just got carried away. But I want
you to know I intend to make good for
it. Ill pay for all damages.”
He continued to talk to her while
the truck driver finished carrying out
his possessions, and then Matthews
told him to go on without him and
said he would rejoin him later. He re-
mained behind to discuss the esti-
mate of damages with Mrs. Grayson.
A few moments later a police car
pulled up to the curb beside them and
Patrolman Robert Dubray, dispatched
to the scene by headquarters, alighted.
Matthews did not seem at all per-
turbed by the arrival of the officer,
even when Mrs. Grayson said she had
called him. “I don’t blame her a: bit,
officer,” he said easily. “In her place
I'd have done the same thing. But I’ve
assured her I’m going to make good
the damages, so we’ve got the matter
pretty well straightened out.”
Before Dubray could pursue the sub-
ject further, Chief Shields arrived in
another police car, in which he had
sped to 90th Street as scon as he
was advised the “high-living big-
money boy” had shown up. As soon
as he got a look at Robert Matthews,
he was sure the name was an alias;
the chief would have bet his badge
he had seen that face on a “Wanted”
circular.
But for the moment he masked his
suspicions behind a pretense that he
was interested only in seeing that Mrs.
Grayson was fairly recompensed for
the damage to her property. After
discussing this matter briefly, he looked
around at the circle of curious neigh-
bors who had gathered a little distance
away. Addressing them, he said, “All
right, you folks, suppose you trot along
home. We've got everything under
control here.”
The householders meekly returned to
their homes. When the last one had
gone inside, the chief said to Matthews
and Mrs. Grayson, “This isn’t a very
good place to thresh this out. Let’s all
drive down. to headquarters where we
can straighten things out with a little
privacy.”
Mrs. Grayson looked questioningly
at Matthews, who shrugged. “Why
not?” he said indifferently.
Patrolman Dubray walked over to
the chiefs car with them, but just as
they reached it, Matthews’ hand darted
into the pocket of a sports jacket
he had been carrying over his arm
and emerged with a_ short-barreled
Smith & Wesson .38 revolver. Cover-
ing the officers, he disarmed them of
their service pistols, then pulled the
handcuffs from Dubray’s belt and
snapped them on the chief’s wrists.
“Get in the back of the car!” he
barked at Chief Shields. “You do the
driving,” he ordered Dubray, “and
don’t forget I'll be sitting right be-
hind you with this gun.”
As Dubray slid in behind the wheel,
Matthews got into the rear seat beside
the chief, whom he ordered to crouch
down. “Now get me out of town the
quickest way,” he commanded Du-
bray.
The car had scarcely pulled away
from the curb, leaving a_ badly
George Arthur Heroux (seated r.), already wanted by the
FBI for bank robbery, is grilled in the slaying of G-Man
Annie Laurie Moore (above) who aad beca
a stripper under the name Honey O’Brien.
married one Gerhard Puff for better or
worse—and got the worst. Joan Evans (r.,
said “I do” to George Heroux, went on
crime spree that landed him in prison
frightened Mrs. Grayson standing on
the sidewalk, before neighbors who
witnessed the kidnaping from their
windows raced to their telephones to
report the incident to police head-
quarters.
Less than a minute later, the El
Portal police radio was on the air
with an all-points alarm. Roadblocks
were set up immediately in all sur-
rounding communities, and more than
a dozen cars of the Dade County
Sheriff's Patrol converged on the
northern Miami metropolitan area.
While all this was happening, Patrol-
man Dubray, with a gun at his neck,
was following Matthews’ orders to
“drive like hell.” The desperado’s thirst
for speed seemed insatiable; even when
the speedometer needle swept past 75
he was demanding that Dubray go
faster. Suddenly he seemed to be swept
up in the grip of a wild exhilaration.
He laughed derisively, and yelled,
“You know who I am? I’m George
Heroux—I’m one of the ‘Ten Most
Wanted.’ George Heroux, that’s me!”
His captives knew about George
Heroux, knew that the FBI had ample
reason for placing him high on their
wanted list. A lone-wolf bank rob-
ber, he was also reputed to be a
trigger-happy gunsel who'd blast any-
one in his way for the sheer love of
killing. He was a hot suspect in the
murder of a Massachusetts trooper.
Chief Shields would not give him
the satisfaction of recognition. “I never
heard of you,” he said shortly.
This infuriated Heroux, who vio-
lently and profanely threatened to kill
them both. “Just make up your minds
you're going to die,” he screamed. “If
they get me, you get it just that much
quicker.” é
By this time the racing car had
flashed through El Portal and was
now headed north, nearing Opa-locka.
So swift had been its getaway that it
had thus far eluded all roadblocks,
many of which were even then being
set up behind it. At just about this
time, however, chance took a hand in
the chase.
Miami Detectives E. C. Bush and
R. E. Esser had driven to Opa-locka
earlier that morning on a routine police
matter. They had been out of their
car when the first alarm for the kid-
naped officers was broadcast, but now
they were back in their car and headed
toward a section of the Marine Air Sta-
tion, when the APB was repeated.
Less than a minute later, an El Portal
police car passed them at breakneck
speed. Esser, driving, spotted two
men crouched in the back seat. He
pulled his car around in a screaming
U-turn and poured the coal to it.
Little by little, the Miami detec-
tives’ car overtook the other. As it
finally drew abreast, Heroux opened
fire. One shot smashed into the pursu-
ing car just ahead of the front door,
inches ahead of where Detective Bush
was sitting. Esser eased up on the
accelerator and took up a position close
behind, where Bush could concentrate
his fire on the tires without fear of
hitting one of the officers.
Heroux promptly smashed the rear
window of the El Portal police car
with a pistol, and emptied his own and
one of the police service pistols at his
pursuers.
Though handcuffed, and wedged on
the floor of a car doing better than 80
miles an hour, Chief Shields now took
a desperate gamble, hoping to take
advantage of his captor’s preoccupa-
tion with shooting at his pursuers.
Wriggling closer, he prepared to make
his move, but just at that instant, Her-
oux must have sensed the new danger.
He whirled and fired point-blank at
Chief Shields only inches away. By
some fortuitous miracle of fate, even
at that close range, he missed. The
chief never hesitated, but with a
mighty lunge he kicked upwards, One
foot caught Heroux’s gun arm and
pinned it against the back of the seat
with Shields’ full weight behind it.
Cursing and screaming, the gunman
struggled to wrest his arm free, Pa-
trolman Dubray, with one eye on the
rear view mirror, saw his chance and
took it. Free of the gun at his back,
he whipped the wheel over hard and
crashed the car into a tree at the
corner of NW 27th Avenue and Ver-
mont St., in Opa-locka.
The momentum of the crash sent
Heroux’s head smashing against the
door frame and he crumpled to the
floor unconscious. The only one
wounded was Dubray, who caught a
bullet in his shoulder.
By the time Detectives Esser and
Bush could bring their pursuing car
to a stop and rush to the scene, Pa-
trolman Dubray was unlocking Chief
Shields’ handcuffs and they announced
they had their prisoner in custody.
Heroux still lay unconscious on the
floor of the car, but now he was wear-
ing the handcuffs he had snapped on
the chief’s wrists a short time before.
The search of Heroux turned up
$1650 in big bills in his wallet, but
even more important, to the FBI men
who rushed to the Dade County jail
in Miami where he was taken, was
the discovery of an air ticket to New
York with space reserved on a plane
scheduled to leave later that same
day. There was an excellent reason
for this ticket’s importance.
Though Heroux had pulled a num-
ber of solo bank holdups, the federal
men knew that for some months past
he had been teamed in crime with
another desperado, Gerhard Arthur
Puff, with whom he shared billing on
the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list.
From a criminal point of view, it had
been a very successful partnership,
specializing in bank jobs pulled off with
deadly efficiency.
They had met in jail.. At the time,
Heroux’s record was pretty small
potatoes. He (Continued on page 72)
One of the coninity’s toughest g¢
» he cheated the law by dying in prison
72
I go out to put garbage in can. I leave
door open. Mr. Conway is inside.
“Ralph go in with mask on face and
try to force Mr. Conway to sign checks.
But he refuse and Ralph hit him with
mallet we brought along.
“When I come back to apartment,
Ralph tell me what happened. We look
through Mr. Conway’s pockets and take
$180 cash, then leave.”
The checkbook was left behind in the
apartment. It had been found there by
the detectives, who returned it to the
office without questioning its presence in
the apartment.
Sanchez was asked if Leon could be
found at the apartment they shared.
“No,” he replied. “They arrest him
last night as bum (the charge was va-
grancy). He is in jail now.”
Detectives found their quarry in the
Queens House of Detention and brought
him to the Elmhurst Precinct for ques-
tioning. His story, police said, went
like this:
Leon agreed to help Sanchez get out
of his trouble and went with him to
Conway’s apartment. But when they
reached there, Sanchez told him to wait
downstairs 20 minutes, then come up.
Leon said he did exactly as he was
told and that when he finally went up
and entered the apartment, he found
Sanchez had killed Conway.
“The only thing I did,” Leon was
quoted, “was help move the body from
the bedroom to the bathroom.”
Detectives tried to break both Leon
and Sanchez, with intensive question-
ing, but hours later each man still stuck
to his story. Each insisted the other
committed the killing.
According to the police, they agreed,
however, that after Conway was slain
they took the cash out of his pocket and
also stole some of his clothes to wear
instead of theirs, which had gotten
bloodstained when they carried the body
to the bathroom.
The question of what became of the
murder weapon—the wooden mallet—
was never resolved. Neither man would
admit he ever had it in his hand. Each
insisted he didn’t know what the other
did with it. 3
Both suspects were booked for homi-
cide. The next day they were arraigned
before Queens Criminal Court Judge
T. Vincent Quinn, who ordered them
held without bail.
On Wednesday, July 17th, the Queens
County grand jury heard the evidence
in the case from Queens District At-
torney Frank D. O’Connor. Before
the day was out, the grand jury re-
turned first-degree murder indictments
against both Javier Sanchez and Ralph
Leon.
Police were unable to penetrate the
maze of conflicting details that the
suspects related—but they didn’t feel
they had to. Each of the two men
blamed the other for the killing, and
yet each admitted—according to the po-
lice—his individual part as an ac-
complice.
The law is clear about such cases.
An accomplice in a felony murder is as
culpable of the crime as is the actual
killer.
In the final anaylsis the case boiled
down to two tales of brutal murder.
But the police will not have to choose
between the two versions. That will be
for the jury to decide, when Sanchez and
Leon come to trial. ooe
Eprror’s Norte:
The names, Mary Kramer, Miss
Alison Ames, and Henry Farber, as
used in the foregoing story, are not
the real names of the persons con-
cerned. These persons have been
given fictitious names to protect their
identities.
Never Kill a
G-Man
(Continued from page 45)
ended his Army career with a six-month
stretch for black-marketeering in Ger-
many, then went to Milwaukee, where
he collected a small arsenal as a prelude
to a planned career in bank robbing.
This career was nipped in the bud, how-
ever, as a result of a nightclub brawl, in
the aftermath of which Heroux’s arsenal,
and blueprints for a bank job, were dis-
covered by police.
On May 2, 1951, Gerhard Puff was as-
signed to the vacant bunk in Heroux’s
cell in the Milwaukee County jail. It
was the beginning of an unlovely, bloody
friendship.
Puff was a veteran in crime and, at
37, older than his new friend by 15 years.
They were about the same height and
build, but Puff had blue eyes and Her-
oux’s were brown. German-born, Puff
had come to America at the age of
twelve when his parents emigrated and
settled in Milwaukee. At 14 he was ar-
rested for car theft, and from that time
on, he was an in-and-outer with the
law. His record showed entries for as-
sault, armed robbery, attempted jail
break, robbery and assorted other of-
fenses. On that May 2nd when he was
tossed into a cell with Heroux, he had
just been arrested for armed robbery
in Milwaukee’s Ambassador Hotel. He
couldn’t raise $3,000 in bail, so he was
locked up to await trial.
Heroux was released on August 23rd.
Diligent work by the FBI established
conclusively that he immediately ob-
tained a gun, stole a car and drove to
Kansas City. On the morning of October
10th, he stuck a gun into the back of
the cashier about to enter the Southside
Bank, then herded the other employees
into a vault as they reported for work.
Heroux was wearing the unlikely cos-
tume of white mechanic’s coveralls and
an earlapped hunting cap. Waiting for
the time lock to open on the huge
main vault, he chain-smoked cigarettes,
threatened to kill any one who made
a wrong move, and stuffed $4,641 in
bills in his huge pockets; he found this
money in tellers’ drawers in the smaller
vault, which was already open. During
a brief distraction one of his captives
fled to the street screaming for help, and
Heroux took off in a big hurry, fleeing
in a stolen car.
The cashier and other bank personnel
positively identified Heroux from mug
shots as the man who had robbed their
bank.
On October 17th, precisely one week
later, a man answering Heroux’s descrip-
tion walked into the offices of a Chicago
bail bond company and posted $3,000 in
cash, as bail to spring Gerhard Puff from
jail, where he was awaiting trial. Puff,
of course, promptly joined Heroux and
jumped bail.
The pair was not seen again until
November 23rd when, wearing white
coveralls and earlapped hunting caps,
they hit the Johnson County National
Bank in Prairie Village, Kansas. Their
loot was more than $62,000. The vic-
tims made positive identifications of
Puff and Heroux as the robbers.
This was but the beginning of a bank-
heisting spree that ranged through sev-
eral states in the midwest, then switched
eastward, where several banks in Mas-
sachusetts fell victim to a pair of stickup
artists. During one of these robberies
State Trooper Alje M. Savela was gunned
down and killed, and George Heroux
was tabbed as suspect number one.
But for months, the best efforts of the
FBI and other law enforcement agencies
were unable to run the bandit pair to
earth. The first break came, ironically,
as the result of neighborhood suspicion
which ultimately resulted in the capture
of Heroux.
But in his cell in Miami, Heroux was
about as communicative as the proverb-
ial clam. The airline ticket found on
him, however, proved to be an invalu-
able lever which enabled FBI men to
pry loose information the prisoner re-
fused to divulge. Starting with this
ticket, they were able to backtrack on
airline records and find that Heroux
had flown to Miami from New York on
Thursday, July 24th. Pursuing the back
trail still further, they learned he had
been living at the Congress Hotel on
West 69th St. in New York.
The FBI accomplished this in a matter
of hours after Heroux’s capture, and at
8:30 that same evening, a squad of
agents invaded the Congress Hotel. They
missed their quarry by a mere holir;
Puff had left at 7:30 p.m. Shown a re-
cent night club picture of Puff and his
wife, Annie Laurie Moore who had
worked as a stripteaser under the name
of Honey O’Brien, hotel employees iden-
tified them as guests who were regis-~
tered as Mr. and Mrs. Burns.
They had registered at 11 o’clock
Sunday morning, and at three that after-
noon, a Mr. Hanson had checked in with
his wife, a flashy blonde. That evening
Puff asked the room clerk an odd ques-
tion: “I’m expecting some people,” he
said. “Can you tell me if any of these
folks have arrived—Mr. and Mrs. John-
son, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, or Mr. and
Mrs. Jones?”
The clerk, who had just come on duty,
flipped through the day’s registration
cards and replied, half jokingly, “Haven't
got any of those people, but we’ve gota
Mr. and Mrs. Hanson.”
“Connect me with Mr. Hanson,” Puff
said promptly,
Employees were shown pictures of
Heroux and his wife, blonde Joan Evans
Heroux, and identified them at once as
“Mr. and Mrs. Hanson.”
Both couples, they said, had acted
quite normally during their stay at the
hotel and had done nothing to arouse
anyone’s suspicions. On Thursday he
had left, carrying a suitcase. His wife re-
mained, as did the Puffs. This was the
day Heroux had flown to Miami.
From the cashier, G-Men learned that
Puff had paid his bill that evening and
checked out with his luggage. There was
no such report on Heroux’s suite, though,
and a hasty examination showed that
these rooms still contained luggage and
personal effects belonging to the couple.
Undoubtedly someone would be back,
sooner or later, to retrieve these articles,
so the premises were staked out.
On Saturday morning, when no one
had shown up, this stakeout was aug-
mented by a special squad of 20 agents.
They were deployed to cover every exit,
every entrance to the hotel. Some waited
outside in parked cars with engines
constantly running, so as to be ready in
the event of an attempted getaway by
car, Five agents established a sort of
communications center in an anteroom
just off the lobby, equipped with walkie-
talkies to maintain contact with agents
in the cars outside.
These. elaborate arrangements had
barely been completed when they were
put to the test, for at 10:30 a.m., a blonde
and a brunette entered the hotel and
went up to the “Hanson” suite. The
blonde was Joan Heroux. The brunette
was Annié Laurie Puff.
As they alighted from a taxi at the
hotel entrance, agents in one of the cars
radioed the word to the agents inside.
The message was received by the men
in the anteroom on the lobby floor, and
by agents staked out in a room almost
opposite the Hanson suite on an upper
floor. The downstairs agents reported
the girls entering the elevator. The up-
stairs agents reported them entering
the suite. Twenty minutes later, they
reported the girls were carrying a heavy
suitcase to the elevator.
Moments later, the downstairs agents
radioed on their walkie-talkies that the
girls had come out of the elevator,
spurned the proffered services of a bell
boy, then paused briefly to speak to an
assistant manager.
They told him they were moving to
another hotel in a more convenient loca-
tion, and would be back to pick up the
rest of their belongings. He knew the
rooms had been paid for in advance
through Saturday night. He did not ques-
tion them further.
Outside the hotel, one of the G-Men’s
cars followed the girls’ taxi to the Park
Crescent Hotel at Riverside Drive and
87th Street, where they deposited the
heavy suitcase in a room. Puff was no-
where in sight.
At 12:30 p.m. the girls left the Park
Crescent in a cab and returned to the
Congress Hotel. Another set of agents
followed them, leaving the first group to
stake out the new quarters. At the Con-
gress, they met the same assistant mana-
ger in the lobby and Joan Heroux told
him, “We’re going up to get the rest of
our luggage now.” They took the eleva-
tor to the ninth floor.
Moments later the downstairs agents
got the flash: “Puff is walking down the
street toward the entrance. He’s going
in.”
From inside now, his actions were re-
ported to the agents outside. He went to
the desk, picked up a house phone and
asked to be connected to the Hanson
suite. He spoke briefly, then strolled in-
to the elevator. The door slid shut be-
hind him.
“He’s going up!” radioed an agent in
the anteroom, All agents outside were
alerted. All agents posted inside took
up their positions according to plan.
Joseph J. Brock, 44, a veteran of
many years as an FBI agent, had been
assigned to cover the elevators. In a
rear hallway, he crouched behind a
frosted glass door which had a clear
glass center peephole through which he
could command a view of the elevators
and most of the lobby.
There were only two other ways to
leave the hotel. One was a flight of stairs
which came down into the hallway be-
hind Agent Brock’s vantage point. The
other was a flight of stairs going down
to the basement, from whence there was
an exit to the street. This route was al-
ready well-guarded, but the heavy con-
centration was on the elevators. Puff had
always used them. When he came into
the hotel, he did not display any. symp-
toms of alarm or awareness of danger,
so he would probably continue to use
the elevators.
That’s what should have happened,
but it didn’t. In the suite on the ninth
floor, something happened—the x-factor,
the unknown quantity that can become
the monkey wrench to disrupt the best-
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Two desperate gunmen, along with their shapely
broads, decided they were tough enough to
ignore the Number One rule of the underworld . . .
Gerhard Puff, winged by FBI slug, still
struggled as he was treated on sidewalk
FBI man Joseph Brock was slain in gun
battle. Fellow G-Men downed his killer
UST AS SURELY as flowers bloom every
spring, each year in these United States pro-
duces a new crop of young punks who take
their first steps down a lawless road, convinced
that they are smarter than any cop who ever lived.
For some, this opinion is short-lived; for others, it
takes longer before they learn the harsh truth. In
either case, it is safe to say that not one ventures
far along a criminal career before he hears the un-
written law of the American underworld: “Never
kill a G-Man!”
The record shows that this is one law most crimi-
nals scrupulously obey, for they have a fearsome
respect for the FBI’s unblemished score in bringing
to swift justice anyone who dares to shoot down
one of their own. For the occasional gunsel who
thinks he will prove how tough he is by violating
EI! Portal, Fla. Pil. was winged in gun
battle, held hostage with Chief Shields
FBI special agents sprung a trap for
two hoods at New York’s Congress Hotel
